tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73011552186075056022024-02-19T04:27:33.816+00:00Camel RidersGavin and Catkin drive from the UK to New Zealand in a Camel Trophy Land Rover 110 DefenderUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-43206031380192242172008-11-09T22:04:00.007+00:002008-11-09T22:38:54.765+00:00The End<div align="justify">Hurrah, we are finally in Queenstown and Gavin’s promises of magnificent spring weather, as opposed to the rain in the north, turned out to be a complete load of tosh as we battled through blizzards yesterday. Today it is still FREEZING. It is still pretty good to be here.<br /><br />Despite the threat of a rough crossing across the Cook Straight last week we were very lucky and barely experienced any swell. It was lovely to drift in through Queen Charlotte Sound to Picton, on a ferry which I think in a previous life served the folk of Sicily across the Mediterranean. The evening drive along the Kaikoura coastline was spectacular with the sun setting over the snow capped mountains. We saw plenty of seals but no whales or dolphins. With the trailer even more heavily loaded than when we left Warkworth we made slow progress and did not arrive at Gavin’s sister's until quite late. </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266783414483002866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwshNYiTcrZZKboMmi7lnuj7MH-G60l4Z55M1zUUw0QpgWN3eI2UhI15NgRNM7SAiT3s2FrR1BxHhENlY4pXfC44yu6u4v2l0D9hg4h8pDiEgRLIOYcRO0I5UY3nBDw6tGEtIqNiekXE/s400/IMG_8983+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />The next few days were spent catching up with friends and family whilst running various errands around Christchurch. Then, just when we all thought Gavin’s “manly” days were over he had to mend another puncture, but this time it was much more simple- it was only his mountain bike tyre.</p><p align="justify">While in Christchurch we were treated to a tour of the cardboard packaging plant where Gavin's sister Danielle works. A few of her colleagues had been following the blog, and we felt a bit like celebrities when we were introduced to people for the first time and they already knew our names.<br /><br />Then it was time to cram even more boxes and gear into and onto both the car and the trailer. By now we were carrying six bicycles, plus a bike frame, two beds, plus their mattresses, two bar stools, one chair, many many tea chests, all our expedition gear and a strawberry plant. We made very slow progress up Burke Pass, but it was another stunning day and the views across Lake Pukaki to Mount Cook made it all worthwhile.<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266783105362565570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinS4u2fhQhOop2h-cTziPUbZCa1J9CVk1CjPCW55bGSblIuzM_TMGwzMoRDjPx7i6NpbUUeNcuJENWhszDnYORaMnZ8QPBLObmXUZIIaum9g8GHtFUddL1eQ17fJC3Ii33Waa4ktMDqgM/s400/IMG_9022+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266784648154890994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBHzGvAQrrLHTgAJ86I5LGYDzOubt1AjS2mEk_nXc0_7MKF9WnaAiAGlIsvaLD_QPChW_39RXsuap1UpuNBjdxgxauc-nlzVUObfHrLn5u92hXp1wl1sIKwzDhmwxHhxciZ50mqOTQK4/s400/IMG_9004+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br /><div align="justify">We stopped for a bit of a photo shoot but we still had a long way to go and carried on our merry way to view our section at Lake Ohau, just a 40 minute detour, and to ceremonially chop down the first tree. Gavin has been designing a house to put on the section since early on in Africa so it was exciting to be able to visualise it all a bit better.</div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266782955859872274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YmCPII_F6TxxLqjYdiH2CKTS415REdcZmD3a1r_LOpFP3LJX1-7fMznGfMf6ScrMbGS_ezdi3cWpMdpluNBDKDd6VXFLLqBgqHXWPZvEGJploNTHaqr2UlUULBDxubg1wpNwC-v7sXw/s400/IMG_9037+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Time to get going again, we still had the Lindis Pass to negotiate and were a number of hours from Queenstown. We were keen to arrive before dark, just in case there was a problem with the re-connection of electricity and gas etc. Finally after a journey that took nearly twice as long as normal we arrived at our little house overlooking the Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu.<br /><br />The house has been rented for a number of years and there are few alterations and repairs to be completed before we take all of our possessions out of storage, so we are still “camping” in a fashion but this time it is in a house. Gavin has to decide on his career direction from here and we are both planning for the arrival of the Little One in January. So it is all very exciting for us still.<br /><br />After almost two years of having no fixed abode it was good to be home. Although it does mean the end of the Camelriders2007 and the last part of the journey was very rushed, not the final tour of New Zealand we had anticipated, but we have had a fantastic run. We have both had a lot of fun writing the blog and are really pleased that so many people enjoyed reading it. It felt very reassuring to know that you were coming along the journey with us and were interested in our antics, adventures, trials and tribulations and the friends we have made along the way. We would also like to say a massive THANK YOU to all and everyone who has shown us hospitality, given us assistance and provided logistical support along the way.<br /><br />Thank you again and our door in Queenstown is always open, I am a long way from my original home now and we love having visitors.<br /><br />All the best<br /><br />Catkin and Gavin<br /><br />P.S. You can contact me on Facebook, but not Gavin because he has never looked at it.</div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266783237361061922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnv-s3c0ctqfGO3HOPRJWOQn2-XvtGkRB4B3dltzQMN1AfYcyHRU-9sGCwLTbtI0sK54FblKPoX4y3ZQ9GCMU_sil-di3CT5gBm3FpYR3IXgHhMt87TZB-B1mBfD4oX1uUqKo-2ry4UUo/s400/IMG_9008+(2).JPG" border="0" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-71103286211389513112008-10-27T00:37:00.007+00:002008-10-27T00:49:10.623+00:00Southern Express<div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTr66Qxgyy9aZy0xZJfwqAOmWJA3r7fZV8MfW8NpsGW_KP6kYbtf0Sr_bGhLIETSRzcc9ZZmnOUZyJ4omA4U_qQJ2ZSpg5iSdROMSFmTZCfeWnwojMnsEN_k2IhR0jn_6HZBJM2Dt-DM4/s1600-h/IMG_8966a+(2).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261627467235782786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTr66Qxgyy9aZy0xZJfwqAOmWJA3r7fZV8MfW8NpsGW_KP6kYbtf0Sr_bGhLIETSRzcc9ZZmnOUZyJ4omA4U_qQJ2ZSpg5iSdROMSFmTZCfeWnwojMnsEN_k2IhR0jn_6HZBJM2Dt-DM4/s400/IMG_8966a+(2).jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="justify">It has been a huge relief getting the Land Rover through the entry compliance inspection and on the road in New Zealand. It was almost eight weeks since the initial inspection when we took it back for the successful retest. Most of that time I spent working on the vehicle to bring it to the required standard for the certification we needed, although there were times when we wondered if we were actually going to be able to get it through. We had a lot of help though, especially from Terry of Heritage Mechanical Services, without whose expert knowledge, calm guidance and the use of his workshop the whole job would have been substantially more difficult.<br /><br />After passing the retest we were issued with a warrant of fitness, and we were able to register the vehicle with new NZ number plates and pay road user charges then and there. Following this, we could legally drive the vehicle away from the testing station and home. It was great to be back driving the Camel again, and it meant we could finally get on with the rest of our trip south.<br /><br />The following day we repacked the vehicle with our expedition equipment, as we had emptied it out completely after clearing the MAF bio-security inspection back in August. We had taken over a spare room in Mum and Dad’s house with all our gear, so it was good to be able to give them some space back. Catkin also took the opportunity to give our canvas seat covers a wash, as she had been itching to do this for quite a while.<br /><br />Now that the vehicle was fully imported we needed the New Zealand Customs Service to complete the ‘Certificate of Location’ page of our Carnet in order for us to send our documentation back to the ADAC in Munich for the refund of our deposit. We had to go in to the main Customs house in the middle of Auckland to do this, and although it seemed like it was rather an unusual request, we managed to convince them that we were not doing anything illegal and the form was duly filled out. We have now sent the forms back to Germany and are eagerly anticipating the return of our funds.<br /><br />On the way into town we stopped off at a number of trailer manufacturing companies. We have been planning to buy a trailer, and seeing as I still had quite a bit stored at my parents’ place we decided we might as well get one now and take everything with us. We narrowed it down to one that seemed well constructed and at a reasonable price and put a deposit down for collection the following Tuesday.<br /><br />Now that we had freedom to roam we were quite keen to get heading south as soon as we could. We had initially planned to be in Queenstown by early October, so were basically a month behind schedule. We were now aiming to get away on the Thursday of the coming week, so spent the weekend visiting friends and relatives before our imminent departure.<br /><br />Just as a little something different, we had been invited to take part in a group test of a range of small four-wheel-drive vehicles for a New Zealand 4WD magazine. This was being organised by Ashley, who is the owner of the only other original Camel Trophy Land Rover in New Zealand. We had been in contact with Ashley for a number of months before arriving in New Zealand and had seen him quite a few times since while working on the vehicle. We spent the day in rural South Auckland test driving each vehicle both on and off road, making notes about the characteristics of each and comparing each one to the others. It was a great day, and our lunch spot at the top of the hill had a fantastic view.<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261627128892312562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbTCjEMZkcqG7Tbeb9xfqiwVKiI9nb9Y-hcLT3n0nQ_pKWD-JylJOBeCu4qYOOTzK9Th7cOr1_tTGLDBU9Ad1y4j1rD65IGsJUOa2RYi3fZJrTxUrwwL-Ggse_K049abyAJhDEEWSfI8/s400/IMG_8920+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />Ashley came up to Warkworth the following day to get a few photos of the two Camel Trophy vehicles together. This would be his last chance for a while before we departed the following day. Ashley’s vehicle was owned by Land Rover Experience before he bought it and has the panel damage to prove it. It also gave us the chance to park the two side by side and compare war stories.<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261627300730859906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhwPGMeYnWyuD5q1e9wwvREMaLcKk29z7W-9TbG70cOECrbWjefYUVO0A9wU-mLY_ujUVj4QreVODERtFpArOTOtISIdbZD9MayrPZc9arvjRCXo-qXYkcxgpN76BzOpeXhwCjcjO0Wg/s400/IMG_8966+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />Due to the length of our impending journey and the likelihood of bad weather enroute, we decided that our new trailer needed a plywood box to protect the contents, so a good portion of our last day before departure was spent constructing that.<br /><br />Departure day arrived, and I still had stuff everywhere. Our tentative time of departure of 1pm came and went and we still had loads to do. Space inside the trailer seemed to be disappearing very quickly, but by 2:30pm we finally had everything packed and were ready to roll. It was raining by now, so we were glad to have everything under cover.