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Cape Town, South Africa
Coaxed up Table Mountain by the lure of chocolate, Penny spent a sobering hour within the Langa township and caught the ferry for a thought-provoking tour round Robben Island.

The Garden Route, South Africa
Penny sensibly sits back and relaxes as Tom makes a hash of riding an ostrich. Anyone for ostrich kebabs?

Simons Town to Hermanus, South Africa
Wine tasting and stroking cheetahs in Stellenbosch, a whale fest in Hermanus and sleeping in the car in Simons Town. The non-stop adventure continues.

Swakopmund to Maltahöhe, Namibia
Tom narrowly averts catastrophe by putting his rally driving expertise into practise on the world's best maintained gravel roads. All those hours on the Playstation finally paid off.

Swakopmund, Namibia
Living the high life with adrenalin coursing through their veins, Penny crashes and rolls a quadbike, quaffs champagne and oysters, and holds her breath as Tom whizzes past her at 80kmph.

Tsumeb to Etosha National Park, Namibia
Campers behaving badly and a run in with the food mafia. But the wildlife makes it all better.

Uppington, South Africa to Tsumeb, Namibia via Windhoek
Arid, barren, fly-infested and windy spring to mind when Penny tries to conjure up images of Namibia. Not to mention being caught speeding by the Namibian police who were thankfully not armed with AK47s.

Kimberley to Uppington, South Africa
AK47s, Armageddon, four minute instant skin cancer and an attempted conversion to the Islamic faith using a wholesome fish curry and Barbra Streisand songs - it's just another crazy week in South Africa.

Malealea, Lesotho
Acres of clear blue sky, young boys ploughing the fields by hand, donkeys burdened with maize sacks, men wrapped in blankets donning good, old fashioned wellington boots - Lesotho is a gateway into another untouched world.

Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, Swaziland
Up close and personal with a family of hippo in Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, an idyllic place to unwind and be at one with nature.

Northern Drakensberg, Royal Natal National Park, South Africa
"What National Park?" exclaimed the American traveller standing on the edge of the Northern Drakensberg, Royal Natal National Park. "Do you mean Kruger?"

Nelspruit to Graskop, South Africa
After viewing all the cuddly wildlife in Kruger National Park you can pick up fresh game meat from the camp site and toss your favourite antelope onto the braai.

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe to Pretoria, South Africa
Billed as 'excellent' in Lonely Planet, the Pretoria Tourism Information Centre scores a big fat zero out of ten - they had never even heard of Kruger National Park.

Gweru to Victoria Falls via Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Mugabe's propaganda machine continues to manufacture anti-British and American sentiment while the queues for bread are the longest yet. More importantly, Tom gets trapped inside a toilet on the Victoria Falls overnight train.

Gweru, Zimbabwe
Tom metamorphises into Joy Adamson as he walks with lions in the bush, while Penny investigates why Zimbabwean men are petrified of their wives attending 'kitchen parties'.

Harare, Zimbabwe
Penny and Tom's shopping spree in Harare is aided by the wadges of Zimbabwe dollars exchanged on the black market.

Blantyre, Malawi to Harare, Zimbabwe
Concerned about the danger to travelers in unsettled Zimbabwe, Penny relies on information from other travelers and the safety in numbers approach.

Lilongwe to Blantyre via Zomba, Malawi
Penny discovers the etiquette for stowing your live chicken aboard a Malawian bus, but she's a little uncertain when it comes to dorm etiquette.

Mzuzu to Lilongwe, Malawi
After leaving the truck, Penny and Tom have to come to grips with taking local transport. But Penny feels like she's seen more of the real Africa in the last couple of days than she ever did stuck on the truck.

Nkhata Bay to Mzuzu, Malawi
Penny learns a valuable lesson in the art of catching a minibus; stand on the road, assess which minibus is nearly full and will realistically leave in the next five minutes, then sprint for it.

Day 39: Chitimba to Nkhata Bay, Malawi
Tom and Penny are voluntarily evicted from the truck - goodbye Big Brother! Travelling independently has it's own challenges, but it's a relief to be free of the truck.

Day 38: Chitimba, Malawi
Tom and Penny confess to their tour leader that they are leaving the truck in Mzuzu, causing our tour leader to wail, 'What am I doing wrong?'

Day 37: Iringa, Tanzania to Chitimba, Malawi
The group are excited by the prospect of crossing into a new country, while Tom and Penny contemplate if they have a future on the truck (again).

Day 36: Dar Es Salaam to Iringa, Tanzania
Natasha and Jason drop the bombshell that they are deserting the truck. Our distraught tour leader wails 'This is the first time I've ever lost people from one of my tours!'

Day 35: Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Not everyone in the group are overjoyed at being reunited on the truck as it does not take long for reality to set in. And it's nomination day again!

Day 34: Stone Town, Zanzibar Island to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
It was time to pack the bags and say goodbye to exotic, spicy and costly Zanzibar to return to Dar Es Salaam. The Village People were right - it's fun to stay at the YMCA!

Day 32: Stone Town, Zanzibar Island
Tom and Penny join Mr Mitu's spice tour and are given a Zanzibar history lesson.

