It is pitch black even though the Kalahari sun has been up for 4 hours. The temperature is approaching 50C. The metal surrounding me is almost too hot to touch. I'm lying on my back, working by head torch light. The feeling of claustrophobia is overwhelming, I've not felt this enclosed since misguidedly accepting British Coal's corporate hospitality invite to go down a coal mine!

After 45 minutes of fumbling, poking and groping (it's not what you think Carol!) I hear a click and the tail door of our Landrover swings open for the first time in two weeks.

After another hour I am able to remove the lock from the door. It is caked in desert sand so I clean it in petrol, dry it, oil it and refit it (thanks Dad, all those childhood years servicing boats and engines has paid dividends).

I lock the car with the remote, the tail door locks. Oh joy, what happiness, high fives, result! Some of you will sense where this tale is going! Yes you guessed it, the lock won't open again, not with the remote, not manually, not with the metal mallet and not even with Afrikaans swearwords!

Looking on the positive side, it has failed in the locked position, so our worldly chattels are safe. Who needs a rear door anyway! Sensing our optimism the Landy decided to retaliate, Angela's door then refused to lock on the remote.

Proving that two Degrees and a university education was not a complete waste of money, I immediately instigated a high tech solution. A 2 metre piece of string leads from the interior handle of the door to my driving seat. A quick pull on the string and the deadlock lifts and Angela can climb in.

Should our car be broken in to on this trip I'm going to give the perpetrators a certificate of mechanical ingenuity and suggest they apply to Landrover UK for an apprenticeship!

It's not all bad news with the Landy, our new extra fuel tank has proved it's worth and the car has coped with the worst corrugated road conditions we've experienced in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP). With hindsight 37 days was probably too long a stay, especially as the lack of seasonal rain meant the park was very dry, very dusty and very very hot.

Animal sightings proved harder but we saw several cheetah kills and enjoyed one of our all-time best moments in Africa when a herd of wildebeest charged either side of our car, closely followed by a leopard (it missed!)

Lions proved abundant as always and we even saw a caracal (rarer than Steve C buying a round of drinks!) The poor roads and lack of rain was compensated by the chance to re-acquaint ourselves with old Kalahari friends (Stuart & Trudi, Ken & Nancy, Roger and Julia, Bob & Lee) and new friends (Margie and Brad, Steve & Chris, Steve D, and Dave and Vicky and family, good luck with the Namibian game farm project to the latter).

The people you meet in KTP in January and February are the diehard fans, tolerating extreme temperatures, violent storms (usually!) and dust for some of the best wildlife and scenery in Africa. It would be good if South African National Parks re-invested the ever increasing park and camping fees by repairing or replacing the camping facilities, maintaining the roads or even keeping the water flowing in the waterholes. Sadly there is little sign of that happening!

In our opinion KTP is the best park in Southern Africa to see cheetah, lion, leopard and raptors, go soon if you want to see it as its best.

On a much lighter note many people (Editor's Note: one person in 9 years) have asked how I cope with the constant danger of teeth and claws? The answer is easy, after nearly 30 years of marriage I know Angela's moods and can avoid most of the attacks!

Which reminds me, our anniversary is coming up soon (5th May if I'm not mistaken). No flowers please, condolences and donations to be forwarded to the Landrover Door lock Replacement Trust!

If Angela reads this it may be my last blog, if not I will regale you another time with tales of our trip from KTP in to Botswana and the Okavango Delta (Editor's Note: it's about time you wrote about your travels Ralph, it is a travel blog!)