The ongoing adventures of Dory the D-MAX

The accessorized blue D-MAX was a long-termer of the Weg! Ry & Sleep / go! Drive & Camp magazine editorial team and although she went on many adventures with the journalists, it was time for her to find a permanent home.

She was spotted by her new owner, Merlin van Zyl, at Perdeberg Isuzu in Vredenburg on the West Coast. An adventure seeker who hits the road as soon as the weekend arrives, Van Zyl lives in Langebaan and started enquiring about the blue D-MAX's history.

This was no standard bakkie since Dory came kitted out with 'everything' – from bull bars, roof racks, rear bumpers to even including a kitchen unit.

For Van Zyl, who loves camping and even during the lockdown hit the road every weekend with his family on a self-drive adventure, Dory had it all and it wasn't long before she came home to Langebaan with him.

And the name? Van Zyl says most of his vehicles received Disney character names, following his family's first rubber duck being named Donald – which just set off a long line of Disney inspired vehicles.

It was pretty obvious that Dory looked like a character from the Finding Dory and Finding Nemo animation movies, with her distinct blue body and complementing yellow sand accessories. “I know the team at Weg/go! ran a competition and asked the readers to come up with a name. I think they sometimes referred to it as 'ou Grootte' or D-MAX. But as soon as she came home, we knew she was a Dory since she shares a garage with Nemo, our other bright orange Isuzu bakkie,” said Van Zyl.

During a chat with the Weg/go! team, Van Zyl learned that Dory 'just kept swimming' and never put a foot wrong during all her adventures with the media team. Other than replacing her wheels with larger diameter tyres and fitting a two-way radio, Dory has kept the same accessories as she had during her Weg/go! adventures.

She has been on a few self-drive day trips with the Van Zyls, with longer adventures planned in the near future once lockdown conditions relax a bit more – with a planned trip across the border to Namibia on the cards.

The only problem for Van Zyl, who debated whether he needed to buy a 7-seater SUV or a double-cab bakkie before purchasing Dory, is that his off-road trailer has become somewhat obsolete with all of Dory's accessories.

“We had a great self-drive trip recently and used the portable braai. She definitely has been kitted out with everything we need for our trips,” said van Zyl. This includes, for the Disney fans who may be a bit concerned over Dory's forgetfulness, a GPS touchscreen navigation system as standard with all D-MAX bakkies so that she will always be able to find her way home again.

This story is part of Isuzu's Torque Edition 11. Click the link for more stories of milestones, community initiatives, and more.