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Elao 2011

Elao 2011

East Londoners Odyssey through Africa in 2011

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Author: Elao

Video’s from team Lipstick

Video’s from team Lipstick
Elao December 12, 2019December 12, 2019 Going Down under Read more

Pictures From Andre

Pictures From Andre
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Day 45 & 46 – 9th & 10th November 2019 – Perth

Day 45 & 46 – 9th & 10th November 2019 – Perth

   Perth is the capital city of Western Australia, with a population of almost 2 million people, and is famous for being the most isolated city in the world, completely surrounded by Australian nature: the Indian Ocean on one side and the Australian

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Day 43&44 – 7th & 8th November 2019 – Bunbury to Mandurah to Perth

Day 43&44 – 7th & 8th November 2019 – Bunbury to Mandurah to Perth

  Straight up the coast today for the boys with nice little towns in-between and not much to report other than Andre’s internet connection came to an end and had to be renewed at Telstra and that the boys decided

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Day 41 – 5th November 2019 – Augusta to Margaret River

Day 41 – 5th November 2019 – Augusta to Margaret River

  Team Lipstick is now in its final week of exploring Australia and the area south of Perth is ideal for winding down and driving short distances only along the beautiful southern coastline of Western Australia. Today the boys decided

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Day 40 – 4th November 2019 – Albany to Augusta

Day 40 – 4th November 2019 – Albany to Augusta

   Team Lipstick decided to drive along the coastal route via Denmark and visit the giant Tingle trees along the way.     Denmark is a coastal town located on Wilson Inlet in the Great Southern region of Western Australia,

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Day 39 – 3rd November 2019 – Hyden toAlbany

Day 39 – 3rd November 2019 – Hyden toAlbany

  Still feeling the effects of the Springboks winning the world cup rugby the boys decided to go south again to explore the coastline south of Perth – especially the wine area around Albany.   Before even reaching the wine

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Day 38 – 2nd November 2019 – Esperance to Hyden

Day 38 – 2nd November 2019 – Esperance to Hyden

  One of the many Landmarks around this area in Western Australia are the ‘Wave Rocks” in Hyden. And the boys proceeded to drive through some 350km of wheat farms to the left and right of the roads and often

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Day 37 – 1st November 2019 – Cocklebiddy to Esperance

Day 37 – 1st November 2019 – Cocklebiddy to Esperance

 The normal route from Cocklebiddy to Esperance would have been via Norseman but the boys decided to rather do a bid of a shortcut by going through some 4×4 territory…     The normal route    and the “short cut route

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Day 36 – 31stOctober 2019 – Ceduna to Cocklebiddy

Day 36 – 31stOctober 2019 – Ceduna to Cocklebiddy

  Today the boys would drive through the well-known NullabarPlains.   The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is

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Day 35 – 30th October 2019 – Port Lincoln  to Ceduna

Day 35 – 30th October 2019 – Port Lincoln  to Ceduna

A shorter drive today for the boys but before they headed along the coast line in a westerly direction they went to a tyre shop to have the rear wheels balanced .   The workshops in Birdsville and Marree of

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Day 34 – 29th October 2019 – Barossa Valley to Port Lincoln

Day 34 – 29th October 2019 – Barossa Valley to Port Lincoln

Today the boys would actually cross their path coming down from Darwin by driving through Port Augusta again on the way to Port Lincoln.     Driving around the Spencer Gulf of Port Augusta today ……….     Another nice

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Day 33 – 28th October 2019 – Marree to Barossa Valley

Day 33 – 28th October 2019 – Marree to Barossa Valley

  What better contrast to the sandy lands of the outbacks then going to the lush green areas of one of Australia’s biggest wine growing area – The Barossa Valley   But before taking off they had to visit the

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Day 32 – 27thOctober 2019 – Birdsville to Marree

Day 32 – 27thOctober 2019 – Birdsville to Marree

The Birdsville Track is a notable outback road in Australia. The 517 kilometres  track runs between Birdsville in south-western Queensland and Marree, a small town in the north-eastern part of South Australia. It traverses three deserts along the route, the Strzelecki Desert, Sturt Stony Desert and Tirari Desert. Originally the track was of poor quality

