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Another Troopy!

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gilghana
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 13:25    Post subject: Reply with quote

So an update on what is happening:

well we spent a few weeks in Andalusia putting a Suzuki Jimny hire car through it's paces.  The tracks there are great, and one memorable one was an very unknown old mule track up and over and down a 5,300 ft pass.  Fantastic.  The Jimny is actually perfect for that area - in fact anything larger than say a BJ/HZJ 73 I would not have wanted to be in at some points (when I went off on my own and found some pretty hairy tracks, some of which petered out to impassable perched on the edge of mountains - a wheel placed wrongly would actually mean you will roll about 1000ft.  A few butterflies were in my stomach I must admit!).  But in general great fun.





So, back to the trip...
Well in Spain my 'net access was zero, so got to Germany on Sunday evening and yesterday started chasing down shippers etc.  Here I got a bit of a shock - the car went from Ghana - Las Palmas - Capetown without a hitch, and arrived on the 16th in CPT.  However it appeared to miss an MSC vessel the following day and now MSC say the next vessel is the 17th of July.  "Fantastic"  Evil or Very Mad  So our flights (which can't be changed) are the 5th and a tour from Luderitz to Walvis Bay (6 days of super remote dune driving!) on the 12th would be screwed.

So I am now in the throws of trying to arrange for the vehicle to be discharged and cleared in Capetown - if we can get this sorted then we would fly Munich - Windhoek - Capetown, pick up the car and bomb up to Namibia to (hopefully Confused ) meet our fellow tour members in Luderitz...  Well, with two trans-shipment points I always knew it was a bit risky, but to be honest when it reached CPT so well it looked like things were on course!

Mind you we once expected a container from Durban to Ghana and it went on a small tour of Hamburg and Roterdam!  So fingers crossed I will get feedback this afternoon if plan B can be tried.

The alternative of cooling our heels for 2/3 weeks with no car (and no camping stuff) in Namibia as well as losing our Namib desert crossing - which is not like it is every day - will be very painful!
Cheers,
Gil
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garystockton
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 13:39    Post subject: Reply with quote

Let me know if you need help - have a few friends there  Wink  one of whom is in shipping (runs his own business) so may be able to help with clearing etc.?

Cheers
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gilghana
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 20:44    Post subject: Reply with quote

Many thanks Gary!
We have been pestering MSC who are now trying like hell (their CPT manager seems like a good bloke) to get it on a feeder vessel (Ocean Africa) that would ETA Walvis bay on the 4th or so...  which would be doable.  The vessel IS currently fully booked, but I will hopefully get feedback tomorrow.  The only thing in our favour is that my (ex) company does a lot of biz with MSC so they are trying pretty hard...  It is quite likely Plan C (i.e.) this one will revert to plan B (i.e. clearing in CPT) in which case I will shoot you a PM as I would then like to make use of your mate - he is a clearing agent?  
Thanks for the help,
Gil
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gilghana
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 22:24    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well MSC claim it is going on this small feeder vessel Very Happy
Will only believe it when I see it in Walvis Bay.....
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gilghana
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 12:02    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yessss !!!!!   Very Happy

Just got an email from MSC Capetown that the container is on their vessel "Frontier" busy steaming away from Cape Town. We fly out Sunday.

Here she is:


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garystockton
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 14:04    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good luck - hope it doesn't fall off like the 23 fell off the Saftainer ship last week, right near there !!
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gilghana
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:06    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, the troopy didn't fall off, in fact it went absolutely great, with us picking the container of a stack, driving the truck out and assembling the roof tent and spare tyre carriers (me with malaria - not fun  Shocked ) in a container yard in Walvis Bay:



We then set off South to get to the start of our trip in Luderitz.  Here things got "interesting" as a mysterious electrical fire (well, smoke anyway!) had us stripping the dash and losing various lights etc.  After a day's investigation the next day it turned out to be the rear number plate light wiring inexplicably shorting and then a cheap fuse melting rather than blowing!  All good after a lot of cursing and tracing wires...  Can only suspect that the IEF bumper number plate light for some reason was drawing more current than the loom can handle.  Anyway no big deal luckily.

Working our way south our 3 day shakedown saw weather like Scotland - waking up to driving rain in Namibia's dry season!  Fantastic camping spots and stunning scenery.



