Overlander's Handbook
Trip Reports

Saudi To Cape - Land Cruiser V8

Who	Mushtaq Mahmood ~ email ~ website
Profession	IT Consultant
Born 1959	Nationality British
Previous travel experience	1. 1981 Travelled extensively in Europe (on interrail budget) 2. 1982 Overland from Tanzania to Burundi 3. 1983 Hitch hiked from Tanzania to South Africa 4. 1997 Climbed Kilimanjaro 5. 2000 Overland Saudi Arabia to Oman 6. 2004 Overland Saudi Arabia

This trip	Khobar to Cape Town
Departure date	June 2005
Number in group	5
Trip duration	47 Days
Distance covered	17000 Kms
Cost of trip (not incl. vehicle)	$50 per person per day

Best day	Having the whole bay at Kilwa, Tanzania to ourselves.
Worst/ hardest day	Getting lost on the way to Lalibela, Ethiopia.
Favourite place	Kapishya Hotsprings, Zambia and Kilwa, Tanzania
Biggest headache	Exchanging currencies at borders
Wish I hadn't	Had a restriction on my time - should have done the trip in a more leisurely time of 4 to 6 months
Most pleasant surprise	To see my old school still standing in Mwanza, Tanzania
Any illness	Diahorrea and vomitting
Other trips planned	Overland to Iran, India and Malaysia
One overlanding tip	Do not take your preconceptions of people with you on the road. Enjoy every moment

Type of Vehicle	Toyota LandCruiser VXR3 Manual V8 (Petrol)
Age/ mileage on departure	5 Years Old, 140000Kms
Modifications	Dual batter System, Additional Front Shocks, Enhanced Rear Springs.
Most useful accessory	High Lift Jack
Mods you wish you'd done	Should have changed all tyres to High walled tyres like BF Goodridge's AllTerrain
Tyres used	Dunlop Grandtrek
Number of punctures

Vehicle's weak point	Petrol (the 4.7 Engine is a Guzzler)
Vehicle's strong point	Power, Smooth Ride and Reliability
Vehicle problems	Tyre Blow outs, Bull bar bracket shearing
Same vehicle again?	Yes!
One driving tip	Do not speed in the Conservation areas in Tanzania, speed cameras are lurking there!