<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261627590139731426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPQdS05XSMBBBGiC7SbWRXb77XLBfO4pwlqNbaIGFDHBFWssJlaTgqcqeu3Nhlh8H-7V5woS8YHiDU2I7JomQTTaYgbg_aXFTe5sn1xLU1tZ5rMfEvPS-__BHw4WfwCWYbRhoKt6fHoQ/s400/IMG_8970+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />Queenstown, here we come. We stopped the first night at my cousin’s farm just north of Matamata, and the second night with friends near Otaki. We are now in Wellington at Andrew and Jen’s place, getting to know our new nephew, and spent yesterday sorting through some of the many boxes they have been storing for us for nearly two years. We have managed to fit even more into the trailer, but all the remaining boxes will need to be transported south once we are set up down there. We have caught up with a couple of friends in Wellington also.<br /><br />We have another night here, and cross Cook Strait tomorrow, bound for Christchurch, where I know two of my sisters can’t wait to see Catkin and ‘the bump.’ Yes, for those who don’t know, Catkin’s pregnant, so even more reason to get to the end of our journey and start behaving like responsible adults.</p><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261626908274418258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNTno3UzEToX6V3YsCRWjR3ZhQ40dE82jZzTJGRuqIfq89w0ZaYP28ewrTN8Izphd6unoTf_eO-ARowS-5i0Z_kJndD6uIL_R7R1450MeDYHcg82x33mv3X5AV7HTM_9FFDAR839B0gE/s400/IMG_8805+(2).JPG" border="0" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-80683059056501205382008-10-15T11:10:00.003+01:002008-10-15T11:28:30.456+01:00The Camel rides again<div align="justify">Almost eight weeks after the intial entry inspection we have at last satisfied all requirements for the Land Rover to be registered for use on the road in New Zealand. With brand new number plates we have finally taken the vehicle for its first official drive on New Zealand roads. We still can't believe it!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-10237709383475495082008-10-05T11:12:00.000+01:002008-10-05T11:14:05.775+01:00Still sanding<div align="justify">My daily trips to Auckland continue and I no longer have any fingerprints left, thanks to days and days of sanding. The repair certifier we have engaged viewed progress last week and was generally happy with how things were going, although he wanted a few additional areas cleaned off for inspection. If all goes according to plan he will come back in the next day or so for another inspection and, fingers crossed, give the go ahead to complete the repairs. After that he should just need to visit for a final inspection and complete the paperwork, but this may still take some time yet…<br /><br />We are still awaiting the arrival of our Low Volume Vehicle modification plate. We have spoken to the LVV certifier several times, and he continues to assure us that the plate will arrive soon, but no sign of it yet. It was meant to take a couple of days, and that was two weeks ago.<br /><br />We had hoped to be well and truly headed south by now, but here we are, still in the winterless north. We have managed to catch up with a couple of friends though, which has been great. Yesterday was the Warkworth Kowhai Festival market day, which is probably the first one I have been to since I left school (ages ago), so Catkin got to see how we celebrate spring in these parts.<br /><br />Another week of hard toil starts tomorrow. Hopefully more to report by the end of the week.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-47789405187972516472008-09-20T06:43:00.001+01:002008-09-20T06:46:28.175+01:00Making progress, slowly<div align="justify">Making progress, but slowly, is how we left it at the end of our last full post nearly three weeks ago. Things slowed down even more after that, but we finally seem to have things moving in the right direction again.<br /><br />At that stage we had done all that we could ourselves, and were waiting on the opinions of various people who we needed to certify certain aspects of the vehicle.<br /><br />Because the Camel Trophy Land Rovers have roll cages fitted we needed to engage the services of a Low Volume Vehicle certifier. The roll cage, even though it was fitted by Land Rover Special Vehicles division when the vehicle was first constructed, is classified as a modification, and as such must be certified for use in New Zealand. The LVV certifier instructed us to fit approved padding to some parts of the cage, which we have done, so now we are awaiting the arrival of our modification plate and for it to be affixed to the vehicle.<br /><br />Two small areas of corrosion and some small patches of surface rust need to be repaired, but the repairs must be carried out in accordance with the directions of a Repair Certifier. It seemed to take some time to get a repair certifier to have an initial look at the vehicle, but now that one has, we have his proposed course of action and have got cracking putting it into action. I have been backwards and forwards to Auckland every day to work on the Land Rover, and by the time we have finished it will be as good as new.<br /><br />So we are making progress, but it is very slow!<br /><br />In the meantime, it has stopped raining so much and the ground has started to dry out at last. Mum and Dad are still putting up with us, and we have been enjoying copious amounts of large, juicy grapefruit from the tree, as well as delicious home cooking and too much dessert.<br /><br />We had originally hoped to be heading south around this time, but obviously that was too optimistic, and at this point in time it still isn’t clear just when that might be. Hopefully by the end of this week we will have a clearer picture of how things are looking with the vehicle and when it might be going back to the compliance centre for a retest.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-88830244202850217452008-09-03T08:48:00.002+01:002008-09-03T08:56:37.061+01:00We're still hoping that we will be at the end of our odyssey sooner rather than later, and certainly before everyone in our families celebrate two birthdays since the date of our departure from the UK, but in the meantime we say Happy Birthday my sister Claire. Have a great day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-35219080095908782742008-09-01T02:55:00.000+01:002008-09-01T02:56:50.419+01:00The Ultimate Inspection<div align="justify">Two working days passed without hearing back from the compliance inspection centre. They had said that the inspection normally takes a day or so, so I was starting to get even more nervous. On the third day I decided to call and see how it was going. Unfortunately, the news was not good.<br /><br />The inspector started reeling off a list of reasons for failure, and it was so long I had to get him to go through it again so I could write it all down. Having only discussed it over the phone and not being able to talk about each item while looking at the vehicle, we were a little unsure of the full extent of the problem. There followed a period of soul-searching, wondering whether, despite our research into importing a vehicle into New Zealand, we had underestimated the standards that vehicles were required to meet. Maybe a 14-year-old vehicle would be too difficult to bring up to the required standard, and the dreaded fall-back option of shipping back to the UK to sell was once again mentioned. That would be a last resort though, and we spent the rest of the day phoning around various places getting an idea of prices and availability for parts and work. We decided to head down to the inspection centre early the next morning to get a better grasp of exactly what would need to be done to pass the inspection. It was well worth our while, and after talking it through with the inspector we realised that a lot of the items would be relatively easy to resolve. In fact, we managed to sort out a good number there and then.<br /><br />By the end of the day we had cleaned out our number plate light and replaced one of the bulbs, realigned our headlights (probably to account for the removal of the one tonne of equipment from the back of the vehicle), made a few ‘minor’ adjustments to our auxiliary lighting and sourced new front brake discs and pads. The next day I went back down to Auckland and spent the day replacing the front brake discs (as well as taking the opportunity to replace the wheel bearings on one wheel) and fit two new red reflectors to the rear of the vehicle. Fortunately when I cleaned up the disc pads, we could see that they were an approved brand and still had plenty of wear, so I’ve been able to save the new pads we bought for use in the future. The guys at the compliance inspection centre have been really helpful while we have been sorting out these matters, and I can’t thank them enough.<br /><br />The Camel has now been transported to a specialist Land Rover mechanic to get his opinion on the remaining items that need to be rectified, namely exhaust emissions and two small areas of corrosion. As from this year, all used vehicles being imported into New Zealand have to undergo an exhaust emissions test on entry, and ours has failed. An emissions test is a normal part of the annual MOT in the UK, and we have never had any trouble passing that before. In fact, it is still within those limits. The New Zealand test is much more stringent though, with the limits being just over a quarter of those for the UK. Hopefully a thorough clean out and fine tune can get it through the test.<br /><br />In the meantime, the Suzuki we have been running around in sprang an oil leak from the rear axle, and the need to replace the oil seal gave me a chance to replace the rumbly wheel bearing at the same time. Friday was spent on that, and now we can actually hear ourselves as we drive around in it.<br /><br />So there we are. Still a bit apprehensive about the emissions test, and not sure just when it will be going back for the retest, but at least we are making progress, no matter how slowly.<br /><br />We’ve been back in New Zealand for just over two and a half weeks, but it seems like an age ago since we left Brisbane. It’s great to finally be back, especially that it’s for good this time and not just for a holiday. Catching up with friends and family has been fantastic, although we’ve been trying hard not to bore them all with our “When I was in Africa…” stories.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-10249795151360570902008-08-24T12:04:00.003+01:002008-08-24T12:15:24.116+01:00Long Way DownAnother birthday rolls past for me, so that means Happy Birthday to Sue as well.<br /><br />Now have the special edition dvd of the McGregor/Boorman Long Way Down to accompany the book received from GAS, so once the Olympics are done with we can sit down to ten episodes, plus extras, of African overland travel as it should be. Or could be, if you have an unlimited budget, heaps of sponsorship and massive support team...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-86019066990085281602008-08-22T00:25:00.003+01:002008-08-22T00:30:08.732+01:00Back in the bosom<div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify">As soon as we had packed the car up in the container David decided it was time for a bit of sightseeing so off we went to view the Glass House Mountains and other local areas. We also managed to see Kathy and Dave, friends from Queenstown. They are working in Brisbane and were pretty keen to pop up to Bribie Island for a bit of a cycle around and lunch. We managed something like a 5 minute cycle ride in between eating and talking.<br /><br />We were still not finished with exporting the car formally and as soon as various documents came through we jumped on the train to Brisbane to pay a visit to the Customs house for our final exit stamp in the Carnet. The whole process took just a couple of minutes and a couple more because the Customs officer was quite perturbed that we had omitted to sign the front of the carnet- she was the first to notice our error. With everything done we had just one more day in Australia so we borrowed David and Helen’s bikes again and explored a bit more of Bribie Island.