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  • Writer's pictureCharline Ribotta

More Than 40,000 Km Solo With My Hilux!

Updated: Jul 27, 2023


DEPARTURE Date: 26th January 2022 (almost 17 months) City + country: Lyon, France


VEHICLE Name: Rafiki (Swahili ‘my friend’, Arabic ‘protector’) Make + specificities: Toyota Hilux Vigo Le Cap, X-tra Cab 2013 (but built in 2014 in Chamonix, France), D-4D, 2.5L, SECOND HAND


EQUIPMENT Mechanical: x5 (AT) Cooper Tires (S/T MAXX), skid plates, suspension kit, fuel pre-filter, snorkel w/ cyclonic head Off-road: x2 recovery boards (+ hi-lift jack) Overland: rooftop tent


HUMAN Charline, 35 y/o (but 6 in my head)


EXPEDITION REAL TIME DATA Exact mileage: 40,158 KM Continents: 3 (EUROPE, ASIA, AFRICA) Total countries: 27


Part 1: Europe + Turkiye mileage: 10,000 km Countries: 16


Part 2: Southern + Eastern Africa: > 30,000 km Countries: 11 Countries traveled twice: South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania Countries traveled in real time: Lesotho + Zimbabwe


TROUBLES Rafiki mechanical issues: NONE Rafiki overland equipment issue: load bed top broke (in Zambia) + right rear light broke (in Uganda) Rafiki road issue: 1 flat tyre (in Namibia) + stuck (in Namibia) Charline health issue: malaria (in Botswana) Charline safety issues: 3 (in Namibia)


MAINTENANCE Rafiki service checks: 3 (Cape Town w/ @elmotorworkshop , Nairobi, and Cape Town w/ @all_terrain_vehicle_ctr ), every 10,000 km Rafiki’s parts replacement: main battery (the 2014 original has been replaced, awesome lifespan btw!) Mistake: FORGOT TO ROTATE THE TYRES


UPDATES Rafiki’s new setup + solar panel + new auxiliary battery Waiting quotes to ship Rafiki……….let’s see.


BEST MOMENTS: ENDLESS


END OF THE EXPEDITION: NOT IN THE HORIZON.









BTW, can you guess where I am in real time?


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