ADVENTURE TRAVEL PAUL MARSH

Paul Marsh has travelled around the world by 4x4…right around the world. And this dedicated overlanderjust doesn’t want to stop

WORDS MARK WILLIAMSPICTURES MARK WILLIAMS AND PAUL MARSH

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Footloose 4x4Paul’s company, Footloose 4x4, is anexpedition preparation specialist based inPeterborough. With vehicles andequipment in stock, training in off-roaddriving, survival, basic mechanics andexpedition planning all available, they candefinitely help turn your dreams intoreality. Contact them on 01733 362999, orvisit www.footloose4x4.com.

ABOVE: On top of the world in his Discovery at Norway’s North Cape.Inset: Paul and his wife Nikki, to whom he proposed after they’d climbed together tothe summit of Kilimanjaro

BELOW: Yet more breathtaking scenery on the route from Panama to Alaska, inMonument Valley. Paul says that overlanding is ‘not a holiday’– maybe, but it doesn’tlook like too shabby a form of hard work…

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PAUL MARSH HAS thelean, wiry look of someone who has – and I mean this in the nicest way – been roundthe block. Walking boots, chinos (at best)and bush shirts are the uniform at hisCambridgeshire business, Footloose 4x4.

Many Land Rover people don similar clothesand look as if they might, at any moment,suddenly down tools and go native. The differenceis that Paul Marsh actually does it. A borntraveller, fenced in by work and only liberatedwhen he’s behind the wheel, Paul spends his lifechallenging the world’s wild places.

He has travelled down the African continentfour times. He has driven around South America,to the North Cape, from London to Sydney, andfrom Panama to Alaska. He really has beenaround the block. And there’s no sign of hisslowing down.

Growing up in South Africa, Paul was a boyfascinated by mechanical devices. He endlesslyannoyed his parents by dismantling householdgadgets and spreading them across the floor likea service diagram. It seemed inevitable that hewould be an engineer.

And for a time, he was. Once qualified, hewas tempted by the offer of a working holidaymaking up the numbers for a friend’s safaricompany and journeying into Botswana assupport crew and guide.

‘There were three of us in the crew, twodrivers and a cook. We drove old 45-Series LandCruisers, while the clients rode in modified eight-seater V8 petrol International trucks. Our boss

believed in simplicity without compromising oncomfort. For example, we took enough freshmeat to last two weeks. It was vacuum-packedand then kept in insulated boxes with dry ice.We were only allowed to open them once a day.’

One of Paul’s roles was to managebreakdowns, with the vehicles taking a beatingfrom the dirt tracks. ‘Quite often, we wouldshear off the U-bolts when we drove intoaardvark holes. We would then have to lashthem together with chains and bolts until back incamp where we could improvise parts.’

‘Wild camping’ is a phrase that hardly coversthe three-week stints Paul would spend livinghundreds of miles from anyone. Lionsoccasionally walked straight through the camp,and when Paul’s bush shower dried up onemorning, he looked up at the bucket above himto find an elephant drinking the last of his water.

‘We had to carry all our fuel in 220-litredrums, as well as all our water. We had neitherGPS nor sat phone. This meant being very self-reliant. There were few maps – most of theroutes were in my boss’ head!’

Paul emphasises that ‘travelling is not aholiday.’ This can come as a surprise to clients,and handling them is a definite skill. ‘It’s hardwork at times. It can be exciting, dangerous andtiring, but ultimately very rewarding.’

On his return, Paul started his own mechanicalbusiness in Johannesburg. He modified all kinds ofvehicles, including a Land Rover with a Chevystraight six engine. On one trip, the gear shiftwould not stay in, so they attached makeshift

Having trained and qualified as a engineer, Paul had theperfect background for a life in the overlanding game.From the word go, his fellow travellers were relying onhis mechanical skills to keep vehicles going in the wild

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10 places to see… Paul’s recommendations� Machu Picchu, Peru� Tikal, Mayan site in Guatemala� Terracotta warriors, Xi’an, China� Uluru, Australia� Death Valley, central Kalahari, Botswana� Sof Omar caves, Ethiopia� The Aurora Borealis, North Cape, Norway� Maletsanyane Falls, Lesotho� Copper Canyon, Mexico� Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano, Tanzania

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Running sweep on the Inca Trail – three months inSouth America nursemaiding 50 4x4s and 50 classiccars. This is the L200 in which Paul nearly lost hislife after a multiple roll

Finding a decent spot for a picnic can be a bit of a struggle…

Inca Trail co-driver Dr Mark Human, who savedPaul’s life after the accident

This is the kind of incident the Inca Trail wasthrowing at the team pretty much non-stop

…as can the constant search for water and a good shower

Some vehicles keep cropping up wherever you travel…

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bungees made from inner tube to keep it inposition. It still carried him all round Lesotho – oneof his favourite stamping grounds.