</div><div align="justify"> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237116867119129938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghSIBQ4gm_t-0SGa1LFBMlkkkdn9t-UfYOhob2Sg4TUmjRi4RWST6_JSWkS_2OlAgzmLouhnqZWmglDs_k5h2DGnJfR_nikcOhc7NXx0P2iFQ2QKZbV8YnM_5zHU-L1t6T29Ob6ODCb6w/s400/IMG_8788+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br /><br />David very kindly drove us to the airport and we had hoped that we might be able to catch a glimpse of the container ship transporting our car from the plane but we were in the middle row of seats, so we could not even see New Zealand as we came in to land.<br /><br />Normally it can take quite a while to get through the quarantine section of arrivals at Auckland and because we had taken George the Giraffe (a carved wooden giraffe), one of our few African souvenirs with us, we had anticipated that we would be quite a while and had suggested to Gavin’s parents that they didn’t rush to be at the airport for the arrival time. So of course the plane was early and we were through Immigration, Customs and Quarantine in 10 minutes flat and out into the arrivals hall just about the time the plane was due to arrive waiting to be welcomed back. Pete and Trish were not far behind though and soon we were on our way again. After popping in to see Gavin’s sister and her boyfriend, Kathryn and Alan, who live in Auckland we carried on back to Warkworth.<br /><br />The following day we drove out to the Wenzlick farm at Matakana where Gavin’s uncle and aunt, Bryan and Bev, have been looking after the trusty Suzuki in one of their sheds. When we parked it up, nearly 18 months ago, we forgot to disconnect the battery and after a few tows around by tractor (it is a rather hilly and very, very, very wet farm at the moment) the little beast refused to start so off went Gavin to buy a new battery while Bev and I studied the waterlogged garden, it has been raining here for weeks. The new battery did the trick and it started first time- what a beauty. It may not be the most luxurious or modern little beast but it even made it through a Warrant of Fitness without any problems, after washing all the bird poo off.<br /><br />Over the next few days we caught up with many more members of Gavin’s family and friends. We have made a couple of trips down to Auckland to get into progress importing the car and in all honesty, not be down on Australia, but it does seem to be a lot more straight forward than our last country.<br /><br />So now we have been back for a week. Yesterday we unpacked the car from the container and our hard work and David’s hard work seems to have paid off. The car passed its quarantine (MAF) inspection with flying colours, apart from a quick hovering up of a little dust and sand that had shaken down during shipping no further cleaning or fumigation was required. A process which had taken 11 hours in Fremantle took only a couple of hours in Auckland. In the afternoon the car was transported to a vehicle compliance testing station where inspectors are going through it with a fine tooth comb to ensure that it meets all the Kiwi safety regulations. Gavin has been worrying about this inspection ever since we departed the UK so we just hope that it goes OK. Fingers crossed.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-42859797914321374782008-08-13T11:56:00.001+01:002008-08-13T11:57:28.803+01:0071 todayHappy Birthday to my Pa from a wintry New Zealand.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-8339123940999113662008-08-08T07:22:00.008+01:002008-08-22T04:19:17.037+01:00Tantalisingly close<div align="justify">Camping right on Teewah Beach, right beside the Pacific Ocean, it started to sink in just how close we are now to the end of the journey. New Zealand is only 2000km away now. We have been listening to Radio New Zealand on short wave, and even heard my home town of Warkworth mentioned in the news the other day (because of a landslip in The Dome).<br /><br />The sand dunes at Teewah were a great camping spot, and luckily we had a bit more room for the drive out along the beach the next day, instead of just the single lane width above the lapping waves of the previous evening.<br /></div><p align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232028945024237106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgib7pq7PediTVY0Ce_vUD_UKGtuqhCGqKKdSOExcfwsSRorA9J9DQ0UBh_XtAeD8J_74QZD5LBAfSV0R657TPeROmoBCGwW3s05JB3ODX0tv8Bdf_iFFwBzBVE29Fk_sNXW0eiROd5ysc/s400/IMG_8743+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />All of our focus was now turning to shipping the Land Rover to New Zealand. This included sorting out shipping details as well as preparing the vehicle for entry to New Zealand. We had begun contacting shipping companies a couple of weeks ago, but still needed to arrange loading. Most importantly we needed to get on with cleaning the vehicle, and there were numerous small repair jobs I needed to sort out. We spent our last two nights camping in a forest park an hour or so north of Brisbane and spent the whole day touching up paint and attending to small repairs.<br /><br />From there it was only a short run to my uncle’s place on Bribie Island, where we are staying until we fly out next week. Helen and Uncle David have had their driveway taken over by the Land Rover, and we have used up all their rainwater cleaning the vehicle from bottom to top to bottom again, inside and out.</p><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232029487943538370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjabwiw2lFhvbS_Sv-JV4esPHVEd6KqnGssQQ6yC-nPvRAGxAKlTtUTNburIQuxxOzJlgsz96DTN99kPxjjLIvJo30cZ4YsDzHhy-I0FJValYb_FVHvYLSkK-dm4P6ymBiKOFNs09cEhc/s400/IMG_8768+(2).JPG" border="0" /></div><div align="justify">Uncle David’s workshop and years of experience as a mechanic have been put to good use fixing everything that needed fixing, including re-welding our leaking front diff. He’s a Ford and Jeep man through and through, but secretly knows his way around a Land Rover pretty well also.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232029170842988706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHLUvDiJ5hyphenhyphen9UKJfSbKhhNgIgsx5D1ZvjR5PS1AmZyJzeN37lLvHOiNk-pKs3QQsVFPsd1pf0-Wq4rl85EvBARqnTj-QAP6gC2Q4Z_5D7GNSb6KGgGGSE9ntrYgMASYvbMPYzc16bLZk/s400/IMG_8764+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />The thorough cleaning carried out before shipping from South Africa and on arrival to Fremantle meant that this time ’round the job was ten times easier. After three full days the Land Rover is looking a million bucks again, and all the little (and some not so little) repairs are complete. Hopefully the vehicle is clean enough to satisfy the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry officials and the Land Transport Safety Authority entry certifiers. We’re both pretty nervous about those two steps to importing the land Rover to New Zealand.</p><p align="justify"><br />Over the weekend we took a run into Brisbane and caught up with Dr John, a friend that Catkin worked with on the ski fields in Queenstown a few years ago. It was good to see him again, and he and his family kept us well entertained while feeding us pizza for dinner. John was off to Mongolia the next day for a few weeks, so we got to play travel agent and make all sorts of suggestions about things to see and do there.</p><p align="justify"><br />Yesterday we packed the car into a container for the second time on the trip. We decided to try it with the roof tent still on, and it just fitted in (just!). After chocking the wheels and lashing it in, we closed the container doors and sealed it. Hopefully we will see the Land Rover again in ten days or so, all going well.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232029731690477298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8m8lbX54U8z0Jf4F7Jv-nOiX5Z3AROCiBPqjEfYyDwXCdYnkhoooy1xdLZ4dJSRkRVmsAk0j6dqPPhBs-TJhYQh32kambLCQl2hptkf7LSBxKffdPEYDLQQQElisBub7dsSyZdCGDI1s/s400/IMG_8772+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />In the eight weeks since leaving Perth we have covered almost 12,000km in Australia, bringing our total for the trip so far to about 56,000km. Diesel prices have been the highest on record, and in some of the more remote places has been the most expensive we have had to buy anywhere on our whole trip so far. All this has lead to nearly half our total fuel costs being spent on less than a quarter of the total journey. Only now that we have finished the Australian leg of the journey have fuel prices started to come down.<br /><br />Everyone has been eagerly anticipating the start of the Olympics, but this auspicious date 08.08.08 just happens to be my Mum’s birthday, so Happy Birthday Mum! Mum has been counting off the days until we get there - not long to go now.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-25860937915606651202008-07-30T07:07:00.007+01:002008-12-10T14:32:26.055+00:00Nearly there now<div align="justify">A place with a name like Coober Pedy certainly had us intrigued and after learning that most of the living is done underground we decided to visit, it was even on our way. One teenage lad had told us that the town was really spectacular and although we learned a long time ago not to set too much store by other people’s impressions, we came away with a decidedly different impression. The town really is rather bizarre. The locals are very proudly displaying recent photos taken of the surface of Mars and comparing them to photos of their beloved town. We had to agree that they are very similar, except that Coober Pedy is probably a bit more dusty. The town is the centre of the Opal mining industry and every other premises is either an old mine museum or Opal shop. The original pioneers and miners decided that the environment was a little too hot for them and being miners burrowed underground to live and today many of these dwellings house commercial premises and hotels. It was lovely to go down into the cave like rooms, they must have been a real sanctuary from the wind, dust and heat.</div><div align="justify"><div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228685236672006578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tNgKx8AFnjjat1MyVjiLCqxMVEWSFXs_HjJS8AUf-kjackEp1sTsQcXLMWSbyNhNtTK5uF2f2nWy5v5i8wFJx2k_dzVKQCtfrElDF_roCggL-XxsK_gxll7oXppkkLQ89wiPdbxQidw/s400/IMG_8659+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Dotted all round the town are many small private mining ventures and there are numerous signs warning of the potential dangers.</div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228685396152651602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGk_CFHkhtVXncGSEdqgJExMcEiCW8Zd91OXq53fuHVjxDMM4V4dKy-6yncFGcyFsdjDhJqXdNYB1i1rvixfXcWNyW-04NGz_ffIfNgsj-1B22DW1bTJR6S_MwWC7_ARdiERpA9clXdjg/s400/IMG_8662+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />After the usual fuel and water top up we took a road eastwards to William Creek to meet up with the Oodnadatta track. For the first time on the whole trip we had to pay for the water which is dispensed from a coin operated machine. Water is fairly precious in these parts, although it did only cost a few cents.<br /><br />We were by now rather wary of gravel roads but were very pleasantly surprised. This one was almost, not quite, as smooth as a baby’s bottom. What a delight. The road itself was also a lot more interesting than the Tanami track. The next day we expected that on meeting up with the Oodnadatta track we would again be met by huge corrugations, but again the road was good. In fact none of the roads we have travelled on since have been nearly as bad as we feared. What a bonus.<br /><br />The Oodnadatta track follows part of the route of the Old Ghan Railway, which travelled from Adelaide to Darwin. All along the part we travelled were a number of sidings and homesteads some in a completely ruined state and some restored. One even hosts a ball on alternate years. We encountered a sandstorm in the afternoon so I hope the ball is scheduled for a different season. We also drove through the world’s largest cattle station, Anna Creek, which is larger than Belgium. We did not see a single cow.