The Thunder Horse

This is the Thunder Horse.. our beloved vehicle. It is a well weathered 1987 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ75. Its got a 4l straight 6 engine (the 3F) and weighs in at just over 3 tonnes. We haven't had enough of a budget to seriously kit it out but we have given it a good service, and we've replaced its shocks and its rear leaf springs with Ironman suspension amongst many other odd-jobs. We've also scraped, scratched and chiseled away kilogrammes of rust from underneath. It's a brutal, unstoppable vehicle with a fearsome appetite for fuel. It's been around the block (Africa) a few times before but shows no sign of letting up just yet - it's certainly more ready for the trip then we are!

Right now the Cruiser is paying a visit to Gerber's 4wd who have been very kind to help us out with some water tanks, gauges, and jerry cans. If anyone's interested please check them out at www.gerbers4wd.co.za.

Hello

Hi! Welcome to The Chaps in Africa - the journal of 4 guys, Jared, James, Jan, and Byron travelling overland through Eastern Africa.

We embark on our epic voyage in less than two weeks, on the 6^th of December if all goes to plan (which it seldom does). Starting in our hometown, Johannesburg, we will first set out east to Maputo. Then we'll turn north, following the coast right up Mozambique and through into Tanzania. At Dar es Salaam Jan must unfortunately leave us to return home. The remaining three will continue up to Lamu island on the northern coast of Kenya. Then we cut inland, travelling back into Tanzania. From there we'll go up to Uganda and around Lake Victoria. Then we must begin to make our way south again, through Rwanda, back into Tanzania, down Lake Tanganyika and onwards to Malawi. After following the coast o Lake Nyasa right to its southernmost tip we then continue west into Zambia. Then it's down through Botswana before we return to Johannesburg, completing the 14 000 kilometre loop. Well, at least that's the plan!

We hope to update this blog as often as we can, whenever we can get access to the internet, so please check in with us often and leave comments etcetera.