Back to Basics!

There is no greater test for man and machine than a trip into nature in all its wild glory. It requires a fair bit of planning, a vehicle that is up to the task and accessories that are carefully chosen to enhance the overall experience. MIC VAN ZYL from Ironman 4×4 Africa undertook such a trip to Zambia in a Suzuki Jimny that was kitted out with true overlanding in mind.

Photos by DIRK SMIT & MIC VAN ZYL

In the world of popular four-wheel drive vehicles, the Suzuki Jimny stands out for not only having supreme 4×4 off-road abilities, but also for being the smallest. In Southern Africa, it has continued to gain popularity both on- and off-road, especially since the introduction of the current fourth generation in 2018.

Previous generations of the Jimny have always enjoyed a loyal following, not only in the off-road community but also amongst city dwellers wanting something different as their daily driver and waiting lists for new vehicle stock often test buyers’ patience.

Consequently, there has been a marked increase in the enquiries for and sales of accessories for this little tyke. There has also been a significant increase in the range and availability of these accessories, indicating that more people are buying the Jimny and using it for its intended purpose – to go off-road.

Aimed at the more serious side of off-roading and overlanding, Ironman 4×4 Africa’s range of products includes updated suspension systems, bull bars, winches, underbody protection kits, snorkels and a range of camping gear such as rooftop tents and awnings.

Notwithstanding its supreme off-road capabilities, the size of the Jimny and some of its features present some challenges when it comes to serious overland travel that would see one travel to remote wilderness destinations, removed from the availability of fuel and drinking water. This is very different to weekend warrior off-roading at your local 4×4 track close to home.

At Ironman 4×4 we are frequently asked about the suitability and capability of the Jimny to do serious overland travel. To answer this question with conviction and credibility, we decided get our hands on a Suzuki Jimny and put it to the test. The first part of the plan was to familiarise ourselves with the Jimny in its standard form. I personally drove it around Johannesburg for a couple of weeks and a couple of pertinent things became very apparent from the outset.

The Jimmy is the near-perfect small city vehicle, with very compact dimensions which make it super easy to get in and out of any tight spots. The three-door derivative has seating for four people, with little or no luggage space. The backrests of the rear seats can fold down, which configures it to a threeseater with some luggage space or a two-seater with pretty good luggage space. While the Jimny is compact and easy to manoeuvre, it is still a challenge to determine clearance and safety at the rear of the vehicle, especially when reversing out of a parking spot at the mall. The lack of both park distance control and a reverse camera are, in my opinion, glaring safety omissions on this vehicle.

The 1.5-litre engine is free revving and very tractable. Highway driving was less challenging than I anticipated. Although the Jimny only has 75kW of power and 130 Nm of torque on tap, I did not struggle to keep up with traffic. We chose the manual version with a five-speed gearbox over the auto model which only features four speeds. The manual allows you to drop down to fourth gear and maintain a fair amount of momentum as opposed to the auto, which has a fair stretch between third and fourth gears.

The challenge

After a few weeks behind the wheel of the Jimny, I had no doubt that this well-built little wagon would overcome anything you threw at it. While you would not be the fastest vehicle on the road, I became certain that it could take me to all the place in southern Africa that I had already visited… and then some! I concluded that there were potentially three things that I would need to compromise on and plan around, should I ever attempt to take the Jimny on a serious overlanding trip across the border.

The first area is fuel capacity. The Jimny has a 40-litre fuel tank and I found that I could only get around 34 litres into the tank when filling up when the reserve light came on. In and around town, the standard Jimny consumes an average of 8.5 litres/100km, giving it a range of around 450km. I was very interested to see what the Jimny would do out on the open road at speed, fully kitted to take on the mighty African wilderness with less-than-ideal fuel availability.

The second area of concern was the available space for overlanding and camping gear for a two- to three-week expedition into the bundu. In the planning phase of our Jimny overlanding vehicle build, we decided that the rear seats would come out, rendering the Jimny a two-seater only. Ultimately, for our purposes, the Jimny would be used for solo travel only. Any cross-border trips would only be undertaken in convoy.