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228685485098949954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Ex_EORtA2ujKiyPAtXNZLP2ySZdEpDhB6D3OcvYmDZZUF0o_WV0mQo-W1-auzhphkexirXWIFHeSFxHk7pab34wF_NvvJyR4FrXVkEIU8inJYS0okrBcLv5EkR3I2iIz12Blg8Bwzyk/s400/IMG_8676+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />We stopped for a few drops of fuel in Leigh Creek before heading into the North Flinders Ranges. Leigh Creek is a modern mining town which has been fully landscaped and planned with all sorts of modern amenities (no bare patches of dust for the wind to agitate which gets into your nooks and crannies). It formed such a juxtaposition with the harsh environment and very different to the old fashioned homesteads and roadhouses we had passed.<br /><br />That evening we found a site to camp which we hoped would provide us with enough shelter from the wind, also rain was looking imminent. Usually we find that the wind dies down when the sun sets, but not on this occasion so it was pitch black by the time we made camp. Few hours later the wind decided to change direction and it sounded as if our tent would be torn to shreds. Gavin got up to see if he find could somewhere a bit more sheltered and before long I felt the whole car moving underneath me. It was rather cool, I felt a bit like the Queen of Sheba being transported around but I did get up also because when the tent is erected the driver is unable to see anything. Eventually we were settled in a more sheltered spot and spent the rest of the night quite peacefully.<br /><br />The following day we were keen to explore the mountains on foot but it was still so windy that all the dust in the dry river courses was just swirling everywhere and it was in fact really unpleasant so we stayed in the car and carried on driving. That evening we joined up with the Strzelecki Track and camped at a hot springs nestled between low sand dunes. It was still windy. The following morning it was still so Gavin set about repairing another puncture and a few other repairs. One of our oldest tyres really has had it but we are determined to get the last few miles out of it- especially as we are still on gravel roads and not travelling very fast. I enjoyed the luxury of washing my hair with HOT water and attending to some laundry.<br /><br />Despite the ever present wind becoming even stronger as the day progressed we decided to spend the rest of the day hiding from the wind and having a bit of a break from travelling. The next day we were on the road again, not really bright and early because it really is pretty cold in the mornings, and arrived in Innamincka. The route took us past the Moomba gas fields and we were intrigued to see signs for various camps and then saw just a few containers. The odd container had a satellite dish and one had a sign on it “Hotel California”. These were the accommodation blocks for the mining workers- a few containers dumped in the desert, most congenial living quarters. We understand that the workers are paid very well. Although we were still in the desert there was evidence of recent rains as we drove past swathes of yellow, white and purple flowers.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228685560666512930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1FFnEWS_kRL3oYwzGfNDz9Yo8LdJ8ew5_bG0gKRaAUsfaIGPU0JMkvqpD3J4y1wWFNomtkHNBD5fgEn1EIp8LUkVJUPwTv5rvXmhYuqPE9wf-gqIJbIaiVHoJ2m_1WWRrorXDQFBhsc/s400/IMG_8693+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />That evening we were driving on tar seal. This has good and bad points. The worst thing is that it is only a single track of tar seal so in the event of meeting a road train or a road train wanting to overtake we have to pull right off the road. Two normal vehicles travelling in opposite directions both pull off half way onto the gravel which is great when a stone flicks up from the other vehicle and chips your windscreen.<br /><br />It seemed that quite rapidly the scenery was changing from desertscape to pastoral countryside and the following morning we awoke to the scent of camomile pasture and the stares of an inquisitive neighbour of the bovine variety. Now it seemed that the wind had abated, after a week, and rain was imminent.<br /><br />That evening the rain started and did not cease for days. In the morning we stopped at a picnic area when a chap originally from Devon pulled up in his land rover and thus ensued another of many landy conversations. He was also very proud of his beast which was preserved for real off-road adventures, so I think he was bit put out when another chap pulled up in his car towing a caravan and exclaimed that had he known that this big yellow land rover (us of course) was just down the road he would have come and asked us for a tow rather than going to the local garage, without even glancing at the Devonians land rover.<br /><br />As we carried on our way we were coming across towns every two or three hundred kilometres, towns which were also incrementally increasing in size as the price of fuel was decreasing. We drove through the heart of the Australian cotton growing industry with large dams attached to towns. These dams provided the towns with lovely waterfront parks and although the ecological effect of these dams on the river systems downstream is highly controversial there is no denying the beautifying effect they have on these cotton towns.<br /><br />Bush camping becomes more and more difficult as the roads become busier and the population density increases so when we heard about a rural pub which encourages bush camping on its common that was almost on our way we could not pass up the opportunity of a draft beer without having to drive or make camp. We arrived at the pub and very welcoming it looked however, with all the rain we had just encountered our potential camping area looked less than inviting. MUD. As we were surveying the scene a chap waved to us indicating to go no further. He gingerly picked his way through the mud over to us, followed by another chap caked from head to foot on his left side with mud. He explained that there were a number of vehicles all bogged down and were waiting for a tractor to come and pull them out. Okay, so we gave that area a miss and carefully made our way over to another to survey and almost got stuck ourselves and decided to give the whole thing a miss. We eventually found a campsite much later after dark by an agricultural railway depot which amazingly even provided hot showers. There were only two houses there and nothing else.</p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228685650147951938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiFy455b4pQypJFMdWMZ1kMhUoZyAlvWiyDqfNy3OtFKgovLsBPlfZX1AHzr1FZFWcCxkOGVbrtmMg7bd6eGZqkqNHNCzuid5T5UbMI57i9mXcINHxAXEkBQQBmv-hlRevInZF-Ljc-qo/s400/IMG_8708+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />As we got closer to the coast we stayed in a couple of really delightful National Parks campsites, they even provided firewood (wet) which gave Gavin the opportunity of baking scones. In a delightful rural area we called in to visit Virgil, a friend of Gavin’s, and his new family. He and all his extended family-in-law made us very welcome and it was lovely to sit round a family dining table again.<br /><br />Our time in Australia is coming to an end so we are spending our last week on the road exploring the area north of Brisbane which is very pretty, lush and hilly. Yesterday we passed through Gympie, an attractive old railway town on our way to the Great Sandy National Park. Last night we camped on the beach, nestled in the sand dunes, after driving a few kilometres along the beach, cutting it a bit thin as high tide was nigh.<br /><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228685726930059922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOdNeyxmLutZb8DCYS40ullEWGoBfIH9ezaAPGCj7gKUup5yBr0_UByiMFCLxJtRdFPDt9XfVGD8YInUagY6CLfM1let4dG2MDimMwpZLdQ4pcwhvrLtjgk7LbA5uJejsyfXHHipQN7g/s400/IMG_8733+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Finally, before I go, very happy 25th birthday to Kathryn.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-13870442435740931362008-07-18T06:14:00.006+01:002008-12-10T14:32:27.135+00:00The Red Centre<div align="justify">Crossing the border into the Northern Territory we had to adjust our watches by one and a half hours to the strangest time zone we have been to – now we are nine and a half hours ahead of GMT, and we have to remember to listen to the World Service news at half past the hour. Just before the end of our journey down the Tanami Road we again crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn, so are once again out of the tropics. The night time temperatures have fallen dramatically to suit – the other night it was 0.2ºC, so at least it wasn’t freezing. The weather reports on the radio seem to constantly remind us that the temperature in Darwin is double that around Alice Springs.<br /><br />Our visit to Alice Springs just happened to coincide with the annual “Camel Cup” held in town. It started a few years back when two locals raced camels down the dry riverbed in the middle of town and has carried on ever since as a local fundraiser. It seems that it has become quite popular, and people come from all over Australia to see it. We could see people looking at our Land Rover with the big Camel Trophy stickers on the doors, and a couple of our neighbours at the campsite even came over and asked if we were involved in the racing – they all looked a bit disappointed when we told them we weren’t. We didn’t end up going to the races, but by all accounts it was a great day, except for the rider who fell off and broke her leg. It’s a long way down…<br /><br />We only spent just over 24 hours in Alice Springs, but there were busy hours. As Catkin mentioned we headed into Repco to see about our punctured shock absorber, and that took a while to get nowhere. We also stocked up on groceries, filled up with diesel, caught up on emails, picked up a parcel from the UK that had arrived at the Post Office that very day, spent a couple of hours on Skype talking to family in New York, New Zealand and England and even had time to visit the Royal Flying Doctor Service headquarters. With all that done we made our way out of town into the West MacDonnell National Park and found a spot to camp. This park has lots of scenic water holes and gorges to visit, plus loads of bush camping sites. We spent a couple of days making our way through the park.</div><div align="justify"><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224219277272310034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMtyPDQsDcyibZO8timzreiTHKaX4vDFxXX2xR8x8kJWJyxb1Cpp2jFaqTw8mj4CBsyJm2WBd4ReEm5jvG-2fsRGoqQl7Dkasbha8x7lQPad2CfxE2cBdxe7FbzM37bTuC81t6jfIdiL8/s400/IMG_8486+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />At one water hole that we stopped at we started talking to an Australian couple who were on their way to Darwin to visit friends. They were regaling us with stories of the places they had visited so far, and insisted that we visit Ayers Rock. The lady got out her camera and started showing me all her photos, asking if we had even seen such red sand. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that actually we’ve seen loads of it, both here and in Africa, but just nodded and complimented her photography.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224219547555883810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkpvLjESK4MtmHILKPWy8Y9ksynnyWJiOzE-Eky7AtlXhFJV8y_N8sYtXB6WaZTYpWck0JEkwFHqV7-CQPBGBe9iiMSOzLLpKqU5o8K8Up1KWtBGMFu9vsLa1vKETOL5P2vK02R9M3cc/s400/IMG_8501+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />At Glen Helen Resort we purchased a permit (for $2.20) to allow us to travel around the Mereenie Loop to King’s Canyon. The road was another rough, corrugated gravel road, so again we had a nice slow afternoon, taking in all the scenery. We have noticed that four wheel drive is recommended for any gravel roads here – the only reason seems to be for the corrugations. No bush camping allowed around this area, so we had to fork out $27 for an unpowered campsite in a dust bowl. At least it was another chance for a shower and to do some laundry.