The Worst Road in the World

Not a lot of sleep achieved as they seemed to be moving the furniture all night in the hotel as well as washing up and cooking, then the muezzin started at 3.30 and then the cockerel and everyone walked past our door and breakfast started at 6. The hellish journey then began, 250km of rough track which had been washed away by the rains leaving giant boulders and ravines to skirt around using only 1^st and 2^nd gears and as our bent sump guard only gives us 6 inches ground clearance we bounce and hit it every 10 seconds. It took 10 hours and we were covered in dust and revolting when we got to the campsite, the first 2 wheel drive to make it! Lovely showers under a bucket rigged up and delicious supper and tents already put up for us with beds so actually very comfortable. Alot of cars have had problems today mostly with their suspension but so far we are going ok

Into Kenya

Day 15

We were sad to leave the rather comfortable hotel, which had clean sheets and a, unused by us, swimming pool. Filled up with fuel where a boy came to the window and said, ‘I’m so pleased to meet you because I’ve only seen you on the telly’, which might explain the thousands of people lining the roads. We then realised that we were running late so roared along the open roads which had been closed to all other traffic. Although manned by police, going through the villages at 70mph was quite something as they all cheered and waved again.



 It was a stunningly beautiful drive with no traffic and no donkey carts, in fact all the people in Ethiopia seemed to be doing nothing but waiting for us to come through. A huge contrast from yesterday when they were so busy.

Thought our times were a bit tight but, having left late, managed to arrive early. Rachel was complimented on her driving by two people so we must be doing alright and we have gone up to 36^th. The border was another scene with our passports being looked at by three different officials and eventually given back to us. Apparently Philip made a scene at the control and started stamping everyone’s passports himself! We are not sure what the rush was about as we are in a very tired and dusty village which is ostensibly dry… However we did find a thriving little bar in the prison staff canteen where we had a Tusker or two. Then back to share a small double bed… We are managing by going head to toe in sleeping bags.

The Blue Nile Gorge

A 7.09 start and long day heading out of Bahir Dar on a 240km off road section through the most lovely country with lots of villages, lots of people, donkeys, sheep and goats, mostly on the road, winnowing the wheat by hand and building giant haystacks. Then we drove down the Blue Nile Gorge and up the other side, incredible. Very fertile country full of thousands of happy smiling people waving at us and order being maintained by policemen and soldiers waving sticks and quite a few with rifles over their shoulders. Saturday is market day and they were all busy walking along the road with their sheep and goats and driving donkey carts and carrying bags on their heads. When it got dark, though they had no lights and it was impossible to see them until we were upon them. We had a very long and stressful journey for about 1 ½ hours of darkness facing lorries with high beam as well as the people and donkey carts. All very scary. Got into the hotel eventually, after 13 hours flat out, and were met by a charming lady ex rally driver and her daughter and helped into the hotel by them. We were both virtually unrecognisable for the dust, and so was the car which for some reason we had had cleaned in Bahir Dar. Suzy needed two showers to get clean and even then the towel was filthy when she got out.

Sudan, Ethiopia

Sudan, Ethiopia

We had dancers to entertain us outside the hotel as we were trying to leave this morning.They are rather beautiful people with fine features and an ever ready smile and it is such a relief to see men and women interacting in a normal way after Saudi. The drive to the Ethiopian border was stunning through open plains dotted with trees, more verdant as we got closer. The border itself was incredibly easy helped by the local fix it man, we had to go in and out of various huts with passports and carnets then we drove across to Ethiopia and had to do the same but we were through by 11. The drive then was amazing, so many people around all of them busy walking along the roads and working in the fields, bringing in the harvest on carts pulled by donkeys.

