Unique Toyota Land Cruiser 79 Series

I knew that Land Rovers had a tendency to be radically modified until I came across these two Toyota Land Cruiser 79Series.

Toyota Zone, the magazine for Toyota owners in South Africa, published two articles with links to the unique Land Cruisers below...  Be sure to click on the photos to read the full articles on the Toyota Zone website:

The Collins Family Land Cruiser Camper

Schalk and Retha Kruger - Six Wheel Land Cruiser

Land Rover Ambulance - A neat alternative!

Land Rover Defender Ambulance

Overlanding in a warm climate is ideal and offers the benefits of living outside your vehicle but often the overland route is not across the plains of Africa and rather rambling over the Mongolian Plateau.  In that scenario, having an overland camper is perfect.  When the foul weather rolls in, you can quickly and easily hibernate in the camper away from the rough weather.

 I had just returned from my Trans-Africa trip so was in no position to make an offer on this nicely kitted Land Rover Defender Ambulance which I spotted for sale in 2006. I am not sure who the current owner is - if you do know, please get in touch.

Thirty Thousand - Film Review

Why do you travel overland?  Is it to claim a title of completing a continent overland?  Is it to explore cultures? Or simply to surf uncharted waters along the West coast of Africa?

This is exactly what three Australian surfers did in 2010.  Andrew, Richard and Tristan equipped a Toyota Land Cruiser troopy and headed South searching for those uncharted surfing waves along the West coast of Africa.   The emphasis of their trip was not the overland travel, rather the surf.

I managed to squeeze into a packed cinema to watch the premier of their film which has been launched on DVD as well.  The film is only 50min long but keeps you entertained as the crew head South highlighting a few surfing spots along the West coast.  Majority of the film is focused on the surf which will appeal to all surfers, however, it has just enough content of the African continent to keep you watching.

Adventure Travel Film Festival - Australia 2012

The Adventure Travel Film Festival 2012

Exciting news... the Adventure Travel Film Festival, hosting by Austin Vince and Lois Pryce is coming to Australia.
The event dates are Friday 24th February to Sunday 26th February 2012.  The event will be held in Bright, VIC.

Be sure to watch the Film Festival preview as it is a sure way to excite you and make you want to attend!

Africa Overland Vehicle Choice - 2011 Statistics

The main focus for the Africa Overland Network is to link past, current and future independent overland websites.  As a result, the website has captured journey time, primary route and vehicle choice. It is currently the most updated website dedicated to independent overlanders.  As a result, the statistics on vehicle choice and travel time tell an interesting story.

Leading up to 2010, the Land Rover was the preferred vehicle of choice for the overlander.  There were a number of reason why Land Rover was the preferred vehicle:  Majority of trip started from the North and headed South across Africa.  The cost of equipping a Land Rover was generally cheaper in the Northern hemisphere due to the availability of spare parts, overland accessories and certified mechanics.
Toyota was catching up - with the cost of the vehicle, availability of spares and accessories, the landscape was changing... The Toyota Land Cruiser was becoming affordable, and offered an alternative to Land Rover.
You can read all about Land Rover vs Toyota in the 2010 report: Which Overlander?

Big Changes in 2011
This year has been an interesting one... two big highlights have occurred that are worth mentioning.

London to Cape Town in 10 Minutes

Happy New Year folks!

As part of a look back at our Africa Overland trip, we compiled a 10 minute film that offers an insight into the road conditions you are going to face if you travel the West Coast / Central African route towards South Africa.  From the deserts of North Africa and the lush greens of West Africa to the mud of Cameroon and rain forest of Gabon, this video has the lot.

 You can down load the GPS track and way points for the entire route at our GPS page

                                               London to Cape Town in 10 Minutes Film

We did a fair bit of off-road driving as well as main roads so the video has a mix of road types for you to see.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we did driving it!

Safe travels!

Nick
www.langebaan-sunset.com
Twitter

Importing your 4x4 into South Africa (Duty Free)

Hi folks, if you are reading this, you are either about to embark on an overland trip, taking part in one or just about to complete one. Either way, if you are a returning South African (like my wife) we want to share our experience of importing our 4x4 (Land Rover) duty free into SA after our London to Cape Town trip 2010/11 Latest news / About us - Langebaan Sunset - Stonehenge UK to Cape Town SA - 2010/11.  [This process is likely to be the same for a motorbike or truck traveling on a Carnet]


We offer the following summary / check list for any returning South African citizen that has a foreign registered vehicle and wishes to import it into SA free of duty. There are several things that you need to consider BEFORE you set out as there are some items that need to be addressed in your departing country before you set out on your journey if you want to avoid a lot of hassle when you get to South Africa. Even though there are various guidelines available on this process, things "on the ground" are often different and even our clearing agent in Cape Town had to jump through a few hoops.

The Adventure Travel Film Festival 2012 - Preview

Hosted by Austin Vince and Lois Pryce, the UK Adventure Travel Film Festival is a must for the 2012 diary.

The Adventure Travel Film Festival

Here's a sneak preview which the team have created to entice us to participate in the 2012 event:

Rough Guide to Richard Trillo

Richard Trillo - Author

Taking a good travel guide book with you on your overland journey is mandatory. A good travel guide book can remind you that there are often remote locations that are easily accessible with your own vehicle and worth the visit.

I recently stumbled across the author of The Rough Guide to West Africa and The Rough Guide to Kenya on the internet.  Richard Trillo, author of the two books mentioned above and author of First-Time Africa keeps various blogs and his twitter account active with various updates to his books, and interesting commentary via twitter.

Richard Trillo's Amazon Bio:

I first went to Africa in 1977, with a vague idea that I could hitchhike all the way to Timbuktu from my family home in the New Forest. I left with a friend, with $100 each and a copy of the Michelin map. No guidebooks, no mobile phones, not much sense. We got to the fabled city, and home again, largely by good luck and the kindness of others, having learned what a visa is (a hard lesson when you're already half way across the Sahara and the embassy is in Algiers) and what malaria feels like. Back in the UK I went to university, got a degree in sociology, and later went to London University's School of Oriental & African Studies to do a Master's Degree in East African Ethnography and Linguistics.

Africa Orbital

A fantastic photograph from the Africa Orbital team - Western Sahara (Nov 2010)