Facebook | Mark Webster's Photos - MUNA TAU BIRDING

Facebook | Mark Webster's Photos - MUNA TAU BIRDING
For the last ten years, Outback Africa Safaris has been using a fleet of Land Rover Defenders to range far out into unspoilt areas of southern Africa, areas rarely touched by other tourists.

Under the leadership of founder, Mark Webster and his team of guides, safaris can last up to 25 days. Leaving from Cape Town & Johannesburg, they head out into the deserts of the Kalahari and Namibia or the upper reaches of the Zambezi river and the coast of the old Portuguese colony of Mozambique.

Outback Africa's philosophy is to expose its guests to the true experience of Africa from the silence of the deserts to its rich cultural diversity and, of course, its unique wildlife.

The company's fleet of Defenders comprises 110 Station Wagons and vehicles specially converted locally with an extended wheelbase of 147 inches. While the Defender 110 Station Wagons are designed to seat four passengers plus the guide, the larger vehicles can take up to seven guests.

For the duration of the safari – which can cover 10,000km (6,200 miles) – the group is self sufficient. The Defenders carry not only the guests but their packs which are stowed on a roof rack. The Defender's towing capabilities are fully utilized as they pull a custom-designed trailer which acts as a mobile kitchen as well as carrying further luggage, fuel, gas bottles and food. Fully laden, it can weigh up to 1,000kg.

Far into the Okavango Delta or in the Augrabies National Park on the edge of the Kalahari, the Defenders are far from any civilization so the enjoyment of the guests and their safety, is dependent on the Defender's reliability. Covering these enormous distances means long periods in the vehicles so the comfort afforded by the Defender's long travel coil springs is paramount and places it over other 4 x 4s. Outback Africa's founder Mark Webster also comments, 'While the main reason for choosing the Defender was safety, we also enjoy the fact that it has permanent four wheel drive, giving it great road holding and surefootedness over rough terrain.'

Aimed at enjoying the experience of rural, uncommercialised Africa, Outback Africa Safaris don't talk in terms of a big game sighting count but, in venturing further afield, its safaris often encounter rarer species such as the black-maned Kalahari lion in its remote desert habitat. Time is also spent understanding the lives of Bushmen in their isolated villages.

Outback Africa has a refreshingly different credo than other safari companies. With small groups, interaction between group members is encouraged and mass tourism avoided. When it comes to their vehicle choice, Outback Africa Safaris is equally uncompromising. As founder, Mark Webster says, 'the Defender isn't a sleek air-conditioned tour bus. It's designed for African safari conditions. Hard conditions.'