Eleanor Chubb - Brussels to Benin in a 2CV!

Poverty grew worse the further south we went, with high mortality from AIDS, malnutrition and malaria to name but a few. Having children begging at our car window was a common occurrence throughout the trip. To avoid fights and to encourage children to go to work or school rather than beg, we were all advised to give only to those who helped us or directly to schools or community leaders. Although hard to do, this method did prove the best.
 

The most notable thing about this trip was that the routes were really hard work. The trip involved 50% serious off-roading, 200 to 400 miles a day, and lots of satellite navigation. We were really reliant on our team mates and co-driver. It’s also nice to share the excitement of sliding around on rocky Atlas Mountain tracks, flying over sand dunes in the west Sahara, or suddenly hitting dusty red roads surrounded by tropical jungle.
 

This year’s cars included three Acadianes, one 4x4 2CV van and 16 pretty standard 2CVs, plus a small fleet of support vehicles.  All 20 cars on the trail made it to the finish line without exception, many with thanks to the mechanical support team.  Car breakages included countless broken suspension arms, bent chassis, snapped suspension rods, four engine changes in one car alone and lots of flat tyres.  Thankfully, through good preparation, careful driving and a bit of luck we were one of the few teams who got away with only minor problems. These amounted to a split drive shaft gaiter, misplaced drive shaft, loose exhaust clamps and of course flat tyres, which were an every-day occurrence at one point. So much work had gone into transforming a very tatty rally car into a smart and cool motor to be proud of, including great sponsor’s graphics and many new parts. After such a long drive it was hard to unpack and part company with the Pentax car, which will now live in Benin and be used as a support car for future rallies.
 

With only 12 weeks of preparation time in un-chartered territory, I was on a very steep learning curve. Everything from essential repairs to finding the right charity for my project, and of course raising money for both the trip and charity, was a strain, but in the end worth it.
I have been honoured to be supporting UK-based charity MAG (Mines Advisory Group), one of the world’s leading landmine and bomb clearance charities. They specialise in clearing explosive remnants of war and educating vulnerable populations about the dangers they pose. MAG ensures an amasing 90% of donations go directly to clearing bombs. The total amount raised for MAG was £3000. An official presentation will take place in this spring once final donations have been collected. An additional £500, along with donated equipment, went towards the actual trip.
 

Further technical details and a list of the equipment I took (as well as what I wished I had taken!) can be found at www.2cvbenin.com. You will also find more pictures of my trip, as well as a link to the MAG website for those who would like to add directly to my charity fund. Overall I am so glad I chose to do the Touareg Trail and hope I have inspired others to make similar adventures a reality.
 

Finally I would like thank, once again, all the people and companies who have been so kind to support my trip through offering advice, parts, help preparing or financial contributions.

Please click here to sponsor Eleanor online.