Norfolk 2 Benin. 2cv Africa

Lauras Damage

2010-02-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

A little 'on the huh' upon her return!

Back at Threeways Garage being checked over, with her friend. Beauty and the Beast!?

Examination time...

You can just see the brake pipe in this picture.... Guess we were pretty lucky!

Check out that bend! And this is far from soft metal!

Morrocan rocks move for no-one! (or no-2cv!) ...Ouch!

Lauras damage

2010-02-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

Seems it was good that we had a very strong fuel tank guard! You can see it took alot of punishment!

Covered in red African dust! The re-enforced front arms stood up really well to the rough terrain. Now we know what to do to the rear arms!

The memory of Lauras first big ditch!

We are unsure exactly when this dent was incurred! Mali or Togo? It just seemed to appear one day! :)

Evidence of many 'jacking' moments! and one time when she fell off the jack!!

Norwich Castle Mall Display with Autotest and Bosch Car Services

2010-02-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

Until now, there has not been much to report lately, Laura has been covered up since she arrived home, in an attempt to keep her dirty! Also so she could be shown in the same state she returned in.

So a big Thank you is due to our Sponsor, Autotest, with Bosch car services for organising for us to show Laura the Tourer and talk about our amazing adventure in the Norwich Castle Mall. We were also very proud to promote them as our sponsors and assist in handing out some giveaway goodies!

It took quite sometime to compile the information, map, pictures and videos, to project onto a big screen. All of this hard work was worthwhile in the end, as there were so many people genuinely interested with some great questions. Dad and I thoroughly enjoyed talking though our memories of the Touareg Trail hardcore edition!

Thanks to everyone who came along and made the weekend so special

Also the local newspaper came along and took some great pictures to enable another article to be published

Norwich Castle Mall Display with Autotest and Bosch Car Services

2010-02-14T11:44:00.000-08:00

BREAKING NEWS...

2009-12-30T09:46:00.000-08:00

BREAKING NEWS!!!

Laura the Tourer is home safe and sound!

We left Norfolk at 3am on 28th and arrived at the collection point in Antwerp at 2.30pm. It was fantastic to be reunited with our fellow adventurers! It was a shame it was such a short visit, but a vist none the less :)

Laura had a flat tyre!! but this was ok as we were expecting 4!! Also the tyre which was on the bent arm was badly warn and illegal for Europe and England so this was also changed. We had taken some spare wheels with us and changed these before leaving. These are the only repairs we have made so far. We then changed another wheel at Dunkirk as it had a slow puncture.

We travelled over in Dads vehicle and I drove Laura home, I had forgotten how much fun she is to drive! She runs ok, and was very grateful for some proper petrol! Laura, like me, much prefers the African heat!! she starts ok but takes a while to warm up!!
We arrived home to Dads at 3am and I continued (without Laura) back to my home.

To Belgium and back in 24 hours! all on just 5 hours sleep, then I had another 5 hours sleep before going to work on the 29th!! .... Hardcore!

Laura the Tourer has a busy time ahead of her now, so now the winner is home continue to watch this space! I will post some pics asap!

2009-12-03T04:04:00.000-08:00

Check out this fantactic video...
Created by the lovely Joris!

We are the Champions!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X6sJym9bbY

Winners! ... collecting our 'Most Hardcore Team' Award

2009-12-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

The Finish!

2009-12-01T16:39:00.000-08:00

2009-12-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

To answer the questions posted…

Sally,
1. where do you wee in the desert if there's no bushes?
Well this was a tough one! It was ok for the men but for me it was behind a sand dune, a pile of rocks or occasionally a 2cv!! It was easier in the jungle! (but had to be aware of the local wildlife!)
2. what animals have you seen?
A Monkey, Elephant, Donkeys, Cows, Goats, A Baboon, Alligators, Dogs, Cats, Lizards, Snakes, Frogs, beautiful large Butterflies, Scorpions, Stick insects, loads of bugs, Beatles etc and of course far too many horrible Mosquito’s! No Lions though I’m afraid!
3. do you have a tan?
A little, most days when arriving at camp I was pleased with how brown I was until I had a shower and washed it away! The small tan I have now is probably just the African red dust embedded in my skin!
4. are father/daughter relations all well and good?
We had our moments! (as most teams did) but are still good friends! And proud of each other! And both very proud of Laura the Tourer!

Yea I really missed a ‘proper cup of tea’ (I’ll see you Thursday Kay!)
I was very careful not to get sun burnt so no worries Jade
Brayden, the nights were actually very quiet, lots of cricket sounds but didn’t hear any wild cats!

Trevor, I look forward to the Full English at the allotment! I’ll bring the tea bags!

Phil, One team of mechanics (David and Eric) travelled in the sandy coloured 2cv, the desert duck, This is a lovely car and is 4x4! And the mechanics were superb! Really helpful and always singing and dancing!

Grandad and Jean, You may have spotted Laura B (girl guides centenary teddy bear) in some of the pictures, she travelled in between us the whole journey (and on the roof some days) She’s home safe also in condition but covered in African dust still! She also got wet in the water fight at the finish!

Apoligies there are not many pics of Dad, he seems to hide when the camera is about!
I've been reading someof my blog posts and also apoligise for the small spelling mistakes! most of the time I was fighting with my eyelids when typing the updates!

Welcomed home to rain!

2009-12-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

2009-12-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

We left Gatwick at about 11am and arrived at Dads at about 2.30pm, downloaded our pictures and then I arrived at my home at about 5.30pm. There were small delays on the journey home due to the RAIN! but nothing major. It is strange travelling on the right (correct) side of the road! Its lovely to be at home and be spoilt with good food, as many showers as I want and sleep(although my body clock has not adjusted yet!) The adventurous memories of Touareg Trail will remain forever for me and I am sad that its all over, I really miss all the fantastic people and am surprised that I feel so emotional about it all. We collect the car in about 1 months time and hope to be able to see some of my fellow hardcore adventurers then x

Over the next few days I will post more pictures and maybe videos so keep watching this space...

