Haitske

Born 1975 in Geldrop, The Netherlands

Living in Vienna, Austria

Studied chemistry in Eindhoven

Working as a process technologist for an Austrian oil company in Vienna

My first visit to South Africa in 2008 had me totally hooked on this beautiful country and I have been wanting to return for a longer trip ever since.

The first idea was to take my motorbike and to drive from Vienna to Cape Town. But I soon realised that this would mean roughing it too much to make me happy.

In 2009 Sandra and me went on our first trips together. We had an exciting week in Abu Dhabi  where we experienced an amazing dune tour in a Landcruiser and then in autumn, a 3 week camping trip through the south west USA with a Kia Sportage.  These two trips were the beginning of our adventure plans. We decided to take a sabbatical in 2011 and travel to Africa!

The first choice we had to take was what kind of vehicle we wanted. We just knew that we wanted a reliable 4×4 vehicle that would get us safely to some of the more lonelier spots and back again. After looking at the various options (Unimog, Iveco, Land Rover, etc) we set our eyes on a Toyota Landcruiser J9 and bought her in january 2010.  The landcruiser has proven to be a good choice.  She is a nice compromise between comfort and all terrain suitability and offers a lot of space.

As my company offers a sabbatical leave for up to 12 months I was able to discuss my plans with my line manager and reach an agreement on when and how long i could go. Sadly enough my department has undergone a drastical reorganisation in december 2010 and I now find myself with a new line manager awaiting approval again.

Contact Me

If you want to contact me,  please send me an e-mail  at Haitske@hotmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as I have found the next internet cafe.