There’s been some interesting movement on the camper van front. Recall that we were deciding between an empty-shell of a camper van and a Land Rover. Here’s where we got with our decision:

The shell camper van would have no-doubt made an excellent restoration project for a passionate individual with a lot of time, space and tools. This is the sort of project that I would love to take on at some point in my life. Alas, not now. Right now, we’re on a travel mission to open our eyes to our world, and–crucially–not restore a classic car. Truth is, we wouldn’t be able to do the van justice nor would it do us justice on the road [in it’s present state].

So the Land Rover was a winner. Before embarking on this trip, many people had suggested to us that a Land Rover Defender was the way to go. Squiffy previously owned a Land Rover and her father had even driven one from the UK to Australia back in the day when intercontinental travel was hardcore. To be honest, the Defenders that we saw were either in immaculate and as such very expensive, or complete sheds that were on their last legs and probably wouldn’t have gotten us outside the M25. This Landie, a Discovery 200, was in great condition keenly priced too. We rocked-up at the mechanic’s workshop to find out whether his friend, who had first dibs on it, still wanted it or not.

The mechanic had been in touch with his friend and–blast–it was still very much wanted. A little disappointed we were but, hang on a minute, what about that VW camper van that you’ve got out back?