On the 8th January 2010 Limbe welcomed the first team to arrive after their epic journey from the UK.
As the sun set on another hot and humid day in the sea-side town of Limbe- known, quite rightly, as the “City of Friendship”, team Camervroom and their trusty VW beetle “Lennon” rolled into town. Despite the gearbox giving up the ghost on the last section of the journey through Cameroon....despite the tow vehicle bringing them the last 300 kms of the journey also breaking down....despite the lack of clean underwear and a fine coating of red dust covering both themselves and the car.
They made it!
The rest of the teams are not far behind, with The Sheep Chasers arriving on the 10th Jan and many others now in Cameroon, battling their way along the final leg of this epic adventure. It seems these final roads through Cameroon are proving some of the most challenging on the rally. As The Sheep Chasers said " the potholes were so big that our tiny car was swallowed entirely by the road"
And so marks the beginning of a week of celebrations, culminating with “Under the Volcano” a festival being held in the team’s honour, at The Jungle Village, Botanical Gardens in Limbe on Saturday 16th Jan 2010.
Limbe is abuzz with expectation about the team’s arrival, with both local and national, radio, TV and press picking up the story. The chief local government delegate himself will be welcoming the teams to Limbe at the festival on Saturday.
Most inhabitants of Limbe are amazed that any car at all has made it and very excited that the teams have worked so hard against the odds to make Limbe the goal for all of their blood, sweat and tears.
In the words of the Local Government Delegate, the people of Limbe are “fainting with joy” at the arrival of the Africa Rally into town.