Most of us don’t think of Southern Africa asmountainous, but Lesotho is the highestindependent state in the world. Snow often fallson the mountains from May to September; it’san unforgiving environment for off-roaders. ‘Ihad one disastrous trip up there on mymotorbike,’ says Paul. The first day I lost all mymaps, the second I crashed and punched a holein the fuel tank, and on the third day got severefood poisoning!’

All of these adventures laid the ground forPaul’s first independent trans-continental trip –14 months and 70,000 kilometres from SouthAfrica to Eritrea and back. This was with hisgirlfriend, Nikki. On reaching the summit ofMount Kilimanjaro, Paul proposed, and theycame back down engaged!

‘Nelson Mandela had just been electedpresident and South Africa went from an eraof sanctions and mistrust to pure welcoming.Everyone wanted to know about South Africa.The timing couldn’t have been better. Wemade some fantastic friends and did someamazing things.’

This included spending seven hours filing ahardened steel leaf spring mounting point so thatit would fit, having been supplied with anincorrect part. The vehicle in question was aToyota Hi-Lux, which Paul prepared by strippingit down to nuts and bolts and rebuilding it with a 2.4-litre petrol engine and extra tanks for fueland water.

‘We were very close to cracking thechassis in half with horrendous roads andcarrying too much weight,’ he admits. ‘Just10mm of the top of the chassis member washolding it together. I used two tyre levers andU-bolts from old scrap Land Cruisers that wefound abandoned at the roadside to pull ittogether, and drove it back to a blacksmithswhere I spent the day welding andstrengthening the chassis.’

Roadside repairs weren’t always luxurious.With no vehicle lift for hundreds of miles, Paulhad to dig his own pit and drive over it to dogearbox work. Split-rim wheels threatened injuryto limbs during tyre changing. He was, however,able to depend on local assistance – one of thegreat things about travelling in Africa!

‘We can learn a lot from local people. Guysriding past on bicycles would stop to help us. It was very humbling. People are incrediblyresourceful and able to fix things with littlemoney because they have had to. Improvisationbecomes everything.’

After this mammoth adventure, Paul andNikki moved to the UK in November 1997. ‘I sawlots of opportunity in England. The expeditionside of the 4x4 business was a long way behindSouth Africa and Australia. Supplying equipment

seemed a good place to start, as much had beenwell tested in the southern hemisphere.

‘I was the first person to import Eezi-Awnrooftents. Initially, I air-freighted three into thecountry. I had to fit them to vehicles in mydriveway before having premises and even builtan expedition vehicle under a tarpaulin outsidemy house!’

After a few months, the Cambridgeshirefarm they lived on agreed to rent out some spareoutbuildings. Paul hired two workshops – andFootloose 4x4 was born.

This was another, more static journey. ‘Thedream now was to share what I am so passionateabout – travel, and particularly travel throughAfrica. It is a continent with a very special magicabout it, and once you have visited, you are verylikely to want to go back again and again. Istarted by importing several container loads ofstock and trusted that the market would grow.

‘The first real success we had was sellingequipment at Billing. I slept on site in a roof tent,sharing it with a friend of mine and his dog.When we looked out in the morning, ten peoplewere standing around the vehicle staring at thetent. I knew then that I was on to something!’

A year or so later, Paul provided logisticalsupport on a rally from London to Cape Town.He shared a vehicle with a South Africanorthopaedic surgeon, Mark Human, who was tobecome a close friend. More than that, on theirnext trip together Mark was to save Paul’s life.

The Historic Endurance Rally Organisation’sInca Trail in 2001 was three months long, takingin a complete round trip of South America, withfifty 4x4s and fifty classic cars. ‘It was very hardwork,’ says Paul. ‘Cars broke down. We had a lotof accidents, and one local was killed. In the final

stages, we had been pushing for a number ofdays without much sleep, cat-napping as we tookturns to drive. I was tail-end sweep with Mark.

