It was in Tanzania in 2007. After my ‘self-driving’ experiences in South Africa and Namibia, I had insisted on renting an off-road car without driver in Tanzania as well, in order to get away from the usual tourist circuits, go on our own and have a real travel experience. Many people told me that the rental cars available there were not very good. In the end I found a Toyota RAV4, a vehicle suitable for parking on the pavement in Milan but totally inappropriate for the tracks in Tanzania. At that time I did not realise this. So after hundreds of kilometres on tracks in the middle of the mountains, after crossing rivers, canyons, passing over rocks and shattered concrete roads – finally and right in the middle of the Serengeti National Park, a shock absorber came off, making a terrifying noise. With the help of a group of safarists I removed it completely, but the car was subsequently so unstable that at speeds above 25km/h it was almost impossible to keep it on track. I remember that, in defiance of park rules, we drove all night through to get out of the park, amidst herds of buffalos, giraffes and surrounded by the night noises of the African bush, above us only the stars. Alone. We only met a group of truck drivers dismantling their truck in the middle of the track. I have a fantastic memory of that night, which ended with an unbelievable bollocking from the park guards as we exited the gate.
I learnt one important thing about travelling: when everything goes really, really wrong – then you start having fun! Anyway, the next day I attacked the hirer with the shock absorber in hand.
