Desert-conqueror Kevin Camilleri was mobbed by family and friends yesterday as he returned home, three days after becoming the first Maltese to complete the Heroes Legend Paris to Dakar rally.
I’m really looking forward to driving my comfortable car
Mr Camilleri, 40, looked understandably jaded as he strolled through the airport arrivals gate, but his face lit up as he saw his wife Roberta and two young daughters for the first time in three-and-a-half weeks.
“I’m a bit overwhelmed, I wasn’t expecting everyone to be here,” he said, as other relatives and friends crowded round.
Mr Camilleri finished the 6,500km rally last Saturday in 10th position overall.
His British team-mate and close friend Perry Newton placed 13th.
Together, the intrepid duo raced through France, Spain, Morocco and Mauritania on their KTM 690R Enduro bikes before finishing in the Senegalese capital Dakar.
“I’m really looking forward to driving my comfortable car instead of a bike,” Mr Camilleri quipped, as his daughter chastised him for not wearing enough suncream in the desert.
During the 15-day race Mr Camilleri and Mr Newton had to contend with flash floods in Spain and exhausting sand dunes, dehydration and temperatures touching 50˚C once they reached the Sahara.
On stage eight in Mauritania, both men were forced to sleep rough in the desert separately after fighting a losing battle with sand dunes to reach their camp in time; Mr Newton was eventually airlifted to camp suffering from dehydration.
Mr Camilleri’s wife said she started to really worry about her husband after that, but both riders got back on their bikes and continued the race.
The only time Mr Camilleri considered giving up was when veteran British rider Gordon Macpherson was found dead next to his bike, possibly from dehydration or heat exhaustion.
“That day I really didn’t want to ride, I was scared,” Mr Camilleri admitted. “The support from back home kept me going”.
Three days after finishing the race, Mr Camilleri confessed it still hadn’t sunk in.
“Perry and I have just been staring at each other for the past few days. It feels like something is missing,” he said.
Does that mean he is thinking about another challenge?
“Maybe just a small one,” he said, acknowledging it was hard being away from his wife and children.
How did it feel to be the first Maltese to complete the rally?
“It’s great. It’s not easy to find something no one else has done that was not impossible,” he joked.
Mr Camilleri and Mr Newton undertook the challenge to raise funds for the Malta Community Chest Fund, Cancer Research UK and Unicef UK. Donations can still be made by sending a blank SMS to 5061 6134 for €1.16, 5061 7387 (€2.33), 5061 8064 (€4.66), 5061 8936 (€6.99) or 5061 9231 (€11.64).