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Elisabeth Smits

Fred and Elisabeth Smits recently set out from New Zealand with their trusty 1957 220S Ponton on the first leg of a five-year trip around the world. In Part One of an occasional series, Elisabeth shares their experiences – so far – during Monterey Classic Car Week at Legends of the Autobahn … and beyond.

Mercedes-Benz at Monterey
 
AROUND THE WORLD IN A PONTON
 
Fred and Elisabeth Smits recently set out from New Zealand with their trusty 1957 220S Ponton on the first leg of a five-year trip around the world. In Part One of an occasional series, Elisabeth shares their experiences – so far – during Monterey Classic Car Week at Legends of the Autobahn … and beyond.
 
Article Elisabeth Smits
Images Fred and Elisabeth Smits, Gary Anderson, Jon Haverstick for Auto-Focused

 
So far, so good. Our 1957 220S Ponton is running well after repairing a slight brake fluid leak, the Zambezi camping trailer is comfortable and easy to manage, and everyone we’ve met is welcoming and friendly. With a few weeks and a bit more than 1,500 miles behind us, Fred and I are more optimistic than ever that our five-year trek will be the marvelous and successful experience that we were anticipating when we started making plans three years ago.
 

Above: We were proud to have our Ponton on display at Legends of the Autobahn. Only two weeks later, we pulled the trailer over the Continental Divide in Colorado.

The first question most people ask is how we ever decided to undertake such an adventure. It all began quite casually in 2011 when we began thinking about what we might do after Fred’s scheduled retirement in two years from his position as General Manager of New Zealand’s government-owned research vessels. 

On a flight to an international conference, Fred read Classic & Sports Car magazine’s article, “101 Ways to Live the Classic Dream,” about a coast-to-coast driving trip across the United States in a classic car. Doing some research on that idea, I accidentally bought the Rough Guides to Central and South America when I thought I was purchasing a guide to North America. Why not, we wondered, just make this a trip around the world?

Neither one of us is a stranger to overseas travel, or overcoming obstacles for that matter. In Fred’s work, planning a three-month scientific research voyage to Antarctica for 60 people was a typical assignment; in my line of work – caring for physically and mentally disabled children and the elderly – I’ve learned the importance of a positive attitude in any situation.

We’re also comfortable as a traveling team. It doesn’t hurt that we were both born on the same day one year apart and share the same astrological attributes, can count only three quarrels in the entire four decades we’ve been married, and equally gained experience in a number of challenging New Zealand rallies in our 1929 Willys-Overland Whippet – compared with which the Ponton is a thoroughly modern automobile.

We knew the Ponton we acquired in 2002 was the right choice for our odyssey. Researching long-distance drives we came across Dirk de Groen and Alexandra de Lespinasse – Dutch like ourselves – who at the time were preparing a 1958 219 Ponton for the 2013 Peking to Paris Rally (see The Star Nov.-Dec. 2013). Dirk gave us some very good advice and also connected us with Kevin Clemens who in 2002 had driven the Around the World in 80 Days Motor Challenge in a 1959 220S while working for an automobile magazine. Kevin was easy to contact and generous with advice based on his own experience, coincidentally dropping in on us in New Zealand while we were preparing for the trip.

In addition to planning a route that would take us across every continent except Antarctica, our more experienced friends strongly recommended that we carefully prepare the car and select a good camping trailer – we did realize we could be on our own in rough country for days or even weeks at a time.

The car was pretty much completely dismantled and reassembled to check and refurbish every part that could wear out or break on the rough roads and trails we had experienced in other rallies on various continents. After looking at tent trailers from companies in six different countries, we found the self-contained Zambezi – a versatile, sturdy but lightweight trailer manufactured in the Netherlands – which was a great excuse to return home in 2012 from where we had immigrated to New Zealand in 1985 and discuss modifications such as a larger water tank and expanded kitchen that would be needed.

By July of this year, the car and trailer were tested and ready. We shipped the car and trailer ahead to Los Angeles, and we were on our way. Retrieving our rig in the first week of August, we headed north up California’s Highway 1 to Monterey for Classic Car Week, found a campsite at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca overlooking the racetrack and vintage racecars, and participated in Legends of the Autobahn. Since then we have been pit-crew for Kevin at Bonneville as he secured  another speed record in his high-tech electric motorbike with sidecar, then driven out to Colorado Springs, where we were guests of the MBCA Rocky Mountain Region. We are now touring the national parks of the West before returning once again to California.

We’ll spend the winter traveling across the southern United States, and spring 2015 will find us traversing the East Coast into Canada. We plan to finish our circle of North America by July, then head south through Mexico into South America for the remainder of the year. For the rest of our tour, we’ll be blogging periodically at our website www.classicstrider.com, and always welcome friends – new and old – on our Facebook page. We also look forward to visiting MBCA sections across the continent and writing an occasional article for The Star during our trip. 



A drizzly early morning at Laguna Seca, likely to be a typical scene for us in the next five years.
 
FROM TOP, LEFT IN EACH ROW: Our versatile rig, a 1957 220S Ponton and Dutch-built Zambezi travel trailer complete with Mercedes wheels interchangeable with those on the car, on the docks in New Zealand. A photo of us in Colorado at MBCA Rocky Mountain Region’s event, Mountains, Movies & Mercedes. The cockpit of the car, which was completely disassembled and checked for the trip, with additional controls and gauges, sheepskin seat covers for comfort, and mounts for the GPS. We’re early risers, but the small racetrack site meant we didn’t have the shelter erected over our kitchen and dining room. The gas range and sink slide out from under the trailer, which has been fitted with additional batteries, an expanded water supply and a chemical toilet. Under our comfortable wood-slatted queen-size bed is space for clothing for all weather, as well as camping supplies.