Libya

Day 1– 15/10/12

Clearly it is still not normal for western/foreigners to enter Libya overland. Still, our business visas passed muster! There were some questions about our sponsor, so we showed the email from Libya travel with the details and all that passed quickly.

Getting the carnet stamped was another matter. Maybe we should not have bothered. Still, after a bit of a wait it was completed, unfortunately the customs officer took both the entry and exit portion. So we will see what happens on exit.

We had read about the Libyan drivers, but nothing could prepare you for the actual event. There is a divided road, 4 lane highway from the border. That did not stop folks driving on the wrong side! They drive super fast and only need 1 mm to squeeze past a slightly slower vehicle in a passing manoeuvre. That 1 mm includes allowing for the oncoming traffic to break hard and swerve to avoid a fatal crash. Actually, they are probably not as good as  they think they are, as along the road side there were a great number of burnt out wrecks.

We decided to stay at Sabratha for the night. We asked directions from a chap at the side of the road and he brought a fluent English speaker – very broad Irish accent! They shut their shop and jumped in their car to show us the way. Then at the well known Roman site we asked about accommodation.  This chap also hopped into his car to show us the way. He was the curator of the site. The Youth Hostel appeared to be closed. We went to another hotel, but could not find any staff to show us a room, so with the assistance of our guide, we went on to another hotel. Avril checked this out, but it definitely did not pass her scrutiny. So, unfortunately we had to go for the 5 star resort down the road – bugger. The Hotel Tellel Complex was very nice. It cost Dinar 180 for dinner, bed & breakfast. 

The beach looked quite solid and folks a little more adventurous than us could well camp nearby.

Ray driving; 429 km; 10 hrs; N 32⁰ 48’ 59.3’’ E 012⁰ 22’ 42.6’’Day 1– 15/10/12

Day  2– 16/10/12

Find a Bank. Roman ruins. After a leisurely breakfast, we filled up the main fuel tank in the car. As promised it was A$ 0.10/l! The manager of the hotel had told us there was an ATM in town. And so there was, in fact a few ATMs and a very nice man went out of his way to guide us (via car) to the various places. Unfortunately, none would accept our credit card. So, we went in search of a bank to change money, but they do not seem to do that in Libya. So, we went searching for a money changer – but no luck. So we gave up and went to visit the Sabratha Roman ruins.

The ruins are very impressive and as the guide book says, the location on the coast adds to the appeal. The theatre is exceptional and the mausoleum notable. Most of the site it yet to be excavated, but there are still a lot of temples, columns, mosaics etc that kept us occupied for a couple of hours.

We then drove to Tripoli, searching for banks along the way. We stopped at a number of banks, but none had operating ATMs or could change money. We (OK, Ray) were starting to worry a little. Then, Amen bank to the rescue. They had a number of operating ATMs and a few vehicles with mobile ATMs. Unfortunately, the machine snapped one of Ray’s cards, but we managed to get it out and withdraw with another card (lesson: you can never have too many cards). We withdrew the money just before the start of the Tripoli ring road, so we avoided the city center and used the ring road all the way to the east of the city. We can accurately report that the city drivers are as bad as the country drivers. Very scary, the speed and overtaking manoeuvres.

We stopped on the way to fill the reserve tank. After filling, Ray had a senior moment and left the key on the pump – and only found out much later. Fortunately, we have a spare (lesson: you can never have too many keys).

Our final stop for the day was the exceptional Leptis Magna ruins. For once the World Heritage stamp meant something. The ruins are vast with much still in place. This was the home town of local boy, Septimius Severus, made good – all the way to Emperor. So, lots had been done to make the city impressive. The Arch of Septimius Severus at the entrance just being a taste of the great ruins: baths, nymphaeum, colonnaded street, forum (old and new), Severan Basilica, more temples, churches, arches, an amphitheatre etc. we wandered around for a few hours – no one else was at the site.

We camped at a clearly marked place to camp, with ordinary facilities near the entrance to the ruins.

Avril driving; 223 km; N 32⁰ 37’ 54.2’’ E 014⁰ 17’ 23.6’’

Day 3– 17/10/12

A very long day. The Libyan love affair with octane and cars did not end until the early hours of the morning; hence we had a very poor sleep. We got up early to start our long drive.

The landscape in southern Tunisia and in Libya is quite flat and uninteresting to monotonous. So, the drive is a bit of a task. The Libyan drivers kept us very focussed on the road – driving is akin to a session in a simulator with all sorts of obstacles etc appearing in weird locations. A hard aspect for us was to predict passing distances with the oncoming traffic approaching at + 160 km/hr. The roads are in fairly good nick; however an interesting obstacle is the complex arrangement of single and dual carriage ways. At times we needed to drive on the “wrong” side of the dual carriage way, but it was not clear when this was necessary/appropriate. In general, we just followed the vehicles in front.

There were many road blocks and we were stopped a few times. On one occasion the young militiaman was a bit agro. The local Libyans quickly came to our aid and we passed on quickly.

There is not too much evidence of the war, apart from the large number of armoured vehicles along the road -those at the road blocks presumable as trophies. Some of the others show the impact of an air strike on a vehicle – best not to be in the vehicle we would guess.

We arrived in Benghazi on dusk and with no assistance found our way to the recommended hotel, only to find it was full. They directed us to sister hotel, Juliana Hotel, a couple of hundred meters down the road but it also was full. We asked the chaps at the desk to assist and ring another hotel in town. They started to do this, but did not want us to go into the middle of town, so gave us a suite at a reduced rate, LD 220, still expensive but it was late.

Along the way today we noticed that the rear, right tyre had developed a bubble on the outside. We nursed it to the hotel and after check-in Ray changed the tyre. Still this is very annoying, a new tyre! This is the 2^nd time that BFGoodrich tyres have done this on our vehicle. No other tyre has done it.

Ray driving; 882 km; 11 hrs; N 32⁰ 05’ 03.5’’ E 020⁰ 02’ 46.1’’

Day 4– 18/10/12

After getting a bit bamboozled by Benghazi traffic, we made our way to Cyrene. Some of the journey was marked green on the Michelin map. There were some small, rolling hills, but maybe the green was out of sympathy as these were only non flat bits we have seen thus far.

Cyrene was originally a Greek city before the Romans took it over. It is a vast site and justly rates a World Heritage stamp. We spent a couple of hours wandering the site – again we were the only tourists on the site. We are a bit “Romaned out”, so probably did not give the site its full due. We did look at the all the ruins mentioned in the guide book, but this site probably needs much more.

From Cyrene we drove to the sea. The drive from Appoloninana/Marsa Susah to Darman along the ocean was wonderful and fully deserved its Michelin green. We had a nice picnic overlooking the ocean. Along the way we needed to ask directions; an English speaker seeing we were asking questions, drove out of his way to check we were alright.

Then we drove to Tobruk, stopping at the Knightsbridge Commonwealth Cemetery to honour the soldiers there.

We stayed at the Al Masira hotel (LD 135) the best in town apparently. Again, we found the place with the help of folks we asked on the road.

Avril driving;   485 km; 9 hrs; N 32⁰ 04’ 20.1’’ E 023⁰ 58’ 03.4’’

Day 5– 19/10/12

A disappointing start to the day. When Ray went out to start packing he found that the 2 side doors of the accommodation box had been forced. Fortunately only a torch and 2 (new) BBQ lighters were stolen. Still, this is the 1^st time our vehicle had been targeted. AND, we parked beside the security hut to try and be safe.

On the way out of town we visited the Tobruk War Cemetery. This is the main Australian cemetery. It is always sobering to visit a war cemetery and reflect on the sacrifices made and the grief and sorrow of those left behind. Whilst the cemetery is in quite good nick, it was in need of some gardening and there was litter around.

We then drove to the Libyan border. Immigration was competed in less than 60 secs. Getting the Carnet stamped took 60 min! This is probably because they had not seen one before and did not have the stamp at the outgoing border post.

