DEFENDER COMPLETES 60 000 KM AFRICA ODYSSEY EXPEDITION, HELPING DISTRIBUTE 15 880 MOSQUITO NETS
The Kingsley Holgate Foundation’s Africa Odyssey Expedition, spanning 60,000km across 24 African countries, exemplified the durability and capability of the Land Rover Defender. Over the course of the year-long journey, two Defender 130 D300s helped distribute 15,880 mosquito nets to vulnerable communities, primarily protecting mothers and children under five. The expedition focused on regions in Southern, Central, and West Africa, including Angola, Zambia, Rwanda, Chad, Cameroon, and Ghana, also delivering ‘Rite to Sight’ reading glasses and wildlife art templates.
The journey was particularly challenging, testing the Defenders’ performance through extreme conditions. Expedition leader Ross Holgate recounted how the vehicles faced floods in the Congo, treacherous roads in South Sudan, and the scorching Sahara desert, with temperatures exceeding 50°C. Despite these challenges, the Defenders, affectionately named Moyo and Isibindi (meaning heart and courage), never failed. Their air suspension absorbed rough terrain, making long hours of driving more bearable.
The Kingsley Holgate Foundation, with its decades of expedition experience, praised the Defender 130s for their reliability and performance. This expedition added to the Foundation’s history of testing Land Rover vehicles across Africa and Europe. Earlier journeys included the Mzansi Edge Expedition, a food relief mission during COVID-19, and the Transcontinental Expedition, which drove Defenders from Cape Town to Nordkapp, Norway, enduring varied terrains, from desert dunes to Arctic cliffs. These expeditions continue to demonstrate the Defender’s unmatched resilience in some of the world’s harshest environments.