Day 31: Stone Town, Zanzibar Island
Free from the constraints of Big Brother, Penny and Tom have a perfect day wandering Stone Town.

Day 30: Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania to Stone Town, Zanzibar Island
Some of the group are elated to get their first taste of freedom away from the truck as they take the ferry to Zanzibar.

Day 29: Lushoto to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Tom and Penny are reprimanded by the tour leader (Big Brother) for openly carrying a Lonely Planet guide in public.

Day 28: Lushoto, Tanzania
Woke up to Jason and Natasha having yet another argument - this time about Natasha not wanting to participate in today's guided walk.

Day 27: Arusha to Lushoto, Tanzania
The group erect their tents on precarious terraces on the side of a mountain. Let's hope no one sleep walks in the night.

Day 26: Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha, Tanzania
The group finish their excursion with a safari through the Ngorongoro Crater and freeze to death.

Day 25: Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania
The group set off on their early morning safari, enthralled by yesterday's animal viewing. A tip - remember to bring warm clothes if you are visiting Tanzania.

Day 24: Arusha to Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
The group climb aboard four-wheel drives in restless mood for their optional excursion into the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Day 23: Nairobi, Kenya to Arusha, Tanzania
Three truck mates leave in Nairobi and three new truck mates replace them. Penny ponders how to create a gluten/wheat-free, vegetarian, vegan and meat version of the same dish.

Day 22: Nairobi, Kenya
Close contact with elephants and giraffes and in the evening, the group splurge on a night out to Carnivore, but Tom and Penny refuse to go.

Day 21: Nakuru to Nairobi, Kenya
The group are instructed to clean the truck in preparation for the three new truck mates. Hope they appreciate it.

Day 19 & 20: Kampala, Uganda to Nakuru, Kenya
The group are in mutinous mood due to the food budget set for tomorrow - it just doesn't add up to US$3 per person. Where is the money going?

Day 18: Kisoro to Kampala, Uganda
Tempers are frayed due to a 4:00am start. An unsavoury smell emanates from the truck. And everyone is wearing socks with sandals.

Day 17: Kisoro, Uganda to Rwanda and back
The group leave to see the mountain gorillas at 7am in a state of excitement in the back of a pickup truck. And Penny gets charged by a silverback.

Day 16: Kisoro, Uganda
The group experience a rough drive to Kisoro on the Uganda, Rwanda border and for the first time, Penny appreciated being on the truck.

Day 15: Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
Roberta announces to the group that she had a terrible nightmare about missing breakfast.

Day 14: Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
It's nomination day which means it's time for somebody to leave. Tom and Penny put forth their nominations.

Day 13: Jinja to Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
The group are in a comatosed mood, due to a 5:00 am start and having to endure a long drive to Lake Bunyonyi.

Day 12: Jinja/Bujagali Falls Uganda
Dissension among the group as food supplies dwindle and group members can no longer be bothered to do their chores.

Day 11: Jinja/Bujagali Falls, Uganda
All the group are sleeping soundly by the edge of Bujagali Falls, while Tom and Penny watch the sunrise in the mist above the rapids.

Day 10: Kampala to Jinja, Uganda
The trucks are no longer running in parallel as one group sets off for the gorilla trek and the other onto Jinja. The group are recovering from their 'bad taste' party and are rather subdued.

Day 9: Kampala, Uganda
The group are in disarray due to the news about the gorilla permits and three members have to travel separately in order to do the gorilla trek.

Day 8: Kampala, Uganda
Most of the group leave on an excursion to the Chimpanzee Sanctuary but a splinter group decides to explore Kampala.

Day 7: Eldoret, Kenya to Kampala, Uganda
Crossing the border into Uganda is fairly painless and Penny feels this is more of the Africa she has come to see.

Day 6: Lake Nakuru to Eldoret, Kenya
Many of the group are groggy after a night of partying and Jason ends up sleeping on the grass in his sleeping bag after being evicted from his tent.

Day 5: Lake Nakuru, Kenya
The group survive a night without being eaten by lions but have an early wake up call which involves packing up the tents in the pitch black.

Day 4: Lake Naivasha to Lake Nakuru, Kenya
The group are still sleeping in their tents at 7:00 am but need to be packed and ready to leave at 8:00 am. Mission impossible?

Day 3: Crescent Island, Kenya
While it's a joy to walk among zebra, antelope and giraffe, Penny can't help but wonder if there is such a thing as a food conspiracy or is it just Larium induced paranoia.

Day 2: Lake Naivasha, Kenya
The first night in the truck and the jury is still out on whether Suan and Tom have made the right decision to come on this trip.

Day 1: Nairobi, Kenya
Penny's fear of being mugged as soon as she stepped off the plane in Kenya prove unfounded and she also meets her truck-mates for the first time.

Preparation
This trip was three years in the making before September 11th set things back another six months. The good news is the extra savings of those six months mean a three month trip to Africa!

Introduction
Learn more about Penny and her husband Tom, why they are taking this trip, what they are packing and why Tom is weighing his underwear on the kitchen scales.