Landy Spotting

A curious thing has been happening lately. Everywhere I go, I'm seeing Land Rovers!

It's a given that if you notice one blue car, you're suddenly going to notice how many blue cars are around you. Your eye simply picks them out more easily. And with my current obsession with Landys, I see them everywhere! If I drive to the mall, I'll find 6 or more between here and there, and spot them in the parking lot too. If they have a rooftop tent and evidence of overlanding (stickers, scratches, a non-parking lot look to them), all the better!

It's become a bit of a game with my son and I (who tends to roll his eyes when I go on about the beasts) to see who can spot the most or spot them first.

Yesterday I dashed out to grab a few groceries, and came across a strange looking vehicle. Very square, but with darkened windows moulded right up to roof level and almost wrap-around on the back. What could it be? Turns out it's a Discovery 3 - a model I hadn't seen before, or perhaps hadn't noticed, because it sure as heck doesn't look like your average Landy...

You know, I'd be scared to take one of those off-road. They look way too fancy to be bundu-bashing, the paintwork too painstakingly even, the windows too flimsy. I'm sure they're not, knowing Landy standards - but this is such a city vehicle. It's and "image" car, that says "hey, I'm tough" without having to prove it. :)

My brother owns a Freelander. I'm not sure he's ever been offroad with it, nor will he. It's another city car - simply taking him here and there on business. It doesn't get muddy, it doesn't have its limits tested, it doesn't go play in ditches like a "normal" Landy. It's a bother to own and fix and he's been trying to sell it for a while. Four-wheel-drive is simply not needed for trundling around town, nor for transporting the family here and there.

But me? Well, my Ford Sierra has already gone where no Ford should go, tackling extreme corrugations and mud roads at my grandparent's farm, getting stuck next to the N1 near Bloemfontein in an horrendous storm (and getting out again), being chased by a hailstorm at speed through the countryside (and surviving some rather extreme hailstones when we didn't quite make it). When I took the doors apart to fix the locks, I found half of Gauteng's dust inside them still, a few years later.

I suspect that a tough, rough Landy will be well used in my household! And the poor Ford rested for a bit.

In the meantime though, we're spotting Landys. And apparently there are a few thousand around here. Or they're following us around.