2009-11-29T11:22:00.002-08:00

Yesterday we had final photos taken and an award ceremony, we were extreemly shocked, surprised and happy to recieve the big award for 'Most Hardcore Team!!'

have to go now, food is ready ... you know me!! Flight is 1am I believe so its going to be a long 24hours! I will add some more pics etc as soon as I can, Thanks for all of your comments, see you al soon x

2009-11-29T11:22:00.001-08:00

Day 29
Sat 28th is a rest day and a final presentation which should be fun, and then we leave for Cotonu on 29th and fly first to Lybia and say our goodbyes to the Belgian, Dutch and French teams, L and then fly on to London, We believe to Heathrow and should land there at about 10.30am

Norfolk 2 Benin 6,070 miles and loved every single one!!

2009-11-29T11:21:00.000-08:00

We made it!! Touareg Trail 2009, Hardcore Edition (and that it was) is complete! I feel a little sad its over but also look forward to going home (to proper food!! - and you guys of course!!)
I feel amazed and a little emotional when I cast my mind back to what feels like so long ago and remember all the challenges we have overcome, all the laughs we have had with the teams and organisation, all of the local people we have met the scenery we have seen and all of the friends we have made its going to be hard to say goodbye to everyone and really look forward to keeping in touch and trading photos and videos.

2009-11-29T11:19:00.000-08:00

2009-11-29T11:17:00.000-08:00

2009-11-29T11:15:00.001-08:00

Day 28
Fri 27th
Benin
Abomey to Grand Popo
Today’s distance 137km
Mileage 71914
Sleeping Hotel
Punctures today 0 FINAL TOTAL 21!! (we think we have a slow puncture but not in need of repair, we just pumped it up and it lasted to grand Popo so not counted!) Bruno and Ales I believe suffered 30 punctures so although 21 sounds bad its not the worst!
On to Grand Popo today the final official rally day! The route was tarmac with one last piece of off road to complete. We drove o the peage (toll) where all of the cars and organisation vehicles parked in a line for photos, I cant describe atmosphere at this point, the beach of Grand Popo was just 3km away and we wore going to drive there in convoy, a celebratory drink was had by all and everyone was congratulating one another. After a short while we drove in convoy and a little further up the road we stopped as the local people had arrange some food for us and the Mayor was going to do a speech. During the convoy the passengers were on the roofs of the cars and we were all having water fights, I managed to stay quite dry however when we reached the building where the food was the water fight had only just begun and I very quickly became soaked! (I blame it on the fact I am short and an easy target!) not that I minding though as it cooled me down! After eating Gert and the Mayor said a few words and the Tourareg competitors sung the white stripes tune (seven nation army - this is Bokkerijders (3 Belgian teams we travelled with most of the time) official song I believe and like a theme tune sung throughout the whole trail!) The local ladies also sung a lovely African song and this went on until there was almost a sing off between the 2 groups, everyone was really enjoying the celebrations until the announcement was made … On to the breach! All of the cars lined up on the beach facing the sand (possibly one last opportunity to get stuck tomorrow and use the sand mats!!) we were greeted by locals with drink filled coconuts and then after a count down all ran into the sea, We were warned its really rough and the waves are strong so were careful and emerged no problems, However I decided to go in again and this time I ended up loosing my sun glasses! (prescription!) and on the way out my knees hit the sea bed (lots of shells) and I now have grazed knees also! Oh well, I was absolutely fine and its quite funny that I have not hurt myself for 4 weeks and then get my ‘war wounds’ on the final day! After we discovered the amazingly beautiful pool and swam for the rest of the afternoon and then the celebrations continued through the night. Because it’s the end and its like paradise here I slept on the beach this night which was a beautiful experience! Falling asleep to the waves! And of course waking up to them!

2009-11-29T11:13:00.001-08:00

Day 27
Thur 26th
Togo / Benin
Kpalime to Abomey (Benin)
Today’s distance 195km
Mileage 71822
Sleeping Hotel Camp (Chez Monique)
Punctures Today we awoke to 2 Total 21
Last border crossing today to enter our final country, Benin, the end is so close now. Another beautiful scenery day and passing lots of busy little villages. Its was another short day which was great as we arrive at Chez Monique at about 2pm and had chips, we asked for fish also and received fish heads! Nice! They were ok actually but just virtually no meat on them! This Hotel / Camp was beautiful, they make and sell carved wooden objects which are absolutely amazing and beautifully made, I bought a couple of souvenirs from here and Bekke had a guy carve a copy of his 2cv, including all details like the lights etc, This took the guys absolutely hours and was fantastic to watch, the end result was superb, (however I believe it had a spelling mistake so the guy was asked to do it again?!)

2009-11-29T11:07:00.001-08:00

Day 26
Wed 25th
Togo
Jungle Camp to Kpalime
Today’s distance 195km
Mileage 71716
Sleeping Hotel camp
Punctures today 1 Total 19
Not much to report today, a nice short day for a change, and beautiful scenery, we travelled up and down mountainous ranges today and reached max approx 963m above see level (max before was about 778 in Morocco) Our tyres are getting very worn now and we have already got rid of one and bought a new one now on the car) from the organisation, the one we got rid of begun to show the metal it was that badly worn, also it had been wearing unevenly as the rear arm is so bent, We have another spare tyre which has a split in it (from the train tracks!) And now our other spare has also begun showing metal so while driving today we spotted 1 tyre amongst a pile in a village which looked about the right size, We stopped and this was a ‘space saver’ tyre the sort cars have which are intended for temporary use only, well we only need it for a few days! we bought it and had it put on the wheel for 10,000cfa (approx 15 euros) #### At camp this evening the organisation showed some videos people had recorded and showed the movie ‘Up’ but I fell asleep half way through … surprise!

