Date: 26th Feb 08
Location: Kita, Mali
Weather: Hazy blue skies and so much sunshine, 49°c!!!!!!!!!!
Status: All good except the Coloel who needs a new part J
Hell and heaven….the only way to describe the difference between yesterdays road and today’s. We left Kita and pulled straight onto a perfect new tarmac road which ran all the way to the capital, Bamako and how the spirits lifted! We put the cd on, kicked back and took in the scenery as the temperature rose and rose.
The suspension on the colonel was really a concern on the way in, as I braked there was definite pull to one side and getting to a safe place to park up became paramount in my mind but after 120kms we finally pulled into the outskirts of the city, Luke’s now highly improved navigation skills took us directly into the centre and before too long we found our destination…a catholic mission in the centre of all the typical African city madness!
We arrived and found the doors were always closed between 13:00 and 16:00hrs so we had to sit and wait in the street outside, baking in the hottest temps yet which touched nearly 50°c with constant street sellers and annoyances at the window. When we finally got in, it was another oasis in a mental city with a secure courtyard which we could set the tent up in for the night.
Its run a by a group of sisters and has a WIDE array of people staying here for next to nothing, a superb American man whose travelled extensively over the last few years….watching people, a brilliant man from Hong Kong who doesn’t say much but doesn’t need to as he’s great company and a car load of French sandal wearers on “a mission”…..oooooo.
So we settled in and went out for dinner with the two guys and both have asked me separately if they could join me for the journey to Cape Town, should Owen not make it! It’ll take a bit more than a night out to trust someone with the Colonel as I run in front, there’s only so fast I can go!
Then Luke headed out for the night of Malian music with a new friend, Charlie. I wrote the address of the mission on his arm….just in case, I know Luke J wrote this and went to bed.
End of day location: Bamako, Mali
Distance covered: 180kms
Wednesday 27 February 2008
25th Feb 08
Date: 25th Feb 08
Location: Kita, Mali
Weather: Clear blue skies and damn hot sunshine, 44°c
Status: Ben & Luke – tried, hot and frustrated, Colonel – locks and handles seizing up in the dust!
The hardest day yet on the trip both physically and mentally; lack of food, cold water and a decent road meant that frustrations hit a peak and we tested ourselves to the limits….no chance of training today at all!
Left our bush camp early to try and get to Bamako in time to get to the bank before it closed but the quality of the roads soon out pay to that idea. When we pulled into the first village to say hello a guy came up to us and drew a little map of the raod ahead and told us of the problems we’d face, and he wasn’t wrong at all!
The road changed from sections of loose gravels, to the fine dust which had entered every part of the vehicle and even included some challenging crossings of dry river beds which meant using a good run up, low range and difflock…again not the nest way to treat a broken suspension!
The 75kms to the “promised land” of the tarmac road took a little over 5 hours and with the lack of a decent breakfast both of us felt tired and irritable, so when we finally arrived in Toukoto, passing over a 500m rail bridge, and were greeted by more of the same road surface we hit a low point and both questioned continuing for the day!
Several of the people we’d spoken to talked of a good tarmac road which would slingshot us to the capital, but an African’s opinion of a good road is very different to ours! Yes it was a main road, well wide enough to take two cars, and yes it had been graded but none of the bridges or river crossings had been finished so it was the same up and down the verges as we’d had for the past four days! When Charlie the German ex-special forces had described it as an amazing journey he hadn’t been wrong, but all we wanted was a fast exit!
After two hours we arrived in the town of Kita and our first electrically fed piece of civilisation for almost a week, we wound our way down the back streets and found the dusty campsite we’d planned to stay at! A little oasis in the middle of town, with cold showers, dinner at eight and right in the centre near to a local bar. So we headed there for some light refreshment and met a gent from Ghana who gave us the address of his sons in Accra who well call and meet when we arrive in the country, returned to the camp for fish and potato supper and hit the tent after a mad, testing and exhausting day.
Will clean and fix the locks tomorrow and make the three hour trip to the capital…..finally!
End of day location: Kita, Mali
Distance covered: 170kms
Location: Kita, Mali
Weather: Clear blue skies and damn hot sunshine, 44°c
Status: Ben & Luke – tried, hot and frustrated, Colonel – locks and handles seizing up in the dust!
The hardest day yet on the trip both physically and mentally; lack of food, cold water and a decent road meant that frustrations hit a peak and we tested ourselves to the limits….no chance of training today at all!
Left our bush camp early to try and get to Bamako in time to get to the bank before it closed but the quality of the roads soon out pay to that idea. When we pulled into the first village to say hello a guy came up to us and drew a little map of the raod ahead and told us of the problems we’d face, and he wasn’t wrong at all!
The road changed from sections of loose gravels, to the fine dust which had entered every part of the vehicle and even included some challenging crossings of dry river beds which meant using a good run up, low range and difflock…again not the nest way to treat a broken suspension!
The 75kms to the “promised land” of the tarmac road took a little over 5 hours and with the lack of a decent breakfast both of us felt tired and irritable, so when we finally arrived in Toukoto, passing over a 500m rail bridge, and were greeted by more of the same road surface we hit a low point and both questioned continuing for the day!
Several of the people we’d spoken to talked of a good tarmac road which would slingshot us to the capital, but an African’s opinion of a good road is very different to ours! Yes it was a main road, well wide enough to take two cars, and yes it had been graded but none of the bridges or river crossings had been finished so it was the same up and down the verges as we’d had for the past four days! When Charlie the German ex-special forces had described it as an amazing journey he hadn’t been wrong, but all we wanted was a fast exit!
After two hours we arrived in the town of Kita and our first electrically fed piece of civilisation for almost a week, we wound our way down the back streets and found the dusty campsite we’d planned to stay at! A little oasis in the middle of town, with cold showers, dinner at eight and right in the centre near to a local bar. So we headed there for some light refreshment and met a gent from Ghana who gave us the address of his sons in Accra who well call and meet when we arrive in the country, returned to the camp for fish and potato supper and hit the tent after a mad, testing and exhausting day.
Will clean and fix the locks tomorrow and make the three hour trip to the capital…..finally!
End of day location: Kita, Mali
Distance covered: 170kms
24th Feb 08
Date: 24th Feb 08
Location: Bafoulabe, Mali
Weather: hazy sunshine, bloomin hot at about 44°c
Status: Ben – all good, Luke – fed up with African roads and progress, Colonel – all greased up and ready to go (apart from a broken suspension!)
Up early and treated the Colonel to a good greasing session to keep everything underneath running smoothly after a couple of really dry and dusty days bouncing around to get here, the suspension bush which has sheared is a cause for concern but there’s nothing that can be done until we get to Bamako so will just have to take it easy and keep and eye on it.
Made slow progress for the first hour of the day along the usual twisting dry and dusty tracks until we suddenly arrived at the Balofe river, which flows into the Senegal river which we were at a week ago. An absolute pleasure to see some flowing water after the last couple of days on the road, so once we’d found a suitable spot we both jumped in (after checking with the locals it was ok first!) and washed the dirt, grime and heat from our bodies.
Made our way up the river to the delightful town of Bafoulabe which runs for a few kms along the river, it’s a lovely place after the dry roads with fields of vegetables, tree lined streets and happy faces everywhere saying hello as we drove through the narrow main street.
The ferry across the river departs a couple of kms to the north so we made our way to it to find it on the opposite bank empty. As we were the only vehicle there they tried to charge us CFA10,000 but with my diplomacy and Luke’s ranting they dropped it to CFA6000…which the guide book quotes, ha Africans!
A nightmare of a road followed for the next 50kms as it tracked another river to the east on what we thought should be the main road to Kita. Now we’d heard it was good tarmac but the one we were on was made up of the finest cement dust which got everywhere! Think we may have taken a wrong turn but we decided to hack it and after driving for 4hrs decided to set up camp at the edge of the road for the night.
One part of the road for the day followed an old railway line which ran from the capital to the coast many moons ago but has now been removed leaving a raised road with no tracks, and annoyingly no bridges to cross the riverbeds, so every km or so you have to drop off the side off the road, cross the rocky bed and then head back up onto it…really not the way to look after a screwed suspension, but nothing else to do!
Dinner on the fire of rice and sweetcorn in a sweet chilli sauce….oooo the pleasures of Waitrose and the goodies from Mum, thank you! Bed early for the assault on the next town for money, visas and cold beer!
End of day location: halfway between Bafoulabe and Kita, Mali
Distance covered: 100kms
Location: Bafoulabe, Mali
Weather: hazy sunshine, bloomin hot at about 44°c
Status: Ben – all good, Luke – fed up with African roads and progress, Colonel – all greased up and ready to go (apart from a broken suspension!)
Up early and treated the Colonel to a good greasing session to keep everything underneath running smoothly after a couple of really dry and dusty days bouncing around to get here, the suspension bush which has sheared is a cause for concern but there’s nothing that can be done until we get to Bamako so will just have to take it easy and keep and eye on it.
