Frank van Meel, CEO BMW M Division
The man responsible for the creation of the fastest BMWs recalls a memorable road trip in South Africa.
“It was one of those money-can’t-buy experiences”
“I have many special Detours in my life in many different places. But I am very emotionalised now by South Africa and one of the most interesting and memorable Detours I ever made was in South Africa many years ago.
We have been to South Africa many times in the past to test new models up near Namibia. We would usually fly directly to Upington (near the western edge of SA) for testing. This one time we flew into Cape Town and we were going to drive 800km up to the Northern Cape.
We set off from Cape Town, which is a beautiful city, and headed through the wine regions. As we went further north the landscape became a bit ‘natural’. There are some lovely towns along the way. You also get to drive through the Karoo desert and past the Orange River, which was beautiful to see.
There are some beautiful places like Augrabies Falls. That place is so impressive to see. I did not expect to see waterfalls in the middle of a desert. You walk along and the next thing you see this really, really impressive waterfall. Then on the other side you have these other sights such as the mines in the Kimberley area, which are quite different from this natural beauty.
There were long stretches on this trip where we were completely alone in this beautiful countryside. On this trip we were testing many new models, so we would drive for 50 to 60 kilometres and then change cars. And we got to see many beautiful places along the way.
From the start in Cape Town all the way to the area where we were going to test it was a trip that I think is one of those money-can’t-buy experiences.”
Charley Boorman has criss-crossed the globe on two wheels with pal Ewan McGregor, but of all the trails he’s travelled it’s the Road of Bones that sticks with him.