2009-11-29T10:54:00.001-08:00

Day 25
Tue 24th
MY BIRTHDAY!
Togo
Mango to Atakpame Jungle Camp
Todays distance 459km
Sleeping Jungle bivouac!
Mileage 71771
Car - Laura was made for this trail, literally!
Punctures today 1 Total 18
So today was a good day I still had a sore throat but was cheered up no end when I opens my birthday presents from home! Thanks guys! My where’s the Stig book was extremely popular amongst the other competitors and kept as amused for hours, Thanks Az! When waiting in the breakfast queue the teams sung happy birthday to me which was a real nice way to start the day! Today was mainly off road and was great fun, Its getting so hot now and more humid. This evening we camp in the jungle! Upon arrival an area had been cleared for our car and tent and there was the whole village standing watching us as we ate our evening meal, this kind of event does not happen near then very often! After food I had a birthday drink and the famous jumpers Seppe and Luc got the local crowd to sing happy birthday to me, (followed by the birdie song!) how special!? This was certainly a birthday I will never forget, 29 in a jungle in Mango!

2009-11-29T10:50:00.001-08:00

Day 24
Mon 23rd
Burkina Faso / Togo
Po to Mango (Togo)
Today’s distance 374km
Sleeping Bivouac at a Monastery
Car still good!
Punctures today 1 Total 17
My aim was to eat Mango in Mango but it turns out they are out of season! Shame but we pretended with some strange cucumber cross melon fruit! Entering another country, again border control was all smoothly completed. The terrain today was the worst tarmac you’ve ever seen! But fun avoiding all the mammoth potholes! We also had some fu off road tracks today
The monastery was a really nice camp. I was not feeling too well today, I had a sore throat possibly from all of the dust! So I had a good long sleep night.

2009-11-29T10:29:00.001-08:00

Day 23
Sun 22nd
Burkina Faso
Leo to Campement de Elephant (near Po)
Today’s distance 112km
Sleeping Safari Hotel
Mileage 71065
Car running well
Punctures today 1 total 16
We travelled from camp to the safari entrance and encountered a puncture on arrival! Driving through the safari park was great fun as I spent most of it on the roof searching for wildlife with not much success, all we really saw 1 elephant, but he was superb! The camp was lovely and had a pool so I had a swim in the dark which was cool! Everyone was really dusty after today’s tracks so it was great to refresh before the next day of red dust!

2009-11-29T10:26:00.001-08:00

Day 22
Sat 21st
Burkina Faso
Sindou to Leo
Odays distance 425km
Sleeping Camping
Car engine running better due to slightly better quality of fuel sold here!
Punctures today 0!
A beautiful track with rural landscapes today, we passed lots of sugar cane fields and tasted a piece (note to self, you are just supposed to taste and not swallow the cane!!) There is a lot of red dust which gets everywhere! not much to report today it all went pretty smoothly.

2009-11-29T10:23:00.000-08:00

Day 21
Fri 20th
Mali / Burkina Faso
Bamako to Sindou
Todays distance 505km
Sleeping Bivouac
Car still surviving well
Punctures today 0
On to another country today, a long day but quite easy roads and tracks so good progress was made, lots of paperwork to be shown and passports stamped at border control but this all went smoothly and really pretty quick for Africa! To be fair this was thanks to Joris as he helped us through the language barriers on all of the border crossings we completed! We arrived at camp not long after dark and ate chips!!

2009-11-29T10:10:00.000-08:00

Day 19 & 20
Wed 18th & Thur 19th
Mali
Manatali to Bamako
Today’s distance 336km
Sleeping Hotel
Mileage70394
Car no change
Punctures today 2 total 14
Onwards to Bamako, Bamako sweet home Bamako, as its described! And on to a very welcome rest day! All of the teams had told me how fun Bamako is so I was looking forward to these days for a while now. The hotel was nice and the 1st thing I done was have a shower, swim, eat and drink! The driving to Bamako was some dirt roads and some tarmac however the tarmac could be described as worse than the off road tracks! I’ve never seen so many pot holes, and so big! constantly swerving to avoid them takes a lot of concentration! There was also some good tarmac and its typical that it was on this part of the route that we experienced another puncture, we (along with the help from about 5 African girls) jacked the car up to change the wheel and I could hear a hissing sound which turned out to be the rear tyre going down too! We have inner tubes so you ma think, no problem? However a couple of days ago our pump had broken so we were stuck, Luckily it was the jump team to the rescue again! They came from behind us and stopped to help, unfortunately again they had no pump! But they had a spare wheel with a tyre on it, bad luck struck once more though as this was not pumped up! So they took their wheel to the next village and had it pumped up and delivered it back to us! Bamako is crazy! The traffic was mental, not as much as Nouakchott but still crazy, all I can say is it’s a good job we have good brakes and a working horn! As soon as ou stop or get out of the car here someone wants to sell you something! Outside the hotel was someone who seemed to take permanent residence there and introduced himself as Mr Goodprice! Nothing was a good enough price for us though! We did use the help of some of the people offering assistance, one showed us where we could get a new pump, and a oil change which was really needed as the oil we had was too thin for the heat here! We were able to get the internet at this hotel which is where I uploaded the previous posts. In the evening we went over to a bar and relaxed with a few drinks! The second day was actually when we had the oil change etc and also went to a restaurant for dinner and the organisation showed a slide show of pictures, It was amazing to see these images, its seems so long ago and it really began to sink in that the TT09 is very nearly all over! I studied the map this evening and cannot believe how far we have come, these cars are fantastic … complete respect to the 2cv!!