Made slow progress for the first hour of the day along the usual twisting dry and dusty tracks until we suddenly arrived at the Balofe river, which flows into the Senegal river which we were at a week ago. An absolute pleasure to see some flowing water after the last couple of days on the road, so once we’d found a suitable spot we both jumped in (after checking with the locals it was ok first!) and washed the dirt, grime and heat from our bodies.
Made our way up the river to the delightful town of Bafoulabe which runs for a few kms along the river, it’s a lovely place after the dry roads with fields of vegetables, tree lined streets and happy faces everywhere saying hello as we drove through the narrow main street.
The ferry across the river departs a couple of kms to the north so we made our way to it to find it on the opposite bank empty. As we were the only vehicle there they tried to charge us CFA10,000 but with my diplomacy and Luke’s ranting they dropped it to CFA6000…which the guide book quotes, ha Africans!
A nightmare of a road followed for the next 50kms as it tracked another river to the east on what we thought should be the main road to Kita. Now we’d heard it was good tarmac but the one we were on was made up of the finest cement dust which got everywhere! Think we may have taken a wrong turn but we decided to hack it and after driving for 4hrs decided to set up camp at the edge of the road for the night.
One part of the road for the day followed an old railway line which ran from the capital to the coast many moons ago but has now been removed leaving a raised road with no tracks, and annoyingly no bridges to cross the riverbeds, so every km or so you have to drop off the side off the road, cross the rocky bed and then head back up onto it…really not the way to look after a screwed suspension, but nothing else to do!
Dinner on the fire of rice and sweetcorn in a sweet chilli sauce….oooo the pleasures of Waitrose and the goodies from Mum, thank you! Bed early for the assault on the next town for money, visas and cold beer!
End of day location: halfway between Bafoulabe and Kita, Mali
Distance covered: 100kms
23rd Feb 08
Date: 22nd and 23rd Feb 08
Location: Bush camp, near the border between Senegal and Mali
Weather: Hazy blue skies and sunshine, 35 - 41°c
Status: Ben – tired legs, Luke – tired of bugs and the Colonel tired of the dust!
We’ve left the comfort of the tarmac roads for the next few days as we’ve taken the advice of our old German friend Charlie, and have headed from the national park east towards the Mali border on a road which passes through the bush and, according to our map, does not exist! SUPERB!!
The road started off ok and was a mixture of graded sand and gravel, but as the day and the kms wore on more rocks appeared and the surface became little more than a track just wide enough to get the Colonel down.
We passed through a few villages and were always greeted by hoards of kids wanting to say bonjour and surprisingly very few asked for presents, pens or footballs; it happens the further you go from the tourist route as they’re not used to people giving them the whole time!
Managed to get an hours run in too in the middle of the day so finally finding some routine to the training although the heat really punishes you.
As we wound our way down the tracks we passed east across the border and into Mali, the division between the two countries being the river which we had to cross. After watching a motorcyclist weave his way through I set off and made it to the other side no problems…will get the video onto the site when I get a chance.
Made camp just off the track and had omelette and chips before turning in for the night.
Our second day was relatively the same as the first except the road got gradually worse but the scenery more stunning with outcrops of vertical rock rising from the featureless landscape which in places was burning as the heat of the day ignited the dry grass all around, made it fun to drive in!
Arrived at the first village in Mali and made our way to the police station to have our passports stamped signalling our arrival in the fifth African country of the trip, hurrah! As we left the building it was interesting to see the notice board with photos of drug smugglers, a run-over corpse, a burnt out village and a skeleton….oh how welcoming!
Decided after 20mins of driving our intended route out of the village that the average speed of 8kmh just wasn’t acceptable and coupled with the fact that the OTHER suspension bush on the Colonel had now broken, we’d better to take the easier but longer road north towards the ferry over the river and the new tarmac road towards the capital, Banjul. Disappointing not to be using the road which Charlie had recommended but for ours and the vehicles safety, the only option!
End of day location: 20kms short of Bafoulabe, Mali
Distance covered: 130kms & 120kms
Location: Bush camp, near the border between Senegal and Mali
Weather: Hazy blue skies and sunshine, 35 - 41°c
Status: Ben – tired legs, Luke – tired of bugs and the Colonel tired of the dust!
We’ve left the comfort of the tarmac roads for the next few days as we’ve taken the advice of our old German friend Charlie, and have headed from the national park east towards the Mali border on a road which passes through the bush and, according to our map, does not exist! SUPERB!!
The road started off ok and was a mixture of graded sand and gravel, but as the day and the kms wore on more rocks appeared and the surface became little more than a track just wide enough to get the Colonel down.
We passed through a few villages and were always greeted by hoards of kids wanting to say bonjour and surprisingly very few asked for presents, pens or footballs; it happens the further you go from the tourist route as they’re not used to people giving them the whole time!
Managed to get an hours run in too in the middle of the day so finally finding some routine to the training although the heat really punishes you.
As we wound our way down the tracks we passed east across the border and into Mali, the division between the two countries being the river which we had to cross. After watching a motorcyclist weave his way through I set off and made it to the other side no problems…will get the video onto the site when I get a chance.
Made camp just off the track and had omelette and chips before turning in for the night.
Our second day was relatively the same as the first except the road got gradually worse but the scenery more stunning with outcrops of vertical rock rising from the featureless landscape which in places was burning as the heat of the day ignited the dry grass all around, made it fun to drive in!
Arrived at the first village in Mali and made our way to the police station to have our passports stamped signalling our arrival in the fifth African country of the trip, hurrah! As we left the building it was interesting to see the notice board with photos of drug smugglers, a run-over corpse, a burnt out village and a skeleton….oh how welcoming!
Decided after 20mins of driving our intended route out of the village that the average speed of 8kmh just wasn’t acceptable and coupled with the fact that the OTHER suspension bush on the Colonel had now broken, we’d better to take the easier but longer road north towards the ferry over the river and the new tarmac road towards the capital, Banjul. Disappointing not to be using the road which Charlie had recommended but for ours and the vehicles safety, the only option!
End of day location: 20kms short of Bafoulabe, Mali
Distance covered: 130kms & 120kms
21st Feb 08
Date: 20th and 21st Feb 08
Location: Niokolo National Park, Senegal
Weather: Hazy sunshine, 38°c
Status: All good
Summary of two days here as we travelled all day yesterday and only arrived late at night!
Headed out of town east towards Tambacounda and spent the next 7hrs battling with the huge trucks on possibly the most boring and uninspiring road yet, potholes and detours at the sides all day long, so we were really happy to arrive at the gates to Niokolo National Park. Well happy until we got the usual fleecing at the gate for more money!
Had to have a guide with us even though there were only two roads in the park and even good signposting, at the cost of another CFA6000! Luke decided to kick off getting us nowhere and when we realised it only £6 we gave in an took ‘Pap’ with us to the camp.
Sat down for a cold beer and headed to bed ready for the alarm call at 7am to go and see the animals…..oh why did we bother getting up!?! Left the campsite and in the next 3hrs of driving around spotted a total of 6 warthogs, 2 antelope and a solitary squirrel. Probably the biggest waste of money so far on the trip and NOTHING compared to the bountiful parks in the rest of Africa. ‘Apparantly’ there’s lion and elephant but noones ever seen them….yeah right!
Left the park and travelled east to Kedougu to have our passports stamped before leaving Senegal and pulled into a pub for lunch. Sat and chatted to a local and in through the door walked a couple of german guys who were also in a Land Rover. So the next hour was spent discussing repairs, layouts and service schedules, much to Luke’s disgust. Decided to find a bush camp together and drove out of town to a remote spot where we set up camp, made a fire and cooked dinner.
Was a good day, a little cooler and good to chat to some other Overlanders who’ve just travelled the piste route we’ll be on for the next few days. Full moon and headed to bed.
End of day location: Kedougu
Distance covered: 330kms & 135kms
Location: Niokolo National Park, Senegal
Weather: Hazy sunshine, 38°c
Status: All good
Summary of two days here as we travelled all day yesterday and only arrived late at night!
Headed out of town east towards Tambacounda and spent the next 7hrs battling with the huge trucks on possibly the most boring and uninspiring road yet, potholes and detours at the sides all day long, so we were really happy to arrive at the gates to Niokolo National Park. Well happy until we got the usual fleecing at the gate for more money!
Had to have a guide with us even though there were only two roads in the park and even good signposting, at the cost of another CFA6000! Luke decided to kick off getting us nowhere and when we realised it only £6 we gave in an took ‘Pap’ with us to the camp.
