Defender Faith

Kenneth Kemp, is looking forward to taking a permanent break from the military despite then buying a Landie!

Retiring after 27 years in the Australian Defence Force, Kenneth has turned his attention to setting up the ideal touring rig. Ken reckons “life’s too short to drive a Toyota” and has been kitting out his 2012 Defender before going under the knife himself to have both knees replaced and shoulder surgery; talk about an all over upgrade!

With shiny new knees on the way, roughing it just isn’t on the cards so Ken got himself a 2016 New Age Manta Ray Deluxe off-road van. “The Manta Ray Deluxe is like a flash hotel room, beautifully comfortable and easy to tow behind my Defender”. Modifying the van with extra stone protection over the plumbing and electrics as well as a dedicated WiFi antenna to boost the stereo and rear-view camera, Ken is just about ready to hit the road.

With the Burke Development Road, Cairns to Karumba twice as well as the Dinosaur trail out at Winton already under his belt, Ken is aiming to cover the Savannah Way once he is on the move again. With nothing but avoiding the crowds in mind and exploring as much as possible, Ken is searching for some of Australia’s beautiful isolation with his travelling companions, rescue shar pei Rufus and parrot Raj. “Bit of a zoo, but they are good for my soul and love travelling” – sounds good to us Kenneth!

This article was originally posted by RV Daily.