Classic Safari Challenge

Classic Safari Challenge
Charging into the Dust by Cabtography

Monday, April 25, 2011

Preparation for the Geat Game

This is about the "Puce Goose", a 1969 Plus 8 Morgan, and Driver & Navigator, Philip and Laurette Macwhirter from Melbourne Australia.

Our Morgan known locally as "The Puce Goose" has had many adventures and trips.
In January 1969  it left the Morgan factory, one of the first 20 Moss box Plus 8's.
It then went to Scotland where it fell into ruin by the mid 1980's at which time it was brought back to England where it was partially restored prior to being shipped to New Zealand.  In 2000, Laurette and I purchased it and arranged for a shipping container to be ready in Auckland where it was loaded up and shipped off to Melbourne.

We then rebuilt it and in 2002 shipped it to UK, from where we drove to Mainz, Germany for the start of the classic car rally, "The Trial to the Nile".

That rally travelled through 10 countries over 3 continents, through Eastern Europe, down through Syria and Jordan, finishing in front of ther pyramids at Giza, outside of Cairo, Egypt.  In that trial we won our class for larger engined sports cars.

From Cairo we drove up to Alexandria and again lashed the Puce Goose down into a container for the voyage back to Australia.

Back in Australia we have taken part in various local rallies and touring events.  With the Morgan Motor Company celebrating its Centenary in 2009, we placed the Puce Goose in a container and shipped again to UK where we attended a week of festivities with 3,000 other Morgans which had also made the pilgrimage back to Malvern, home of the Morgan Motor Company.  Following the celebrations we set off for a few weeks in France and then back to the UK for another sea voyage home for the Morgan.

This latest trip is to take part in "The Great Game" classic car rally, organised by ROARR,

http://www.roarrallies.com/future_rallies/overview.html?rallyId=6

The Puce Goose has been extensivley rebuilt for the rigours of this trip which starts in Istanbul, Turkey and finishes in Calcutta, India.



In Mid June this year we will be shipping to Felixstowe UK.