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| Not exactly a walk in the park |
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When the MOT ends, the sand begins
If you like the notion of taking a mad car journey through inhospitable terrain and unstable, politically volatile countries, then hop aboard the Hoggar Convoy. Not for the faint-hearted, the first Hoggar Convoy took place over the 2004 Christmas holiday period, taking in some pretty bits of Europe before plunging into Africa. Tunisia, Algeria and Niger all featured. Pointing to recent kidnappings and terrorism, the Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to Algeria - a beach holiday it ain't. Still, the intrepid teams set forth. Thirteen teams drove vehicles ranging from old Mitsubishi Pajeros to a trusty but ancient Lada Riva.
Nik Kafka signed up at the last minute and co-piloted a Lada Riva estate with Imogen Wall. "Algeria was a difficult country to get through," he says. "They made us take a guide and we got stopped by the police every 200km. A few people got fed up and broke away - at which point the police were threatening they would get shot at or they would send a helicopter after them. You could say there was a little air of danger and menace."
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| "Turn left at the palm tree..." |
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With a lot of Plymouth-Dakar veterans taking part, it was the off-road driving that everybody came for. Nik, who admits not having changed a tyre prior to the trip, recalls a particular day in the desert when their group of eight cars had 17 punctures. "I remember many bush repairs involving pushing cars onto their sides and applying gaffer tape. We couldn't have done it without the hardcore car nuts who could fix anything on the spot. That's the good thing about these rallies: they open it up to people who would love to do it but don't have the mechanical skills."
So what was Nik's contribution? "I speak very good French, so I was able to stand in as the group's translator."
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