Sooo, we have this tank of a vehicle that has “long distance” fuel tanks. But we have absolutely no idea what “long distance” really means and we are about to turn off road and into the African bush. Even buying fuel in Kaloma (about 20 litres) doesn’t give us much of a clue because it has been level paved road without air conditioning. Rover has two tanks: 25 litre and 80 litre and the fuel gauge doesn’t start reading until one of the tanks is empty and we don’t know which tank drains first. So fuel is an anxiety; the best advice is to fill up often. [In retrospect: Fuel IS an anxiety. Our Rover drained the 25 litre tank first, before the 80 litre tank started to register on the fuel gauge. As Safari Drive said in their literature, we probably could have gone 800 kms on a full tank. But it would be reckless to try.]
Tag Archive | land rover rental
Choosing a Rental and Outfitter
We have no idea. This is our experience, not our advice: We surfed the web, read blogs, and ended up with Safari Drive. Were they perfect? No. Were they very good? Yes. We paid approximately $300 per day for the vehicle. The Land Rover we rented ended up being very low mileage (14000 km before we put another 2000 on it), outfitted for comfortable camping including about 3-5 days of basic provisions (you’ll still need to shop), tent, table, chairs, bedding, all the ‘stuff,’ GPS, and satellite phone. Safari Drive also offered advice, made reservations, provided maps, personally helped us work out the itinerary, gave us an in-country briefing on the vehicle, smiled and waved goodbye as we ground the gears, slipped the clutch, and disappeared into the dust. We ran into people who paid half as much but didn’t have the support, gear, sat phone, planning, or GPS. We also ran into a rental vehicle that had broken down and been abandoned, a vacation ruined. We were glad to pay more. But obviously, for those more daring, there are bargain vehicles to be found that could save thousands if it works out well.
Can't Stay Home 