The Range Rover Experience...

Held in prestige, the Range Rover has been the vehicle choice for upper class Britain and her shrinking Commonwealth for decades. Feature rich and capable, the 1970 introduction of a permanent 4wd mid sized vehicle encouraged trans-continental overland explorers to adopt and prove the capability of the new Land Rover brand. The 1971 crossing of the Darien Gap by Range Rover, led by Colonel John Blashford-Snell, proved the Range Rover but required plenty of air support to fly in axles and other important items that needed re-engineering.

Photo Credit: Range Rover Classic Website

Roll on the 1980's and Range Rover needed a new proving ground for their vehicles.  The Camel Trophy, only a year old, introduced the Range Rover as the flagship 4x4.  Not many vehicles exist after the event as it was rumoured that Land Rover had all the participant vehicles crushed.

Source: http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1126885

Although capable, this vehicle has not inspired independent overlanders to adopt it as a trusted platform, preferring the rugged Defender and even the Discovery.
The question remains: Why is the Range Rover not popular?  A fact: the Mercedes G-Wagen has more trans-Africa trips associated with it than the Range Rover!

Range Rover vs Defender 110

Gabon Overland - May 2005

BigSky Adventures - Gabon 2005

Our route South from the UK to SA took us via Cameroon, into Gabon, over the equator and South through the Congo.

For our short traverse across Gabon, the country was and still is, awesome.  It offers the overlander a chance to experience the jungles of Africa in its full, plus the very controversial logging operations.  In the video clip below, you will notice the size of the trees that have been cut and loaded on the trucks.

When the roads get bad, they become adventurous.  We had seven sections of mud to traverse -  the first was the worst but luck was at hand.  Enjoy the video clip and selection of Gabon photos:




A selection of photos: