the DAFT way round.com   EnduroAfrica 2008

Yes we made it - tough work though - mentally and physically

The hardest part I suspect was the start of day 4 - we'd endured a 13 hour ride the previous day across some fairly tough terrain - but Day 4 started at 5.30am and we had 12 hours in front of us to cover just 47 miles - now thats tough terrain

Add into that Salmonella Poisoning and Dysentery - just to spice things up a bit - then sleep outdoors with just one lavatory for 80 blokes - not easy!!

The rate of attrition was quiet high approx 20% of riders suffered some injury but despite broken collar bones and wrists and riders who kept going, 77 of the 80 that started made it across the finish line

Then to cap it all - the flights and transfers back from Port Elizabeth to Tenby took a mere 30 hours - walk in the park!!

Whilst I was over there, on one of the long dusty and bumpy gravel dirt roads, I began to thinking about home, the family, my 3 nippers who got out of bed very early on that first day to wave us off from Tenby, the beach walks with my Springer Spaniel, Reverend James and other like-minded foaming ales - and thought about how to convey the challenge that we were facing and sum up the images that we had witnessed - so I wrote a little piece - I apologise in advance for some of the language - without it, the sentiment wouldn't have been the same - at the end is the link to over 1100 photo's taken by lots of the riders including some taken of the 2 x HRH's - enjoy ;-)

Click here to read the piece

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Pictures can be found here

Click here for the photo collection