Monster Trans Africa Trip
 

I need help - big time!

I am travelling solo in my gold 1982 range rover vogue 3.5l V8 petrol from switzerland all the way to Cape Town!

The basic plan is to get as much cheap petrol in Libya as I can carry (I have a small trailer as well), and then use all the petrol to get as far south as possible.

My itnenary keeps changing, however the only thing I am pretty sure about is my estimated departure and final destination.

Departure: April 2002.
Arrival: 3 to 6 months later.

Route:

Genoa to Tunis OR Venice to Alexandria.

If Tunis, then route T1, L1, L3 and L5 from Chris Scott's book (Thanks Chris).
Then either on to Jebel Uweinat or Alex (with all the fuel, I can't do dunes!)

If Alexandria, then all the way down to Aswan. The 953 states restricted route from Aswan south - so how do I continue? If I go to Port Sudan and then through Eritrea and Ethiopia, I can't take too much weight...

Another option is after L5 in Libya, going through Chad and Sudan and Uganda.

A little bit about my vehicle:

My vehicle is a Gold Y reg Range Rover Petrol 3.5l V8.
I purchased it over 3 years ago from a guy in Bristol who had his own garage and was a keen ballooner. It still has the 1998 Bristol Balloon Fiesta pass on the windscreen. I have spent a small fortune on this vehicle and plan to keep it forever in South Africa (if I make it).
It cost me 3000 pounds and I must have spent another 2000 at least.
It has twin electric Kenlo fans (original fan removed), Oil cooler kit in front of radiator, Twin batteries, air con disconnected, electrics in a complete mess, new water pump, new alternator, a few new relays and bulbs, no interior headlining or electric window controls!
As you can see I still have a bit of work to do on the vehicle over the next few months! I recently performed a service to the vehicle myself and apart from battling with the oil nut for over an hour, and forgetting to replace one of the distributor leads, all went gr8.
I also have a trailer that I plan on taking with through africa, once I have attended to the shocks and tyres!


A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE TRIP:

I have also had some wild idea which I saw on Scraphead Challenge:
If I take the top of a big transit van or something similar, and place it on top of my range rover or trailer, then surely, if by some engineering miracle and a nice cheap outboard engine, I can cover large sections of Africa on the water??? Don't worry, you're not the only person who thinks I'm mad-stupid = even my wife thinks so!

What about the Libya=Chad=CAR=UGANDA option - would that be feasible with loads of fuel.

This whole fuel idea of mine might be dumbfounded, as it is no use being stranded with a tonne a fuel to save a few bucks.

Where can I find the price of fuel in the other African countries?


I would like to get to Cape Town doing the least road miles possible and using as little fuel as possible - which means few dunes, lots of tar and water and maybe a truck or train as well.

I am currently on a South African passport, but will hopefully be receiving my British passport in a few months time. This could be handy having a European and African passport... especially if I lose one.

The plan from Nairobi is to continue south via Tanzania (Zanzibar), Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho and finally all along the east coast of South Africa.

I plan to do the trip solo - yes, on my own! I will obviously try and travel in convoy, as I am not that stupid.

I must go and enjoy the slopes here in Nendaz (near Vervier).




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very mad South African and sometimes even stupid, though generally quite a nice guy!