Johnnie Johnson... a name that is smooth on the tongue, a name that would have suited a gunfighter in America’s Wild West. And indeed Johnnie Johnson was one of the adventurously-minded men of his time. Together with five other members of the Cape Town Vespa Club he set out on a daredevil expedition through the Fish River Canyon in 1968. In June 2010 he and two of his old buddies returned to the world’s second-largest canyon for a reunion. Only eight months later, on 7 February 2011, he set out on his last journey.

At the reunion party at the Cañon Roadhouse Johnnie Johnson was the last standing at the bar. At the ripe old age of 76 years, after two heart attacks and two bypass operations he still radiated charm and an enterprising spirit. And he visibly enjoyed the slide-show which made the great adventure in the Fish River Canyon come alive once more.

In 1968 Johnnie Johnson accepted a crazy bet which he planned to win together with a few fellow members of the Cape Town Vespa Club. They were going to leave the first scooter tracks in the Fish River Canyon. They descended into the gorge at the Hobas viewing point. If possible, they wanted to take the scooters all the way (80 km) to Ai-Ais. They managed to achieve their main goal: they did leave the first tyre tracks in the second-largest canyon on earth. Especially those who have been at Hobas and looked down 500 m deep will appreciate the enormous effort. In fact it was a near impossible undertaking and they failed in their arduous attempt to bring at least one scooter to Ai-Ais, negotiating steep rock faces, sand, boulders and water.

The media nevertheless treated the six men like heroes. Gondwana’s managing director Mannfred Goldbeck, who has a penchant for history, was able to trace Johnson and his friend Graham Nell with the help of an old newspaper report of the 1968 Vespa expedition. The two friends then got in touch with two other members of the team: Aubrey Jackson, who also attended the reunion, and Terry Davidson, who was kept away by business. Both of them live in Cape Town. The whereabouts of the remaining two participants were unknown.

But not for long. Peter Derichs was the first to get in touch from Johannesburg. His sister, who lives in Namibia, had read about the reunion in a newspaper and brought it to Peter’s attention. A few months later an email arrived from Tony Beckley in Brisbane, Australia. By chance he had come across an internet report of the reunion. And so the contact between the veteran adventurers was re-established, just in time before Johnnie Johnson embarked on his last journey after an exciting and fulfilled life. Please see the obituary by Mannfred Goldbeck.

- With three Vespas through the Fish River Canyon

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