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Page 1
History
Project Petit Trot was born on the 4th August 2000, the eve of the departure of two dear French tourists, Severine and Henri from Nice. After communicating for close to a year about their forth coming holiday to Southern Africa, they arrived at Johannesburg on May 2000. They wanted to buy a 4x4 to explore the "Off The Beaten Tracks" of Southern Africa. But they could not afford more than R40000 to rent or pay for a 2nd hand 4x4 as they intended to travel for 6 months.Severine and Henri are two people who didn't want to travel on the back of a Safari truck, nor did they want to go with an organized tour, they want to DIY. On the long run, DIY way is the cheapest, your time is your own and you can do what you pleases.
But there are some notes to take and preparations are vital.
The French Story
Severine and Henri wanted to buy a 4x4 when they arrive in Johannesburg. They arrived at the Johannesburg International, contacted a pre arranged Backpackers Inn to fetch them. The Backpackers Inn was just outside the Johannesburg CBD. They bought the local newspaper, the Autotrader and the Junkmail, ready for their search for a 2nd hand 4x4 for R40000.They phoned a man about the 4x4 advertised in the newspaper, it is still available but the engine needs some attention or another reply, yes its roadworthy but need this and that or another, yes its still available but the 4x4 is in Vlaktesondernaam, a small town 400 km from the Backpackers Inn and the owner doesn't want to drive all the way to Johannesburg to show them the car. Is it safari ready? No, Severine and Henri had to make it safari ready and where are they going to do it and where are they going to find the items to make the 4x4 safari ready. They are strangers in a strange country, ready to be ripped off from their hard saved savings. This could have happened.
But...
Fortunately for Severine and Henri, they've met me. I could not fetch them at the airport but two days later they were our guests at our home. Via e-mail and the news papers prior to their arrival, I've searched for a 4x4 for them and discovered that the only vehicle that will fit their needs and budget, is a Land Rover Series III. Why a Land Rover?
A Land Rover fitted their budget and is more freely available. Land Rover is the only "long cabin" vehicle, if you plan to sleep inside. Spare parts are more available and inter changeable than any other older 4x4's especially if you want to go to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia. Land Rover is more easier to work on if needed, very little electronic gadgets onboard. A Land Rover is also the highest standard vehicle on the road, great for game viewing and for some of the rough 4x4 trails in Southern Africa.
But, a Land Rover is not the fastest vehicle on the tar road. Very little or no luxuries onboard, and as it gets older, less reliable so are the other vehicles on the road. But, a well looked after and serviced Land Rover will last longer than your visit to Southern Africa. That's why there are still so many Land Rover Series II & III on the road in Southern Africa! You need time to prepare your Land Rover for the dream trip into Africa, a day or two or even a week or two is not enough to prepare and check the Land Rover or any other vehicle.
Yes, you can buy any vehicle with a road worthy certificate in South Africa, meaning that the vehicle is fit to be driven on the road but its no guarantee that there are hidden faults with the vehicle. You bought it "voetstoots" meaning "as is" and can not complain to the previous owner about faults unless the previous owner gave you a period guarantee, but that's not the norm. If you buy any vehicle from a private owner, you don't pay sales tax, but if you buy it from a dealer you have to pay the current sales tax or VAT of 14%.
Severine and Henri bought there Landrover after a test drive. There were some faults
and the dealer agreed to fix them and to put the vehicle through the test for its road worthy certificate. Without this certificate you can not change ownership and can not registrar the vehicle on to your name.
Everything was done and a few days later Severine and Henry was the proud owner of a Land Rover Series III. Henry baptized it Petit Trot. With me as their guide, we did the necessary shopping to prepare Petit Trot for the safari. Soon Severine discovered that the preparations is becoming a bit expensive, they originally wanted a rooftop tent, to costly, a 12v fridge, to costly, recovery gear, to costly and the they had to do with that they could afford. Fortunately the Land Rover was equipped with two long range fuel tanks and a 45 liter water tank so those costs were included into the original price of the vehicle. I provided them with some camping gear.
We've spent several days building a bed inside the car, rewire for 12v power points. Fortunately the engine and gearbox was in a sound condition so were other vital parts of the vehicle. The outside of Petit Trot was nothing to brag about, it needed a fresh coat of paint, there were scratches, it was not neat but that did not worried the French to much.
Several days later and on my advise they took the road to test the vehicle and to return back for necessary repairs before their long journey into the unknown. A few days later I received a phone call "Stephan, we are at this place and the gear box is broken!" First, Severine's English was not the best and secondly neither was my French so we had a bit of a communication problem! After a few attempts to find what really the problem was, I've discovered that it must be the clutch and prepared to go and fetch them, to tow them back if necessary, a full 660 km forth and back journey. I was prepared to deliver this service to them as we've became good friends in the short period they stayed with us and I was sad to see that just maybe they could not continue their dream holiday.
Fortunately it was nothing serious, only a brand new clutch slave unit that was a bit sticky, and the problem was rectified by a passing mechanic. After their arrival back to "base" we attend to a list of small problems. To make a long story short, they did eventually cross the the border to Namibia but without some nagging problems, which could have been fixed before the journey had they had the time for it. As they were about to leave Namibia for Botswana, they could not find enough Botswana currency in Windhoek, only P150 and that is not enough to fill one tank of the Land Rover! They decided to call it a day and took the long road back to Johannesburg to end their holiday. The reliability of the Land Rover was a big concern as both did not had enough basic mechanical knowledge for such trip and old vehicle. Travel through Africa can be more expensive than you've budgeted for and their available funds were very low, but they promised me, they will return for another visit.
The lesson to learn here is that you need a vehicle that will not let you down and drain your holiday budget and unfortunately such vehicle to buy is very scares, regarding make or model. To prepare the vehicle for a full blown safari is expensive, it took me three years so far to equip my Land Rover due to costs of certain items, how are the foreigner going to do it in less than a week! And after the wonderful safari, how quick will you be able to sell the vehicle before your flight back home and the risk to let go of your investment for more than a bargain just because you have to catch a plane!
That is were Project Petit Trot started.
Petit Trot's last trip to Pretoria before restoration.