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Day 31 – 26th October 2019 – Mount Isa to Birdsville

Day 31 – 26th October 2019 – Mount Isa to Birdsville

  The boys were going to hit the real Australian outback today by driving south towards Birdsville but before doing so they had to find a place to repair Lipstick’s windscreen which was hit by a stone from one of

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Day 30 – 25th October 2019 – Normanton to Karumbato Mount Isa

Day 30 – 25th October 2019 – Normanton to Karumbato Mount Isa

  Karumba is in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, 71 kilometres by road from Normanton Karumba is within the Shire of Carpentaria, the administrative headquarters of which is in Normanton. The town is sited at the mouth of the Norman River, and enjoys the distinction

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Day 29 – 24th October 2019 – Cairnsto Normanton

Day 29 – 24th October 2019 – Cairnsto Normanton

  Having explored the beautiful coastal area from Adelaide right up to Cairns the boys decided to go back to the outbacks and cross over in a westerly direction from Cairns to Normanton.   Having discovered a small hole in

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Day 28 – 23rd October 2019 – Cairns & Port Douglas & Green island.

Day 28 – 23rd October 2019 – Cairns & Port Douglas & Green island.

The boys booked out of the motel and headed further up north to Port Douglas.   On the way up they stopped at a Hartley’s   Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures is one of the longest continually operating tourist attractions in Australia.

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Day 27 – 22st October 2019 – Mackay to Cairns

Day 27 – 22st October 2019 – Mackay to Cairns

  Another longer drive today for the boys along the coast of the Great barrier Reef towards the northern city of Cairns via Townsville.   Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. Townsville is Australia’s largest urban centre

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Day 26 – 21st October 2019 – Bundaberg to Mackay

Day 26 – 21st October 2019 – Bundaberg to Mackay

  Today Team Lipstick pushed again for some more mileage along Australia’s sunshine coast with a lunchtime stop at Airlie Beach.   Airlie Beach, just north of Mackay and south of Townsville, is a coastal town of palm-fringed beaches, waterfront parks

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Day 25 – 20th October 2019 – Brisbane to Bundaberg

Day 25 – 20th October 2019 – Brisbane to Bundaberg

Team Lipstick got some good advice from Andre’s cousin so today they headed off with a first stop at Noosa.   Noosa is an Australian resort area on southern Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Known for its heavy surf, Sunshine Beach is

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Day 24 – 19th October 2019 – Gold Coast to Brisbane

Day 24 – 19th October 2019 – Gold Coast to Brisbane

Before heading on to Brisbane the boys decided to visit another highlight in Gold Coast   Q1 is a 322.5-metre (skyscraper in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. The residential tower on the Gold Coast lost its title as the world’s tallest residential building to the 337-metre The Marina Torch in Dubai on

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Day 23 – 18th October 2019 – Grafton to Gold Coast

Day 23 – 18th October 2019 – Grafton to Gold Coast

  After a first stop at Yamba Beach the tour continued with the next stop planned for Byron Bay.     Byron Bay is a coastal town in the south-eastern Australian state of New South Wales. It’s a popular holiday

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Day 22 – 17th October 2019 – Newcastle to Grafton

Day 22 – 17th October 2019 – Newcastle to Grafton

  Today the boys were facing a pleasant trip along the “Gold Coast” with its many beach towns and they planned to stay over at Coffs Harbour only to find out that there is absolutely no accommodation available due to

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Day 21– 16th October 2019 – Bankstown, Sydney to Newcastle

Day 21– 16th October 2019 – Bankstown, Sydney to Newcastle

Early start for the boys today as they wanted to be in Sydney Centre before the other tourists would arrive.     Like with every other big City the drive into the city centre is always hectic and quiet nerve

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Day 20 – 15th October 2019 – Eden to Bankstown (Sydney)

