SEPTEMBER 2019 13
these ‘Mom’s Taxis’ to dangerous Somalia?
They’ll never make it!” Well, they did. We
fitted them with 18-inch rims shod with
Cooper tyres, Front Runner roof racks and
rear-mounted winches and not only drove
them to Africa’s most easterly point on the
Horn of Africa – tackling flash floods,
washed-away roads and bridges and a
dangerous, high-speed crossing of Somali
desert country – but then used the same
two Discoverys to journey from Cape Town
to Kathmandu and on to Calcutta. More
recently, we put them through their paces
doing flood relief work in Mozambique.
These new Discoverys have already done
over 70 000km of rough, tough expedition
work and haven’t missed a beat and there’s
still loads to come, with our next mission
being the Zambezi Sight Expedition. In
partnership with Doctors for Life and
Mercy Air, we’ll be providing reading
glasses to poor-sighted, mostly elderly
people living in and around the remote
Zambezi Delta in Mozambique, and
using our Discoverys and the Ma Robert
boat in support of a large-scale cataract
operation campaign for people suffering
from blindness.
But it’s not just about tens of thousands
of kilometres, millions of tyre revolutions,
buckets of sweat and great humanitarian
work on every expedition: it’s about family
and the heritage of the iconic Land Rover
brand being passed down to the younger
generation. What made the day even more
special was when during a line of up
Discoverys through the ages, my son
Ross quite unexpectedly handed over the
keys of his old Td5 Discovery 2 that’s
only got 385 000km on the clock to his
18-year-old son, Tristan. Tristan’s already
had a large slice of expedition life, sailing
on an Arab dhow to Somalia and back
when he was a brick-and-a-tickey high,
and then travelling much of the Outside
Edge of Africa with us when he was just
eight years old. It’s his very first car andwe couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.
Not surprising therefore, that a few days
later on a granddad and grandson getaway,
I found myself lurching from side to side in
the passenger seat of his newly acquired
chariot loaded to the roof rack with kit. In
first and second gear, with low ratio and
diff-lock engaged, we tackled a rough,
seemingly endless track through the
Babanango hills of Zululand.
Camping wild under cold, clear skies,dented enamel mugs in hand, we shared
fireside adventure stories well into the
night. A few days later, the two of us
went exploring with barefoot trail guide
Nunu Magagula who passed on his bush
knowledge while we walked among rhino.
It all goes to show once again that there are
so many great adventures close to home; it’s
just about turning the key, making it happen
and pulling the pepper ticks off your legs
when you get home.leisurewheels.co.za
Opposite page: Five generations and 30 years
of Discovery. Clockwise from top: Scarra
Ntubeni, Jean de Villiers and Ross Holgate atop a
Discovery aboard the Ma Robert boat. Tristan
Holgate ready for adventure in his Discovery 2.
Heading for the source of the Nile in Burundi.
Right: Crossing the Congo River during the Heart
of Africa expedition.