Libya Summary

The Libyans we met were friendly and super generous. They invariably went out of their way to assist us in any way. That said, they are the world’s worst drivers, total maniacs.

We did not feel there were any security issues and we always felt safe. However, we stayed in hotels or secure areas at night and did not wander after dark. This added to the cost. It would have been possible to camp in a number of places, if we had have been assured of the security situation.

Folks in Tunisia had been concerned about the availability of fresh food in Libya, so we had stocked up in advance. This was not needed. There were excellent fruit & veg markets across Libya.

We saw the main tourist sites in the north in the time we had. However, if the reported security situation was not so bad, we would have probably spent a few days more. There are some wonderful beaches and coast. The security situation prevented a trip to the desert in the south. The roads on the route we took were in good condition.

We obtained business visas at Tunis with the assistance of Jill at contact@libyatravelandtours.com. There was a mix up with fax/reference numbers for Avril’s visa. That took a couple of days to sort out. With the correct reference number, it is a straight forward process and takes 1 – 2 hours. Note, the application form needs to be completed in Arabic.

Libya seems to have a proper functioning economy, with civic works underway, clean and well presented shops (including diet coke and beer in some places). Apart from the destroyed armoured vehicles and tanks beside the road, there is little in any evidence of the conflict. After the drivers, litter is a huge problem.

Tunisia

Day 1 – 9/10/12

Crossing into Tunisia took a bit of time. We managed to get our visa on entry, but did not realise until later they had only given us 7 days. We had to explain about the carnet to the Tunisia customs people, but they were OK with it and after a bit of time stamped us in. We had to pay €20 for 8 days car insurance.

Then, the real delay started. A film crew was on site to film the customs entrance process and we could not proceed until they had finished. The poor folks in the 2 vehicles in front of us got a real working over; 100% inspection. Fortunately the customs chap who had assisted us got us through without too much fuss.

The pleasant drive continued, though we noticed almost immediately that the road condition was not as good as Algeria and that the volume of rubbish was much greater, which is a pity. It was not like that in the past.

We drove through to Bizerte where we had booked a hotel room for the night. We then made a side trip to Cape Blanc, the most northerly point in Africa. We have been to the most southerly point, Cape Agullus, some time ago. When we were in the west we did not think of this, so will not be able to complete the east – west.

Ray driving; N 37⁰ 17’ 42.9’’ E 009⁰ 52’ 18.7’’

Day 2 – 10/10/12

We got up early to try and get to the Libyan embassy in Tunis early. Unfortunately there were bridge works on the way out of Bizerte, with only one lane operating. So we were delayed ~ 20 min.

On the way into Tunis we got stuck in a major traffic situation. There is probably too much traffic for the road system; however the situation does not seem to be helped by the driving habits of the local folks. In order to maintain optionality, drivers try to occupy as many lanes as possible. To a large degree this is done by sitting in on a lane marker. To counter this, other people form additional lanes. So, if the “freeway” has 3 lanes they will try and make 5 lanes, squeezing in between other vehicles. Then, there are the lane changers, like flies trying to move in and out of any space, or perceived space in order to get one car further advanced. Then, Avril’s biggest hate; those who use an exit lane or such to get to the front of a line and then make their way into the traffic flow. The police assist the traffic confusion/congestion by ignoring the engineered traffic signals and deciding to direct against red lights etc. The police do not seem to have much of an impact, as drivers will turn against their hand signals and just wave as they break the law.

With some sense of irony or maybe just plain sarcasm, the GPS asked; “do you want to swap to pedestrian mode”.

We managed to get to the Libyan embassy. Unlike in previous times we have visited Tunis, there is a lot of army around the streets in Tunis. We asked the soldiers in front of the British Council if we could park there and they let us – which was very helpful.

Access to the Libyan embassy is via 3 steps to a barred window. In front of the steps there was a reasonably large crowd, and in African style, queuing is not a natural instinct. However, Avril soon had them sorted out. When we got to the window - it turned out that Ray’s visa was waiting, but not Avril’s. Bugger. So, after some liaison with the folks in Tripoli who organised the visas (US$400 per person plus 45 dinars each!!), we decided to get Ray’s and they would work on Avril’s overnight. More queuing to get to ask for Ray’s visa. Then it took some time to get the folks in the embassy to understand that we only wanted Ray’s visa. After completing the form in English and handing it in, we were told it had to be in Arabic!  A helpful chap, also queuing, completed the form in Arabic for us. Then, we queued again to hand the form in. Finally + 4 hours later, much of it in the sun, Ray had his visa. In addition we had made some new friends and Avril had at least got some African people to understand that when western people are about, queuing should be practiced!!

We the managed to find our way to the Kasbah to meet up with Steve (our nephew) and his family. Virginie is undertaking research in Tunis for her PhD. We had a nice lunch and went to have a look at where they are staying. They have 2 children – Nina (5) and Eliot (7 months) who are both very cute and well-behaved ( their parents and grandparents will be reading this!!).

Then we found our way to Sidi Bou Said. Mike & Caroline Rees (head of the local BG operations) had kindly asked us to stay. They have a marvellous house with pool etc. We had a very pleasant evening chatting over a delicious dinner and a few beers. Thanks.

Avril driving; N 36⁰ 52’ 12.4’’ E 010⁰ 20’ 74.7’’

Day 3 – 11/10/12

After a good sleep in and practising patience, we got word from the agency in Tripoli that Avril’s visa should be available at the Libyan Embassy. Apparently the Tripoli agency had sent us an incorrect reference/fax number. So, we quickly grabbed a taxi and arranged for Steve (nephew) to join us there and translate our visa application into Arabic. Unfortunately we got there a tad late. The folks at the window were very apologetic, but the visa section closed an hour earlier this day.

We went back to Steve’s place for a bit to eat and then a visit to a shopping centre with his family and also to buy Nina a belated birthday present. It is always wonderful to spend time with family.

Day 4 – 12/10/12

We got an early lift into the city with Mike (who is always early to work!) and then on to the embassy. We wanted to be 1^st in line to avoid queuing and hence miss the time bell again -  we managed to achieve that KPI. Again, the folks in the window were helpful. When it looked like the visa section could not find Avril’s fax, the chap from the window grabbed her passport and went upstairs to search for it himself. The fax was there and some comparatively short time later we had Avril’s visa.

We offered the window man some cash as a thankyou, but he rejected this.

We then spent the rest of the day catching up on chores, emails etc.

Day 5 – 13/10/12

 A very lazy day. We caught up with Steve, Virginie, Nina & Eliot for the afternoon. In the evening we went to a very nice restaurant with Mike & Caroline and their “other” guests, Fiona and Ben.  With the menu, wine list and fashions, you would not have thought we were in a Muslim country.

Day 6 – 14/10/12

Mike got up to make us breakfast and then we were on our way. He had kindly arranged for us to stay at the BG village near Sfax. We were lucky to catch up with Paul Bartlett, a work colleague of Ray’s from days past.

We drove into Sfax for a quick look see, actually to find the Carrefour supermarket. The fruit & veg were not the best! We then had dinner (and a few beers) with Paul and some of his workmates in the dining-room, while watching English soccer and rugby!

Avril driving; 449 km; 5 hrs; N 34⁰ 40’ 49.8’’ E 010⁰ 38’ 52.2’’

Day 7– 15/10/12

We got up very early and made the border in ~ 5 hours; 315 km. The road post Sfax is tar, but has seen better days.

Ben Guerdane, the town nearest the border has a real wild west feel. Black- market fuel is openly on sale (from Libya where is costs $ 0.10/l), there were people on the road waving wads of money (we changed the last of our Tunisia Dinars and some UK £), the stalls along the road had a very temporary look about them etc.

The exit from Tunisia was completed without any real delay. Customs wanted to know about our declaration for camera, computer, but we were not required to fill one in on entry.

