Around the World by Tractor – For the Second Time

29.03.2004

Hurault had managed to drive almost 10,000 kilometres from France to Vladivostok via Sweden, up and around the Gulf of Botnia into Finland, down through Suolahti and Helsinki and onwards through Moscow. He had shaken hands with Finland’s Agriculture Minister Kalevi Hemilä in Helsinki, slept and cooked in the trailer that he pulled behind him, and ploughed fields in Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia in a sign of solidarity with his fellow farmers around the world.
After all this his epic journey was cut short upon arrival in California. Alarmed by the foot and mouth epidemic in Europe, American officials refused to disinfect Hurault’s tractor and denied him entry into the US. Negotiations were not helped by the increased security following 9.11. As a result, the tractor was shipped back to Japan and from there onwards to France.

If at first you don’t succeed

“The highlights of the trip for me were meeting Santa Claus in Rovaniemi and driving across the Red Square in Moscow escorted by police,” Hurault remembers fondly having recovered well from his disappointment. The French mechanic and truck driver is already prepared for his new attempt at circling the globe, set to begin next winter.
Most of us would have given up already, but not Christian Hurault. He has already undertaken around forty similar expeditions by tractor, motorbike, car, truck and even combine harvester. His name has appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records no less than five times. Who else would have travelled from Paris to Moscow by tractor, or crossed the Sahara by combine harvester?
Behind all these stunts lies Hurault’s will to help African farmers. His Trakto’Dak association has already transported 150 tonnes of donated goods to the African countryside, including water pumps, agricultural machinery, medicines, school supplies and toys. His first goodwill mission took him to Senegal in 1987. Eight villages were supplied with tractors that were driven all the way from France and whose trailers were loaded with the implements and spare parts needed to put them to good use.

Helping other people

Hurault’s driving stunts have created a lot of publicity for his charity work. Stories about his adventures have appeared in newspapers around the world, not to mention specialist agricultural and transportation publications. A cartoon of Hurault driving a tractor through the desert has even appeared in a Mickey Mouse comic book along with the caption (spoken by giraffes): “It’s a bit like the Paris-Dakar rally, only more useful.”
Monsieur Hurault saw in the millennium while driving a ValtraValmet 600 tractor across the Sahara dunes. The journey from Brittany, France through Morocco and Mauritania all the way to Dakar took just over a month.
“The tractor survived the 5,000 kilometre ordeal despite the worst possible conditions. We covered 2,300 kilometres in just 4 days in Morocco, and then 700 kilometres on extremely bad roads through Mauritania. The whole way we had no technical problems whatsoever and just cruised at an average speed of 28 km/h,” Hurault comments on his website. On this journey he brought with him school supplies donated by villagers from his hometown in France to the Kébémer school and library in Senegal.
The 46-year-old world traveller currently lives in the small village of Anjou, population 900, and drives a truck for a living. Hurault is currently writing a book about his adventures. This winter he was unable to make the trip to Africa. “My wife will instead fly to Senegal to bring the books that have been donated to the school library,” Hurault confirms assuredly.
Hurault’s first trip to Africa with friends in 1979 stole his heart, and since then he has returned to the beautiful continent almost every year. “I have contacts in Mali, Morocco and especially one particular school in Senegal, which we support through our association. The people in this country live in such poverty that it seems only natural to want to help them.”

See more photos from Christian Hurault’s amazing adventures on the Trakto’Dak website www.tractodak.fr.st (English and French).

 

Exclusive: Interview with Christian Hurault

“My sense of adventure comes from the comic books I read as a child”

Christian Hurault, what is your profession?
“I am currently a truck driver, but I have also worked as a mechanic on agricultural machinery for 20 years.”

Where do your sense of adventure and principles of solidarity come from?
“My sense of adventure comes from the comic books I read as a child”

Where do you live?
“In France in the province of Isère, in a village with 900 inhabitants called Anjou.”

You are the voice of international solidarity between farmers. What is your opinion about the influence of the EU on European farming?
“I think we will still have a lot to learn about sharing in May 2004, when there will be 25 countries in the EU. This will create huge changes and hopefully increase Europe’s influence, especially against the ‘American monster’.”

What kind of co-operation do you have with Valtra?
“In 1999 I decided to see in the year 2000 in a unique way by crossing the dunes in the Sahara. I then contacted various tractor manufacturers, most of whom – including Renault – turned me down. Valtra France, however, donated a 60-horsepower Valtra 6200 tractor with extra tyres. It turned out to be a complete success. We had no problems on the 5,400-kilometre journey from Dinan to Dakar. I was met by the Senegalese parliament and was even allowed to take part in the start of the Dakar-Cairo rally, which was shown on television in France and abroad.
“Right after this tour I suggested to Valtra France a project for circling the globe by tractor. After three months of thinking everything over they gave me the green light. There was a lot of organising that had to be done in quite a short space of time; we had a visa problem in Russia and insurance problems in Japan and the USA.
“Two days before we left Paris (21.2.2001) the foot and mouth epidemic broke out in England, after which there were several cases in Holland, Belgium and France. This caused tough problems for the rest of the trip. In Sweden I was prevented from visiting livestock farms. After Scandinavia and Russia I was unable to drive in Japan, as they I had insufficient insurance. From there the tractor was shipped to Los Angeles, where Californian health officials prevented the tractor from proceeding (9.9.2001) due to the foot and mouth scare. I tried to persuade the officials, but after two days came the attack on the World Trade Center (11.9.2001). There was nothing left to do. Still I waited for one month trying to get permission, but it was in vain. The journey had come to an end, and I was really disappointed. You can read more about this unfortunately unsuccessful journey on the Trakto’Dak website.”

Have you written a book about your round the world attempt?
“I am currently writing a story about all my adventures, but it is not yet completed.”

You are setting off around the world again in the winter of 2005-6. Have you already found a sponsor among tractor manufacturers?
“We are still planning the project. I have been in contact with a certain manufacturer, but nothing has yet been confirmed.”

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