Cooper Tire is once again proving its calibre as the manufacturer and supplier of premier 4x4 tyres with an ambitious 40,000km trek from Cape Town in South Africa to London.

The “Africa Overland” expedition is being made by Australian couple Ron and Viv Moon, and is their eighth trip through the Continent in 20 years. Already halfway through the mammoth 30-week adventure, the couple expects to arrive in London in mid-October.

With South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, the Serengeti and Kenya already visited, the Cooper Discoverer STT-shod, 4.2-litre Nissan Patrol will pass through a total of 16 countries in all.

“The tyres have performed fantastically well,” said Ron Moon. “We’ve clocked up some 33,000km and put them through some of the toughest roads in Africa, varying from near non-existant tracks, to sandy Kalahari Desert roads and deep mud hole-dotted trails.  They’ve been amazingly good for the areas we’ve been driviing in, and the loads we’ve been carrying – our vehicle weighs around 4 tonnes.”

Once they reach London later this year, the Moons are planning to travel across southern Europe, through Russia to North Cape, the most northerly point in Europe. “We may then ship out to America in time for the 2008 automotive trade show, SEMA,” added Moon.