msafiri 67 JON HRUSA/ EPA/ CORBIS

msafi ri 68 CARS deep sand leading to the Tsodilo hills of the Kalahari using fourth and fi fth gear in low ratio. " You'll go a bit slower," he said. " But you'll never get stuck." I didn't, and I've never forgotten his advice. There is an old saying that the world is divided into two kinds of people: Land Rover folk on the one hand and Land Cruiser ' The car for Africa,' it has often been called, thanks to its simple, but classic engineering, its reliability and hardiness and, as was pointed out to me once years ago, its chassis is higher off the ground than any other sedan car on the road. That simple fact has been one of the most important selling points from the Sahara down to the winding hills around Cape Town. The 404 handles the potholes and the ruts in African roads better than any other two- wheel drive sedan. Production of the 404 came to an end in 1988, but there are still hundreds of thousands of them doing valiant service. It was produced as a four- door sedan, a station wagon, and as a pickup truck. I believe there was even a convertible model, but like the okapi or the elusive aardvark, I have yet to see one! ROVER OR CRUISER? The classic Series I Land Rover which, in the 1980s, became the 110 Defender, is an equally recognisable car of Africa. From their zebra- striped appearance in the 1960s movie Born Free, they have become the symbol of a twentieth- century safari. They have a diabolical turning circle – I remember sweating blood trying to do a U- turn in traffi c in downtown Harare in the good old days; they tend towards being top heavy. They are slow, hard work to drive and air conditioning or heating means either leaning out the window in the heat of the bush or putting on a sweater in the evening chill. But, like the 404, their overwhelming advantage in Africa is that they are doggedly reliable, easy to repair and can travel through the worst conditions better than just about any other vehicle. I'll never forget an old 4WD hand teaching me to drive through the Africa's defi nitive vehicles – from top left) to above) the Land Rover Defender ( the Peugeot 404 ( YANN GUICHAOUA/ PHOTOLIBRARY FRANCOISE DE MULDER/ GETTY MARCO LONGARI/ GETTY