So what kind of car?
By far the most important aspect of a trip is the car. Not being mechanically minded and with little knowledge on the mechanics of a car, the mechanical soundness of the car is a constant source of concern. Getting the services of a quality mechanic is another challenge as are genuine parts which is important when in the bush. So far we've used 2 cars in Africa:
- Mitsubishi Pajero (1998 GLX 3.5 Petrol) (2005 to 2010)
- Toyota Landcruiser (1996 VX 4.2 Diesel) (2011 to present)
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| The Landcruiser that replaced our old Pajero |
We also always put BF Goodridge All Terrain tyres on the car, so we can be comfortable running the car both on the highways and the rough roads.
Without customising, this of course does limit the ‘off road’ capabilities of the car, but we're not looking for 4x4 driving; we just want to be relatively confident we'll be able to get around Africa without too many major hassles, especially as solo travellers.
We service the car regularly, and insist that the mechanic gives it a thorough going over to see if anything is looking like it may break soon. Once we find a good one, we try to stick to the mechanic so he gets to know the car.
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| Standard Mitsubishi Pajero got us through quite a few years in the bush |
There is no end to how much and what parts you can carry on a trip and with limited space, there is only that much that can be carried. But, because we go to the bush fairly often, we have a collection of spares we carry from one trip to the next:
- Second spare tyre (very NB, chances are if you're driving on roads that cause flats, you'll have more than one! Check out the paid safari vehicles - almost all of them carry 2 spares)
- Mechanical jack (the oil/bottle jacks are not reliable and this cannot fail)
- Iron wheel spanner (don’t settle for cheaper – if your wheel is caked in mud and dust it will be hard to get off)
- Extension for the wheel spanner (metal pipe) to be used as leverage if the wheel nut is stuck and you need to stand on it.
- Solid base to sit the jack on (wood or metal) (you cannot jack up a car on sand unless you have a base)
- Oils - Engine, brake and power steering
- Hoses and coolant for the radiator
- Collection of clamps and other hoses
- Assortment of belts, fuses and bulbs
- Jumper leads
- A selection of lubricants and liquids - WD40, Spark. Gasket maker, Quickstart, Radiator stop leak, steel quickset and all purpose glue.
Toolbox
It’s common for mechanics not to have tools or you may end up in places where you will come across someone who is able to assist but with no tools, so we carry some basics just in case:
- Tester and electrical wire
- Wrench
- Pliers
- Hammer
- Socket set
- Selection of spanners
- Selection of screw drivers
- Electric tape
Car problems we've had
Travelling alone through remote areas, we try to be as cautious as possible, but inevitably something will go wrong with the car. We just try to minimise the damage as much as possible ;) Besides our one (ok, 2) major problem that led to the end of our first car, we haven't had major issues, thanks to our old mechanic in Botswana, and new one in Tanzania. But here are things we just couldn't anticipate:
- Pajero: We had just done 250km from Gaborone to Khutse GR, we stopped because the car was overheating. Despite adding plenty of water, the car was guzzling it. So within sight of the reserve entrance gate, we turned around and headed back to Gabs to sort it out. Thanks to the good relationship with the mechanic, he was able to sort us out on Boxing Day (yes, the day after Christmas!) and we headed out the next day. Turns out it was a faulty radiator cap - from that day on, we carried at least 2 spares with us!
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| Silver lining in the cloud - spotting a caracal while trying to get our broken car back to camp |
- Pajero: Our only other problem with the Pajero (while in Botswana) was a broken stabiliser arm in the middle of Moremi GR. We had been driving, but there was a definite metal sound coming from the back of the car. We decided to head back to the campsite, but there are no mechanics around. Luckily we ran into a South African who gave us the bright idea of using a piece of our sandmat wedged in to stop the rattling. It worked, but the next day we drove back to Maun, got it sorted, and then drove the 2 hours back to Moremi and continued our trip. A bonus to our car problem - when we realised we had a problem and were slowly heading back to camp, we spotted a caracal on the side of the road! Special sightings can happen when you least expect it ;)
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| A very difficult puncture to fix when 3 jacks broke! |
- Pajero: We've only had 2 punctures with the Pajero, mainly because don't drive offroad and we have big thick BF Goodrich tyres. The 1st time, we got the jack out and (of course!) it didn't work... We had to borrow a neighbouring campers' one. So we went out and got ourselves 2 jacks! One of which was a truck jack - it was going to lift that car no matter what ;) Murphy's law - the second puncture happened towards to the evening in Khutse, but we confidently got the first jack out... nope, didn't work. Even more confidently we got the truck jack out - it didn't work either!! With a slash in the tyre, we had to fix it, so we limped to the only other campsite in the area (Khutse is very remote) and luckily we met a couple there enjoying their last night in the Kalahari... And what happened? Just after we'd jacked up the car, and removed the tyre, their jack collapsed (crushing their torch in the process!) and landed on its axle!! Luckily Koos is a South African, and he made a plan... In the end, between Koos and Dru, they actually dug a hole around the flat tyre and changed it that way... a very entertaining night - especially when it started to rain - and our everlasting thanks to Koos and Mandy for letting us ruin their evening (although I think Koos quite enjoyed it)
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| Finally, the hole in the ground is big enough to fit a massive BF Goodridge! |
- Pajero: After taking us to the bush for 5 years in Botswana, and doing an epic trip when we moved from Botswana to Tanzania, the mechanics in Dar es Salaam finally got the better of the Pajero. Twice, we got stuck 40km from the Mikumi NP gate with the same problem, and we finally had to sell it because it was no longer reliable in the bush. For the full story, check it out here
After Kruger (our Pajero) was sold, we were stuck for a year without a car before we chose an old Toyota Landcruiser and christened it Kilimanjaro. But with any old cars, it has a few creaks... so far (touch wood) it hasn't had major dramas after taking us to Serengeti, Mikumi, Selous and Mkomazi... We've had a few minor disruptions though:
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| 4 hours stuck at the Naabi Hill gate, Serengeti |
- Landcruiser: We'd done the day's trip to Arusha from Dar, and were on the really corrugated road to the Serengeti gate, when we heard a noise coming from the back tyre after we stopped for our 1st African wildcat in East Africa. After 4 hours at the Serengeti gate, the problem had a temporary fix - one of the bushes of our brand new shocks had gone. Luckily it wasn't a major drama and we were able to do the whole trip and drive back to Dar without any hassles.
- Landcruiser: While we were in Mkomazi, we stopped to look at something and the car cut out. It did it a few times and then the problem stopped. We decided to be cautious and rather not head north like we'd planned (the area is too remote - if the car had a major problem, we could have been stuck there for days without anyone passing by) Strangely, once we were out of Mkomazi, the problem stopped and we haven't had an issue with it since... sometimes you just can't tell!
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