Hiring a 4WD in Africa: What We Learned in Zimbabwe
Hiring a 4WD in Africa: What We Learned in Zimbabwe
Four hours into our first real day of driving, we had covered just over 120 kilometres. That works out at about 30km/h. The corrugations on the Matetsi Road were as bad as anything I have driven, the tyres were pumped up hard because we had been told not to touch them, and two rooftop tents, one we did not need, were rattling away above our heads.
We had flown thirty hours from Australia for this. Bouncing along at not much better than walking pace, with everything in the back shaking itself to bits, I remember thinking that a few questions I never thought to ask back in March would have made that day a lot more comfortable.
Here is the thing though. That same vehicle carried us 2,297 kilometres through some of the roughest country in Southern Africa and never missed a beat. Not one mechanical issue in three weeks. We saw wild dogs, lion on five or six separate days, a pride of more than a dozen with cubs, and we got within twenty metres of two big males on foot. We would do it again tomorrow.
This post is about the gap between those two things, and about the questions that close it.
Who This Post is For
I have written this for someone who has never hired a fully kitted 4WD in Africa and is not entirely sure what they should be asking. If you have done a bit of overlanding already, some of what follows will be obvious, and I would rather cover the basics than leave a first timer stuck in the middle of nowhere wondering why nobody mentioned any of this.
A good chunk of our readers are outside Australia, and plenty of people planning an African self-drive have never done anything like it before. So I have tried to explain the why behind each question rather than just hand you a list. If you know why it matters, you will know what to do with the answer you get.
I should be clear about where we were starting from, because it explains a few of the assumptions I made. I was born and grew up in Zimbabwe, and we have been back plenty of times over the years, most recently in 2018. We have camped at Mana Pools and in Hwange before and driven most of these roads before. What was new this time was the vehicle.
On every previous trip we travelled with friends and borrowed all our gear, which is a luxury not everyone has. This was the first time we had hired a fully kitted 4WD and organised the whole thing ourselves, and it turned out to be a very different exercise to being handed the keys to a mate’s 100 Series Cruiser. Knowing a country well does not stop you making assumptions about a vehicle. It also does not stop the roads changing, and they had deteriorated noticeably since our last visit.
Everything here comes from that trip, three weeks in Zimbabwe in September 2025, in a hired 78 Series Land Cruiser Troop Carrier (Troopy).
Quick Guide: What to ask before you book
If you read nothing else, read this. These are the questions I wish I had asked, in the order I would ask them.
The Vehicle
- Has the suspension been upgraded to handle the weight of the fitted gear? This is the single most important question on the list.
- What tyres are fitted, what size, and are they tubed or tubeless?
- Can I adjust tyre pressures to suit conditions, and if not, why not?
- How many spare tyres, and is there a puncture repair kit and a compressor?
- How many kilometres has the vehicle done, and what is the service history?
- Which exact model am I getting? Get it in writing.
- What engine, and is it turbocharged? It matters more than you would think on the main roads.
The Setup
- Can you send me detailed photos of the setup, including storage, the kitchen and the engine bay? A walkaround video is better again.
- What 12V outlets are fitted, and what type? USB-A, USB-C, cigarette socket style?
- Is there a second battery, and is it lithium or AGM?
- What is the fuel capacity, and is there jerry can storage?
- What is the water tank capacity, and how do I fill and use it?
- What is the actual fuel consumption per 100km, or kilometres per litre?
- What bedding is supplied, and what do I need to bring?
Comms, Navigation and Safety
- What navigation is provided, and should I organise my own?
- Is there a two-way radio fitted, and if not, why not?
- What is in the first aid kit?
- What tools are included?
- What happens if I break down? Who do I call, where are they, and how does it work if I am remote?
The Paperwork
- What is the insurance excess, and what does the security deposit cover?
- What is the maximum third-party liability cover?
- What is excluded from the insurance?
- Do I need written permission for any of the roads or parks on my itinerary?
- Is there a daily kilometre limit?
