Introduction:
Alastair the eldest, who on completion of his degree is running
for cover from the thundering clouds of reality and Christopher the
youngest, who, through the monocle of science is slowly disproving
religion, the integrity of our own dimension and the actual reason
behind Elvis’s death (he really is just plain dead), are headed to
Africa via Europe in a 20 year old 1.2 litre
Vauxhall Nova.
We must navigate some of the more ‘colourful’ areas
of the world with nothing for protection but a
silly grin and a glove box full of crappy gold watches. On our
leaving Hyde Park come July the 18th it’s a straight dash to the
Czech Republic and a party for one of two checkpoints in over 10,000
miles, the second being the finish line in Cameroon, Africa. Though
we have joined a group it is totally up to us to get our own
jamboree through war torn countries, over the most dangerous and
desolate hot/wet places on earth with absolutely no backup what so
ever. Nothing. Nada.
In this we must construct and learn our own
route across 20 countries, get a grasp on surviving banditry, become
skilled at how to grease the palms of immovable diplomatic figures
without causing offence, learn how to go 10 rounds with some of the
harshest conditions this planet has to offer with equipment not
owing to our survival, and finally to arrive in Cameroon and plan a
way of making the whole trip into a coercive ‘growing up’
experience!
Why? Well for the love of travel and adventure in the
purest of forms, total danger with an absolute risk of death. What’s
more is the partaking in such an activity leaves us wide open for
the exploitation of our stupidity for charity! Paramount for our
trip is the raising of money for charity, for two fine sustainable
projects in Africa through Send a Cow and Frank Water.
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To follow our progress whilst we're travelling - CLICK HERE.
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Posted by Christopher on 17/07/08 17:37;
T-minus 14 hours until we depart Derbyshire bound for desolate lands!
Over the past week or so we've been doing more work on the car, putting in a new suspension thanks to Albert Looms, we were given a brand new set of 14" snow tyres from the boys at D.T. Cars and have had a new breather pipe for the fuel tank fitted too, which was leaking and costing us a wee fortune just sitting in the drive way. We've also fitted more headlights to the front of the roof rack and have put some insulation board on the roof rack to act as a sun reflector during the day, and bed during the night. We've also fashioned some tent polls to hold the moz net over the roof rack so we can sleep bug free.
Hopefully, to follow our progress as we are travelling across the continents, you will all be able to read up on our progress as I text our most recent news to this site.
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Posted by Christopher on 09/07/08 14:08;
We've spent the last 2 weeks working on the car and going round local businesses trying to raise interest in our cause, and have managed to get a few companies on board.
Brad & Pat from D.T. Cars in Belper have been very kind in installing our new fuel tank, checking our rear brakes, giving us a few pointers about how modify the car and replacing a rusted through section of our exhaust - cheers guys!
Geoff Cox Car Sales of Denby, DIPT Protrade, and Hayward Electrical have all been very kind to sponsor our cause - please check our their various websites from our sponsors page.
The Afri-Car page has been updated with more photos of the car and its modifications and spray job (thank you to James Bird).
The Sponsors page has been updated to include all those that have been so kind to donated or sponsor us.
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Posted by Christopher on 26/06/08 15:44;
Firstly - thank you very much to Eve for designing our new logo!
Plans have altered slightly again for our route. Due to The Adventurists being able to convince RAC to reduce the bond on their carnet de passage from £1000 to £52, we've opted to get one, which will allow us to dip into Senegal and visit Dakar which was previously unattainable. We may also sneak into Ghana too now as the carnet allows us to, although I suspect that decision will be made based on current funds as we approach the boarder because it will mean another set of visa's.
Both Ali & myself have paid the £70.19 (each) and sent our passports off to get the Cameroon visa's on the assumption that if we have our destination visa, getting the rest along the way will be easier if we can prove that we're just passing through.
A couple of days ago we got our Dover to Calais ticket and yesterday the €177 (~£150 ish) ferry crossing to Tangier (Morocco) from Tarifa (Spain) was paid for so there is nothing between us and Cameroon now (in terms of geographical obstacles - excluding the desert/mountains/7,500 miles).
The Pig has received a new lick of paint in preparation for her epic journey - photos to follow shortly.
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Posted by Christopher on 02/06/08 14:17;
This will be the last update for 3 weeks or so.
A copy of the article of us in the April edition of the Liverpool student magazine Sphinx can be found here.
The sponsorship / END OF EXAMS PHATTY BUM BUM PARTY NIGHT is arranged for the 6th of June commencing at 8.30pm at Siro's Bar and promises to be an awesome evening; Swansea Bay Dockers' Union are reuniting for this one night only playing some of the 'tightest most orgasmic funk you've ever put with your eggs', supported by two further bands. There will be, like last time, a wholesome feast of a BBQ put on by Restaurant 698, and a raffle with the main prize being a £100 voucher to dine out at the 698 Restaurant! This is all on the back of generous drinks promotions to ensure you have a thoroughly stimulating evening! £3 entry on the door going towards ensuring we make it to Kribi in Cameroon! >> DON'T MISS OUT <<
Alastair will be live on Swansea Bay Radio getting interviewed by Jay Curtis on the 7th June (yes, the morning after the Siro's sponsorship fundraiser) between 10am and 12pm so listen in on 102.1 FM or online by clicking here.
