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Limpopo - Almost all of it! - From 4:15 wake up to midnight madness, from Saturday night through to Friday morning, it felt like we covered all of it.
Ford Ranger 2.5 Turbo Diesel Double Cabs - 10 of them. 4x4 - yes, and diff lock too, roads, rocks, rivers dry and sandy, rivers wet and oh so muddy, dust and more dust, panoramic views and game - fantastic!
Challenges? We faced them on land, we faced them on (and in) the water, we faced them in the air and we overcame them, occasionally. We were helped by them, and helped them regularly - yes, we became allies more than competitors. When one team's air jack challenge wasn't working out, the guys (competitors?) just stepped forward, and lifted the whole vehicle off the ground for them, manually. What team spirit! (Go Marcel!) We chatted with them almost continuously (thanks Francois from RSG for the use of the radios). We made many new friends, while just a few remained over-enthusiastic opponents.
In the air? You may raise a doubting eyebrow, but it certainly felt like it going up the slippery slopes of the Hoedspruit 4x4 club's sand mountain. I didn't realise something so immense could feel so very steep, so very narrow and, well yes, just a little scary. Actually quite a bit scary. In the air you may query again - "Lekker ramping hey?" No not at all. Points deducted for "lack of mechanical sympathy". The vehicles had to do all 1300 kilometres, or be pushed.
Prizes? Yes I seem to recall there were some, but the real prize was being there, doing that, and getting the T-shirt. Actually, there was a T-shirt for every day and three for Thursday, which makes seven, all in all.
TV crews and cameramen, in your face and up your nose, on your bakkie and in your cab, everywhere, at breakfast and at supper, on the mountain and in the river, overtaking you, on foot, in a sandy river bottom. These guys and gals were tireless, and once you overcame the shock of their presence they were actually unobtrusive. They never interfered, just recorded. An impressive and professional performance from them. Actually a movie of the movie makers would have been very entertaining.
Field Marshal Montgomery, well no, he wasn't on this battlefield, but "Safety Sam the Camel Man" was there, with Wayne and the rest of the team of marshals, watching closely for evidence of Environmental Negligence, lack of "Mechanical Sympathy", Compromising Safety, a momentary lapse in Convoy Driving Rules (Stick together guys, the vehicle behind you is your responsibility. No. 5 can you see where you're going? (That doffie hasn't got his lights on again). No. 4 is there anyone behind you? Where are you No. 10?). A bit too much diff lock, and "Oh, what gear was that, second hey!"
Actually some of what they did and were marking was a mystery we competitors couldn't unravel, so it was a case of concentrate all the time on anything and everything. Quite tiring and stressful, now that I think of it.
The marshals were strict on marking, and strict on safety. But they too became friends and allies, with post event advice coming too late to influence results, but we learnt knew tricks every day. (That must mean I am not an old dog! Oh good.)
There were three lady competitors, and it was, in fact, a delight to have them there. They provided colour (Blommetjie and Liefie (Madeliefie is a daisy) were known corporately as "Die bedding" (flower bed), and were always seriously competent and competitive. Actually it was lucky there were guys there or the language may have become a bit rough - oh, I forgot, it did occasionally!
Did we make mistakes? Yes, plenty of them. Actually I think I am ready to do a challenge now, because we learned so much on this one.
Finally, thank you to Dawid Pretorius for taking me with you, and to the club for allowing us to represent you.
Thanks also to Limpopo for the opportunity, Ford for the vehicles, Magellan for the GPSs, Pirelli for the tyres, BP for the fuel, the marshals for keeping us safe, (and tired), and Marcel, Nicky and the gang for keeping it all together.
I will follow this article with a more sequential and practical account of the journey, the daily challenges, and some of the lessons we learned. For example you hear about, and see pictures of, straps and shackles breaking and going through vehicles. Well this time we were there. It happened, and thankfully no one was seriously injured. Story and pictures to follow.
Tired and weary,
Lance Nel.
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