About six months ago, at about 4

RAID AFRIQUE

About six months ago my mobile telephone beeped indicating I had received an SMS. The time of receipt, at about 4.00a.m one morning, indicated that the message was from overseas.

Message from Luk:

Do you want to do a raid across the Sahara?

Well of course, that started the mind working, ‘Sahara’, which is Arabic for ‘Desert’. Nearly 10,000,000 square kilometres of desert in our terms, which makes it the second largest desert in the world, for those who do not forget about Antarctica.

Add to that the relationship with Citroen, which commenced in January 1923 when Citroen Half Tracks made the first motorised crossing then fifty years later sixty 2CVs undertook a similar crossing.

About 15 minutes later Luk had his reply ...

Message from Shayne:

Count me in.

Since that first SMS, Luk Wim and Kristel have worked tirelessly to find sponsors, work on the cars, and complete all the tasks required prior to the rapidly approaching departure date of 28 October 2005.

My first chance to see the cars, and meet our sponsor, was at the Gent Festival in July 2005. The Pole Pole logo is pictured first picture in the film strip

Pole Pole, our Sponsor, is an African influenced Café and Bar in Belgium, and at the Gent festival included the Pole Pole floating festival. So whilst our vehicles were floating on the waters of Gent we enjoyed the Pole Pole international music festival.

October soon arrived and before we really knew what was happening, the two Pole Pole cars were departing Brussels and within a few days we were en route Africa as illustrated in the second picture of the film strip.

The third picture of the film strip depicts a valiant effort to try and remove a camel from the front seat of a 2cv. The fourth picture is a different camel, and the fifth picture is the fairy tale desert that made Africa so alluring to me.

The sixth photograph shows our cars and our team, from left to right, Luk Derde, Shayne Harris, Kristel Derde-Beke and Wim Beke.

The seventh photograph shows some of our chaperons with the alluring Kristel.

The eighth photograph shows a desert crossing marker, which is a large concrete post that you point your car at, and drive past, till you make out another large concrete post on the horizon to drive at. (2cv body for scale purposes only.)

The Sahara is of course the best environment for vehicle preservation that I have seen, most paint is removed by the movement of sand, and the dry climate seems to prevent any form of rust or corrosion, as shown by the DS in the ninth picture on this page.

The tenth picture on this page illustrates some of the rock formations and mountains, which were totally foreign to the common perception of a desert environment.

One of the biggest problems I faced when I sat down to construct this article was my continual comparison to Australian Deserts. There is no comparison, our Deserts are smaller, generally contain more flora, and are adventures in solitude, self sufficiency with the illusion of trail blazing.

The Sahara contains mountains higher than the largest mountains in the Australian Territory, let alone the Australian mainland, rock formations that rival any rock formation in Australia and PEOPLE.

The eleventh photograph on this page is a photograph of a Nigerien (inhabitant of Niger, not Nigerian being an inhabitant of Nigeria) nestled comfortably between Luk and I in the front seat of a 2cv.

The Sahara is full of people. Whilst this article is not a forum to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a Social Security System, it is evident that the value of anything is relative to the perspective of the peruser. This is shown by the initiative of the young lads in the twelfth photo, whom constructed the toy carts shown in the thirteenth photograph.

A few scraps of wire and some old plastic bottles. I say old plastic bottles because plastic bottles are so highly valued that these lads would not have been able to acquire them unless they were broken. The said bottles had the bases cut off them, and with two bottle bases, they construct a rudimentary wheel … and soon you have a car. Obviously tomorrows bush mechanics.

The fourteenth photo shows a complete AK400, the rest of the panels are inside just waiting for a keen restorer to commence work.

The fifteenth sixteenth and seventeenth pictures illustrate the people of the Sub Saharan Area. The colour and vibrancy of these people is visible but the positive nature of their spirits cannot be captured by any camera, photograph, or television program. I implore you to visit for yourself.

The eighteenth photograph on this page shows Kristel and Wim in celebratory drinks approaching the finale at Grand Popo.

The nineteenth photograph shows Luk and myself on the podium, and finally the twentieth photograph shows Kristel and Wim departing the podium.

For the technical geeks, the two vehicles performed superbly. The only notable fault on one car was an idle jet that took leave without notice. The other car suffered the destruction of two rims, and one rear wheel arm after a pothole jumped out from nowhere, much to the surprise of all.

In closing, I would not only like to thank the Kristel, Wim and Luk for their invitation to participate in a great event with them, but also acknowledge, the 2cv. The 2cv, for me, is the car that brings people back to basics, equalises people, and allows the most positive aspects of all to shine through.

www version of an article by Shayne Harris, first published in the Association of Citroen Enthusiasts of Western Australia Magazine, January 2006.

References:

Answers.com

Gautier, E, Sahara.

Reynolds, J, Andre Citroen: The man and the motor car.

Nicholson, TR, Five Roads to Danger.

Wikipedia.

World Fact Book.