1974
I believe this is the very first picture of me and a 4×4. February 1974, my father took delivery of a brand new Range Rover. This was photographed outside our home near the village of Eynsford, Kent, England. It marks the official start of an obsession.
1975
In 1974 we emigrated to South Africa. A trip in the Range Rover to visit the wilderness areas of Botswana soon followed. Here I am again, head out of sunroof, in the Chobe National Park overlooking the Chobe River floodplain. The official start of another obsession – overland exploration. I was 15 years old.
Chobe River, Botswana, April 1975.
1982
4×4 Number 1. The very first pic of me off-road, within days of me taking delivery of 35502492 suffix-A Range Rover. It was a 1971 model, had 40 000 miles on the clock and was in very good cosmetic and mechanical condition.
My first day driving off-road. March 1982
1984
The first time I drove myself out of my home country. This was to the Namib desert and here is me well stuck in the sand. This old super-8 film is the very first time I used a winch. It took two hours to dig myself out after the winching failed. It was October in the Namib, and the hottest time of the year.
The very first time I used a winch. Don't laugh too loud!
1987
An accident in the bush meant I had to repair the entire front end to be able to get the Range Rover home. It was either that or abandon it in the bush. This was near Ngoma, far northern reaches of Botswana. The insurance company wanted to write it off but I took the cash and repaired it myself. And sprayed it Lincoln Green.
Range Rover. Obsession or mental Illness?
1989
4×4 Number 2. 1989 and Lodi’s replacement arrived. A new Land Rover One-Ten V8. My first ever brand new 4×4 which would be the centre of my 4WD life for the next eight years. I loved my One Ten.
… and purchased a brand new Land Rover One-Ten V8
1990
I married my sweat heart Gwynn on the top of a mountain and the only way to the top was to ferry all the guests up in a convoy of 4x4s. This video runs from the recce, wedding and honeymoon in an extraordinary place, all alone among elephants and lions.
1993
1993 was the year my first book was published. It went on to be sold in South Africa uninterrupted for 24 years. This was the first cover.
As a result of the book, I was then asked to drive and review a lot of 4WDs. I was even given some long term vehicle loans. The two most memorable ones were a Landcruiser Prado 2nd gen, and a LR Discovery-4.
1997
Toyota South Africa offered me a long-term loan of a Prado 90. I drove it as my primary 4WD. At this time I was building a house and raising a young family, so sold my One-Ten to assist. The Prado was an excellent, stable, frugal and a good performer. Not as good off-road as the vehicles I was used to, but a great all-rounder.
The one and only time I have ever drowned an engine.
1998
4×4 Number 3. Range Rover was called the Classic to distinguish itself from the new P38 which was launched in 1996. For a while both were built, and this one was one of the last. It had the ‘soft’ dash, later to be built into the Discovery, and air suspension designed for the P38. It was a 1996 model. I didn’t keep it for long and only did one big trip in it. The air suspension was so complex, how would I fix if if it went wrong in the bush?
The last of the Range Rover Classics
2000
4×4 Number 4. The search for my next 4WD that would fulfil my desires was long but fruitful. In 2000 I was offered an ex-demo 290GD by Mercedes South Africa. Offered to me at around two-thirds its real value, I learned to adore the G.
I sold it after 127 000 kms, several major expeditions and three years, after which I was made a can’t-leave-it offer. But I was then left high and dry. What to do next?
The start of a second love affair with a 4WD. The Mercedes G 461.
2004
4×4 Number 5. The G was going to be a hard act to follow. And it took several years for that to happen. In the meantime I tried a a two-year-old Discovery V8. I knew when buying it that it would be a stop-gap while I decided on my next path. I kept it for about 9 months and did very little to it or with it. Ergonomically the Disco was cramped, with little packing space, a great driving position and great off-road. But also a little dull.
2005
4×4 Number 6. My long-term relationship with the Land Cruiser began with one that was not a success. It was also my first intro into the ute/pickup was well as my first intro into major vehicle modifications. It was based on a Land Cruiser 1HZ-powered VJ79 single-cab converted into a double-cab. (Double-cab Land Cruisers were not yet available). It was grossly underpowered for its weight. I kept it for about 20 months and was the major attraction in two TV series.
My first foray into pickup/utes.
2006
4×4 Number 7. Another Land Cruiser, and this time a new 105 GXL 4,5 petrol. I was going to have no more under-powered 4WDs. I set about to make the engine use less fuel and did an engine top overhaul with new valves, head grinding and a chip. And it made all of a 1% improvement. What an excellent but thirsty 4WD. So thirsty that is was no good as a long distance overlander. It couldn’t carry sufficient fuel for the desert travel I was used to doing.
The Land Cruiser 105 was to become another absolute favourite.
2006
4×4 Number 8. Unhappy with the Cruiser 105’s fuel issues, my next 4×4 arrived in the form of a six year old Nato-spec Mercedes 290GD for sale in Lesotho. I bought it to try and bring it into South Africa where I lived at the time. It is the best off-roader I’ve ever owned by quite a long way. It had skinny tires, unmatched clearance and lockers front and back. Its mudding ability was extraordinary. I sold it after two years because there was no path to legal ownership in South Africa.
The best off-roader I ever owned. I doubt if it will ever be beat.