With the rear seats removed, we found the squared off shape of the rear of the vehicle to be a bonus in terms of planning a storage solution for the rear. It was during this process that I stumbled upon a relatively new term in the world of overlanding, especially on-line. Google ‘micro-overlanding’ and you’ll see exactly what I mean. Given that we are used to travelling in double-cab bakkies and full-size 4×4 SUVs, this topic is relatively new to me, but I have picked up on it with great speed and enthusiasm. I can summarise micro-overlanding as a combination of scaling down on the size and weight of and evaluating the absolute necessity of the gear you intend fitting to your Jimny or taking with you on a trip.

Much convention was tossed out the window as we proceeded to build our little off-road tourer. This leads me to another major concern with the Jimny and overlanding – load capacity. The manual Jimny with a full tank of fuel weighs 1 095kg. The allowable GVM as stated on the license disc is 1 435kg. This gives you a mere 340kg for everything else. This includes passengers, luggage, food and water as well as any accessories you plan on fitting. In the end this proved to be the Achilles Heel of the Jimny.

As far as vehicle accessories go, we planned on fitting larger offroad tyres, an uprated suspension kit, full replacement bull bar, 7-inch LED spotlights, a roof rack with rooftop tent and 270-degree awning, rear cargo deck, lithium auxiliary battery with charging system, fridge slider and a 42-litre fridge as a minimum. To this would be added food, water, clothes, camera equipment, a chair and sleeping bag for our overlanding trips. We elected not to fit a winch to the Jimny as we would never be travelling alone outside of the country’s borders and self-recovery would therefore not be required.

We did, however, fit a pair of rated recovery points to the front in case we had to be recovered by another vehicle. We were bound to fit the bull bar and the rooftop tent as these are some of our main product lines and the Jimny would certainly be used for product marketing purposes.

The suspension upgrade transformed the little Jimny into a very stable vehicle and increased its off-road prowess by a fair margin. The new long-travel springs and uprated Nitro Gas shock absorbers were never phased during our maiden overlanding trip, even under full load on some of the worst roads I have ever seen. Truth be told, in the company of nine large overlanding trucks, the little Jimny outshone them all throughout the trip when the going got tough.

Massive potholes, steep riverbed descents and ascents and thick sand were no challenge for the little Jimny.

While sourcing the rear cargo deck for our Jimny from BushTech Overlanding Accessories, we decided to fit a pair of their rear side window gull wing replacement doors as well as a very handy window box on each side (which you can access through the gull wing doors). These items are massively handy utilising otherwise dead space in the rear of the vehicle.

By the time we had completed our vehicle build as well as determining what would go and what would remain behind on our trips, the Jimny ended up being around 200kg over the legal GVM limit in South Africa. This rendered it illegal for use on-road, certainly here in Sout Africa and likely, any cross-border travel up into Africa.

Ironman 4×4 do offer a GVM upgrade for the Jimny in Australia. It comprises the exact same suspension components that we used on our Jimny and most importantly, is certified to be accepted and safe to use without any other vehicle upgrades required, including the braking system. This GVM upgrade increases the load capacity of the Jimny from 340kg to 690kg. I therefore felt that, notwithstanding the Jimny being over the legal GVM limit as it currently stands in South Africa, it was way below the potential GVM limit as deemed and

certified by Australian Law to be safe.

For clarity, I must state that Ironman 4×4 Africa does not condone or promote the use of any vehicle in an illegal manner. We reworked the Jimny somewhat but could not get it below the required GVM. On future trips we would probably need to forego the rooftop tent and the bull bar to remain legal. It is, however, our intention to engage with the South African road authority as well as with Suzuki South Africa to attempt to get an official GVM upgrade legalised for road use over here.

The expedition

For our maiden voyage to test our new Jimny, we elected to take it on a serious overlanding trip, away from luxuries and away from readily available fuel and water. At around the time of planning this trip, we were invited by Simon and Desiree Steadman, from Ultimate Adventures, to accompany them on an expedition to the Luangwa Valley. Ironman 4×4 would be represented by our intrepid camera man and movie maker, Dirk Smit, in the Ironman 4×4 Toyota Hilux, with yours truly piloting the Jimny. The Ultimate Adventures tour would also comprise of another eight vehicles carrying a group of 14 people. The convoy ended up being 10 vehicles, two trailers, a caravan and 16 people.

Day 1: Johannesburg to Elephant Sands, Botswana

The first day took Dirk and I from Johannesburg up to Elephant Sands in Botswana, just north of Nata, to meet up with the rest of the convoy for the official start of the tour. The trip up to Botswana was uneventful. For me at least, there was a fair amount of focus to always keep the Jimny as close to the national speed limit as possible to ensure that we make the 1 020km trip in one day.

