Hi folks,
Last year, we were blown away to learn that a couple of very kind private donors were going to sponsor a new vehicle for us, for wild dog conservation. The vehicle is a URI….. No, I hadn’t heard of one either and I’m still not sure what the name actually stands for!
As it turns out, it’s actually a Toyota vehicle, reconditioned and made rugged for the bush. So rugged in fact, it looks a bit like a tank!
We got the vehicle in December, after a lot of help and support from the Lowveld Rhino Trust with importing and licensing it (a further two vehicles were donated to LRT as well).
Before bringing it down to begin life in the bush, we had a few modifications done – we added the safari seat, built-in kit box, tracking seat, spare wheel brackets, a long range fuel tank and some protective plates at the front. Simon kindly undertook the lengthy drive down to the lowveld (although perfect for the bush they are not the fastest of all transport on the roads!) and arrived safe and sound 6 hours later.
We are now looking forward to using the URI for the hard-core field work, giving our battered old Ford a bit of much needed rest and recuperation! A huge thank you to the very generous donors and to the LRT for all the logistical support.
Back soon,
Rosemary
One Comment
I came accross the website with the photos of the Uri vehicle. My father is a farmer in southern Namibia, founder and designer of the Uri, started building rugged vehicles for farm applications. It snowballed and the company Uri Vehicle Manufacturing was established in South Africa building vehicles for off road use. The name means “jump”in the Nama lanuage.