Anyway we got to Luderitz and met up with our group to tackle the south-north Namib trip.  A great bunch of people comprising a group of South Africans who all go on trips together:
3 x 80 series 4.5L Petrol
1 x 105 series 4.5L Petrol
And a German/Dutch couple in a rented 4.0L Petrol Hilux.... Very Happy

This coupled with a few sardonic groans when the troopy was mentioned got me thinking!  Okay the mention of the turbo seemed to satisfy them a bit Very Happy Our guides were driving (surprise) 4.5L Petrol cruiser p/ups.  So to sum it up we were the heaviest car with the least power - and a LOT of the weight (longranger, IEF bumper, two tyres, fridge etc...) either just on or behind the rear axle.
 To sum it up the trip was really, really something!  The dunes were huge and despite our weight and power we were not the most rescued car.  The group gelled so well and we made some real friends.  For us the most frightening was going up the dunes - most times Julia was reading the EGTs while we absolutely thrashed the old 1HZ to make it up.  The only time we really got stuck we were REALLY stuck...  3.5 tonnes, lockers and 0.6 bar means "proper stuck"!
One of the most amazing driving experiences was Len (lead guide in white 70 series) taking myself and Julia for a blast in a huge 'bowl' for fun in his cruiser - 140k per hour and weightless on a dip was amazing...  I have scared myself silly in fast road cars and bikes but NOTHING compared to the 20 mins with Len Very Happy  

I will get up more stuff later, we are kinda busy after 4+ weeks in the bush, restocking etc...  Will let the pictures tell a thousand words,
Cheers,
Gil
(Windhoek)


down to 0.6 bar!






20 mins with Len was mind boggling!




The one time we were really stuck we were REALLY stuck!










come on, come on, come on...  what temp does aluminium melt at again?






Those rear springs are the heaviest Dobinsons make  Rolling Eyes So, yes we were heavy.
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garystockton
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:58    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome back - glad to see you used Uri - he's got a heck of a rep.  and glad you're enjoying yourselves.

Of course the pics don't help any - need to find a job back home for 6 months / year  Wink

Keep us updated.  If you go to Cape Town and need mechanical help, go see Johann Meyer - great LC mechanic.

Cheers
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 14:45    Post subject: Howzit Gil? Reply with quote

Hi Gil

only re-acquainted myself with this write up the other day - the Troopies lekker!

Uri's are fantastic and take you places  - you know how it goes.

Enjoy the trip you lucky pair of so and so's.

As Gary said, Johann Meyer is very good and if you need anything in Joburg area contact Stuart Baillie of Baillies Off-Road - the most knowledgeable LC mech I have ever come across - his trucks are awesome!!!!

Chris
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 16:49    Post subject: Reply with quote

Come on Gil - I know you're there - what've you been up - or more importantly - WHERE have you been??? Laughing  Laughing  Laughing
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 14:54    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi folks!  Chris, good to here from you - glad you like it!
well, we haven't been "there" (as in cyberspace) for ages!  But a few updates (and more importantly pictures!):

Firstly apologies for all the pictures being at the end... browser issue or something.  And apologies to Gary who is probably going to read this in Edinburgh... Crying or Very sad

well we have covered the whole of Namibia from top to bottom with only "Busman's Land" and the Caprivi strip to go before we head into Botswana.  We are currently in a small town called Otjiwarongo to refresh the bodies, the car, the laptops, the fridge! Oh and we also finally bit the bullet and had 5 x 285/75 BFG MT sent overnight from Windhoek and fitted this morning - SEXY!!!  But f@£$ing expensive  Shocked There is a sort of Southern African total shortage of 265 MTs at the moment so I had (well, it was a brilliant excuse) to go larger.  Eeesh but pricey compared to the UK/Germany.


Since I posted last Julia's brother came out from Germany and spent three weeks with us.  We did what I would describe as the "usual" tourist highlights of Namibia - Soususvlei dunes (no driving!), Skeleton Coast, Etosha etc.  A particular highlight that we did with him though was going from Cape Cross off road through various conservancies past the Brandberg massif to Twyfelfontain - brilliant!  No challenging off roading other than sand river beds and a few very rocky climbs, but the wilderness factor is to be honest quite often what turns me on - just being out there in the wilds and needing the extra fuel, water, power, navigation etc which we have in order to be able to make it in and out...  Great stuff!

Etosha lived up to it's reputation and provided some fantastic game viewing.  We stayed in the Namutomi campsite - way, way better than the other two.  No noisy overland trucks and real green grass!  Every morning we got up at the crack and headed to our favourite water hole - funnily enough on two mornings our timing coincided with that of a big male Lion...  great sighting of a very young leopard was a personal highlight!

After we dropped Roman in Windhoek to fly home we shot north to the Kunene River (Angolan Border) and then worked our way along the river to Epupa Falls and then down to Van Zyle's pass and the Marienflus and to Purros and then Sesfontain via various river beds and amazing tracks.  Plenty Lion's spoor and hyenas at night and a couple of mock charges from frisky teenage desert elephants made it pretty memorable.  The 4x4ing was great - Van Zyle's has a bit of a name as you know, and rightly so.  The troopy handled it admirably, we sustained some minor cosmetic damage which I am actually quite proud off (we were not spotting each other and probably asking for it!).  Totally alone as well which was nice!    

