Anyone can imagine new cars. Everything polished, everything fresh, all the best. What is going to go wrong? But how does a car that has more than 60.000 kilometers under its belt, of which most of it is off the beaten track, stand the test of time?
A pick-up that has driven from Germany to South Africa and back again and that has been asked to take adventure trips in harsh environments such as Iceland or Chile in its car life? “You actually have to start with ten times the mileage when it comes to wear,” says Matthias Göttenauer, one of the managing directors of “Experience”, an off-road organizer from Fulda. The 49-year-old outdoor specialist owns half a dozen VW Amaroks. One served among other things Volkswagen Motorsport factory team as a service vehicle at the Dakar Rally. Worse you can hardly expect a production car. Also the dirty fuel in the emerging countries is a constant danger.
Volkswagen therefore briefly shrugged when Göttenauer proposed to the commercial vehicle division in Hanover to come back the hard way to the battered flatbed trucks and take southern Africa under their wheels with them. A total of several thousand kilometers of off-road adventure tour. A challenge with a not inconsiderable risk. Ultimately, however, confidence in the robustness of Volkswagen's workhorse Amarok prevailed. The board agreed.
Already when landing on Maun, Ma-un said, in Botswana you can see from the cabin window that down there "normal" cars belong to the automotive minority. The majority are indeed pick-ups. But by no means, as we do, casual lifestyle vices, but pure commercial vehicles in different sizes. Motto "There is always something to transport", building materials, firewood, animals, people. It is not uncommon for a whole group of children to squat on the cot. Seats? Belts? None. Isofix attachments? Never heard. With us, this type of transport would certainly result in a large-scale deployment of the police. Nobody is itching here.
40 ° in December
We are in Africa. Life works differently here. It's more original, not nearly as perfected as we're used to. Certainly not in Botswana, which receives us in December at temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Maun is the gateway to the famous Okavango Delta. There tourists can experience "African Wildlife" at its best. Dozens of lodges not only offer exclusive stays, but also so-called "Game Drives". But this has nothing to do with gambling addiction. Game is the translation for game. And chances are pretty good that one of these safari tours - usually in the specially prepared Toyota Land Cruiser - the "Big Five" (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino) run in front of the lens. The observation of wild animals has become an important industry in Botswana. Parts of the money are used among other things to protect species and to fight against poachers. The latter are particularly keen on the rhinoceros. A horn can reach up to 100.000 Euro on the black market and is still traded in Vietnam and China as a supposedly potency-increasing agent. "Absolutely nonsense, biologically horns are nothing more than fingernails," annoys our Ranger Steve, who brings us to a few feet to the primeval and tons heavy animals.
Food on wheels? Something different!
We are not allowed to drive in these reserves, some of which are up to 75.000 hectares. For good reason. Who wants to feel like eating on wheels? But Botswana, Zimbabwe and northern South Africa offer plenty of other car adventures. Even the infrastructure in these countries can not be compared with ours. Only the larger connections are paved. Many roads and paths are dusty "gravel roads". The driver also has to share this with cattle, goats and donkeys, which - separated without any fence - pluck the last bit of green from the dry earth on the roadside. Often, the critters are also directly on the street or trotting over them. With not always optimal output - mostly for the animal. Carcasses in different decomposition states are silent witnesses left and right of the lane. Nobody feels responsible for disposing of them.
Bath tub sized potholes
High concentration of the driver also require the sometimes bathtub-sized potholes and undercourses on the side roads. The same applies to deep ruts and washboard slopes, the car and inmates sometimes add bad. In the dark you should not be here better. All the more joyful the experience, however, if the sand and gravel roads are relatively flat. The Diesel purr, with up to 120 km / h, sweep the Amarok over them, pulling long dust flags behind them. A great way to drive a car. Farther away than from our overregulated traffic and the daily congestion and highway stress, one can not think of it.
This is only surpassed when it comes to crossing demanding terrain. Which of course also includes water. "No Africa trip without the obligatory river crossing," says tour guide Matthias Göttenauer. But most of the time it's about a few knee-deep puddles, some sand and boulders. However, the course of the river where our baggage collects has something in it. Not without reason there is a ferry service here, although not quite on a German scale. On a pontoon a few boards, to a railing with some life rings (after all) and next to it a small dinghy with outboard engine. Capacity of the ferry: a car. Because of the short time, Africa expert Matthias decides not to overpass but to transit.
Basic rule number 1
It takes some courage to cross an unknown body of water in this way. Basic rule number one: Always walk through the floods on foot to check underground and depth (crocodiles should not be in here, the locals confirmed). Number two: Never drive without a second car on the shore, which can pull out if necessary. Amerok leader Göttenauer, already up to his waist in the water, holds his thumb up and is sure: the four-wheel drive pick-up will grab it.
Now just turn on the differential lock and off into the floods. The pace is progressing. Faster would not be good, because the car would otherwise float and the wheels lose their grip. The Amerok sinks menacingly deep, sometimes not even the VW emblem can be seen in the grill. Water flows over the bonnet. Fortunately, electronics and the intake manifold for the air are even higher. Even our feet stay dry, not a drop has penetrated into the interior. As if nothing had happened, the convoy reached the shore on the other side - by the way much to the astonishment of the ferryman, who saw at that moment probably already swimming his business base of it.
Africa exam for the Amarok
The Amarok Days in Southern Africa were not only marked by memorable moments, but also showed how differently one deals with the car here, how different the demands on mobility are, how little the car serves as a status symbol and how robust and reliable count , No one bothers by scratches and stone chips in the paint, no one at half a millimeter too much gap on the dashboard and no one misses any electronic aids such as distance radar, parking pilot, head-up display or a lane departure assistant. Driving a car can be fun in a simple and original way.