Johan Olivier’s 1980 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ75

On the odometer?

342 630 km

How many owners?

I am the second owner. It used to be a field ambulance for the Botswana government.

How much did it cost?

I paid R65 000 for it in 1998 (with 172 000 km on), and spent R5 000 on paintwork.

Why a Toyota?

I associate Toyota with reliability, and I haven’t been disappointed. Besides, the parts are available throughout Africa. I do the maintenance myself.

Does it have a nickname?

Our Cruiser

Where have you been in it?

From the Kruger National Park to the West Coast, the Kalahari, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Botswana, Zimbabwe (Mana Pools) and Venda.
Modifications?
I replaced the mechanical points with an electric ignition system. This reduced the fuel consumption considerably.

Repairs?

I’ve had work done on the gearbox once. The Land Cruiser is 30 years old, and I’ve replaced a seal or two.

What do you like?

The vehicle is spacious and each member of my family of six has his or her own seat and window that can open. This means that the road doesn’t get too long. The rear seats fold flat and sometimes I load the children’s quad in the back too.

And what don’t you like?

With the rooftop tent on, it doesn’t fit into the garage.

What would you change?

For the open road I’d like a fifth gear in the four-speed gearbox.
Your dream destination?
The choice is between the Makgadikgadi Pans and Mana Pools. We’re planning a tour to Tanzania.

Best memory?

We were driving to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park from a Kalahari farm we were visiting at sunrise one morning in July last year. We were a kilometre from the park when a stone thrown up by an approaching vehicle cracked the Cruiser’s windscreen. We couldn’t see anything through the window, so we removed it and continued to the park. It was an unforgettable day, and people asked us if we’d removed it specially for the game viewing experience. All of us sat tightly wrapped up in a blanket on the freezing drive back to the farm that night.

Would you drive through Africa in it?

Of course. It’s my dream to go all the way to Kenya.

What do you pack for a long journey?

Few things beat a cold beer at sunset while you’re in nature with absolute silence around you.

If it were a celebrity?

The A-Team’s BA Baracus
(Mr T) – it’s obvious.

Originally published in DO#41 | December 2010