Day 20 – 15th October 2019 – Eden to Bankstown (Sydney)

Team Lipstick decided not to stay in Sydney but rather in one of the southern suburbs like Bankstown in order to avoid the heave traffic common with any big city as well as parking problems.   The boys decided to

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Day 19 – 14th October 2019 – Melbourne to Eden  

Day 19 – 14th October 2019 – Melbourne to Eden   

First task of the day was to get to Northpoint Toyota in Northern Melbourne and on arrival they were greeted by Justin who works in the service department.   With a big smile he was waving the part which the

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Day 18 – 13th October 2019 – Horsham to Melbourne

Day 18 – 13th October 2019 – Horsham to Melbourne

Out of Horsham soon driving through beautiful farmland before deciding to go more coastal and hitting the “Great Ocean Route”.   The road is considered a tourist attraction in the area,in which much of the road hugs coastline affectionately known

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Day 17 – 12th October 2019 – Adelaide to Horsham

Day 17 – 12th October 2019 – Adelaide to Horsham

Out of Adelaide and climbing the mountains Lipstick was soon driving through beautiful farmland before deciding to go more coastal and hitting the “Great Ocean Route”.     After starting off in Adelaide to mountain range was soon reached and

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Day 16 – 11th October 2019 – Adelaide  Rest Day

Day 16 – 11th October 2019 – Adelaide  Rest Day

First task of the day was to go to another Toyota garage in Adelaide in order to find out whether they could fix the leaking hose but again the boys were told that there is no spare hose available as

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Day 15 – 10th October 2019 – Marla to Adelaide

Day 15 – 10th October 2019 – Marla to Adelaide

With a leaking compression pipe Lipstick now operates in “Limb mode meaning slow acceleration and top speeds not exceeding 120km/h….   Those symptoms will always manifest to some degree or another, but turbo control systems and computers can use any

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Day 14 – 9th October 2019 – Ayres Rock to Marla

Day 14 – 9th October 2019 – Ayres Rock to Marla

   Uluru is one of Australia’s most recognisable natural landmarks. The  sandstone  formation stands 348 m high, rising 863 m above sea level with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total circumference of 9.4 km Both Uluru and the nearby Tjuta

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Day 13 – 8th October 2019 – Tennant Creek to Curtin Springs

Day 13 – 8th October 2019 – Tennant Creek to Curtin Springs

  As can be seen on the map above the distances in the Northern Territories are big between villages – but due to very good street condition and a manageable 130km/h max speed one can manage big distances in a

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Day 12 – 7th October 2019 – Darwin to Tennant Creek

Day 12 – 7th October 2019 – Darwin to Tennant Creek

  Travellers in the Northern Territory of Australia will soon realise that there are huge distances between very few towns along “The Track”   Some places with names on the map are simple “Roadhouses “comprising of a supermarket, a petrol

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Day 11 – 6th October 2019 – Kununurrato to Darwin  

Day 11 – 6th October 2019 – Kununurrato to Darwin   

The highlight of today’s trip was the crossing from the province of Western Australia into The “Northern Territory”   and this was not due to the time change  ( the boys had to move their watches 1.5 hours forward ) but

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Day 10 – 5th October 2019 – Derby to Kununurra(The Gibb Road )

Day 10 – 5th October 2019 – Derby to Kununurra(The Gibb Road )

Today the boys tackled the famous Gibb River Road.    The road is a former cattle route that stretches in an east-west direction almost 660 kilometres  through the Kimberley between the towns of Derby and the Kununurra and Wyndham junction of the Great Northern Highway. It is

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Day 9 – 4th October 2019 – Port Hedland to Derby

Day 9 – 4th October 2019 – Port Hedland to Derby

The road continued in its monotonous mode with flat bushy lands to the left and right and the temperatures rising to over 40 degrees C.     Of course, the boys made sure that Lipstick’s fuel tank is sufficiently full

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Day 8 – 3rd October 2019 – Billabong to Port Hedland

