Story by Andrew and Karen Taylor / Photos by Jeff Aronson

[Andrew and Karen Taylor, London, England, shared the beginnings of their around the world tour in a recent issue of The Rovers North News. With their trusty ’08 Defender 130 they’ve traveled across the US and Canada. Here’s the latest installment of their travels. –ed]

Hello US of A. After months of preparation, we finally arrived to start the next step in our adventure.

We took our UK registered 2008 Land Rover 130” to the USA and Canada so we could experience the diversity of the scenery that is on offer over here. The Land Rover proved to be the natural choice for the trip due to the large number of unpaved, logging and trail roads that cross the countryside, all of which are generally accessible to the public. Given the Land Rover would be our only transport and accommodation, we chose to avoid extreme off-roading. (…)

[Andrew and Karen Taylor moved from Aberdeen, Scotland to London. There, Andrew works for BP and Karen works for ENI, the Italian national oil company. Both are “travelers with a passion for British classic cars and Land Rovers.” With Andrew’s 40th birthday came the decision to celebrate by touring the world in a Land Rover. Here’s their first installment of their travels. –ed.]

Having too much time on your hands feels like a luxury; it can also prove extremely expensive. Well that’s my experience, so let me explain the situation.

In the winter of 2007 I visited family in Perth, Australia. I boarded the return flight home to the UK as a totally rational, slightly conservative, thirty-something quickly heading towards becoming a forty-something. Getting back to work remained my main priority at the time of take-off. By the mid point of the flight I had totally re-planned my life and its key drivers. (…)

By Denise McCluggage
As a rally driver for the Rover factory in the early 60s (3-liter Rover sedan) I met the man who created the first Land Rover. At dinner one night he told the story of how they took some GI Jeep discards, lengthened the wheel base and built the prototype.

Time masks his name, but memory and imagination plays back bright star bursts from a cutting tool chopping the frame of an olive drab Jeep some departing Yank left in a Sussex lane before dashing home to a rusted basketball hoop on an Indiana barn. I see the Brits welding in a length of steel, standing back and saying: “That looks about right.”

Story & Photos by Louise Orlando and Andrew Barbour

[Louise Orlando and Andrew Barbour, Cape Charles, VA, took their 1960 Series II from London to Capetown 16 years ago. This is the final chapter in their remarkable trip –ed.]

When the Ugandan border guard stamped our passports to make our escape from Zaire complete, we kissed the ground - literally. Freed from the mud, bugs, and cloying jungle of the Ituri rainforest, our spirits took wing again. Ahead lay the fabled Mountains of the Moon and Uganda, once described by Winston Churchill as the “Pearl of Africa.”
After a month in Zaire, we were physically and mentally exhausted. We decided to recharge our batteries at Lake Mburo, one of Uganda’s lesser-known national parks. It consists of classic African grassland, dotted with thorn trees and thickets of scrub. At its center lies Lake Mburo itself, home to crocodiles, a large hippo population, and myriad birds. (…)

Story and Photos by Eric Evans
[Eric Evans and his wife, Tessa, and their ’97 Defender 90 SW, live in Naples, FL. The owner of a commercial landscape company, Eric entertained RN News readers when he bought his ex-MOD 109” from Rovers North and drove it to Florida. We’ve read of his explorations of Big Bend, TX, and his 45-day trip to Alaska, too. Here’s his account of a fall ’07 trip to Iceland –ed.]
In describing “The Happiest Places on Earth,” Eric Weiner noted that “Iceland is cold and dark for much of the year. It is isolated and, for goodness sakes, has the word ‘ice’ in its name. Not much happy about that yet these descendants of the Vikings are, statistically, among the planet’s happiest people.” What a challenge – we had to find out why for ourselves.
The internet provided a lot of information about touring Iceland by Land Rover but I also received significant help from Bruce Elfstrom at Overland Experts. (…)

