Vanlife France on the Road to Africa!

Vanlife France on the Road to Africa!

Imagine you’re cruising down the road…
Sun shining, good music playing… And suddenly! Beep Beep That sound? It is the Leak detector again.
That is not good. No tower, No tower. Here. And it’s coming from the back of the van. It’s 
full of water. Is our life in danger? Yes! Are we going to die? No. Good. Bonjour Everyone, 
we are Mélanie and Norman and with our oldtimer Mercedes T1, Mochi. We’ve just left 
Bordeaux heading south on our way to Africa. This morning, we did the carnet de passage. So it’s 
like a passport for the car that we need to enter some countries in Africa. Now, it’s 
done and we decided to have a little walk at the lake and it’s a very nice place. 
We even get a little concert with the frog now. It’s good after all the morning 
in the car. Look, I think this is an orchid. Can you see? Everything was going 
smoothly. Until suddenly that sharp, repetitive beeping. We immediately recognized 
it: the leak detector. We pulled over instantly. And yes, there was water 
under the UVC water filter system. We can’t go anywhere like this. This is full of water. 
Not a flood like we had before but still a leak. And it seemed to be either from the water inlet or 
worse near the electrical connection. It’s so dangerous, here with the electricity. We contact the manufacturer right away. 
After a few email exchanges. They agreed to send us a replacement unit to a pickup point in Perpignan 
which matched our travel route. Now, that this was sorted out we decided to make a stop in Carcassonne.
And honestly, it was a great choice. What a stunning city. Today, we are visiting Carcassonne. It is also 
known in France as “La cité”, so the city. It is since 1997 a world heritage site and it is the 
largest fortified medieval city in Europe [Music] It’s characterized by its extensive remparts 
which are 3 kilometers long. Another thing that makes this place so remarkable are those 
52 towers like the one you can see behind me. Think about it, this city has a history 
spanning of Two and a half thousand years. And this is the exact reason why we 
are traveling for, to explore places that we’ve maybe just heard the name of but 
we don’t really have a story behind this And then you arrive at a medieval place like 
this somewhere in France in the south and you are just I don’t know like stunned by 
this. It’s really a magical place [Music] The following day, we received good news. The 
parcel was on its way to the pickup point. Everything seemed back on track until we got 
a second message Delivery failed Address not found. The parcel could not be dropped off. We 
have a mission today. We are a little bit in a rush because our UVC unit has not arrived at the 
parcel shop because something went wrong with the address. And uh if it’s not getting fixed by maybe 
today they might send it back to Germany and then we have to wait another week probably for it to be 
uh back here to the correct address. So hopefully, fingers crossing we can receive this parcel 
in personne. Yeah, we have half an hour more until Perpignan. We drove straight to Perpignan. Hoping to solve it in 
person. It’s not for this. They are here only to make the parcel separation. So tomorrow, it will be in the post office or 
they send it there. I don’t know how it works. She says it doesn’t work so good normally. I 
don’t know how it’s going to be for the Carnet de passage. I’m not convinced that it’s going to work. 
Maybe in Spain is different. I don’t know. Yeah, we can go and wait tomorrow. 
She says it’s going to be tomorrow in the the post office. But right now it’s 
here? Now, it’s here. But she can’t uh she can’t go! So close yet still not in our 
hands. We spent the afternoon in Perpignan and stayed nearby ready to 
be there first thing in the morning. It’s like almond it’s good.
Yes! Here, it is! We just have to go 
somewhere and install this little thing. And finally, we got it our 
brand new UVC unit. Such a relief Now finally after almost a week. I’m holding 
this parcel in my hand that will hopefully help solving the trouble that we’re having for 
the last couple of weeks with that UVC unit that is leaking. It’s an internal leak. We’ve already 
found out about this one. So that’s why. It is still under the warranty of the manufacturer 
And then, he sent us a new one. Unfortunately, that pickup point didn’t accept the parcel even though 
it was an official DHL partner. Now it’s here. Super happy, I just hope that everything is inside and 
they didn’t forget about anything. So let’s open it up. There it is fresh and new. It’s not a new one 
Cannot be? Yeah, it’s written here. It’s a refurbished one. I mean, I cannot complain. No, I’m really 
happy that they replaced the broken one. But if this one is showing a leak again after a year 
then I will be really not happy with this one. Cuz in a year, we will be somewhere in I don’t know?
Africa. Yeah! Then I really want to relay on the UVC disinfection. And now we are in Europe is not 
a big deal. The water here we can drink it straight from the source but in Africa. I want to be 
really sure that the water we drink doesn’t uh cause us any long toilet time. So but yeah 
let’s fix this one on the van. Let’s go! Having a bit too much fun with the water? It’s very 
hot today especially in the sun but we have to do it now. We have to send back the broken 
unit and I don’t want this noise anymore from the leak detector. Because we built the van on our 
own, we know exactly where to look out for and how to repair it as well. And I think this is a huge 
plus. First, we unplug this. Now, we can take off the hoses. Maybe when we flip it we can see. There it is. Up here Maybe? Better work better! Such a cozy place here. Oh yeah! I feel my organs 
twisting. It’s like yoga. Are you ready to rock! How you did it? I was just on my knees. I know you 
always want to sit. It’s painful under the knees. I’m not so flexy. And if you watched the video 
about our water system you know that you have to put this one straight here to prevent this 
one to go out. Now, you cannot. It’s good Mhm This is done. Next the electricity. I’ve already 
disconnected all the wires from the switches. It’s done. It’s blinking green. It’s good sign and 
it’s not leaking for now. Let’s see, if the water is coming. And for now there are no drops 
there. Still I want to put back this one just in case. Good, We are done for today 
We installed the new device, made a few extra upgrades while we were at it, and double check 
everything to prevent any future leaks. We are super satisfied for what we 
have done today. We have fixed the UVC unit which was one of the most important tasks today to be 
completed. I think in the worst case we could have maybe get an electric shock from this one. We could 
have died I think in the worst case. Imagine that! Tomorrow, we cross the border into Spain. 
Oh I’m so looking forward It’s gonna be so warm so good for my skin I can shine 
again. I was actually serious I wanted to take this movement for the new you know 
for the end And you talk this stuff. Next week we are crossing into Spain. Ready for good times. See 
you there. And don’t forget to like and subscribe.