2009-11-29T09:54:00.001-08:00

Day 18
Tue 17th
Mali
Chutes to Manantali
Today’s distance 146km
Sleeping camping
Car - as before
Punctures today 0
Again today’s tracks were described as technical and this was no understatement! This was however possibly the most enjoyable driving day for me as although people set off from camp in small groups we all stayed together almost the whole day and all helped one another through as the rocky accents were a real challenge for the cars (proper hardcore obstacles!) but is was a good laugh to watch each car tackle obstacle after obstacle! Nothing broke on the car today which is good. After the technical bit was some dirt road and the we had to cross a river, it as about 7-8pm by this time and getting a boat across is slow and costs so we had to take the bridge which happened to be a rail bridge! More train tracks! I’ve seen enough! These tracks were high which meant we scrapped the bottom of the car on the tracks the full length of the bridge! I think there must have been sparks flying from behind! No damage caused from this though!

2009-11-29T09:50:00.001-08:00

Day 17
Mon 16th
Sleeping Free Bivouac to Chutes
Mileage 69925
Punctures today 2 Total 12
After eating breakfast (the bread the boys bought us) we discovered we had 2 … yes 2 punctures! While I was repairing the tubes I was assisted by 3-4 very helpful, younger boys who were extremely keen to help as much as they could and it was great to work with them, once the cars were running again we gave some gifts and set off for day 2 to reach the waterfalls at Chutes. The journey to the falls was quite a difficult one as we all found ourselves getting stuck un the sand! On arrival at customs there was some dispute negotiating the amount of money we would have to pay which resulted in a severe delay. We still had about 60km to drive (off road) to reach the waterfalls and we left Kayes at about 7pm. The track to the falls was described as technical and even more so in the dark! Unfortunately we hit a hole pretty hard and then heard a knocking sound from the rear of the car, on inspection we discovered that we had badly broken the rear arm (drivers side -we still had a bent arm on the other side also!) The break was so bad we did not think it wise to drive further on it. The 2 cars we were travelling with continued on so we called to make the organisation aware and set up camp on the side of the track We were right beside a small village who offered us to sleep there but we stayed with the car, they provided us with water to wash with and were very kind. 5 other 2cv’s passed and helped us to raise the car then continued on, then at 2am the jump team (Wouter & Gavin) arrived with a replacement arm! (what stars!) They then camped nearby also (and hit a tree on their way to us! Oops!) At 7am Dad and I began to replace the rear arm and we left for the waterfalls at about 8.10am … good going hey!? We arrived at the falls at about 10am and everyone seemed surprised to see us so soon! We set our priorities and almost immediately relaxed in the beautiful waterfalls, we washed ourselves and our clothes and some people tried to catch some fish. We had hot dogs … umm … and were nicely relaxed and ready to leave at 2pm to go to Manatali.

2009-11-29T09:49:00.001-08:00

Day 16
Sun 15th
Mauritania / Mali
Kiffa to Chutes de Gouina
Today’s distance 146km
Sleeping free bivouac
Car as before, still pinking also
Punctures today 3 total 10
So the trek today takes us 2 day (a good start was waking up to a punctures before we had started the day!) the route is entirely off road. One of the cars we were travelling with today (otto brothers) had to replace their suspension can so our start was delayed by about 2 hours (which was not a bad thing as I got to write some of this!) Once we set off we made good progress despite a future 2 punctures! The terrain and surroundings have changed again just from the latter part of day . There’s more vegetation, yellow grass is everywhere and the people are also changing their clothes are becoming more colourful. We leave Mauritania today and enter Mali, Together we camped and all 3 cars worked together to build a fire and cook a meal. Some local boys (aged 14 -15) were attracted and came and sat near us (and kept the camp fire going for us) The Belgian teams communicated with the boys and agreed that they were to keep an eye on us and ensure we were safe all night (and that they would not steal) then in the morning we would give them some tuna and water, they were very happy with this offer. After our meal we had some melon and gave the boys half it was a good day for them! We also gave them some money for them to buy us some bread from their village which, as promised, they bought to us for breakfast, after eating we discovered we had 2 … yes 2 punctures!

2009-11-29T09:46:00.001-08:00

Day 15
Sat 14th
Mauritania
Nouakchott to Kiffa
Today’s distance 612km
Sleeping Bivouac
Mileage 69843
Car As before with broken arm also
Punctures today 1 total 7
Yesterday was Friday 13th however it was today for us, we made an early start and just 60 -70km down the road the car lost power, the mechanics quickly caught up with us and we altered the 123 ignition and set off on the road again, the car had been ‘pinking’ (tapping sound from the engine) which it turns out was due to the rubbish quality of fuel, (all of the cars were suffering from this) adjusting the ignition did not completely stop the noise but it did help. Not much further up the road the same thing happened again, this time the mechanics altered the valve clearance and informed us that our oil is too thin. After this stop and loosing literally hours we began moving again. Another Belgian team (Ward and Kurt) travelled with us the rest of today (what patience!) The car was still not running right and began sounding more and more like a tractor but is still running! Because of the technical delays we drove the last part (tarmac) in the dark. This was an adventure in itself! Its turns out this part of Africa is home to suicidal donkeys, cows, camels, goats and sometimes the odd person, who decide to cross the road just as a 2cv approaches. It was a long but very funny afternoon and evening! There are loads of signs of where some of these animals have not been so lucky and their remains lay beside the road, I was really surprised to see so many casualties. We were drawn by singing and visited a school in this area and the teachers were very welcoming and showed us around all the classes this was so lovely we gave them gifts in return.