- Can the vehicle leave the country?
First Decide How You Want to Travel
The first is fly-in private camps. You are collected, fed, driven around by a guide and put to bed somewhere lovely. It is a wonderful way to travel and you will see plenty. We have done this before as well, was a fantastic experience, but you pay for the privilege (see photos below from one of our trips). Good camps in Zimbabwe start at around USD 300 per person per night and climb from there, usually all inclusive, but you still have to get to each camp, which often means charter flights or long transfers on top.
I ran the numbers before we hired the vehicle. We spent eleven nights out in the bush. At USD 300 each per night, two of us in private camps for those same eleven nights would have come to a minimum of USD 6,600 (probably a lot more to be fair when you add on vehicle or air transfers plus tips) before we had gone anywhere or eaten a meal outside camp. Our entire nineteen-day trip, including the vehicle, every litre of fuel, all our food and drink, park fees and every night of accommodation from Victoria Falls to Harare, came in at just over USD 8,000. The camps are not a rip off, they are a completely different product, but self-driving buys you a lot more time in the bush for your money.
The second option sits in the middle, and plenty of people do not realise it exists. The company we hired from, and others in the region, offer supported trips at a range of price points. At one end they help with the route, the bookings and the park admin while you drive. At the other they will send someone along to do the driving for you. You still travel in the same sort of vehicle and camp properly, you just are not the one dealing with the potholes, the roadblocks and the parks offices. Naturally the more support you want, the more you pay.
If the idea of camping in the bush appeals but the thought of driving Zimbabwean roads yourself does not, this is the option to ask about. It is also a sensible way to do your first African trip and build up to driving it yourself next time.
The third is what we did. You hire the vehicle, plan the route, book the camps, cook your own food and sort out your own problems. Cheaper per night, far more flexible, and a great deal more satisfying. It is also more work, and there is nobody to call when the road turns out to be nothing like what you were told.
We will always pick option three. Just go in with your eyes open.
- Private Tented Camp in Hwange
- Our Bedroom in a Hwange Tented Camp
- Our Dining Room View in Hwange Private Camp
Where to Hire, and Why We Chose Zimbabwe
We had just under four weeks and we were only visiting Zimbabwe. While we still have close friends living there and being our birthplace, we had been itching to get back to the Zimbabwean bush and most importantly Mana Pools. That combination made the decision for us.
At the time of writing there is one company hiring fully kitted 4WDs in Zimbabwe, Mana Pools 4×4, based in Harare. If you want a vehicle with a rooftop tent, a fridge and a kitchen and you are picking it up in Zimbabwe, that is your option. Plenty of companies will hire you a standard vehicle with nothing on it, but that is a different trip.
The alternative was hiring in South Africa, Botswana or Namibia and driving in. South Africa in particular has a far bigger and better selection, more modern setups and a cheaper daily rate, helped considerably by not being priced in US dollars. Zimbabwe runs on USD, and from Australia that hurts. We are not making assumptions here either, we had costs shared with us from a mate for a Hilux with all the bells and whistles, a far nicer setup, hired in Namibia that cost was more than USD1,000 less for a similar time period for comparison purposes.
I priced this out before we booked. Flying into Johannesburg, collecting a vehicle and driving up was possible, but each border crossing carries a fee, the hire company handles that paperwork and charges for it, and dropping the vehicle in a different country costs more again. On my sums, for a three to four week window, Zimbabwe still came out slightly ahead once I factored in the days we would lose driving up and back. With a longer trip, and the vehicle going back to Johannesburg, South Africa or Windhoek, Namibia would have been cheaper per day, and we would have got a noticeably better vehicle. But always remember, crossing borders in Africa is not a quick and simple process and factoring this in is also important.
One more thing worth knowing. The vehicles we hired cannot leave Zimbabwe. If your trip takes in Botswana or Zambia as well, ask that question before anything else, because it will decide where you hire from.
We also paid to have the vehicle delivered to Victoria Falls rather than collecting it in Harare. That cost USD 490 and it was money well spent, because it saved us two days of driving at each end of a trip that was already tight.
