Africa 4x4
Cafe |
AFRICA
4X4 CAFE:
overland 4x4s for sale in Southern and Eastern Africa. The 4x4 Cafe offers overlanders
and visitors to Africa: 4x4 rental and purchase; safari
& overland expedition planning, booking and provisioning;
tyre & vehicle repairs and vehicle mod'ing. Click
on the image above to visit the Africa 4x4 Cafe.
S1.27269
E36.76140
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The Africa Road Atlas - Mapstudio
A
brilliant set of paper maps that can be used for route planning
and for day to day driving.
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Enthokozweni
Safaris, Zimbabwe
This
richly historical 4000 acre conservation area, close to Bulawayo,
is set in has unspoilt indigenous wilderness with panoramic views
- the sunsets here are quite simply "breathtaking"!
There is an abundance of wildlife - Leopard, Giraffe, Wildebeast,
Zebra, Sable and other plainsgame.
Numerous species of bird are common due to a wide varirty of habitat
types and a variety r of activities are offered to suit all tastes:
guided game drives; hiking trails; pony trails; fishing and bird
watching.
Booking
enquiries.
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Platypus 4x4:
Sponsors of my recovery kit. They're a new 4x4 company who's
main product lines are: recovery equipment (Black Rat), interior
storage consoles (Car Console Supplies) and oil products (Nullon),
all directly imported from Australia. Of course they will be expanding
this range as clients make their needs known, just talk to James.
If anything takes your fancy, please make sure you mention that
you came via my site.
www.platypus4x4.com
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CHIPATA, Zambia:
Dean's Hilltop Lodge: a great place to stop in Chipata, Zambia.
Close to South Luangwa National Park and the Malawi border.
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For
all your health enquiries.
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Where's
Enzo? Brighton
Uni
The
purpose of this website is to promote self-drive safaris and overlanding
in East and Southern Africa and so this site contains lots of specific
information on vehicle preparation for those environments. My current
overlanding vehicle is a modified UK spec Toyota 4Runner (also known
as a Hilux Surf)
with the 3 litre Turbo Diesel engine. A few bolt-on mods turned
this into a vehicle fit for any overland adventure! Most of the
mods (and any problems I experienced or could
have experienced) are descibed in the following pages and if
you have any questions please do not hesitate to email
me.
In
it's chrome & bling pre-expedition form a Surf may not look
like a contender but with it's reliable, pre-EFI, 1KZ-T engine (PDF
Manual for KZ-TE engine) and plenty of load space don't let
anyone tell you it is not a "serious" choice for overlanding.
They look great, are reasonable to buy and with the help of a few
mods, will take you on the adventure of a lifetime.
My
trips (available under Expeditions)
have taken me from Isiolo in Kenya through the Aberdares; Amboseli;
Bagamoyo; Chobe; Dar es Salaam; Ngorongoro; Maasai Mara; Mombasa;
Serengeti; Zanzibar; Stewart Gore-Brown's "Shiwa Ngandu";
Kapishya Hot Springs; Kruger and the magnificent Victoria Falls
Hwange National Park before arriving atbour own "Africa House"
in Bulawayo close to the Matopas.
Now
as a diversion from my wife's desperate pleas for me to stop dreaming
of our next trip, I've found a few good quotations that you might
enjoy:
“Those
who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the
day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous
men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.”
T. E. Lawrence , The Seven
Pillars of Wisdom.
"There
is something about safari life that makes you forget all your sorrows
and feel as if you had drunk half a bottle of champagne - bubbling
over with heartfelt gratitude for being alive. One only feels really
free when one can go in whatever direction one pleases over the
plains, to get to the river at sundown and pitch one's camp, with
the knowledge that one can fall asleep beneath other trees, with
another view before one, the next night"
Karen
Blixen, Kenya.
"No
man can live this life and emerge unchanged. He will carry the imprint
of the desert, the brand which marks the nomad; and he will have a
yearning to return. For this cruel land can cast a spell which no
temperate climate can match."
Wilfred Thesiger, Explorer.
"Preparation
is an art not a science, detailed planning necessarily fails due to
the inevitable frictions it encounters: chance events, imperfections
in execution, and the independent will of the opposition."
