TRIP NOTES

Letter from the Editor

Bentayga. Yes, it is the name of the first SUV from luxury carmaker Bentley; the subject of our main article this month.

But what is the origin of this fancy name? Well, according to Wiki it was inspired by Taiga, the largest transcontinental snow forest in the world that stretches across Russia, Mongolia, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, the United States, Canada, and Scotland. It is composed of the first four letters of Bentley and an altered spelling of Taiga. Oh, and apparently Bentayga also means “carried interest” in Swahili.

Well, our Publisher and CEO, Wilhelm Loots, carried some interest (well, actually a lot) when he got acquainted with the sumptuous diesel version of the Bentayga on a road trip to Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards (incidentally, uva mira means “wonderful grape”) in the Western Cape.

But back to interesting and exotic vehicle model names, while Bentley has chosen the Taiga as inspiration, Toyota has named one of its huge Us-built pickup models Tundra – a type of biome North of the Taiga where tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons...

Then there is Touareg – the flagship SUV of Volkswagen, now available locally in its third incarnation, named for the nomadic Tuareg people of the Saharan desert in North Africa. Or how about the Everest from Ford, named for the highest mountain on Earth, or the Karoq of Skoda – created by a combination of the Aleutian (the inhabitants of the Alaskan island Kodiak) words Kaa’raq and Ruq (a car and an arrow), which is also the motive of the Skoda logo. Clever.

Or how about Kona, the latest Suv-model from Hyundai, destined for South Africa, named for the Western district of Hawaii, signifying the “leeward” or “dry side” of the island?

This area is home to the Ironman World Championship Triathlon held each year in October in Kailua-kona, and ironically (yes, pun intended) Hyundai recently released an Ironman version (as part of a deal with Marvel Movies) of the Kona ...

So, what is the point of all this? Well, just that the names of (mostly) SUVS can take you on wild travels to outlandish places and introduce you to some of the most interesting people on the planet. This is exactly what Kingsley and Ross Holgate plans with their Cape Town to Kathmandu expedition – a trip of discovery over 17,000 km through 19 countries with, well, Land Rover Discoveries.

Ferdi

ferdi@roadtripmag.co.za @Ferdivos