At a time when many people prefer air travel while travelling long-distance, four twenty-year-olds have decided to defy the odds by travelling using the most absurd means.
A group of four foreigners based in Kenya have decided to journey all the way from Kenya to South Africa by tuk tuk.
They will be travelling over 6,000 Kilometres by two auto-rickshaws as a campaign for wildlife conservation.
“We decided to pick the most absurd vehicle for the journey and try to put enough work into it to convert it to a safari-capable machine,” they stated.
Having spent time making videos in some of Kenya’s incredible wildlife conservation Robbie, Ivo, Jasper and Josh realised the people protecting these conservatives were struggling due to the pandemic.
They noted that the small vehicles were not the ideal means to use when travelling a long-distance journey - hoping that once they arrive in Cape Town, they would ship them off to South America and head to the far-flung US state of Alaska.
The adventurists stated that the furthest they had driven in the tuk-tuks was about 100 kilometres.
They also noted that the vehicles would first require modification if they were to do the long-distance tour.
“We have made many modifications. These vehicles with no disrespect are terribly made, we’ve had to replace like every bolt and washer on them, the roll cage you could bend with your hands, so we’ve replaced that, we’ve had to put new skid plates as they have plastic ones, we’ve also had to put toe hitches in them,” they noted.
They also added that they would be modifying one of the two rickshaws into a passenger vehicle while the other one will be used as a luggage van.
“The vision we have for the van is to turn it into one of those swish types of camp like vans, so we have a whole frame built in the back with a lift-up door, a table that pulls out, with inbuilt cookers and a sink hopefully.
“The vehicles will also be containing solar panels at the roof with full inverted system power all this will be in vehicles with 8 horsepower,” they stated.
They have also added projectors to the tuk tuks where they will be showcasing documentaries to the communities they will interact with along the way.
They admitted that they expect the journey to be faced with many challenges.
“If we come across a dangerous wild animal which is approximately 30 meters in range then our fate would be in the hands of God, I predict that we might fall over it as it is difficult to balance the vehicle through the terrain” they stated.
Robie also noted aside from the wildlife, the road was also a scare due to big trucks and potholes.
They highlighted that they should have commenced the journey, but they lack documents to enable them to travel.
“Unfortunately, the bureaucracy of getting logbooks has been hard as the people who sold the tuk tuks to us are making excuses, taking us round and round,” the group remarked.
