Date:         Wed, 21 Jan 2004 11:59:07 +0000
Reply-To:     tp@WHSMITHNET.CO.UK
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tony Polson <tp@WHSMITHNET.CO.UK>
Subject:      Re: 1998 SA Vanagon on eBay UK
Comments: To: Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <4E11F892-4B82-11D8-803B-000A958E5A98@mac.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="utf-8"

Kim Brennan writes:

> > I paid GBP 3700 here in the UK.  The van had already been imported by
> the
> > previous owner, who bought it new in SA then drove it to the UK in
> 2001.
>
> YIKES! And I thought driving across the US was a long drive! South
> Africa to England (on land only) is one HELLUVA drive.


Hi Kim,

Yes, I agree, it's quite a drive!  What is remarkable is that the van is in
very good condition, despite that challenging journey.

My first VW camper was a converted 1972 Microbus.  When I purchased it in
1977 it had already done 440,000 km (250,000 miles), having first done duty
as the works bus at the Frankfurt Glue Factory (you could still see the
signwritten lettering under the later paintwork!).  The second owner was a
Palestinian who bought it at an auction in Germany, drove it to Mecca for
the Hajj (Muslims' pilgrimage of a lifetime) and finally brought it to Qatar
where I purchased it from him.

I then rebuilt the engine and drove the van all the way back to the UK at
the end of my tour of duty in Qatar.  After five weeks through Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Syria (again), Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia,
Austria, Germany and Belgium, including getting arrested three times and
searched for drugs (Jordan, Syria, Yugoslavia) and touring Lebanon at an
intense stage of that country;s civil war, I arrived safely in my home town
of Liverpool having covered 11,000 km (7,000 miles).  Friends still ask to
see my slide show of that trip.

So when I realised this SA van had been driven overland from South Africa,
buying it was just something I felt I had to do.  At least its new owner
understands a little about what it has been through ...

Tony