2009-11-29T09:36:00.000-08:00

Day 14
Fri 13th
Mauritania
Atar to Nouakchott
Today’s distance 486km
Sleeping Campsite
Mileage 69477
Car Managing well! bent rear arm and still no fuel gauge
Punctures today 1 Total 6
Another day of tarmac today and would you believe we got another puncture! Other than this the day went well. When we arrived at the capital Nouakchott it was dark and really busy on the roads. They say London’s traffic is bad, that’s nothing compared to Africa! It was a free for all and you really have to push your way in to get anywhere. There was a man in a fluorescent jacket who its assumed was a traffic warden but this was debatable! The cars in Mauritania are not dissimilar to what we would see in a scrap yard, they drive with no lights as they are smashed, bucked wheels and dents all over, in fact the only thing that seemed to work on ever car was their horns! Everyone beeps at everyone, often it seems for no reason? We had to quickly adapt in order to get anywhere! It was crazy but extremely good fun!

2009-11-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

ok ... so that should keep you going for a little while, I'm forever grateful to my fellow competitors for updating their blogs as i know many of you have been following thiers too and i will thank them for this (thanks nik)
its hard to get time to do much other than drive, navigate, eat and sleep (plus remembering to take pics - which is hars as we are moving most of the time) and then when it comes to writing the blog i cannot think what else you would all like to know so feel free to add suggestions, let me know if you wanna know anything!
I still have to update you from 13th to today and wil do this asap, Apperently the tracks get a little easier from now... we will see!! this is the hardcore edition after all!!

thanks for your comments guys see you all real soon, missing you all loads but missing a good ole English fry up more!!!!

x

2009-11-19T09:19:00.001-08:00

Day 13
Thur 12th
Remainder of the 566km to take us to Atar
Sleeping Campsite
Mileage 69158
Car - In need of repair! - Bent rear arm, no fuel gage (nether a real problem) broken starter motor - loss of power when lights are turned on!
So we paced up camp as soon as it was light and set off for another long day, the sand was softer today. We began running low on fuel supplies as did all of the teams so we arranged (through the organisation) to buy some off the black market (a little more expensive but we had to get out of the desert, day 1 was ok but we had enough by day 2 - this really was hardcore!) we gave 2 of our jerry cans to a local in his 4x4 and hoped he would return! Which he did! Unfortunately the English and Dutch teams we were travelling with went ahead so we were ‘adopted’ by 3 Belgian teams (who we had travelled with a couple of times before) (Bekke and Koen, Joris and Kristof and Peter and Tanya) They are a great group and although the day was hard they all kept in good spirit! We had a good laugh and worked together to get all 4 cars through. We began having problems starting the car fo from about 2pm til we arrived at camp at about 8pm we could not turn the engine off! Because the light was fast fading a local (who got the fuel in his 4x4)) offered to lead us through a ‘short cut’ so we could make up some time and although the Sahara was a great experience none of us were sad to leave the desert behind! In addition to not being able to start the engine with out a push we discovered that if we turned the light on we would loose some power to the engine. So the last part of our off road journey today was completed by driving between the Belgian cars using their light and holding a torch out of the window! … the Sahara adventure truly did not stop til we reached camp!! It was a lovely camp site this evening owned by a Dutch man who was really welcoming, we had dinner (sheep) which we ate at a table with proper plates and knifes and forks! (ahh the little things!) Then we worked on the car. The problem , we revealed, was the starter motor, which after stripping down and cleaning the bushes we had it working again and had solved the problem. I also repaired our many punctured inner tubes this evening! So we were ready to fight another day!

2009-11-19T09:15:00.001-08:00

Day 12
Wed 11th
Mauritania
Nouadhibou to Atar
Total Distance 566km
Todays Distance approx 330km
Sleeping Tent Somewhere next to a train track in the middle of the Sahara!
Car
Punctures - 5 (over 2 days) Total - 6
Today and tomorrow we travel across the Sahara desert. For safety we travel in groups of 3 cars and the Trucks with spares and catering will not be able to follow us due to the terrain, so last night we were each given some food and instructions on how to bake bread and set of for 2 days of hardcore adventure! And that’s certainly what we got!
So it starts with 100k of tarmac and then onto sand! The plan was to not stop until we reached 300k, we made great progress and covered about 360k I think and the other English team, Eleanor and Richard collected wood on the way (its hard to find dead wood in the desert!) It was funny to see a tree on top of their 2cv! Later in te afternoon it got tougher and it got hotter! We all began getting stuck ad the sand got softer in the heat. We travelled, for the biggest part, on the train track which was hell for the tyres but less getting stuck (lesser of 2 evils!?) We were driving with one wheel inside the track (the 2cv actually fits perfectly jus inside the tracks but is even worse for the tyres!) Luckily the trains do not pass often but we still all kept alert both ways! Whenever we got a puncture or 5! We were on and could not get off so it was a real rush each time to change the tyre (inner tube) keeping one eye open for the train. If it were to come it would probably of been goodbye to Laura! Thank goodness luck was on our side! In that respect anyway!
Big Thanks to Autotest and Bosch for the inner tubes we thought of you lots over these 2 days! When the light was lost we got away from the tracks and set camp, as were ere setting camp the train passed … wow what a train, this has GOT to be the longest freight train in the world! And because theres literally nothing in the desert (except 20 2cv’s!) you could hear it for miles before and after it passes and then complete and utter silence again! We baked our bread in the sand and ate it in the morning, it was … sandy! And a bit hard but fun to do!

