Ranger Odyssey, not meant for sissies

Ford South Africa has thus named its epic journey the Ranger Odyssey. It has been known to be a tough and gruelling adventure that pushes not only man to the limit but the machine too. It’s not easy and for this reason its organisers selected only 38 contestants out of around 11 000 to partake in the Odyssey Boot Camp.

At the boot camp the 38 hopefuls were judged and observed constantly through various training exercises which took place over four days. The purpose of this was for the organisers to select 20 candidates who will be awarded the opportunity to take part in this year’s Ranger Odyssey set to take place in the Desolation Valley in Namibia. Up for grabs is a Ford Ranger 3.2-litre diesel with fuel for a year. The Ford Ranger boasts a five-star NCAP safety rating and has all the power and driver assists that will benefit us on this odyssey.

I went to the boot camp and almost didn’t make it back. This is my story…

Day 1

I, along with 29 South Africans, four Nigerians and two each from Mozambique and the Ivory Coast as well as one contestant from Angola, arrived in the small, almost abandoned, town of Prince Albert in the Western Cape. We arrived at The Barn which was to be our main gathering point. The excitement was filling the room as we all signed in and got allocated our tents, stretchers and chairs. We were also placed in groups of two for accommodation purposes. The programme started with a rather lengthy presentation on the theory behind 4×4 driving. This theory would prove to be vital throughout the weekend. Contestants were also briefed on the Ford Ranger, the other member of the team.

Once the presentation was completed we were told to walk about three kilometres to our campsite with our luggage and camping equipment. I was already doubting my survival at this point. We arrived at the site, tired and because the sun was going down we were cold too. Setting up a tent in the dark is not so easy, especially when you have a time limit. Supper was back at The Barn and once again we had to walk.

Back at camp we were told that we had to stand guard during the night and I was given guard duty from 01:00 to 02:00. It was a cold night and I was definitely out of my comfort zone.

Day 2

Oh, what a day this was! It started off with a 05:00 nine-kilometre trail run before breakfast. I chose the walk-faster-than-normal option. After grub we finally got into the Rangers and headed out to the dry riverbed of the Gamka River about 12km north of Prince Albert. There we would delve into the art of various vehicle-recovery methods as well as hands-on driver training over obstacles.

This was to give contestants the know-how on how to deal with various situations that might occur during their 12-day odyssey through Namibia later in July. The Ranger is well suited for the task and contestants were taught how to work with the Rangers off-road abilities to progress through obstacles.

Instructors laid out a course that incorporated soft sandbanks and rocky sections to steep inclines and descents. Some of the contestants have never driven a Ford Ranger before and others have never practised off-road driving so it was an interesting morning. It was a great time to bond with other contestants and get to know their story. It was around midday now and after lunch we headed back to The Barn where we were told to wash all 20 vehicles which were muddy and dusty from the day’s training. I on the other hand had been too busy to notice that I hadn’t had a single drop of water yet, I was drinking energy drinks.

Upon completing the 20th car I started feeling very funny. Long story short, much throwing up later I was diagnosed with severe dehydration. The medic decided to stick an intervenes drip in my hand and after a few hours and many different pills plus a good night’s rest I was back to normal.

Day 3

This day was dedicated to driver’s safety within a convoy. We were told that due to dust and visibility issues in Namibia a convoy can stretch the length of about 20km. The car up front might not be able to reach the car at the back via the on-board radio so we were taught how to relay a radio message as well as report vital information such as travel-direction changes or potential obstacles. The route that was chosen was over the spectacular Swartberg mountains via the Swartberg mountain pass, through Groenkloof and on to Calitzdorp and then back again via Seweweekspoot.

This took up most of the day and by the time we got back to camp we were tired. The joking and laughing that was heard on day one was all but silenced. We got an early night because we had to be up at 04:30 on the final day.

Day 4

Waking up before the sun rose for four days in a row is really not pleasant, not getting a full night’s rest and being cold are not pleasant but I guess it is needed to prepare you for the task at hand. We got up as instructed, at 4:30 and headed to The Barn. Tired, cold and longing for home we were given a very technical presentation by the guys from Navworld on the Garmin GPS equipment that we will use in Namibia.

Just when we thought it was over, contestants were thrown into the deep end and were individually interviewed by the instructors and Ford representatives. Questions flew at them from various angles and answers were expected immediately. Even the media team was questioned about various contestants.

All of what happened at the boot camp plays a vital role when faced with the challenges in Namibia. Contestants were chosen based on attitude, group interaction (because the Odyssey might be a contest but you will need help), off-road driving ability and last but not least leadership skills. It is important that decisions are made quickly and correctly out in the desert because as fun as this might sound it is still extremely dangerous.