2008
4×4 Number 9. In 2008 the new shape 70-series Landcruiser was introduced and Toyota South Africa made getting a new one irresistible. I liked it, but missed the 105’s handling, space and ability. I loathed the steering wheel and it was under-powered with its 1HZ engine. It was in this that I did my very first solo expedition, crossing the Kalahari in 2008.
The VJ76 was a nice 4wd, but didn't give me what I was hoping it would..
2009
4×4 Number 10 was a pre-owned 105 with 1HZ 4.2 diesel, to which I added a small low-pressure turbo-charger that gave me a vehicle that I had been looking for.
I think that the diesel LC105 makes one of the best all-round 4wd overlanders ever made.
At last I had found a Land Cruiser that I loved driving.
2011
4×4 Number 11. In 2010, while driving my LC105 on a solo trip traversing the Namib desert, I was inspired to come up with the idea for an integrated flip-up roof-tent camper conversion for Troopcarrier. Until 2011, Troopcarriers were not yet available in South Africa. Toyota South Africa first loaned, then gave me the very first one imported into South Africa. And the Alu-Cab Hercules and all its copies are today the offspring of that inspiration.
It makes a great story.
2012
My relationship with Land Rover that had been severely battered because of my candid appraisals of their vehicles, was temporarily mended when their new South Africa marketing chief contacted me and asked if I would be interested in a long term loan of a Discovery-4. I welcomed this with excitement. The LR4 is a great all-rounder. It does so many things, so well. Pity about its electric air suspension and oversized rims!
It's such a pity about the LR4's inability to run smaller rims and higher profile tyres.
2013-16
From 2013 to 2016 living in the UK I did not have a 4WD to drive there because my Troopy was still in South Africa. I shipped it to the UK and sold it in 2015 to finance the family’s move to Australia, which happened in November 2016.
Here is is photographed outside Burghley House, Lincolnshire.
2017
4×4 Number 12. In Australia, the huge and diverse 4WD accessory market greeted me with so many exciting products I had never had access to before. And also the full range of Land Cruiser 70-series with the 4.5 V8 turbo-diesel engine. So I bought a Troopcarrier and built it with all I had learned from my African 1HZ Troopy. It turned out to be the best overland tourer I’d ever built, and ever driven. The Troopy is the unmatched compact, two-person adventure tourer.
2017
My first outback expedition was the Canning Stock Route. A baptism of fire, I was told. It was both tough and long, but a revelation too. The Australian Outback is an awesome place for wilderness adventure and I fell in love with it. The Troopcarrier I built was so good, and performed so well, I introduced a limited offer of building these for clients.
2019
4×4 Number 13. The restoration of a 20-year old, tired and abused Land Cruiser diesel 105 in Cape Town, South Africa began in September 2019. The idea was that an African-based tourer would be available for yearly expeditions. With the mechanical rebuild complete, it was sold in 2021 due to travel limitations imposed by the Covid pandemic. It was replaced in 2023 with a Troopcarrier.
Details of 105 Build HERE
2020
4×4 Number 14. Thinking I could make a version of the Troopy overlander even better, I tried with a Landcruiser VDJ79 chassis-cab 4-door, with a stretched chassis and camper on the back. It was better than the Troopy in some ways, but in many, worse. The chassis was really good, but the camper was a disappointment. And so it never filled me with a longing to get in it and get out, which is the hallmark of any great overlander.
So I decided not to keep it.
Details Dream Tourer Build HERE
2021
IN PROGRESS
4×4 Number 15. In a quest to find my 1972 Suffix-A Range Rover that I owned from 1982 to 1990, I found and purchased a 1975 Classic in Melbourne VIC, and then drove it 3550 kms across Australia to my home in Perth. A year later we it drove the Canning Stock Route! This was my third Range Rover Classic and was sold early 2024.
Range Rover Build click HERE
2021
4×4 Number 16 and my third Troopy. Delivery took place July 2021. I turned this into the ultimate 2-person overlander, without increasing the GVM. It has completed the Canning Stock Route and several shorter outback adventures. For now, it is my main mount for Aussie expeditions.
This project concluded December 2023.
More about this build HERE
2022
Friends Cross the Canning is the story of the 2021 Troopy supporting the Range Rover successfully crossing Australia’s longest and some say toughest desert crossing.
It’s the best TV work I’ve done in decades. Watch 13 episodes now.
2023
IN PROGRESS
4×4 Number 17. Purchased in Pretoria, South Africa January 2023, this is my 4th Troopy and 10th Land Cruiser. It’s a 2013 1HZ Troopy with 496 000 kms on the clock. It is based in South Africa, and global events notwithstanding, will be used yearly expeditions and shoots in Africa. This took its first expedition, April – May 2024.
I’ve called this series ‘Going The Extra Mile’.
Watch as we build this one . .
2024
IN PROGRESS
4×4 Number 18. 2024 starts with the purchase and building of a model new to the Landcruiser range; the 2.8, 4-cyl with auto gearbox, in a Troopy body. The series celebrates my love of Land Cruisers, especially the 70-series!
Watch as we build this one . .
2024
IN PROGRESS
4×4 Number 19. Also in 2024 is a collaboration build of a Bus4x4 Toyota HiAce. It will be built and tested as an out-of-the-box-thinking 4-person tourer for remote Australia.
Its a really good off-roader, with excellent clearance, low range, big wheels, a worthy payload – and its a van!
This project began in March 2024 and I see it as the most exciting and challenging build of the past decade.
Watch as we build this one . .
