Why Chalbi Desert is best explored in a Land Cruiser

Why Chalbi Desert is best explored in a Land Cruiser : One of the least hospitable regions in all of Kenya is thought to be the Chalbi Desert. Still, the Gabbra and the Rendille people live here. In this place, a day might be 50°C one moment and soggy and rainy the next. Thus, be ready to travel over a small lake that is impassable in the afternoon and a dry river bed in the morning.

If you add the Chalbi in your Kenya wildlife safari, navigating the ocean of hot, dry volcanic sand can be tricky. The iconic Toyota Land Cruiser Hardtop becomes your best buddy and is the only vehicle capable of withstanding the several seasons in this old sandy desert that requires four-wheel drive.

While being stuck in the desert’s sands of time is practically a given, Toyota’s low-down torque technology makes things more tractable, and its 4WD gives you that extra push to keep moving.

There is a long history behind the Toyota experience that so many tourists and travel agencies have grown to rely on. When the Imperial Japanese Army captured the Philippines in 1941, they discovered an abandoned US Army Bantam Mk II Willy’s Jeep and took it back to Japan right away.

Toyota was ordered by Japanese military authorities to produce a vehicle that was close to the American Jeep, but not exactly the same. The Japanese Imperial Army officially adopted the Model AK prototype as the Yon-Shiki Kogata Kamotsu-Sha, which is a pretty long name for an automobile.

For Japan’s military effort later in 1941, the Japanese government asked Toyota to build a light truck. In 1942, Toyota created the AK10, a prototype that weighed half a tonne. The Bantam GP was reverse-engineered to create the AK10.

The truck featured an upright front grille, flat front wheel arches that angled down and back like the FJ40, headlights mounted above the wheel arches on either side of the radiator and a folding windshield.

Since then the Toyota has gone through a series of developments from the 20 series models to the recent 200 series that saw the Toyota take an extreme departure from the traditional decorating that even raised heated criticisms in the marketplace as Toyota tried to keep with the changing times of the 21st-century automobile market place.

Many tour guides will tell you that their favorite vehicle is still the Land Cruiser hardtop 70. It has lasted the test of time and still makes sure that safaris are safe, even in locations as dangerous as the Chalbi. What do you think are the best off-road cars for navigating the unknown terrain of Kenya? Please leave a remark below with your thoughts.