Category: LONDON TO CAPE TOWN

I’ll get more photo’s up when I can. I’m typing this out on our second ferry pulling out from Ancona on our way over to Greece, thats 2 from 2 ferries! 2 of the cars have already retired, i think maybe another one didn’t make this ferry as well, from going too hard too early and having accidents.

This mornings time trails were clmbing up and down some skinny muddy dirt tracks for 10k’s or so. So much fun! Our strategy is to make it to cape town, and to do every time trail as practical and that wont be detrimental to our car’s longevity. But it was so much fun! Ripping around the place –rally style in a 1923 car. AND we didn’t even come last, we did it in our allotted time plus 6 minutes and there were 2 other cars behind us. I was so chuffed!

I think we would have driven a cumulative total of like 80 kilometers of tunnels in the last few days. The Europeans are hectic crazy in love with tunnelling, why go around a mountain when you can go through it!! We did one giant 14km tunnel across the French/Italian border and at least 20 or 30 1-2 km smaller ones. Along the Italian coast we would be on a bridge 400ft above the valley floor with towns and suburbs in it, then straight into a tunnel 400ft below the peak, and the other side another tunnel again, and for 30 k’s that is all it was, tunnel -> bridge -> tunnel -> bridge -> tunnel.  Somehow i don’t think the African countries are going to have an abundance of tunnels, more of a “well a road here will do.”

No time or resources to wash clothes yet, still on my first sock of the rally, its like putting on a smell gumboot hahaha.

James

Beaune to Florance, 840km’s with a wolrd cup (timed to the second) section in the dark in the foothills of the Italian Alps. We set off from france yesterday morning at 9am and just highway slogged our way to itali, some beautiful massive mountains though. And then crossing under the alps through a 14km tunnel into some fairly flat and relatively un interesting plains of north Itali. I was shocked at just how industrial itali was, for some reason in my mind i had expected grape farms and olive orchids stretching to the horizon with villas and mansions plotted around the place, well i was wrong…

Dad worked out that the time trails last night were the same roads that he did in Peking to Paris last year but in reverse and knew that if we did them, we would already get maximum lateness penalty and then get maximum lateness for the final time control for the night at the hotel, so instead we bypassed the time trails and copped the penalty so we didn’t end up getting compounding penalties and be worse off for hours and hours more driving. And by the time we get to cape town, no one is going to remember that we skipped out that one section back in Italy. Our goal is to make it for the long haul!!!

Penny is still trooping along great!

Last nights sleep was much needed. after starting form london the night before and driving the best part of 24 hours and only a lucky few having an hour’s interupted sleep on the dover-callais ferry, everyone was glad to finally finish the 500km slog to Beaune. Dinner couldnt have been eaten much faster from 8pm and i was fast asleep by 9. Yesterday’s world cup section through some muddy/gravel farm roads were sooooooo much fun. Our skinny tyres are remarkably suited for slippery mud on these little tracks, they cut through and sit on the hard stuff.

The long motorway slog was beautiful driving through Champagne valley with long undulating rolling hills on the 4 or 6lane highway. Pity we cant do more driving through france, off to Italy today and driving through a 15 kilometre long tunnel!!!!

Must be off.

James 🙂

Detailed notes from the day’s driving are regularly updated on the ERA Website. It is actually a race, although Max and James aim is to make it to Capetown, making all the check points and arriving in one piece!

Here is a detailed note and pics of thier BEAUNE, France – JANUARY 2ND, 2011 Battle-report from the Western Front