<br /><br />King’s Canyon was pretty spectacular, and we had a good look around on the 6km canyon rim walk, which, as you may have guessed, circumnavigates the rim of the canyon’s towering cliffs.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224219625871735858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOgZ1gAP9YGSzveXbtEUdLl7zNsXSpbXZelkCM_gXv_3GrKrH-7enWBBC68PrBhck5ZrAzjFataj4SMa99IpJ1tssIfD54lmhlde6lo3cLd_iNGAhvmAOC4F_2qSMPmmKVLZ0drJnAkXg/s400/IMG_8559+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />From there, we headed to Australia’s tourist mecca, Uluru or Ayers Rock. It’s really noticeable that the numbers of overseas tourists here is far greater than in other areas we have been. Road signs are shown in a number of languages, and there are big signs reminding you to drive on the left. This seemed a bit odd in the middle of the country (how did you get this far if you didn’t know to drive on the left?) but lots of people fly in and pick up their rental car here I suppose.<br /><br />The town of Yulara was purpose-built as a resort to host visitors to Uluru. The visitor’s centre had a great display on the history of the area and the flora and fauna found locally. You are allowed to walk to the top of Uluru, although the indigenous people prefer it if you don’t.<br /><br />Further along the road are the domes of Kata Tjuta, which are in themselves quite impressive. You could probably sit there and take photos all day.</p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224219703215214002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4KI-CUP1pFumlQfR1x7TbbbVEJrBcwMWpApCG3wX5pLiYhOGjRQPDnCusTtXXt4um8rLGoewdQMXMKyk7hdIvKFScpY3ykrIhLMdILGUVjYQnbze-QCDjVs-dm5A91TGqxSkLfgNTW5A/s400/IMG_8605+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />The favourite times for viewing are by far sunrise and sunset, and big viewing areas have been built at both for these times. We were at Uluru for sunset, just as the almost-full moon was rising.<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224219781078881810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Q48hCokC6XqrCExfK0hCUA6n2PNZk9ZbJkYkrO_8GRqRgssl-oYYlqLtLb3HHQQrWMWgIjsA-uNQSs-Z29rP29RsIa-YjXily351iTx7STuXQsjGRNQkXww-AePlmQJ53fOAlCPXCz0/s400/IMG_8624+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />So, our whistle-stop tour of the Red Centre is all but complete, and now we turn our attention more directly eastward, and closer to our final destination. It sounds like we cannot take any fruit or vegetables across the border into South Australia, so we may have to camp out for a day our two on the way to consume all our oranges, potatoes and butternut pumpkin.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-14828720511817051592008-07-11T23:04:00.008+01:002008-12-10T14:32:29.348+00:00The Real Hema Map Boy<div align="justify">We spent another night in a roadside rest area near the access road to the Bungle Bungles, some of these areas are quite nice and campfires are sanctioned, just sometimes the generators some people use to power their fridges or air-conditioning or ovens or I do not know what can be a bit intrusive until they are switched off. The next day we trundled into the metropolis of Halls Creek. Another quite pleasant outback town with everything we could want; mainly fuel and groceries but also a tyre repair service, but more of that later. We stocked up on some very expensive groceries - we are quite a long way from anywhere, also despite having heard about global increase in food prices over the last year on the radio, as we are still working in UK prices from 12 months ago.<br /><br />Our plan from Halls Creek was to drive east to Old Halls Creek, a few kilometres along the road and site of the first old rush in Western Australia, then find a track marked on our map which would take us south to the Tanami road. This is a 1000km gravel road across the Tanami desert from Halls Creek to Alice Springs. After stopping off to view the “China Wall”, a six foot high and two foot wide perpendicular strata of white quartz poking up out of the ground, we found what we thought was the track, but this ended up at the bottom of a rather deep quarry now full of water. So we tried the next track. This just became more and more rough and after making slow progress that required the odd bit of marshalling by myself travelling at an average of 5km/hr it was just not worth the short cut. So we turned around. A few miles down the road we found a delightful place to camp, in fact my favourite camping spot so far in Australia, at Sawpit Gorge, where some river (actually flowing) cuts through the hills (or mountains if you are Australian). In the morning we enjoyed a wonderful wash, well away from the water edge, and a cool bathe before heading back to Halls Creek.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221881086292893474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsyeKVXRkaAmLj8vNLe-nZMVedUZrL0AN3gnu74OhMigAnw_3ixqjoDHPChYdReDdTg2ToGhj67izjCIuKY1C3-tWX1BQXV6RaNDNlLGCR16yLrehnTgo_43z7UbfEBMOCZ8m0HIsrlk/s400/IMG_8384+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Unfortunately, just as we pulled into Halls Creek we heard the pshhhtttt of a tyre going flat. Oddly enough so far in Australia the car has caused quite a bit of attention. This is even more surprising given the large numbers of 4WD vehicles around and many highly customised and a lot more flash than ours. This occasion was no exception. As we were trying to quickly get the wheel replaced without being too obvious, a chap who turned out to be the local bobby turned up, very interested. By the time we were round to the other side of the car there was another admirer. However this was no ordinary admirer he was Hema Map Surveyor. He was very interested to hear about our fruitless endeavours the previous day. He had been trying to find the southern entrance off the Tanami road (where we would have popped out) the previous day and had given up. He then proceeded to offer us his complete collection of maps of Australia to download onto the laptop. How very useful. Thank you.<br /><br />Having repaired so many punctures already we decided that Gavin should have a break and we would take it to the man with the equipment. Maybe alarm bells should have started ringing when he said that with these types of wheels (not split rims) the inner tube often tears when it comes out. None of Gavin’s have. Needless to say our fairly new inner tube ended up with a really big hole in it so it also had to be replaced. While he inspected the tyre for the cause of the puncture saying “well bloke I can’t see anything to cause a puncture here” he cut his finger on the bit of metal that caused the puncture, this did nothing to boost my confidence. However, it was soon all repaired and we were on our way again. The repair lasted for two days. The culprit of this subsequent puncture was bits of metal between the inner tube and the tyre from his workshop floor. Great job blokey, so Gavin got to be manly again after all repairing more punctures. Only this time he is sporting some very stylish headgear in honour of the large number of really pesky flies.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221881717257729026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLC7czysOY13E-wHc76JCFKMPykJBrOelqDxBA_c8Z53xcjgW61-8fmGMJ0_lc66wWj42o6aEUHaOo6J-tk4zuWsrnLNHozxRqTrlqU21HUNOVanxaOqIkSrk448Y-GNDBbAWqWtHAOCs/s400/IMG_8447+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />That night we camped at Wolfe Creek crater, not only was a particularly gory horror film based there (and no we have not seen the film, everybody asks) but it is also the world’s second largest meteorite crater. Although there is not really much to see, it is believed that it was originally 120 metres deep 300,000 years ago, we found it to be pretty impressive.</p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221881261322037426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNwaPveCEUzJg-9meOJcF5Grose-CbSwQenDYdYhuq75tqf6c2Ch_0zhtB2e3SvpDHQstNKwyb56GtyIEXVRTF-WFDACoD3vfKV2o9YuuT8p7ElQe2VctFGX9hqNTBC7b_boR6C9kipHU/s400/IMG_8398+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />The following day we turned south off the Tanami road back onto the Canning Stock Route, the northern end where we would have come out. We carried on down for another day and a half just to see a bit of what we had missed before turning back at the Breadon Hills. It really is not the isolated track we had anticipated. During the first day we saw at least ten other vehicles and a similar number the next day. They are all travelling at twice the speed we are over the corrugations, one chap asked us why were driving so slowly toady, we just replied that we always travel so slowly, “oh”. I think it just means that we can appreciate everything so much more, after all we are not planning to return to the outback in a hurry so we may as well make the most of it. It is interesting because we can see what animals are around by identifying their tracks, we can see the birds more clearly and the plants. We took some of the sweet water from well 49 on board and headed back out.</p><div align="justify"> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221881563916679650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkW3k4w-apucAh7Ze3uhs-2qTWDkDkafFDlrb8uvGHIrr4BDcBDgnduXbPXvUwjN2vc4SRfWuQRtElLf0olIcXQ0wYbnLD1kbitrAoCoVozKNXQ7LaAxUIjmo-IRheAgrkcyw3UUYUE88/s400/IMG_8445+(2).JPG" border="0" />We had seen a few bush fires in the distance and the glow from one quite close on the first night was quite exciting but one chap who overtook us, they all overtake us, said that he had just skirted round one that had seemed quite close to where we had lunch, luckily the wind was in our favour and was taking it away. A couple of hours later we came across the same chap who had zoomed past us, in the middle of the road, broken down. Lucky for him we drive slowly and had not overtaken him because the way his mind was thinking he was not going to fix it. Anyway, my boy Gavin tactfully diagnosed where the fuel line was blocked and we were soon chewing his dust again. <br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221881416898361154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Z_TshIR1BmKLp1fFAo-9CSCSbQmijak5zcv0xwGtM_OEEwplIxSLx3zE6u_ADAZEQhK2OPS3GFwyUgyna_9Y-gj98vaGANcfV073KW1M3QR8PKVGthboGxSPCVMv1w8jA46VjEzOvq4/s400/IMG_8430+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Back onto the Tanami road and Australian corrugations. We rather vainly hoped that the corrugations might change after we crossed in the Northern Territory. Yes our hopes were in vain. During a lunch stop Gavin noticed a wet patch on one axle, hmmm, we had not been through any water. It turned out to be fluid from our brand new Monroe heavy duty adventure shock absorbers. Oops there was a hole in it and so not much good any more. It must have just happened, how very odd we heard nothing, especially the speed at which we travel. <div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221881867898922802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJFPxlhzibDn_-KlH-Pt9pZrp93_4fjgMwcaanNApPTpzfDtoI2VS99GkxbGOZLiCFoxollvamYllFR8_pqF89bhxSlys2tlhKCZPoQZ9fXAKXqEoauzXErt5yNd-Ovzm8WbH3D3_VVU/s400/IMG_8463+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />We carried on rather cautiously the final 400km to Alice Springs making a beeline for Repco, we had bought the shocks from a branch in Perth. We were a bit surprised and disappointed at the response to our problem and now have the address of the factory in Brisbane where we will be paying a visit with our useless shock absorber and make a nuisance of ourselves (the shock absorbers were really expensive).<br /><br />Tonight we are staying in a caravan park. It has been a while since we enjoyed running hot water and are planning to explore a little more of the red centre before our dash, or rather bumble, towards Brisbane.