We elected to enter Botswana through the Stockpoort border post rather than at Martin’s Drift. I lack the required amount of patience for the ineptitude and incompetence often found at border posts throughout Southern Africa, but have found Stockpoort to be very good, albeit requiring a significant detour.

The Jimny chomped up the miles and got me safely to Elephant Sands before sundown. Fuel consumption on his stretch was quite high at around 12.7 litres/100km. This required many fuel stops and I realised that I would have a fuel issue on this trip given the long distance between fuel stops, especially in Zambia. I therefore elected to have Dirk’s Hilux carry two 40-litre jerry cans of spare fuel for the Jimny on its roof rack.

Day 2: Elephant Sands to Camp Nkwazi, Zambia

We travelled from Elephant Sands up to the Kazangula border post with Zambia which is next to Kasane. Dirk and I had to leave earlier than the convoy as I had a quick business meeting in Kasane. We also grabbed a couple of last-minute provisions before meeting up with the rest of the convoy at Kazangula. The border crossing here was challenging and took around three hours to complete. I must add that we have subsequently learnt that one can do many of the processes required at the border post online and I will certainly be making use of this for future travels to both Zambia and Zimbabwe. This process took us into the early afternoon and from there, we travelled a short way to Camp Nkwazi on the banks of the Zambezi River. Total distance travelled for the day was just on 300km.

One of the trepidations I had for this trip in the Jimny was the fact that I may struggle to keep up with the bigger, more powerful vehicles in the rest of the convoy while travelling up through Zambia, especially on the notorious Great North Road. Once in Zambia, however, I realised that the national speed limit was 100km/h and that the average convoy speed was around 55km/h – nothing to worry about, thus!

Camp Nkwazi is a very beautiful setting on the banks of the Zambezi, which can be enjoyed from a superb deck overlooking the river. When facing south overlooking the river from this deck, the eastern setting sun touches the Zambezi to your right in full view and promised the prospect of many more such sun sets on this trip. The bar, stocked to the hilt with ice cold beer, and the cool swimming pool were very welcome indeed, especially considering the rising daily temperatures that lay ahead. We only spent a single night here, but it was a special

evening, nonetheless.

Day 3: Nkwazi Camp to Camp Lukasa

We covered just over 500km as the convoy moved from Nkwazi north eastwards towards Camp Lukasa on the outskirts of the Zambian capital. Initially our route took us east to the town of Livingstone where we could stock up on those essentials that are not allowed to be brought into Zambia by vehicle. The speed of the convoy was a little slower than normal and we had many towns – including Kalomo, Choma, Pemba, Mazabuka, Kafue and eventually Lusaka – to go through on our way to our destination. We arrived after dark, but the campsite was easy to navigate and after quickly setting up camp, we were all sitting around the campfire reflecting on the day.

Camp Lukasa is situated on a smallholding on the southwestern outskirts of Lusaka and the campsite is mostly grassed, with some large trees to the one side. The ablution facilities are exceptional and, while there may not be any attractions in proximity, this is the perfect stop over on your travels up north. We had an early evening after a long day in the saddle.

Day 4: Camp Lukasa to Forest Inn

Navigating the outskirts of Lusaka proved to be tougher than expected and we only really got going out of Lusaka on the Great North Road close to lunchtime. The route took us north from Lusaka up the Great North Road towards Kapiri Mposhi. Just north of the town we turned right and continued northeast along the Great North Road towards Mkushi. We were due to travel around 500km to the Kundalila Falls Camp Site and we realised that we would need to make a change to the expedition schedule to ensure that we have enough time at the various stops to enjoy what they had to offer.

Fortunately, we were in the very good and very experienced hands with Simon and Des and a quick amendment to the itinerary saw us rather stop at the Forest Inn, halfway between Lusaka and Kundalila. This meant that we only had to travel 290km and we arrived at camp mid-afternoon. Upon arrival at the lodge, we learnt that it had recently changed hands and was now known as Fika Lodge. It features quaint thatch bungalows as well as a vast camping area with green grass and an abundance of bird life. The lodge also features a phenomenal restaurant. Arriving relatively early gave us the opportunity to rest in the heat of the afternoon and then catch up around the campfire and get to know each other better.

