Southern Africa Trip 2024 - 2011 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

[antennick]

Good day forum members,

A friend and I are embarking on a 3-month (Feb, Mar & Apr) trip exploring Southern African leaving early next month and I just want to run the route past the forum to get some suggestions, information and general advice. We are planning on traveling from Joburg and visiting Namibia, Botswana, Zim, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique (not necessarily in that order). It will be the two of us traveling in a solo vehicle and will have some friends joining us at various locations along the way. The vehicle we are going in will be my mate's 2011 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 3.2 D-ID. I will do a write up on each country and the vehicle which will be linked below (as I complete them).

To plan this trip we have used a combination of iOverlander, Go! magazines, advice from friends and plotted the route on Gaia GPS (I cannot recommend Gaia enough - for now).

Vehicle - https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum...36#post5170336
Namibia - https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum...83#post5170283
Botswana - https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum...70#post5173670
Zimbabwe -
Zambia -
Malawi -
Mozambique -

We will be traveling solo in a 2011 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. The vehicle is stock aside from some spot lights on the front. We will be traveling 2 up for most of the trip but there will be a third joining us for some parts of the trip, so we cannot remove the entire rear bench. We were thinking of removing the 40 side of the rear seat so that the person traveling in the rear will be more comfortable, but we could as easily removing the 60 split. The third row of seats have already been removed.

We will have a 40l Engel, that has served our family religiously for 20+ years. I will build a plywood base board to cover the rear of the vehicle so we can mount the fridge to it, be able to slide ammo boxes in and out quite easily and protect the load area on our trip. The vehicle was bought with a lot of wiring for Anderson plugs and a 12V outlet on the outside of the vehicle, but we are not sure right now if it is wired for an additional battery. We will install a second battery and a dual battery set up for this. Are there any suggestions on battery size and suitable charging solutions for phones, cameras and/or a laptop? Worst case scenario, my dad does have a battery box based in Somerset West that we can ship up and use which has a few outlets on it.

Currently, the vehicle is not fitted with a roof rack, but are look to get one to hold at least 2 x diesel Jerry cans and a second spare. Buying new is not really an option due to cost so we are looking around at some second-hand options. There are many racks available on FB marketplace and Gumtree, but mounting these racks to the vehicle is proving to be a challenge. Does anyone have any low-cost solutions for adding a Front Runner rack to Pajero Sport roof rails? Another option to explore, would be to get a pair of load bars, and add some wooden slats between them and use that as a platform to mount Jerry can brackets and a spare wheel mount. This would give us some flexibility to put tie down points wherever we feel for hammocks and carrying wood. Any other suggestions are very welcome too.

Since we are traveling in the wet season would a snorkel be necessary? We don't want to fit one to drive through deep water, but it would be a nice addition if we do find ourselves in a tricky spot with deep water. We are looking at this one - https://summit4x4.co.za/product/mits...rkel-kit-1013/

Should we be looking to carry many spares for this vehicle, engine oil, fuel and air filter, fan belt etc.? We will be quite remote in parts of Namibia, Botswana, Zim and Tanzania, but otherwise should be relatively close to support for the rest of the trip. Are there many Mitsubishi's north of our border and/or will these be decent support in the major cities (Windhoek, Maun, Lusaka, Dar Es-Salam, Lilongwe, Harare and Xai-Xai)? We will have to service the vehicle at least once along the trip (Lusaka?) so hoping that we can take it to someone reputable there.

Some of the necessary items that we do need to take for the countries we want to visit are:

White and red reflective tape (Zim and Zambia) - R100 @ Outdoor Warehouse
2 x metal warning triangles (Zambia) - where to source these?
2 x high-vis jackets
ZA sticker - goes without saying
Vehicle Police Clearance (Zim, Zambia)

Alongside the already mentioned items, we will carry a recovery kit, spade, air-compressor, exhaust/air-compressor jack, tire pressure gauge, tire repair kit, axe/machete, tool kit, some spare fuses and Jerry can funnel. This list is not comprehensive, but if there is something outstanding on it, please comment.

Please feel free to highlight any concerns or pieces of advice regarding extended overland travel and on Pajero Sports. Anything and everything will be welcomed.

This trip is being done on a limited budget, with not enough equipment and with less than the necessary planning, but we are young, competent(?) and up for the challenge! Bring on 2024.

We have set up an Instagram account - @dust_chasers and will keep that up-to-date as we go. Please feel free to give it a follow.

[Woody62]

I have just bought a new Pajero and my old Eezi awn Roof rack is up for sale.

[antennick]

I have just bought a new Pajero and my old Eezi awn Roof rack is up for sale.