Tunisia Summary

We were very fortunate to stay with Mike and Caroline, many thanks. It was also great to catch up with family.

We had travelled around Tunisia in the past, so really did not feel the need to revisit sights etc.

Chatting to folks seemed to reveal that the revolution is still a work in progress. We were disappointed to see the level of litter - this is a downward step for the country. Still, Tunisia remains a very low hassle country and super easy to travel around.

Algeria

Day 1 – 28/9/12

After a very smooth Mediterranean crossing we arrived in Oran either on time at 07:00 or 1 hour later at 08:00. We were thoroughly confused by the time zone and much to Avril’s chagrin, got up an hour early. Turns out it is the same as UK summer time.

Algerian immigration was completed very quickly at the vehicle on the docks. One of the Immigration officials took us into his care and got everything done poste haste. Customs took a bit longer. We may well have been the 1^st Australian registered vehicle to enter Algeria/Oran in a long time. Also, they normally deal with the French style “Carte Griese” (?). We have a Carnet de Passage and this took some time to work through the various officials. The good news is that everyone was trying to be helpful and they were all friendly: apologising for the delay as they got the paperwork in order. All in all the whole process was less than 2 hours, so well below our longest wait.

Given all the security and other warnings about Algeria, we decided to be very cautious and organised a guide to accompany us all the way. Our guide, Safia was in the customs hall ensuring that there were no problems. We then checked into the Sheraton hotel (points!) and set out on a city tour. The views from the mountain overlooking the city were spectacular. We saw the main civil and religious buildings and passed by the WWII Operation Torch landing areas. We had delicious paella for lunch – the chef said it was due to the fresh fish. This area had been occupied by Spain for some time a few hundred years ago and they have kept the paella tradition alive.

In the departure hall at Alicante, Ray had been chatting to an Algerian chap, who then assisted us in filling in the paperwork and chatting to immigration in Oran etc. Kadia was a resistance fighter during the fight for independence and proudly showed us a newspaper article written about him. He invited us to his home for tea and we were delighted to go there in the afternoon. His daughter had prepared some lovely sweets to go with tea. Interestingly his son- in-law is the instructor for the pilot instructors in the Algerian airforce. But his passion is to somehow organise a team of pilots and planes to fight major bush fires around the globe.

Sheraton Hotel: N 49⁰ 52’ 55.2’’ E 004⁰ 46’ 32.1’’

Day 2 – 29/9/12

After a casual start to the day we headed to Tipasa. We elected to take the coastal route and it was a great decision. We had a very good drive along some amazing coastal scenery. The road hugs the coast and we were fortunate with the weather and had a brilliant, deep azure/turquoise Mediterranean Sea on our left all the way. The mountains come to the sea in the latter part of the drive and the road is very reminiscent of the Great Ocean Road (without the 12 Apostles) but much longer.

There were many security checks along the way, but we were only stopped twice. And, the officer apologised for delaying us – very courteous.

Saturday seemed to be wedding day. We passed or were intermingled with a number of weddings along the way. The public part of the event consisted of a convoy of cars, the lead car elaborately decorated. Follow-on cars make as much noise as possible and delay any through traffic!

Did we mention, diesel is ~ A$ 0.15/l. Dinner was some lovely, fresh, BBQ fish.

Ray driving; 354 km; 9 hrs; Hotel Torquoise (€ 50 and was pleasant and clean). N 36⁰ 35’ 33.2’’ E 002⁰ 27’ 01.8’’. Today marked our last day of the trip in the west. From now on we should be east of Greenwich.

Day 3 – 30/9/12

In the morning we had a look at the Tipasa Roman ruins. They are well sited on the coast. There is still a lot of excavation to be carried out. Entrance was only $ 0.40, so it is hard to see how they can maintain the site. We drove along the coast, visiting the tomb of Juba II & Cleopatra (daughter of Mark Anthony &  Cleopatra I) on the way to Algiers.

We booked into the Sheraton (points again) and went into central Algiers and looked at the Kasbah.  In the past this was partially destroyed by the French and what is left has not yet been renovated. A couple of palaces/riads have been restored and they are quite stunning.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the catholic Basilica which has recently been renovated.

Avril driving; 62 km; 2 hrs; N 36⁰ 45’ 45.2’’ E 002⁰ 52’ 30.7’’

Day 4 – 1/10/12

Our guide got stuck in the terrible traffic, so we go a latish start. Algiers seems to have a reasonable freeway system, but now, it seems that the volume of traffic in peak times is way too much. We stopped off for breakfast at a fuel station and the kind folks changed the TV station to English. Again, very courteous.

We headed out of Algiers on a newish, well designed and built 6- lane freeway. This took us through a fertile valley that appeared to be a fold in the Altas Mountains, to Bouria. We then headed south over the mountain foothills, through a wheat-growing area and into an arid region. Our objective for the day was Bou Saada. Along the way we made a detour to visit Beni Hamaad, the site of the capital of a 10^th century dynasty capital city. Unfortunately all that remains today is some columns and the minaret of the mosque (apparently the Moors and Marrakech based their minarets on this one).

Overnight was at Hotel Kerdada (€ 41)

Ray driving; 433 km; 8 hrs; N 35⁰ 12’ 39.8’’ E 004⁰ 11’ 01.8’’

Day 5 – 2/10/12

In the morning we were greeted by a number of policemen.  As events transpired, we travelled in convoy (just for us) and had a police escort all day. It was well organised and when we exited a district, the new district police were waiting for us.

In the morning, we had a quick tour of Bou Saada including the Ferrero mills (unfortunately there is very little remaining) and the museum of the French artist Nasreddine Dinet (he was based in this town). We left town with sirens wailing and the road cleared for us.

On the way to Ghardaia we visited the Zaouia El Hamel. Apparently over 70% of Algeria’s clerics are trained at this mosque/college. They can get students to memorise the Koran in less than 9 months!

We also visited the Zaccar Neolithic (?) rock art site.

We arrived in Ghardaia late in the day and in need of a bit of rest. We stayed at a traditional house, the “Hotel” Enteg (€ 30)

Avril driving; 447 km; 12.5 hrs; N 32⁰ 27’ 39.8’’ E 003⁰ 41’ 11.0’’

Day 6 – 3/10/12

We spent the day in the M’Zat valley. The community there is based on 5 walled/fortified towns. We visited the oldest, El Ateuf. The towns are built on hills, with the mosque at the highest point and the rest of the complex cascading downhill from there. The effect is rather like a mini Kasbah/Medina, with houses built together in a complex set of streets. In order to preserve privacy, one door in not allowed to be opposite another door. To all accounts they have preserved their traditional social structure with the elders making decisions etc. In addition, through a system of giving, the poor are looked after by the community. 

The folks here are renowned for being very conservative. The women wear white; a flowing under dress and a long head scarf/veil that extend to ~ their knees. They close the front of the head dress. Married women only show one eye through a small triangle in the scarf. The unmarried women can show all their face.

The blokes wear pants like the Thai fishermen pants, but with pleats.

In the afternoon we visited the irrigation/water distribution system which is based on a system of tunnels. One’s water allocation is based on the number of date trees in one’s garden.

Day 7 – 4/10/12

Again we had a police escort the whole way. And, again, the changes between police areas were basically seamless. We spent the day driving to El Oued via Ouargla and Touggourt. The drive is through typically Saharan landscape. Initially we drove through a windswept stony plain. South of El Oued the landscape changed to an erg, but without big dunes. There are a couple of impressive dune sets outside El Oued. Unfortunately a local business has decided to commercialise the area and “beautify” the dunes by adding statues of gazelles on the dune tops. But really, the scenery was not spectacular; rather we got a small idea of the vast, immenseness of the Sahara.

We attempted to have a picnic with our police escort outside Ouargla, near a palm grove. Unfortunately the flies were in plague proportions. Apparently this is due to the dates being ready to harvest. We have noticed since we left the north that the flies have been very bad. Anyway, the picnic was not all that pleasant and we will think of this when complaining about Australian flies in the future.

