- Two nature geeks, completely in love with each other, with adventure and with travelling the world – that’s how Renske Cox and Maarten van Pel describe themselves.
- Although they have experience with travelling and organising events on a business level, such an expedition was a true debut for both.
Renske Cox and Maarten van Pel, two explorers on their journey across Africa
Renske Cox and Maarten van Pel, two explorers on their journey across Africa“We wanted to investigate a sustainable way of travel and inspire others to make their lives more sustainable while travelling. We notice sustainability is often regarded as something we have to do, something that’s not fun and you can never do right. We want to change this: make it fun and approachable so that more people will join. And we chose the Škoda Enyaq because it’s a regular family car, which makes our expedition more approachable for others. Plus it’s efficient and big enough to store everything we need,” Renske explains.
The practical and spacious Enyaq attracts well-deserved attention.
The car is owned by a non-profit non-governmental organisation they set up for this expedition. The reason for this form of ownership was to show partners they didn’t seek any personal financial profit. The expedition is only feasible thanks to about thirty partners – not only is the expedition expensive, but they needed equipment that wasn’t available on the market.
As Maarten wraps up, what they find amazing about the expedition is showing locals in each country the possibility to drive long distances mostly using solar power. “We were stopped by a policeman in Nigeria the other day. When we told him it was an electric car, his jaw dropped, he even screamed in awe. We can really show the potential for the future, and the people here love it.”
If you’re interested in more information about this interesting electric adventure and would like to keep an eye on the two Dutch travellers, 4x4electric.com is full of great reading. And Storyboard will definitely be interested in how the trip goes as soon as they reach its southernmost point – so stay tuned!
Read more on their journey HERE
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