Sat down for a cold beer and headed to bed ready for the alarm call at 7am to go and see the animals…..oh why did we bother getting up!?! Left the campsite and in the next 3hrs of driving around spotted a total of 6 warthogs, 2 antelope and a solitary squirrel. Probably the biggest waste of money so far on the trip and NOTHING compared to the bountiful parks in the rest of Africa. ‘Apparantly’ there’s lion and elephant but noones ever seen them….yeah right!
Left the park and travelled east to Kedougu to have our passports stamped before leaving Senegal and pulled into a pub for lunch. Sat and chatted to a local and in through the door walked a couple of german guys who were also in a Land Rover. So the next hour was spent discussing repairs, layouts and service schedules, much to Luke’s disgust. Decided to find a bush camp together and drove out of town to a remote spot where we set up camp, made a fire and cooked dinner.
Was a good day, a little cooler and good to chat to some other Overlanders who’ve just travelled the piste route we’ll be on for the next few days. Full moon and headed to bed.
End of day location: Kedougu
Distance covered: 330kms & 135kms
19th Feb 08
Date: 19th Feb 08
Location: Kaffrine, Senegal
Weather: clear blue skies and sunshine, 44°c!
Status: All very good, well fed and watered and leak fixed.
Woke up early as the fan in the room had stopped as the power went out at 7am so got up and had a full on breakfast of omelette and bread with jam in the courtyard. Really had a superb night in the company of a Senegalese lady and the carpenter from the hotel as we sat under the mango tree in the garden watching the fruit bats and waiting for the mangos to drop all around!
Asked for the bill for the night and the lovely lady patron at Eddies told us that the room and dinner were all on the house, fantastic! Its an awesome place with the most friendy staff so if you get a chance for a week off work make your way to Farrafenni on the north of the Gambia river!!
Headed out of town, well almost 300m before we hit the Gambian border post, completed the usuals and moved another 300m to the next post, had to do the same again then drove for 5km until we had to do it all again as we’d gone back into Senegal. Love the borders here as they’re really relaxed…unlike some to follow!
Made our way to Kaolack to get some cash, had some lunch…uninspiring fish and rice but good and spicy, filled up with fuel and hit the road to the east towards Tambacounda and the National Park. Another crappy road full of potholes and police posts and only made 108kms before we decided to pull into another run down hotel to use their car park for the night.
End of day location:
Distance covered:
Location: Kaffrine, Senegal
Weather: clear blue skies and sunshine, 44°c!
Status: All very good, well fed and watered and leak fixed.
Woke up early as the fan in the room had stopped as the power went out at 7am so got up and had a full on breakfast of omelette and bread with jam in the courtyard. Really had a superb night in the company of a Senegalese lady and the carpenter from the hotel as we sat under the mango tree in the garden watching the fruit bats and waiting for the mangos to drop all around!
Asked for the bill for the night and the lovely lady patron at Eddies told us that the room and dinner were all on the house, fantastic! Its an awesome place with the most friendy staff so if you get a chance for a week off work make your way to Farrafenni on the north of the Gambia river!!
Headed out of town, well almost 300m before we hit the Gambian border post, completed the usuals and moved another 300m to the next post, had to do the same again then drove for 5km until we had to do it all again as we’d gone back into Senegal. Love the borders here as they’re really relaxed…unlike some to follow!
Made our way to Kaolack to get some cash, had some lunch…uninspiring fish and rice but good and spicy, filled up with fuel and hit the road to the east towards Tambacounda and the National Park. Another crappy road full of potholes and police posts and only made 108kms before we decided to pull into another run down hotel to use their car park for the night.
End of day location:
Distance covered:
18th Feb 08
Date: 18th Feb 08
Location: Bessi, Gambia
Weather: Hazy to start then clear blue skies and sunshine….45°c today! Wicked J
Status: All really good, happy and relaxed in good company!
Left the riverside location after watching the locals haul a huge load of fish from the river including a 50kg specimen which was the biggest he’d ever caught and the pride of the locals!
We headed east along the river along some of the worst roads yet, potholes everywhere, deep ruts and generally followed the sand tracks rather than giving the suspension a good bashing.
Our progress was slow and we managed only 85kms in 5 hours of driving…a taste of whats to come in central Africa!
Decided to try and go for a run today as the training has taken a back seat for the last few days so on the dot of midday with the temp at 42°c I got my kit on, Luke drove, and we headed east on the road through little villages with the people all laughing at me as they relaxed in the shade on their public holiday for Independence Day! Managed about 40mins until the heat became unbearable and then called it a day, very different to training in the UK in Feb!!
Arrived in the town of Mansa Konko where we visited the first of the sites for the VC180 challenge, well tried to visit it! Its one thing to arriving in an African town with the intention of finding the exact site but another totally of getting there. We drove around for a while talking with some of the older people to see if they could remember anything but came up with nothing, so made our way to thr roundabout in the centre to record our position on the gps.
We had our first experience with an AK47 today as well…the military checkpoint on the outskirts of the town was the usual stop and show our papers, except we followed the car in front too closely and were told in no uncertain terms….”you have defaulted me!” so we left with our tails between our legs and headed towards Eddies Bar & Restaurant for our nights stay.
Arrived as the only guests at Eddie’s and were warmly greeted, set up our tent in the car park and spent a few minutes talking to the mother of the owner who offered us a shower and then a free nights accommodation in one of the rooms which we gratefully accepted and sat down for chicken and chips. One of the contractors working here joined us and we got chatting about life and our country and it was good to hear him call the UK ‘the diamond in the white man’s world’, so England’s not that bad then!
Almost forgot to say…we got to another police post today and showed our documents as Luke talked to the second officer. The one I was speaking to had a limited English vocabulary and as we swapped address’s/phone numbers/emails which is usual everywhere you go he said several times “thank you for giving me your details, I love you” which doubled Luke over with laughter! Think he meant I like you, at least I hope so!!
End of day location: Farrafenni, Gambia
Distance covered: 100kms but feels like 300!
Location: Bessi, Gambia
Weather: Hazy to start then clear blue skies and sunshine….45°c today! Wicked J
Status: All really good, happy and relaxed in good company!
Left the riverside location after watching the locals haul a huge load of fish from the river including a 50kg specimen which was the biggest he’d ever caught and the pride of the locals!
We headed east along the river along some of the worst roads yet, potholes everywhere, deep ruts and generally followed the sand tracks rather than giving the suspension a good bashing.
Our progress was slow and we managed only 85kms in 5 hours of driving…a taste of whats to come in central Africa!
Decided to try and go for a run today as the training has taken a back seat for the last few days so on the dot of midday with the temp at 42°c I got my kit on, Luke drove, and we headed east on the road through little villages with the people all laughing at me as they relaxed in the shade on their public holiday for Independence Day! Managed about 40mins until the heat became unbearable and then called it a day, very different to training in the UK in Feb!!
Arrived in the town of Mansa Konko where we visited the first of the sites for the VC180 challenge, well tried to visit it! Its one thing to arriving in an African town with the intention of finding the exact site but another totally of getting there. We drove around for a while talking with some of the older people to see if they could remember anything but came up with nothing, so made our way to thr roundabout in the centre to record our position on the gps.
We had our first experience with an AK47 today as well…the military checkpoint on the outskirts of the town was the usual stop and show our papers, except we followed the car in front too closely and were told in no uncertain terms….”you have defaulted me!” so we left with our tails between our legs and headed towards Eddies Bar & Restaurant for our nights stay.
Arrived as the only guests at Eddie’s and were warmly greeted, set up our tent in the car park and spent a few minutes talking to the mother of the owner who offered us a shower and then a free nights accommodation in one of the rooms which we gratefully accepted and sat down for chicken and chips. One of the contractors working here joined us and we got chatting about life and our country and it was good to hear him call the UK ‘the diamond in the white man’s world’, so England’s not that bad then!
Almost forgot to say…we got to another police post today and showed our documents as Luke talked to the second officer. The one I was speaking to had a limited English vocabulary and as we swapped address’s/phone numbers/emails which is usual everywhere you go he said several times “thank you for giving me your details, I love you” which doubled Luke over with laughter! Think he meant I like you, at least I hope so!!
End of day location: Farrafenni, Gambia
Distance covered: 100kms but feels like 300!
17th Feb 08
Date: 16th Feb 08
Location: Sukuta, Gambia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 35°c
Status: Ben & Luke – tired of Senegambia and the awful English tourists/street sellers etc, time to move on. Colonel – new suspension rubber and all ok
We’ve been camped up for 2 days now in Sukuta camp, Gambia and learnt a hell of a lot since we’ve arrived. It’s a fantastic place run by the German owners, Joe and Claudia and a destination for Overlanders on their journeys north and south, whilst we’ve been here there’s been another English guy called Tex whose driving a Unimog (wicked vehicle) and a few other Germans also passing through including Charlie!
