Only one life…
I never thought that we would ever have an electric Defender on the cover of a magazine on my watch. Now that it has happened, I’m not surprised at all.
When on holiday in Botswana a few weeks ago we were watching a young pride of lions hunt in the Chobe National Park. I was in a Toyota Land Cruiser and there must have been about ten other Cruisers nearby. There was also one lonely Land Rover Defender game viewer. As it crawled past us, I tried to listen to its sound in order to identify the engine – except for the crunch of rubber tyres on dirt tracks, it made no sound at all. I asked my guide about it and he confirmed that it was electric.
Now as we continue to wait for JLR to launch its first fully electric vehicle, we have to make do with companies retrofitting other manufacturers’ electric car systems to old Land Rovers. It’s exciting but is not a cheap exercise. Read more about it on page 36.
In 2019 I was in Singapore for the start of the Last Overland expedition. It was the mother of all road trips and its focus was Oxford, the most famous Series I in the world, coming home. The book and TV series are out now and you can read all about this great adventure on page 46.
A few days ago I found out that a good Land Rover friend, Gerard van Meygaarden, had unexpectedly passed away. We used to call him Big G and he was the friendliest and most chilled trip and expedition leader on the planet.
I was lucky enough to do several trips all over southern Africa with him at the helm. I will never forget on one trip I had to share a room with Big G, but thanks to his snoring I did not get a minute’s sleep. I wish now that I could have that night over again so I could wake him up and have a chat about Land Rovers and our families. Big G sadly leaves behind his lovely wife Taryn and two very young kids.
No matter what happens to our Land Rovers we can replace a chassis, engine or door and get going again. Sadly, life is not like that: when your time is up, you can’t just order another one online. Never before has the saying One Life, Live it, sounded more apt. You have left a massive hole in the Land Rover community, Big G. Love and miss you pal.