OKA 327 in Africa

OKA #327

had been imported to Johannesburg, South Africa around 1995 together with a 2nd OKA. The intention was to find out if the 4x4 community had an interest to buy OKA trucks. During the OKA company crisis the plan to import more vehicles was given up.

The two OKA were sold to private individuals.


Picture taken in Namibia



The cabin of OKA #327 had been modified soon afterwards.


Picture taken in Namibia



Until I have seen the OKA the first time my personal favorite 4x4 to travel Afrika was the "bush taxi", the Toyota Landcruiser. Seeing and driving the OKA with it's unusual design and technical specifications changed my mind.

A 3 weeks trip into the Kalahari desert in 2006 with the 2nd OKA confirmed what I had in mind.






I wanted to buy OKA #327 from my friend in 2012 which had only 45.000KM on the clock but the original tyres which were quite old. My first small camping trip was in 2011 to the Klaserie game reserve in South Africa.







I got all the PDF workshop manuals and geared the vehicle with tools/spares and camping equipment to do trips into remote african bush locations. Since then I am working on the vehicle myself to insure that the OKA is maintained well.





After 3 blow outs and 2 non repairable punctures in 3 days I had to buy new tyres (Michelin XZL 255/100/R16)





The OKA crossed some rivers ...


Picture taken at Mupamadzi river, South Luangwa national park, Zambia (location)



Picture taken at Luangwa river, North Luangwa national park

The OKA tried some pontoons ..


Picture taken at Luangwa river pontoon, North Luangwa national park (location)

Here is a video of the Luangwa river crossing:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mgeba5qvv102upo/Luangwa%20X-ing.m4v



The OKA got stuck in the Mana river, Mana Pools national park, Zimbabwe ...






and has seen a couple of Baobab trees ...







There are animals around



Picture taken at the Central Kalahari Highway, Botswana




Height: 3,20 meters, weight: 5 tons







Height: 2,50 meters , weight: 4,9 tons



OKA with some dung of the "Loxodanta africana"




more living animals ...






and dead ones ...



Buffalo skull, Mana Pools national park, Zimbabwe



Hippo skull, Mana pools national park




OKA needs shade and ...



Note the horizontal leaf line caused by feeding antelopes




they need shade






and food








Thats what the bullbar is for



Picture taken at Matusadona national park, Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe (location)




another one ...


Picture taken at Hwange national park, Zimbabwe




The kitchen setup is simple, but camping in the African bush is about being outside










Ready to catch some Bream and Tiger fish at the Zambezi river and ...


Picture taken at Mongwe fishing camp, Zimbabwe




... enjoying them at the camp fire







Thanks for your comments which encouraged me to upload more info ...

Some great shots its good to see the oka in its natural habitat, hope you are having fun , keep the photos coming .cheers peter 334

Fabulous post, I really enjoyed that, thank you.
Cheers, Paul

Awesome! Great seeing the OKA in the wild.

Good Pics and information.

Shame OKA didnt make it in Africa, might of been the boost they needed. Although just about every Safari/Outback tour Operator in Australia had OKA`s.

Hi OiA,
Really entertaining post. I just retread it and followed up all the links, which I'd missed first time around.
What I'd like to know is, what was the plan of action if the Oka toppled off the pontoon or couldn't get back onto land? Call the RAA?

OiA, in case you missed it, your post is now in a public Members Vehicles area so your friends/family can access it using this link .

Note, this link has a different address to its previous location, so you'll need to update any references to it.

Great video by the way, I don't think I'd have been that brave, mud, water, hippos, crocs, sub-machine guns?

How did you get out of the Mana River bog?

"How did you get out of the Mana River bog?"


How to get stuck with an OKA in Mana Pools national park, Zimbabwe:
(location)


1. Decide to "just quickly" go alone on a game drive late in the afternoon.
2. Do not take the "unnecessary stuff" you have set up at your camp site, e.g. your shovel and spade, food, etc.
3. Drive off the track to look for the short-cut river crossing to find the pride of lions you did hear roaring all night long.
4. Assume you can cross the river following a muddy track with your 5 tons OKA since game drive vehicles (1,5 tons) have done it as well before.
5. Drive slowly so you do not have enough momentum to get through.
6. Get stuck!



