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Those travelling the Sahara in moving vehicles following Irish friend (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

caravans

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'those travelling the sahara in moving' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'vehicles following irish friend' is the wordplay.
'vehicles' becomes 'vans' (van is a kind of vehicle).
'following' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'irish friend' becomes 'cara' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'vans' after 'cara' is 'CARAVANS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for caravans that I've seen before include "Processions of camels travelling together in single file" , "Camper equipped with living quarters" , "Vehicles fitted for living in" , "Travellers" , "Mobile homes towed by cars" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times.
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