THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED #30 with Kingsley Holgate
T
his year, we’re using our
adventures in Land Rover
Discoverys to highlight their
achievements over the past
three decades. First launched at the 1989
Frankfurt Motor Show, the Discovery soon
became the Land Rover of choice for the
Camel Trophy. This gruelling endurance
event tested adventurers to their limits,
putting them and the Discoverys through
their paces every year as they explored
regions such as the Amazon, Siberia,
Madagascar and Australia. The brawny
off-roaders in their instantly recognisable
yellow-orange colours and gritty 4×
attitude showed their capabilities in some of
the toughest terrain on the planet.
This got me thinking about some of our
own epic journeys in Discoverys and some
unique firsts. For example, we took two
Discoverys on a 100-day BoundlessSouthern Africa expedition to unite nature,
culture and community across nine
countries, seven Transfrontier Conservation
Areas and 30 national parks and game
reserves. Then there was Journey to Juba:
crossing Africa to reach the legendary
Murchison Falls in Uganda and a perilous
journey following the Nile to eventually
reach Juba in time for the Independence
Day celebrations of South Sudan, the newest
country on the planet.
In Discoverys, we traversed the entire
length of the Great African Rift Valley, from
the Gulf of Tadjoura on Djibouti’s Red Sea
coast to Lake Urema in Mozambique’s
Gorongosa National Park. Those Discoverys
also made it to Africa’s lowest point at Lake
Assal and across the Danakil Depression,
said to be the hottest inhabited place on
Earth. And who can forget the two
Discovery 4s that went to the Heart of12 SEPTEMBER 2019 leisurewheels.co.za
Kingsley Holgate is South Africa’s most
famous adventurer, a renowned humanitarian
and author. The 73-year-old founded the Kingsley
Holgate Foundation, which aims to “save and
improve lives through adventure”. He has handed
out thousands of mosquito nets to help save
people from malaria and more recently, provided
people who are sight-impaired with glasses.
Although he’s driven other brands over the years,
he now won’t drive anything but a Land Rover.
Mind you, the All New Discovery is rather comfy.Kingsley and crew have used every model of
Land Rover for their various expeditions but
the combination of comfort and ability has
made the Discovery one of their favourites.
THIRTY YEARS
OF THE
LAND ROVER
DISCOVERY
Africa in the Congo, and then took us on a
world-first land yachting expedition to cross
the Karoli and Chalbi Deserts in the wild
Northern Frontier District of Kenya and
further north to the dust-devilled, barren
and blistering Chew Bahir in Ethiopia, a dry
salt lake on the floor of Africa’s Rift Valley.
Then came the super technically
advanced All New Discoverys. “Wow,”
people said, “Are you really going to take