DESERT TOUR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 160, 9 July 1935, Page 16

DESERT TOUR.

SEVEN DAYS' RUN.

LONDON-TIMBUCTOO. FUTURE COMMERCE ARTERY. Running almost south from Algiers to the Niger, straight across the arid wilderness of the Sahara, is a trail which in years to come will be one of the greatest arteries for commerce and communication between the Continent of Europe and the rich colonies and possessions of European countries in Africa. At the moment a mere track, rough and rocky in places and smooth and sandy in others, it i.> nevertheless being improved from year to year by the farseeing French authorities? The day is not far distant when travellers from the British colonies will make the .Sahara crossing in their own cars and by. public* conveyances at a much lower cost and much more rapidly than they could do the same journey by boat. I have just returned from completing the first proper survey that has ever been made for the benefit of British travellers, and have, handed all the data to the Automobile Association, who are issuing it for the benefit of their members (writes If. -E.-Symons in the London "Sunday Times").

For the purpose of getting down to the Niger and continuing from an interest point of view to Timbuctoo, still one of the most remote and mysterious cities of Africa, I used the new "TenFour" saloon. I decided that on a car such as this, designed for use in any part of the world, it ought to be possible to get from London to Timbuctoo, 2750 miles, in only seven days. With such regularity did this small saloon run that I arrived punctually at each of the predetermined places, and despite having to make a detour of 124 miles by Cao owing to 'official restrictions on travel on the Sudanese tracks, and a hold-up of 10A hours, through sinking in soft sand, we reached Timbuctoo, with the exception of.the 24-hour crossing of the Mediterranean, in under seven days of continuous motoring. Continuous Motoring. When I say continuous motoring, I would like to.'make, it clear we slept every njght, except the first, often in comfortable hotels, established by the Compagnie Generale Trans : Saliarien, or under the stars by the side of the track. The point was that we left the Automobile Association office in London on a Saturday and reached Timbuctoo on the night of the following SaturdaySunday.

We had incidents and adventures galore, finishing up - by entering the Governor's Palace at Timbuctoo, under the Impression that it was the Guest House that had been prepared for our arrival, and that the native in charge was too sound asleep to hear our knocks. But these form a story in themselves. From a motoring point of view, the run was crammed with interest. Having crossed France, making the journey from London to Marseilles in 25 hours, which included lengthy stops for dinner and breakfast en route, wo had 24 hours' rest on the boat to Algiers. From there we had only 300 miles or road, which however, the zigzag crossing of the Atlas mountains, rising to a height of 4000 ft. After that there was nothing but the desert track, stretching away into the infinite distance. Sometimes for hundreds of miles at a time the 10 h.p. engine was absolutely on full throttle, forcing,its way through soft sand which held it back so much that 23-30 m.p.h. was its "all-out" speed. At other times, owing to great outcrops of rocky surface, it was compelled to crawl at 8-10 m.p.h. Over the Tanezrouft, the dreaded land of thirst, where there was 720 miles between one well and the next, we found the going extremely good for 200 miles or so, and were able to maintain a speed of 50 m.p.h. under the blazing sun. Terrific Heat. A significant feature of the journey was that the double crossing of the Great Desert was done without adding any water to the radiator, showing that the engine ran remarkably cool, although for the return journey the thermometer showed a steady 112 in the shade. This is a most important point when it is realised that at Bidon ">, a depot established in the middle of the Sahara for the benefit of aerial and -motor travellers, water costs more than 7/G a gallon. Despite the awful conditions the tyres stood up wonderfully, and we did not even have a puncture until after reaching Timbuctoo. Here, however, the effect of running for 200 miles through

the bush over tracks covered with great thorn bushes had its toll, and we had three punctures, but thanks to the hydraulic jacks wc were able to change the wheels with the minimum effort in the great heat, despite the softness and unevenness of the ground. Including all stops of under an hour's duration for rests and refreshments, the journey of 2750 miles was accomplished in 97A hours, which works out at an average speed of over 2S m.p.h. So satisfactory was the car, however, that even under the most adverse conditions (I may mention that this is actually the hottest season of the year, and the Sahara is forbidden to all travellers until October), the journey was accomplished in live days. We had no trouble of any description, except that clue to soft sand in, the petrol tank, and this found its way under the float needle in the carburetter. This was a smallVnatter and easily remedied, and even preventable, I have no doubt, by the fitting of a larger and more eflicient filter. The electrical equipment never gave a moment's trouble, although | the new ventilated dynamo had a stream of soft sand forcibly blown through under pressure for at least 4000 miles. Sand Blasted. Some idea of the force with which the sand blows into everything can lie gathered from the fact that the chromium plating of the front bumper and all the paiut on the front of the car was completely sand blasted and the front axle and steering connections beneath the car were polished completely, all varnish and paint being removed by the perpetual sand blast.

With all its equipment of spares ■(•which we did not have to use), food supplies for two men for eight days, 10 gallon/* of water and 18 gallons of petrol, the car weighed 33Jcwt. In spite of this enormous' load and the almost continual full throttle work in the sand, the fuel consumption for the whole journey worked'out at more than 21) miles to the gallon, for long stages being as good as 23$ miles to the gallon. A normal ear. not overloaded- as ours was, should be .able, to do a good 30 m.p.g. Having accomplished, the performance for which we set out- ! -namely, to provide British residents in Africa with correct data concerning the best and quickest way from Britain to their posts abroad—we have returned with an unbounded admiration for the British car which, 'despite its" low horse-power, is able to compete more than successfully with foreign products of double their power, and. generally speaking, higher purchase price.