Day 8 – 3rd October 2019 – Billabong to Port Hedland

A really early start today as the boys had a long stretch ahead of them so they were on the road from Billabong to Port Hedland by 6am and experienced sunrise over the horizon on the eastern side of the

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Day 7 – 2nd October 2019 – From Perth to Billabong

Day 7 – 2nd October 2019 – From Perth to Billabong

First task of the Day was to get organised with Australian sim and data cards and the boys visited Telstra which was situated 2 blocks down from their hotel and opened up at 9am.   The procedure was fast and

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Day 5 & 6 – 30 September & 1st October 2019 – Rotorua to Auckland to Perth

Day 5 & 6 – 30 September & 1st October 2019 – Rotorua to Auckland to Perth

Another road trip through farmlands and landscapes reminding the boys of the movie Lord of the rings and passing through another biggish city called Hamilton and from there it was only a short distance and `New Zealand’s capital Auckland was

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Day 4 – 29 September 2019 – Wellington to Rotorua

Day 4 – 29 September 2019 – Wellington to Rotorua

With the great Springbok win still causing some disturbances in Team Lipstick’s heads they nevertheless hit the road towards Napier and Rotorua.     The first hour or 2 was spend driving north with the sea on the left and

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Day 3 – 28 September 2019 -Picton to Wellington

Day 3 – 28 September 2019 -Picton to Wellington

Early start today again to be at the Ferry station by 8 am and the boys soon found themselves on this huge ferry carting cars, trucks and passengers from New Zealand’s South Island to the North Island with its 2nd

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Day 2 –  27 September 2019 – From Christchurch to Picton

Day 2 –  27 September 2019 – From Christchurch to Picton

Team Lipstick hit the road in early morning still under wet and cold weather conditions  aiming to cross the South island towards the West Coast .   Despite the ridiculous speed limit of 100km/h the boys soon adjusted to the

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Day 1 – 26 September – Arrival in Auckland

Day 1 – 26 September  – Arrival in Auckland

Andre flew in yesterday from Dubai  ( 16h flight ) and booked himself in the airport hotel in Auckand  and Willy started in Zurich and flew via Singapore and Perth landing 5:30h this morning in Auckland.   It was freezing

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Lipstick going “Down under”

Lipstick going “Down under”

Having driven through 5 of the bigger continents on earth it was just a matter of time for Team Lipstick to complete their world tour and explore the smallest of the 6 continents -AUSTRALIA.   The boys will start their

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Day 55 & 56 – 11/12th March – Itajaí

Day 55 & 56 – 11/12th March – Itajaí

Sunday was spent preparing Lipstick for its return journey to South Africa meaning that the spare Diesel canisters had to be removed from the roof carrier to reduce the car’s overhaul height so that it would fit in a container.

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Pictures From Andre – Day 40 – Day 54

Pictures From Andre – Day 40 – Day 54
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Day 54 – 10th March – Registro to Itajaí

Day 54 – 10th March – Registro to Itajaí

The last 500 km drive for Team Lipstick in south America towards the harbour towns of Navagantes and Itajai was started after a nice breakfast and seemingly the sunshine returned to Brazil and the clouds started to disappear.    

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Day 53 – 9th March – Rio De janeiro to Registro

Day 53 – 9th March – Rio De janeiro to Registro

Although cloudy there was no rain this morning so the boys decided to visit some landmarks in Rio de janeiro with the most famous being the statute of Chris the Redeemer     A symbol of Christianity across the world,

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Day 51 & 52 – 7th/8th March – Sao Paolo to Rio de Janeiro.

Day 51 & 52 – 7th/8th March – Sao Paolo to Rio de Janeiro.

First action of the Day was a phone call to the shipping agent in Cape Town who still could not tell Team Lipstick who their agents in Brazil are and where they are based.   However, they promised to give

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Day 50 – 6th March – Torres to Sao Paolo

Day 50 – 6th March – Torres to Sao Paolo

Today the boys decidedto give it a big push right through to Sao Paolo rather than to Curitiba like originally planned. They wanted to gain some extra time in case of problems with the shipping agent and the potential need

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Day 49 – 5th March – Punta del Este to Torres (Brazil)

Day 49 – 5th March – Punta del Este to Torres (Brazil)

Today Team Lipstick is crossing from the second smallest country in South America (Uruguay) to the biggest on – Brazil. This also means that they leave the Spanish speaking area of South America and entering the Portuguese speaking country.  