PM sent

[CalDriver]

Sounds like a great trip! Regarding charging solutions for phones, laptops and cameras - I suggest charging off the vehicle 12v system, that way you don't need to fuss with an inverter, wiring, and associated complexity. Just use the cigarette plug with a high output adapter (example here-- careful with these, DO pay for a quality one, or bad electrical things will happen). With one of those you can just plug a USB cable into the adapter and directly into the laptop and you're charging - no power brick required. Same for phones. Cameras are trickier. You can:
a) charge by USB, slowly, or,
b) use one of these 12v battery chargers, powered from the cigarette plug, or,
c) get a cheap inverter to plug into the cigarette plug when you need it. These are just examples, any version of this available locally is fine.

I think people usually spend way too much effort and money on big, fancy inverters when they are often not necessary.

For spares, we carry fuses, a set of belts, fuel filter (at minimum), oil filter, air filter, and some odds and ends. Particularly for a Pajero, where parts won't be quite as common as a toyota, carrying a fuel filter and belts would be prudent. That way, if you have an issue with bad fuel or a belt that goes bad, you don't need to get to a place with a Mitsu rep, you're ready to go.

How are you charging your auxiliary battery for your fridge? It seems very common to have a 100 ah sealed lead acid battery for the second battery, charged by a solenoid. Carry a battery charger to top it off on occasions when you have power in camp. Many prefer more exotic solutions, but if you're on a budget, that will do the job just fine.

If budget is an issue, I don't really think you need the snorkel. A nice-to-have.

Please tell me about Gaia. I got the trial offer for 1 year and can't stand it, but I think I may be using it wrong. I downloaded maps for a Botswana trip recently, and it didn't seem like it had a good POI database, and it didn't give me ETA or distance to my destination, which seems like a negative. I would like to know if I'm trying to drive too far in a day, or if I'm not going to make it before dark, etc. And having to download maps all the time seems like a hassle.

[antennick]

Sounds like a great trip! Regarding charging solutions for phones, laptops and cameras - I suggest charging off the vehicle 12v system, that way you don't need to fuss with an inverter, wiring, and associated complexity. Just use the cigarette plug with a high output adapter (example here-- careful with these, DO pay for a quality one, or bad electrical things will happen). With one of those you can just plug a USB cable into the adapter and directly into the laptop and you're charging - no power brick required. Same for phones. Cameras are trickier. You can:
a) charge by USB, slowly, or,
b) use one of these 12v battery chargers, powered from the cigarette plug, or,
c) get a cheap inverter to plug into the cigarette plug when you need it. These are just examples, any version of this available locally is fine.

I think people usually spend way too much effort and money on big, fancy inverters when they are often not necessary.

For spares, we carry fuses, a set of belts, fuel filter (at minimum), oil filter, air filter, and some odds and ends. Particularly for a Pajero, where parts won't be quite as common as a toyota, carrying a fuel filter and belts would be prudent. That way, if you have an issue with bad fuel or a belt that goes bad, you don't need to get to a place with a Mitsu rep, you're ready to go.

How are you charging your auxiliary battery for your fridge? It seems very common to have a 100 ah sealed lead acid battery for the second battery, charged by a solenoid. Carry a battery charger to top it off on occasions when you have power in camp. Many prefer more exotic solutions, but if you're on a budget, that will do the job just fine.

If budget is an issue, I don't really think you need the snorkel. A nice-to-have.

Please tell me about Gaia. I got the trial offer for 1 year and can't stand it, but I think I may be using it wrong. I downloaded maps for a Botswana trip recently, and it didn't seem like it had a good POI database, and it didn't give me ETA or distance to my destination, which seems like a negative. I would like to know if I'm trying to drive too far in a day, or if I'm not going to make it before dark, etc. And having to download maps all the time seems like a hassle.

Thanks for the feedback CalDriver

Regarding the USBs - we will have USB charger from the radio and will get a USB adapter for the 12V port in the vehicle. I think our primary concern will be a charging set up for laptops and cameras which aren't USB. I don't think we have access in South Africa to a 12V adapter that will accept our 2 prong plugs. But this is something I will have to look into.

For the second battery install, I think a solenoid as you mentioned is the best choice. We will have to combine the second battery set up and charging solution to solve our problem.

With regards to carrying spares, I think what you have mentioned might just be what we should take. There are great 'service kits' available from Terrain Tamer and probably somewhere like Midas where we can get the essentials and then hope we don't have to use them.

I guess my question on the snorkel is, will it only be a nice-to-have? Or will it be necessary considering that this trip will occur in the wet season?