</div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-33371333199076653242008-07-03T03:24:00.008+01:002008-12-10T14:32:30.325+00:00Bungle Bungle<div align="justify">In the end we spent a week in and around Broome, and that was about long enough for us. After getting our fuel injection pump back and refitting it, we tentatively started the Land Rover, expecting that we would be able to hit the road again. Unfortunately though, we still had diesel leaking all over the place. One of the seals that had been replaced was slightly too thin, and we had to wait 24 hours whilst the correct one was ordered from Perth and air-freighted up to Broome overnight. Luckily this one could be replaced without removing the pump again. By lunchtime the next day, after the humiliation of being towed through Broome by a Toyota to the mechanic’s workshop, the new seal was in, and after a quick timing adjustment everything was running smoothly again - and no leaks. After stocking up at the local supermarket, filling our water tank and refuelling with 195 litres of diesel (we filled everything we could – it gets more expensive out of the big towns), we finally got away. That night we made it as far as a roadside rest area - one of many that are all set up for overnight stops with toilets and fireplaces – and found ourselves a spot in amongst the “grey nomads” in their caravans.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218608229634404706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSEJQu57_uQ5tWXjtiw7l2mvZNBSqDfMiMrc6nZwvjwx-u7euz_RwO_fqGWtKVw7kW_2tJYhzWQ786KGI6WNV-IRpncsP8OG8ZWmzXhTvkA2Ya3X1J9F7NSTAuRZrdcETlJNJOoTnJRO8/s400/IMG_8184+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />We had decided to have a crack at the Gibb River Road, which had been recommended as the best way to see the Kimberley region. After a quick lap of Derby we started on the road, which it is advised is only suitable for four wheel drive vehicles. Given that this time of the year is really the only time suitable to see the Kimberley, there was quite a lot of traffic on it and the gravel surface was very corrugated. In fact, we have nominated it as the most badly corrugated road we have been on so far – even worse than the infamous Moyale road in northern Kenya where we blew up a shock absorber in November last year. There are two schools of thought regarding driving over corrugations – one is to drive flat out and skim over the top (everyone else), and the other is to drive slowly enough to ride gently over each bump (us). So we cruised along nice and sedately while all the Toyota drivers screamed past covering us in dust. We found some fantastic bush camp sites, and thought we were going pretty well until we got a flat tyre which unfortunately turned out to be a cracked rim. We’re not sure whether it cracked because of the corrugations, or whether they just finished it off, but it’s now unserviceable. At lunchtime I got to reprise my tyre changing skills that I haven’t used since we bought the new tyres in Ethiopia. The main attraction in the Kimberley seems to be the Mitchell Falls, but that was too many corrugations away for us, so we satisfied ourselves with swimming at a couple of the smaller gorges along the route. After 500 kilometres of shuddering vibrations we emerged back on to the seal. We didn’t feel the need to visit Wyndham or Kunnunarra, but instead pointed south toward Hall’s Creek.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218608336755475410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhRcnrFG69C6vtX6sjAu6ZUZ3ixqHkDCMZeJjJMBqGckwD6jSfQF3WGsTIMO4SAQV9YHnJQJ8qvjBi9WN61JnlwFw4FbyxobUd578Xtyx4PD5ZIbuC2eJyS_dAAoz42ToiONbENBUahs/s400/IMG_8240+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />The next day we made it to the entrance to Purnululu National Park and the Bungle Bungle Range. Everyone we had spoken to said we had to go to the Bungle Bungles. The road in to the visitor’s centre is a rough 52km 4WD track, and there were a couple of groups of young French and German tourists trying to get lifts into the park because their Ford Falcon station wagon wasn’t suitable for the trip. One German girl came up and asked me if she and her friend could fit into the Land Rover. I was quite keen, but Catkin said “No way, Jose!” Just joking – we told them we going in to stay at one of the campsites, and they said they wanted a lift there and back in one day. We’re not sure if they ended up getting a lift or not.</p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218608466537387058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOxOAbP9ZumpmX-o0ab2S1rqd3Oa5uNDSPx1gopGg1f5Ch1Og6nlbVzUVjlXJJZLpEkWyhdLNyBJFSymkOWdPE0OwfGS4idWa3-QPPxPUO1dbUGlUNCpGtvJrR890ce-W_oyCsUGpXPE/s400/IMG_8289+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />Once we had paid our entry and camping fees we headed straight for the Piccaninny Creek carpark, and after lunch of sweetcorn fritters and fruit jelly (separately, of course) we spent the afternoon walking around the various tracks. The main attractions in the park are the dome-shaped formations and gorges, and the whole area is very photogenic. By the time we pulled in to the Walardi campsite, most of the good spots had gone, but acting on a tip we’d got from someone we had spoken to earlier in the day we headed for the “generator” area and found a nice spot close to a fireplace. That evening we sat around the campfire as our bread baked in the camp oven chatting to the three other couples camped in the same area. They were all caravanners, but were camping here because caravans cannot be towed into the park. We had a very entertaining evening listening to all their tales of their travels around Australia and sorting out all the world’s problems.</p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218608570777862130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Z8isiWJzdHp96_naz7-djRHikBiJYSdpchj2G9QsenPBWCW-rVATMkgYHHac6c3mWlrwNbSOd9BAMrEsR3ntzosgWgrQ8MSkMfmGxx9z1-7rWZBf_jHQFEm92kTfEGzDQbsKf3JcB_Y/s400/IMG_8324+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />The next day we visited Echidna Chasm, which is a narrow gorge into which the sun shines only when directly overhead. We timed our visit for the middle of the day, so got to see it at its best. We did another short walk in the afternoon after lunch, and then made our way out of the park.</p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218608653177375650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuA0qYTJId3K8zLmnbP2hfim26yoo0-LjXo9v2x7CiS76vl_AE-jb4r687uWhWxa3mBd7n0PtCkDbN99DyOCf0FCkkWQNU6RmQogWb0U1fK-sJj6XZBxAi0e5z2FKxKYa-_v6vaxmS-Gs/s400/IMG_8343+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />Since we left Perth nearly four weeks ago we have already travelled nearly 5000km, but still haven’t really got any closer to New Zealand. We have had our first “Shortest Day” since December 2005, although since we have crossed north over the Tropic of Capricorn we can’t really say we are in winter. The temperature during the day is still pretty hot, but it gets quite cool overnight. The sun rises here just before 6am and sets just after 5pm giving just over 11 hours of daylight. We have noticed that most of the caravanners seem to turn in at about 8pm – either that or they sit inside watching satellite TV while we sit outside listening to the BBC World Service… On the 25th of June we celebrated one year on the road, and although we both thought we would have been in New Zealand by now, we are still enjoying it. That’s not to say we aren’t looking forward to getting there, because we are, there’s just so much to see on the way… </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-14348457206348865822008-06-26T05:52:00.009+01:002008-12-10T14:32:31.644+00:00Broom Broom to Broome<div align="justify"><div><div>Wiluna is at the southern end of the Canning Stock Route. The route is a 2000km long track that crosses The Little Sandy and the Great Sandy Desert. Initially it was a cattle drovers route made possible by the sinking of 50 odd wells by a team led by the surveyor Alfred Canning in the early 20th Century. It is hailed as the ultimate off-road adventure in Australia. Since reaching the end of Africa we had been planning to attempt this route. </div><div> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216049141454913634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeEnzPmdoQHWpGeczfTvvqTpfaMCgf4FsGUCp8kRH3QMVo872uXnh-ERmOMl-xULkujkGH57cklof-5pbpZG3mGPYhSL0sICTS7N-cYXHeIUK2_dsdsOrBw9w6AmsAEMTsG3kVYTO0NQ/s400/IMG_8031+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />The night before embarking on the Canning Stock route we were camped near to a couple of chaps, Terry and John, who had lost their wives somewhere between Melbourne and Wiluna and were headed along the same route as us, also looking for some off-road adventure. For various reasons they became known as the Hema Map Boys (something to do with the long distances they travelled on all of the back roads in the area). That night there was some ominous evidence in the sky of a front moving in from the north. Not to worry, everything we had read indicated that this was the dry season.<br /><br />The next day we were up bright and early expecting the sun to be up with us. It was up, but behind the clouds. Undeterred we set off. The Hema Map Boys had set off a short time ahead of us but they were taking a detour to visit Well1. By the time we stopped for lunch it was decidedly chilly and windy, the sun had not shown its face yet. We carried on to Well 3 and by this time light drizzle had turned into sheets of rain. This well was quite impressive and had been fully restored. When we opened the lid there were many thumbnail frogs all piled on top of each other and periodically one would lose its balance and assume a sky-diving pose as it plummeted back down the abyss to the bottom of the well.<br /><br />At this point the route is diverted onto a station track and there is a big sign indicating that this part of the route is a dry weather track only. So we were compelled to sit and wait it out. While we were waiting the Hema Map Boys arrived. We had expected them to overtake us ages ago but they had ended up taking a slightly longer detour than anticipated which had necessitated them returning to Wiluna for more diesel (yes they got lost).</div><div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216049251336374786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFSdWcTynmMfApm8-lsIRQNYy5ds6F_4ZeymiVZtuESALH8MwOHY7HAvpfvN4KcapsYdLirzhyphenhyphenorJ6T7WRyAtp0IlbDApmfVmNpe3Gzg_J_0UPqieECtzceYT_nmIjXxxBkanb5xY9Mg/s400/IMG_8038+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />As dusk fell the weather cleared up a bit but the boys who had been listening in to their HF radio had nothing but bad news. There was another front moving in from the east and all of the station access roads were closed. So we had a cheery campfire and decided to wait and see what the morning brought.<br /><br />The morning brought even more bad news. There were people bogged in all over the show with no indication of how many days they were going to be stuck for. Even with our Michelin mud tyres we did not think we would be immune to the bogging. So after all that we turned around. We decided to head up to Newman, about 500km away, and see if we could find a way in to the route up there. The following day we arrived in Newman and bumped in to the Hema Map Boys again. They had yet more bad news for us. It seemed that every unsealed road within a 700km radius was closed. There was not much else for them to do but to turn around and head home, a week long journey. Such a shame but before they left John very kindly gave us his copy of “The Canning Stock Route” by Gard. We had visited just about every new and second-hand book shop in Perth but none had a copy. <div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216049476166733026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcR9JZ0w3bjg1fcnRgo6ub4Dq8W650fBleRQrlAredWcVPy9EwNMM3YnBmo-XafpByiJcYyOazPL746rLAqbmIWvoy-biKaM8q8K1XeGxe8m2tqohzY6BnMsP61aszdJ7DUusDhorv2g/s400/IMG_8055+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Newman is home to the world’s largest open cast mine, from which high grade iron ore is extracted and then transported on the world’s longest private railway to Port Hedland. The trucks are just huge, they work 24 hours per day and during that time consume over 4700 litres of diesel. That is about the same volume of diesel we have used over the past year on this trip. <div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216049362127260194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVCJYfiFbOmWpICRz_U2UW8uNX0dzmNRbyvgaFD65wEUUXEW34ggsQ7T19VQhoBIwyDBI0yYmPES_-eBxvu1ztjqS2tu_ST5zs-swV-qwUKSjhoWDf2byq6ULXbQ6bqGS5moYMYFX1CxU/s400/IMG_8050+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Over the last couple of days Gavin had noticed a new leak, only this time it was diesel originating from the fuel injection pump. Only a few drops per minute but enough to be of concern. We asked at one auto repairs place and they just send them back to Perth for servicing at rather considerable cost and time. Not something we really wanted to do- be stuck in a mining town in the middle of the outback governed by the twice daily shift change.