The Road Chose Me: Driving a Jeep Wrangler 80,000 miles around Africa for 2 years

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

Everyone always asks how the Jeep is running, if there have been any failures and what work I have had to do to it.

All the details on all the Maintenance, repairs and some key upgrades I have done to the Jeep are in the latest FREE edition of JPFreek Adventure Magazine - you can read the article here - JPFreek Adventure Magazine Spring 2018 Page 64

Fire away with any questions you have about everything.

The Jeep should be good now for another 40,000 miles on the famous Cape to Cairo run on the East Coast!

-Dan

 

[406to417]

I just ordered my AEV 2.5 lift, I hope I don't regret it not getting the 3.5. I'm suprised AEV puts so much emphasis on their taller lifts. The 2.5 seems more like a real world overlanding height.

 

[Jim K in PA]

Good write-up for the refresh on the JK, Dan. That front sway bar disconnect looks almost identical to the old YJ front axle disconnect.

How is the A/C system holding up? No service required? The older I get, the more critical that system is to me.

Keep on rollin' on!

Jim

 

[Dan Grec]

I just ordered my AEV 2.5 lift, I hope I don't regret it not getting the 3.5. I'm suprised AEV puts so much emphasis on their taller lifts. The 2.5 seems more like a real world overlanding height.

I think the 3.5 and 4.5 came first because they are the "complete" system with the hi-steer setup. It's a very comprehensive lift that takes a LOT into consideration for good handling. The 2.5 came later and is less comprehensive.
I feel the same way, I prefer a lower lift, but in the end I'm just too heavy.

Good write-up for the refresh on the JK, Dan. That front sway bar disconnect looks almost identical to the old YJ front axle disconnect.

How is the A/C system holding up? No service required? The older I get, the more critical that system is to me.

Keep on rollin' on!

Jim

Cheers!
The A/C still blows really, really cold, no service or maintenance of any kind.
Even on 90F days it will make my hands uncomfortably cold on the wheel if I leave it on too long

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

After over 6,500 miles through South Africa, I cut through Swaziland briefly, and now I I have driven into country number 23, Mozambique!




The border crossing was easy and hassle-free. I was told becuase it was raining there would be no Poilce to bribe me on the roads. Perfect!

More: http://theroadchoseme.com/into-mozambique

From the capital of Maputo I have moved up the coast and found paradise in the little beach side town of Tofo. I rented a surfboard and am now living the beach life!



More: http://theroadchoseme.com/tofo-mozambique

Speaking Portuguese again is great fun, the water is warm and the beers are cold and cheap. I suspect I might stay a while!

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

After a great time on the beach in Mozambique, I have driven into African country number 24, Zimbabwe.
The Immigration guy in Mozambique didn't want to let me leave, though after a few hours of patience he finally let me go. As beautiful as it was, I don't really want to get stuck there!

Right from the get-go the mountains in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe are stunning, and provide tons of gravel roads to explore and endless wildcamping.





Read more: http://theroadchoseme.com/the-eastern-highlands-around-chimanimani

The country feels free and happy to be rid of their dictator who was kicked out by the military just under a year ago. Finally people can talk about how bad Mugabe was, and they seem all the happier for it! It feels like the country has a very bright future.

... And then, even more mountains and exploring





More: http://theroadchoseme.com/even-more-zimbabwe-mountains

I'm loving this place and the laid-back and friendly locals and already know I want to stay longer than my 4 week visa!

-Dan

 

[Christian P.]

dude you are killing me! I cant wait to go back

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

Zimbabwe is continuing to blow my mind. Every day provides something new - it's always stunning, and there is never anyone around.

In the south I checked out the region near Matopos National Park which has a lot of beautiful places and great remote places to explore.



We found an awesome cave full of ancient paintings on the side of a mountain. Really, really cool


More: http://theroadchoseme.com/around-matopos-national-park

Since then we've been checking out Mana Pools National Park. We camped right on the banks of the Zambezi River looking out to Zambia. Elephants walked right through camp, and at night a Hyena came within 20 feet of me, and we could hear lions roaring not too far away while sitting around the fire. Spine tingling.


People ask how close we get to the big animals.
Close!


This guy with the AK47 was our guard while walking around looking for lions. We could hear two different prides roaring with us in the middle - though we never did see them. Doing it on foot is a whole different experience!


