Safari Camp Workhorse

This 2006 packed a lot of history in its decade + in Kenya.  

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Its journey from Italy to Kenya started in 2005 for work on safari camps in the north, in Meru county, and then down in the northern Mara.  While it isn’t known exactly what this vehicle was used for, it can be surmised by the fact that it is a left hand drive vehicle with only 50K kilometers on the original engine, that it was used primarily for surveying the area and working on the camps..  When Safari Land Rovers purchased the vehicle, the engine was in good shape but the bushes, joints and interior were pretty beat up.  See pics below from when it was purchased. 

 

After stripping the vehicle down to its shell and removing all dents and stripping the old paint from the vehicle, the Safari Land Rover team built the truck back up keeping an on authenticity, while also making it a more comfortable ride. 

 

As is the case with many Kenyan vehicles, due to the lack of humidity and no salt on the roads, the undercarriage is in pristine shape.  To be safe, the undercarriage was stripped and recoated to provide additional protection for its North American journey.  It was clear that Canada would be the home for this vehicle since the US only allows in Defenders that are 25 years old, vs Canada which considers vehicles just 15 years old a classic.

 

There's not another vehicle in North America with this much history with original engine power.  The TD5 is renowned for running strong, well past 500K kilometers.  With just 50K KM on the engine, there are many more adventures to be had.