<br /><br />With a lemonade can carefully suspended under the pump to catch the drips (diesel is pretty dear in Australia) we carried on our way heading towards Broome where we hoped to get it unofficially serviced.<br /><br />On the way we popped into the Karijini National Park where we spent a morning exploring the Dales Canyon with its pools and waterfalls. I had read that at this time of year the water is icy cold for swimming so had not taken my swimming togs. The water was a beautiful temperature and there were just a few too many people for me to go skinny dipping. I really am beginning to learn that one should not believe much of what one reads about the various conditions. <div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216049592231185282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPT1snUE-_ghTscgeKXh3hQNQt0ICfT-8XwbJoshOZbVGMRdqYO0B6VvGj0OB9VHqhQ3Dch9s-bH6e7KIaJeY-DDXFacVFnMVKyx9DbEYLeErY2bppTmZPaCylTNDVxGonDdTKR-NYss/s400/IMG_8109+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Two days later we emerged in Broome, a colourful tropical beachside resort town. The temperature also seem to have quite suddenly lifted also since leaving Newman and once again we are very pleased with our fridge supplying cold water and the odd treat of a lemonade or fruit jelly. Whilst in the Broome Visitors Centre Gavin was accosted by a young chap, JP, who having spied our car with UK plates decided that Gavin looked like a likely candidate to be the driver. Unsurprising really considering he really does need a haircut, has grown his customary winter facial hair and was wearing a holey and very faded T-shirt. JP was interested because he had also shipped his Land Rover over from the UK, was currently travelling around Australia and then planning to ship onto South Africa. We exchanged a few Quarantine horror stories- he certainly trumped us as he explained how he was forced to empty the refrigerant gas from his air conditioning unit. We arranged to meet up the next day as we went off to look for a mechanic. As luck would have we found such a place and with the fuel injector pump booked in for after the weekend we found ourselves with a bit of time on our hands. A little way north of Broome we spotted a bush camping area and so made a bee-line for Barred Creek.<br /><br />Barred Creek turned out to be a warren of sandy tracks meandering through the tidal mangrove areas and forests of really slow growing gum trees. The next day we returned to Broome to catch up with JP and his friend Charles and also to view the local attraction known as Staircase to the Moon. As the full moon rises over the mud flats of a low spring tide the reflections result in a highly photogenic effect called Staircase to the Moon. Or so we are informed- it was cloudy that night. But there was a bit of a festival atmosphere, the town being full, with lots of food stalls and craft markets. So in exchange for a few tips on how to appease bribe happy African policemen (basically brush up on your Premier Football League knowledge) JP treated us to a tasty dish from one of the stalls.<br /><br />Back out at Barred Creek we hid out for a few days. Enjoying a couple of hours on the deserted beach in the afternoons and exploring the area. One evening a couple of chaps pulled up asking where the good fishing spots were. When we responded that we did not know they wondered what on earth we were doing there if we weren’t fishing.</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216049728437322994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwOd35PuEU9BzYpMwV5-nWYGZ4MYoLXNMg1PamV2wZIwBc9MfWVwxhF-yF1Dq1fL9YBrhJQomm0-ETdGwRx_BCuYGQltQsUeacdtYmFDA7hrXQVipo6Qmt7mMUOVTKk3ETqhZJG3RhXo/s400/IMG_8128+(2).JPG" border="0" />On our final evening, just as we were making a fire to bake bread we had heard a vehicle engine straining quite close by, it sounded as if was stuck in the sand. Not long after a chap turned up on foot asking for a tow. So off went Gavin to the rescue again and returned half an hour later with his new friend who joined us for a while round the fire. The following morning he turned up with loads of tins of food, that his mum had packed for him, to say thank you.</div><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216049862224101874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlv804VzxnHvQ-0zY_sycJm6Bh_qbyN5d41dswoQRo8sKKmO4oPSBtvOh7PKmfh9bcGIXtGGG0HQKAW4566oZCYJOY8jCrQPVwUcNjR43suP0XOFZjgoCrPeo_GX0zqrmcEdTjBHXY_wg/s400/IMG_8135+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Yesterday morning we booked into a campsite, just off the beach and Gavin immediately set to disconnecting the fuel injector pump. Amazingly, nothing broke taking it out and today it is being fitted with a new O-ring at considerable cost- all of this for a blooming O-ring.</div><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216051169767989218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnIsCnnLfsjjI8Niv-JNlW7NVk4SrRwTW1nMuCXbwbqMtTu1Ix02XUeTBjkqDhmu7xk5N_m7YAyqNw-O_1pnUVNpaEzGNERREhm1Sg3_noxnKgr3fvzFCLVNKpP4IDdPYPqIqvGpgqDQ/s400/IMG_8157+(2).JPG" border="0" /></div></div></div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-40613453189583078392008-06-12T08:52:00.005+01:002008-12-10T14:32:32.848+00:00"The Outback Starts Here"<div align="justify">We had one final errand to run before leaving Perth. Back in December when we replaced the front shock absorbers in Kenya, we had realised that the rear shocks were also due for replacement, and decided that we would get a new set in South Africa. We looked around in Cape Town, but couldn’t find the ones we wanted, so decided in the end to wait until we got to Australia. What we hadn’t counted on was that they are three times the price here. We considered having a pair shipped out from the UK, but although the shocks are cheaper, postage isn’t so it wasn’t worth it. We finally found the one store in Perth that had a pair in stock, so it was there that we headed before our Grande Departe.<br /><br />It was mid afternoon on Saturday before we were actually on the road north. We had decided to follow the coast to Geraldton, and had spied a likely looking four-wheel-drive track to try things out on. Our first night out of Perth we stayed in the luxury of a caravan park at Ledge Point. The next morning saw us in Lancelin, looking for the start of the track. After a couple of wrong turns some local lads set us right. The track was sandy but firm, and was great fun. At one point we came across a stranded Toyota Hilux that had broken down in the middle of the track. The driver was about to call out the RAC for a tow, but after suggesting a couple of things we narrowed it down to his fuel filter and got him on his way.<br /></div><div align="justify"><div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210900190156918642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEM4sdyYW2sKN5NvhAEjI02LMb6PKDJ-R-O4xZ31-bWq1ZMhSZCVE-_Cb6fFGmQhoMZ9jVMZ9bkfUZEIkcjw6Ll5uWKxxegG90pAdPj89eun-q3EqT7kw_QV3R3UOJX295iITE_5jXkgA/s400/IMG_7970+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />After a no-horse town called Wedge the track became almost non-existent, but we plugged on. At one stage we were out on the beach with only a narrow strip of sand to drive on between the dunes and the tide.</div><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210900326334567058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgluc1sFFNly_5DpKD7-pD6GE6P_Bg4D81BV-np0zR43_MPrt4p9ZuSn1gb5Q8XWsfblY6i1UgwNXUjAWOg6J2DNR8z3GeuvHAsm4P7N3-TXx6vpAIhMdyHG3W2PuS3hvVkKT97EDtu4/s400/IMG_7979+(2).JPG" border="0" /></div><div>Soon enough we turned inland again and the track became better defined once more, and eventually led us to the sealed road. Carrying on north, we found a great campsite at Sandy Cape.<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210900579542326002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwc1YUPBPjXoWUtTtnlmZz9ryg5p9x9HIzuqJzcB9HsKP4R19J9j8FZKD8cZgxWZ-9Gz02X4ldlTHIrG_15eoJpD-2t3Oj7x1tMXpjRL8gE25NIS6bS9CBzk6B_dPhl0pPDG5fqpVq44/s400/IMG_7988+(2).JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210900429526163538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkEkKGEaT1yNQ6BSGS7ptY7WYIc8Onps6kXsmo5NTe13oTMrD5ffe4mUu9ELVgrR8lNhmAxWkV7c1UR-rVWIuD8SFRkUmRMpqGylbmyRNVjELpIjWjQlbdBIl3s8VIHjcgO9z__5S-5M/s400/IMG_7984+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />It started raining overnight, and was quite stormy by the morning. We decamped to try and find a sheltered spot for breakfast, luckily finding a covered picnic table at Green Head. We still got wet though, while we waited for our porridge to cook. </div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210900963334923570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkxgA_OT3xv-hqkdHqs1Q9S3Zk_NHoqr_V056KQswalLp0Iu7taiC3_9PDgzyoI83k3McIKwMXqAjvyWm_yCS2wQXLjAxwhj4DV0xES_VHGbE1_ZIBeBx0jcjLncufc5R3dgH8V19yMs/s400/IMG_7999+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />From there it was a long drive through to Geraldton for lunch by the waterfront. From Geraldton, we planned to head east into the outback, so decided that now would be the best time to have a go a replacing the rear shocks, just in case anything else should need replacing at the same time. We have had so many stubborn fixings break when replacing parts in the past, and this time was no exception. I had already sprayed the fixings with GT85 lubricant well in advance to let it soak in and try and free things up, but sure enough, when trying to undo the top mount for the first shock the fixing sheared off. Unfortunately the fixing is not just a simple bolt, but required a whole new mounting. So once again, Catkin got to spend the rest of the day traipsing around the industrial areas trying to find the local Land Rover garage. Luckily, and thanks to some very helpful people, she did find one, and even more luckily they just happened to have one of what we needed in stock. Apparently they had ordered one in for a customer who had never picked it up. Catkin arrived back at the carpark over two hours after she had left, but with the required part in hand. By this stage it was too late to carry on, so with the old shock well and truly wired on to what was left of the mounting we went to find a campground for the night.<br /><br />The following day we started again, taking even greater care with the top fixing on the other side of the vehicle. Fortunately this time it came off with out breaking, much to my relief. After this the whole job was completed relatively quickly, and we finally had our new shocks on. The improvement in the rear suspension was immediately noticeable.<br /><br />Once that was done we were clear to go. We stopped on the way out of town to top up our fuel and water tanks, as well as filling up the jerry cans on the roof rack. With about 100 litres of water and 230 litres of diesel, as well as enough food to last for about three weeks or more, we were carrying more weight than we ever had before. We drove about 100km inland and found a great campsite beside a watering hole.