Charlie deserves a new paragraph as he’s been fantastic, a 60yr old who’s been in the special forces for 25yrs, works for 3 months a year in Germany and now travels the world for the other 9 months! He’s here to sell the vehicle he’s driven down and as he’s returning to Germany in a few days has offered us loads of his kit; tent, awning, gas, rope etc and if we can find space we’ll certainly take it with us! We’ve sat down with him and discussed the next few countries as he’s been through most, found some brilliant roads on the map and got the addresses for some of his favourite campsites and hosts…its all we could ask for!
When I had a look under the Colonel yesterday morning I found one of the rear lower link suspension bushes had sheared so Joe the owner set about trying to find a replacement…..except this is Africa and it’s a Friday, so half day and again tomorrow and Sunday’s their closed and Monday’s a pubic holiday and the owner of the garage is also in a police cell so we’d be sitting tight until Tuesday at the earliest to find a new one…..that is except for Philip and Stef, another young German couple who are driving a Land Rover and just happen to have the part we need on board!! Hallelujah J J
Fixed the broken part and headed into tourist-ville to get money use the internet and realised quite how much I’m not missing certain things from the UK. Its so awful seeing the fat, sunburnt, England-shirt-wearing tourists parading the streets swigging beer and generally giving a truly disgusting to people of what our country’s about. Time to move on as the street sellers are starting to really get to us every time we stop and we need to get back to real Africa and the next few countries on the trip.
Early start tomorrow as we intend driving along the south of the Gambia river and trying to find some mangrove swamps and the people who live there in stilt houses, should be fun getting there as its off road most of the way but according to Charlie very worthwhile….and its fun throwing stones at the crocodiles as you try and clear the river to walk it before driving through! Love it, video camera to record please!
End of day location: Sukuta, Gambia
Distance covered: 10kms into town.
Location: Sukuta, Gambia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 35°c
Status: Ben & Luke – tired of Senegambia and the awful English tourists/street sellers etc, time to move on. Colonel – new suspension rubber and all ok
We’ve been camped up for 2 days now in Sukuta camp, Gambia and learnt a hell of a lot since we’ve arrived. It’s a fantastic place run by the German owners, Joe and Claudia and a destination for Overlanders on their journeys north and south, whilst we’ve been here there’s been another English guy called Tex whose driving a Unimog (wicked vehicle) and a few other Germans also passing through including Charlie!
Charlie deserves a new paragraph as he’s been fantastic, a 60yr old who’s been in the special forces for 25yrs, works for 3 months a year in Germany and now travels the world for the other 9 months! He’s here to sell the vehicle he’s driven down and as he’s returning to Germany in a few days has offered us loads of his kit; tent, awning, gas, rope etc and if we can find space we’ll certainly take it with us! We’ve sat down with him and discussed the next few countries as he’s been through most, found some brilliant roads on the map and got the addresses for some of his favourite campsites and hosts…its all we could ask for!
When I had a look under the Colonel yesterday morning I found one of the rear lower link suspension bushes had sheared so Joe the owner set about trying to find a replacement…..except this is Africa and it’s a Friday, so half day and again tomorrow and Sunday’s their closed and Monday’s a pubic holiday and the owner of the garage is also in a police cell so we’d be sitting tight until Tuesday at the earliest to find a new one…..that is except for Philip and Stef, another young German couple who are driving a Land Rover and just happen to have the part we need on board!! Hallelujah J J
Fixed the broken part and headed into tourist-ville to get money use the internet and realised quite how much I’m not missing certain things from the UK. Its so awful seeing the fat, sunburnt, England-shirt-wearing tourists parading the streets swigging beer and generally giving a truly disgusting to people of what our country’s about. Time to move on as the street sellers are starting to really get to us every time we stop and we need to get back to real Africa and the next few countries on the trip.
Early start tomorrow as we intend driving along the south of the Gambia river and trying to find some mangrove swamps and the people who live there in stilt houses, should be fun getting there as its off road most of the way but according to Charlie very worthwhile….and its fun throwing stones at the crocodiles as you try and clear the river to walk it before driving through! Love it, video camera to record please!
End of day location: Sukuta, Gambia
Distance covered: 10kms into town.
16th Feb 08
Date: 16th Feb 08
Location: Sukuta, Gambia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 35°c
Status: Ben & Luke – tired of Senegambia and the awful English tourists/street sellers etc, time to move on. Colonel – new suspension rubber and all ok
We’ve been camped up for 2 days now in Sukuta camp, Gambia and learnt a hell of a lot since we’ve arrived. It’s a fantastic place run by the German owners, Joe and Claudia and a destination for Overlanders on their journeys north and south, whilst we’ve been here there’s been another English guy called Tex whose driving a Unimog (wicked vehicle) and a few other Germans also passing through including Charlie!
Charlie deserves a new paragraph as he’s been fantastic, a 60yr old who’s been in the special forces for 25yrs, works for 3 months a year in Germany and now travels the world for the other 9 months! He’s here to sell the vehicle he’s driven down and as he’s returning to Germany in a few days has offered us loads of his kit; tent, awning, gas, rope etc and if we can find space we’ll certainly take it with us! We’ve sat down with him and discussed the next few countries as he’s been through most, found some brilliant roads on the map and got the addresses for some of his favourite campsites and hosts…its all we could ask for!
When I had a look under the Colonel yesterday morning I found one of the rear lower link suspension bushes had sheared so Joe the owner set about trying to find a replacement…..except this is Africa and it’s a Friday, so half day and again tomorrow and Sunday’s their closed and Monday’s a pubic holiday and the owner of the garage is also in a police cell so we’d be sitting tight until Tuesday at the earliest to find a new one…..that is except for Philip and Stef, another young German couple who are driving a Land Rover and just happen to have the part we need on board!! Hallelujah J J
Fixed the broken part and headed into tourist-ville to get money use the internet and realised quite how much I’m not missing certain things from the UK. Its so awful seeing the fat, sunburnt, England-shirt-wearing tourists parading the streets swigging beer and generally giving a truly disgusting to people of what our country’s about. Time to move on as the street sellers are starting to really get to us every time we stop and we need to get back to real Africa and the next few countries on the trip.
Early start tomorrow as we intend driving along the south of the Gambia river and trying to find some mangrove swamps and the people who live there in stilt houses, should be fun getting there as its off road most of the way but according to Charlie very worthwhile….and its fun throwing stones at the crocodiles as you try and clear the river to walk it before driving through! Love it, video camera to record please!
End of day location: Sukuta, Gambia
Distance covered: 10kms into town.
Location: Sukuta, Gambia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 35°c
Status: Ben & Luke – tired of Senegambia and the awful English tourists/street sellers etc, time to move on. Colonel – new suspension rubber and all ok
We’ve been camped up for 2 days now in Sukuta camp, Gambia and learnt a hell of a lot since we’ve arrived. It’s a fantastic place run by the German owners, Joe and Claudia and a destination for Overlanders on their journeys north and south, whilst we’ve been here there’s been another English guy called Tex whose driving a Unimog (wicked vehicle) and a few other Germans also passing through including Charlie!
Charlie deserves a new paragraph as he’s been fantastic, a 60yr old who’s been in the special forces for 25yrs, works for 3 months a year in Germany and now travels the world for the other 9 months! He’s here to sell the vehicle he’s driven down and as he’s returning to Germany in a few days has offered us loads of his kit; tent, awning, gas, rope etc and if we can find space we’ll certainly take it with us! We’ve sat down with him and discussed the next few countries as he’s been through most, found some brilliant roads on the map and got the addresses for some of his favourite campsites and hosts…its all we could ask for!
When I had a look under the Colonel yesterday morning I found one of the rear lower link suspension bushes had sheared so Joe the owner set about trying to find a replacement…..except this is Africa and it’s a Friday, so half day and again tomorrow and Sunday’s their closed and Monday’s a pubic holiday and the owner of the garage is also in a police cell so we’d be sitting tight until Tuesday at the earliest to find a new one…..that is except for Philip and Stef, another young German couple who are driving a Land Rover and just happen to have the part we need on board!! Hallelujah J J
Fixed the broken part and headed into tourist-ville to get money use the internet and realised quite how much I’m not missing certain things from the UK. Its so awful seeing the fat, sunburnt, England-shirt-wearing tourists parading the streets swigging beer and generally giving a truly disgusting to people of what our country’s about. Time to move on as the street sellers are starting to really get to us every time we stop and we need to get back to real Africa and the next few countries on the trip.
Early start tomorrow as we intend driving along the south of the Gambia river and trying to find some mangrove swamps and the people who live there in stilt houses, should be fun getting there as its off road most of the way but according to Charlie very worthwhile….and its fun throwing stones at the crocodiles as you try and clear the river to walk it before driving through! Love it, video camera to record please!
End of day location: Sukuta, Gambia
Distance covered: 10kms into town.
Friday 15 February 2008
14th Feb 08
Date: 14th Feb 08
Location: Serekunda, The Gambia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 36°c
Status: All good, happy, sunkissed and in another country
After the fantastic nights camping in the most rural location yet, we packed up ready for the drive to the border after a few days of talking about it!