While I agree with your comments about Gaia - it does not give you time estimates for the routes you plot, which is worrying. I am overly concerned about some of the travel times. It is part of the adventure I guess. And it does not have very good POIs, but iOverlander covers that particularly well. If those apps were to be merged into one, I would be very happy. I guess T4A does that, but have heard some bad reviews about the usability of the apps on Android and iOS. Any comments here would be great. What I do like about Gaia is the detailed roads and tracks that are on the map. I found this particularly useful for Namibian planning and potentially Botswana. And it will be very useful in National Parks too I would guess as those tracks are not often well detailed on something like Google Maps. But the proof will be in the pudding when we are out there and having to deal with it properly.

[CalDriver]

Thanks for the feedback CalDriver

Regarding the USBs - we will have USB charger from the radio and will get a USB adapter for the 12V port in the vehicle. I think our primary concern will be a charging set up for laptops and cameras which aren't USB. I don't think we have access in South Africa to a 12V adapter that will accept our 2 prong plugs. But this is something I will have to look into.

You're correct, usually 12v adapters do not accept 2 prong plugs. But most of them ditch the 2 prong plug altogether and just go from teh 12v socket to the computer, replacing the normal cord. I am sure there are some available in SA. My point is that laptop and camera power supplies (the brick/wall wart that comes with such gadgets) typically drop the power from 220 or 110v to a much lower voltage. So instead of making 12v (from the car), converting it to 220v with an inverter, then plugging in the the cord+power supply that comes with your laptop/camera to drop the voltage back to a low voltage that the laptop/camera needs, you can replace the cord/power supply with a 12v one and skip the inverter, 2 prong plug and brick/wall wart all together.

See examples: Here or Here or Here or Here.

One of the links offered in my earlier post does the same for cameras. OR just get a cheap-o square wave inverter, plug this into the 12v socket and you can plug your regular laptop cord into this. It isn't as clean, but it is easy.

If juggling charger cords isn't your thing (we did this for a long time and then finally 'upgraded') you can add additional 12v sockets or USBs into the dash with products from National Luna or other providers fairly easily, giving you extra ports.

I guess my question on the snorkel is, will it only be a nice-to-have? Or will it be necessary considering that this trip will occur in the wet season?

I suppose it depends on how rad 4x4ing you want to do. Usually, deep water crossings can be avoided, by waiting a few hours for water levels to drop or by going around via alternate route. Many vehicles have decent wading depths even w/o a snorkel - but I don't know about a Pajero. But, if it gives you peace of mind and you'd rather have that extra insurance so that you don't get 'stuck' not being able to cross with confidence, by all means, go for it.

While I agree with your comments about Gaia - it does not give you time estimates for the routes you plot, which is worrying. I am overly concerned about some of the travel times. It is part of the adventure I guess. And it does not have very good POIs, but iOverlander covers that particularly well. If those apps were to be merged into one, I would be very happy. I guess T4A does that, but have heard some bad reviews about the usability of the apps on Android and iOS. Any comments here would be great. What I do like about Gaia is the detailed roads and tracks that are on the map. I found this particularly useful for Namibian planning and potentially Botswana. And it will be very useful in National Parks too I would guess as those tracks are not often well detailed on something like Google Maps. But the proof will be in the pudding when we are out there and having to deal with it properly.

Good to hear that I am not totally missing something with Gaia. They do have lovely maps and lots of detailed tracks. You are correct, T4A in app form is not really for navigating. Think of it more as a curated iOvelander. You can download the free version and check it out if you like. I suggest augmenting Gaia with one of the Open Street Map apps, such as OsmAnd or Maps.me. They have good functionality in the free versions, but are annoying, and a ton of functionality with the paid version, which is quite cheap.

I prefer a combination, using T4A on a Garmin + phone apps to augment - but if you want to stick with your phone for navigating, then that isn't an option.

[Greenhorn]

Maybe a good idea to rent a sat phone or a Garmin inreach an have Henris on speed dial

[antennick]

You're correct, usually 12v adapters do not accept 2 prong plugs. But most of them ditch the 2 prong plug altogether and just go from teh 12v socket to the computer, replacing the normal cord. I am sure there are some available in SA. My point is that laptop and camera power supplies (the brick/wall wart that comes with such gadgets) typically drop the power from 220 or 110v to a much lower voltage. So instead of making 12v (from the car), converting it to 220v with an inverter, then plugging in the the cord+power supply that comes with your laptop/camera to drop the voltage back to a low voltage that the laptop/camera needs, you can replace the cord/power supply with a 12v one and skip the inverter, 2 prong plug and brick/wall wart all together.

See examples: Here or Here or Here or Here.

One of the links offered in my earlier post does the same for cameras. OR just get a cheap-o square wave inverter, plug this into the 12v socket and you can plug your regular laptop cord into this. It isn't as clean, but it is easy.

If juggling charger cords isn't your thing (we did this for a long time and then finally 'upgraded') you can add additional 12v sockets or USBs into the dash with products from National Luna or other providers fairly easily, giving you extra ports.