What it Actually Cost
Here is the full picture, in US dollars, for fifteen days in September 2025.
| Item | USD |
|---|---|
| Base rate, 15 days at USD 245 per day | 3,675 |
| One way delivery fee, Harare to Victoria Falls | 490 |
| Zimbabwe Tourism Authority levy, 2 per cent | 85 |
| Total rental Works out at USD 283 per day, not the USD 245 headline rate | 4,250 |
| Refundable security deposit Paid by PayPal, refunded in full on return | 1,000 |
| Fuel for the trip 343.66 litres at an average USD 1.52 per litre | 522 |
All figures in US dollars, paid in cash on collection. Fuel is shown separately as it is not part of the rental cost.
The headline rate was USD 245 a day. What we actually paid worked out at USD 283 a day once the delivery fee and the levy were in. That gap matters, because the daily rate is what you use to compare operators and it is not what lands on your credit card. Ask for a total, not a rate.
A few other things buried in the paperwork. There was a 300km per day limit, with anything over that charged at USD 0.99 per kilometre. We drove 2,297km over fifteen days, so we were never close, but if you are planning big daily distances across several countries, do that sum before you sign. At a dollar a kilometre it adds up quickly.
Payment was cash US dollars on collection. That meant carrying USD 4,250 in notes into the country, which is worth planning for. Zimbabwe can be fussy about worn or older notes, so get clean, newer bills from your bank at home. The USD 1,000 security deposit was handled through PayPal, which I would recommend if it is offered, and it was refunded within minutes of us handing the vehicle back.
Fuel came to 343.66 litres across the trip at an average of USD 1.52 per litre. That is roughly 25 to 30 per cent dearer than diesel at home in Australia once you convert it, so do not assume fuel will be cheap. It is, at least, easy to find. The old days of fuel rationing and hunting for a station with stock are gone, and there are service stations everywhere.
On the cash situation, change is a constant issue wherever you go. You need to try and get yourself lots of small denominations, if possible, although this is hard. If you do not have smaller notes, you will run into constant issues everywhere trying to get the exact change, so be prepared to negotiate where you can.
The Vehicle: What to ask, and what we got
We were given a 78 Series Land Cruiser Troop Carrier (Troopy). Mechanically it was excellent, well maintained and reliable, and I cannot stress enough how much that matters. A breakdown deep in Hwange or Mana Pools would have wrecked the trip. It never so much as hiccupped.
The setup was another story, and this is where the questions earn their keep.
Suspension is the one to ask about first
I made an assumption here and it cost us. I took it as read that a vehicle kitted out for overlanding, carrying two rooftop tents, two spare tyres on a rear bar, a water tank, a fridge and a full kitchen, would have had its suspension upgraded to suit. It had not.
Here is why it matters. Every spring is engineered for a certain load. Load it beyond that and it sags, sits low, and you end up riding on the bump stops every time you hit anything. On a Zimbabwean gravel road, that is constant. The ride was genuinely punishing, and the weight was all in the wrong places, high up with the tents and behind the rear axle with the spares.
It was not just our vehicle. We saw one of their 76 Series wagons at Mana Pools sitting the same way, and another Troopy in Harare when we returned ours. When I raised it at the end, I was told the springs had been reset. Resetting or re-arching a leaf spring is a short-term fix at best. If the load has not changed, the spring goes straight back to where it was.
So, ask the question. Ask specifically whether the suspension has been upgraded to handle the fitted accessories and a full load, and if the answer is vague, that tells you something. We have written elsewhere about why suspension and GVM upgrades matter when you add weight to a 4WD, and every bit of that applies to a hire vehicle carrying a full touring setup.
To read more about the road conditions in Zimbabwe, read our post here.
- Little left in the rear leaf springs
- Our hire vehicle empty & some of the others in the background
Tyres, and the flexibility you lose without the right ones
Our Troopy was fitted with Triangle TR668 tyres in 7.50R16, 14 ply, with tubes.
