Woman drives from Scotland to Cape Town

Posted on 16 January 2019

Laura Morrison drove from Aberdeen, Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa in memory of Neil Morrison, her late father who lost his life to cancer two years ago, and in a bid to raise funds for cancer research. The trip had long been a dream of her father’s, and so Laura opted to do it in his place, choosing Neil’s bright blue 1958 Morris Minor named ‘Charlie’ as her noble steed to see her through the journey.

 

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Today is the first day of the drive and also marks the two year anniversary of my Dad’s passing. All funds raised go directly to Cancer Research so that hopefully in the future more people will be able to drive their own adventures. Thanks to everyone for coming along for the ride ❤️❤️ Laura Morrison DONATE HERE:- https://morri-2-africa.everydayhero.com/nz/team-morri2africa all donations go directly to the Cancer Society’s Research Centre

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Aberdeen! Finally here, can’t believe it! . . . The journey begins tomorrow, anyone wishing to pop along and say farewell the meet up point is Ghillies Lair AB125XA from 10am, hitting the road to Edinburgh at midday 🚙🚙🚙🚙🚙 . . . . #morri2africa #aberdeentocapetown #scotlandtosouthafrica #cairotocapetown #londontocapetown #cancersociety #cancersocietynz #cancersocietyauckland #cancersocietyfundraiser #cancerreallysucks #charitydrive #letsadventure #morrisminor #morrisminortraveller #roadtrip #fundraising #fightcancer #cancersucks #adventure #everydayhero #classiccar #africanroadtrip #morrisminorphotography #bbcafricagirltalk #bbcafrica #guardiantravel #aberdeen #scotland

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Laura’s epic journey began in June 2018 in Aberdeen, the birthplace of her dad, from there she travelled across Europe, visiting England, France and Spain – from here, Charlie the car was shipped to Egypt.

 

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Today my cousin @linseyloves joins me for her section of the drive from London to Valencia. We’ve started with a jaunt around London for a few iconic pics. It’s a pleasure to have you come along cuz, thanks for doing your part to support Cancer Research with $372 raised already!!!! . . . Thanks to @timofk1 & @thekiwihaslanded for putting me up for the week and for the endless tips on France Tim, are you sure you don’t want to come along and translate? 😜 . . . . The Queen didn’t invite us in for tea but we did manage to avoid the bobbies and get a cheeky picture in front of her pad. . . . DONATE HERE:- https://morri-2-africa.everydayhero.com/nz/team-morri2africa all donations go directly to the Cancer Society’s Research Centre . . . #morri2africa #aberdeentocapetown #scotlandtosouthafrica #cairotocapetown #londontocapetown #cancersociety #cancersocietynz #cancersocietyauckland #charitydrive #letsadventure #morrisminor #roadtrip #fundraising #cancersucks #adventure #everydayhero #classiccar #africanroadtrip #bbcafricagirltalk #bbcafrica #guardiantravel #cnnafrica #buckinghampalace #towerbridge #theshard

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🇫🇷 We got up at 5am yesterday to get that shot of Charlie and the Eiffel Tower & to avoid traffic on the way out of Paris. Met a lovely bunch of bikers doing the same thing! . . . . Thanks for letting us stay Paris, ❤️ the amazing streets, attractions & food. Roundabouts without lanes………definitely fancy less of those though 😳 . . . . All feeling great we just decided to see how far we could get and managed the as far as Bordeaux, which means we’re rewarded with a rest day today. Just finished our cuppas and about to hire some bikes for a cycle around the vineyards. . . . DONATE HERE:- https://morri-2-africa.everydayhero.com/nz/team-morri2africa all donations go directly to the Cancer Society’s Research . . . @linseyloves