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Day 47 & 48 – 3rd/4th March – Buenos Aires to Punta del Este (Uruguay)

Day 47 & 48 – 3rd/4th March – Buenos Aires to Punta del Este (Uruguay)

Originally he boys wanted to use the Ferry from Buenos Aires to Montevideo in Uruguay but after yesterday’s heavy traffic they decided to rather use the Land Border which time wise would not make much of a difference. This however

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Pictures From Andre – Day 30 – Day 40

Pictures From Andre – Day 30 – Day 40
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Day 46 – 2nd March – San Bernardo to Buenos Aires.

Day 46 – 2nd March – San Bernardo to Buenos Aires.

  A short drive of some 360 km mostly on the highways is on the cards today for Team Lipstick. More and more beautiful cattle Ranches were visible along the road as the boys reached the outskirts of Buenos Aires

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Day 45 – 1st March – Mar del Plate to San Bernardo  

Day 45 – 1st March – Mar del Plate to San Bernardo   

  Only a short drive today for Team Lipstick as the next stop is only some 180km away in the coastal Town of San Bernardo.   The roads were very good and often straight for over 20km reminding the boys

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Day 44 – 28th February – Puerto Madryn to Mar del Plata

Day 44 – 28th February – Puerto Madryn to Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is an Argentine city in the southeast part of Buenos Aires Province located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name “Mar del Plata” has the meaning of “sea of the Silver

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Day 43 – 27nd February – Esquel to Puerto Madryn

Day 43 – 27nd February – Esquel to Puerto Madryn

  Leaving Esquel the boys needed to decide whether to go further South or making up some lost time ( due to Lipstick’s delay in getting shipped from Honduras to Columbia ) and having a look at themaps they decided

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Day 42 – 26nd February – Frutillar to Esquel (Argentina)

Day 42 – 26nd February – Frutillar to Esquel (Argentina)

  Leaving the old german settlers town of Frutillar behind Team Lipstickis leaving Chile behind today and cross over to Argentina trying to reach Esquel but not before having a breakfast where a Kuchen (Cake) is a must have.  

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Day 41 – 25nd February – Concepcion to Frutillar

Day 41 – 25nd February – Concepcion to Frutillar

  The trip continued along the edge of the Andean Mountains through beautiful farmlands and the goal of the Day was to reach Frutillar a well-known holiday destination with old german history.   Frutillar is a city in southern Chile’s

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Day 40 – 24nd February – La Serena to Conception

Day 40 – 24nd February – La Serena to Conception

  Today the boys made an early start and took a decision to not enter into Santiago de Chile but rather spend some time in the wine resorts on the southern side of Santiago. So off they went along the

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Day 39 – 23nd February – Antofagasta to La Serena

Day 39 – 23nd February – Antofagasta to La Serena

A great drive was waiting for the guys today as they started their drive down along Chile’s pacific coast line.   Although the landscape showed mountains on the left and the Pacific on the right there were quite a few

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Day 38 – 22nd February – Uyuni(Bolivia) to Antofagasta (Chile)

Day 38 – 22nd February – Uyuni(Bolivia) to Antofagasta (Chile)

  Early morning wakes up for the boys again under freezing conditions which made Andre decide to wear long pants for the first time on the trip a   and off they went to the Salares how the Bolivians call

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Day 37 – 21st February – Copacabana to  Uyuni

Day 37 – 21st February – Copacabana to  Uyuni

  The boys woke up to a rather cold Day with temperature around 13 degrees C and set off on a beautiful drive along the shores of Lake Titicaca and around 40 km later they had to use a ferry

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Day 36 -20th February – MachuPicchu to Copacabana (Bolivia)

