Exploring the southern “The damage the war has done in stretches of our beautiful continent was top of Piet van Wyk de Vries’ to-do list when he retired. And it’s a box he’s most definitely ticked after he and his 2009Toyota Fortuner 3,0 D-4D travelled to the Namib Desert, Angola, Botswana and even Lesotho, the latter to search for snow.
Prior to this, Piet had driven several Fortuners, both petrol and turbodiesel models, as well as manual and automatic transmissions.This put him in the fortunate position of knowing exactly which derivative would suit his planned excursions.
“After I retired, I had time to do longer trips with the vehicle. One of the first ad- ventures was when my wife and I drove from Paternoster to Port Nolloth. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip so much so, in fact, that we immediately planned the next one to Namibia, which was the following destination on my list.
“Then we drove to Angola and along the Kunene River right up to where it runs into the Atlantic Ocean. Then we headed north up along the coast, before going inland through Angola’s vast interior. In total, we travelled more than
7 000 km in less than four weeks.” It was not only the overland adventuring on the Angola trip that appealed to Piet, but the educational element of exploring the country, too.
Angola is still visible, even after all these years.Then there is also the changing vegetation and the subsequent history that goes with it,” says Piet.
Some of the worst roads Piet has ever experienced, however, were not that far from home. But he never doubted that his trusty Fortuner would be able to handle the harsh challenges Lesotho would dish up.
Piet was even more enamoured with theToyota when he and his wife, and a friend of theirs, embarked on an over- land trip and had to have roof racks fitted to accommodate the added luggage and equipment needed on such an excursion. The Fortuner didn’t break a sweat…
Following his extensive experience with various Fortuners, Piet recommends the 4,0 V6 with its strong, linear power delivery for sand driving.The diesel, meanwhile, uses less fuel on longer trips.
“The highlight for me is the fact that it is such a balanced 4×4.You can use it as a daily driver, which I do, or tackle an extensive off-road adventure. After all, my current Fortuner has already covered 200 000 km without a single problem.
“The more you travel and drive through our continent, the more you realise how much there is to see and experience.You look back and think to yourself: how could I always have driven only on tarmac roads with simply the destination in mind?”
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