Von Clausewitz, Military Strategist.
"England
is too small. Much too small. I shall go to Africa. I need space."
Denys
Finch Hatton, White Hunter.
"One
of the gladdest moments of human life, methinks, is the departure
upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty
effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak
of many cares and the slavery of home, man feels once more happy."
Sir Richard Burton, Explorer.
Hamba
Kahle, Famba Zvakanaka, Safari Njema, Go Well,
©
Jeremy & Thoko Elphick-Pooley, MMVIII
Self-Drive Safaris in East and Southern Africa
www.Africa4x4Cafe.com
| UK
Mobile: |
+44
(0) 7878 010 352 |
| UK
Landline |
+44
(0) 1273 600 793 |
| ZW
Landline |
+263
(0) 9 241 131 |
| email |
|
The Overland Forum
The website of the bulletin board. If there
is anything you need to learn about Overlanding then these are the
chaps to ask. Featuring travel news, travellers' reports, country
information and other resources, this is where your adventure starts.
Luangwablondes
A comprehensive collection of information
and resources for the visitors to Zambia. Includes a self-drive
safaris.
Horizons Unlimited
The HUBB is a bulletin board devoted to adventure
travel and focuses primarily on the North African deserts. Primarily
for bikes, there are two 4x4 sections plus plenty of travel related
discussions on kit, vehicles, navigation etc. A brilliant site for
truly up to date info on the Sahara and it's surrounds.
Africa Overland Network
A superb collection of past, current and future
overland trips. Great sources of inspiration.
Explore Oz Forum
An
Australian 4x4 forum that is full of fantastic advice and very experienced
4x4 drivers and outdoor enthusiasts.
| FREE 4x4 Driving
Manual: |
| Desert Expeditions:
Oldie
but a goodie. Planning criteria, equipment, vehicles for desert
terrain, fuel, food and water, personnel and training, driving
and vehicle recovery, photography, vehicle maintenance, modification
and tyres, medical and desert survivial, navigation, maps
and rescue aids. Written by Tom Sheppard, for the Royal
Geographical Society, GB.
This
book is now out of print but a PDF file can be downloaded
free of charge.
or
from my server here. |
| African GPS
info: |
| Tracks 4 Africa:
Fantastic set of digital maps for your laptop and GPS. Brilliant
for pre-expedition trip planning.
http://www.tracks4africa.com
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Jungle Junction
Amboselli
Lane, Lavington, Nairobi
S1
17.325 E36 45.635
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NGORONGORO,
Tanzania: Traffic jam in the Crater. The road from
Arusha to the NCA is pretty damned good - however as soon as
you get into the NCA the roads fall apart. The crater is great
but very expensive: 50USDpp plus a 200USD crater entry fee.
Click on the picture to enlarge.
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MALAWI: Bridge crossing. Note
the solar panel on the roof for running the cooler and charging
a camp light. IPF lights on the roof for night driving (not particularly
recomended, night driving that is) and a full length roof rack
perfect for a roof tent and all the assorted crap that my wife
refused to leave home without!
Click on the picture to enlarge.
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NANYUKI, Kenya:
Crossing the Equator going north
at Nanyuki. The spare was off being repaired and since then I've
bought another two: they usually live on the roofrack. Check the
British and Zimbabwean number plates.
The
corrugations shook loose the pins from two bow shackles (one fore
and one aft), a retaining bolt on the hi-lift, broke the drop
arm on the rear sway bar and caused my only flat tyre of the journey.
Although you can't really see it, I've extended the front skid
plate all the way from the bullbar back to the back end of the
sump. Plus I've emoved both anti-sway bars - can't tell the difference
myself!
Since arriving in Kenya, I've taken off the rear bumper and am
having a piece of 3" square pipe welded onto the tow bar
in it's place. I've also removed the side steps - Jasmine &
Thoko now need a boost to get in - but will be fabricating some
"sliders" soon.
Since I removed the under-slung spare and bolted on the rear carrier,
I'm going to re-route the exhaust - straight through to the rear
if I can, as it's just too exposed where it is at the moment.
Although the vehicle looks "high", and therefore has
plenty of clearance, it really only has about 10" as I am
still limited by the rear diff.
Click on the picture to enlarge.
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