Setting off from London on March 13, 2024, a trio of friends named Karen, James and Spence aimed to travel throughout the African continent in their trusty steed, a 2010 Toyota Hilux D-4D double cab called Edna.
Due to the treacherous road conditions that they expected to counter, Edna was modified with items such as STT pro mud tyres, two spare wheels, large capacity batteries, 360 degree lights as well as a roof-mounted inflatable tent and pull out awning.
The friends have been showing their progress on their social media platforms as they traverse through each country, city and town. Their platforms, which began as relatively small, quickly grew and they now have over 380 000 followers on Instagram and as much as 6 million views on some of their videos.
Of course, no great trek such as this goes without issues, and the trio has experienced several setbacks along the way, including border control issues, unexpected terrain and chassis problems with their trusted steed.
Several weeks ago, Edna’s chassis had started giving issues as it was beginning to break apart. The trio were however able to spot this early on and as such were able to repair the chassis with the help of local mechanics.
Then, 59 days into their Journey, Edna’s chassis completely caved in and snapped in half. This, after the trio had crossed into Cameroon from Nigeria on some of the worst road conditions they had encountered to date, essentially putting more strain to the chassis which had previously been worked on.
The current state of their beloved Hilux simply means that they’re unable to continue the trek largely due to financial restraints.
Many took to various social media platforms to ask Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) whether they’d be able to assist the trio in any manner.
The power of social media proved evident when the official local Instagram account of TSAM announced that they had been in contact with the London 2 Cape Town trio and that they had offered assistance by means of their all-new Hilux GR Sport III.
However it seems the crew intends to turn down the offer and try to fix their old Hilux. In response to TSAM’s offer, they wrote “Big thank you to @Toyota_sa for offering to help out with a new car. But we need Edna to get to Cape Town and will do our best to get her fixed.”
Follow the London 2 Cape Town journey on Instagram and TikTok
IOL MOTORING