2009-11-19T09:12:00.001-08:00

Day 11
Tue 10th
Morocco / Mauritania
Dakhla to Nouadhibou
Todays Distance 380km
Sleeping - ABBA Camping site
Mileage 68804
Car - Good - Bent rear arm
Punctures today - 0!
Today we cross the boarder from Morocco to Mauritania. The boarder crossing went very smoothly as Brigitte and a couple of others from the organisation arrived hours before the 2cvs and worked their charm to ensure all was ok for or arrival. Crossing from the Moroccan to Maritanian boarder there is about 5k of no-mans land. I have seen pictures of this on TV etc, theres a track through and we were advised to always stick to the track as there are land mines! The blown up cars on the sides of the track highlight this also! Needless to say we were very cautious and made it through with no problems. When leaving the Mauritanian boarder you can notice an immediate change, Morocco is not particularly clean but Mauritania is really dirty, there is rubbish everywhere (mainly plastic) and it really smells, Its defiantly a noticeably poorer country. However the people are all really ‘smiley!’ (I think they like the cars!) Some people warned us that they were not the nicest of people but everyone we met here was lovely (perhaps we were just lucky) We arrived in Nouadhibou at about 2pm and went into the town to get some fruit and a wrist watch for Dad, I asked a local lady (in my ‘bestest Mauritanian’ accent … un watchy?!) and she took my had and lead me through various market streets , 1st to a man repairing watches and then onto someone selling watches … success! All the way she was chewing on a stick, laughing and saying, Deux Chevaux (2cv) English! She was really funny! Dad meanwhile was desperately following us through these streets in the car!
After shopping we returned to camp and removed part of the roll cage as it was agreed by ourselves and the mechanics that this was not needed and therefore unnecessary weight, so our it came, Don’t worry though we are still sufficiently protected if we were to roll over … which we wont!!

2009-11-19T09:10:00.001-08:00

2009-11-19T09:10:00.000-08:00

2009-11-19T09:08:00.001-08:00

Day 10
Mon 9th
Morocco
Ksar Tafnidilt (Tan-Tan) to Dakhla
Todays Distance 837km
Sleeping Bivouac - on the beach
Mileage 68559
Car Good - Bent rear arm
Punctures Today - 0!
Today and tomorrow are 2 long days of tarmac alone and our last days in Morocco it was nice though as the passenger had an opportunity to sleep (and I typed some of the blog!) The drive followed the coast and although still beautiful the days were much the same and not particularly exciting. Our Bivouac this evening is ‘Oyster Camp’ and situated on the beach! We both arrived and left this camp in the dark so I did not get to see the scenery fully, however the camp atmosphere this evening was superb. To celebrate the last night in Morocco the organisation had arranged for the preparation of locally prepared oysters to be served. (my 1st experience of oysters but not my last, they were good) and to have them in on the beach in Africa with great people and music was lovely and a night I will always remember.

2009-11-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

Day 9
Sun 8th
Morocco
Tata to Ksar Tafnidilt (Near Tan-Tan)
Todays Distance 440km
Sleeping Camping site
Mileage 68030
Car - Good - Rear arm still slightly bent
Punctures Today - 1. Total 2
Today starts on tarmac (200k) and then continues offroad, again rocky and with a fantastic mountainous
scenery. We approached the coast to reach the beach we had to cross through quite a lot of water which was
successful however the car died on the other side, the time was very tight as the tide was coming in fast and
we had to travel about 25km along te beach before high tide or have to turn back and take the long (tarmac)
way around to reach camp. All of the other teams continued on due to the time frame and the mechanics and
ourselves worked franticly to change the 123 ignition unit which had taken in water (luckily we had a
spare!) Once the engine was running again we set off driving along the beach which was superb, (I’m glad
we didn’t miss this) I think they should allow it in the UK! Just as we thought we were ok and had made it
we discovered there was a large pool of water at our exit point We tried to go over a dune but got stuck!
The organisation were only 5-10 mins behind us so after pulling us free they explained we would have to
drive alongside a steep dune to get off the beach… exciting! After the beach we tackled a lot of soft sand
and passed a couple of other 2cvs stuck so we grouped together to help one another through and continue
onto camp.

2009-11-19T09:01:00.000-08:00

Day 8
Sat 7th
Morocco
Zagora to Tata
Total Distance 371km
Sleeping Bivouac
Mileage 67775
Car - Good - Rear arm still slightly bent
Very rocky terrain today and what is known as washboard which really rattles through the car, and us! After about 220k offroad we reached tarmac and the smooth and quiet ground was a strange sensation! But a pleasent one! Before proceeding to camp we stopped at Tissint and had Chicken and Chips! Upon returning to the car we found we had a flat tyre (slow puncture) PUNCTURE 1!
We also stopped In Tata before camp and had a funny experience buying some food as hardly anyone there speaks English! Dad was not well this day and I was also ill in the night, this only lasted a day and other competitors were also poorly so it assumed it may have been something from the hotel, but the Doctor worked his magic and everyone made speedy recoveries.

2009-11-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

Day 6 & 7
Thur 5th & Fri 6th
Morocco
Merzouga to Zagora
Total Distance 255km
Sleeping Bivouac and Hotel
Mileage 67339 & 67460
Car Condition - Good Rear arm has bent back slightly
As before rocky terrain today with dried up riverbeds and small ditches which appear suddenly and some sand today! It was planned that we travel 135km to camp however when we reached the sand all f the cars began getting stuck which meant we did not make as much progress as hoped before sunset so after a drive in the dark we reached a Berber village at about 2am. The organisation had arranged for us to stay there the rest of the night (10 cars stayed here - only 1 made it to camp) and the Berber tribes made us some dinner. At sunrise we set off to complete the track to Zagora, stopping briefly at the initially intended camp for breakfast! We arrived in Zagora at 3pm which gave us time to strip the car a bit to make it a little lighter We went for a look around the town and exchanged our ‘rubbish’ (removed from the car) with a local garage who used ther air compressor to blow the African dust from the cars engine. We had a great time with the guys in the garage and agreed to putting their garages stickers on the car to help with their business!
The Hotel was lovely and a really relaxing (much appreciated) evening was had by all and this was the 1st opportunity I had to get onto the internet to update the blog! In our hotel room we had company, a gecko of some kind, after being reassured it was harmless I was able to get a god nights sleep, in fact it was a bit too good as we nearly overslept!

