Ice Cream Van to Timbuktu

So eventually it was here, my Rotary Presidential year, my chance not only to lead my Club (Upper Eden) but also to make a mark by undertaking a humanitarian project. Always up for a challenge, investigations led to the Bamako run. The rules were simple obtain a vehicle for under £100, spend no more than £15 on it, and then drive it across the Sahara to Bamako the capital of Mali the worlds fourth poorest country and, donate it to charity.

Forming team Rotary BOFS with John Taylor of the Appleby Rotary Club, the daftest vehicle we could think of for the journey was an Ice Cream van - thereby affording the added challenge of taking Cumbrian Ice Cream to Timbuktu - a mere 1000km beyond Bamako. At this point we found out that Ice Cream vans never die so we had no other option than to build one. A sad old transit van was located in a scrap yard and with many generous donations it emerged 3 months later as a pink ice cream van - without a single penny being spent on it.

As this was the inaugural running of the challenge no designated charity had been set up in Bamako and so, with the help of our District Governor Adrian Hughes contact was made with District 9100 and the 6 Malian Rotary Clubs and a good link formed with the Bamako Amitie Club. Via this contact local knowledge was made available to the organisers and participants and an agreement was reached that Bamako Rotary would become the designated charity. Being an out of the ordinary undertaking we received massive local support and donations of many 1000’s of pencils, biros, cuddly toys, paper, digital thermometers, footballs and numerous hand cranked sewing machines with 2000 or more reels of cotton – in total over half a ton of goods.

After considerable TV and radio coverage we set off from Appleby on the 11^th Jan. and spoke for our suppers that evening at the Littleport Rotary Club. We crossed the channel the following morning and undertook the long 3 day drive South via the Millau bridge to Tarifa at the tip of Spain. Here we had the luxury of a rest day to stock up with food and booze, paid a brief visit to Gibraltar and met up with the 24 other participants in the challenge.

6am the following morning the Seacat took us across the Straits to Tangiers and our first taste of Africa, a 3hour immigration procedure. After fuelling up it was a quick dash across the Rif Mountains to Fes. We had been warned that drug bandits operate in the mountains after dark hence the reason for our early start. After breaking camp the following morning a local guide escorted us through the town medina and the famous (and very smelly) tannery before we headed off SW along the side of the Atlas Mountains reaching Beni-Mellal by night fall. An early start the following morning permitted time for a 150 km detour to the Cascade waterfalls 1200m up in the High Atlas before pushing on to reach Marrakech by late afternoon. A quick spruce up and into the market square for supper at stall no. 86 - strange fish with all sorts of bits and couscous; followed by an evening spent watching the fire eaters and snake charmers.

A quick shop the following morning (we had been tipped off it was 3000km to the next supermarket) and after spending 1 hour trying to find the correct road out of town we headed off to the Tizz-n-Test pass. Mile upon mile of steady zig zag climbing up the High Atlas to the 2100m summit where we broke out the ice cream with 99ers all round before the long decent past Agadir ending the day at Tiznit not far from the Atlantic ocean.

Woke to yet another bright and sunny morning and soon passed the 3000 mile mark on our way SW, past the Canary Islands and many boat hulks washed up on the shore to arrive at Laayoune and the start of what we perceive as desert terrain.

Much the same the following day, 350 mile drive down the coast in virtual desert with a half reasonable tarmac road but very few vehicles perhaps one every 15 minutes or so – why can’t the UK be like this? The approach to Dakhla is via a spectacular 25 mile long sand dune causeway with the town at the end of the peninsular. Morocco has poured a lot of money and people into the town in order to strengthen its claim over the Western Sahara and we stayed in the luxury of a half reasonable hotel. After a well earned rest and clean up day an early start was in order to try and reach the Mauritanian border before lunch. Fog slowed the 250 mile dash but we got there just in time to complete the 3hr departure and immigration procedures, purchase insurance, change money and get on our way before it closed for an extended lunch. The 25 mile run into Nouadhibou was a real eye opener with rubbish strewn everywhere including numerous hulks of vehicles, affording an understanding of why it is known as a gangster town. A brief overnight stay in a bunded campsite was just enough to find a guide for the Sahara crossing.

The following morning under the guidance of Abdul our group of 6 vehicles set off on the 170 mile desert crossing to Nouakchott that would take us 4 days. Once into the heavy sand we initially got stuck numerous times so out with the shovel and sand ladders with Abdul telling us the van was too heavy – little did he know what we were carrying! Soon with tyre pressures let down and the driving technique of flat out in 3^rd mastered, we flew across the soft bits rarely getting bogged. A memorable Burns night, Haggis and all, was spent alongside a large dune in the middle of nowhere with the next couple of nights alongside the ocean. Nouakchott was, as expected, similar to Nouadhibou with 10 miles of garbage tipped alongside the main approach road. With nothing to hang around for the next morning we were soon on our way to Kiffa, 375miles to the east on a half reasonable road.

