It’s been almost a year since I last found myself meandering the duty free at Heathrow airport, last time on route to Asia, this time destination Africa.

As always once my lift has departed and I find myself alone in the bustling airport departure lounge the anxiety begins to creep in. Will I like the other travellers? More importantly will they like me? What if I can’t find my transfer at the other end? What if something goes wrong? Did I get my flight times right? Did I book my transfer for the right day? And so on…

I know it will all be fine – it always is – so I sit and write this blog willing the hour before boarding to pass quicker so I can alight the plane, put on a film, and attempt to sleep for as much of the nine hour flight as possible. When I do arrive in Kenya I will be met by a friendly face from overland tour company Oasis Overland, from there the anxiety ends and the fun begins.

On Saturday morning I will be boarding a truck and heading off on my African adventure, all thoughts of airport nerves long past. I will be accompanied by a group of other travellers all eager to see what the next few weeks have in store.

My last sojourn with Oasis was a delight. Six weeks starting in Turkey, into Syria, then Jordan, a day trip to Lebanon and ending in Egypt. It was a few years ago now – I flew home just a few weeks before the rebellion in Egypt in 2011 – but I am still in touch with friends made on that trip.

The overlanding experience is like no other. Within days of boarding the truck, which is your transport, storage and central to all your cooking, eating, sleeping and socialising activites, the group of strangers you met on the first night become like family. Within days you wonder what life was like before the trip began.

As I am writing about Oasis overlanding and the amazing people you meet Miss April deserves a special mention. My billet buddy throughout the tour and a very dear friend. The last time I found myself in Heathrow it was en route to visit Miss April after she decamped to Korea for a few years.