At El Oud we visited the Zouaia Tidjania. Algeria has started to collect and catalogue its old Koranic books and they are stored here. The dome of the mosque is UNESCO listed, more for its double skin construction than the painting . We spent some time in the mosque listening to some very restful chanting of Koran verses. The school has an academic bent and is trying to ensure a moderate version of Islam is propagated and that non-Muslims understand the non-violent and non-discriminatory nature of Islam.

The temperature, even as the northern hemisphere goes into autumn was hot. It peaked in the high 30s. The fridge in the cab comes in particularly useful at time such as these.

Our hotel, Hotel Souf (€ 40) was interesting. It was built in the socialist style and you could recognise the same design as in Vietnam. More interesting though, were the young ladies in very revealing modern dress. MMmmm.

Ray driving; 477 km; 4 hrs; N 33⁰ 21’ 36.9’’ E 006⁰ 51’ 44.4’’

Day 8 – 5/10/12

We started the day visiting one of the palmeries in El Oued. With our police escort we get to run all the red lights and take priority through roundabouts and road blocks! We then drove to Batna. Initially the road is in the desert and at Mendi, along the way, there are salt lakes. The salt is mined and apparently the lakes get and retain sufficient water in winter to act as a stop on the bird migration route from Europe.

We stopped off at a petrol station for a convenience break and Ray went to the cafeteria to get a baguette. The folks there would not accept money for the bread, quite generous.

With the consent of our escort we drove through the middle of the Massif de L’Aures, instead of taking the main road. The route is green on the Michelin map and worth the acclamation. The scenery was superb, with a broad valley cut in the middle by a deep gorge. This was most spectacular at Rhoufi. The gorge has sheer sides here, the bottom is covered with palms and half way up the cliff face there are deserted houses.

We arrived early at Batna. Our guide was quite sick so after we checked into the Hotel Hazem (€ 71, including dinner) we went for a walk around the local area. Icecream for Avril and some fruit.

Avril driving; 383 km; 7 hrs; N 35⁰ 33’ 22.9’’ E 006⁰ 10’ 44.0’’

Day 9 – 6/10/12

A Roman day. Again our police escort was on time and at 08:00 we set off for the Timgad ruins. On the outskirts of Batna you pass by the ruins of Lambaesis, the Roman military camp. Timgad is an extensive site. It has all the typical characteristics of a Roman town, however not many of the great structures have survived. Ray found the “sweet spot” in the theatre (not hard as it was marked) and we found the “advertising” on the market stalls interesting (the 1^st time we have seen this?).

Next we drove to the Royal Mausoleum of the (a) Numidian: Medracen. This massive structure, a cylinder surmounted by a cone, was the model for Cleopatra & Juba’s tomb near Tipassa.

Our final stop for the day were the impressive Roman ruins at Djemila. Though smaller than Timgad, a lot more of the site is intact and includes a long road colonnade, temple, baths, victory gate etc.

The museum on the site has an incredible collection of mosaics. Our resident mosaic critic/connoisseur (Avril), thinks they may be better than those in the Bardot Museum in Tunisia, the benchmark up to this point. But she will double check when we visit Tunis in a few days! We were again surprised at the very low level of the entry fee, $ 0.40, to get into the sites.

The scenery along the way made the drive very interesting. We travelled along/through large hills, with some long vistas from the high points. This area has been known for its wheat since Roman times and the farmers were out busily preparing for their winter crops.

We finally drove to the very busy town of Setif. The original hotel that had been booked did not have secure parking, so our guide decided to change to one that did. With our police escort, it was a simple matter to get there! Hotel Hidhab (€ 55. The most expensive hotel so far and a little worse for wear and a bit dirty). We walked into town for a nice dinner at a kebab café.

Ray driving; 285 km; 4 hrs; N 36⁰ 11’ 37.1’’ E 005⁰ 24’ 31.8’’

Day 10 – 7/10/12

Museums. We began the day with a walk to the Setif Museum. The main attraction is the mosaic of the legend of Bacchus. Suffice to say, our resident mosaic critic/connoisseur says this is the best she has seen. It is truly extraordinary, with very small pieces and the different colours and shades making it more like a painting. There was an interesting collection of Roman artefacts. The resident manager showed us around and a couple of students, keen to practice their English, assisted.

We then took the freeway to Constantine, the 3^rd largest city in Algeria. The river Rhumel makes a very deep gash through the hills here and in the past the city has made use of this in its defence. The deep chasm means the city relies on bridges and we saw most of them; from the remains of the Roman bridge (built on older constructions) to the modern French- built. We visited the spectacular Emir Abelkader Mosque, opened in 1992 and then the local museum, which again had an enviable collection of Roman artefacts.

Our local police escort did well to guide us through the complex local streets and Avril did a marvellous job not hitting anything in the ancient, narrow streets. To thank the police, we had a bite of lunch with them.

We then drove to  Annaba, on the sea. The El Mouna Hotel (€ 40)

Avril driving; 286 km; 9 hrs; N 36⁰ 55’ 10.4’’ E 007⁰ 45’ 49.3’’

Day 11 – 8/10/12

A restful day. We visited the local museum, with the now familiar mosaics and collection of Roman remains and the adjacent ruins of Hippo Regis. The “highlight” here is St Augustine’s Basilica. St Augustine was a local lad who learnt his philosophy and theology here before becoming a preacher and proceeding to higher things in Rome. We went for a drive through the hills surrounding Annaba, with great views of the cost and surrounding area.

We then had a lazy afternoon.

Day 12 – 9/10/12

We set off at 08:00 with our police escort for the Tunisian border. Again, the drive along the north highway was very pleasant, with hills and some fantastic seascapes.

We reached the border after 2 hours and crossed into Tunisia with a minimum of fuss.

Algeria Summary

We found the Algerians to be unfailingly courteous, considerate and generous. Quite often people would shout a greeting as we drove through towns etc. There also seems to be a good smattering of English spoken throughout the country. The police would always try to chat and folks in the street, shops etc would have a quick natter.

After pleasantries are exchanged and we have a bit of a chat, talk would often turns to the West’s view of Islam. Overwhelmingly there is a sense of frustration (definitely not anger) at what they perceive is the West’s (unfortunately, read USA)  inability to understand what they believe is the true nature of Islam.

As mentioned, we decided to take a local guide. This seems to be essential  i.e. independent overland travel (with your own vehicle) would be difficult without a guide. Our route needed to be communicated with the police and where deemed appropriate, by the police, an escort was arranged.

Currently there are no campgrounds in Algeria so we were “forced” to stay in hotels. If we had have asked or planned in advance, it may have been possible to camp in the grounds of one or two of the hotels. Given the police escort and the reported security situation, bush camping does not seem to be an option in the areas we travelled to. All this meant that Algeria is an expensive place for Overlanders.

At no point did we feel threatened or was there a security or safety issue. This could have been due to the police escort, but we did not feel any issues when walking around cities at night.

A big thanks to the Algerian police. Travelling in convoy could have been tedious and painful. However, the police were super helpful and flexible, adjusting their arrangements to suit any change in our plans. We never had to wait for them to arrive at a change-over point etc. 

The roads generally are in good condition, however there is a large volume of traffic which can make going slow. Also, Algeria must take 1^st prize for the number of traffic bumps.

The big negative, as with the rest of Africa, is the rubbish left everywhere.

We hope to return and visit the desert areas in the south of Algeria. These are still considered too risky for independent overlander travel

Back to Africa

Following our sad trip back to Australia, we returned to the UK on 21^st September. Steve Marshall made the heroic deed and got up in the wee small hours to collect us from the airport.

