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The crew

The people who
actually went.

Eight rigs, one line north. Everyone on this page was on the road for the full route unless their card says otherwise.

Darrell van Zeil alongside the Opposite Lock Land Cruiser Expedition lead · Opposite Lock

Darrell van Zeil

Opposite Lock Land Cruiser 79

Led the expedition for Opposite Lock and ran the convoy from the front. Putting these trips together is his job as much as driving them — he runs five a year, and has said publicly he wants to add two more.

Nico Panagio on the beach during the coastal leg Presenter and actor

Nico Panagio

Ultimate 9 Land Cruiser 76

Drove the Ultimate 9 Land Cruiser 76. Best known as the host of Survivor South Africa and a presenter on Top Billing, with acting credits running from 7de Laan to Legacy.

Dirk Smit at the wheel of the Wild Expeditions Land Cruiser Videographer · Van die pad af

Dirk Smit

Wild Expeditions Land Cruiser 79

Shot the trip. Opposite Lock commissioned Dirk for the videography, so every frame on this site is his. He also tells travel stories in Afrikaans on RSG, under the name Van die pad af.

Ronnie of Ngamla 4x4 Adventures alongside his vehicle NGAMLA 4×4 Adventures · Namibia

Ronnie Sibungo

Tough Dog Amarok

Runs NGAMLA 4×4 Adventures out of Namibia, guiding and outfitting camping tours across Namibia and the countries around it, so the northern half of this route is his back yard.

The two of Wandering Pango, each on the bonnet of their Defender Carla and Lida

Wandering Pango

Land Rover Defender 110

Carla and Lida left management careers in the Netherlands to travel full time in a Land Rover Defender called Pango — the dark green 110 in the convoy. They film the builds and the breakdowns as well as the country, with a running thread on endangered wildlife.

Dylan alongside the Dometic Hilux in the dunes Dometic

Dylan Booth

Dometic Hilux

Ran the white Dometic Hilux, the vehicle carrying the fridge and the camp kit for the convoy.

One of the guides beside a Land Cruiser 79 at golden hour Guide · Skeleton Coast

Hein Truter

Land Cruiser 79

Guided the series. He holds the tourism concession for the Skeleton Coast — the 500 kilometres of Namibian coast between the Ugab River in the south and the Kunene in the north — which is very nearly the whole of this trip’s first leg.

One of the guides on the bonnet of a Land Cruiser 79 in the dunes Tourism and Commercial Manager · Iona

Ruth Westrick

Parque Nacional do Iona Land Cruiser 79

Runs tourism and commercial operations at Iona National Park, which African Parks has co-managed with the Angolan government since 2020. She joined African Parks in 2023 at Garamba, in the DRC, and moved to Iona in 2025.

Willem van Eeden leaning against a Land Cruiser in the dunes Photographer and second camera

Willem van Eeden

Shot the stills and ran the second camera for the full route. Most of the photography on this site came off his cards — the coast, the crossing, the camps and the people, fourteen days of it.

Kit for your own line

Everything on these trucks is fitted by people near you.

Opposite Lock supplies more than 500 independently owned fitment centres across southern Africa. Find the one closest to you and talk through what your vehicle actually needs — before you plan the route, not after.