Totally different police here compared to what we’re used, they salute us and wave us through rather than trying to get gifts, money and checking every document we have!
The 120kms to the border was an easy drive, although the road deteriorated rapidly as we got closer to the coast and passed by the acres of mangrove swamps which line the estuaries, and before long we’d arrived at the border.
Signed out of Senegal and moved onto the formalities on the Gambian side but this time everyone speaks English….oh how easy after the last few countries! The authorities did however give us the most intense search of the vehicle yet with every item being looked and questioned…all in the name of reducing the chance of terrorism, granted.
As we waited for the ferry across the River Gambia the usual hoards of kids came up to the vehicle to try and sell us everything from cashews to cold drinks, and letting them know that we didn’t need them didn’t seem to get through at all. One was particularly aggressive and ended up telling us we were racist and from Scotland! As we exited the ferry the guy operating the ramp came up to the window and said “hey guys its good to see you again, where’ve you been!”. I think he recognised a camel trophy Land Rover rather than us!
Drove through the streets of Banjul, the capital, and found the road to Serekunda the more touristy part of town where we stocked up with another local currency and then a café for a very late lunch….it only took an hour and a half and wasn’t what we ordered but it’s do.
Drove out of the town towards Sukuta, and the infamous campsite which we’d seen advertised on EVERY tyre, rock and building since leaving Morocco!! When we finally found it a little piece of paradise welcomed us, the walled camping spot is famous amongst Overlanders and is perfectly set up with, sandy campsites, showers, washing areas and well stocked bar….we tucked in!
Plans for tomorrow are yet to be confirmed but will include relaxing and some quality beach time! Enjoy….oh and HAPPY VALENTINES DAY JJ XXX
End of day location: Sukuta, Gambia
Distance covered: 138kms
Location: Serekunda, The Gambia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 36°c
Status: All good, happy, sunkissed and in another country
After the fantastic nights camping in the most rural location yet, we packed up ready for the drive to the border after a few days of talking about it!
Totally different police here compared to what we’re used, they salute us and wave us through rather than trying to get gifts, money and checking every document we have!
The 120kms to the border was an easy drive, although the road deteriorated rapidly as we got closer to the coast and passed by the acres of mangrove swamps which line the estuaries, and before long we’d arrived at the border.
Signed out of Senegal and moved onto the formalities on the Gambian side but this time everyone speaks English….oh how easy after the last few countries! The authorities did however give us the most intense search of the vehicle yet with every item being looked and questioned…all in the name of reducing the chance of terrorism, granted.
As we waited for the ferry across the River Gambia the usual hoards of kids came up to the vehicle to try and sell us everything from cashews to cold drinks, and letting them know that we didn’t need them didn’t seem to get through at all. One was particularly aggressive and ended up telling us we were racist and from Scotland! As we exited the ferry the guy operating the ramp came up to the window and said “hey guys its good to see you again, where’ve you been!”. I think he recognised a camel trophy Land Rover rather than us!
Drove through the streets of Banjul, the capital, and found the road to Serekunda the more touristy part of town where we stocked up with another local currency and then a café for a very late lunch….it only took an hour and a half and wasn’t what we ordered but it’s do.
Drove out of the town towards Sukuta, and the infamous campsite which we’d seen advertised on EVERY tyre, rock and building since leaving Morocco!! When we finally found it a little piece of paradise welcomed us, the walled camping spot is famous amongst Overlanders and is perfectly set up with, sandy campsites, showers, washing areas and well stocked bar….we tucked in!
Plans for tomorrow are yet to be confirmed but will include relaxing and some quality beach time! Enjoy….oh and HAPPY VALENTINES DAY JJ XXX
End of day location: Sukuta, Gambia
Distance covered: 138kms
13th Feb 08
Date: 13th Feb 08
Location: St Louis, Senegal
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 36°c in the day and now 27°c at night
Status: All fantastic as we get back on the road again!
Up early and left Luke in the tent as I decided I needed to get back in the training groove and headed off north up the beach for a long run, got back an hour later after running all the way to the city outskirts with my newly acquired dog for company! Had a swim to cool off as the temp was already rocketing by the time I got back at 9.30am!
After a bite to eat and doing the farewells to Ibou would looked after us impeccably, and to our French friends who own the campsite we’d been staying at we hit the road again for the first time in 4 days, oh after Luke had bought an amazing little drum for Roofus….which you’ll get to see when he gets backs ok!!
We’d thought we’d try and get to the Gambian border but got caught up in the city and headed to a café for lunch before finally hitting the road out around 1pm…far too late!
So we took a little back road to save the hassle of the police roadblocks (on advice from Ibou) which took us through so awesome little villages and towns with smiling faces and waves wherever we went, once we’d travelled for 4hrs we decided to pull off the road and found a site under a baobab tree in where we thought was the middle of nowhere!
Built a fire and prepared another poitjke and were joined by a young boy, around 15 who sat with us not understanding a word but stayed and shared our dinner and coffee with us before heading back to his village. Sitting with him, under the tree, in the starlit darkness with a fire burning was truly brilliant and very memorable!
Headed up to bed around 9.30pm in preparation for the deluge of Valentines cards we’ll be getting in the morning! Night….
End of day location: Gossas, Senegal
Distance covered: 318kms
Location: St Louis, Senegal
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 36°c in the day and now 27°c at night
Status: All fantastic as we get back on the road again!
Up early and left Luke in the tent as I decided I needed to get back in the training groove and headed off north up the beach for a long run, got back an hour later after running all the way to the city outskirts with my newly acquired dog for company! Had a swim to cool off as the temp was already rocketing by the time I got back at 9.30am!
After a bite to eat and doing the farewells to Ibou would looked after us impeccably, and to our French friends who own the campsite we’d been staying at we hit the road again for the first time in 4 days, oh after Luke had bought an amazing little drum for Roofus….which you’ll get to see when he gets backs ok!!
We’d thought we’d try and get to the Gambian border but got caught up in the city and headed to a café for lunch before finally hitting the road out around 1pm…far too late!
So we took a little back road to save the hassle of the police roadblocks (on advice from Ibou) which took us through so awesome little villages and towns with smiling faces and waves wherever we went, once we’d travelled for 4hrs we decided to pull off the road and found a site under a baobab tree in where we thought was the middle of nowhere!
Built a fire and prepared another poitjke and were joined by a young boy, around 15 who sat with us not understanding a word but stayed and shared our dinner and coffee with us before heading back to his village. Sitting with him, under the tree, in the starlit darkness with a fire burning was truly brilliant and very memorable!
Headed up to bed around 9.30pm in preparation for the deluge of Valentines cards we’ll be getting in the morning! Night….
End of day location: Gossas, Senegal
Distance covered: 318kms
12th Feb 08
Date: 12th Feb 08
Location: St Louis, Senegal
Weather: Last night thunder and lightening, today scattered clouds and sunshine 36°c
Status: All very good thank you!
We were going to leave here today en route to Gambia but after last nights rain and electrical storm have decided to hang tight for now as there’s talk that the road we were going to take is under water and won’t be passable until tomorrow…well that’s a good enough excuse for me to stay on the beach for another night!!!
Had a really interesting few days as we’ve got to know our host Ibou more and more, visited his family’s house (how many kids can you get in there!?!) and hung out with his friends in the evenings listening to music while grilling fresh sardines and snapper on the open fire! Its truly been paradise….
But this expedition must keep on moving to cover the kms and reach the next challenge, although it’s only in June I feel that my training has taken a back seat in the last few days and so I’m off for a run down the endless beach to break into a sweat and then cool off in the ocean again.
Had some awesome news from a best friend Josie out in Mexico, she called the other night using the power of the internet and has decided to come and join me at some stage so they’ll be another passenger at some point in the near future. (Josie if you’re reading this can you email me as yours keeps bouncing back to me!)
Keep following and I’ll keep updating as often as is possible….
End of day location: St Louis, Senegal
Distance covered: 0kms
Location: St Louis, Senegal
Weather: Last night thunder and lightening, today scattered clouds and sunshine 36°c
Status: All very good thank you!
We were going to leave here today en route to Gambia but after last nights rain and electrical storm have decided to hang tight for now as there’s talk that the road we were going to take is under water and won’t be passable until tomorrow…well that’s a good enough excuse for me to stay on the beach for another night!!!
Had a really interesting few days as we’ve got to know our host Ibou more and more, visited his family’s house (how many kids can you get in there!?!) and hung out with his friends in the evenings listening to music while grilling fresh sardines and snapper on the open fire! Its truly been paradise….
But this expedition must keep on moving to cover the kms and reach the next challenge, although it’s only in June I feel that my training has taken a back seat in the last few days and so I’m off for a run down the endless beach to break into a sweat and then cool off in the ocean again.