Back into Africa

Back into Africa

Our cabin must be the dirtiest place we have ever slept in. When Suzy picked up her pillow 2 cockroaches ran out! So she put her own pillow at the other end and slept in her sleeping bag and was fine. Rachel braved the shower, which did have lovely hot water which we haven’t had for a couple of days, but Suzy couldn’t manage that. Peaceful breakfast as the ferry was delayed, after which we went up to the top deck to throw our abayas overboard. It was exciting then to watch from there as we came into Port Sudan and, through the binoculars, we saw the town completely bombed out. Africa proper! We docked eventually at about 2pm. As usual customs and carnet were a complete farce with loads of officials looking at every engine number and chassis number and finally we just drove off. We had 700km to drive and were a bit nervous as it would be dark for a lot of it but our lovely escorts, Owen and Matt and the Dawsons convoyed us at a good speed all the way. The roads were horrific, foot deep potholes appeared suddenly and we all hit a few but managed to survive. We stopped for supper at the side of the road at a mud shack were we ate lamb stew and flatbreads. We think it was lamb because our chef indicated an old lamb skin he had up to dry, quite near the food it has to be said, which still had the tail on. So when we said ‘Oh, lamb!’ he beamed and agreed, ‘lamb!’ Then off we flew again, bumpety bump, crash bump into the potholes and a few others joined us, finally getting in at 1.45am and straight to bed. One car hit a donkey and smashed in its front end and another broke their tie bar- ha! we only bent ours!

The shell of Port Sudan

Hayden, Alastair, Colin, Steve

our welcoming party

Matt and Georges

following Owen through drifting sand

pointy houses beside the railway

why do people live in this desolate place?

Day 11

A very relaxed start as we didn’t have to leave until 11am but we were met at breakfast by the news that some of our cars had been broken into- in Saudi of all places which is supposed to be so strict! Our back number plate was taken but we can live with that, we even have a spare! But others have had the Yellowbricks and GPS and even tools and spare parts nicked. The police are all talk and say they will find them, especially the Yellowbricks as they can be traced but not much is happening just lots of shrugging of shoulders and very fast chat in Arabic.

The car park which was raided in spite of police presence. We thought they lost their hands for thieving.

Jane, Owen, Chris, Matt, Ed and Paul enjoying chicken on the floor.

Our lunch stop today was at a café with rugs on the floor and three brick high partitions where one big plate of rice, two chickens and 9 spoons was placed in the middle and we all sat cross legged and dug in.

Yummy! Lunch for 9.

boarding the dirty ferry

err... who's passport?

Dirty cabin for two

Actually pretty good food in dirty ship.

The Cleopatra Hall

Got to the port at 4 hung around in the car park til 7 lots of negotiation about passports and tickets and finally got on to pretty basic cabins, in fact the dirtiest we have had by far. The cockroaches on the pillow beat Rachel's used sheets in Egypt, but at least we have beds tonight. Went back for our sleeping bags as these sheets have definitely been used before!  

Egypt

Egypt

We set off with great intentions today, three trials in the desert. We’ve done sand before in the Gobi so no problem. However, having got 8 km into the first there were 12 cars ahead of us stuck in a narrow gulley with deep sand so we turned round so that we could attack the 2nd and got  grounded twice on the way out. We were pulled out by the ever helpful Max and James. The 2nd was cancelled as everyone else was stuck so we went on to the 3^rd. As we are now placed at 39^th, our start time was late enough to make it worth doing and we were nearly at the end when, yes, we hit deep sand and had to get a tow out from Max and Pierre and Georges so we missed the end and made a sorry trip back to the hotel.

Stuck again...

James and Max Stephenson

Mike and Ben Dawson with their escort

Day 10

Three hours sleep and then we were up again to get on the ferry at midnight. It left at 4am and we arrived in Saudi having had a very uncomfortable night with no beds, either rubber necking badly or lying on the floor, trying to sleep. We were all so tired after digging sand and pushing cars all day. All the men had a good laugh and took loads of photos of us wearing our abayas then we had to get in the cars with our designated drivers. Suzy had Ed to drive the MG and Rachel went in the Frontera with Chris.

A long and boring drive, but on excellent roads, through Saudi desert along the eastern edge of the Red Sea to Yanbu. We both feel that wearing the abaya makes us feel strangely pathetic. We can’t even move the car to be helpful in a queue. And, unlike the men, we weren’t fingerprinted or photographed at customs…

Beautiful Abaya

Rachel with Chris, her escort!

The Saudis have a very strange idea of roundabout design

It feels strange to wear normal clothes in our room and then have to put on the abayas over them if we emerge in public. We went down for supper feeling rather self conscious but were asked to join the local Mr Fix it, the very charming Elie Semaan who is half Bahraini and half Lebanese and speaks beautiful English and his friend Mohammed Kaddoumi from Jordan. They made us laugh and told us that Saudi women were too spoilt to cope with this sort of trip as they get pampered by their husbands. So we felt a bit more confident as we went to bed