Join us as we kick off our epic two-year van adventure from Morocco to South Africa! 🚐✨ After months of prepping Mochi, we hit the road from France — but vanlife had a surprise waiting for us: our water filter started leaking just days in! 😅

We’re dealing with delays and lost packages, but we’re still making the most of every moment. Along the way, we explored the stunning medieval town of Carcassonne — a perfect reminder why we love this life on the road.

Follow along for all the ups, downs, and unexpected stories from our journey across Africa!

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✨ How it all began
We met in Australia in 2015 — two adventurers drawn together by a love of travel and discovery.

🚴‍♂️ The first big trip
In 2017, we cycled from Germany to Croatia over 3 months, embracing slow travel and the freedom of the road.

🏔 A new chapter in Switzerland
We moved to Switzerland planning to stay only a few years — to save and prepare for our next big adventure.

🚐 Mochi joins the family
In 2019, we bought our vintage Mercedes van, Mochi, dreaming of the African roads ahead. Our plan? Spend 1–2 years converting her into the perfect home on wheels.

⏳ Unexpected delays
Then 2020 happened. Instead of rushing, we invested 5 extra years perfecting Mochi and getting ready for the journey of a lifetime.

🔥 Now it’s time
This year, we’re finally hitting the road — from Morocco all the way down to South Africa — soaking in vibrant cultures, stunning landscapes, and incredible wildlife.

We are incredibly grateful to be able to continue doing something we love every day. 😊🎥🌎 Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey!

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00:00 Intro
00:27 The calme before the storm
01:14 The storm
01:55 Carcassonne
03:23 And it got lost
05:16 Fixing the not really new item…
09:07 Back on track
09:52 Next week

#VanlifeEurope #OverlandingAfrica #mochioverland