Book excerpt: A family holiday with toddlers can be challenging at the best of times. Despite the obstacles, photojournalist Catherine Lanz and her husband Byron decide to do it the hard way. Finding themselves at one of life’s crossroads, they resolve to take the gap and show their children the landscapes, wildlife and peoples of southern Africa. So they pack Kira (3) and Tom (4) and a stuffed rabbit called ‘Roadi Killi’ into their trusty Toyota Fortuner 4x4, hitch up a trailer and set off on an ambitious 10-month circuit through South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. In the course of this 20 000-kilometre odyssey, they meet many unique characters (and some interesting people, too) and discover their passion for the vibrant and generous soul of Africa. Travels with a Roadkill Rabbit captures all the warmth and humour of this amazing journey, together with the frustrations, irritations and occasional disasters that can befall an expedition - especially when you run out of Jelly Tots. Catherine Lanz spent 10 years on the staff of South Africa’s premier travel magazine Getaway. Currently a freelance photojournalist, her work has appeared in magazines such as Wine, Life, Mango Juice, Hamba Kahle and Pinnacle, as well as in the books Africa Adventure Atlas and, more recently, Africa Lens.