Always thought it is a shame the 1972 Trans-Americas expedition has become known by many as the Darien Gap expedition. The poor guys who drove those vehicles all the way from Alaska, nearly destroyed one of them on the way, then drove the last bit right down to Argentina have had their journey turned into a 200 mile trip through a jungle. They should be remembered for the full trip on the whole of the Pan-American highway.
Absolutely correct!! I do have to admit though... I'm not a huge fan of the RR expedition, yet they should be noted for more than that!!
I'm much more interested in the 1960 "Cambridge Trans-American Expedition". It was a single Rover - a 109, LH drive, hardtop. I've attached a copy of the original invoice.
The Rover was shipped to Argentina and the expedition went from Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip, up the Pan-American Highway heading for the Arctic Circle. They made it to Fairbanks Alaska, and almost made it to their final destination. However, just 500 miles from the Arctic, the Rover became stranded due to severe weather and a total lack of roads or tracks to drive on.
They ended up selling the Rover in order to travel back to the UK. I don't remember when the project started but at some point it was purchased by an enthusiast and then sometime in the early 2010s a plan was hatched to refurbish the thing and complete those last 500 miles. The new owner, and team, were able to get 3 of the original 4 members of the 1960 expedition so that they could be part of it.
To my knowledge there has been no book written about the original journey, at least none that I'm aware of, and that's a shame.
Another similar expedition is "The Trans-Darien Expedition" in 1959. They chose the 88 SWB because it was "the only vehicle rugged and light enough to be able to manage such expedition". This one started in Toronto Canada and headed south. The pictures of their crossing are stunning IMHO. Again, I'm not aware of a book about this one either.
The book by Russel Braddon on the expedition is pretty good but I have just read the new book by John Carroll which clears up some of the missing bits and confusion in the Braddon book.
Talk about freaky instances... you mention Russell Braddon and I just started reading his book 'The Naked Island' this past weekend!!!
Something I find rather odd/curious is the cover of Braddon's book about the expedition. It was my understanding that his book documented two Range Rovers making the trip - why is there a Series on the cover? Did a Series go with them?
I have never seen the "12,000 miles by Land Rover book" Had a look online and it seems to be more commonly available (not cheaply) in the US so assume it is a US printed book?
Yes, the "12,000 miles" book is a US printed book - Zondervan Pub. House out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. What's odd about this is that the publisher is one of THE biggest publishers of Bibles and other relevant works! The family in the book appear to be lay missionaries/ministers, yet the book isn't a religious one - it's about the trip in a Rover!!
Uhmm... if you think this book is expensive (I paid $24) you should take a look at Braddon's Darien Gap book!! The cheapest I've found is $262.71!!!
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Topic: Overland but North South (Read 2949 times)
