Desert Lion Project- We need your help!

[UK4X4]

I'll match your sister and up you a latino wife !

well maybe not as I enjoy having a truck chick.....

mmmm how about use of the swivel chair on fridays, secretary in stockings every wednesday and phazing in use of daughter by the year 2040


Is'nt this a Monty Python sketch ?

neat truck Spike.......looks ideal for the job.

 

[Spikepretorius]

Dr Flip (Philip) Stander doing his thing in the old vehicle

 

[DaktariEd]

Here kitty, kitty, kitty....niiiice kitty....:eatchicke

 

[Spikepretorius]

Update: The Cape Town guys are finished their work on the Cruiser and it's soon going to be on it's way back to Joburg for the final kitting out. Full service front to back, everything including seals etc. Auxiliary batteries and wiring for laptops and satelite gizmos etc. Suspension and tyres.
It currently looks like this

The hand-over takes place at two functions. 20 June in Cape Town and 21 June in Pretoria. Dr Flip and his sidekick from the WWF will be there to give a talk on the work they do. He'll actually take delivery of the vehicle in Pretoria. It's a bit of a rush to get it finished because of a deadline with the 'free' import permit to get it into Namibia.

More photos to follow when the vehicle is finished.

 

[Spikepretorius]

Judging from a message he sent to a friend I reckon he needs the new vehicle quite badly

Ek sit nou al vir 4 dae in die middel van @&#$ nerens met 'n gebreekte agter as. 'n Pel van my sal seker Donderdag of Vrydag vanaf Swakop vertek met spaar parte. Of hy by my gaan kan uitkom is 'n ander storie, maar hy het wel by GPS posisie en ek hoop net hy kan 'n weg vind deur
die berge - ek sit 25 km vanaf die naaste tweespoor pad.
As jy op Google wil kyk: S 20.49494281, E 13.67959089
Gelukkig nog geen oos-wind nie.
Sien jou binnekort.
Flip

Translation:
I'm sitting here in the middle of #$%^&* nowhere with a broken rear axle. A friend will probably leave from Swakopmund on about thursday or friday with spare parts. If he'll get to me is another story but he's got my gps position and I hope he can find a way through the mountains- I'm sitting 25km from the nearest two-track road.
If you want to see on google: S 20.49494281, E 13.67959089
Luckily no easterly wind so far.
See you soon.
Flip

 

[UK4X4]

mmm the google satelite picks are pretty good for that location...shame they are not updated....as with that resolution we could see him..

Pretty remote even with the tracks nearby...I can't see any signs of human habitation......at all

 

[Spikepretorius]

Well, the good doctor got his new vehicle.
Fully kitted with storage system, auxiliary batteries, wiring for his radios and satelite tracking etc, water tanks, long-range fuel tanks, dual sparewheel carrier, ARB bullbar, OME suspension, air lockers front and back, etc etc etc. Apart from the kitting out, the vehicle was overhauled from front to back. Everything that looked remotely suspect was replaced, including a complete front axle. Ready for the desert!

Friday evening we had a function in Cape Town where Dr Stander came and spoke to us and showed us a slideshow presentation of his work. It's mind boggling. This man works 24/7 out in the desert. When he's not tracking lions through the night he's sitting with his laptop documenting his research, updating databases and creating slideshow presentations. 100% dedication. And been working like this for more than 20 years!

Saturday he flew to Pretoria and received his new vehicle. Saturday evening they had another function up there where he gave another slideshow presentation.

Sunday he drove his new prize possession to the airport. He flew back to Namibia and his new vehicle will be flown over in a couple of days.

While we realised that he does good work we had no idea just how hard he works. The Land Cruiser Club of Southern Africa have now decided to not just make this a one-off. We are going to continue supporting him.

He went from this.....

to this........

Presenting his work

Staring in awe as his new vehicle arrives

Getting his keys

Checking out his water and long-range tanks

Impromtu celebration with a bottle of bubbly

The sponsors (WWF not depicted here. They have a big sticker on the door)
It's a great pity that ExPo's name is not here as well but a big thank you to those that showed interest.

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

Wow!!! What a great upgrade. I bet he is stoked. Looks like after 20 years in the wilderness with nothing but computers and lions he has that mad professor look going on!

Great work Spike! :bowdown:

 

[Spikepretorius]

Yeah he was a bit overwhelmed by the occasion. His first words were an apology for his lack of social skills due to being solo in the desert for so long.
He's a helluva nice man. Definitely the coolest person that I have met.

We still want to try follow up on the idea of auctioning his old vehicle. I chatted to him about it. He seemed heartboken at the thought of getting rid of it because it has served him for so long but the prospect of getting good bucks for it could make it worthwhile.

Oh yes, nearly forgot. We arranged for his sister to be at the function so there was a bit of a family reunion as well.

 

[Spikepretorius]

The Desert Lion site updated with news of the new vehicle
http://www.desertlion.info/news.html

 

[UK4X4]

he looks to be a cool character...the sites neat two.. I'll be waiding a good few work hours rumaging through there, some neat photos on a first fly through.

 

[gjackson]

Spike,

That is a very cool thing the club has done. Exceptional!

cheers

 

[Spikepretorius]

Some feedback after his first short trip

Dear Adolf,
I hope you had a good trip to Taiwan.
I have just returned from a week-long trip with the Cruiser. I worked in the area between the Springbok River and the Hoanib River and covered 1200 km over varied terrain from sand dunes to basalt rocks.
The Cruiser exceeded all my expectations. Most impressive was it's power; it's ground clearance, and the suspension. I used the ARB lockers with great effect on two occasions to get out of thick sand.
The petrol consumption is better than I expected, the Fini pump is a little gem, and the storage containers in the back are very useful.

A remarkable thing happened during the Cruiser's first introduction to the desert lions. I located a group of eight lions in the Agab River and approached them cautiously. The Cruiser idled along quietly in low-range and I was able to approach to within 50 metres of the lions.
I sat observing them for about 20 minutes when, to utmost my surprise, they got up and walked towards me. They came right up to the Cruiser (some of the sub-adults were less than a metre away) and then lay down all around the vehicle for almost two hours. As it got dark the adult lionesses started stalking a herd of mountain zebras in the distance, but the younger lions stayed with the Cruiser, and when I left they followed the vehicle for little while. It was an unforgettable experience. Sadly I could not capture any of this on film because it was totally unexpected and my cameras were not at hand (I must still rig the inside of the vehicle).

After the first excursion into the desert I am most impressed with the vehicle. Not only will it fill the shoes of Hagar, but with all the modifications and accessories I believe that the Land Cruiser will take the Desert Lion Project to new levels.

Kind regards,
Flip

Looks like he might need an extra leaf at the back or maybe air helper springs

 

[Spikepretorius]

Can a moderator please edit the title to remove "we need your help" and then nuke this post. Thanks

 

[UK4X4]

Spike,

get the title changed, but keep the post

there are some of us that take an interest to things outside are local area..

I'm hitting the middle east to work......so africa is way close.......our first
trip outside the work zone will be kenya / Tanzania...to show the wife real LARGE animals in the wild

agree....he needs an add a leaf of airbags in the rear...he's dragging big time....