We tried to get over the jet lag for a couple of days in the UK and did some maintenance on the vehicle. The battery was flat and we could not jump start off our spare battery. Turned out the jumper leads were not performing. We eventually got the vehicle running and used the alternator to charge the battery. We also put it onto a battery charger overnight.

Unfortunately all this did not work and we did not bother to check. The vehicle would not start as we went to leave for the ferry on Sunday night. Steve to the rescue: he did a quick soldering job on the jumper leads and we were on our way.

We elected to take an overnight ferry to Le Havre (Sunday 23^rd) to try and make use of night time. Fortunately we were on HD Lines. Brittany ferries were on strike – the Euro crisis clearly has not increased peoples’ desire for work. We left the UK in the middle of a fierce storm (apparently this was the worst September storm for 30 years). Gale force winds had been forecast, but fortunately they did not eventuate or the ferry stabilisers were working overtime. We slept all the way and were rudely awakened by the vessel’s PA telling us we were already meant to be out of the cabin.

Despite leaving late, the ferry arrived on time. However, due to the loading sequence, we were the last off the ferry.  Still we had time for breakfast.

We looked unsuccessfully for a new battery at the Le Havre Toyota. They kindly organised one to be available in Bordeaux, so we headed down there. It was a long drive in pretty terrible conditions with heavy rain and strong winds the whole way. The good news was that we managed to work out how to use the tollway credit card machines and we got the new battery fitted the same day.

With the rain, we decided to take a cabin at the Village de Lac where we had previously camped. We are happy to report a quiet night – no gypsies and no need for the police this time!

We headed out of Bordeaux on 25^th in pouring rain and managed to get caught in a mega traffic jam and it took us ~ 2 hours to be completely free of the heavy traffic. Rather than take the recommended freeway route, decided to go via the Pyrenees Alpine NP. A great decision. The scenery was absolutely stunning. Too bad we were on a schedule as we would have stayed a bit longer.

The vehicle had started to make some “clunking” noises when hot and on cornering.  When we got to Zaragoza we tried to see the Toyota people. However, we discovered that street names in Spain have multiple forms and landed up in a lower socio economic residential district (was that PC enough?). So, we decided to give up on the vehicle and look for the camping ground. Again, the street names got us disoriented. We ended up in a nice residential area. A very friendly man saw we were totally lost and though he had no English (and of course, we have zero Spanish) he went out of his way to get us at least headed in the correct direction. After a further hour or so and calls to the camp ground, we finally found the camp. Whew! Some other Aussies from Qld were checking in and had also had the same problem finding the camp ground. So, it was not just us.

Zaragoza Municipal campground: N 41⁰ 38’ 26.1’’ W000⁰ 56’ 42.6’’  

We set off very early to the Valencia Toyota garage, again in rain. The service chief there took the vehicle out for a long run, but of course there was no noise. So, we headed off to Alicante. As we hit town the noise started again. Thanks to home office, we had the Toyota address in Alicante, so we went directly there. But, it was siesta time! So, we headed off into town to try and find about campgrounds in the area. The Tourist Office was closed for siesta. We approached a policeman to ask directions and he made some calls via his 2 way radio and gave us some general information. After asking some other folks along the way, we managed to find the camp ground. But, of course the office was closed for siesta. As we drove back to town, we found another campground, with an open office so marked that place. It has to be said that we found the Alicante road system really confusing, we got lost multiple times and even the normally reliable GPS found it hard.

We returned to Toyota after siesta and they took the vehicle out for a long run. They said it seemed to be an issue with the hand brake. Both Valencia and Alicante said it was not “dangerous” and importantly there were no issues with the drive train/differential. However, it was now too late for them to look at the brakes, so we returned to the open campground for an excellent night’s sleep.

Jardin Campground; N 38 23.584 W 000 24.911

Thursday 27^th; another early start to be at Toyota by 08:00. The good folks there removed the rear tyres, brakes etc and reset everything. Then only charged us for 1 hour labour. Very kind.

We were instructed to be at the ferry terminal 3 hours before departure i.e. at 16:00. With the rain pelting down we went a bit early. The counters opened at 17:00 and there was a general mad rush to get the boarding pass. Back to Africa. It has to be said that the women were ruthless at this and had no qualms about pushing and shoving their way to the front. Ray eventually got the paperwork done whilst Avril looked after the vehicle i.e. rested in the driver’s seat and watched all the activities going on at the terminal.

After boarding, Avril watched the Algerian merchants bringing their goods on board. This was done manually and they made many trips from shore to vessel with big loads. Hard yakka.

So, on board a Greek ferry we departed at 22:00 with promises we would arrive on time (versus scheduled departure at 19:00) from Spain to Algeria.

Morocco, Part 4 and some very sad news

Day 25 – 26/8/12

A very exciting day for us – Gabrielle arrived from Australia to join us for a holiday in Morocco. She flew in early and we went back to Steve’s for a bit then Gabrielle and Ray flew to Marrakech for a bit of “serious” trekking. Arrival temperature was 41^oC!

Avril elected to stay in Marlow, visiting old friends and playing some badminton and missing the hard work.

We stayed at Riad Bel Baraka

Day 26 – 27/8/12

Gabrielle and Ray were picked up at the Riad by their guide, Hassan and then drove via taxi to Imi Oghlad to commence the trek. At Imi Oghlad we picked up Hamid the muleteer and chef.

The 1^st day’s trekking was an easy walk along the Azzaden valley to Tinzert. We trekked until ~ 12:00 and Hamid prepared a delicious lunch of salad and a lentil tagine.

Dinner was soup, salad and a meat tagine.

The guest house this day was very basic, but clean. The hardest part for us westerners was the “squat” dunny.

So, we will not comment further on the scenery. All along the way there were stunning views with fantastic vistas along the valleys and to the mountain peaks on either side. The lower levels of the valleys had Berber villages. Here they have terraced the valley walls for intensive agriculture. 

Day 27 – 28/8/12

A leisurely start to the day. We trekked again along the Azzaden valley to Tizi Oussem.

A nice slow introduction to the harder trekking to follow.

Again we stayed in a clean but basic guest house. This guest house had hot water in the showers (for an additional price) but still the “squat” dunnys.

Day 28 – 29/8/12

An earlier start to the day, we commenced trekking at ~ 06:30. We trekked up the Aguelzim Pass at 3,650 m. Along the way we passed the Tamsoult waterfalls. Apparently the zig-zag route in the last part of the ascent to the pass has 99 zig-zags. Apparently! We were panting too much to count.  

Heroes that we were? At the top of the pass there were a couple of goat herders tending their stock and also selling soft drinks they had carried from the village of Tizi Oussem. We bought a few drinks as we were so impressed with the enterprise. Lunch was a simple picnic as the mule, with the chef and supplies, took an easier path than us!

We arrived in Toubkal Refuge (mountain hut) at ~ 17:00, 3, 207 m. A long day’s trekking.

We elected to camp in a tent rather than share a dormitory with 18 other people in 3-level bunk beds. There were hot showers and the joy of western toilets.

Day 29 – 30/8/12

Again a very early start to the day; we were on the mountain by 06:00, walking with our head torches. The ascent up Mt Toubkal was strenuous, but both Gabrielle and Ray made it without too much stress. It has to be said Gabrielle a lot faster than Ray – but she had the courtesy to wait for Ray and they ascended the final 20 m together. At 4,167 m Mt Toubkal is the highest mountain in Morocco & North Africa.

After the ascent, the trek down the Toubkal valley to Imlil (the guest house of the tour company owner was at 1,800 m) was long and we arrived at ~ 17:00. After 11 hours (3 up and 7 down,1 for lunch) trekking, both Gabrielle and Ray were a little sore, but a touch proud to have made the assent..

At 19:00, Avril arrived at the guest house, wet from a rain storm, after flying into Marrakech from Gatwick. She had a steep (100 m rise) trek to the guest house.

