In March Renault Trucks set out on an 18,600 mile journey from the North Cape in Norway to Cape Town, South Africa.
The Cape to Cape expedition would take the convoy of six Kerax trucks and six Sherpa 4x4s through no less than 17 countries. Conditions would be tough, including the harsh winter of northern Europe and the arid deserts of Africa.
During the 80 days it took to complete the journey, the self-contained convoy would consume 21,585 gallons of diesel, which to put into perspective, is enough to fly a fully-loaded Boeing 747 from London to New York. It would munch its way though 1200 croissants, drink 18 barrels of beer and consume 3800 litres of AdBlue. But for a pie, how many tyres do you think they got through? I'll give you a clue - they took 60 spares with them.
There will no doubt be some people who describe the Cape to Cape extravaganza as wasteful, but Renault Trucks argues that it had a very real purpose and was far more than just a PR exercise. Event organiser Pierre-Alain Brendel explains that one of the primary purposes of the event was to prove that AdBlue can be used in a variety of conditions, temperatures and altitudes - which it did in style. It was also the perfect chance to test the reliably of the new Sherpa 2 (France's answer to the Humvee, and definitely not to be confused with the British Leyland Sherpa!).
T&D joined the convoy on what were arguably the two most interesting legs. Photographer Tom Cunningham saw the deserts of Jordan and Syria, while I spent four days in the sand dunes of Namibia. Look out for our diary in the November issue of T&D (out early October). In the meantime, here's some photos from Namibia.
THE ROUTE
From the North Cape the convoy headed south to Russia, where is passed through Moscow and St Petersburg. Next stop was the Ukraine, but only after a 36-hour wait at the border crossing. On its passage through Eastern Europe it travelled through Romania and Bulgaria, and then on to Turkey. The temperature began to climb as the convoy headed through Syria, Jordan, and then into Egypt. The original plan was to travel through Sudan, but the French government advised against it. Instead the trucks boarded a boat and floated down to Ethiopia on the Red Sea.
Next on the trail were Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, where it took in the Victoria Falls. Avoiding Zimbabwe it crossed into Botswana, Namibia and finally down to South Africa and Cape Town.
Click below for more Cape to Cape
This is us driving into the Atlantic at the Skeleton Coast, which seemed like a good idea at the time.
But then we got stuck on th beach for two hours!
My Kerax was arguably the most important in the convoy because it was carrying the beer. Every night the first thing the Cape to Cape team did, prior to putting up tents, was build a proper bar with ice cold beer. I never realised camping could be fun.
The catering was pretty bloody good too - they even brough a machine with them for slicing the parma ham.
The Kerax 6x6's off-road capability is nothing short of incredible. This dune really was as steep as it looks.
Unfortunately the truck I was travelling had a busted window - a consequence of somebody rolling it in Zambia. Consequently we couldn't close it properly and it didn't take long for the cab to fil up with dust. Most of Nambia's roads look like this - very dusty but very smooth. We were frequently doing well over 100kmph.
Here we are trying to kill the official photographer!
Getting stuck in the dunes (which happened a hell of a lot) was greeted with Frenchmen shouting, stamping their feet and pointing in various directions. Then out would come the shovels, metal tracks and tow ropes. A bit more stamping of feet, some more pointing, and we were on our way again.
But not for long!
Most of Nambia's roads look like this - very dusty but very smooth. We were frequently doing well over 100kmph.
What a very interesting report Will,I bet that road from Katima Mulilo to Ruacana has changed a wee bit since 1976. There was a stretch of bitumin from Grootfontain to Oshikati and if there wasn't hard corrugations then the rest of the track was soft sand. I travelled on this road a few times in the dry season, which was a definate No No in the wet. The South Africa Army operated this ferry across the river at Bagani. Elephants were always danger and the odd pride of Lions. There was a guesthouse on the banks of the Okavango River at Rundu where I used to try and make on the first night. I only wish that I could of carried a keg of draught Windhoek Lager like that Renault.
Regards Steve.
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Sorry but I am obviously having trouble showing the photos.
Regards Steve.