Trio Banjul-bound for charity

Trio Banjul-bound for charity

Claire Egan

TAKE a 27-year-old car, add in three intrepid adventurers driving 3,700 miles across Europe and into deepest Africa and you have a New Year adventure with a difference. And no, it’s not the New Year edition of Top Gear either.
While most of us will be mulling over our short-lived ‘08 resolutions, Tourmakeady’s Richard Eibrand (pictured) and company will be packing up the trunk of their vintage Mercedes Benz and embarking on the trip of a lifetime.
Richard, an IT business analyst, is taking part in the Plymouth to Banjul Challenge – a road trip with a difference. Car enthusiasts may be familiar with the Paris to Dakar rally, a more up-market adventure requiring copious amounts of cash and sleek cars, as competitors race one another across Europe and into India.
The Plymouth to Banjul event offers the same experience – at a significantly reduced financial rate. Richard, along with Tuam man Cillín Whelan and Lindsay Rountree of Enniskerry, will leave Rosslare on January 2, sail to Fishguard, drive to Portmouth and then sail to Le Harve, where their journey will begin in earnest.
“We will drive from there down to the south of France, crossing over the Millau Bridge, which we are detouring to see before continuing down into Spain and onto Gibraltar, where we will meet the rest of the group involved in the rally. There are over 50 cars, with teams of three and four people in each. Overall, the trip will take 22 days taking us through Wales, England, France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal before reaching our final destination of Banjul in Gambia. It’s a lot of mileage, traversing a huge number of countries in a relatively short space of time and it will definitely test us,” said Richard, son of Tommy, a renowned photographer and resident of Tourmakeady.
Sleeping bags and pop-up tents are the name of the game as Richard anticipates numerous nights sleeping under the stars of the Sahara with long, hot days spent behind the wheel.
“Temperatures will vary from place to place. In Europe it will be pretty cold for this time of year and of course as we move south into Africa, the temperature will increase. It should be in the mid-thirties during the day, which will be difficult for either driving or sitting in a car without air conditioning. Naturally, at night-time the temperatures will drop to five to eight degrees and it will be comfortable for camping out at night. We won’t need any specialised camping gear.”
Once the trio reach Banjul, their Mercedes Benz 280 CE, a left-sided drive, which they purchased for the princely sum of £100, as prescribed under rally rules, will be auctioned off in tandem with participating cars.
Last year’s challenge raised over €160,000, all of which was donated to registered Gambian charities. Furthermore, the Irish trio will make a concerted environmental effort, offsetting their carbon emissions from the 3700 mile drive by planting over 20 trees in Gambia. Funds will also be provided for employment in tree planting and education on forestry preservation.
So, combined with fundraising for charity and caring for the environment, it appears like they have made a wholly holistic start to the New Year.
“Our main motivation would naturally be the fact that we want to have an adventure and this is a brilliant way to do it. We will also raise funds and contribute to the environment, so overall it’s a good package. Gambia is a poor country, with a land area the size of Scotland.
“Over 75 per cent of the population are involved in subsistence farming and the Government and people of Gambia are heavily supported by donor organisations,” commented Richard.
Overall, it appears that every minute logistical detail has been taken care of – bar, of course, one glaring omission.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a full driving licence as of this moment in time. The other two are fully licenced, but it has not happened for me yet, although I am working on it,” he joked.
“I will be a passenger for the first few days of the trip but once we reach Morocco I can go behind the wheel as they have different driving regulations over there, so I am definitely looking forward to that.”