overland vehicle fitting

psw wrote:
> Many thanks for the very welcome advice and I'll certainly take
> it all on board. My plan is to go wherever my fancy takes me and
> where the sun is shining, avoiding the rainy seasons where possible.
> The biggest consideration I have at the moment is whether to purchase
> the vehicle and fit it out in the UK, then either ship it to SA or drive it
> down through Spain, or buy and fit it in SA. Whereas
> there is no end of places in the UK that will fit out vehicles and a huge
> range to choose from, I know nothing about what's available in SA.
> Personal recommendations are worth there weight in gold.
>
> once again many thanks
>
> "psw" <pw005c RemoveThis @blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:PkjMg.15953$r61.11045@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>
>>I'm planning to do some extensive travelling in Africa and to that end
>>will be buying a vehicle and getting it fitted out for overland travel. I
>>would really welcome any recommendations with regard where to purchase a
>>suitable vehicle, I was looking at Land Rover Defenders or Toyota Land
>>Cruisers, and companies that could outfit the vehicle for that sort of
>>travel. I am very flexible in terms of country.
>>
>>many thanks
>>
>
> outh Africa are very high
>
Used prices in South Africa are very high so it would be best to buy in
the UK. South Africans might be better at fitting out but you have to
consider the time you would spend there; if you have the wanderlust,
South Africa is not really the place to kick your heels. If you buy
there, you need to consider registration problems, and so on.
Driving down through Spain? If you don't have the experience, I would
say you will never get to the south, there are war zones blocking just
about every route. I am not brave enough. The best areas to wander are
the southern countries bordering SA: Namibia, Botswana, up tp Zambia,
Malawi, maybe Tanzania. They would keep you ocupied for a year or two,
they are game rich, speak English and are generally friendy.
Best advice: Buy and fit here. Ship to Cape Town or Durban, use a
carnet de passage to enable you to cross borders with ease. and get out
there!
By the way. People all over can repair landrovers as Marc says. You
know why? They are always breaking down!
 >> Stay informed about: overland vehicle fitting 

Oh, Ha Ha Philip, like I haven't heard that one before... (read
this line with a sarcastic tone...)

Good advice generally from Philip, however, I'd suggest rather
shipping the vehicle unfitted down here, and doing the fitments here.

Much of the stuff that gets fitted in the UK is made in SA anyway
(Frontrunner, EasiAwn, Howling Moon, B'rakah, Safari Centre, etc.)
If the shipping cost is acceptable, I'd ship the vehicle to
Johannesburg (although it's 400km inland, Jo'burg is considered a
cargo port) and have it fitted in Jo'burg.

Why do I recommend fitting in Jo'burg? Well several reasons really:
1) There's plenty to do here while you're spending a few days fitting
the vehicle.
2) Jo'burg is far more business-like and customer oriented than Cape
Town and Durban, so you'll get more competitive pricing, and better
service.
3) Jo'burg fitment centres have FAR more experience with the products.
4) Jo'burg makes an excellent base in which to gather information
about routes, planning, last minute purchases etc. I can't emphasise
just how much bigger Johannesburg is than any other city in Africa,
not in sheer size or population (it has a lower population than Lagos
and Cairo), but in terms of infrastructure, access to amenities,
business opportunities, access to information, access to expertise,
access to local and imported produce etc. etc. etc.
5) It's only about 400km from Jo'burg to the Botswana, Zimbabwe,
Mozambique, Lesotho, or Swaziland borders. Cape Town is 1600km away
from Jo'burg. Even southern Mozambique (and Jo'burg) is 600km from
Durban.

Regarding your route... You need to plan VERY carefully if you want to
drive from Europe through to South Africa.

At the moment your best entry into Africa is probably through Morocco
or Tunisia as Algeria is a nightmare, Libya can be very problematic,
and there is quite a lot of difficulty with foreign registered
vehicles in Egypt.

If you get into Egypt or Djibouti or Eritrea, then you have two
significan problems along your route: Somalia and Sudan. I strongly
advise agains Somalia. There is a VERY GOOD chance that you will
either lose the vehicle, die, or both. Sudan will be a problem in the
south where it is currently very dodgy.

Once you're in Kenya or Ethiopia it's plain sailing (and very
enjoyable) all the way to Cape Town, no matter which route you choose.
Personally I'd go Kenya, west into Uganda, south through Uganda into
Tanzania, east across Tanzania, and then south to Malawi. South
through Malawi, then south east into Mozambique. You then go south all
the way through Mozambique, or you go south to Beira, and then head
west into Zimbabwe, then south to SA.

I don't know the westerly route too well, but you have several problem
countries: Equatorial Guinea is a problem, and Central African
Republic is a definite no-no. DR Congo is a VERY dodgy country to
travel through because of an unstable political climate, and because
of sheer beaurocratic non-sense. Both CAR and DRC have virtually no
road infrastructure, and it's foolhardy to travel through in only one
vehicle.

I agree with Philip that travelling in Southern and Eastern Africa is
more than interesting enough for several years worth of travel.

Regards,
Marc

On Sat, 16 Sep 2006 22:02:20 +0100, Philip
<philip DeleteThis @touchthewildzzz.com> wrote:


>By the way. People all over can repair landrovers as Marc says. You
>know why? They are always breaking down!
 >> Stay informed about: overland vehicle fitting 

Marc Lurie wrote:
> Oh, Ha Ha Philip, like I haven't heard that one before... (read
> this line with a sarcastic tone...)
>
> Good advice generally from Philip, however, I'd suggest rather
> shipping the vehicle unfitted down here, and doing the fitments here.

Hi Marc....excuse us, psw for talking across you here......I have had 3
landrovers in my time, from an old series one to an early td5 and I just
love them. If I had unlimited wealth, I would buy another one tomorrow.
I just wouldn't want to be on my own in Koakaland in one, the Japs
have it for reliability, I'm afraid.
Anyway, I agree with you about Jo'burg, I used to store my Colt and
Xplorer caravan there as convenient to get to Botswana. The point I
meant to make was that unless you have a friend to help you and put you
up for..how many weeks to fit out?.....South Africa, and Jo'burg in
particular is not a very nice place to be waiting around in.

Phil
 >> Stay informed about: overland vehicle fitting 

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 >> Stay informed about: overland vehicle fitting 

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 >> Stay informed about: overland vehicle fitting