On the technical side of things, the Team page has been fixed so should now work on all versions of explorer and be sure to check out the Donate and Sponsors - dig deep guys we need all the support we can get!
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Posted by Alastair on 09/05/08 22:31;
Just a short update - we've been featured in the Welsh Evening Post on 7th of May (see the link below for the full online article) as well as appearing in April's edition of the Liverpool student magazine Sphinx (a photo of the article will be posted shortly).
Siro's Bar is booked for the 6th of June as a definite for some more fundraising frivolities but this time the money will be going towards sponsoring us and team Carmarooned in actually getting to our destination in Africa, otherwise we won't be able to support the charities in the first place!
Welsh Evening Post - Africa Rally Article
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Posted by Christopher on 26/04/08 17:29;
This is quite a big update as there hasn't been one for a while, starting with an apology for the lack of updates with the site - it's been pretty slow recently and will continue to be for the next couple of weeks as we both have exams lingering ever nearer, but once they're out the way things will be back up to speed..
The Adams Brothers in the press! On Wednesday the 16th April we were featured in The Derby Evening Telegraph - follow the link to read more.
The Derby Evening Telegraph - Africa Rally Article
As well as appearing in the Derby Evening Telegraph, we've also been featured with a full page spread in the April edition of the Swansea student magazine - The Waterfront. We shall be appearing in The Welsh Evening Post over the next week or so, and will also be featured in April's edition of the Liverpool student magazine - Sphinx.
The Afri-Car page has been uploaded, check it out here. A few tweaks have also been made to the Our Charities page so its slightly more aesthetically pleasing.
Our route has been altered due to various hidden costs, additional dangers and actual practicalities of being able to go where we want thanks to current political disputes between countries, causing various boarders to be closed. See the Our Route page for more details.
Alastair, James and Laurence (from team Carmarooned) held a cake stall at Swansea University on Thursday 24th, having spent 7 hours between 11pm and 6am on Wednesday night/Thursday morning (23rd/24th April) cooking the 19 cakes, various cheese cakes, copious amounts of brownies and many more delights all with the help of Olly, Fran and Abby in the kitchens of Restaurant 698 (a huge thank you to you guys - again!), in total they raised around £150 profit which will go towards FRANK Water and Send a Cow.
Owing to the success of the Siro's night on the 7th March, there is a post-exam fundraising night in the pipe-line for FRANK Water and Send A Cow again, on the 6th June - more details to follow soon.
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Posted by Alastair on 07/03/08 21:05; Siros Success! Myself, Christopher, James and Laurence (of team Carmarooned) would like to extend a massive thank you to all 200 plus who showed up at Siros for our charity jamboree!! We hope you enjoyed the evening even if you did get covered in the cream that arrived some time during the night. A special thank you needs to go to the people who assisted us in raising just over £700 towards Send a Cow and Frank Water last night, who without their splendid efforts would not have been possible. They are; Olly Knuckley of 698 restaurant for providing us with some of the most Pro style burgers to be found in Swansea, along with a platter of sauces and ‘mad for it’ chocolate mousse! To Fran, Chris and Abby who without a single seconds break gunned down any requests for food with an untiring enthusiasm and cooking skills that truly paid homage to Ollys prep! To Graeme who managed to arm nearly every person in the place with a raffle ticket, even if some seemed to think a lap dance was a prize?! To Jay for letting us smash the back door in on her newly furnished bar! And finally but by no means least, the bands and musicians who in the most professional manner possible put together a tight running set that went without the slightest hitch letting everyone enjoy none stop quality vibes all night that gave a cheeky tap to every ball-bag and bean in the place, so cheers Harri, Gaz, Stewart, Fast panda and Serotonin for waxing some genius lyrical. Thanks again for a ruddy clean and wholesome night! NB: photo's soon to follow _____________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Alastair on 05/03/08 18:16;
A live music night has been arranged in collaboration with the team 'Carmarooned' at Siro's Bar in Swansea this coming Friday the 7th of March, starting at 7pm until late. Entry is £2 each (100% of profits going to charity) with a raffle, gourmet BBQ and free vodka shots until 9pm. Get yourselves down to Siro's for a fun filled night and charity supporting frivolities!
NB: see the online flyer for details.
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Posted by Christopher on 04/03/08 19:34;
The website is finally online, but only 'The Team' and 'Home' pages are up with a few modifications and alterations still to be made - the rest of the pages are shortly to follow!
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