After a long and arduous search (on an ultra tight budget), we have finally secured a car for the trip. The goal posts have shifted significantly since we started the search three months ago looking for a Diesel Land Rover Defender 110. We have eventually found our match in a 1995 Petrol Toyota Land Cruiser in a colour the previous owner called “champagne”. The engine needs a bit of a rebuild but she should soon be in tip top shape.
Numerous lengthy discussions with 4×4 enthusiasts have made me realize there are essentially two types: Land Rover drivers and Toyota drivers. Ownership of a Land Rover gives you access to a tight knit community. Their drivers give a friendly wave to every Landie they pass on the road, they view mechanical failures as “part of the adventure” and a chance to make new friends and, in the words of my Landie mechanic friend Org from East Pretoria, think that “all Toyota drivers are c*nts”.
Toyota drivers, on the other hand, are completely indifferent to this rivalry and do not support the idea of spending most of their holiday staring into their bonnet. After many years as the flagship vehicle for UN operations in Africa, Land Cruiser spares and expertise are about as common as cockroaches throughout the continent. Considering Shea and I are both equally useless at navigating our way around an engine, this seemed the logical choice.
Joburg to Scotland 