Day 36 -20th February – MachuPicchu to Copacabana (Bolivia)

  Great breakfast was had at Sol Natura guesthouse owned by a German couple in Ollyantambo before Team Lipstick hit the road on their way to Bolivia.   Fortunately, there was no need of crossing any mature Andean mountains as

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Day 35 – 19th February – MachuPicchu

Day 35 – 19th February – MachuPicchu

MachuPicchu can be visited either in the morning or in the afternoon, so after a long drive the day before the boys decided that the afternoon tour would be best and they proceeded to the local railway station round 10.30am

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Day 34 – 18th February – Nasca to Cusco

Day 34 – 18th February – Nasca to Cusco

A challenging trip lies ahead for the boys today as they will have to cross a variety of mountains in the Andean ountain range.     The Andes Mountains is the mountainous spine which dramatically dissects South America in two

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Day 31 & 32 & 33 – 15th/16th/17th February – Lima

Day  31 & 32 & 33 – 15th/16th/17th February – Lima

  Due to the ignition switch problem the boys had to bypass the electrical system just to start the car and hence were unable to use Radio or switch the air conditioner on and due to this fact, they did

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Video’s From Team Lipstick – Day 1 – 30

Video’s From Team Lipstick – Day 1 – 30
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Pictures From Andre – Day 1 – Day 30

Pictures From Andre – Day 1 – Day 30
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Day 30 – 14th February – Trujillo to Lima

Day 30 – 14th February – Trujillo to Lima

  Straight after breakfast the boys searched and found the Toyota garage in Trujillo only to be told that they would not have the brake shoes as a Toyota Landcruiser 100 series is not commonly used in Peru but that

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Day 29 – 13th February – Machala (Equator) to Trujillo (Peru)

Day 29 – 13th February – Machala (Equator) to Trujillo (Peru)

Another border crossing is on the cards again today leaving Equator and crossing the border into Peru. Again the boys had to go through the lower mountain range on the seaside of the Andean mountain range with endless winding roads

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Day 28 – 12th February – Quito to Machala

Day 28 – 12th February – Quito to Machala

Lipstick left Quito in early morning traffic  and soon found itself on nice double lane part of the Pan-American highway going South towards Machala.       Machala is a commercial centre for the surrounding agriculture industries. There is a large trade

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Day 27 – 11th February -Popayan to Quito

Day 27 – 11th February -Popayan to Quito

Today the boys will be crossing the Border between Columbia and Equator and aim to reach Quito . The first stretch was again through quiet a mountain range until Lipstick reached PiedraSentadaaafter about 75 km from the road levelled out

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Day 26 – 10th February – Medellin to Popayan

Day 26 – 10th February – Medellin to Popayan

Not an easy task to get out of Medellin and soon the boys were back again fighting the enormous trucks for first place in the queue.     Soon the high raise buildings disappeared in the rear view mirror and

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Day 25 – 9th February – Cartagena to Medellin

Day 25 – 9th February – Cartagena to Medellin

First stop of the day was back at the offices of the clearing agent where Willy paid the harbour dues and the agent’s fee whilst Andre was assembling the jerry cans onto the roof rack of Lipstick.   Finally, the

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Day 24 – 8th February – Cartagena (getting Lipstick through customs)

Day 24 – 8th February – Cartagena (getting Lipstick through customs)

Today the boys hope to be reunited with Lipstick and they were told to be at the agent’s office at 1.20pm (yes not 1 or 1.30 it has to be 1.20pm J).   The morning was therefor spend doing some

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Day 21-23 – 5th/ 7th February – Cartagena

Day 21-23 – 5th/ 7th February – Cartagena

Straight after breakfast the boys went to the customs clearance agency in Cartagena with whom they had made previous contacts and Team Lipstick can only recommend this company to anyone wanting to ship into or out of Cartagena    

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Day 20 – 4th February – Panama to Cartagena (Columbia)

Day 20 – 4th February – Panama to Cartagena (Columbia)