How to confirm you are stuck with an OKA in Mana Pools:
1. Try to reverse to get more stuck.
2. Remember you left all the "unnecessary stuff at the camp", remember that you must be stuck in the area were you did hear the lions and remember it's getting dark in about an hour.
3. Offload the OKA to reduce weight.
4. Try to rip out a small bush with your winch.
5. Realize that you have to spend the night.



How to get UNstuck with an OKA in Mana Pools:
1. Walk to the track the next morning and put up a sign.
2. Hope that a vehicle will be passing by at some stage.
3. Ask them for their shovel.
4. Dig out all the mud behind your tires and stuck wood into the track.
5. Use a rope to connect the Landcruiser at the back of the OKA and coordinate both vehicles to roll at the same time.
6. Focus on the task to get out so you are not distracted by any lions passing by.
7. Have a cup of coffee with your new friends.

PeteFox wrote: Hi OiA,
Really entertaining post. I just retread it and followed up all the links, which I'd missed first time around.
What I'd like to know is, what was the plan of action if the Oka toppled off the pontoon or couldn't get back onto land? Call the RAA?

The pontoon was at a very isolated location. No tractor or 4x4 truck around for a days distance.
Despite my calculation that the pontoons volume would probably not carry the OKA I tried. I do not want to imagine what would have happened if the pontoon was not sitting on the river bed after I drove onto it.

We decided to spend the night and drove trough the river the next morning.

Yup, I think you've covered all of the necessary prerequisites for getting bogged.

The only thing you could have added is ensuring you camp is a river bed when there's a danger of flash flooding, but I'm being picky.

Glad you got out intact anyway, an inspiration to all of us yet-to-get-severely-bogged-in-a-crocodile-river types.

Some OKA pictures of the Botswana tour 2013 ...



Lusaka, Zambia




Chobe, Botswana




Limpopo River, Botswana/South Africa




Mopipi, Botswana




Sunday Pan, Central Kalahari, Botswana




Baines Baobab, Botswana




Planet Baobab Lodge, Botswana




Sua Pan, Botswana

The resemblance to travelling in the Kimberley's is amazing, a truly beautiful spot!!!!
Cheers,Joe

Just returned from my trip in Africa, thanks for your OKA support via the forum.
Some more videos from the OKA in Africa:

Helping a stuck australian family:
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39783116/Rid...%20-%20Gro%C3%9F.m4v

Check out www.boteti.de for some more videos of the "OKA in Africa". Contact me if I should send you the password for the menu "videos".

OIA, your intro video looks intriguing.

If you were to send me the password in a Private Message, I could provide it to Oka owners who express interest.

Keeps it safer that way.

David

Good idea, thanks for that. I did sent you the password.

OiA

Thanks Grischa,

If any members would like to see more videos from OIA, let me know and I'll PM the password to you.

David

Great videos Grischa (and I've only watched a couple so far).

What drone/camera set up did you use for the aerial shots?

I like this pic, sums up many people's thoughts?

Dear Dan,
thanks for the compliment. We are using a DJI Phantom 2 Vision drone which I recently enhanced with a 2 axis gimbal. I must say that I am very satisfied with DJI, especially when I drowned the drone in the Chobe river (see video "OKA in Afrika 2015") and I managed to get it flying the next day.
Sorry for the videos being in English language. We are thinking about editing subtitles into the next videos, let's see.

P.S.: Every OKA owner visiting me in Kasane, Botswana, within the next year is getting a free beer!

Dear Dan,
thanks for the compliment. We are using a DJI Phantom 2 Vision drone which I recently enhanced with a 2 axis gimbal. I must say that I am very satisfied with DJI, especially when I drowned the drone in the Chobe river (see video "OKA in Afrika 2015") and I managed to get it flying the next day.
Sorry for the videos being in English language. We are thinking about editing subtitles into the next videos, let's see.

P.S.: Every OKA owner visiting me in Kasane, Botswana, within the next year is getting a free beer!

And another P.S.: For those of you enjoying African overlanding I highly recommend to watch Andrews videos on youtube. Solo crossing of the Kalahari is my favorite: https://youtu.be/pO_K_wV1rAE