‘We were travelling through Uruguay. I wastired and I was driving too fast, trying to catchup with the rally. I lost control of our stockMitsubishi L200 and the vehicle flipped androlled six times. I broke my neck and sustained alarge head wound. Fortunately, Mark wasuninjured and was able to stabilise me.

‘What happened next can only have beenfate. Mark called ahead to the other doctor onthe rally, who happened to be with a local vet.The vet knew exactly where we were and alsoknew how to summon a military helicopter. I wasfading in and out of consciousness – although Ido remember managing to ask them to takesome photographs!’

The helicopter took him to Montevideo, wherea top surgeon operated on Paul’s neck and a

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Tips for travellers…If Paul has one single tip for expeditiontravel, it is to have the right attitude.‘Treat everyone you meet with politerespect,’ he says. ‘You are a guest in theircountry. If you arrive with a badattitude, you are unlikely to get very far!‘You can turn tedious border crossingsinto positive adventures with the rightattitude. I’ve crossed hundreds ofborders and I love it. It’s one of themost interesting times to engage withlocal people. With a good sense ofhumour and some respect, you’ll getround any problems.’

‘NELSON MANDELA HAD JUST BEEN ELECTED PRESIDENT AND SOUTHAFRICA WENT FROM AN ERA OF SANCTIONS AND MISTRUST TO PUREWELCOMING. EVERYONE WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA.THE TIMING COULDN’T HAVE BEEN BETTER. WE MADE SOMEFANTASTIC FRIENDS AND DID SOME AMAZING THINGS’

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plastic surgeon, who just happened to be visiting,was given the task of suturing the head wound.‘Three days later, I flew back to England, and amonth after that I was back behind the wheel. Iwasn’t able to do much physical work for threemonths, but the people who worked for me keptFootloose going.

‘I learnt a lot of lessons,’ Paul says of the near-tragedy. ‘Things I already knew, actually. I’d brokenthe first rule, which is to make safety your firstpriority. You break rules, you die. They were risks Ishould never have taken and would never takeagain. My current vehicle, a Discovery 300Tdi, hasa rollcage and four-point seat belts.

‘The risks can be very great for theunprepared. I take the view that, though there arerisks, you lessen them by good preparation.Modern overland expedition is much safer. Satellitephones, GPS and emergency beacons mean you’renever truly lost or alone. Digital cameras, satelliteweb access, blogs and many other devices canhelp people record a once-in-a-lifetime trip. In fact,anyone with the means can now go to anexpedition specialist and almost have a turnkeysolution, including training, vehicle and equipment.’

It’s a far cry from the days when people wouldset off on expeditions and not be heard of for thenext year. ‘I remember how the only way to getinformation was to stop fellow travellers en route. Ican clearly remember flashing headlights to slowpeople down in order to talk and share advice onsafe camping, road conditions and where to getclean water.

‘We used to have mail sent ahead to postoffices as poste restante. Now, you can emailsomeone from your Blackberry as you drive.’

None of this changes the fact that today, asmuch as ever, expeditions provide one of thegreatest forms of adventure known to man. GPS,sat phones and emergency beaconsnotwithstanding, there can be few thrills greaterthan setting off in a 4x4 to explore destinationsunknown. And it doesn’t matter how often you’vedone it, or how many places you’ve seen – the lureof the open road is never dulled by time.

Travelling the world by 4x4 may have becomePaul’s business, but it’s still his passion, too. That’swhy you’re as likely to find him halfway up amountain somewhere as putting the finishingtouches to another purpose-built expedition truckfor an excited client. Give him the chance, and he’llbe off like a shot, driving some dusty, long-forgotten trail with a huge smile on his weather-beaten face. Paul Marsh has been round the block,alright – in fact, he’s found blocks to go roundthat most of us never knew existed.

10 experiences not to miss…� Take the 4x4 and drive Van Zyl’s pass

in Namibia� Scuba diving, Bunaken Island, Sulawesi� Drive the Karakorum highway,

Pakistan into China� Camp at Kubu Island, Sua Pan,

Botswana� Canoe the Zambezi, including white

water rafting� Hike the Fish River canyon, South Africa� Spend Christmas with the gorillas in

Kibale Forest, Uganda� Track the desert elephants in Namibia� Climb Kilimanjaro, Tanzania� Microlight over the Victoria Falls

All the images on this page are from the 2005Friendship Rally from London to Sydney – one of themany long-distance classic and 4x4 events where Paulhas participated as mechanical/medical support crew

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