RTG Southern Cross Daily Dispatch low-res - Flipbook - Page 29
15 February to 5 March 2020
Day 14
Masai Mara to Serengeti (316.26 km)
29 February 2020
Today was the day of our very own mass migration. Like the millions of wildebeest before us, we set
off from the Masai Mara in Kenya to the grasslands of the Serengeti in neighbouring Tanzania. Luckily,
when we crossed the infamous Mara river though, we had a bridge to use.
the packs of hyenas sniffing around, along the roads and
quartering between the grazing herds looking to pick off
any who showed a flicker of weakness.
They do say that when the going gets tough, the tough
get going, and today the Southern Cross Safari crews, really
rose to the occasion driving carefully and precisely to get
through it in the best possible shape.
There was still a Test to negotiate after all, on the Migori
Airstrip, which had been given over to us on the condition
that any planes wishing to land had right of way and that
the rally submitted itself to the rules of air traffic control.
After the rough ride we’ve enjoyed over the last few days,
such a blast up and down a smooth runway was a real treat.
Thanks to the show that the crews put on a crowd of locals
arrived to shout encouragement. Special mention must
be given here to Reto Mebes and Hans-Jürgen Benze who,
in their Mercedes, showered everyone on the apron with
gravel during one impressive manoeuvre.
Jean-Philippe and Iris Tripet (CH) with the Lancia Fulvia Monte Carlo
This was also slated to be a busy day, so we needed an early
start, not least because of the re-routes once again forced
upon us by the state of the roads.
There was one Regularity and a Test, as well as a border
crossing to get through before the sundowners on the
terrace of the Four Seasons Serengeti.
Such was the pace of the day though, that the first of
these had to be cancelled, to allow the organisational crews
to be strategically stationed in some of the more muddy
bits of the route, with tow ropes at the ready.
The first 80 km were indeed tough, and there were
numerous small diversions in place to avoid the worst of the
sink holes and rock gardens. In one such section Malcolm
and Lloyd Destro were placed on ‘sump duty’ watching and
marking any particular boulders which posed a threat to
the integrity of the bottom of an engine.
We weren’t alone in the bush though and if any incentive
to keep moving was needed, then surely this came from
Edmund Peel and Sara MacDonald, Porsche 911
www.rallytheglobe.com
