The "Petrol Gipsies"

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 220, 17 September 1938, Page 3 (Supplement)

The "Petrol Gipsies"

African Adventure Of " ~~

IMAGINE being able to lean out 1 of your home and pat a zebra on the head! Or shoot the day's meal of guinea fowl or partridge just as casually as you or I would go down to the butcher's shop and purchase the week-end roast!

Hut tho»« who adopt unusual mean* of tr.iwl must expect unusual experiences mn.l adventures. That this is so is ret i'.i led in a vivid account of a caravan tour tlm.ugl,l part of Africa given i" 't, % V. P * wl,o> with h '« wile, kit Auckland on April 1, 1937 to fur Au-t rnl in. Africa and America' by «'ii r,i i'.i ii. in writing from Nairobi, Kenya (|,||.".\. to a friend in Auckland. Their next objective is the Mountain® of the Moon.

"To Wluire." the motor caravan in whirli tlH'y travel, designed by Mr A">o,,. i s a retired Auckland archi1 ■* « model of efficiency. Built on a truck chassis, it has a combined living anil bedroom, kitchenette and a bathroom. It is double-walled to maintain mi even temperature and, of couree ha« h radio. It even has an ironinsr bonnl. °

Thin is their second tour, though the first m a earn van. In 1027 they toured Australia and South Africa, but in that case flicy Here in an ordinary car with a tent and camping geer. Around Australia After leaving New Zealand last year in their caravan, they motored from .Sydney to Brisbane, then through Cloncurry to Darwin, on to Broome and down to Perth. As on their previous vieit they had travelled by car from Sydney to Melbourne, through Port Augusta and across the deaerts to Perth, they have completed a motor tour right round Australia. on v '*'t the question arose, •When is a caravan not a motor car?" When they shipped in the steamer Ceramic from Peru to Capetown there wa« some trouble with officialdom. On leaving Auckland the Harbour Board had charged i>/ for the use of the wharf. At Sydney the chnrge was £2 5/, but at Fremnntle the Harbour Board aeked £9 5/. Mr. Allsop objected and appealed to the Royal Automobile Club, telling the secretary that he wa« going to make a statement to the Press. The grievance was reported and a sub-leader appeared supporting Mr. AlteopVj claim. Then he sent a letter to the Harbour Board asking that the question be reconsidered, and at their next meeting the member* of the board reduced the claim to £1, the name as that for motor car*. The same trouble arose at Capetown when ottk-als asked £11 10/. After a protest the charge wan reduced to £1. The visitors spent two weeks in Capetown and then iitarted on their long journey to Kenya and Uganda—some *>000 miles, taking the Harden Route to Port Elizabeth. the main road nearest the coast. They had three months in which to loiter to allow th* summer rains to pass over in the tropical districts.

Cheap Crapes The climate wa« very little hotter than in Auckland and fruit was particularly cheap. Grapes, which were in season from December to Mav, were 3d a lb, or a 12ib box for 2/." From Port Elizabeth the caravan gipsies turned in-

land and climbed to 5400 feet, dropped to 4000 feet, and climbed again until they reached Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State. For four weeks they camped in a delightful spot on the banks of the Modder River, boating, fishing and shooting, and followed this by spending two weeks at Ea«ter in Tioneer Park, three miles out of the «ty, special permission being granted them to camp. Then came a run of 36 miles to Pretoria, the capital of the Union of South Africa and, after another 313 miles, they were at the Limpopo River and across the bridge after passing the Customs into Southern Rhodesia.

to the front mudguard, then to the bonnet, and so up to the roof. The Allsops had wire-gauze fly-screens on the windows and, for fear the animals would tear them, they drove the little creatures away. They departed, making humorous grimaces and protesting vocally. However, they came back the following day, took the cap off the radiator and also the wiper off the wind-screen-cleaner. The articles were found undamaged.

The caravanners then drove across the bridge that spans the Zambesi River, passed through the Customs and were in Northern Rhodesia. They deviated a few miles on to drive through a biggame reserve A young zebra came up to the caravan door and Mr. Allsop stroked it and then took a photograph while Mrs. Allsop fondled the animal. In this reserve they saw several species of deer and three giraffes, in addition to many full-grown zebras. Keep Crocodiles Oat The caravanners camped under trees on the bank* of the Zambesi River, cloee to a large floating swimming bat}i, built to exclude crocodiles. Constructed of wood and bound together with railway irons and floating on 40-gallon drums, it has a platform and fence with gates all round. The gates are closed each evening to prevent crocodiles getting in.

