The Start of Our Overland Adventures Part 1 - Milady Landy, Sonja and Gert

The Start of Our Overland Adventures

Part 1

In 2006 we made our first serious plan to start traveling overland. Since summer 2016 we have done many journeys, mainly in Europe and Africa. We saw extensive wildlife in Africa, traveled the desert in Morocco and enjoyed cultural highlights of Europe.

Now, in summer 2022, we just modified our latest travel plan. We now know that one of the main lessons we have learned during our journeys is that the plans we make are always flexible.

In 2006 we visited Tanzania with our family of four adolescent kids. After this wonderful journey, we (in fact I, Gert) decided we wanted to travel overland to Tanzania, with our own car. The car eventually became a 1980 Land Rover Series 3, that I bought on Ebay, for GBP 255 (then € 350 or USD 400).

In short, I restored the car completely and in 2016 we shipped our old Milady Landy to Namibia. In fact, the shipping already was a big change of plans. We had in our mind to travel to Tanzania overland, but trouble in Mali and Nigeria had risen and we considered it not safe to travel Africa from north to south.

Southern and Eastern Africa in an old Land Rover

The 1980 Land Rover Series 3, now christened Milady Landy, was a treat and a threat for our overland journey of

The Start of Our Overland Adventures

Southern and Eastern Africa. She, the lady, was clearly in her element among the wildlife on the African savanna. But as an old car, she needed a lot of attention/maintenance/repairs during the voyage. We visited many car mechanics and workshops and did a lot of repairs ourselves. One day, with a broken chassis, we thought our overland journey was over, but of course in Africa repairs are always possible.

All this meant we had to modify our plans regularly. During this adventure we concluded we were traveling to the horizon. On a daily basis we decided where to go and we loved it!

We made the journey of our lifetime and enjoyed six months of Africa to the fullest. Milady Landy decided a lot of our plans, but we were still at the steering wheel and saw magnificent landscapes, encountered numerous animals and met curious and wonderful people. In short, we loved the overland adventure lifestyle and decided we wanted more of it.

Milady Landy, Sonja & Gert

MiladyLandy

MiladyLandy

MiladyLandy

Travel blog: www.miladylandy.nl/en