It’s a 4am wake up call for team Lipstick to make use of the hotel’s airport shuttle in order to catch the 7.35am flight from Panama to Cartagena – on arrival at the check in counter of Copas airline however

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Day 18 & 19 – 2nd/3rd February – Tamarindo back to San Jose and on to Panama

Day 18 & 19 – 2nd/3rd February – Tamarindo back to San Jose and on to Panama

Having travelled some 900 km through very interesting parts of Honduras Team Lipstick had to head back to San Jose and connect a flight to Panama the following day.   There are no direct flights from Costa Rica to Cartagena

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Day 17 – 1st February – Nuevo Areal to Tamarindo

Day 17 – 1st February – Nuevo Areal to Tamarindo

The boys woke up and the electricity was still down but a nice breakfast was provided before the boys hit the road again towards Arenal Volcano whilst it was still rainy and cloudy. It was really a great pleasure to

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Day 16 – 31st January – San Jose to Nuevo Areal

Day  16 – 31st January – San Jose to Nuevo Areal

  Like in any capitol of the world it took the boys quite some time to get out of San Jose in early morning traffic and on to the route going north west in Costa Rica.   The goal of

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Day 15 – 30th January – Panama to Costa Rica (by air)

Day 15 – 30th January – Panama to Costa Rica (by air)

With Lipstick being at high sea from Honduras to Columbia and after having explored Panama the boys decided to fly to San Jose in Costa Rica. San Jose is close by with only about 800km distance between Panama City and

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DAY 13 & 14 – 28/29th January – Panama

DAY 13 & 14 – 28/29th January – Panama

After breakfast, the guys proceeded to see the probably most famous piece of Panama- The Panama Canal     The Panama Canal ) is an artificial 77 km  waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is

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Day 12 – 27th January – Puerto Cortes (Honduras) to Panama (by air)

Day 12 – 27th January – Puerto Cortes (Honduras) to Panama (by air)

The boys were asked for the reason to ship Lipstick from Honduras to Columbia rather than driving through all the way down to Panama   Costa Rica is one of only a handful of countries in the world which do

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Day 10 & 11 – 25/26th January – Puerto Cortes (Honduras)

Day 10 & 11 – 25/26th January – Puerto Cortes (Honduras)

Thursday was spent sorting out all the export documentations and relaxing around the pool if the hotel Azul with frequent phone calls between the boys and their agent – Gloria Aleman.   In the afternoon, the team drove into the

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Day 9 – 23rd January – Puerto Barrios (Guatemala) to Puerto Cortes (Honduras)

Day 9 – 23rd January – Puerto Barrios (Guatemala) to Puerto Cortes (Honduras)

A nice breakfast buffet was on offer and because Willy’s eyes was hungrier than his stomach he could not finished all the food on the plate – especially the coconut porridge and some unidentifiable sausage that looked tastier than it

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Day 8 – 22nd January – Villahermosa to Puerto Barrios (Guatemala)

Day 8 – 22nd January – Villahermosa to Puerto Barrios (Guatemala)

Early start in the morning and the boys went off to reach the Border between Mexico  and Guatemala at a town called EL Ceiba.   The border can easily be reached by all-paved highways beginning with Mex 186 east from

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Day 7 – 21st January – Mexico to Villahermosa

Day 7 – 21st January – Mexico to Villahermosa

  Before hitting the road to Villahermosa the boys went to a Toyota garage in Mexico City to see whether they could assist in replacing the ignition switch in Lipstick. Unfortunately they were told that such a part is not

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Day 6 – 20th January – San Luis Potosi to Mexico City

Day 6 – 20th January – San Luis Potosi to Mexico City

By 8 am the boys were on the road again trying to reach Mexico City by early afternoon and whilst traffic was mild at the beginning it became thicker as they reached about 120km not of Mexico’s capital.    