There is nothing wrong with the tyre as a product. From my research, what I could find is that it is a commercial truck and bus radial with a highway tread pattern, made for delivery trucks on mixed roads. It is simply not a touring tyre.
The practical problem was not the tread pattern, it was being told not to adjust the pressures. Dropping pressure to suit the surface is one of the most useful things you can do in a 4WD. It spreads the contact patch, which softens corrugations, floats you over soft sand instead of digging in, and is far kinder to the vehicle and your spine.
We felt it most crossing dry sandy riverbeds. Normally you would let some air out, keep it in high range and float across. With the tyres pumped up hard we had no choice but to engage high range four-wheel drive just to get through thick sand we should have walked over, and even then, we were working a lot harder than we should have been. On the long-corrugated sections it was the same story, no way to take the edge off.
To be fair, tubed tyres do limit how far you can safely go down. The tube chafes and builds heat, and at low pressure the tyre can creep on the rim and shear the valve stem clean off. So, the advice was not unreasonable given what was fitted. The issue is what was fitted in the first place.
Ask what tyres are fitted, whether they are tubed or tubeless, and whether you are permitted to adjust pressures. Tubeless all terrains give you flexibility and a puncture you can plug on the roadside in ten minutes. That is what most South African operators run, and it is what I would look for.
Credit where it is due though. We were given two spares plus a spare tube and a repair kit, and we did not have a single puncture across 2,297km. The tyres did their job, but we also drove to the conditions which did help.
- On the road to Hwange from Kazuma Pan
- Driving out of Hwange beside a baobab
- Chaos on the road between Hwange & Bulawayo
- Large chunks of bitumen missing on the road to Bulawayo
12V and power
This was a pleasant surprise and worth saying so. The Troopy had a 100Ah lithium second battery, a 75-watt solar panel and a good quality South African fridge, and the whole setup was excellent. We sat at Kazuma Pan for a full day without driving anywhere, ran the fridge, charged everything and ran the Starlink for a few hours, and the battery took it in its stride. Lithium makes a real difference.
What was not communicated was which outlets were fitted, and that decides what adaptors and cables you pack. As it turned out there were several USB-A and cigarette style sockets, and the high wattage USB-C adaptor we had brought for the Starlink Mini worked without trouble. Guess wrong and you are stuck. It is a two-minute question, so ask it.
Communications
There was no two-way radio in our vehicle. In Zimbabwe that is a deliberate choice, because radios need to be licensed, it is a cost to the operator, and it is one more thing for police at roadblocks to take an interest in.
If you are an Australian reader thinking you will just throw your handheld UHF in the bag, be aware that Australian UHF CB runs on 476 to 477 MHz, which is an Australian and New Zealand allocation. Southern African 4×4 comms use different frequencies entirely, so your radio will not reach a single local vehicle or pick up the camp channels in the parks. It would have been handy to scan those channels for game sightings, and we missed that.
Two Australian handhelds will still talk to each other perfectly well, because they are both on the same frequencies. But it is not recommended taking these with you in Zimbabwe as there are possible legal risks as all two-way radio transmitting devices require a licence. So I would not be packing any due to these risks.
What we did rely on was our Starlink Mini, which was outstanding. It kept us in touch with family at home and with people we were meeting up with, well beyond any mobile coverage. Two things to check before you count on it. Make sure Starlink is licensed in the country you are visiting, because it is not licensed everywhere in the region (e.g. South Africa). And check whether your mobile carrier offers a day pass style roaming product for your destination. Telstra does not cover Zimbabwe, so we bought a local SIM on arrival, which was cheap and easy. With eSIMs on most phones now it is a simple thing to sort out.
Navigation
We paid for Tracks4Africa and downloaded the maps for the areas we were visiting. It is not expensive and it was worth every cent. The web version let me plan routes and save points of interest from home in Australia months before we left, then sync it all to the app on my phone. Offline maps are not optional out there.
