Digital media and MAN Truck & Bus South Africa have brought African road transport to living rooms across the world. Tristan Wiggill provides a One Man Kann update to the halfway point.

By the time you read this, adventurer Riaan Manser and co-driver Nduna Chari have returned to South Africa, having driven through nine countries in Africa on an epic journey totalling 13 234 km and lasting 53 days.

The digitally captured journey saw the One MAN Kann team travel up the east coast of Africa to Nairobi, before returning via the west coast to Johannesburg.

Having met Manser a few months ago, I’ve taken a keen interest in his latest adventure. I hear so much about the travails of African road transporters, never seeing the realities for myself – until now – albeit through the desensitised screen of my laptop.

Even from my comfortable vantage point, the scale of the journey has not been watered down. But for many in cross-border transport, this is a part of their daily life, minus the glamour of Internet broadcast.

Manser was given just four days of training before taking the wheel of the new Euro 5, 56 tonne 26.540 TGX. In his first real-world assignment, he drove the truck from Johannesburg to Nelspruit on what is a common long-haul delivery route, before teaming up with Chari – one of the country’s best drivers – from RTMS-accredited Manline.

Departing Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal on 8 September, the crew stopped over at the company’s head office in Isando before properly setting off, where Manser learned that the TGX had been sold, which did little to calm his nerves.

In what was an early test of his endurance, Manser then completed the entire drive to Swaziland, noting the organisational efficiency of the Oshoek border post. Overnighting in Manzini, the guys headed for Mozambique the day after – a special place for Manser, having cycled the entire length of the country’s coastline.

Mosquito nets and anti-malaria prophylactics were loaded into the truck and donated to needy communities along the journey towards Nairobi. When the team entered Mozambique, the accompanying film crew were advised to stop filming. By this time, Manser and Co. had become frustrated with Mozambique’s immigration officials, spending three and a half hours at the border.

In Tete, the team was stopped at a military checkpoint. Deteriorating road conditions and fast-reducing tarmac have contributed to numerous truck accidents in the region, with many a damaged heavy vehicle abandoned alongside the road in what have become eerie ‘truck graveyards’.

After recovering from a fever, Manser and Chari made their way through Malawi, headed for Tanzania. Manser was tasked with night driving on this stretch, which proved taxing in almost total darkness. Although a common practice for seasoned transporters, navigating a rickety-looking wooden bridge raised the team’s anxiety levels.

A visit to Lake Malawi reminded the team of Africa’s inherent natural beauty. But the serenity was short-lived when Kenyan border officials kept the crew motionless for 53 hours in an area known as ‘no-man’s land’. Free-roaming buffalo and zebra added to the challenge of navigating heavily depreciated roads. And, by the time of their Dar es Salam arrival, temperatures had risen to 38°C, as Africa’s heat taxed man and machine equally.

With Nairobi in sight, and with an armed escort behind them, the TGX was inched on to a trusted ferry. Back on dry land, the truck made contact with another road-going vehicle, which was quickly remedied at a local MAN dealership. From there, the team left the tar and entered the bush.