Had some awesome news from a best friend Josie out in Mexico, she called the other night using the power of the internet and has decided to come and join me at some stage so they’ll be another passenger at some point in the near future. (Josie if you’re reading this can you email me as yours keeps bouncing back to me!)
Keep following and I’ll keep updating as often as is possible….
End of day location: St Louis, Senegal
Distance covered: 0kms
Sunday 10 February 2008
9th Feb 08
Date: 9th Feb 08
Location: St Louis, Senegal
Weather: Clear blue skies, sunshine with a little breeze, 28°c
Status: All – we have officially landed on planet awesome
Oh my god!! This has been the best 24hrs since we left the UK….life has just hit the greatest heights so far on the trip, let me explain…..
Once we’d gone to bed in Nouakchott the noise started, horns and sirens were everywhere in the city as Egypt had just beaten the Ivory Coast in the football to get through to the African Cup final and being an Arabic country the Mauritanians supported the Egyptians so celebrations went on long into the night!! Couldn’t sleep so went out onto the street to watch the chaos go on into the early hours….
Did a quick service on the car and the patron of the auberge was very interested, so sat with him and chatted for a while until we were finally offered the inevitable camels milk for breakfast! We were both pretty sceptical about trying it but dived in anyway and were pleasantly surprised…it was better than the UHT we’d been drinking for the last few days, but only discovered later on in the day that its actually a laxative, that would account for the rumbling belly then!!
So left the madness of the capital and hit the road again for the final drive through the desert before reaching the border and the comfort of Senegal. Two choices either the chaos of Rosso or a drive down through the beauty of the national park to the border at Diama….easy then!! After a 100km dusty, bouncy track we finally arrived happy to see the officials were still there and the bridge was open!
Did the usual formalities and then realised we had no euros left to pay the bridge fee or our passport fees for Senegal but luckily there a group of French tourists were there to help us out with some. Once we’d crossed into Senegal the next problem was we had no money to pay for the west African car insurance but the kind lady behind the counter told us we could take one of her friends and they would take us to the cash machine and let us get the money which they’d then take back to her…this turned out to be the BEST thing we could have hoped to happen!!
We drove into the city and straight away had beaming smiles on our faces….we’d arrived in black Africa and boy did we know it, the people, the clothes, the buses, the police the whole atmosphere swallowed us up and our newly acquired friend took us through the back streets to avoid the road blocks and once we’d sorted out the money our next stop was his house and family….all 20 of them including at least 10 kids running riot as we turned their Friday night upside down!
It turned out that his family are famous in Senegal for their music and jembe playing so once we’d got 5and boy did we know it, the people, the clothes, the buses, the police the whole atmosphere swallowed us up and our newly acquired friend took us through the back streets to avoid the road blocks and once we’d sorted out the money our next stop was his house and family….all 20 of them including at least 10 kids running riot as we turned their Friday night upside down!
It turned out that his family are famous in Senegal for their music and jembe playing so once we’d got 5 people and 4 drums in the already full car we headed out of town to the beach and tranquillity! Stopped briefly to buy our first cold beers in a month and a bottle of whisky and in the dark made for a long spit of land with water all around.
The next few hours were just the best we sat and chatted in our pigeon French, learned to try and play the drums and drank until we laughed so much the tears began to roll all around as the night wore on.
And that’s exactly where I am now, sat on the banks of the Senegal river under coconut palms with white sand and sunshine, the waters warm, the people so friendly and accommodating and our minds and hearts intensely happy after a testing drive across the desert!
Tonight is the final of the football so we’ll head into town and here we’ll support Cameroon (as now we’re in black Africa not Arabic) and then who knows, another shit day in Africa!
End of day location: St Louis, Senegal
Distance covered: 320kms
Location: St Louis, Senegal
Weather: Clear blue skies, sunshine with a little breeze, 28°c
Status: All – we have officially landed on planet awesome
Oh my god!! This has been the best 24hrs since we left the UK….life has just hit the greatest heights so far on the trip, let me explain…..
Once we’d gone to bed in Nouakchott the noise started, horns and sirens were everywhere in the city as Egypt had just beaten the Ivory Coast in the football to get through to the African Cup final and being an Arabic country the Mauritanians supported the Egyptians so celebrations went on long into the night!! Couldn’t sleep so went out onto the street to watch the chaos go on into the early hours….
Did a quick service on the car and the patron of the auberge was very interested, so sat with him and chatted for a while until we were finally offered the inevitable camels milk for breakfast! We were both pretty sceptical about trying it but dived in anyway and were pleasantly surprised…it was better than the UHT we’d been drinking for the last few days, but only discovered later on in the day that its actually a laxative, that would account for the rumbling belly then!!
So left the madness of the capital and hit the road again for the final drive through the desert before reaching the border and the comfort of Senegal. Two choices either the chaos of Rosso or a drive down through the beauty of the national park to the border at Diama….easy then!! After a 100km dusty, bouncy track we finally arrived happy to see the officials were still there and the bridge was open!
Did the usual formalities and then realised we had no euros left to pay the bridge fee or our passport fees for Senegal but luckily there a group of French tourists were there to help us out with some. Once we’d crossed into Senegal the next problem was we had no money to pay for the west African car insurance but the kind lady behind the counter told us we could take one of her friends and they would take us to the cash machine and let us get the money which they’d then take back to her…this turned out to be the BEST thing we could have hoped to happen!!
We drove into the city and straight away had beaming smiles on our faces….we’d arrived in black Africa and boy did we know it, the people, the clothes, the buses, the police the whole atmosphere swallowed us up and our newly acquired friend took us through the back streets to avoid the road blocks and once we’d sorted out the money our next stop was his house and family….all 20 of them including at least 10 kids running riot as we turned their Friday night upside down!
It turned out that his family are famous in Senegal for their music and jembe playing so once we’d got 5and boy did we know it, the people, the clothes, the buses, the police the whole atmosphere swallowed us up and our newly acquired friend took us through the back streets to avoid the road blocks and once we’d sorted out the money our next stop was his house and family….all 20 of them including at least 10 kids running riot as we turned their Friday night upside down!
It turned out that his family are famous in Senegal for their music and jembe playing so once we’d got 5 people and 4 drums in the already full car we headed out of town to the beach and tranquillity! Stopped briefly to buy our first cold beers in a month and a bottle of whisky and in the dark made for a long spit of land with water all around.
The next few hours were just the best we sat and chatted in our pigeon French, learned to try and play the drums and drank until we laughed so much the tears began to roll all around as the night wore on.
And that’s exactly where I am now, sat on the banks of the Senegal river under coconut palms with white sand and sunshine, the waters warm, the people so friendly and accommodating and our minds and hearts intensely happy after a testing drive across the desert!
Tonight is the final of the football so we’ll head into town and here we’ll support Cameroon (as now we’re in black Africa not Arabic) and then who knows, another shit day in Africa!
End of day location: St Louis, Senegal
Distance covered: 320kms
7th Feb 08
Date: 7th Feb 08
Location: Nouadhibou, Mauritania
Weather: All sorts - 35°c in the desert, rain for 5mins in the heat and now a hot sultry evening!
Status: Ben – tired, amazed and still happy, Luke – overwhelmed but enjoying it, Colonel – another long day in the desert.
A true African experience today like we haven’t had yet!
Left our quiet little beach camp and made for the road again with our destination south of the capital if at all possible.
Passed through the numerous police checks with requests for presents, money and sunglasses at all and made for the new road which happily does exist.
Today was a true sahara experience as the desert lay before us with its enormity there for us to see, the temperature quickly rose from an easy 25°c to an almost unbearable 37°c as the road headed inland away from the coast. At its peak we even had some rain hitting the windscreen but it amounted to nothing and didn’t even settle the dust.
The wind gradually become stronger as the day wore on and by the time we were 100kms north of the capital vast amounts of sand and dust were being blown across the road making driving very difficult as visibility reduced and the sun became weaker. This lasted all the way to the outskirts of the town, and then suddenly disappeared as the sun dropped out of the sky for the evening.
We’d spotted a youth hostel in the guide book which we made for, if only for a different nights sleep from the tent! When we got there, and it was the right place, there was no such thing and Luke headed off to make enquiries for alternative secure parking and accommodation…he came back 10 mins later with a ‘guide’ and we took to the streets once more through the totally mad rush hour traffic of donkeys, trucks and cars that wouldn’t even get to an English MOT station let alone get on the ramps!
When we pulled into the Auberge we knew we’d been brought somewhere far too expensive for our budget and instead camped in the secure car park at a much better rate! Once we’d showered (bloody fine ones too!) and cleared the crap off us from the last two days travel we sat down, opened up to each other and calmed some of our fears and trepidation which had been building for the last 48hrs.
We are in Africa, it is the most different place in the world to what were used to and sometimes it becomes a bit too much with people trying to get things out of you the entire time, corrupt officials and just the whole environment, weather and heat…but were here doing it and I’m so proud of Luke – he’s taken on a huge amount.