The vehicle also came with a phone loaded with a different mapping app, a SIM card and a windscreen mount. Nobody mentioned this to us beforehand. We had organised our own, which turned out to be the better call because the supplied phone was old and slow, but it would have been nice to know. We did take our own RAM Mount for our phone which we were glad we did as it worked perfectly as always.
One lesson from our first day. Tracks4Africa had routed us to Kazuma Pan correctly. We were then given local advice about a quicker back way, took it, and ended up on a track that had not been driven in years, facing a steep sandy descent I was not prepared to attempt in someone else’s vehicle. We turned around, lost the best part of two hours, and later found out the route we had originally mapped was the right one all along.
The person who gave us that advice was trying to help and simply did not know the road had changed. The lesson is not to ignore local knowledge, it is to ask when they last drove it themselves, and not to abandon a mapped route without a concrete reason.
Water and fuel
The Troopy has two 90 litre fuel tanks, so 180 litres all up. We averaged 15.0 litres per 100km across the whole trip, which covered everything from long bitumen runs to slow going on gravel and plenty of game driving. That gives a realistic range of around 1,100km, and you would not want to push it that far.
Worth noting that the company quoted 7 kilometres per litre, which is 14.3 litres per 100km. We got 6.7. That is honest quoting and they deserve credit for it. Still, whatever figure you are given, add a margin before you plan your range.
Water was a 62-litre tank fitted behind the rear seats inside the vehicle. Plenty for two people, given we used it for drinking and coffee and used other non-drinkable water for washing up. Work on four to five litres per person per day for drinking, and more if you will be relying on it for everything else. Ours was not full when the vehicle arrived, which is worth checking before taking delivery of the vehicle.
One other note on water storage. The vehicle did not come with any other water storage option (we did not ask for one to be fair) or a supplied hose to help refill the tanks when needed. Luckily, we were stopping in places to visit people we knew along the trip that had hoses and drinkable water to allow us to refill the tanks easily. Just something to consider.
Tools, recovery and first aid
The tool kit was basic but adequate for small jobs. Anything major would have been beyond it, and honestly beyond me too. The one thing I was very glad to have packed was my Leatherman. I used it constantly, including helping a mate sort out a 12V wiring problem, where the pliers, cutters and screwdriver all earned their place.
There was a first aid kit in the vehicle. We took our own anyway, because we know exactly what is in ours. Do the same and do your research on what you might need for where you are going. Antimalarials are usually required for this part of Zimbabwe, including Victoria Falls, Hwange and the Zambezi Valley. See a travel doctor six to eight weeks before you go and let them make the call on what you need.
Kitchen, camping gear and bedding
The kitchen setup was well used but workable. A two-plate gas cooker, a braai or BBQ grid, cookware and crockery for four, a fridge, four Front Runner camp chairs, and a couple of tables. One was a Front Runner table on the rear barn door, and there was a larger Front Runner table stored in the roof rack that was handy for serving up and any time we needed a proper work surface.
Bedding is where you need to be careful. We were told to bring sleeping bags and torches, but nothing was said about pillows, and the ones supplied turned out to be small cushions rather than anything you could sleep on. Our plan to borrow sleeping bags from friends in Zimbabwe fell through at the last minute, so we bought two sheets and a very thin blanket in Victoria Falls for close to USD 90. We paid for that at Kazuma Pan and Hwange, where the nights were properly cold and we slept in full tracksuits and beanies.
Take your own sleeping bags. Lightweight hiking sleeping bags pack down to nothing and would have solved it entirely. Ask what bedding is supplied and assume you need pillows. Similar good quality inflatable hiking pillows would be the easiest solution for travel.
Two things we got right: quick dry sports towels, full size but packing down to nothing, and a headlamp each, which we used every single night.
- Rear of the Troopy and roof top tent setup
- Setting up the roof top tent
- Setting up the roof top tent
- Making lunch out of the rear of the Troopy
- Bar is open!