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Day 5 – 19th January – Camago to San Luis Potosi

Day 5 – 19th January – Camago to San Luis Potosi

It was freezing cold this morning when the boys left their hotel at about 8 am and remembering that their good friends back home would now assemble at the meeting points of T58 – so quick picture was taken to

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Day 4 – 18th January – El Paso (USA) to Camargo (Mexico)

Day 4 – 18th January – El Paso (USA) to Camargo (Mexico)

During yesterday’s trip the boys discovered that their DELORME INREACH tracker stopped working all together despite attempts to charge the battery overnight so the first stop today was a battery shop on the way to the Mexican Border. The extremely

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Day 3 -17th January – San Diego to EL Paso

Day 3 -17th January – San Diego to EL Paso

After a solid sleep and a nice American breakfast the boys hit the road for a long haul today which would take them through 4 American states – California –New Mexico –Arizona and Texas. The way out of San Diego

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Day 1 & 2 – 15th – 16th January – New York to San Diego

Day 1 & 2 – 15th – 16th January – New York to San Diego

Lipstick doing the Americas Central and Southers States After a lot of planning the boys took off in East London today and boarded the flight from Johanneburg to New York – unfortunately there was a severe thunderstorm in Johannesburg forcing

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Videos from team Lisptick

Videos from team Lisptick
Elao September 25, 2017 Going East Read more

Pictures from Andre – Day 25 to 30

Pictures from Andre – Day 25 to 30
Elao September 25, 2017 Going East Read more

Day 30- 16th September – Los Angeles and flight back home

Day 30- 16th September – Los Angeles and flight back home

Today is D-Day for Team Lipstick as they are finishing the first leg of touring the Americas and fly back to South Africa.   This meant re arranging all the goodies inside Lipstick and making sure everything is stowed away

Elao September 25, 2017 Going East Read more

Day 29 – 15th September – Los Angeles

Day 29 – 15th September – Los Angeles

Hans Jürgen and Birgit fetched the boys this morning to take them around a drive through Los Angeles and as they live in this city for many years it gave Team Lipstick a sort on an “insider” view of the

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Day 28- 14th September – Los Angeles

Day 28- 14th September – Los Angeles

This morning Team Lipstick had the opportunity to visit Weber Metals in Los Angeles which is a sister company of Foxtec in East London in which Willy is involved.   Rick Creed the General Manager showed the boys around this

Elao September 21, 2017 Going East Read more

Day 27 – 13th September – Needles to Los Angeles

Day 27 – 13th September – Needles to Los Angeles

For most of today’s drive the boys decided to stick to route 66 instead of the newly built highway which often runs a few 100m away from route 66. Team Lipstick passed many Bars and Saloons from times gone buy

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The ELAO Expedition: Going Down Under 2019

Having driven through 5 of the bigger continents on earth it was just a matter of time for Team Lipstick to complete their world tour and explore the smallest of the 6 continents -AUSTRALIA. Read More..

The ELAO Expedition: Going East 2017


Having completed the Silkroad from China to Europe , going North and South on the African continent it seem only logical that the Americas should become the next adventure for team Lipstick.Lipstick was shipped out to New York in July 2017 fromwhere Andre and Willy
will join the well travelled Landcruiser and go on tour through Canada and up to Alaska before turning South again until they reach the bottom end of South America and then finally ship the car back to South Africa from Argentine or Brazil.
Read more

The ELAO Expedition: Going West 2016


Inspired by Marco Polo the great adventurer who traveled from Europe to Asia -dating 1271 to 1295-it was decided to follow his footsteps on this journey which is known as the Silk Road. The main travelers of the Silk Road at that time were merchants who organized various caravans to cross the Gobi Deserts. Overcoming all kinds of hardships.... Read more

The ELAO Expedition: Going South 2014

3 years have passed since team Lipstick went up north along the East Coast of Africa through Europe to Germany. During our return to East London the idea to complete the return trip from Europe down south along the west coast of Africa was born...Read more

The ELAO Expedition: Going North 2011

A trip through Africa…. Ever since Willy Gauss arrived by plane in 1974 in South Africa it was his dream to one day drive back through Africa by car. Dreams don’t come easy however and the time required is not...Read more

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