2009-11-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

Day 5
Wed 4th
Morocco
Bouarfa to Merzouga
Todays Distance 361km
Sleeping Campsite (Petit Prince)
Mileage
Car Condition - Good - Bent rear arm - Fuel gage stopped working!
Lots of little ditches to get through today which were challenging but fun, we also passed through a lot of dried up river beds, a fun day of driving. We arrived at a lovely Moroccan campsite and while eating the local people played us their music which was lovely. The mechanics bent the rear arm back for us this evening it was great to see how they work on the cars, they keep it just as simple as the cars themselves!

2009-11-19T08:55:00.001-08:00

Day 4
Tue 3rd
Morocco
Nador to Bouarfa
Todays Distance 481km
Sleeping - Bivouac
Mileage 67460
Car Condition - Bent rear arm
So the first thing we done today was calibrated the tripmaster so we can monitor the km’s we travel and to enable us to read the roadbook, then we set off on the 1st offroad track combined with some tarmac to Bouarfa. Our first major obstacle was a huge ditch in he early afternoon. The car made it through fine but some slight damage was had to the back end of the car body where it scraped the bottom of the ditch on the way out, nothing to cause concern though. Later in the day we had to go over a rocky mountain which was extremely steep, again the car managed this ok however later we discovered one of the rear arms were bent which we think happened on this rocky mountain

2009-11-19T08:53:00.001-08:00

Day 2/3
Sunday 1st & Monday 2nd November
France
2am arrive at ferry port in Sete,
Mileage 66805
Car condition - Excellent
Sleeping - Ferry Cabin
7pm Cars board ferry
9.15am depart Port, Nador, Morocco
We left the Ferry port and after about 75km of tarmac we experience our first taste of offroad to reach the biviouac which was up a rocky mountain, overlooking beautiful Moroccan mountains. It was dark on arrival but the views we awoke to were fantastic!

2009-11-19T08:46:00.000-08:00

Day 2
Saturday 31st
Belgium
Official start from the Africa Museum, Brussels at 1pm
Todays Distance 1053km
Mileage 66148
Car Condition - Excellent
Sleeping - Tent

2009-11-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

Day 1
Friday 30th October
England
Mileage (at end of day) 65844
Car Condition - Excellent
We left Watton at 2am

2009-11-06T16:37:00.000-08:00

2009-11-06T16:23:00.000-08:00

2009-11-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

Hello All
Firstly let me apoligise for the lack of blog updates, however I see others have kept you all posted a little... Big Thanks to you!
It seems my internet stick has not worked since we touched African soil! I will keep trying, This evening we have been able to "borrow" someones!

All is going really well and its too amazing here to describe! I am currently sitting in a beautiful hotel, outside (and warm!) The hotel is called Asaa and is in Zagora, Morocco. Sounds like a holiday! Its not all been relaxing though, we have had some tough days, tough on ourselves and the car, for us, getting used to the tripmaster, gps and terrain! We have encountered lots of rocky and sandy tracks and this has lead us to discover that Laura is too heavy and therefore too low! So this evening we have been quite ruthless and stripped alot of un-necessary weight from the car, including some of our clothes! (we didn't have many in the first place!) We have not thrown this stuff away, we have used some to bargin with the local Morrocans to work on the car, we will also give things away to people as we travel.
Because Laura is too low as she is heavy and this has lead to damage to the underside of the car, good job we have put very robust fuel tank and engine guards on, none the less the damage underneath is not a real concern, other repairs have included 1 flat tyre (easily repaired as we run on inner tubes) and a bent rear arm, this happened after we drove up a big, rocky mountain, and of course back down! When we reached camp that night Frank the mechanic simply bent the arm back in place by bolting a pole to the hub and attaching a ratchet from the pole to the front wheel! Clever hey?! unfortunatly this has bent again today because the terrain is so rough, this is the hardcore edition after all! So we will see how this goes and may either bend it again or fit a new arm. Overall not too many problems so far (touching wood!)
Yesterday was a short day so we took our time over Lunch, (The Italian team in the Pentax car made a wonderful pasta lunch for us)After lunch we began to hit sand, real soft and lots of it! and became all the cars stuck too many times to remember! because this stop starting delayed our travelling so much we could not reach the camp, so stayed at the Berban village, We arrived at about midnight, 10 cars stayed here and 10 made it to camp, upon arrival we ate (which took the locals almost 2 hours to prepair - nothing is urgent in Africa!) we got 4 1/2 hours sleep and then set off again. This was only last night so I am looking forward to the comfy hotel bed tonight. I will try and keep you posted as much as I can and make better daily notes!

2009-11-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

2009-11-01T04:48:00.000-08:00

We have just boarded the ferry at Sete in the South of France, and believe me it is nice to be laying on a mattress typing this! I keep telling myself not to get used to it however as after this long ferry crossing its back to the airbeds, although it should be quite a bit warmer!
So, Its now 12.35 our time, we are 1 hour ahead of England currently, the ferry leaves here at 2pm and is a 36hour crossing on which we can sleep, eat and wash ready for the real adventure to begin. When we dock we travel from Nador to Bouarfa (Morocco) which is a 481km trek mainly offroad and we are warned that it is likely we may get lost!… this is the hardcore edition after all!
To rewind a little, we left Watton, Norfolk at 2am Thursday 29th and were able to catch the earlier ferry at 6am (instead of 8am) which was a great start to the trip. We docked at Dunkirk at 9am (our time) and arrived at the Africa Museum at 2pm on the 30th after a rest we went into the centre of Tervuren on the hunt for some ‘Escargos’ (snails to you and I!) but were very disappointed that everywhere had sold out … I bet they were really nice! We also had a browse around a supermarket and then had something to eat.
After a night sleep in the green area near the Africa museum we joined the rest of the participants at the Museum, each team had to go and give a little introductory speech, I was very nervous but, hey, its done now and I think it went ok!
All of the cars left together at 1pm with all the random, crazy horns blowing and everyone waving us off. It was a superb atmosphere and a great feeling to finally be setting off after at least a years preparing! I believe the introductions and the send off of the cars has been aired on Belgium TV? you may be able to view this on you tube? If we are on there can someone post a comment to let us know?!
The drive from Tervuren to Sete was a long one (1050km) arriving at 2am we stuck with the ‘green frog’ (Edwin and Frederick in the Mehari) all went well on the way and we were amongst the first cars to arrive at the Port of Sete which was really good going.