I suppose it depends on how rad 4x4ing you want to do. Usually, deep water crossings can be avoided, by waiting a few hours for water levels to drop or by going around via alternate route. Many vehicles have decent wading depths even w/o a snorkel - but I don't know about a Pajero. But, if it gives you peace of mind and you'd rather have that extra insurance so that you don't get 'stuck' not being able to cross with confidence, by all means, go for it.



Good to hear that I am not totally missing something with Gaia. They do have lovely maps and lots of detailed tracks. You are correct, T4A in app form is not really for navigating. Think of it more as a curated iOvelander. You can download the free version and check it out if you like. I suggest augmenting Gaia with one of the Open Street Map apps, such as OsmAnd or Maps.me. They have good functionality in the free versions, but are annoying, and a ton of functionality with the paid version, which is quite cheap.

I prefer a combination, using T4A on a Garmin + phone apps to augment - but if you want to stick with your phone for navigating, then that isn't an option.

Thank you CalDriver! You are a great sounding board. Your suggestions regarding charging solutions will be the most cost effective and effective solution. I think the vehicle (my friend's car so can't check immediately) has a few ports littered around the vehicle to use these adapters.

I guess coming to the snorkel - patience will be a skill we will have to exercise. Traveling alone we wouldn't want to be trying such challenging water crossings anyway, so I think we can give that a miss.

Have you had a good experience with Maps.me? I know you can download maps and use them offline, but does that work well in remote areas?

[antennick]

Maybe a good idea to rent a sat phone or a Garmin inreach an have Henris on speed dial

Interesting thought, does anyone have a suggested place to rent sat phones from? I have found the following links from a quick google:

https://satelliterentals-sales.co.za/
https://rentasat.co.za/product/iridium-9555/
https://sat4rent.co.za/

On the note of a sat phone - Namibia, Bots and Zim I can see the need as we will be quite remote at times, but in Zambia and Malawi how is the cell coverage?

[JohanMaree]

I can assist with sat phones.

R50 per day rental (Excl VAT)
Airtime at cost. Several packages possible.
Delivery anywhere in SA where a Postnet is operating.
Welcome to PM me

[CalDriver]

Have you had a good experience with Maps.me? I know you can download maps and use them offline, but does that work well in remote areas?

Short answer, yes, it works well in remote areas. Just don't follow it blindly, as with any navigation aid.

Maps.me changed their interface fairly recently (a few months ago, maybe a year?), and I think it is worse for it, though I'm sure they consider it an 'upgrade.' That's why I switched to OsmAnd, which I can't decide if I like or not, but it gets the job done. OsmAnd, Maps.me and a few others are all using the same data set (OSM), so you are really just picking the interface that works for you.

Maps.me, OsmAnd and others do work well in remote areas. The catch is, because the tracks are not vetted by a human like they are in T4A, sometimes tracks get onto the map that hardly exist. Maybe they are a bicycle or motorcycle path, not wide enough for a 4x4, but Maps.me doesn't know the difference and will maybe direct you that way.

On the up side, sometimes they have tracks that T4A doesn't have.

[antennick]

Short answer, yes, it works well in remote areas. Just don't follow it blindly, as with any navigation aid.

Maps.me changed their interface fairly recently (a few months ago, maybe a year?), and I think it is worse for it, though I'm sure they consider it an 'upgrade.' That's why I switched to OsmAnd, which I can't decide if I like or not, but it gets the job done. OsmAnd, Maps.me and a few others are all using the same data set (OSM), so you are really just picking the interface that works for you.

Maps.me, OsmAnd and others do work well in remote areas. The catch is, because the tracks are not vetted by a human like they are in T4A, sometimes tracks get onto the map that hardly exist. Maybe they are a bicycle or motorcycle path, not wide enough for a 4x4, but Maps.me doesn't know the difference and will maybe direct you that way.

On the up side, sometimes they have tracks that T4A doesn't have.

We used Maps.me in Vietnam as a family many years ago so it will be good to get back into it. Thank you again for your help!

[kippie2]

I didn't see a first aid kit listed. Maybe I missed it.
Get a comprehensive one and know how to use it. You will be far from help if anything goes wrong.
I use a national lunar solenoid to charge second battery. It is a simple easy to use solution. Have it fitted by someone that knows what they are doing. If they suggest using the car for the negative and not running a seperate wire then run away.
You can add a small solar charge controller and 100 glass panel (I'm not talking about the R5000 fold away kind) for not much for use when in camp for a few days. Not a necesary item but a nice to have if budget allows.
I also have a simple small 'Makro' inverter to charge items that don't easily charge a USB or cigarette lighter socket. Has worked well for me.

Most important advice of all.....have an absolutely wonderful trip and enjoy it.
I am suitably jealous.