dhackney
Expedition Leader
Interview Date: 29 August 2008
Interview Location: Cusco, Peru
Overlander(s): Louis Strik
Overlander(s) Nationality: Holland
Overlander(s) Web site:
Overlander(s) Email(s):
Overlander(s) Favorite Destination:
Overlander(s) Least Favorite Destination:
Overlander(s) Most Memorable Person Met On Route:
Overlander(s) Biggest Lesson(s) to Date: Brazilian Amazonia roads are very good to excellent.
Expedition Planned Route: Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Patagonia
Expedition Begin Date: Arrived Buenos Aires 11 July 2008
Expedition Planned Duration: One year
Expedition Comments: Limited to one year due to his company obligations at home and one year’s supply of medications (has two artificial valves in his heart). Brazil is expensive. Drive 11k km in six weeks from BA to Cusco. Traveled across Brazil and up the 319 to Manaus. Drove on up to Guyana but was unable to enter due to demand for Carnet. Don’t know if the carnet requirement was due to a recent accident involving a vehicle from Brazil, a change in government policy or an attempt to procure a bribe. Related that the roads in Brazil, including the trans Amazon and the 319 are in excellent condition. 319 is being paved and bridges are all excellent. One 50km stretch of 319 is tough. Said road from Brazil/Peru border to Cusco was worse than anything in Brazil. Got stuck once in Brazil, pulled out by travel companions.
Vehicle (year/make/model): 2003 Land Rover Defender 110 HCPU
Vehicle Engine (displacement/type): 2.5 liter turbo diesel, 5 speed manual
Vehicle Kilometers When Purchased: 30,000
Vehicle Current Total Kilometers: 70,000
Vehicle Current Expedition Kilometers: 11,000
Vehicle Fuel Efficiency: 10 liters per 100 kilometers / 23.5 miles per gallon
Vehicle Wet Weight: ~3 metric tons
Vehicle Dimensions:
Vehicle Expedition Maintenance/Repairs: Rebuilt clutch master cylinder
Vehicle Comments: Purchased on 2005. Bought a late model, low km vehicle with goal to minimize service / maintenance / upkeep issues. Chose the pickup variant due to increase in available camper space. Pickup gives two meters in camper length and ~10cm additional width. Spent one year researching the vehicle and one year on the build. Used three different suppliers. Camper shell: offroadteknik.com; Camper interior: landycamper.com; Vehicle overall prep/build: daams4x4service.nl. Happy with build quality. 40k Euros total investment. Built the vehicle for the 319 based on expectation of one of the world’s toughest roads. Now feels he over built and spent more on the vehicle than he needed to. Believes all you need are good springs and shocks for Brazil with the improved roads in Amazonia.
Shipping Company/Companies: Grimaldi.
Shipping Comments: Drove right off the ship in BA, no customs delays. No security issues in African port stops on the route.
Insurance Company/Companies: AIG for comprehensive, $3,000 USD per year. San Christobal (Argentina) for SA country liability (not all countries included). [Editor’s note: Global liability is available from AIG as a companion policy to the comprehensive coverage.]
Insurance Comments: Bought the AIG coverage through a broker in Holland.
Interview Overall Comments: Traveling alone is challenging. There is no one else to share the load with route planning, navigation, border crossings, security, etc. The six week, 11km push from BA to Cusco was driven by the dry season weather window in the Amazon basin.
Interview Location: Cusco, Peru
Overlander(s): Louis Strik
Overlander(s) Nationality: Holland
Overlander(s) Web site:
Overlander(s) Email(s):
Overlander(s) Favorite Destination:
Overlander(s) Least Favorite Destination:
Overlander(s) Most Memorable Person Met On Route:
Overlander(s) Biggest Lesson(s) to Date: Brazilian Amazonia roads are very good to excellent.
Expedition Planned Route: Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Patagonia
Expedition Begin Date: Arrived Buenos Aires 11 July 2008
Expedition Planned Duration: One year
Expedition Comments: Limited to one year due to his company obligations at home and one year’s supply of medications (has two artificial valves in his heart). Brazil is expensive. Drive 11k km in six weeks from BA to Cusco. Traveled across Brazil and up the 319 to Manaus. Drove on up to Guyana but was unable to enter due to demand for Carnet. Don’t know if the carnet requirement was due to a recent accident involving a vehicle from Brazil, a change in government policy or an attempt to procure a bribe. Related that the roads in Brazil, including the trans Amazon and the 319 are in excellent condition. 319 is being paved and bridges are all excellent. One 50km stretch of 319 is tough. Said road from Brazil/Peru border to Cusco was worse than anything in Brazil. Got stuck once in Brazil, pulled out by travel companions.
Vehicle (year/make/model): 2003 Land Rover Defender 110 HCPU
Vehicle Engine (displacement/type): 2.5 liter turbo diesel, 5 speed manual
Vehicle Kilometers When Purchased: 30,000
Vehicle Current Total Kilometers: 70,000
Vehicle Current Expedition Kilometers: 11,000
Vehicle Fuel Efficiency: 10 liters per 100 kilometers / 23.5 miles per gallon
Vehicle Wet Weight: ~3 metric tons
Vehicle Dimensions:
Vehicle Expedition Maintenance/Repairs: Rebuilt clutch master cylinder
Vehicle Comments: Purchased on 2005. Bought a late model, low km vehicle with goal to minimize service / maintenance / upkeep issues. Chose the pickup variant due to increase in available camper space. Pickup gives two meters in camper length and ~10cm additional width. Spent one year researching the vehicle and one year on the build. Used three different suppliers. Camper shell: offroadteknik.com; Camper interior: landycamper.com; Vehicle overall prep/build: daams4x4service.nl. Happy with build quality. 40k Euros total investment. Built the vehicle for the 319 based on expectation of one of the world’s toughest roads. Now feels he over built and spent more on the vehicle than he needed to. Believes all you need are good springs and shocks for Brazil with the improved roads in Amazonia.
Shipping Company/Companies: Grimaldi.
Shipping Comments: Drove right off the ship in BA, no customs delays. No security issues in African port stops on the route.
Insurance Company/Companies: AIG for comprehensive, $3,000 USD per year. San Christobal (Argentina) for SA country liability (not all countries included). [Editor’s note: Global liability is available from AIG as a companion policy to the comprehensive coverage.]
Insurance Comments: Bought the AIG coverage through a broker in Holland.
Interview Overall Comments: Traveling alone is challenging. There is no one else to share the load with route planning, navigation, border crossings, security, etc. The six week, 11km push from BA to Cusco was driven by the dry season weather window in the Amazon basin.
