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Driven to Extremes

An apology to Tony in Nairobi.

Mac Mackenney | 1st Jul 2011

Mac Mackenney
I've finally completed the last article for Land Rover Monthly magazine about our amazing record-breaking drive from London to Cape Town - 13 episodes in total, covering everything from when I first dreamt up the idea about beating the record, right through team training and vehicle preparation, to the actual run itself.

Having re-read through all of our news and blog articles that we posted on the website at the time, I would like to say a huge sorry to Tony and Stephanie who generaously guided us through Nairobi quickly and sent us on our way to Tanzania. When we arrived at their suggested border on the edge of Kilimanjaro though, it was clsoed! At the time, I was very frustrated (well, livid actually!) and this all came out in my blogs. I knew that any delays, however small at the time, could have had massive consequences further down the line and I feared that the record would slip from our fingers.

Nairobi city, congested with traffic.
As it was, everything worked out perfectly in the end and to be quite honest, it was a blessing that things started to go wrong for us. If we hadn't been delayed at the Tanzania border, we probably wouldn't have been delayed at the Zambian border either. Without these hick-ups, my articles would be as dull as dishwater! As it is, we have tension, excitement, nervousness, relief and a real 'will they or won't they make it' feel to the story. So, although I was beside myself at the time, it's great that it happened and I've got something exciting to write about!

We had the same thing on the Cape Cold to Cape Hot run when I crashed after 14 hours and the Land Rover caught on fire! Disastrous at the time, but it made great reading and I got more articles published because of it!

So, a huge apology to Tony and Steph and thank you again for all your hard work in getting us through Nairobi and clear of the traffic.

Hopefully, I'll get back to Nairobi soon and can catch up and them and thank them personally.

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