Day 5: Forest Inn to Kundalila Falls

We travelled a relatively short distance further northwest along the Great North Road to our next stop at the Kundalila Falls campsite. We had a relatively late start from Fika Lodge and dispatched with the 211km to Kundalila Falls in good time, arriving at our destination by early afternoon. The campsite here was very basic, with a small stone building housing a single flush toilet. There was no water available, and we had to fill the toilet cistern as required. From the campsite it is a short walk to the lookout at the head of the falls for a rather spectacular view of, not only the falls, but also the escarpment and the start of the Luangwa Rift Valley down below.

Most of the members of our expedition elected to hike down the side of the escarpment to the pools below the waterfall. It was no easy hike but the experience down at the base of the waterfall certainly made it well worth the effort. Many took a plunge into the icy pools, which provided a welcome respite from the heat of the day (touching 40 degrees by mid-morning). Another stunning evening of campfire chatter and a top-class meal prepared by Ultimate Adventures’ travelling chef, Master P, ended our day.

Day 6 & 7: Kundalila Falls to Kapishya Springs and rest day

With just over 2 300km under our belts thus far, we drove roughly 300km up the Great North Road to the Kapishya Hot Springs lodge and campsite. Our last fuel stop for the next couple of days was in the town of Mpika, about 120km south of Kapishya. We arrived midway through a very hot afternoon and

were greeted by a lovely campsite on the banks of the Mansha River, featuring clean and neat ablutions as well as a swimming pool on the bar deck at the restaurant. The highlight of this destination, however, are the Kapishya Hot springs where hot water bubbles out of a white sandy shallow lake bottom.

The Kapishya Springs are quite unique in several ways, the most significant being the fact that the springs are geothermal, yet the water contains no sulphur. The water is very slightly acidic but, with a low mineral content, is very pleasant to swim in. It comes up from a depth of around 7km, where it reaches a temperature of around 110 degrees Celsius. Losing 10 degrees in heat with every kilometre that the water rises, it ends up at around 40 degrees when it bubbles into the pool.

The Kapishya Springs Lodge is situated on the Shiwa Ng’andu Estate and is home to one of Zambia’s great historical landmarks – the Africa House, built by Sir Stewart Gore-Browne in the 1920’s. The Estate is steeped in rich Zambian history. Today the lodge and Africa House are owned and run by Sir Stewart’s grandsons Charles and Mark Harvey. Their father, John Harvey, pioneered conservation in the area.

We spent a very relaxed day popping in and out of the hot springs and the deck pool recharging our batteries for the next part of our expedition. I couldn’t help but feel that this place required a longer stay to really get to experience all of what was on offer.

Day 8: Kapishya Springs to Samala Camp, North Luangwa National Park

After a leisurely breakfast we broke camp and travelled a short distance south along the Great North Road towards Mpika, turning off the main road at a small settlement called Chitembo. We deflated our tyres for the first time on the trip as we headed southeast towards North Luangwa National Park. After about 40km of gravel road we arrived at the Mano airstrip just outside the North Luangwa National Park eastern entrance gate. Here we turned off the main gravel road and made our way down a narrow track to the Samala campsite on the banks of the Mwaleshi River.

We spent a chilled-out afternoon in camp cooling ourselves in the shallow pools amongst the rocks in the river. We were entertained by a troop of baboons that were feeding along its banks and later in the afternoon we decided to pop into the park for a short game drive.

Until recently, the park did not cater for self-drive tourists and only featured a couple of lodges within the park offering accommodation and game drives. It is now possible to camp on the outskirts of the park and undertake daily game drives into this very remote and wild part of Africa. Samala Camp is the ideal place from which to launch your exploration of the North Luangwa National Park.

Day 9: Samala Camp to Ituba Camp, North Luangwa National Park

An early start to the day ensured that we would have ample time to take a slow drive through the northern part of North Luangwa National Park as we continued our travels east towards the Luangwa River. We came across very little in the way of wildlife. This region has suffered severely from massive poaching and hunting over the years and while there are now efforts to re-establish a wilderness area and properly managed national park, I think it will take a great deal of time measured in decades to re-establish healthy animal populations in the region.

