On the road with a Trabant

 Dan Priban has already travelled halfway around the world driving a stable of bright yellow Trabi automobiles, the spluttering signature cars of defunct East German communism.

Now the 39-year-old adventurer from the Czech Republic has set himself another arduous task.

“I’ve done Africa, Asia and South America, so it’s time to set off for Australia,” says Priban, announcing an expedition that will also chug its through Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Priban remains fiercely loyal to the rough-and-ready Trabant car as a mode of transport.

The mechanically simple vehicle with its flimsy, synthetic body boasts no modern driver aids like four-wheel drive and ABS braking.

“It is a straightforward, but robust car,” insists Priban.

In East Germany Trabants, were renowned for their longevity rather than for any creature comforts. Many thousands of them are still in regular use today.

The two estate versions of the Trabant 601 earmarked for the “Transtrabant” exhibition are currently being fettled for the trip at a workshop near Prague. The Trabis are packed with equipment and sport rugged, roof-mounted luggage racks.

They are to be joined by a diminutive Polski Fiat 126, the antiquated Polish-made version of an Italian runabout, and by two Czech-made Jawa motorcycles.

The whole outfit of rudimentary, communist-era mechanical glories fits into just one container, which is being shipped to Perth, Western Australia in time for Priban to pick them up when he arrives in early April.

The multinational crew includes two wheelchair-bound members.

“They are used to coping with difficult situations,” Priban says. The pair, Kuba Koucky and Kika Madajova, will drive one of the cars. Their Trabant 601H is fitted with an automatic clutch and hand gear-change mechanism.

The cars have seen a lot of action already. During their last trip, to South America, they tackled steep mountain roads and fragile wooden bridges half eaten away with rot. The most alarming experience came while they were running along the Pacific coast.

“We were driving along the beach when suddenly we got caught up in a current,” Priban recalls. “For a time we thought the cars would be swept away.”

The saltwater ducking left its mark too. An expedition mechanic had to strip down the engines, gearboxes and most of the bodywork to ensure that the seawater had caused no lasting damage.

The inspiration for the challenging Trabi trips came eight years ago: Priban and two pals originally wanted to undertake globe-spanning trips with a Land Rover but they had neither a suitable off-road vehicle nor the cash to buy one.

Trabis were cheaper to get hold off, says Priban, adding that the cars are very basic and devoid of anything too complicated to fix when the inevitable breakdowns happen. The nine Czech, Polish and Slovak expedition members will have to contend with intense heat in the Australian desert and in the forests of Southeast Asia. The bodywork of the Trabi is fashioned from a pressed resin material known as Duroplast.

It does not melt, “but I suppose it could catch fire,” says Priban with a grin. Duroplast is actually inflammable.

Although all the expedition’s vehicles were designed for the bitter winters of central Europe, maintaining coolant levels will be no problem, since the Trabi has an air-cooled, two-stroke motor. This accounts for its trademark rattly noise. 

“The faster you drive, the better the cooling function,” asserts the Czech.

And what of Australia’s and Southeast Asia’s notorious poisonous snakes?

“At the zoo they told us that snakes are usually more frightened of us than we are of them,” Priban says.

“They warned us to be on guard against the Australian echidna, or spiny anteater. The bodies of road-killed examples are still spiky, and their quills can puncture car tyres.”

The expedition route takes the team from Perth along several thousand kilometres of rocky tracks to the legendary Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock. After Sydney, the Trabis will drive to Darwin and ship across to East Timor.

Indonesia, straddling the equator, will put the air cooling to a continuous test. The four-month trek up through Southeast Asia will include a loop through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The final destination is the Thai capital Bangkok where the expedition will ship home.

The crew can concentrate all their energy on driving and repairing rather than worrying about finances because a crowd-funding campaign swiftly raised the equivalent of 73,000 euros (Bt2.6 million).

Priban was taken aback by the unexpected windfall.

“We thought it would take a month to raise just a quarter of that sum,” says the Czech. Australia is the most expensive destination his group have picked so far, mainly because of the shipping costs.

Priban already has his sights on the epic journey after that. Together with mechanic Zdenek Kratky and the rest of the crew, he plans to start where his first Trabi adventure along the Silk Road left off eight years ago.

That route will take them through Myanmar, Nepal and Tajikistan.

“That would mean we have come full circle,” he muses.