- Cooking dinner
- Rear gull wing where kitchen gear is stored
- Cooking breakfast at Mana Pools
Read the contract before you pay
This is the least exciting section of this post and possibly the most useful. To their credit, the terms and conditions we were sent were detailed, and we had them before we paid a deposit, which is exactly how it should be. Read them properly. Most of what follows is typical of self-drive operators in the region, so treat this as a checklist for any contract, not a criticism of one company.
The insurance excess was USD 2,000, while the security deposit was USD 1,000. Those are two different numbers and people often assume the deposit is the limit of their exposure. It is not.
Third party liability was capped at USD 20,000 for property damage and USD 20,000 for bodily injury. Anything above that comes back to you personally. Have a look at that number and then think about overtaking a fully loaded bus on a Zimbabwean road. Most of us assume third party cover is effectively unlimited because that is how it works at home. It is not how it works there. We took out separate travel insurance specifically because of this clause, and I would strongly suggest you do the same.
Tyres and glass were excluded from the insurance completely. A burst tyre or a cracked windscreen is yours to sort out. Sitting behind coal trucks on gravel, a stone chip is not a remote possibility.
Camping equipment was not insured at all, and any loss or damage was our liability. That makes the handover inspection important, which I will come back to.
Off road use needed written permission. The contract permitted tar / bitumen and graded gravel, and anything the company classed as a 4WD track needed prior written consent, without which the insurance would not respond. We supplied our full itinerary, and they knew exactly where we were going, but we never got anything in writing, and I did not know at the time that I should have. If you are heading into national parks, get the specific parks and route types confirmed in writing. There was also a flat prohibition on water crossings, and the vehicles carry satellite tracking.
A few others worth knowing. Late return forfeits the entire security deposit and there is no refund for an early return, so build buffer into your last day. Minor repairs up to USD 200 you can authorise yourself and claim back on an invoice; anything above needs a phone call first. Breakdown assistance is included but you must contact them before spending anything. And any dispute is settled in a Zimbabwean court.
The handover is your most important hour
Costa, the manager, drove our vehicle up from Bulawayo the day before, and took us through the whole setup when he delivered it in Victoria Falls. He covered driving in Zimbabwe, how to handle corrugations, how everything worked and where it was stored, and walked us through putting the rooftop tent up and packing it away. It was a thorough handover and he was excellent.
What I would do differently is treat that walkaround as an inspection rather than a demonstration. Because the camping equipment was not insured and was our liability, anything already broken needed recording then and there, in writing, signed by both of us. We signed a condition report covering the vehicle itself, but I do not recall anything covering the equipment.
We later found the slide out extension on the barn door table was warped and unusable, and the gas bottle had a small leak. Neither was our doing, but under the terms we signed, anything not recorded at pickup was ours.
One thing I did get right was walking around the vehicle with my phone recording. I filmed every panel, every existing scratch and every bit of gear before we drove off. It took ten minutes and it meant that if anything came up later, I had a dated record of exactly what condition we received it in. Do that, on every hire, everywhere.
Beyond the video, go through the gear properly. Test the stove, check the tent zips, run the fridge, check the water tank is full. Ours was not. Get any existing damage written onto the paperwork and signed before you leave.
In fairness, when we reported the warped table and the gas bottle at the end of our trip, there was no argument and nobody suggested we should be paying for anything. They were quite relaxed about the lot of it, which speaks well of them. But you cannot count on that everywhere, and if there is ever a disagreement it is the contract that governs it, not goodwill. Check the gear properly at pickup anyway.
Ask for photos long before this point too. The setup, the storage, the kitchen and the engine bay, and ideally a walkaround video. Good operators will have these ready, and it is the easiest way to know what you are getting.
- Clean Troopy at drop off in Victoria Falls
- Costa from Mana Pools 4x4 showing us the setup
- Rear of the clean Troopy before our trip
What went wrong
The suspension and the tyres are covered above and were the two that affected us daily.