A ton more pics here: http://theroadchoseme.com/mana-pools-national-park


Also I just uploaded the latest YouTube video, showing our time in Botswana. Being extremely close to lions is hard to forget!

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

After a total of 38,668 miles I have driven into African country number 25 - Zambia!

I'm really looking forward to this one, and finally I feel like progress is being made on this "to the North" segment of the expedition.

The map on the hood is getting filled in by the day!






You can read about the whole border crossing here:
http://theroadchoseme.com/into-zambia

-Dan

 

[mulva]

Hi Dan,

How have the KO2s been handling and wearing? Were they enough for West Africa or would you rather have had mud tires? I'll be going from SA up the west coast into Spain soon between November - June and am trying to decide between the KO2s and new KM3s. Im concerned the KM3s might be overkill.

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi Dan,

How have the KO2s been handling and wearing? Were they enough for West Africa or would you rather have had mud tires? I'll be going from SA up the west coast into Spain soon between November - June and am trying to decide between the KO2s and new KM3s. Im concerned the KM3s might be overkill.

The KO2s have been nothing short of brilliant in every way. I actually just put a video on youtube about patching only the second puncture I have had on the whole trip.

The choice between KO2s and KM3s is probably more about how far off the beaten path you want to get. If you want to get seriously, seriously lost and spend a year + on the West Coast, the KM3s might be good. For anything less, if you plan to be on highways in places like Nigeria and Cameroon for example, the KO2s will be perfect.

Have a fantastic trip, it will change you forever!
Let me know if you need a hand getting any of the visas, I'm keeping in touch with people doing the West now, and the visa situation changes all the time.

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi Everyone,

Zambia is off to a stunning start.
I have been playing with Chimpanzees again, hiking into beautiful waterfalls, exploring wilderness areas and ancient caves, and I even managed to run the Jeep out of gas!
FAIL!

To read those stories, checkout these two pages:
http://theroadchoseme.com/chimfunshi-chimp-orphanage

http://theroadchoseme.com/mutinondo-wilderness-caves-waterfalls

--

Also the latest edition of the FREE JPFreek Adventure Magazine just came out!
http://static4.theroadchoseme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/JPFreek-_Summer_2018__cover-800.jpeg

http://currentissue.jpfreek.com/publication/?i=519437&ver=html5

There is a big update from me, and the Editor Eric has built a wicked offroad trailer that has me drooling.
I've never been a trailer guy, but he has me seriously thinking about it for the future!

You can read all about his trailer build here: http://currentissue.jpfreek.com/publication/?i=519437&ver=html5&p=14

-Dan

 

[shortbus4x4]

You'll like Zambia. I lived there for three years in the early 80s near Chipata. I was a kid and ran around barefoot most of the time. Got really good at soccer.

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi Everyone,

Just for the fun of it, I'm running a prize pack giveaway !

Up for grabs are:

• A Traditional Tinga Tinga oil on canvas painting from East Africa (18″ x 12″)
• The Road Chose Me Vol. 1 (Signed) book
• The Road Chose Me Africa Embroidered Patch
• The Road Chose Me Africa Sticker

For your chance to win, just follow The Road Chose Me on Facebook and Instagram.

The Road Chose Me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/theroadchoseme/

The Road Chose Me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/theroadchoseme/

I'll draw a winner at random on September 13th

Good luck!

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi Everyone,

I've been exploring remote parts of Zambia and absolutely loving it!

This ferry across a hippo and croc infested river was a highlight - it's a bunch of barrels lashed together, and it's pulled across the fast-flowing river by hand!





More on that here: http://theroadchoseme.com/splitting-north-and-south-luangwa-national-parks

Since then we've treated ourselves to some affordable luxury at Marula Lodge on the banks of the Luangwa River, where we go into the National Park every day at sunrise and sunet.
We keep bumping into large critters like this:





And we even saw this lion chased off the river by hippos! So much for king of the jungle!




And finally! A leopard!


You can see a ton more animal pics in the two posts:
http://theroadchoseme.com/marula-lodge-south-luangwa-national-park-pt-1
http://theroadchoseme.com/marula-lodge-south-luangwa-national-park-pt-2

Zambia is wild!

-Dan