Stefan Simanowitz meets a team of adventurers as they set off on a death-defying kite buggy record attempt across the Sahara!

When Africa tour guide, Guy Lankester first read the proposal for a kite buggy race across the Sahara desert in the height of summer he responded candidly. “It’s the most insane idea I’ve ever heard” he emailed the organizers in Australia, “But I love it”. Six months on and everything is in place. A convoy of three vehicles set off today from Portsmouth heading for the Sahara. When they reach Agadir in Northern Morocco, they will unload four specially adapted kite buggies and two Australians and two Kiwis will embark on a race across 2,500 km of the world’s harshest terrain.

The brain-child of adventurer and vet, Geoff Wilson, this wind powered odyssey dubbed the Mad Way South, began as a personal challenge but quickly became competitive. “There’s no way on earth you can put Ozzies and Kiwis together on a trip like this without it turning into a race” jokes Wilson. “It was inevitable”.

Practicing in Queensland

If successful, the journey will be the first ever wind-powered trans-Saharan crossing as well as the longest kite buggy voyage ever completed, the current record held by three British adventurers who crossed 1000km of Gobi desert in 2006. The route will take them down the Moroccan coast, through the disputed territory of Western Sahara, across Mauritania, ending in Dakar, Senegal, some 30 days later. Precise predictions of how long the trip will take are difficult since everything will depend on the desert winds. “The winds at this time of year should be fairly constant” says Lankester. “But if they get too strong there’s a danger of sandstorms. If the winds drop it won’t be much fun either as temperatures at this time of year can top 120 degrees.”

Lankester, 40, a classically-trained actor who has trod the boards with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre and now runs a travel company, From Here 2 Timbuktu, will act as guide. He fell in love with the desert whilst on a film shoot in Tunisa in 1998. “It is impossible to adequately describe the beauty and wonder of the desert” says Lankester. “The space, the silence, the quality of the light are things that must be experienced to be truly understood”. The desert can, however, be a dangerous and unforgiving place. “If you get lost in the dunes or run out of water you’d be lucky to survive for more than twenty-four hours” warns Lankester. Having made this trip many times before, Lankester is confident that he can steer a safe passage between shark-infested coastal waters, land-mined borders and the growing threat posed by Al Qaeda militiants in the region. “Despite media depictions, this part of the world is a place of incredible serenity, hospitality and safety” Lankester says assuredly.

Garth

Kite buggies are single-seater vehicles that can reach speeds of over 70 mph. Thought to have been invented by the Chinese in the 13th century they were popularized in the US in the 1970’s and the buggies used by the team have been specially designed to cope with the desert terrain. “The buggies will need to be very sturdy,” says Lankester. “Although there will be some soft rolling dunes, most of the desert is a rocky and thorny place. The buggies have tubeless tyres because a high speed blow out on this terrain could be fatal.”

Guy dressed for the desert

As well as being a mad-cap adventure the race aims to both promote eco-friendly, carbon neutral travel as well as raise funds for SHE Rescue Home in Cambodia, a refuge for trafficked women in South East Asia. Wilson can’t wait to get the wind in his sails. “It’s going to be tough for sure” he says “But when we’re sitting on that beach in Senegal swigging a cool beer with a place in the record books, I know we’ll all agree that it was worth it”.

“Stefan Simanowitz, is a journalist and human rights campaigner who was due to travel across the desert with the kite buggy teams. However, as a leading figure in the campaign to end the 34 year illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco, he was advised that that he might be refused entry into Morocco and Western Sahara or even face arrest. Morocco has occupied Western Sahara since 1976 despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice and over 100 UN Resolutions. Over 165,000 indigenous Saharawi’s from Western Sahara have lived in refugee camps in the Algerian desert for over three decades. To find out more and join the campaign network visit www.freesahara.ning.com

Follow the trip across the desert at www.madwaysouth.com
Find out more about desert travel at www.fromhere2timbuktu.com

The team:

Guy Lankester
Actor turned tour guide. Grew up in Bristol, studied at Sussex University and the Bristol Old Vic. Divides his time between his house boat on the canal in Hackney, his cottage in Dorset and his travels over Africa.

Geoff Wilson
Team leader, Geoff is an African born Aussie, veterinarian come adventurer – who is obsessed with all things wind driven. He has already completed a year long, 25,000km odyssey on a yacht, and crossed the Egyptian Sahara by bicycle.

Garth Freeman
Australian Garth, is the youngest member of the team. Despite his youth he brings many man hours flying kites and considerable expertise to the mix. He is a professional kite instructor and one of his pre-race conditions is to ensure that Geoff has all the kite flying skills he needs to survive the journey.

Craig Hanson
Kiwi Craig has been flying kites since he was 10 years of age. Craig has a passion for kite traction and wind assisted travel – specifically as a means for journeying. He brings to the team immense know how, technical knowledge and kite flying skill. Craig and Peter Lynn have developed the “Big Foot” buggy and its Saharan adaptations for the May Way South.

Steve Gurney
Kiwi Steve is an ex-professional Adventure Racing athlete who was at the top of his game for 16 years, with 9 Coast to Coast wins, numerous Adventure race team wins, and twice represented NZ at the world Mountain-biking Champs. He is also a well known motivational speaker. He no longer competes, but is taking part in this race in a bid to seek “green” and sustainable adventure options.

These 4 will be backed up by a highly efficient and knowledgeable support team and filmed by an international television documentary.

Picture at top: Geoff (and his son Kitale)