Africa Overland in a 1950's Kombi

Through the Sahara - in a 1950s Kombi

February 1960 - A  1957 VW Kombi, loaded with three people (Raymond, Mary & Ivor), depart Bulawayo heading North to London...

More than fifty years ago, two brothers living in what was Southern Rhodesia planned a trip to London. They bought a Kombi, fitted a roof rack, bed and a Primus to it and drove straight across Africa. In the Sahara, they got stuck more times than they could count, Drive Out reader Ivor Wiid writes: Through the Sahara (originally published on Drive Out)

At the Victoria Falls, they met up with two gentlemen driving a Mercedes Benz 180D North from South Africa.  They agree to meet up in Kano, Nigeria to transit North Africa.

Rooftop Tent accidents...

The rooftop tent has many benefits for overland travel and one major detractor: The Ladder.
The Overland ZA forum has an interesting topic on accidents relating to rooftop tents... All the accidents on the topic related to the ladder... Read more via Overland Forum

My wife, whose left hand is pictured, slipped off the rooftop tent ladder whilst refitting the mattress the day before we headed to Cameroon.  The Nigerian doctor did a good job of stitching her wound but it was a nervous hour as I patiently waited in his office.  Adding to the tension were before and after photos of all the doctors patients and his awesome surgery he performed....  gives me the shivers just thinking about it.

A posting by a South African called Johan van Heerden on his recent trip to Mozambique had an interesting story on another rooftop tent fall...  One paragraph stands out:

Accidental Damage

Jasululu Overland Adventure

A vehicle does add a level of complexity to any expedition and with it, the threat of an accident, which can be in the form of a vehicle collision, higher speed than road conditions dictate and sometimes just bad luck... 
The Royal Geographic Society (RGS UK) recognises that vehicle based expeditions often have the highest accident rate of any expedition undertaken and as a result insists that expedition leaders are trained.

Africa Overland in a Mercedes Benz 300D

Fab & Vivien

I have seen a few unusual vehicles used for a Trans-Africa trip... Using a Mercedes Benz 300D (W124), has to be one of them...

Fab, and his puppet Vivien, headed South from Europe via West and Central Africa in a Mercedes Benz 300D for a bet.  His website, A Crazy Bet Around the World, details his trip via a series of Webisodes published to YouTube.  He even managed to sell his car for more than he paid for it, and even had a bush mechanics perform a suspension lift to assist with the rough Cameroon and Gabon mud roads...

Africa Full Circle...

Tony - Africa Full Circle

The Africa Overland Network has hundreds of good blogs to read and follow... here's the latest blog which makes interesting reading:

Africa Full Circle

"Here I am, sitting in a police office again" That's what I thought when I went into the big police building here in Ouaga. The story started like this... 

Tony, the overlander, is currently heading South from Europe and has been traveling with various overlanders along the route. His video clips, majority unedited, show the conditions and certainly make you want to be there...

Land Rover Discovery - 10 Reasons why...

Footloose 4x4 prepared Discovery

Ten reasons why I think an aging Land Rover Discovery is currently the best choice as a Trans-Africa overland vehicle when purchasing, equipping, modifying and departing the UK.
Here's the scenario: You are an independent overlander and have £20000 to find a vehicle, complete your dream Trans-Africa overland trip, and have enough money to do the main tourist activities like seeing the Gorillas and climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in East Africa.  That means no more than £7000 on the vehicle and £14k for the trip...

Here's my ten reasons: