Land Rover Archives - TRAVELBUCKET

MEET WALLACE

Wallace is our newly acquired, but already loved 2003 Td5 Land Rover. Not so young in years, but still going strong! Since Wallace arrived in our family there was some minor changes to it. First of all we had to change the number plates that it does not read “GP” anymore. Second major thing that needed to be done was to fix the oil leak (of course!). Then we started to fit some smaller things from our previous vehicles – an awning to one side for some protection against the harsh African sun and the unpredictable rain when we travel. Wallace’s story starts under the post: The Life of a Landy Wife First things first. A list of “essentials” was drawn up versus a list of “nice to haves” as our budget is not unlimited at the moment. Now everyone has a different “essentials” list and a different “nice to… Read more >

MALGAS PONTOON – THE LAST HAND OPERATED PONTOON

A pontoon is a simple floating barge designed to get vehicles across a river, and the word is often shortened to pont. If you like to explore the back roads of South Africa the route through the Overberg that will take you to the pont at Malgas across the Breede River is a worthwhile, one of a kind experience. What makes the Malgas pont rather special? It is the only remaining hand-drawn pont of its kind in the country. There are at least two other pontoons that comes to mind when writing about this topic, but they are not hand-drawn – the one over the Kei River in the Eastern Cape and the one at Sendelingsdrift in the Richtersveld crossing the Orange River in the Northern Cape but it is not the same as the hand-drawn one at Malgas. I am adding these two pontoon crossing to Wallace’s travel list! The… Read more >

THE FINAL GOODBYE …

So the day of saying goodbye to Livingstone has arrived ….. Treasuring the last couple of hours with Livingstone the new super excited owner of our beloved 1962 Series II Landy was picked up in Livingstone (what else?) at the George Airport to meet his new love. Time was really running out …… we need to say a final goodbye. Livingstone was washed one last time by my Malawian garden keeper, who is always very proud to be entrusted with the Land Rover, before turning up for the final photo shoot. We knew that this hour will come, but all the while we were hoping from the bottom of our hearts for the slightest chance of NOT parting with Livingstone. Somehow reality was catching up on us. We were holding thumbs that Livingstone will find a really passionate new owner and we were fortunate enough to find him. Thank… Read more >

AN EMOTIONAL DECISION

This will not be a long post, but rather a reflection to capture the times we had with Livingstone. A very emotional decision was made last night to sell Livingstone. It is time to say goodbye to our beloved Landy. As I am writing this my eyes are filled with tears and my heart with a little bit of sadness … Both my husband and I got so attached to our daily drive with the dogs. Even the dogs associate the sound of the Landy and the jingle of the keys with their daily walk. I hope that we will find the right owner for Livingstone and that his new owner will be a real Landy lover and drive him with the necessary passion and respect. Go well Livingstone, you are leaving your oil marks in my heart ….

HISTORIC MONTAGU PASS

The historic Montagu pass is situated in my town’s backyard . When you take the N12 from George towards Oudtshoorn you will find the sign to turn right onto a gravel road. Calm down and don’t be in a hurry when following this road. It is very narrow with only single lane traffic possible and no trailers, caravans and trucks are allowed and just a special warning: it is popular with mountain bikers coming down hill at great speeds! At several occasions we narrowly missed these projectiles. I swear that they do not have nerves or they are so high on adrenaline that they do not think straight …. Travelling with a 1962 Landy we do not have a choice other than to go slow, very slow and enjoy the ever changing views of the Outeniqua mountains covered in all shades of green, purple and pink as the flowers… Read more >

WHERE IS THE NEXT CUPPA?

We are really enjoying our 1962 Landy now after the rebuild has been completed. We regularly go for a “coffee drive” where I pack my Stanley flask with steaming coffee and we just explore all the scenic passes in our own backyard. What a joy and privilege to live in the Garden Route. Some times we take the dogs along with for the ride. Chuck, the Fox Terrier, just loves it, but Pilot, the Jack Russel, is sometimes a bit nervous, but he is getting better the more he rides. Lately we have a new dog addition to the family – a Bull Terrier named Fiela – which we are training to enjoy the drives but sometimes it gets a bit busy at the back. Hoofseun, aka Pilot, is trying his best to teach her although he is not a very good traveller. Life passes you slowly when you drive… Read more >

LIVINGSTONE AND STANLEY

While all wrapped up in winter woollies we traversed the Outeniqua pass towards Oudtshoorn before sunrise. Our aim for the day was Minwater 4×4 (owned by Louis Jordaan) near Oudtshoorn with Livingstone the Landy accompanied by Stanley (the coffee flask) – two true explorers side by side! As the sun was starting to lift its head there was time for a quick early morning cup of coffee and a rusk with Stanley providing the hot water source. It was on the chilly side so we did not linger long before we continued the drive. The sun was slow to rise and the shadows cold and deep. We had breakfast while the fog was still hanging low over Oudtshoorn and the valley down below. What a privilege to live in Africa and enjoy life from the window of your old Land Rover. We all enjoyed a nice day out in… Read more >

Tag Archive: Land Rover