That evening a big debate took place, do we travel directly S to Kayes or go round on the black top? Discussions had taken place with Nouakchott Rotarians and the Malian Embassy who assured us the 175 mile direct route was passable and it would only take a day. Little did they know! In practise it took us two and a half days on a non existent road or barely even a track in places. We were totally reliant upon GPS / compass navigation and went through villages where white men are a novelty and the sand was very deep. Upon our eventual arrival in Kayes we immediately sorted out the Malian Immigration formalities as we had been illegal immigrants for over 36 hours. Being now behind schedule it was up and away at 6am the following morning for the 400mile run to Bamako. All was well until we hit a 70 mile unmade section of rough corrugated piste that literally shook us and the van to pieces, extending the drive to 10hrs in 35deg C heat. A cold beer and 99er in Bamako were most welcome.

Having picked up money, supplies and a local Rotarian, Sunny, who was to be our guide for the next few days, we set off the following afternoon to Timbuktu.

Heading progressively NE we stopped off at the Niger music festival in Segou; then Djenne, to visit the world’s largest mud Mosque; and finally Mopti, famous for its port and tablets of salt; before heading due N and the final 140 mile run into Timbuktu. This proved to be a very rough, corrugated track suitable at best for 4 wheel drive and certainly not an old ice cream van. However, undeterred, 6 hours later and we were on the ferry crossing the Niger and finally a short run into the mystical Timbuktu. We had made it so - 99ers all round again. Timbuktu was just another sandy town with not much to see or do, so after having our passports stamped and taken a few photos we had the daunting prospect of retracing our steps back to Bamako. The 1300 mile excursion had taken us 5 days and enabled us to visit reputably the best bits of Mali and witness first hand both the happiness and poverty of many of the Malian country folk.

Once back in Bamako we were kept busy with 5 days of humanitarian activities. We had carried over half a ton of donations to Mali some of the many 1000’s of pens and pencils had been distributed to schools and children on route with the balance being handed out around Bamako. The city’s orphanage received over 50 cuddly toys. 8 of the hand cranked sewing machines and 1000’s of bobbins of cotton were delivered to the Rotary Koulouba Club who will distributed them to needy families and thereby create a living for them. A further 2 machines and bobbins were donated to the Handicapped Assoc. and will be used to train young handicapped girls to sew and thus support themselves. This Association was the poorest group of people we came across in Mali and upon our departure we left all our surplus food, tools, cookers and clothes with them. We also visited the Djenekabougou Clinic in the shanty town district of Bamako. The centre, responsible for some 40,000 people, had minimal medical stocks and only one pair of surgical scissors. We donated a large box of first aid equipment, 20 digital thermometers, rubber gloves etc. to them.

The largest charity aspect of the challenge is the giving of the vehicles upon the participant’s departure home. 12 vehicles were handed over to the local Rotary and they will be auctioned off with the proceeds spent on infrastructure projects. 2 of the planned recipient townships were visited. The Koulouninko village is located only 10 miles from Bamako and has a major drinking water shortage problem. The existing pump takes 100 strokes to prime and the water is brackish with the only other source being an unlined minimal flow well that dries up in the summer months. The Dinfar village 70 miles S of Bamako has only 1 pump for 1500 people and hence they also have a great water shortage problem. Furthermore, the village school had recently lost its roof in a storm with the children currently being taught outside under a tree. It is hoped that enough funds will be raised to improve the plight of these extremely poor people.

Remarkably the old transit stood up well to the abuse it got. With an extra 6707 miles on the clock, 700 of which was hard off road travel, the only thing of note was a partly broken front spring and rear door failure.

The auction has now taken place and the van sold for £2100 - not bad considering it came out of a scrap yard! In addition to that we raised over £2000 by selling ‘guess the mileage’ tickets, ice cream sales and donations, which we will also send to the Rotary Club in Bamako. Hopefully with the sale of vehicles and donations from other teams at least £12000 will be raised.

Upon reflection the journey was probably not for the faint hearted and certainly far removed from a package tour but for these two, probably past their prime, Rotarians, who made it in an Ice Cream van, it was an immensely rewarding experience which, along the way, helped ease the plight of some very poor but incredibly warm hearted people.