Our group split into two parties as we entered the park for the trip eastwards. The vehicles that were towing trailers or caravans were led by Simon on a direct route southeast towards the pontoon on the Luangwa River. The rest of the convoy took the more scenic route along the Lufila River, which serves as the northern boundary to the park. This would allow for us to get the towing vehicles across the pontoon and afford the rest an interesting game drive. Dirk and I elected to travel with the towing group to allow us to film the process of getting the vehicles and their trailers and caravans across the river.

We completed the 60km-odd trip through the northern part of the park and arrived at the pontoon crossing at around midday. Temperatures were now well into the mid-40’s with not so much as a slight breeze to cool us down. The pontoon was a single vehicle affair – trailers and caravan would have to be unhitched from their vehicles and carried across the river separately. Simon was first across in his Hilux and after being dropped by the pontoon on the opposite bank, we used his winch to get the trailers and caravan across the river.

The process of getting the two trailers, a caravan and five vehicles across took around three-and-a-half hours in the beating midday sun. We were exhausted by the time we reached Ituba Camp, which is near the pontoon crossing. The rest of the convoy reached the pontoon by late afternoon, and all were in camp by sunset. It was our first night camping on the great Luangwa River and the anticipation around this event had been building

over the entire trip thus far. It is truly a spectacle to behold.

The Luangwa River hosts some of the highest concentrations of hippo and crocodile in all of Africa and we were not disappointed. There is truly something very magical about a large African river cutting through an animal rich wilderness area. The trees and the wildlife create an almost overwhelming sense of being close to nature, especially for city dwelling folk like us. We spend a magnificent evening around the campfire and reluctantly retired our exhausted souls to bed that night.

Day 10: Ituba Camp to Kamukonzo Community Camp, North Luangwa National Park

After a leisurely breakfast we headed towards South Luangwa National Park. Dirk and I elected to travel on a

track hugging the river southwards while the rest of the convoy took a more substantial twee-spoor path slightly away from the river run. We progressed a few kilometres along this track before it came to an end due to non-usage. We could see the North Luangwa River Lodge and Camp on the opposite bank of the river inside the park, but we were forced to turn back and take the route following the rest of the convoy. We caught up with them a few hours later. After a mid-day lunch stop, we arrived at our destination later that afternoon.

The evening saw us camp at the Kamukonzo Community Camp on the banks of the Luangwa River just outside of the Luambe National Park. The Kamukonzo campsite is community run and operates on a first come, first served basis. Upon arrival at camp, we were met by a large group of less-than-hospitable tourists

from France. They had been told by their French travel agent that they were to have the entire camp to themselves – hats off to Des for diffusing the situation! We kept to one side of the campsite and spend the afternoon sitting in a row on the bank of the Luangwa River enjoying the abundant bird life, a tall G&T and a most magnificent sundown over the large trees along the river.

Day 11: Kamukonzo Community Camp to Wildlife Camp, South Luangwa National Park

We were up early, breaking down camp with great enthusiasm as we were due to travel further south towards the highlight of our trip – South Luangwa National Park. Our drive took us through the Luambe National Park and often hugged the banks of the Luangwa River as we progressed towards Mfuwe. This park is a small gem that lies on the eastern banks of the Luangwa River between North and South Luangwa National Parks. It features a single luxury lodge and residents have the entire park to themselves. It is not a self-drive destination, though and the very upmarket full board accommodation includes walking safaris, sleep-outs in the wild and much more.

Our destination for the evening was the Wildlife Camp near the small settlement of Mfuwe at the Mfuwe Main Gate entrance to the park. Wildlife Camp is one of the many camping spots that are situated in and around Mfuwe near the park gate. This would be our base for four nights as we explore the South Luangwa National Park on daily game drives. As we drew ever closer to our destination, we passed through the Mutanda Plains area where we came across zebras, giraffes and several crowned cranes. The entire route featured an easy

going twee-spoor track. Being late in the dry season we hardly came across any of the challenges posed in the wet season with standing water and cotton soil mud. We arrived at Wildlife Camp nestled against the Luangwa River later in the afternoon and set up camp.

Day 12 – 14: Wildlife Camp and South Luangwa National Park

According to Simon, the South Luangwa National Park ranks up with the Serengeti as one of the top wildlife destinations in Africa. As we ventured into the park early morning and again late afternoon it become quite clear that he was not wrong. The area and its features are reminiscent of many different wilderness areas in Africa.

