After much discussion, deliberation and window shopping we were slowly able to piece together what we thought might be required for an overland trip such as the one we were contemplating. This was not an easy task, given (as I mentioned before) that the amount of 4x4 and camping experience that Cath and I had probably wouldn’t have filled a thimble.

And so it was, armed with the knowledge of numerous books, magazines, blog posts and 'expert' advice, that we dropped off our Land Cruiser at a reputable 4x4 workshop one bright and sunny morning. In the weeks that followed he begun to undergo his remarkable transformation from the relatively timid Land Cruiser into the Beast he was to become.

Some of the fittings and accessories include:

• An Alu-Cab safari canopy, giving us access to the rear of the vehicle through 4 additional side doors;
• A Howling Moon roof top tent and extension;
• A Howling Moon side awning, sides and front (this gives us a place to hide when the weather is miserable);
• An Outback drawer system (2 drawers and fridge slider);
• Two 40L Engel Fridges (one fridge, one freezer);
• A duel battery system to run the fridges, laptop, lights and any other electronic device (this is separate to the starter battery to power the engine);
• A 180L water tank for drinking water (a major overkill here);
• A 180L secondary fuel tank – this means we’re able to carry 270L of fuel at any given time which in hindsight was completely unnecessary, not to mention the cost of refilling, a staggering R1,887 at the Kozi Bay Engen (which in today’s terms would have been around R2,662);
• Two portable solar panels to help charge the duel battery system whilst we’re parked in one spot for a few days;
• 6 Yokahama 8 ply split rim tyres;
• Duel wheel carrier at the back of the vehicle to house the two spare tyres (originally they were going to be on the roof, but they didn’t fit into the roof rack purchased for that purpose and quite frankly we wouldn’t have been able to lift them to put them up there;
• A 1,000W inverter to convert 12v to 220v;
• A Safari snorkel, not so much for driving through water as I’d always thought, but for the dust; and
• Finally with all of this additional weight that we added we needed to upgrade the suspension so we opted for the Old Man Eu leaf and coil springs.

By the end of this blog series I will be happy to give feedback on what, at the end of the day, we felt was necessary and what we really could have done without.

It's a long list.

All I'll say is... don't always trust the 'experts'.