Sunday 8th May 2022

Click HERE - At the Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10 

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker 
 
TRANS AFRICA LAND ROVER: The story of Philip Kohler and his epic overland adventure 

Nowadays, why anybody should want to own, let alone drive, an old Land Rover is beyond me. Personally, I’d rather walk, or take a 93 bus. Of course, when they were new 63 years ago, and if you lived on a farm halfway up a mountain, or in the case of Philip Kohler, the remoteness of South Africa, a four-wheel drive 88-inch Land Rover was an obvious choice. I once drove one from the UK to Denmark, so I know what I’m talking about.

Anyway, back to the book.

Kohler was born to Australian parents in Wallaroo, which alone probably accounts for his wanderlust. Aged just 21, in 1954 he sailed around the world, finishing up in the UK, where he lived until 1957. Perhaps, more importantly, he bought and learned how to use a very nice Leica camera, it was his plethora of quality travel-log images that make this book so readable.

Philip took delivery of his 2.286cc petrol, Series II Land Rover in late 1959, cost £867.10.00, but spanners were an extra £4.00, as were the spare plugs and points. Another sensible addition was a workshop manual, a bargain at £1.10.00.

Almost at once, Philip, alone except for his trusty Leica, was on the move. First, a return crossing of Africa. And then the big one. London, via the Sahara. His final picture shows the Land Rover snowed in, parked outside Buckingham Palace during the bad winter of 1962/63. The car was destined to stay in London. After Kohler’s death in 2015, it was rescued by Land Rover aficionado Martin Port from its resting place in Shepherd’s Bush, and sympathetically restored.

This is a most enjoyable read, and well worth a cover price of £30.00, less by using our magazine discount code. And with so many high-quality images, mostly in colour, punctuating the text, words almost become redundant. My only grumble? No index.

Recommended. Five stars.

TRANS AFRICA LAND ROVER: The story of Philip Kohler and his epic overland adventure
Written by Martin Port
ISBN 978-1--913089-29-0
Available from Porter Press International
Price £30.00