Tanzania has been working to break the Guinness World Record of lining up the highest number of Land Rovers in the northern city of Arusha.
This past weekend, organisers reported to have registered 1,035 “rovers.” Land Rover series One, Two, Three; the lengthy 108, the longer 109 and 110; Classic Defenders, Modern Defenders; all the Range Rovers series, Vogues and Evoques, Discoveries and Freelanders all came.
But, until Guinness acknowledges their claims, the record is still held by the Bavarian Town of Germany for staging the longest Land Rover procession on a single file in 2018 – 632 trucks around the spa town of Bad Kissingen.
The Germany event was held during the annual Abenteuer Allrad exhibition, the largest in the world for cross-country and off-road vehicles.
Organised by Land Rover corporate in Germany, under the supervision of officials from Guinness World Records the parade stretched 7.4 kilometres.
The previous record was set in Portugal in 2014, with 516 Land Rovers. Every type of Land Rover participated, from 1940s Series I 80” to Range Rover Evoque convertibles.
Arusha’s parade stretched 12 kilometres, bumper to bumper, and Regional Commissioner Paul Makonda is “waiting for the Guinness endorsement.” The Tanzanian event ran for three consecutive days. Some 300 Land Rovers drove into the Arusha National Park on the second day of the festival.
Eva Mallya, conservator in-charge at the Arusha National Park, said it was the first time in history hosting the highest number of similarly branded vehicles in the conservancy.
On Saturday, the procession drove for dozens of kilometres starting at the King'ori area near Kilimanjaro International Airport all the way into the city via Usa River, Tengeru and Sanawari, and turned into the East Africa Road towards the Clock Tower, which is the middle point between Cape Town and Cairo.
The vehicles then paraded through the main Uhuru Street, on Sokoine Road, up the Colonel Middleton Road, to the Namanga Road and into Magereza grounds near the Arusha Airport in Kisongo, where the participants planted more than 500 tree seedlings to mark the climax of the event.
Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) director Ephraim Mafuru said the maiden Land Rover Festival promoted both the country and the East African region as a tourist destination.
Sights and scenes at the Land Rover Festival in Arusha National Park on October 13, 2024.
Photo credit: Pool
With Tanzania’s tourism industry relying mostly on off-road vehicles to tackle the rugged terrains, the Land Rover was once ubiquitous in the national parks before the Japanese marquee, Land Cruiser, took over.
But Land Rovers, especially the old 110 classic models, remain the transport vehicle of choice in rural Tanzania.
Land Rovers also used to be the de facto government vehicle in the 1960s to the early ‘90s, which means many of the indomitable 4x4 trucks seen on the roads have stood the test of time. Later, the Land Rover name became synonymous with the tourism industry in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and other Eastern African countries, being reliable off-roaders for wildlife viewing before the arrival of the Land Cruiser 70 Series.
Land Rover is a British brand. The Marque was owned by multinational car manufacturer British Leyland and later Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), before becoming a subsidiary of Tata Motors of India from 2008.
The Land Rover trademark was endorsed in 1948 by the Rover Company for a utilitarian four-wheel-drive off-road light truck. The real off-roaders were the rugged First Series, Land Rover 108s, 109s and 110-Defender models.
But the rugged line-up was discontinued in 2016. the current Land Rover range consists solely of upmarket and luxury sport utility vehicles.
During its heyday, the Land Rover was granted a Royal Warrant by King George VI in 1951. Fifty years later in 2001, Land Rover received the Queen's Award for Enterprise for outstanding contribution to international trade.
Land Rover has since grown to become its own brand.
