ANOTHER ODYSSEY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 138, 14 June 1938, Page 18

ANOTHER ODYSSEY.

LONDON-AUSTRALIA.

JOURNEY THROUGH EAST. FEW TROUBLES OX THE WAY. La-t September two young moton-:-. •L C. Cj'.tnerou, an An-tra li.m. and 1. Kidd. a Canadian journal:-'., who hota happened to he on a \i-it. to 1o•?i •1 ■ ■ 11. were hi', ten with w an,b',lit-'. and doddod to motor from London to M--1 i mti me. Thev .-ailed at a showr-ioni at: 1 bouuht a -took nndol 4-eylinder 1- h.p. tourer. Thev ordered an ex'tn peti-d tank ( t''» gallons additional fucli. and specilietl that »'. ]>]y tyre- in' -u< >-l lt tit<>. in place of -4-plv. on account uf -Mentions work ahead. 'J'hev left London without any fan tare of publicity with about jewt ot luppape and camp equipment stowed aboard their oar. They travelled by way of Belgium. <ioi'inany. Switzerland. Austria. Hungary. the Balkans down to Istanbul I Turkey ). From there they journeyed south through Syria and 'Palestine. From that troubled con! re they took an unusual route to Bagdad, following alone the f 10.(100.0(10 oil pipe-line laid down a few years ago to carry crude oil from the Iraq oil tiehls to pons on the Mediterranean coast.

Leaving Bagdad, they proceeded across Afghanistan and pa->ed through the Khvlicr l'ass to India, where they traversed from north to south. At Ceylon a steamer was taken to Kremantle, and the journey was leisurely continued to Melbourne via Broken Hill and Sydney.

Needless to say. many different types of people and roads were encountered, during the trip. The travellers were impressed with the pro-British attitude of the various nationalities with whom they came into contact during their seven months' jaunt.

Although Messrs. Cameron and Kidd traversed many countries whero automobiles were little used owing to lack of roads and poverty, the highest price paid for petrol on the trip was .'i/ii per gallon at Etula (West Australia i. The next highest was 3/ per gallon in Afghanistan, where petrol had to be transported through rough mountainous country by camel teams from Russia.

The journey was accomplished at an all-in cost of approximately £■"*) per week each. A deal of camping out was done, food being bought from villages and towns as required. The trip was singularly free from unpleasant incidents, apart from getting badly bogged in flooded country on occasions. Officialdom at the various frontiers was on its best behaviour. Mechanical troubles were 'nil, while one set of tyres brought the 30cwt car through the entire journey, a wonderful tribute to the capabilities of tha modern motor tvre.

The longest spell of driving was in Turkey. Their 14 days' • permit to sojourn in that country had nearly expired, and they had to make a dash of 36 hours' continuous driving to get across the frontier in time.

The casualness with which the trip [ was undertaken will be appreciated when it is mentioned that, atvirt from the spare wheel, some spark plugs and two or three inlet and exhaust valves, no other spares were carried. It was onlv when journeying through Turkey that the overlanders discovered that they did not even have a tyre pump aboard nor a tyre repair outfit. Throughout the trip no engine trouble was experienced.. In fact, the whole journey of 17.000 miles across more than a dozen countries wa - accomplished with so little trouble and with so much enjoyment and interest that the young motorists state tliey would be willing to tackle the long journey again.

This London-Melbourne trip serves to show how dependable the modern British light car is. even when subjected to the strenuous conditions incidental to motoring across countries where motor vehicles are a rarity.