Upgrading Honey Badger the Defender, Part 2 – the complete rebuild of the interior
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Upgrading Honey Badger the Defender, Part 2 – the complete rebuild of the interior
After we had finally got the Icarus roof conversion done and dusted, then it was off to another workshop to rebuild the whole back interior of our Land Rover Defender 110.
Upgrading Honey Badger the Defender, Part 2 – the complete rebuild of the interior
It was high time to get the Icarus roof conversion finally sorted out in early January (2023), as another conversion project was already waiting and scheduled – the complete rebuild of the interior!
We had already agreed with a Namibian camper builder company (Oryx Aluminium) for the building of the interior and had the rough design drawings ready, too.
The rebuild of the interior took several weeks, too. And then a few more weeks than we anticipated. But that was just the “TIA” happening (that/this is Africa… ;)
And because of the extra weeks the building took – we even had to apply for a second visa extension!
The Walvis Bay immigration officer was more than surprised when he saw us again, and we had to do quite a lot of explaining and reassuring before we got yet one extra month (until the beginning of March 2023). He also swore that this would definitely be the last extension he’d give us. But it was all we needed, and we were grateful for his understanding.
We also knew that we were lucky. Despite having the written proofs, had it been some other African country than Namibia, we probably wouldn’t have got even one visa extension – not to mention two!
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The project of re-building the interior of a Land Rover Defender 110
The preparations and finding examples
We had prepared this rebuild for a long time already, searched for references from the internet, made measurements and sketches, thought about different compilations of cupboards, etc.
All in all, the preparation period took over a year.
Making use of all the space available efficiently wasn’t as easy a task as you would think. You can find dozens of different makes on the internet, but planning and making one that will work for you, is the trick.
When you take the back seats off from the Defender 110
(which we had done already a few years ago), you will have quite a lot of space to use.But a lot of space will also easily go wasted if you don’t measure everything accurately.
Getting the rebuild done
We had also been searching for a reputable builder for the project. Many companies we asked for were already fully booked, and we had almost resorted to the choice that we could only get it made in South Africa. But then, luckily, Oryx Aluminium agreed to fit us into their schedule.
This interior rebuild project wasn’t totally without hiccups, either, but compared to the roof conversion with Namib Campers, it was a breeze.
Getting everything properly planned and executed took several trips to the workshop to fine-tune things.
But it was great to see the different stages of the rebuild and fine-tune the things “on the fly” so that all would be as we’d want them to be. And that everything would work as intended.
In the end, when the builders tried to “cut corners” when they eventually realized that their time was getting scarce, we again had to be a bit “tough” and demand that everything be done as was agreed upon.
That things have to go to that point is always a bit of a shame and frustrating. As these guys also did have plenty of time to do everything without much of a hurry. But maybe it’s a timing issue and the perception of time that is different for us Europeans and Africans..? We don’t know.
But the main issue, in the end, is that everything will just get done. Properly. Period.
It was a LONG project as a whole; both parts of upgrading Honey Badger the Defender – the Icarus roof conversion and the interior rebuild.
It took a lot of sweat, blood, tears, swearing, and fighting, but in the end, everything worked out fine.
And that’s how it tends to be – no matter how desperate things may sometimes feel and seem; everything usually ends up just fine!
But, was it all worth it, in the end? Definitely! We love the Icarus and we love the new interior!
This is how the new interior started to take shape! 26th of January, 2023.
And then, when the interior build was almost ready, we got another bump on the road when we suddenly lost our starter!
We were short on time already, so the universe certainly did not make things easy for us.
But – in the end,
You just have to trust in the Universe. Everything will always work out.
Honey Badger the Defender is now a true Overlanding Legend Vehicle – Version 2.0.
We can’t wait to show you a proper introduction video of how the new interior looks now! We will do that after we’ve returned to South Africa at the end of August 2023.
What we can tell you now is that we built a completely new cupboard and storage system to the back, with highly practical solutions for spending time inside the car, too.
It’s wondrous how much you can fit into the back area of an old Land Rover Defender 110 (Station Wagon) when you plan it properly and make good use of all the space available.
And it works together with the Icarus roof conversion like a dream now! Big thanks go to Oryx Aluminium Canopies – they did a great job in the end, and we appreciate a lot that they did fit us into their busy schedule!
When the end of February was approaching, our long time in Namibia was coming to an end.
We needed to be out of the country by the 3rd of March (2023), at the latest, and we already had a plan.
But sometimes, the more time you spend somewhere, the harder it is to say goodbye to the friends you’ve grown to love. And as we lived at our old friend’s place in Swakopmund for almost three months altogether, it was a wistful goodbye as we didn’t know when we’ll see each other again.
The last time we left, it took three years for us to return. And this particular place in Swakopmund has always been important to us. But times change, circumstances change, and we all change as people.
But the good, genuine friends, they will stay. And thanks to modern technology, we can stay connected with the people we care about.
Especially when you live a nomadic life like us, and you will be on the road full-time, being able to stay in contact with your beloved friends and family grows even more important.
Beautiful Botswana and new adventures awaited
The plan we had took us from Namibia to Botswana through the Buitepos border post and to one of our favorite places: the Central Kalahari Game Reserve!
We already wrote a short summary of our Central Kalahari adventures in this previous post.
But in the next post, we will tell you more Kalahari details, and we finally move to the road again!
Meanwhile, stay wild! …And SUBSCRIBE so that you won’t get FOMO! ;D
– Piritta & Niina
The Recommendations Corner
Here we recommend things and stuff that we personally use or have experience with, so we know they are good.*
When capturing wildlife and landscapes while overlanding in Africa, we prefer to use some of the best and fastest memory cards on the market.
Lexar Professional Gold cards provide just that! Piritta’s camera
uses these CF Express Type A cards, and Niina is using SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC cards.Speed is the key, especially in wildlife photography! And these won’t let you down on that quality.