Neither of us speak French very well and feel sometimes that we can’t get the whole picture and can’t properly socialise and take part, but we’re trying and getting better every day!
Tomorrow the drive to the border of Senegal and some respite from the heat in a country which we hope may be easier to get to grips with! Still I’m loving almost every minute and Afritrex continues as planned.
End of day location: Nouakchott, Mauritania
Distance covered: 430kms
Location: Nouadhibou, Mauritania
Weather: All sorts - 35°c in the desert, rain for 5mins in the heat and now a hot sultry evening!
Status: Ben – tired, amazed and still happy, Luke – overwhelmed but enjoying it, Colonel – another long day in the desert.
A true African experience today like we haven’t had yet!
Left our quiet little beach camp and made for the road again with our destination south of the capital if at all possible.
Passed through the numerous police checks with requests for presents, money and sunglasses at all and made for the new road which happily does exist.
Today was a true sahara experience as the desert lay before us with its enormity there for us to see, the temperature quickly rose from an easy 25°c to an almost unbearable 37°c as the road headed inland away from the coast. At its peak we even had some rain hitting the windscreen but it amounted to nothing and didn’t even settle the dust.
The wind gradually become stronger as the day wore on and by the time we were 100kms north of the capital vast amounts of sand and dust were being blown across the road making driving very difficult as visibility reduced and the sun became weaker. This lasted all the way to the outskirts of the town, and then suddenly disappeared as the sun dropped out of the sky for the evening.
We’d spotted a youth hostel in the guide book which we made for, if only for a different nights sleep from the tent! When we got there, and it was the right place, there was no such thing and Luke headed off to make enquiries for alternative secure parking and accommodation…he came back 10 mins later with a ‘guide’ and we took to the streets once more through the totally mad rush hour traffic of donkeys, trucks and cars that wouldn’t even get to an English MOT station let alone get on the ramps!
When we pulled into the Auberge we knew we’d been brought somewhere far too expensive for our budget and instead camped in the secure car park at a much better rate! Once we’d showered (bloody fine ones too!) and cleared the crap off us from the last two days travel we sat down, opened up to each other and calmed some of our fears and trepidation which had been building for the last 48hrs.
We are in Africa, it is the most different place in the world to what were used to and sometimes it becomes a bit too much with people trying to get things out of you the entire time, corrupt officials and just the whole environment, weather and heat…but were here doing it and I’m so proud of Luke – he’s taken on a huge amount.
Neither of us speak French very well and feel sometimes that we can’t get the whole picture and can’t properly socialise and take part, but we’re trying and getting better every day!
Tomorrow the drive to the border of Senegal and some respite from the heat in a country which we hope may be easier to get to grips with! Still I’m loving almost every minute and Afritrex continues as planned.
End of day location: Nouakchott, Mauritania
Distance covered: 430kms
6th Feb 08
Date: 6th Feb 08
Location: Nouadhibou, Mauritania
Weather: Fog to start, sun for the middle and cloud and strong winds to finish! 27°c
Status: Ben & Luke – weary and in need of some good food (Luke on the case!), Colonel – happily clocking up the kms.
Wow what a day, we awoke early to get a good head start and were surrounded by thick fog! Headed out of Dakhla and north to join the connecting road south to the border which we stayed on for the next 450kms. A long, long drive!
Passed through some spectacular moonlike scenery which changed from sand dunes to rocky outcrops and long open stretches of nothingness which disappeared off into the distance to the horizon. The dunes are driven by the near storm force winds continually and every so often extend over the road and almost cover it completely.
Compared to the drive the day before there was very little on the road at all with the occasional lorry or military vehicle heading north, the area is desolate, hot and so so huge it’s hard to comprehend. We drove the equivalent distance today of driving from Portsmouth to Edinburgh and saw maybe 10 vehicles…oh and of course shedloads of camels! The military presence in the area has reduced in recent years but the leftovers from years of territory changes have meant that the borders and areas off the clear roads and tracks are littered with mines with signs warning of the danger along the route.
Stopped around lunch for a dip in the cold Atlantic, an orange and a much needed stretch of the legs!
Hit the border around 2.30pm and left morocco for the first time in a month, realising that the insurance for the car had run out 2 days previously…oops, still no questions asked at the border so we had got our exit stamps and customs clearance and headed to no-mans-land…of course after the obligatory requests for presents, cigarettes and packs of cards, so we offered a pack of cards and they didn’t want them as we only had one…not enough for poker apparently!! They waved us through…
The formalities on the Mauritanian side were a whole lot easier, and so much less official. Two wooden sheds with guards who asked for the carnet for the first time which of course we had, got it stamped and away we went. As we left the building we were offered Mauritanian money which we bought and also a guide to get us through the minefields, we declined these as the road was very obvious and there’s nothing like taking a good old fashioned risk anyway!! We all made it through just fine.
The road this side of the border was in a worse state than before with sand encroaching from both sides blown on by the ferocious wind which was driving from the north east, behind us so we made good time to the next town Nouadhibou which was a real introduction to black Africa and its delights. Cars approaching from all angles, pedestrians everywhere and donkey carts at every opportunity as we made our way to the centre of the town and our intended camp for the night.
When we got there it was closed and nothing more than a walled enclosure so we headed back out and up the coast to a site where we’d seen a German campervan earlier on parked up next to them for another hard-earned nights rest and the delights of Luke’s cuisine!
Tomorrow we’ll skirt round the national park to the capital Nouakchott as we press south to the more relative safety of Senegal and The Gambia. If, as we expect the new road hasn’t been finished yet we’ll head through the park for the 300kms drive stretching it out over two days to take in the 5hr blast down the beach to the capital.
End of day location: Nouadhibou, Mauritania
Distance covered: 486kms
Location: Nouadhibou, Mauritania
Weather: Fog to start, sun for the middle and cloud and strong winds to finish! 27°c
Status: Ben & Luke – weary and in need of some good food (Luke on the case!), Colonel – happily clocking up the kms.
Wow what a day, we awoke early to get a good head start and were surrounded by thick fog! Headed out of Dakhla and north to join the connecting road south to the border which we stayed on for the next 450kms. A long, long drive!
Passed through some spectacular moonlike scenery which changed from sand dunes to rocky outcrops and long open stretches of nothingness which disappeared off into the distance to the horizon. The dunes are driven by the near storm force winds continually and every so often extend over the road and almost cover it completely.
Compared to the drive the day before there was very little on the road at all with the occasional lorry or military vehicle heading north, the area is desolate, hot and so so huge it’s hard to comprehend. We drove the equivalent distance today of driving from Portsmouth to Edinburgh and saw maybe 10 vehicles…oh and of course shedloads of camels! The military presence in the area has reduced in recent years but the leftovers from years of territory changes have meant that the borders and areas off the clear roads and tracks are littered with mines with signs warning of the danger along the route.
Stopped around lunch for a dip in the cold Atlantic, an orange and a much needed stretch of the legs!
Hit the border around 2.30pm and left morocco for the first time in a month, realising that the insurance for the car had run out 2 days previously…oops, still no questions asked at the border so we had got our exit stamps and customs clearance and headed to no-mans-land…of course after the obligatory requests for presents, cigarettes and packs of cards, so we offered a pack of cards and they didn’t want them as we only had one…not enough for poker apparently!! They waved us through…
The formalities on the Mauritanian side were a whole lot easier, and so much less official. Two wooden sheds with guards who asked for the carnet for the first time which of course we had, got it stamped and away we went. As we left the building we were offered Mauritanian money which we bought and also a guide to get us through the minefields, we declined these as the road was very obvious and there’s nothing like taking a good old fashioned risk anyway!! We all made it through just fine.
The road this side of the border was in a worse state than before with sand encroaching from both sides blown on by the ferocious wind which was driving from the north east, behind us so we made good time to the next town Nouadhibou which was a real introduction to black Africa and its delights. Cars approaching from all angles, pedestrians everywhere and donkey carts at every opportunity as we made our way to the centre of the town and our intended camp for the night.
When we got there it was closed and nothing more than a walled enclosure so we headed back out and up the coast to a site where we’d seen a German campervan earlier on parked up next to them for another hard-earned nights rest and the delights of Luke’s cuisine!
Tomorrow we’ll skirt round the national park to the capital Nouakchott as we press south to the more relative safety of Senegal and The Gambia. If, as we expect the new road hasn’t been finished yet we’ll head through the park for the 300kms drive stretching it out over two days to take in the 5hr blast down the beach to the capital.
End of day location: Nouadhibou, Mauritania
Distance covered: 486kms
5th Feb 08
Date: 5th Feb 08
Location: Dakhla, Morocco
Weather: To start with grey and misty, then blue skies as normal and 26°c, tonight cloud cover but lovely and warm!
