An African Journey

Call it Cape Town to Cairo – take two.

At least 70 daring RVers are revving up to re-create Wally Byam’s incredible Airstream “Capetown to Cairo Africa” on its 50th anniversary in 2009. Although departure is more than two years away, planning is in high gear for this second transcontinental caravan of Africa.

“I’m burning with anticipation,” said upcoming caravan member Vivian Schultz of Idaho Falls.

“My husband and I have traveled a great deal and we really enjoy seeing other cultures,” she said. “We’ve been to both Cairo and South Africa, but to nothing in between.”

Depending on the route, “in between” are 11,000 to 14,000 miles of blacktop, dirt roads and sand.

In 1959, on the original journey, 41 Airstreams left Cape Town in mid-July.

As with other overseas caravans organized by the legendary Airstream founder during the 1950s, this was a way for Byam to demonstrate what could be accomplished in his streamlined, well-engineered travel trailers.

All did not go smoothly, however.

Traversing thousands of miles of pre-independent Africa took more than twice as long as scheduled. The planned three-month trip stretched into 221 days.

“There were places in the Congo where the holes in the roads were unbelievable,” photographer Pete Turner said when interviewed about the trip in 2005. “It would jar you almost senseless.”

The roughest patch on the trip, he recalled, was between the northern frontier district of Kenya and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

That segment “was supposed to be a three- or four-day trip and it took over 30 days to do it,” said Turner.

“We had to basically travel a camel trail,” he said. “It was on the map, but nobody used it.”

When the Airstream caravan finally pulled into Cairo in February 1960, the troupe formed a giant wagon-wheel in front of the Great Pyramids of El Gizeh.

“It was a journey that many thought would be impossible,” said Turner, “but we did it, and we were all pleased as heck that we had done it.”

50 years later

The re-enactment of this ambitious overland trip is set to begin in September 2009.

At least 50 caravaners, in teams of two, will climb into four-wheel drive vehicles and tow 25 mostly vintage trailers shipped to Cape Town a month earlier from Jacksonville, Fla.

One proposed route has the caravan meandering through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.

In February 2010, after a month in Cairo for scheduled repairs and maintenance, a different group of 25 teams will use the same rigs to retrace the route south.

In one of those Airstreams on the southbound leg will be Vivian Schultz and her husband, Richard.

They heard details of the anniversary trek last year at the Airstream International Rally in Oregon. Caravan organizer Bert Kalet of North Carolina was out west spreading the word.

“When my husband and I heard about the trip, we looked at each other and our eyes got huge,” said Vivian, a college instructor and technical writer. “We are just into our 60s and for us this will be a retirement celebration.”

She’s preparing for the trip by losing weight, working out on an exercise machine and walking at least three miles a day.

Another Idaho couple, Janet and Fred Bourque of Coeur d’Alene, also signed up for the spring 2010 leg.

“Our family has always been pretty adventurous,” said Janet. “We’ve traveled all through Europe and explored New Zealand by RV. We like adventure, meeting people and taking on new challenges.”

The Bourques, married 47 years, were avid backpackers until “we aged out a little bit,” she laughed.

In 1996, shortly after Fred retired from teaching high school physical education, they bought their 28-foot Exella Airstream trailer.

“Fred wanted to bicycle from Seattle to Boston,” Janet said. “Since it was just going to be the two of us, we wanted something really reliable and easy for me to handle.”

That summer they headed east.

“Fred rode his bicycle 50 miles a day,” recalled Bourque, “and I pulled the sag wagon.”

This week they are RVing in the Maritime Providences of Canada after picking up an older Airstream in Maine that they bought on eBay.

“We plan to dry camp a lot,” said Bourque.

Dry camp rallies

During the last week in May, Airstream of Spokane hosted one of three dry camp rallies for caravan participants across the state.

“About 10 couples came from the Pacific Northwest to practice dry camping techniques and learn basic repair and maintenance,” said Karyn Dietz, co-owner of the Spokane Valley dealership.

Dry camping � living off your own supplies without benefit of utility hookups such as water, electricity, sewer or telephone � will be the norm during the four-month trip through Africa.

Each rig will be equipped with solar panels, a generator and vent fan.

While road conditions have improved dramatically, said organizers, it is still no Sunday drive in the country.

“This caravan is not for the faint-hearted or physically weak,” said Kalet in a January newsletter. “This caravan is an adventure and there will be some hardships and difficult times.”

Those warnings aren’t deterring the Schultzes and Bourques.

“This is the only way to really get to know Africa,” Vivian Schultz said, “and we can’t wait for the time to get here.”