But...  that was the bitter end of the General Grabber AT2s!  You could literally see the rubber falling off.  Enough said.

I am trying to put together a sort of trip write up in logical order and highlights, but to be honest we are just too busy enjoying the bush!  I will get it sorted out soonish.  

The Troopy has performed brilliantly (only thing is the annoying noise and the tyres).  Oh and we have also "rescued" a few people!  In the fish river canyon my 24" tyre lever came into action in jemmying the back door of a golf to rescue to Ozzy girls who had locked their keys in.  Oh and the door bent back okay!  And twice we have had to pull hired 4x4 p/ups out of sand because people don't know about free wheeling hubs! Frankly some of the tourists (and the hire car companies) are scary - people think they can pull a lever and head off anywhere.  The last one was a Brit couple who were on their way to their homeward flight but had nocked the hire car off the jack...  We also sadly saw the tragic result of extreme overspeed on gravel roads with a poor guy who got carried away in his lexus variant 100 series and paid the ultimate price Sad   I could only recognise it as a cruiser because of the wheels - that is how bad it was.  This made us re-afirm our personal speed limits of 80kmp/h no matter how good the gravel and 100 on tar.  We are not in a hurry...  oh yeah and that brings me to consumption:

Consumption. Well, this has been an eyeopener with extremes at both ends of the scale! In our first two days here I honestly thought that the fuel gauge had been damaged... Then when we filled up we recorded 10L/100Km Amazing. Ghana I never recorded less than 17 after the turbo was fitted. The difference is the good, graded gravel roads. We tend to travel between 70-80kmph and often we are in 5th for a long time!

But then came the dunes Well no-one was carrying less than 250 L of fuel, and our guides recommended that all of us carry the same - FZJ, HZJ and the 'lux. When we all filled at the end of 647 kms of pure sand and LOTS of dunes I recorded 29.5L/100km! This was marginally better than the petrol 80s, but to be honest we are only talking about 29.5 Vs 30.... The lightweight 4.0 'lux was actually marginally better than our Troopy.  

No doubt if I lived in say Walvis Bay the troopy would be swapped for something snarly for the sand (supercharged FZJ 79 would be LEKKER!) but for general touring and "normal" 4x4ing well I love my turbo diesel.   Wink That 10 - 14l/100km and the 270L tanks means no worries about fuel in pretty remote places.  The longranger tank also saved the day for more mundane reasons in the deep south where they hadn't heard of credit cards or ATM machines for a few days Rolling Eyes

My personal favourite however (okay, cold Tafel from the fridge is probably my real favourite) is the dutch oven.  We bought a gas bottle way back in Walvis Bay and we have used it        ONCE Very Happy      The dutch oven has been used almost every single night - bread, pizza, even popadoms have been roasted in it.  






















these beauties are ready to take us onwards tomorrow!

Till next time, G&J
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Desperatezulu
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 15:17    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fantastic pics, Gil!  cheers
Looks like you're having a blast - good to hear that the troopy is going strong!
It will be interesting to see how the 285s affect your fuel consumption. I imagine that they will sap a bit more of the troopy's power with the longer gearing and you may end up using more fuel. I hope not though  Cool

Good luck with the rest of the travels and all of us here in the overcast UK look forward to more updates!

Cheers,
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 15:55    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oooh - fantastic!!!  Nice write-up, too - and great pics.  Hope you didn't give the Himba any 'pirre' (pills)  Wink

Gald you're having such a great time - summer is about to catch you, and you're in for a treat - but you'll be used to that.  Don't get any more Malaria in the Okavango  Laughing

Makes me too homesick!
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 16:36    Post subject: Reply with quote

Heh!  Thanks guys.  Nah the only thing the Himbas got was a cup of tea.  But on the other hand Julia bought uncountable neckless, bangles etc from various Himbas.  
Interestingly the guy who sold me the tyres (great chap) was part of an organised (like charity) clean-up of Swartboois Drift and another couple of places a few months ago.  They took out 32 tons (mostly Carling Black Label bottles) of glass  Shocked  Shocked
He also showed me pictures of doing Van Zyle's in his Trentyre company 2WD bakkie!!! - just with MT tyres on, nothing else.  As you say, heat building - just installed a fan in the roof tent for future use.
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 21:56    Post subject: Lekker! Reply with quote

Hi Gil,

great write up - brings back lots of top memories and has turned me near green with envy!

The BFG's are lookin' good

Relax and enjoy

Chris
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