When you think about a photographer, what do you think of? I always think of the gal who took my senior pictures in the garden outside the Shelter Insurance building in my hometown. I never thought of a cross between Indiana Jones and Ernest Shackleton. That is who John Balsdon is, though, a fine-art photographer who just happens to be an explorer as well. And he explored places all of us could only dream of in less than a month when he set the time record on a Cape to Cape excursion (Nordkapp, Norway to Cape Agulhas, South Africa). Twenty thousand kilometers and twenty-five countries in twenty-eight days and thirteen hours, five hours faster than the previous record.
The Cape to Cape challenge is my most ambitious expedition to date and one that very few have experienced – John Balsdon
The right vehicle for the job
Of course, no expedition is possible without the right gear. John was set up pretty well by INEOS Grenadier. What kind of car is best suited to take John and his group on the trip of a lifetime? Well, the one thought up in a pub over a pint. When the group decided that, if no one else was going to build the perfect off-road vehicle, they would.
“The Cape to Cape challenge remains one of the world’s most challenging long-distance driving events and is exactly the kind of adventure we envisaged Grenadier owners taking on when we developed the vehicle,” Lynn Calder, CEO at INEOS Automotive, commented. “The success of the four-week mission is a testament to the fortitude of John and his team and the capability of the Grenadier.”
So, we know they made it in record time. But how did they perform? Was it a rough ride? Was it pins and needles all the way down? John actually sounds like it was just loading up for a long weekend fishing trip.
“Our Grenadiers took us from the coldest place in Europe to the hardest and hottest places in Africa. They were heavily laden, with one of them towing an expedition trailer for nearly 24,000 kilometres. It was tough on us but much tougher on the cars – but they performed and were reliable no matter the environment or our demands. Being with them across this journey showed us the character of these cars, and they endeared themselves to all six of us!”
