From his car, Rainer Zietlow updates us on his epic C2C world record attempt to drive from Cape Agulhas to Nordkapp in Norway.
(More details on the Cape to Cape 2.0 attempt here)
DAY 2
“Since our update earlier yesterday, we have stayed on the fast, straight empty roads of South Africa, heading North East now towards Bloemfontein. For the past few hours, there has been almost no sign of life or civilisation away from the road, just the occasional small farm, beyond which empty scrubland stretches off to the horizon. Although not the most interesting landscape, it’s great news for the challenge timings as it allows us to keep up consistent high speeds without putting too much stress on the Touareg or the team. These two-lane roads are well-surfaced with good visibility, and wide enough to allow safe overtaking when we catch the slower trucks.
“As the sun sunk to our left, treating us to an amazing sunset at the end of our first day of the challenge, our first night was a busy one. We reached Johannesburg at around 23:00 last night for our first refuelling stop, and had a very quick bite to eat. With that done, we pushed on through the night, reaching the Zimbabwean border in the early hours of the morning.
“We have enjoyed our brief time in South Africa. As we leave it behind us, we know that the road and driving conditions are only going to get progressively more challenging from here. Next update tomorrow afternoon from Zimbabwe.”
Rainer.