Day 30 – 31/8/12

After the previous day’s effort, Gabrielle and Ray were appreciative of the late (09:00) start to the day. To cater for Avril’s luggage, we needed to employ another mule and driver! We all trekked up to Tamatert Pass, at 2, 200 m altitude, a “simple” ascent for some! Then along the Tacheddirt valley to Tacheddirt village and the wonderful Tacheddirt guest house 2,300m.

Day 31 – 1/9/12

A relatively easy day trekking over the Tizi N’ouddi pass (2,860 m) and along the Oukaimden valley. We elected to trek along the dirt road rather than the short but more difficult mule track. Nomads had made their annual trek to the high pastures and the valley was “full” of livestock, mainly goats and sheep. The nomads live in very basic/rough huts and it seems they have quite a tough life.

We arrived at the ski resort of Oukaimden (2,500 m) early in the afternoon. Our original accommodation was not up to scratch, so after some discussion we shifted to the very nice French Alpine club chalet.

Day 32 – 2/9/12

We trekked over the Tizi N’oukaimden pass (2,680 m) along the Tacheddirt valley to the Amsker village.

Unfortunately there was an all-night party at a house very close to the guest house, so we did not get a very good night’s sleep!

Day 33 – 3/9/12

After a very short trek (~ 3 hours) we finished the trek where Gabrielle and Ray started at Imi Oghlad.

We drove back to our comfortable riad in Marrakech and enjoyed a hot shower etc. Then we hit the markets for some shopping and snacking. The bazaar is colourful and the Moroccan store holders ensure a great “shopping experience”. The negotiations are carried out with great humour and good spirit and the store holders go out of their way to ensure you are happy with the end result. Best of all, if you say “no”, they take this in good spirit and do not continue to hassle you. We probably bought a bit more than we intended to, but enjoyed ourselves.

In the evening we went to the main square for the famous dining event. Lots of small stores set up with fresh produce which is cooked on the spot. We elected to have a seafood entrée, then walked around for a bit and went back the same store for a seafood main course. No room for dessert. Most of the stores have spruikers to encourage you to eat at their store. Again the good humour and no-hassle approach is fantastic.

Day 34 – 4/9/12

We made a very early start to the day to allow for the very long drive. Our plan to make a very early start was frustrated by the time it took to finalise the hire car arrangements and actually get on the road. We managed to exit Marrakech without getting lost and drove to the Ouzoud Falls. The falls are a big local attraction and there were plenty of places to eat, accommodation, boating activities at the bottom of the falls etc. the falls are probably not an international attraction, but a good diversion. We had lunch at one of the restaurants overlooking the falls.

We then had a very long drive to Fez. Apparently there is a very high death/casualty rate on Moroccan roads and to counter this, they have reduced the speed limits to quite low levels. And, as Ray discovered, the advisory speed limits on corners are legally enforceable – and if you break them a fine follows!

The drive crossing the Atlas Mountains was spectacular. Unfortunately we had probably set our destination for the day a bit far and we did not really fully appreciate the views. We arrived in Fez after dark. Avril was navigating using the carlight to read a map, when a fellow on a motor bike beside us asked if we needed help. Yep, we did! So, he went out of his way to take us to near the old medina and arranged for a friend to take us to a convenient spot near our accommodation. Yet again, the generosity of local folks was fantastic and humbling.

The manager of the riad met us at the well-known Blue gate and led us to the riad Dar Hafsa. After a long drive, we were happy to just collapse.

Day 35 – 5/9/12

After a large breakfast at the riad (we did manage to convince the owners to only provide food for 2 rather than 3), we spent the day, with a local guide, looking a Fez. This seemed to consist of looking at some wonderful buildings and visiting a lot of the artisans (which Fez is famous for).

We did not do a lot of shopping, but enjoyed the day.

Day 36 – 6/9/12

After heading the wrong way out of Fez, we managed to get onto the right road and drove to Mouley Idriss. Non-believers are not allowed to visit the tomb/mausoleum in the town, but the overall views of the city are impressive.

We then drove to Merzouga in the desert in the south of Morocco. We stayed at the Kasbah Erg Chebbi. Unfortunately they had had terrible storms in the previous days which had impacted the electrical systems. Worse still, they had recently had a English group through and they drank ALL the beer.

The  Kasbah provided a delicious evening meal & wine.

Day 37 – 7/9/12

Avril and Gabrielle got up early to view the sunrise. Ray slept in. After a hearty breakfast we went on a quad bike trip. Avril behind the guide and Gabrielle and Ray riding bikes. It was a great way to visit the spectacular dunes. The Erg Chebbi is the most visited bit of desert in Morocco and the trip through the dunes showed why.

We then drove to Todra George, where we stopped for a walk. One of the local chaps asked for a lift back to town and given all the assistance we had been given along the way, we could not refuse. Interestingly at the end of the drive he offered to pay and then invited us to his home for tea. Unfortunately we did not have time.

We spent the night at Kazbah Tizzarouine

Day 38 – 8/9/12

Tragically, very early in the morning we received news that Ray’s dad had died overnight. This was not unexpected, but a truly sad occasion for us.

We drove back to Marrekech to catch a flight back to the UK. We then flew back to Australia for the funeral. 

Belgium, the UK and Stage 1 Summary

Belgium

Day 1 – 19/7/12

The rain continued as we drove into Belgium. Our primary purpose in travelling here was to meet David & Julia, who we had met in CAR and travelled with for a couple of days. www.driveagainstmalaria.org. We got to their home just outside Antwerp in the early afternoon. We chatted, had a few beers etc for the remainder of the day.

Avril driving; 142 km; 4 hrs; N 49⁰ 52’ 55.2’’ E 004⁰ 46’ 32.1’’

Day 2 – 20/7/12

Julia prepared a big brunch and we spent most of the day chatting. We went for a drive to look at a local chateau (and have a beer) and in the evening celebrated Julia’s birthday with some of their friends at a local restaurant.

Day 3 – 21/7/12

After another delicious brunch, Dave drove us into Antwerp to have a look at the old city. There is a nice pedestrian area along the river and near the cathedral. We stopped at a well- known restaurant/bar for a beer (has lots of religious and other statues inside) – and were treated quite poorly. We heard a number of people complaining about the service - we ordered food which was not delivered. We had experienced poor service at the restaurant the night before, so it may be an Antwerp thing to be off hand with tourists.  Still, the main thing was the company and the beer was cold. Eventually we went to a Thai restaurant (run by Hong Kong folks) for a great feed and decent service.

Day 4 – 22/7/12

We drove to Bruges and spent a wonderful day with Olivier and Chantal friends from work times. We began with some snacks at their home and a visit to Olivier’s amazing scooter collection. We then drove to the centre of Bruges and were treated to the local delicacy of mussels – delicious! And the service was 1^st class. We then walked around the historic centre of Bruges and ended with a beer/pancake (you can guess who had what).

Day 5 – 23/7/12

After a sad farewell to Dave & Julia (and we will hold them to their promise to visit us in Oz) we drove to Dunkirk to get the ferry to the UK.

Belgium Summary

We enjoyed visiting friends and relaxing in Belgium.
 

UK

23/7/12
We arrived safely at Steve & Ing’s in north London.
Ray driving; 356 km; 8 hrs (including ferry crossing); N 52⁰ 36’ 54.8’’ W 000⁰ 25’ 09.0’’

 London turned on a fantastic event with the Olympics. Our son was working here when the Olympic tickets went on sale - we applied for lots and were lucky enough to get lots. Also, we bought extra tickets from the official internet site, thanks Marie.

We attended a number of sessions at the London 2012 Olympics. The Brits absolutely earned Gold for their performance. The main venue was outstanding and the individual stadiums great. The transport system has held up well with the record number of passengers – oh that Melbourne could have such service even at normal times.

The most impressive aspect was the people running the event and the Londoners everywhere. They were all super friendly and helpful. The event management was amazing, even with full airport security; we never had to wait more than a couple of minutes to get into grounds. In general this was run by the military, who always had a bit of a joke etc – unlike the airport security.