Story and photo by Clint Ragan
[Clint Ragan was born and raised in Fairbanks, AK. He and his wife Barbara are both teachers. With their children Keegan, 12, and Kelley,8, they love the outdoors provided by their home state. Here’s what they did last summer –ed.]
Where did it start? We have all heard the stories of how people get hooked on Land Rovers; for me it has been a lifelong adventure with only a few non-Rover years mixed in. When I was 7 years old my Dad purchased a then ten-year old 1966 IIA 88”. Being young, I had no idea of the impact that 88” would have on the rest of my vehicular experiences for years to come. That trusty 88” served my family for the next 20 years, shuttling my sister and I to all our activities over the years, and serving as my means of transportation though college. I ended up letting that Rover go after college, one of those decisions that we look back upon with regret. (…)

Story and photos by Colin Hughes
[Colin Hughes, lives in Cannington, Ontario with his wife, Gaetane, and daughter Nadine. An avid Land Rover fan he’s owned two Range Rover Classics and a Discovery Series I. The Land Rovers help get the family out into the woods where they enjoy mountain biking, canoeing, hiking and camping –ed.]
My 1995 Discovery had 435,000 kms on the clock, and was going to start to need more work than could be recovered if I were to sell it. As an enthusiast I’ve always had a soft spot for the P38 Range Rover and took every opportunity that presented itself to drive one. Thus the search began. With the cost to buy a Range Rover P38A dropping to reasonable levels, does it make sense to purchase one as a daily driver? Would it be reliable on our family camping trips?
kilometers on the clock. High mileage for some but based on my previous Discovery, this truck was just getting broken in. (…)

Story & Photos By Robbie Basaras
[Robbie Basaras is a 27-year old electrician from South Woodham Ferrers, outside of Chelmsford, in England. He loved “taking things apart as a child” which led to a fondness for Land Rover and Triumph automobiles. He shares an adventuresome side with his girlfriend, Rachel, a schoolteacher. Here’s their adventure –ed.]
Among the great aspects of living in the United Kingdom is the fact we have so many different countries, diverse cultures and better weather pretty much on our doorstep. For example, within an hour and a half I can arrive in a foreign country complete with all my camping equipment and SWB Defender. The 30 minute crossing by train underneath the English Channel opens up the gateway into France. Too close? OK, take a 12 hour drive south and you’re in Spain. Too common (after all, most of us Brits take our holidays there)? How about a few hours drive east into Belgium or Germany? The list goes on and on. (…)

Story & Photo By Calef Letorney
The plan was to drive my Ex- MOD 300 TDI 110 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Vermont in three days, by myself, fully loaded and pulling a heavy trailer, in the middle of a July heat wave. To succeed I needed to drive at least 15 hours a day. Like many early Defenders, mine lacks air conditioning, so I knew the trip was going to be physically exhausting for both me and my Rover. The goal of three days travel time would only be possible if I had no mechanical issues; the stage was set for what would become an epic journey.
I left Salt Lake City plagued by uncertainty, feeling like I was limping home to fix my mechanical issues. Limping BEFORE the 3000 mile drive, not good. (…)

Story & Photos by: Roger Sutcliffe
[Roger Sutcliffe lives in Chilliwack, British Columbia, with Polly, his wife and children Bailey and Liam. Their small farm includes 7 horses and a 1996 Discovery. An aircraft mechanic for AcroHelipro Global Services, he specializes in structural repairs on helicopters. He’s also a wildlife and commercial photographer, which might help explain this family expedition –ed.]
Three thousand kilometers, my wife and two kids, a wedding, camping, and a new-to-us ‘96 Discovery- was it a recipe for adventure or disaster? Only time would tell. I confidently told my wife, Polly, that all the stuff would fit no problem. I had added a dog guard and a soft pod on the factory rack of the otherwise stock Discovery. We were on the road by 9:45 stuffed to the gills with Bailey (9) and Liam (3) in the back with a pile of necessary stuff between them. Although we were fully loaded the Discovery handled great and performed well on the hills. (…)