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🇪🇸 The Grande Benin 🚢, Charlie’s ride later on this evening from Europe to AFRICA!!!!! Should take about 10 days and then it’s the real deal. It was amazing driving around in Charlie over the last month, really felt like both of us were finding our feet, it’s going to be a long 10 days without him, basically I miss him, bit silly I know! @nmtshipping & @grimaldilines please make sure you look after him for me. . . . Got plenty to be cracking on with though, visas for Sudan for both @thekiwihaslanded & I, so waiting for my flight to London at this very minute. Anyone wanting to catch up in London this week then holla at me 💂🏽‍♂️😎🍺💂🏽‍♂️😎🍺

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Laura and Charlie then continued driving from Egypt, where Laura met a $20,000 mark of donations for cancer research – just $10,000 shy of her $30,000 target. A friend of Laura’s, Iain, joined her at this point in the trip, and together with Charlie the three of them crossed over the Nile river and set off for Sudan.

The trip saw lots of bumps along the way, from getting stuck in mud to getting stuck in sand. However, the trio’s zealousness never ceased. Laura’s experience of the people she encountered in the various African countries she passed through were both inspiring and heartwarming.

 

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🇸🇩 Tea stops are one of my favourite parts of the day, they are a much needed break from the driving but more importantly a chance to chat in broken Arabic with the tea shop owners and fellow drivers on the side of the road. There’s lots of confusion and hand signals but always smiles and laughter all round. . . . I’ve had six cups of tea today and only managed to pay for half of them, I’m truly humbled by the generosity, when we try and pay our hands get slapped away and it becomes impossible no matter how hard we try to insist. Instead we’re trying to pay it forward as much as we possibly can, by sharing our food & petrol. Even still I fear that we’re going to leave this country very indebted to these amazing hosts ❤️

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After the three arrived in Sudan, Iain flew back to London and Laura was joined by another friend, Fin, for her Ethiopian leg of the trip. Here again, various hiccups in the form of multiple breakdowns occurred along the road.

 

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🇪🇹 Except we didn’t chill, we got our hands dirty with Worku and the fine mechanics of WD Auto Service in Addis for the better part of the day, and after hours into the evening! . . . Turns out the distributor was the main issue, although the carburettor got a good clean as well and a bit of welding on the rear suspension was required. . . . Along with Worku’s expertise, the Whitworth tools, the spare parts, and of course the Haines Manual I packed in NZ were essential. I have very limited knowledge of what’s going on but I’m learning and am glad of the gear I prepped as it’s turning out to be useful! A huge thank you to Worku who definitely didn’t charge nearly enough for his service (regardless of how hard I tried) and got up at the crack of dawn today to follow up with some tuning and to see us off. . . . We hit the road south this morning with a much improved Charlie. Still feels like a bit of tuning needs to happen as we come down in altitude as the power still isn’t 100%, so we’re experimenting 😳 eek! Watch this space, we aren’t out of the woods yet team. . . . Thanks to everyone for their supportive comments and instruction. I’m loving receiving everyone’s advice even if I don’t get to respond straight away ❤️ . . DONATE by following link through website in bio. All donations go directly to the Cancer Society’s Research Centre.

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The travelers journeyed from Ethiopia to Kenya, where the three visited Lake Nakuru National Park, the Maasai Mara National Park and Diani Beach near Mombasa, where Laura got a chance to swim in the warm aquamarine waters. After Kenya came Tanzania, and the team had a look around attractions such as Zanzibar and Mikumi National Park. They then moved into Malawi, Zambia (where Laura was born) and on to Zimbabwe, the 13th country in the trip.

Next came Botswana, where they checked out Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta. Laura then travelled to Namibia for the last leg of the trip, which she completed on her own – not counting trusty old Charlie.

Laura had raised $28,294 by this time, and with $1,706 and a day-and-a-half to go until her trip was over, her and Charlie charged towards the finish line. When the two arrived in Cape Town, Laura was greeted by friends and enjoyed a cold draught at a beach-side restaurant. In total, Laura raised $32,000 in order to help cancer research.

If you would possibly like to donate to Laura’s cause, you can do so here. For more about her brave and extraordinary journey, visit Laura’s Instagram page, Facebook page, or website.

 

Image source: Instagram/ Morri 2 Africa






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