From Dundee to Dundee: Scottish couple complete epic 25,000km drive

The intrepid pair, who set out on the mammoth journey on March 15, travelled through two continents and 22 countries.

Kevin and Donna completed the journey in a customised Land Rover Defender which Kevin - originally from South Africa - bought for £15,000 and spent £12,000 modifying.

The epic road trip took the couple through South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.

After travelling from Alexandria in Egypt to Istanbul in Turkey by ship, they drove through Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium,

France and England - before arriving in Scotland.

After three months on the road, the relieved couple finished their trip to the City of Discovery on Saturday (June 15).

During their overland odyssey, they luckily had no breakdowns but were halted by 342 checkpoints - 340 of them in Africa.

But despite the delays, Africa provided the cheapest fuel at 9p per litre in Sudan, while the most expensive was in Switzerland at £1.27 per litre.

The couple had planned to start the trip last year but had to delay while travelling up Africa's west coast due to political unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

But they weren't deterred and instead drove up the east side of the continent instead.

On their travels, they saw breathtaking sights, such as mountain gorillas in the lush forests of Uganda and Egypt's Great Pyramid and Sphinx.

And had some hair-raising experiences, including a close encounter with a bull elephant and a lioness.

Dad-of-two Kevin said: "We set off the first time in April 2018 to go up the west coast of Africa but were unable to get through the DRC Congo.

"And so returned home after 20,000km of exploring South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Lesotho."

"We had some tough times in a lot of African countries with roads etc and in Sudan after the military coup, we had some interesting incidents and lack of fuel.

"In Egypt the bureaucracy is horrendous at the border and took us 17 hours to get through.

"We had a few scary encounters with animals and a late night visit one night from a bull elephant smelling our tent a bit closely in Botswana.

"And Donna came face to face with a lioness passing through our camp in Namibia."

The couple dreamt up the trip in 2017 to mark their 30th wedding anniversary and close shaves aside, Kevin and Donna shared some "magnificent" experiences along the way.

Having worked their way through most of East Africa, they are also considering an overlanding trip to Oceania in the future.

Kevin said: "Family and friends were all a bit worried about the trip as you never know what can happen and are now all very happy and relieved.

"Seeing the gorillas in Uganda was a highlight and just seeing the different customs and cultures was educational and it's been a lifetime experience.

"Wild camping in the Sahara was a magnificent experience as well.

"We've done a lot of overlanding through the southern African countries and will continue to visit those countries in the future.

"We are also chatting about a possible trip to Australia and the Outback but haven't made any decisions yet."

Kevin kitted the Defender out with all the essential mod cons, including an electric flat top tent where the couple slept, and a pull-down kitchen on the side of the car.

The couple, who have two children - Kyle, 30, and Skye, 29 - own The Village Tavern restaurant in Margate, South Africa.

Donna's mum, dad and some extended family live in Dundee, Scotland but Kevin has only visited once before.

The generous couple used the adventure to fundraise for South African charity 'Give a Child a Family' - and raised £12,000 along the way.

The charity helps children in local orphanages that have either been abandoned by their parents or have lost their parents to HIV AIDS and face very bleak futures.

Kevin said: "Give a child a Family do incredible and heartbreaking work with kids in our home town of Margate.

"People have been so amazing and kind making donations which really will help them and every little bit helps."