10/10 to the Brits.

 After the Olympics we took the opportunity to visit some “old” friends. Unfortunately, time did not permit us to see everyone we wanted to see. We did have a wonderful time at Kate and Jason’s wedding! The good news is that we will be back to the UK again.

We also set about preparing for the return trip to Africa. We had the vehicle serviced at Overland Cruisers, a specialist Overland and Landcruiser garage in Herefordshire. The good news was that generally the vehicle is in good nick. They confirmed that the repair done in Morocco is OK and fixed up all the little items we had let go for a few months.

We stocked up the vehicle with dry food. However, we think we will not need as many provisions on the north and east sides of Africa.

Stage One Summary

Apologies to those who have seen this before.

With our arrival in London, stage one of our African odyssey is now over.

Vital statistics include:

·         More than 51,000 km

·         30 countries. We had initially intended to try and visit every country in Africa, but this took an early hit. We decided it was too hard to get visas for Equatorial Guinea, there was nothing really to see there and apparently the authorities are not all that welcoming to Overlanders. We gave Nigeria a miss as we wanted to drive around Lake Chad. Also, there were security issues there. There was a coup in Guinea Bissau just before we were due to go there and they shut the borders.
·         We left Australia on the 14^th August 2011 and went via Singapore to RSA. We arrived in London on 23^rd July 2012.

The trip has been totally awesome. We would prefer not to pick highlights etc, but if forced to, it would be the people – the friendships, interest in our trip, helping hands and generosity have been stunning.

·         This started with our wonderful relations in Cape Town and Pretoria

·         Continued with our friends Steve & Ing in Namibia.

·         Koos & Jose were total professionals and wonderful leaders of the trip in Angola. Our fellow travelers there were tremendous and we hope to visit them when we return to RSA. Many thanks to the police and officials in Angola, who despite their reputation, proved super helpful. Giving us a visa extension in 3 hrs (and rejecting our offer of money for all the effort), the police at the Congo border who assisted us in getting our carnet stamped.

·         M. Michael the great and generous mechanic in DRC/Kinshasa. Bruno Baert, who provided us advice prior to arrival and a backstop when we had our accident and Mary at the Protestant mission, a real friend.

·         In ROC, the folks at African Safaris & Christelle at Odzala NP. Tomo Nishihara for helping with advice and directions. Thomas and the staff at NNNP –seeing the gorillas is a once in a lifetime experience.  Peter & his group were great travelling companions in NNNP. It was the 1^st time in a while we had someone other than each other to talk to – so, hopefully their ears recovered.

·         We met the wonderful/fantastic Didier in Gabon and he assisted with advice for the rest of our trip. Thanks to David and the folks at BHPB. Thanks also to the Director of the Mayumba NP who sorted out the mess and got us into the NP where we saw the leatherback turtles nesting - way up there in the wildlife highlights of the trip. Along the way, the Catholic mission in Mouila for letting us stay and the charming young students there. Also to the people who stopped what they were doing in many towns to show us the way.

·         In Cameroon the WWF folks (Mark & Bridgette) helped with fellowship and advice. Big thanks to all the people in Nth Cameroon who assisted with flat tyres, bits falling off the vehicle and repairs. Big thanks to Fr Patrick who welcomed us into his home in Batouri and Yaoundé and to Sr Susan and Sr Frieda for food, beer and fellowship.  And of course our kids who made a huge effort to come all the way from Oz for Christmas and New Year.

·         Tim and Anne and the crew at the Swedish Baptist Mission (no Swedes and no Baptists!) in CAR who looked after us royally. In CAR we met David and Julia from ‘driveagainstmalaria’, truly inspirational people. We stayed with them for a few days in Belgium.

·         Chad was one of the biggest surprises of the trip and we can thoroughly recommend a trip to Eneddi Deserti and the fantastic Zakouma NP. Many thanks to Lorna at Zakouma for guiding us to Chad and settling our fears and to Jean and the staff for looking after us whilst there. Do yourself a favor and go to Zakouma!! Big thanks to the Tunisian civil engineers who towed us into Mongo and the Catholic mission. Denis made sure we had a comfortable bed and looked after us in N’djamena and provided us with advice along the way. Many thanks.  All along the way CFAO (responsible for Toyota in most of west Africa) assisted. In N’djamena Pierre was super helpful. He looked after our vehicle whilst we went to Ennedi , the mechanics took delight in servicing the vehicle etc. They also put us in contact with folks in Niger (including the Col responsible for security).

·         In Niger it was fantastic to be welcomed by Tim & Barbie, who also provided us with contacts and advice along the way. And to the Col in the Niger army (whose details went with Rays phone issues!) who contacted us almost daily to ensure we were OK.

·         All the people of Burkina Faso, a really cheerful lot. In particular the customs official who sorted out our carnet after we were stopped at the border..

·         Our visit to Mali was constrained due to the security situation in the north. There was a military coup ~ the week after we left.

·         In Benin, the policeman we paid our one and only bribe to. What a charming fellow who also paid to have a taxi take us to our accommodation. The policeman in Cotonau who stopped directing traffic to take us to the French embassy. The Ivory Coast consulate staff who seemed to fill in the forms for us and may have had to bend some rules to get us a quick visa. 

·         In Togo, the Islamic teacher, who, through a communication mess up, took us all the way to the Ghana border (turned out he was going nowhere near there!!).

·         In Ghana the police who gave Avril bananas at the border. Thanks to Sunil, Hannah and Kate for including us in their travel plans. So nice to see friends. Great to meet some more overlanders: Luke & Shelly and Jan & Marisca.

·         In Ivory Coast, again Didier. In Yamoussoukro, Charles from the UN who went out of his way to sort out a communication mess with the Catholic mission and find us alternative accommodation

·         Liberia, many thanks to the folks at the BHPB compound in Monrovia. Great luxury for a few days and wonderful to meet such friendly people.

·         We were not long in Sierra Leone, but it was relaxing to chat in English to the volunteers camping at the beach where we stayed. It restores your faith in the future to see the younger folks out trying to help.

·         Guinea was a lot easier than we were led to believe. It has a lot of green on the Michelin map

·         In Senegal we were welcomed by Pierre, Didier’s best mate. Patrice and Picky welcomed us into their home for 3 days of relaxation.

·         In Gambia the chap from the Malik, who worked to get us some a/c accommodation for the night.  Jen & Laura from the Horse and Donkey refuge. Wow, all that heat and no fridge! Thanks for the bed.

·         The officials (once you left the south) of Mauritania. They were always helpful and did not insist on silly registration etc. General people in the street who went out of their way to show us where things were.

·         In Morocco, well it is really very similar to Europe. Thanks to Ali, who stopped to give us his business card and then repaired our vehicle.

·         Spain – well you know our thoughts!

·         France, people everywhere. Thanks to Pierre and Coco for treating us like kings/queens!  Also Nicolas for showing us Champagne.

 Of course the biggest thanks go to The Home Office who look after all the annoying paper work and administrative drudgery.
And of course to Peter M - without his efforts, most of this would have been much more difficult.

 
Route

We are reasonably happy with the route and timing we took. We seemed to have seen most of the highlights etc. We were a bit worried about the wet season as we went north and maybe rushed a bit from Ghana to Senegal.

We maybe should have left RSA/southern Africa a week or so earlier and missed all the wet season in the Congos. In hindsight, we spent way too long in southern Cameroon. It would have been better for the kids to join us in Chad rather than Cameroon (which from a tourist perspective was disappointing).  We would have had a better time with the kids and had more time further north.

It seems from the issues other travelers have had, south to north is easier from an officialdom perspective than north to south.

The big issue is the lack of reliable information – guide books are generally hopelessly out of date. Worse still are the maps: German Reise know-how paper maps, Michelin maps, other French Maps etc. All these maps are basically useless. On GPS we have T4A and Garmap (Garmin RSA affiliate), generally these have been OK. When confronted with a conflict between T4A and Garmap, we tend to believe T4A.