The riverine forests and trees remind of the Kruger, the flood plains and bush remind of Mana Pools and the Okavango and the open grass areas of the Serengeti, all in very close proximity to one another. The wildlife is abundant and the bird life unlike anything I have experienced. This time of year sees flocks of Carmine Bee-eaters nesting on the river banks, herons and storks galore along the river and many more species I have not encountered before. Amongst the many highlights was a sighting of a large flock of Lillian’s Lovebirds feeding on the flowers and grasses on the ground.

South Luangwa is said to feature the highest concentration of leopards in Africa, if not the world. This is also true for hippos. During our visits to the park, we saw leopards on two occasions, as well as wild dogs and lions. The giraffes found in South Luangwa are referred to as the Luangwa giraffes and are endemic to this area. They are a sub species of the Masai giraffe found on the Tanzanian plains. The Grant’s zebras in South Luangwa are also different to our Burchell’s zebras. Their stripes run all the way to their feet, and they have no shadow stripe.

Wildlife Camp is privately owned and features a game viewing hide at a waterhole right next to the campsite.

The highlight of the camp is, however, the pool and bar overlooking the Luangwa River. Game drives into the park at this time of year are best done early in the morning and then again later in the afternoon, leaving the midday heat to be spent in the pool. During our midday pool time we were visited by elephants that were constantly in and around the area. We even had a wild dog sighting on the opposite bank of the river, and we also had a leopard calling close by in the middle of the night.

After three days at Wildlife Camp, our time in South Luangwa drew to a close and it was difficult to pull ourselves away from this proverbial Garden of Eden. We were a long way from home with a long drive ahead of us to get back. South Luangwa National Park has an immense amount of splendour on offer, and I will definitely be back to continue exploring it. Access to the park is not cheap though, as daily entry is charged in US dollars. There is no camping inside the park but there are many camping and accommodation possibilities just outside in Mfuwe.

Day 15 – 17: Heading home

Dirk and I had about 2 500km ahead of us to get home and some of our tour party even more. We officially had another three nights left of the tour, which was destined to end at the Big 5 Chobe Lodge in Kazungula.

We left Wildlife Camp early morning and set out due east to the town of Chipata, very close to the Malawi border.

Here we turned southwest onto the Great Eastern Road heading towards Lusaka. While the distances did not seem to be long, travel speed for a 10-vehicle convoy was not fast and we would have an overnight stop before reaching Lusaka. The only viable stop over was at a roadside campsite at the very rustic and basic Luangwa Bridge campsite.

The next day saw us travel further west towards Lusaka. We were able to circumnavigate the worst part of Lusaka traffic and proceeded south to our next overnight stop at The Moorings campsite, around 170km south of the capital. It was a particularly long day and we arrived very late in the afternoon. This campsite is situated very close to the main road on a working farm. It is also a mere overnight stop, but much better than the campsite at Luangwa Bridge.

On our last day on the road as a convoy we had around 370km to complete to reach our destination, the Big 5 Chobe Lodge in Kazungula. The border crossing back into Botswana from Zambia was a lot quicker than at the beginning of our trip and we arrived at the lodge by mid-afternoon, at which point Simon and Des announced that they had booked us on an afternoon boat cruise on the Chobe River. This was a most pleasant surprise and crowning end to our expedition, and we saw plenty of animals and birds.

On our last night around the campfire, we all reflected on what we had experienced over the last two-and-a-bit weeks in Zambia. There was absolute agreement from all that Zambia – and especially South Luangwa – was truly one of Africa’s top wilderness destinations. It was a tough trip in terms of distances travelled but delivered a huge reward in the splendour that we experienced on our travels.

The Jimny verdict

Back home in Johannesburg, the Jimny’s odometer displayed 6 020km total distance travelled. It certainly didn’t feel like it. It had performed outstandingly without missing a beat once. The only issue on this trip was the Jimny’s fuel capacity on the leg from Mpika south of Kapishya Springs through the North Luangwa National Park to Mfuwe. There was no fuel available on this leg of the trip and the pair of 20-litre jerry cans of fuel on the roof rack of the Hilux was invaluable. There is a fuel tank upgrade available for the Jimny which takes fuel capacity from 40 litres to 80 litres, and this would certainly be a viable option.

I enjoyed my time in the Jimny tremendously. I was surprised by its ability, and it outperformed all of the other vehicles off-road. There are certainly easier options out there for this kind of trip but if you can get your head around micro-overlanding, you’re in for an absolute heap of fun wherever.

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