A triumphant hurrah for the last three Africa Rally teams, who have arrived in Kribi a full month after the dust had settled on the official finish celebrations. While most of the other 42 teams had long flown back to Blighty, a motley crue of weary Scousers, Democrats and Smurfs - along with a stray Supernova, finally made it to Douala this week. All the teams showed admirable Adventurism and perseverance in their late bids to complete the rally.
The Tasmanian Smurfari took their Panda, and its cargo of smurfs, on a minor detour to Timbuktu, where they managed to get detained by the police for causing a public disturbance. As a promise to some of their sponsors Alan, one half of the Smurfari, dressed up in full Smurf garb and paraded the streets of Timbuktu. It seems the good folk of the legendary town had never seen a Tasmanian smeared in blue body-paint and the mere sight of him elicited an outbreak of hysteria. I can't imagine explaining that one to the police...
The Scousers overcame a multitude of mechanical setbacks in their two month odyssey to Cameroon, and are now pitching to write the next Lonely Planet 'Guide to the Mechanics of West Africa'. As for the democrats, well they, or he I should say, was foolhardy enough to set out for Cameroon on his own. It was only in the later stages that Simon, from the defunkt Supernovas, decided to ride pillion. So congratulations to each and every one of them and I hope they are all relaxing under the palms at Kribi as you read.