Rob and Dee Overland in Africa 2014 – 10,000 miles – 4 months – 10 countries
Traditionally the African safari vehicle of choice was the iconic Land Rover. However in recent times the Toyota Land Cruiser has proven to be the most dependable vehicle throughout Africa. Pictures of Land Cruisers fording swollen rivers with water over the hood and the air intake snorkel extending above the roof are common symbols of the Land Cruiser’s ruggedness.
Slightly less capable in really rough four wheeling conditions but perhaps more versatile is the Toyota Hilux 4×4 truck.
There are a number of companies that rent Land Rovers, Land Cruisers or Hilux trucks fully equipped with roof top tents, 2 spare tires, dual battery systems, long range fuel and water tanks, shovels, axes, camps stoves, tables and chairs and more. These vehicles are perfect for a 2-4 week self drive camping safari, but at $130 per day they were too expensive for our 4-month trip.
Our initial thoughts were that we would arrive in Africa and try to source a Land Cruiser already outfitted for serious camping and if we were unable to find such a vehicle then we would go more bare bones with our usual camping tent, sleeping bags, backpacking stove and an ice chest.
Several weeks before our departure I started looking at online classified ads and found that the privately owned vehicles did not have much camping gear and outfitting them fully would be both costly and time consuming. Fortunately I did find several retired safari rental vehicles that were fully equipped and had been resold to folks like us looking for vehicles that they could buy, use and resell at the end of their trips.
I found a German couple that was ending their trip in mid April just when we were starting ours and they were selling a Hilux truck that had been used in rental and was just what we needed. I negotiated a bit with them about buying their vehicle even though I thought their price a bit high. At the same time I wrote to the rental companies I found online, asking if they were selling any of their used rigs. Bushlore, one of the companies I liked best from their website responded that they had sold most of last year’s crop but still had a few left. One of them was exactly what I wanted. It was similar to the German couple’s vehicle but was a year newer, had less miles on the odometer and best of all the company would give us a 30 day warranty.
Toyota Hilux 2.5 TD DC 4X4. 2011 Model with 185,000 kms.
The canopy is by Alucab and features opening sides that fold out to become kitchen prep tables. The back opens up to reveal a drawer (like a giant file cabinet) that slides out the back and contains storage boxes for all our gear. Above that also on a sliding rail is a 40 Litre refrig/freezer. There is also a stove and 20 lb propane bottle.
On top is a solid roof rack that holds the Eezi Awn tent that folds out and is set up in seconds. The tent has a full mattress with blankets so we can sleep in a bed rather than our individual sleeping bags, and all the bedding just stays in the tent so nothing to pack up each day. Being off of the ground is a bit safer way to sleep in the African bush.
Other features:
Other gear we will bring or add
We realize that there are many folks out there reading our blog to assist them in planning their own trips- with that in mind I have prepared a series of posts with the type of nitty-gritty detail that will help others intent on their own adventures. I have placed this series under the pre departure … Read more
We realize that there are many folks out there reading our blog to assist them in planning their own trips- with that in mind I have prepared a series of posts with the type of nitty-gritty detail that will help others intent on their own adventures. I have placed this series under the pre departure … Read more
A whole series of interesting events have transpired lately. Serendipity, luck, coincidence, who knows? On our way into Serengeti we had briefly met a wonderful So. African couple, Mike and Hester, who we later ran into a second time at a campground in southern Tanzania. We enjoyed each other’s company so much we made a … Read more
Well the internet died after I typed a page story about this experience. Here are a few photos – I’ll rewrite the post later.