Route & Equipment

Click here to see detailed route and schedule

The Vehicle

In order to undertake a journey of this sort as four people together in a single vehicle, you require a special sort of 4x4. After doing the research and evaluating several options we settled on a 2001 diesel Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4 that has been fully customized for overland travel through Africa.

The Cruiser is powered by a 4.2L, straight six cylinder engine with a custom-installed turbo.  It comes equipped with a triple battery system - two batteries to support the engine and one to power our ancillary equipment (fridges, camp lighting, etc) - an air-conditioning unit and an "in-the-cab" lockable safe.

Perhaps the most crucial customization was converting the Cruiser into a double cab which allows all four adults to ride in comfort over the rough African roads.  Without this bit of customization we would have had to resort to driving two vehicles or one vehicle with a trailer - neither option fit with our plans.

The vehicle is completely customized for our overland enjoyment and to go into the details of each customization would be too long and detailed however here are few highlights:

4x4 and Driving Equipment

2x Diesel Fuel Tanks - primary tank holds 70L and secondary tank holds 170L - giving the Cruiser a fuel range of approximately 1,500 kms.

Fuel pump - to pump diesel from secondary to primary tank.

4x Super Rally high-powered spotlights - two mounted on grill and two above the windshield.

1x Front Differential Locks

1x Back Differential Locks

ARB 4x4 Air Compressor - to support differential lock 4x4 features, pump tyres and fill airbags.

4x BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain tubeless tyres (primary)

2x Dunlop SP Qualifier tube tyres (spares)

1x Safari Snorkel for air intake during water crossings and to prevent dust from clogging the engine

Old Man Emu Shock Absorbers

2x Airbags which can be filled to even out the vehicle balance in the case of unbalanced loading or when parked on an angle (ie. To level out the truck / roof top tents to eliminate the need to sleep on an angle)

Camping Equipment

2x Eezi-Awn rooftop tents, each comfortably accommodating two adults off the ground and away from rocks, sticks, water and (of course) wild animals.

2x Awnings one in the rear and one on the passenger side -crucial for shade from the relentless African sun and, as it turns out, protection from urinating baboons.

1x Water Tank - 115L fresh water tank with three access taps - high pressure, low pressure and hose connection.

1x Gas Powered Shower which hooks up to the high pressure water tap.

2x Battery Powered Refrigerators

6x external battery powered lights for visibility around the campsite

3x CADAC gas canisters for camp stoves

2x Outback Roller Drawers for food and equipment storage

1x Axe

1x Camp Saw

1x Shovel

1x Fold-out Table

6x Camp Chairs

1x Hand washing Station

Safety / Recovery Equipment

2x Fire Extinguishers

1x High-lift Jack

1x 10,000 lbs Winch and associated rescue equipment (snatch block, tow straps, kinetic rope, etc)

2x Sand Grates for recovery traction in deep sand or mud

1x Garmin GPS V Unit

Other Equipment

12 Disc JVC CD Changer

1x In-cab Lockable Safe