Julia Albu – the 81-year old who drove her Toyota to London

by Caira-lee Durand

February 20, 2019

Julia Albu - the 81-year old who drove her Toyota to London

In 2017, 81-year old Julia Albu left Cape Town in her 21-year old Toyota Conquest and began her solo trip to London.

Here are some Fast Facts about Julia Albu, her faithful 21-year-old Toyota Conquest (Tracy) and her solo trip to London.

Together they took on the continents of Africa and Europe in a grand tour from Cape Town to London;

  1. Start and End Points: Cape Town, South Africa to Daughter’s Home in London – (Tracy then made the trip back with Julia’s friend, Ged at the helm).
  2. Duration of Trip: 12 months ( 1 year)
  3. Start Date: June 2017
  4. Car Name: Tracy
  5. Number of Pit Stops: 11 Countries in Africa and even more in Europe!
  6. Most interesting country and experience: “I loved each and every country I visited. I will forever cherish the memories of my trip. I would say the favourite experience and countries were Ethiopia and Sudan”.
  7. Julia’s Current Age: 81 Years Old
  8. Car Age: 21 Years Old
  9. Combined Age: 102 Years
  10. Estimated Fuel Spend: Julia kept all her fuel slips, but is yet to calculate and add the sum total.
  11. Consumables in the car: Bottled water (water from the White and Blue Nile were the best), dried fruit, biltong and biscuits. “I also carried some delicious chocolate biscuits for the children at some of the borders”, said Julia.
  12. Trip Kilometers: about 40 000 km in total
  13. Route and Support: An eastern route through Africa was planned and taken. Julia also had supportive sponsors and charities who joined the cause, and a blog site was launched to document the journey.
  14. Blogs: Julia’s blog: www.myafricanconquest.com / Ged’s Blog: www.gedsroadtrip.com
  15. Next Challenge: Tackle another epic journey but hopefully not in her brand-new Toyota Yaris Sport that Julia’s just received courtesy of Toyota South Africa.