Status: All good, Colonel – new oil and filter to keep the heart healthy
So early start for another day of epic travels through the desert, kept up a good head of steam for almost an hour before finding THE best stocked service station in Morocco!! 2 coffees, bananas and chocolate biscuits later and we hit the road again.
5hrs later we arrived in Dahkla, situated on a thin finger of land and a post for navy, military and police and a few locals! Found a little back street garage who changed the oil and filter for a little over a tenner and we were on a way again….all the way to a windy, empty restaurant for a stunning lamb tajine. Headed out of town after searching for wireless internet and coming up with nothing, and found a spot on the edge of the beach with some other campers around to spend the night ready for an early start in the morning and the final day in morocco…Inshallah!!
Dominos and shithead before bed! Two beers each to watch the sunset…..
Good days progress……well done all!
End of day location: Dakhla
Distance covered: 470kms
Location: Dakhla, Morocco
Weather: To start with grey and misty, then blue skies as normal and 26°c, tonight cloud cover but lovely and warm!
Status: All good, Colonel – new oil and filter to keep the heart healthy
So early start for another day of epic travels through the desert, kept up a good head of steam for almost an hour before finding THE best stocked service station in Morocco!! 2 coffees, bananas and chocolate biscuits later and we hit the road again.
5hrs later we arrived in Dahkla, situated on a thin finger of land and a post for navy, military and police and a few locals! Found a little back street garage who changed the oil and filter for a little over a tenner and we were on a way again….all the way to a windy, empty restaurant for a stunning lamb tajine. Headed out of town after searching for wireless internet and coming up with nothing, and found a spot on the edge of the beach with some other campers around to spend the night ready for an early start in the morning and the final day in morocco…Inshallah!!
Dominos and shithead before bed! Two beers each to watch the sunset…..
Good days progress……well done all!
End of day location: Dakhla
Distance covered: 470kms
4th Feb 08
Date: 4th Feb 08
Location: Tarfaya, Morocco
Weather: Clear blue skies and windy, 27°c
Status: A good report all round
Awoke on our beach with the shipwreck still there and a long drive ahead so we hit the road once I’d sorted out greasing up the UV joints on the props to keep the Colonels joints well lubricated.
Drove to Laayoune 120kms south through the border with Western Sahara which amounted to very little apart from the usual passport and profession check. Played a little game with the guards and Luke is now a bonafide member of the London university for English language…..well it gave us something to do anyway!
Arrived in what can only be described as the arse-end of the world with nothing more than twisty dirty streets, windy conditions and three banks, all of which advertised a bureau de change but none actually had one! Bumped into a Slovenian couple we’d met earlier in the day and they needed dirhams whilst we needed Euros; so the deal was made outside the bank and for no commission at all!
Headed to the internet café and struggled to get a connection so hit the road south until it ran parallel with the sea and found our campsite for the night, again overlooking the Atlantic.
Tomorrow is another day on the road with the push south to Dakhla for our final restock and refuel before the border and the more unknown!
End of day location: just south of Laayoune
Distance covered: 150kms
Location: Tarfaya, Morocco
Weather: Clear blue skies and windy, 27°c
Status: A good report all round
Awoke on our beach with the shipwreck still there and a long drive ahead so we hit the road once I’d sorted out greasing up the UV joints on the props to keep the Colonels joints well lubricated.
Drove to Laayoune 120kms south through the border with Western Sahara which amounted to very little apart from the usual passport and profession check. Played a little game with the guards and Luke is now a bonafide member of the London university for English language…..well it gave us something to do anyway!
Arrived in what can only be described as the arse-end of the world with nothing more than twisty dirty streets, windy conditions and three banks, all of which advertised a bureau de change but none actually had one! Bumped into a Slovenian couple we’d met earlier in the day and they needed dirhams whilst we needed Euros; so the deal was made outside the bank and for no commission at all!
Headed to the internet café and struggled to get a connection so hit the road south until it ran parallel with the sea and found our campsite for the night, again overlooking the Atlantic.
Tomorrow is another day on the road with the push south to Dakhla for our final restock and refuel before the border and the more unknown!
End of day location: just south of Laayoune
Distance covered: 150kms
Monday 4 February 2008
3rd Feb 08
Date: 3rd Feb 08
Location: Mirleft, Morocco
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 25°c
Status: Ben – having the best time, Luke – Tranquil, Colonel – Rolling on
Had an amazing little fire for a few hours the night before and cooked a poitjke which tasted superb, we’ve both commented on how good it is to be able to cook on an open fire with very little!
Set off early to enter new territory for the first time in a few weeks and it felt good to get moving and on the adventure once more. Destination; as far south as we can get before the sun drops out of the sky again.
After 6hrs of driving we got to one of the national parks which was a mixture of pure sand dunes, rocky sandstone and rivers which actually had some water in them for a change! The roads really are mad here, and anywhere you have great distances to cover in the world, they go on and on in straight lines as far as the eye can see until they disappear into the heathaze in the distance.
We’d read in on of the books that free camping is the norm further south and we managed to get as far as we’d hoped and found the first of the shipwrecks visible from the road. After crossing some small dunes we ended up with a campsite overlooking the beach with the shipwrecked fishing boat making up the most of our tent view for the evening.
Luke set about the cooking and I’m writing this as the sun drops behind the horizon for the night. Today has been what the dream is all about, I feel the most relaxed I ever have and so in awe of the fact that Afritrex is right here, right now!!!!!!!!
Bring on tomorrow….JJ
End of day location: Tarfaya, Morocco
Distance covered: 411kms
Location: Mirleft, Morocco
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 25°c
Status: Ben – having the best time, Luke – Tranquil, Colonel – Rolling on
Had an amazing little fire for a few hours the night before and cooked a poitjke which tasted superb, we’ve both commented on how good it is to be able to cook on an open fire with very little!
Set off early to enter new territory for the first time in a few weeks and it felt good to get moving and on the adventure once more. Destination; as far south as we can get before the sun drops out of the sky again.
After 6hrs of driving we got to one of the national parks which was a mixture of pure sand dunes, rocky sandstone and rivers which actually had some water in them for a change! The roads really are mad here, and anywhere you have great distances to cover in the world, they go on and on in straight lines as far as the eye can see until they disappear into the heathaze in the distance.
We’d read in on of the books that free camping is the norm further south and we managed to get as far as we’d hoped and found the first of the shipwrecks visible from the road. After crossing some small dunes we ended up with a campsite overlooking the beach with the shipwrecked fishing boat making up the most of our tent view for the evening.
Luke set about the cooking and I’m writing this as the sun drops behind the horizon for the night. Today has been what the dream is all about, I feel the most relaxed I ever have and so in awe of the fact that Afritrex is right here, right now!!!!!!!!
Bring on tomorrow….JJ
End of day location: Tarfaya, Morocco
Distance covered: 411kms
31st Jan 08
Date: 31st Jan & 1st Feb
Location: El Jadida
Weather: Scattered clouds bright and sunny, 22°c
Status: All just fine
Travelled from El Jadida south to Essaouira for the first day and stayed in the same spot as before with Ali the really sound car park attendant, parked up watched the sunset and sat on the internet with Luke playing online shithead!! Felt ridiculous speaking to people in the UK using my laptop, someone else’s wireless internet connection and a set of headphones whilst sat in the tent on the beach….lovin the technology!
Up early and then headed on the long trip south to Mirleft, stocked up on groceries at the Marjane supermarket and pulled up into our previous camp site around 8pm. Had a wicked little fire, coffee and munchies. Must have a look at the Colonel tomorrow, he’s pulling to one side slightly when I brake so need to get the wheel off and check the calliper etc.
Windy tonight for the first time in a few days with loads of cloud in the distance so could be in for some rain for the first time proper on the trip, well it was going to happen at some point!
Out
End of day location: Mirleft
Distance covered: 31st Jan – 310kms, 1st Feb – 328kms
Location: El Jadida
Weather: Scattered clouds bright and sunny, 22°c
Status: All just fine
Travelled from El Jadida south to Essaouira for the first day and stayed in the same spot as before with Ali the really sound car park attendant, parked up watched the sunset and sat on the internet with Luke playing online shithead!! Felt ridiculous speaking to people in the UK using my laptop, someone else’s wireless internet connection and a set of headphones whilst sat in the tent on the beach….lovin the technology!
Up early and then headed on the long trip south to Mirleft, stocked up on groceries at the Marjane supermarket and pulled up into our previous camp site around 8pm. Had a wicked little fire, coffee and munchies. Must have a look at the Colonel tomorrow, he’s pulling to one side slightly when I brake so need to get the wheel off and check the calliper etc.
Windy tonight for the first time in a few days with loads of cloud in the distance so could be in for some rain for the first time proper on the trip, well it was going to happen at some point!
Out
End of day location: Mirleft
Distance covered: 31st Jan – 310kms, 1st Feb – 328kms
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