WATCH: Kingsley Holgate’s Africa-ready Land Rover Defender

There is, frankly, very little expedition-leader and humanitarian legend Kingsley Holgate doesn’t know about traversing the African continent.

For his next adventure though, the 40th of his remarkable career, the master explorer, together with his partner Sheelagh, son Ross and family friend Mike Nixon, will be embarking on a 30 000 km trek. It is called Defender Transcontinental spanning from Hot Cape to Cold Kapp using, as always, a trio of Land Rovers.

The mission? Travel from South Africa to Nordkapp in Norway, the most northern point in Europe, and then down to Red Wharf Bay on the Welsh island of Anglesey where Rover Chief Designer Maurice Wilks drew the outline of what was to become the Land Rover back in 1947. Quite fittingly, the Land Rover Defender is the most direct heir to the original.

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The trio Land Rover Defender 110s utilised for this mission are all three mechanically stock models, two P400s and one D240. All three are fitted with air suspension and furnished with a wide range of off-road gear Kingsley and his crew will utilise day in and day out on their adventure.

In actuality, the trek already started towards the end of last year at Cape Aghulas, hence the Hot Cape-Cold Kapp designation. From there, the expedition really takes off, initially from Holgate’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal and then across the border into Mozambique.

Towards the end of January, after a stopover at Constitutional Hill, the expedition icon and his team visited the Jaguar-Land Rover Experience in Lonehill where the Land Rover Defender 110s used for this trip were exhibited for the first time.

As well divulging details of the trip, Holgate also took time out to answer the age-old question, “Why Land Rover”? His answer? “It has always been so by choice”.

For more information on the Land Rover Defender, click here.