You would be hard pushed to find two more mechanically inept people than Sean & me, so although very drawn to the terrific Britishness of sallying forth with a stiff upper lip and a Land Rover, we desperately want to minimise the chances of finding ourselves at Calais with a knackered clutch/water pump/snapped half-shaft (yeah, I have no idea either).  Therefore a Land Cruiser was the only choice for us, so we set out to find a low mileage manual, diesel 80 series, and here she is…….

Those hood ornaments are optional

Those hood ornaments are optional

The circumstances under which we found her were quite flukey, and way too girly to go into, but suffice it to say I thought it was meant to be and a deal was struck. 

Last weekend we took her up to Julian Voelker, widely renowned as one of the greatest Land Cruiser experts in the UK.  Whilst under his care Elsie will have her suspension upgraded, various seals, bearings and hoses replaced, space for a fridge will be made by taking out one of the rear seats, she will have whizzy new electrics, a load rack in the back, a snorkel, and a roof rack and roof tent fitted.   Now finished she looks like this….

Ready to go!

Ready to go!

5 Responses to “Our ride – Elsie”

  1. Phil Fleming said

    Hi Sean & Lucie! Looking good so far…!Best Wishes Phil

  2. Ma said

    Good to hear all news – hope Elsie’s chest is better when you leave Khartoum all love Ma & Big Hxx

  3. Haeberli Urs & Beatrice said

    Hello Lucy and Sean

    Sorry we haven’t written for so long, we are back in Switzerland since the end of september 2008 and so much has happened since we met on the campingplace in Douz, Tunisia.

    We hope that you are well and you enjoy your journey. Are you still with your friends or have you left them after crossing Lybia?

    We have a lot of snow and we have a lot of shoveling to do (like in the sand!!) but it’s freezing cold.

    Were are you at the moment? Is everything working well? How was it across the Sudan?

    Hope to hear sometime some news from you.

    Best wishes for the new year and heaps of luck for the rest of your trip!

    Beatrice and Urs Haeberli

  4. Peter Freischlad said

    Hi Lucie and Shean,

    after return, lots of work welcomed me, so today it’s my first opportunity, to visit Your site and I’m very happy to read, that You reached the Cape safely.
    I missed the report about Stellenbosch but I’m very proud, that our river croosing adventure became part of Your history. Our folks here at home were very excited when we showed them the pictures and they are looking forward to see the video, which I’m not sure to show them. They probably won’t let us go anywhere again.
    Parvin is doing really well, she’s in the 17th week by the way. We had awesome days left in Namibia, ejoyed the Sossusvlej, the Naukluft mountains and the coastal towns and can highly recommend the Spitzkoppe, if You ever travel back there.
    I hope you and Elsie returned back home safely in the meantime,

    take care
    Peter

  5. Ben Uffindell said

    Hi,
    Next May, my partner and myself are driving from somerset to cape town. just woundering if you had any tips for us?
    Cheers Ben

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