From here they left civilisation, but the roads were good. They were built on the strip system—two strips of tarred concrete for the wheels to run on. No settlements could be seen until they reached Bulawayo, a prosperous town, which had grown threefold since their visit 10 years before. Here they had three days' rest before going on. It was when they were 320 miles out of the town that they saw two columns of "smoke" several hundred feet high. The columns were the spray from the Victoria Falls. After a run of 20 mile* they camped near the famous "big tree'' close to the falls. Vint from Monkeys During the week that they were camped in the vicinity they were twice visited by troupes of monkeys. As this was a game reserve, the animals did not seem so wild. On each visit there were about 20, from fully-grown "old-timers" to babies carried on the mothers' backs, or hanging beneath them. From the tops of the trees they dropped on the roof of the caravan. Others jumped on

There is a tendency to profiteer, too, even in the wilds of Africa. A native boy came along and asked 1/6 for a dozen eggs and got it. Later, another boy came with some, but his price was 3/6 a dozen. "Why, I bought a dozen for 1/6," said Mr. Allsop. "Well, you can have these for 1/6, too," said the young business executive.

Proceeding on their journey the Allsops had to trust their caravan to a punt to cross the Kafue River. As the notice board stated that the punt was safe only for a load of 85001b and the caravan weighed 7800 the margin seemed little enough, though the crossing was effected safely.

During the next 60 miles they camped for the night and were pestered with a big grey fly. These flies were numerous and bit fiercely. Later, the caravanners came to a hut where a noticeboard: called on them to stop and have the flies caught. These were the dreaded tsetse flies that destroy horses and cattle. A native, armed with a net, captured three on the outside, but none were found inside the vehicle, and after that the Allsops saw no more. Lions and Leopards All thi& time benzine had been rising in price, the maximum being 4/6 a gallon, which was not hjgh considering the locality. When the tourists arrived at Abercorn, only 26 miles south of Lake Tanganyika, they were told of a man who had a large cattle station only eight miles away. He set traps for lions and leopards, which were plentiful, and in one year he caught 118 lions and 141 leopards.

For 120 miles the caravanners ran close to the Tanganyika border. Though it was the main road north, it had received little attention. Flephant grass, coarse and tall, running from eight to 10 feet in height, leaned across the road and sometimes met. It struck against the open windows, the seed flying in and adhering to the upholstery. For hours at a time they had to keep the windows closed, and it became oppressively close. However, an electric fan with rubber blades, which was secured to the dash, gave them some relief.

They were not troubled by lions or leopards, though they saw a lioness coming along the road towards them early one morning. As they did not stop she turned into the long grass, and disappeared. During their journeying, Mr. "A 11 sop shot from the window several guinea fowl and partridge. Potroasted with vegetables they were delicious. On May 30 the Allsops crossed tlhe border -from Northern Rhodesia into Tanganyika Territory. At Mbeya they passed the Customs and found the roads much better kept. There was plenty of elephant grass, but it was cut well back from the roadside and did not inconvenience them. Python on Road One afternoon Mr. Allsop noticed a large "branch" quite two-thirds across the road. As the caravan came abreast he was surprised to see that it was a large python. It* skin shone and the light and dark markings were very distinct.

When the caravan passed over its tail tha reptile's head rose three feet out of the grass. Mr. Allsop stopped and reversed, but the python had disappeared into the grass.

For the next 400 miles there wa« a good deal of hill work, and after passing through Arusha, the Allsops entered Kenya Colony. The country was more open, undulating and well grassed. There was much game, including zebras, various kind of deer, ostriches, and the travellers encountered seven giraffes.

Later, in the hilly, tree country, they sighted another band of giraffes on both sides of the road. They drove to within 20 yards of one big fellow who towered against the sky-line, but he moved away before a camera could be brought to bear on him. The caravanners were anxious to see the animals again, so they .camped on the roadside, placed lettuces, cauliflower, bananas and oranges in baskets to entice them, but to no avail.

Seventy miles further on the travellers entered the town of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, after having driven some 4000 miles from Capetown. On the whole the scenery had been uninteresting. Nearly 3000 miles had been through bush, scrub, grass, sand and mountains with corrugated roads and little cultivation. Many of the bridges, constructed of logs, rattled, and they looked so frail that the caravanneri dreaded crossing them.

_ The next stage in the journey at the time of writing was to Uganda and the romantic Mountains of the Moon.