Team Dust Devils

DustDevil Disco sold at auction!

November 6, 2010

At last the news has reached us that last week our Land Rover Discovery of 1997, which carried us valiantly all the way to the Gambia, was sold at auction to some lucky bidder for the princely sum of EUR 2,425 !!!

We are thrilled with the price that the sale achieved on our vehicle, as it was up there amongst the highest achievers of the Challenge vehicles in the auction.

This money has been donated to SOS Kinderdorpen Bakoteh on behalf of Team DustDevils and all our sponsors and supporters who made it possible for us to drive the Disco to its new home.

In addition to the money, we also got to donate and distribute other things such as cuddly toys, school materials and a mattress amongst other things. Take a look at our last picture slideshow entitled ‘The Gambia’ below.

The Gambia

Team DustDevils in motion

November 2, 2010

In addition to our photos of the journey, we managed to record a couple of videos of our Disco in action in its element!

Click on the slide screen and you will be taken to another page to view the video.

Antwerp to Banjul Challenge – looking back Part III

November 2, 2010

Senegal

Antwerp to Banjul Challenge – looking back Part II

November 1, 2010

Mauritania

Antwerp to Banjul Challenge – looking back…

October 31, 2010

Just as suddenly as we decided to undertake this Challenge for a good cause, the objective was reached and the adventure in Africa has come to a close. But what a journey it has been for Team DustDevils.

Our trusty Disco made it in one piece, having suffered only a couple of minor technical issues along the way: an oil leak that was patched up in Southern Spain; a broken thermostat stopper that was glued up in Laayoune – Morocco; and finally a fuel gauge that started reading ’empty’ just before entering the Sahara Desert portion of our journey in spite of a recent tankup. From then on…we guesstimated our fuel level for over 3,000km!

All in all, we got to deliver a Land Rover in excellent condition for the auction that is due to take place today. One of our fellow Challenge teams is in Banjul today to witness the auction and we hope take some pictures of our Disco as it goes under the hammer. We will then discover how much is going to our chosen charity, SOS Kinderdorpen Bakoteh.

We would like to thank all those who supported us along the way and sponsored us in the Challenge, and the best way for that is to share with you some of the sights and scenes along the 7,500 km to Banjul.

Morocco – Part I

Morocco – Part II

Beautiful Morocco – an overview

October 10, 2010

Today we head down to Layounne on the Moroccan coast. Tomorrow we’ll be leaving beautiful Morocco for Mauritanie.

Here an overview of our past week in this beautiful country:

Auberge Du Sud

Next year....

Tafraoute

October 9, 2010

Finally! After a week’s non-stop driving (sometimes deep into the night) we’re in breath-taking Tafraoute.
Surrounded by mountains, we’re spending a night at hotel “Chez Amaliya” before we go back to sleeping in the car and in the tent as we make our way toward Mauritania.

But for those who’d like to enjoy Tafraoute with us, here it is:

Hotel Chez Amaliya

And of course, the pool:

ahhhhhhhhhhh, the pool!

Trans-Europe to Sotogrande

October 4, 2010

We left a cold and rainy Belgium on Saturday afternoon – at last!

Night 1: spent camping in a forrest south of Bordeaux.

Night 2: Cordoba! With Jessie’s family. Beer and too much good, home-made food. We leave with full bellies!

Tonight we meet up with the other teams in Sotogrande for a briefing and a first time to meet all the other teams after departure in Belgium. Tomorrow: Africa!

The open road! Heading toward Spain.

I thought Spain was supposed to be sunny?!?

…and this is where the story REALLY starts!

October 1, 2010

Thats it.

We’ve used up all our ‘last minute checks’. The Disco is as reliable, tough and pimped-up as its gonna get in our modest hands.

Team DustDevils has done its best to put all the odds of success on its side, with your invaluable support, but now its time to let the gamble begin and hope for a positive outcome.

Tomorrow morning, we hit the road in the Antwerp-Banjul Challenge in support of SOS Children’s Villages.

When: 11.00am
Where from: Antwerp, Waalse Kaai 40 – meeting point outside the bar ‘t Soetbrood.
Who: over 70 participants…including Team DustDevils’ Rob and Dieter!
What: about 32 desert-prepped vehicles, including Land Rover Discoveries, Nissan Patrols, Mitsubishi Pajeros, Mercedes Vito and Renault Traffic vans, and much more! And a police escort out of the town, thank you very much!

We may be out of town for a while, but we shan’t be incommunicado! Follow us and our adventures as we update this blog with pictures and stories during the coming weeks…and if you Tweet, we’ll be Twitting too…i mean, Tweeting…but i guess there’ll be some Twitting as well!