Beyond that, the gas bottle had a small leak. It only leaked when turned on, and we could almost stop it entirely by adjusting the tap, so we used it with the windows open and never had gas on while driving. It was manageable, but it should have been picked up before we got the vehicle. One of the gas burners also developed a hole and started shooting a flame out the side a few days in, which is fair enough on a hire vehicle and not something they could have known about. Thankfully it was the second burner, so we just didn’t use that one the rest of the trip.
The barn door table extension was warped, most likely from a hot pan, which cost us a good chunk of kitchen bench space. Annoying rather than trip ruining.
That is the lot. Across three weeks and 2,297 kilometres, we had no mechanical problems whatsoever. When I handed the vehicle back in Harare, I went through every one of these with Costa, who listened properly and took it all on board. Whether the issues with the suspension and tyres have been addressed I will wait for someone to comment below to let us all know.
What we would do differently
Get the exact model in writing. Our quote said Land Cruiser LC76 or LC78, which meant either. We wanted the Troopy for the extra fuel, water and space, and that is what we got, but it was not guaranteed. The 76 Series Land Cruiser wagon also carries only one spare where the Troopy carries two.
Ask for the second rooftop tent to be removed. There were two of us and we only ever used one. That is a lot of weight sitting at the highest point on a vehicle whose suspension was already struggling. I did ask, and they would not remove it, so be prepared for a no. Ask anyway.
Take our own bedding. Sleeping bags and pillows, no exceptions.
Get the off-road permission in writing, along with any extras we asked for.
Consider a Hilux. If I were hiring in South Africa or Namibia, I would look hard at one. More comfortable, easier to drive, better on the road, has a turbo, and available as an automatic, where the 70 Series Cruisers are manual (not an issue for us but could be for some people). We saw a Hilux from a South African operator in Hwange, and it was a noticeably better setup, with proper suspension and good tyres. This was one of the companies we had considered hiring from if we had the time.
Think about the engine. Ours had the 1HZ, a naturally aspirated straight six diesel that will outlive us all. It is one of the most reliable engines Toyota ever built and there is real comfort in that. It also makes about 96kW, and on the main roads where you must overtake overloaded trucks on hills with blind rises, you need a very long run up. On gravel and in the parks it was perfect. On the main road between Hwange and Bulawayo it made an already demanding drive harder. Ask what engine you are getting and whether it is turbocharged.
And finally, if we were doing six months rather than three to four weeks, I would buy a vehicle in South Africa and sell it at the end. For a long trip that is far and away the cheapest option and there are people that can assist with this as well.
- Getting close to elephants at Mana Pools
- Another interested elephant in our hired Troopy
So was it worth it?
Yes. Without hesitation.
Was the vehicle overpriced for what we got? Compared with what the same money buys in South Africa, Botswana or Namibia, yes, it was. But there is no competition in Zimbabwe, and when there is no competition you pay what you pay. We had three weeks, we were only visiting Zimbabwe, and the convenience of picking the vehicle up in Victoria Falls and dropping it in Harare bought us days we did not have to spare. Sometimes convenience is worth more than the money.
Was the setup perfect? No. The suspension needed work and having tyres that allowed us to adjust pressures would have been great. But the communication was good, the vehicle arrived where and when it was supposed to, it was mechanically faultless for 2,297 kilometres, and our deposit was back in the account within minutes of handing it over.
And none of the above is what we talk about now. We talk about sitting on a platform at Kazuma Pan watching eleven giraffe come down to drink. We talk about crossing a dry riverbed at exactly the right moment and finding a huge male lion sixty metres away in perfect light. We talk about the wild dogs, and about creeping across a riverbed on our knees to sit twenty metres from two lions.
The vehicle you hire is a detail. Do your homework, ask the questions above, go in knowing what you are getting, and then go. Nothing beats the African bush.
If you have hired a 4WD in Africa, what did you wish you had asked before you signed? Drop it in the comments, because the list above is only as good as what the rest of us add to it.
To read our post on driving in Zimbabwe, find it here.
To read our post on what we packed and took with us for this trip, read it here.
Thanks for reading.
The thoughts of Peter
