I can just about smell Johannesburg; Google Maps on my phone tells me we have less than 200 miles to go and we’ve been up since 5.00am. Our plan was to drive all the way from Kasane, on the banks of the charming Chobe River in northern Botswana, to Johannesburg, a distance of 750 miles. We are breaking my first rule of African travel: don’t drive at night. A few seconds ago my co-driver had asked why not? “Here you see some crazy things at night. Drunk drivers, animals on the road and people running out of driving talent. It can kill you. Definitely not worth the risk.” We have less than five minutes to go before we turn off this dark and dangerous country road onto the main N1 toll road which is well lit and has several lanes. It connects South Africa with Zimbabwe.
I am behind the wheel of the big old 130 – Land Rover’s new Defender 130s have not yet hit the market here, though I have seen one. I love this old girl and she’s fitted with every Front Runner accessory ever made. She has been our chef, shower and cold beer provider on this trip.
Old Defender 130s make great expedition trucks due to their size and carrying capacity, plus they just look cool. I remember driving one across the dry lake of Chew Bahir in southern Ethiopia and it was a mega adventure. I start to think back to that trip… Holy moly! The truck approaching from the front has its
