Journalists and celebrities test-drive DYNAFLEX TECHNOLOGIES
For the past two years, most Batswana, like me, stayed home as travel was cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
So, you can imagine the glee felt by all of us who were selected by Shell Botswana to travel around the country to experience their new fuel formulation, DYNAFLEX Technologies.
When we received the invitation, we were immediately told we were going to be paired with other influencers as partners for the journey.
The die was cast and, to my excitement, I was given destination Maun, which offers the thrill of a relaxing drive on an open road with nothing but beautiful sounds and sights of nature to enjoy.
I made a short prayer to not be paired with one of those obnoxious celebrities who would bore me with taking a hundred pictures for Instagram and only choose one to share.
My prayers would be answered a few minutes later when I was paired with radio personality, Dollar Mac (Kgosi Kgosidintsi). What an amazing drive it was going to be!
Our starting point for the almost 1 000 kilometres journey was Maun, through Letlhakane to Palapye, all the way down to Gaborone.
There were planned activities at most stops along the way and our itinerary was set, but before we left, the Shell team took us through intensive training on safety. Easy, I thought to myself, as the training went on.
“No cellphones, seat belt on. Keep the speed limit,” were some of the most abused instructions throughout the training.
We learnt that DYNAFLEX Technology is the name of Shell’s latest fuel formulations for Shell V-Power unleaded and diesel fuels, which is specifically designed to help clean and protect car engines.
“When we speak about DYNAFLEX Technology, we mean the complex blends in our formulations that Shell has specially designed and enriched with powerful cleaning agents to help maintain the cleanliness of key fuel system components and protect them from the performance-robbing deposit.”
But that is secondary for someone like me, what I really wanted to know is fuel consumption, especially in the face of these fuel increases in a relatively short space.
All I was interested in was to know whether the Shell DYNAFLEX Technology fuels will provide minimum fuel consumption or not.
My question was to be answered when we eventually waved goodbye to the vibrant tourist town of Maun.
Dollar Mac and I were given the GD6 with a budget of P2 000 for fuel, but the team was adamant that we would bring lots of change. I wasn’t convinced!
By the way, Maun is ready to host us for the festive season.
I spent barely 24 hours in the village but I can tell you, the vibe is back!
For the charming tourist village whose economy was decimated by the pandemic, I am confident that by December the Maun we love will definitely be back in business, offering an opportunity for tourists – both local and international – to immerse themselves in culture and enjoy a lifetime safari experience, too.
Because we had driven around Maun a bit before we left, we topped up our fuel with only P150, so we were down to P1 850 on the budget.
As I gave little snippets on my social media, the one question that kept popping up was, “What is the benefit of this DYNAFLEX Technology?”
My journey had just begun; I am not a salesperson so no need to conceal the truth. I was yet to find out, too.
Dollar Mac drove most of the way. We were told there were hidden cameras in the vehicles to stop us from breaking the rules, so we stuck to the instructions: no over-speeding, no cellphones, no alcohol, and seat belts on as always.
As we travelled, I had reflected on what Covid-19 had robbed us of the past two years.
We had to deal with limited movement, sometimes even barred to travel across zones at a time when Batswana were warming up to local travel and beginning to appreciate the country’s amazing landscape and diverse culture.
We arrived in Letlhakane just after the lunch hour break. A team of supportive staff was waiting attentively to welcome us.
I wouldn’t know whether they treat all their customers the way they treated us or they were simply on their best behaviour because they knew we were coming, but their customer service was top notch. We topped up on fuel with P250 and proceeded.
We had another pit stop in Serowe and a sleepover in Palapye because Shell is serious about avoiding fatigue on the road.
The next day, we met with the team from Kasane, Thalefang Charles and Dignash, and travelled in a convoy down to Mahaplye where we were to meet fashion and lifestyle celebrities, Maxine Magwape and Charity Baaitse.
We topped up in Mahalapye with P480 and headed for our final destination. We were scheduled to arrive at 2pm but because travel photo-journalist, Charles, stopped often for photo ops, something that irked his partner, Dignash, we arrived an hour late.
Dignash, who was meeting the other celebrities for the first time, cracked a few jokes that I won’t share here, for now.
We found a major activation waiting for us at the Tlokweng Shell fuel station.
A warm welcome back, we received. All in all, Dollar Mac and I poured P730 fuel from the full tank we left with in Maun and arrived in Gaborone with a little over half a tank.
In the end, Shell was right; their DYNAFLEX Technology fuels had provided minimum fuel consumption, which allowed us to reach Gaborone on a fuel budget of less than P2 000.