Kingsley Celebrates Land Rover's 70th

- Steve Smith

The dawn chorus: a rooster crows; some spurfowl squawk and screech. And, closer to the tents, a fan belt squeals and an asthmatic splutter eases into a slow, smooth-running thump.

I’m on an expedition organised by Kingsley Holgate to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Land Rover, and the convoy includes a number of Series Landies that date all the way back to 1949 − just a year after the first-ever Land Rover ventured offthe production line and into the annals of history.

There’s a morning ritual amongst Series owners, I’ve discovered. Half-an-hour or so before departure, they all check their cars’ vital fluids, then start them up and let them idle a bit (usually with the bonnet still open,) just to get them up to running temperature. Then they all seem to gather at one vehicle at a time, peering into the engine bay and discussing either: a) How sweetly it’s running; b) What is that strange noise; or c) What is the difference between this model and another. When that’s done, the gathering turns into a mobile car-parts swap meet:

“The V-belts for the 2-litre are getting hard to find.”

“Ja, but if you need one, let me know. I asked Paul and he had 18 in a box somewhere, so I bought all 18…”

The trip started at Stonehaven Castle in Shongweni, KwaZulu-Natal, which is the home of Bruce Leslie, the Holgate’s expedition-fixer and aide par excellence. 70 Landies lined up in a huge ‘70’ to honour the milestone.