Overlander's Handbook
Trip Reports
Trans Africa - Land Rover Defender
| Who | Petra & Ren ~ email ~ website |
| Profession | Leisure Manager and Chartered Accountant |
| Born 1976 and 1969 | Nationality Dutch |
| Previous travel experience | Together none |
| This trip | Europe, West Africa, South Africa, East Africa |
| Departure date | January 2005 |
| Number in group | 2 |
| Trip duration | 13 months |
| Distance covered | 53,000 km |
| Cost of trip (not incl. vehicle) | ca 25,000 euro |
| Best day | Helping a docter in Burkina Faso out with problems |
| Worst/ hardest day | Somewhere in october we got stuck in a swamp for 17 hours in Kafue National Park [Zambia] in the middle of the Busanga Plains, famous for their lions! |
| Favourite place | Botswana, the real wilderness |
| Biggest headache | Shipping the car |
| Wish I hadn't | - |
| Most pleasant surprise | To find out that our car even though he is 20 years old, still could do a trip like this |
| Any illness | Diarhoea, broken teeth |
| Other trips planned | Not yet |
| One overlanding tip | Be flexible |
| Type of Vehicle | Land Rover Defender 110 |
| Age/ mileage on departure | 19 years old 104.500 km |
| Modifications | none |
| Most useful accessory | Sand plates |
| Mods you wish you'd done | none |
| Tyres used | - |
| Number of punctures |
| Vehicle's weak point | Not enough power |
| Vehicle's strong point | Very solid |
| Vehicle problems | Broken half shaft |
| Same vehicle again? | Yes of course |
| One driving tip | Stay alert, especially in countries where people drive like crazy, such as in Kenya and Tanzania |