Car update: The car is running well and seems to settling in and improving with every mile she runs.
Mileage Update: 961 miles from Norfolk to Sete

1 week today!

2009-10-24T03:59:00.000-07:00

In just 1 week today the Touareg Trail will be beginning! Its hard to believe how quickly time has passed since we first decided to partake in such a crazy adventure! Its also hard to cast our minds back to how the car looked almost a year ago, what a transformation! We are working hard on all the final preperations, Az kindly reminds me that failing to prepare is preparing to fail!? Let's hope we are really prepared! The next few days will be busy while we carry out final work on the car, gather the remainder of our equipment and make a push for some more sponsorship money for Unicef, It would be nice to raise a bit more before we set off. So go on... click the link and donate ... its that easy! Thanks to those who have already proved how easy it is, your support is really appreciated! :)

Our Sponsor

2009-10-24T03:55:00.000-07:00

We are proud to have, Autotest, part of the Bosch Car Service Network on board as our sponsors for our adventure! They are a vehicle service and diagnostic centre based in Norwich and have generously provided us with some funding and spare parts for the car. They have been so helpful and their support is really appreciated to help us compete in the Touareg Trail. You can take a look at their website through the 'Our Sponsor' page of our main moonfruit website.

Eastern Daily Press

2009-10-15T03:01:00.000-07:00

We are in the EDP today!!

check out our article on page 18...

Catton Girl Guides

2009-10-06T13:20:00.001-07:00

On September 21st & 25th we took 'Laura the Tourer' to the Catton Girl Guides to talk to them about our adventure. The guides were really interested in all elements of our trip and it was an absolute pleasure to take the car to their meeting and answer all of their questions! After having a good look at the car inside and out, many commented that they loved the little car and hope she makes it back to visit them again with lots of stories! You can just about see, (amongst all the smiley faces) on the spare wheel, the Girl Guides official 'Me to You' teddy bear, which represents them celebrating 100 years of Girl Guiding. The girls named this teddy Laura B (Laura Bear!) and we agreed to take Laura B with us on our adventure. We will hopefully update our blog with a picture or two of the bear in, or on the car, so instead of Where's Wally the Catton Guides can follow us onlineand play wheres Laura B!

TouaregTrail 2009 - Hardcore Edition!

2009-10-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

Team Building weekend

2009-10-06T12:48:00.001-07:00

On the weekend of September 12th we travelled to the Ardennes in Belgium to meet with our team mates / fellow competitors due to join us on our 4 week adventure. We travelled via Norfolkline ferries as they have provided us with sponsorship for these trips. It was a superb weekend and was really nice to meet everyone and see all of the cars together. The weekend was made up of first aid training, an overview of the route and some GPS / tripmaster and roadbook training. Also throughout the weekend the cars were inspected by the touareg trail mechanics. We were advised of some recommended improvements, nothing to major, and we have completed most of these changes now.
Most of the teams have completed the trail at some point in the past so it was great to get advice and tips from experienced people and everyone was really friendly and happy to share their experiences which was encouraging.

We also recieved the official Touareg Trail stickers, which I have been looking forward to putting on the car, it was amusing to see everyones faces when recieving these, hardcore edition stickers. Normally the logos are camel silhouettes, however the hardcore edition seems to display a camel skeleton!

Team Building weekend

2009-10-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

2009-10-06T11:50:00.000-07:00

On August 30th we travelled to St Ives in Cambridge to the 2cv GB meeting. It was great to see so many 2cv's together and to meet with lots of people who all share the same interests. It was a great event well organised. We also took up the opportunity to 'test' Laura the tourer by driving her accross a field. The car was certainly in her element on the first 'off road' experience since the rebuild ... slightly ploughed field = no problem. It was superb fun too!!

Here's hoping she also takes the African terrain in her stide!!

Touareg Trail 2009 - Kell & Mal

2009-09-22T02:42:00.000-07:00

The Trail will take 4 weeks to complete and for this my Dad and I will become team-mates and work together to reach the finish line. (And hopefully still be talking to one another by the end!)
Our journey will take us from Norfolk to Belgium and then through Luxembourg and France, we will then endure a 36hr crossing to Mallia, Morocco and then proceed to travel through Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, and finish in Benin for what is described as the most extravagant beach party the country has ever seen!
The Touareg Trail consists of various assignments and challenges that need to be solved during the course of the event. With the intention of getting a feel for the countries we cross, not only from a “landscape point of view”, but also from a cultural and historical point of view. A 20 strong support team will travel with us to organise camping and catering and there will be mechanics on standby if required.
This all sounds very fun (or crazy depending on how you look at it!) but this adventure is not only for an experience of a lifetime but also to raise money for a good cause. We have chosen to raise money for UNICEF who are a recognised charity and are the leading advocate for children’s rights. They are active in 190 countries. We chose this charity as they offer their support to people in need all over the globe.
How do you find water in the desert? How do you bake bread in the sand? How do the desert nomads live in the 21st century and how does a voodoo priest kill a chicken by simply placing a curse on it?! We hope to be able to answer these questions for you upon my return in December! Wish us luck …