Bribery.

We did not start out with any plan not to pay bribes, rather to resist to a sensible point. By our standards we paid one bribe to a policeman in Benin (we were 100% in the wrong, it was late in the day and we did not want the hassle of messing around for a few hours). The experience was so nice; we would do it again – for Avril, just to gaze upon the handsome officer!

Ray had money grabbed from his hand by the police in DRC – but this does not count. We had to pay the officer who took our statements after the crash $ 20, but apparently this is standard practice. Note: all requests for a bribe start at $ 250 in DRC!

We did give the immigration police in Togo a can of coke to rush us through.

Normally we would plead ignorance, make them repeat the request e.g. we could not hear, speak French etc at which point the request normally fades. Entering Burkina Faso from Mali we sat for 3 hours refusing to pay a charge until the manager gave way - but, only because they annoyed us.

Best examples: the look on the Cameroon officer’s face when he said he needed money for food and Ray took him some bread. But even better, in Senegal, Ray was in the passenger seat talking on the phone. The police officer stopped us and came to the window and with full indignation said “ you were talking on the phone”. Ray said” yeah, but look where the steering wheel is”! Absolute devastation on the officers face. He then tried to say Avril was speeding, but somehow Ray found a 35 km/hr number on the GPS. We all knew it was wrong, but what could he say?? BTW, she was speeding!!

 Health

We were fortunate to only have one incident of “food poisoning” during our trip (from a freshly killed goat left out in the sun all day in Chad). This maybe because we were taking doxycycline for malaria for much of the trip and being an anti-biotic, a side benefit was that it killed other nasties.

The water filters held up well and we were fastidious about drinking water. We also were fortunate to be able to shower most days. We were probably less fussy about hand washing during the day, but survived anyway.

Ray did get some vertigo for a while, but hopefully this has cleared up again.

Accommodation

The nightly stops are recorded in our blog. We were probably a bit more cautious than most other overlanders who prefer to “wild camp”. Mostly we found places with facilities to shower – from a brothel (?) in Angola to luxury camping in Marrakech.  However, we did wild camp quite often and enjoyed the experience

 Personal Security:

We tried to avoid places where white tourists are targeted, but to use common sense and up to date information. Probably DRC was our worst experience.

We did not go to:

·         Nigeria; others have driven through the north of Nigeria and had no issues

·         Nth Niger. You can go to Agadez but need a full escort to go to the Air Mountains. We saw no need to see another desert town but would have loved to have seen the mountains, however we had tyre issues at this time plus the $$ of course. Next time.

·         the road out of Niger to Gao (we drove 60% of the way up it),

·         Nth Mali including Timbuktu;

·         Guinea Bissau and

·         Sth Senegal.

 Theft
We had 2 towels stolen when we left them out to dry in Angola.
Our camera was stolen by a game ranger who we had allowed to ride in the cab in CAR
A collapsible shovel and wheel brace was stolen in the market in N’Djamena
Don’t mention Spain.

So, not too much. Only the camera with the pictures of Dzanga Bai hurts. Maybe this was because we had good systems in place and were careful, or maybe because most folks are fundamentally honest.

There were a number of occasions when there was opportunity and nothing went missing and on at least one occasion, a stolen item was returned.

 

Vehicle
The vehicle has held up reasonably well. Though, we were disappointed when the rear axle housing cracked.

·         Suspension: the old man emu suspension has held up very well, particularly with the extra stress placed on them with the failure of the Firestone air bags. The Firestone airbags installed by OppositeLock at Mile End in Adelaide failed very early in the trip. We think this contributed massively to the ongoing brakes and tyre issues we have had. In Morocco we had to have some serious work done to fix cracks in the rear axle housing.

·         Tyres have been an ongoing hassle. Our original BFGoodrich 4x4, LT tyres failed after a short time in Angola. From then on we could not buy new tyres and the 2^nd hand car tyres were not really to the task (they do not have the wall strength necessary to support our heavy vehicle). The Dunlop tyres held up very well, until the steel was showing through the rubber.

·         Brakes; we have used 4 sets of rear brake pads. Maybe due to the weight, using brakes originally designed for 3 tonnes to stop 4 tonnes.

·         ARB Diff Lockers; both front and rear. Actually, we hardly used these. Maybe it is our driving technique, but even when both the front & back are locked, the power still goes to the end of least resistance and so you still get some wheel spin.

·         Diff and gear box breather extensions seemed to have worked well

·         The vehicle winch. Peter is correct, we have not used it in anger

·         Vehicle electrics: Ctek D250S battery isolator and charger. 2^nd (Optima) battery. Hella driving lights. No issues with any of these.

·         Kenwood GPS and general entertainment system, a big disappointment. It is very temperamental and often disconnects the iPod.

·         Rear parking sensors do not like the mist and wet and so give a false reading under these conditions

·         Reversing camera works well. It has suffered from a loose connection from time to time.

·         Tyredog tyre monitoring system worked well until recently. One of the sensors started to massively under read the pressure. Tyredog has said they will send a replacement & new batteries. Thanks very much. .

·         Bonnet & head light protectors and side window windshields all well worth while. They have a few chips, but have protected the lights.

·         Internal roof console is good, but we installed way too many 12 V cigarette lighter points. 2 would have been plenty.

·         Seat covers are essential but are now very dirty

·         Window tinting we should have been darker. 

·          150 litre long-range fuel tank is really not needed. The standard 90 + 90 would be plenty and we met some folks who did most of this trip with just 90 l and no jerry cans. The trick is to ask around to find the people who have fuel. Often it is not obvious. The installation of the 150 l tank may have been faulty and caused the many fuel leaks we had. The mechanics in Guinea where we had the final (we hope) leak said that the return line was pinched. This may have caused back pressure and hence the leak

·         The fridge in the front cabin is a real winner. However, it seems to work best when there are some frozen items in it. Fortunately, we have a freezer in the other fridge.

·         ARB roof rack is great

·         Custom steel tray and compartment has held up very well. It protected us in the DRC crash and when we slipped in the mud in Gabon, so that is great. However, it is probably massively heavy and has contributed to the tyre and suspension issues. The theft issue has not been as big as we imagined. We could probably cut out a few 100 kgs by reducing this aspect. The caches that hold the under tray draw were a weak point and have all failed. We did a modification on this in Morocco.

·         Honda generator has been used in anger for the accommodation (when we had earthing issues after the DRC crash) but has not been needed for the vehicle,

·         The water treatment system worked well. We needed to replace the coarse 1 ɥ filter a couple of times and the carbon/silver filter once. We also replaced the Seagull filter in London.

·          4 x underslung tool boxes, we lost one on the DRC crash. The 2 permanently wired ARB compressors in one of the tool boxes have been OK, but this may not be the best configuration. The diff lockers squirt oil into the compartment when engaged and this gives an oily environment.   

·         Trayon camping unit has overall been good. We have been fortunate that the weather has only forced us to spend time in the unit on 2 or 3 occasions. We spend most of the time outside.

Accommodation: Ctek M300 battery charger, 1,000 W inverter, marine quality circuit breaker panel, 120 amp hr deep cycle battery have worked well. The only issue was the earthing connection after the DRC crash.

The additional hold down points we installed have been successful. The unit has not moved substantially on the tray.

We have not really used the accommodation unit sound system (iPod, radio, speakers etc)

Secure compartment with safe has worked

The canvas has not held up all that well and remains very hard to pin down when it is wet

The water storage system is not user friendly at all. The inlet is way too small and hard to put a hose in. The outlet is plastic and the design means it needs to be bent every time it is used and so it fails.

The chemical toilet has yet to be commissioned!

·         Solar panels, unfortunately, we seemed to have purchased panels that need direct sunlight to perform well. We should have researched this a bit better before we started.