<br /><br />On the road between Yalgoo and Mt Magnet the next day we were waved down by an Aboriginal family in a V6 Commodore that wouldn’t go. We gave them a jump start which got them a few kilometres down the road before their car again stopped. In the end we towed them for about 60km to Mt Magnet, where they could have the car looked at. I think the guy was well and truly over looking at our spare tyre on the back door by the time we got there. All the way we were passed by the massive Road Trains.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210901083764524114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobTfVDixuJ0V2daZ-y1qCNKElJepqBJtPi1BFgNvGwCT1L1y0pGNr-Nwx2qt-P1jqv5uj5DueQrnLUGC_sJYlsi8UGf_wr6P7D9L3uh6Xd7wGQQy_luyrL47kYbJsTCr5cyOW4XPyxVo/s400/IMG_8016+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Since then we have carried into ‘the interior’ and have reached Wiluna. There’s not much here, but now we have to decide where we head to next, based on track conditions, the weather forecast and local advice. It’s likely that we will be heading into some pretty remote areas for two or three weeks, so we probably won’t be able to update the blog for a while, even by text. Don’t worry though Mum, we bought a personal EPRIB before we left Perth, so if everything goes wrong we can at least set it off and await rescue.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-2177150489298524532008-06-07T03:26:00.004+01:002008-12-10T14:32:33.578+00:00On the road again<div align="justify">After what seemed like endless pointless bureaucracy we have the car back and are heading north. We had anticipated a number of hurdles we would have to leap over in order for the car to be legal in Australia but had not realised just how problematic, time consuming and expensive this would be. Not wanting to whinge but here is a little story of how it went.<br /><br />The day the car arrived in Fremantle the wharf workers were engaged in a stop work meeting for four hours, so little chance of getting the car off the wharf that day. The next day we were up bright and early for our two hour pubic transport journey down to Fremantle where we paid off the shipping company, visited Customs and the container depot whom we had engaged to retrieve our container. Our visit to Customs went rather well after a previously disastrous visit to another Customs office a few days earlier where some idiot stamped our carnet and then told us a whole load of nonsense explaining that we needed all sorts of documents that as it turned out we did not need. Basically the Customs officer in Fremantle was not interested in us because the carnet was already stamped and they did not even want to see the car or the contents.<br /><br />The following day the container depot informed us that the container would be arriving in their depot that evening. We turned up at the depot the next morning to find out there had been a mistake and it was coming off the wharf that evening instead. Jan, of the depot was very kind and drove us back into Fremantle (about 6 km) and even arranged to collect us in the morning, she lived quite close to where we are staying. We enjoyed a spot of sightseeing around Fremantle which is a delightful old Port town and got chatting to a local who had lived there all his life watching the port change. Incidentally Fremantle was founded by a descendant of the current Fremantle family of Swanbourne, a very small village in England where I went to Primary School.<br /><br />The following morning Jan and her husband David picked us up at 6.10 in the morning. Funnily enough they had driven from the UK to Australia in the 70’s in a brand new Austin Princess. By 7.10 am we were at the depot with our container being unlocked. The car was in the same condition we had left it in. Next was the quarantine inspection. It all seemed to be going fairly well, everything we declared was passed, the inside of the car was deemed clean enough it just needed a quick hose down and the radiator needed a clean out (we remembered about the radiator after we had put the car in the container). The depot also had a wash pit so David made space for us - there is usually quite a long waiting time for this. As the car was being water blasted still more dirt was coming out of it (how much more could there be?) but not only that, due it’s rather holey nature, dirt was washing back inside the car. Then we had rather a large stroke of bad luck. </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208960851514917634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-acywHmQMM7O6RD9Q5H5aaw8yAILWa9yjBXYN6oC0BmJ_QH_mslPRt2c541vIXrHQQmqiDNqfxJaJyruKyzZnidunUj2JzrLho0YbXwoQrXtkcZFCs62Ig1sChujF0IEQW8aziqoKb9A/s400/IMG_7958+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />We popped off for an hour to get a bite to eat and on returning we discovered that the original quarantine officer had been audited, his superior had heard that a car from Africa had arrived, and our car had been re-inspected and been gone over with a fine tooth comb and FAILED. It suddenly all felt rather hopeless, apparently such cars usually take at least a week of being water blasted and are pretty well dismantled in the process. However we were determined and set to re-scrubbing ourselves too and eventually late afternoon the car was passed, if sopping wet. </p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208961251682005122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvxqUballJr2pey1yAgnsqmD5WdJDZbmgHXmoppOV-RHcXjuXrEOAfVXQlAZLj4SyYmAe9EWcFKrMUe9ngM1D7zUZHcCgxAdzvoKPUZ_g4Wt22gWDPBwCgBSTcNnbqmp1bH9aXiiF7PM/s400/IMG_7959+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />We cannot help but think that if we had not cleaned the car extensively ourselves already things would have turned out very differently due to the fact that it all served to make a good impression which interestingly did matter. Next to our car in the wash pit was a car, or rather a wreck, which had been imported from the States and the car was an absolute mess and filthy. We understand that basically the car was being left to rot for a few long weeks to get a clear and strong message to the owner. There were also some huge vehicles for the mining industry which were being dismantled and cleaned.<br /><br />Unfortunately it was by now too late in the day to take the car to a vehicle testing station and being a Friday and Monday a Bank Holiday Tuesday was the soonest we could get it done. Indeed, although the car is fully taxed in the UK it still has to pass an inspection in Western Australia. Although we finally had the car, we could not use it because it was still not fully legal.<br /><br />On the Tuesday by the time we had obtained a new permit to take the car the vehicle testing station we did not arrive until mid morning, the nearest one being miles a way in Perth Centre. Again, unfortunately for us they were closing early on this day so after queuing for a few hours were advised to return the following morning. OK, my patience is beginning to wear thin, but of course I am still smiling. The next morning we arrived back at the testing station 15 minutes after it opened and there were already 20 vehicles in front of us. Some people must have arrived before 5am.Funnily enough there were many of the same chaps in the queue as yesterday but with different cars. They worked for the car dealerships and each time a vehicle is sold it has to be inspected, so the dealerships employ people to take the vehicles to the testing station and wait there all day. Oddly enough private vehicles registered in Western Australia only need to be inspected if the registration lapses. This is just absurd- our vehicle has to be tested but an old hunk of junk only has to be if the police find something wrong with it as they are driving around.<br /><br />Talking to the other chaps in the queue we learnt that the inspections are most rigorous and the vehicle can be failed on the most minor detail. Great. We notice that many of the cars being inspected are in fact being re-inspected having already failed. Finally, after queuing for 5 hours it is our turn. Our inspector is a very pleasant chap from Northern Ireland. “It’s pretty dry for a Land rover” he calls out from underneath, my heart swells with pride after all Gavin’s hard work on the leaks. 15 minutes later it is all passed. We cannot believe it. Our final errand is to visit the vehicle licensing department to pay for the compulsory 3rd party injury insurance.<br /><br />IT IS ALL DONE </p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208961433501695506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRODzXYlmaPiAliO5y8I0hyphenhyphenVcHttUQv9G5RSuP7Eiw8JFbQQYGOPq2RNFmboRxm0JJKdWtGgDDt0VPzLd7-kIYY0o563JV0yfFd_g12Fgy8oKysCxOtxmQGfULKYgWANHrWnlng2-ZCcM/s400/IMG_7965+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />Today we say goodbye to Ian, Christine and her lovely boys, their hospitality has been wonderful and we set off on the final leg of the journey.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-84641183936299708542008-05-26T09:40:00.014+01:002008-12-10T14:32:37.535+00:00The Journey So Far...<div align="justify">Having now departed African shores, and as we prepare to cross the Australian outback, now seems like a good time to recap on our journey so far.<br /><br />We left London on 25 June 2007, still buzzing after the previous afternoon’s get-together at the Windmill Pub on Clapham Common where we were farewelled in style by our friends and family. The UK was in the middle of a wet summer, and it rained heavily as we headed out of London town on our way to Ash, where we stayed with friends before our ferry crossing the next morning.<br /><br />We spent our first few days in Belgium, fine tuning our routines and storage arrangements. After a detour north to the Netherlands to stay with more friends, we pointed south, heading through Luxembourg and into France. We were still encountering a lot of rain, and the awning was paying for itself, giving us somewhere dry to cook and eat.<br /><br />In southern France the rains finally eased and the temperature rose. Now we noticed that the engine temperature on the Land Rover seemed to rise quickly on hills, probably due to the amount of weight we were carrying.<br /><br />Over the Alps into Italy to stay with more friends near Piacenza, we then headed for Venice to be tourists for a day. From Venice we headed north (weren’t we meant to be heading south?) into Austria. We even helped in a helicopter rescue of an injured walker near the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204604089739029538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRMfVvIT3pKnCV36Dgj5iLPTNILdcMwn13khxbW-v-ADv1-nKeJIf6ImyZt4U3Ty50Nb__b90cN9SLRZW7FgMM5RvHah-_JtDQZRK2iRV6bZtgKIbNUupLI7CJda0GPGEhQlingQM5KQ/s400/IMG_2372+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />Our reason for going north was to visit the German equivalent of the AA, the ADAC, in Munich in order to collect our Carnet de Passages en Douane. This is the document that would enable us to take the Land Rover across borders without too much hassle. We also took the opportunity to have some steering components replaced and a wheel alignment whilst in Munich.<br /><br />From Munich we headed north-east across Germany and the Czech Republic and into Poland so that we could visit Auschwitz Concentration Camp. This was an amazing place to visit, and brings a new level of comprehension of the atrocities carried out there and in other camps during World War II.<br /><br />Southward bound again, we crossed Slovakia, with a slight deviation to Vienna to collect some mail. Vienna would be our last truly western city until Cape Town, so we celebrated making it that far by enjoying a Weiss bier on the banks of the Danube.<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204604283012557874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmqBgrb9DrFuzXovudGjePsjlgz0mvh6Ih5uh0aAe7zlFJjmO5n1Q84E6sY_I9Fdv-zVhMkDtn75sgTFGkIpPPQzRG8wq8Y-xBUwlnR93GymH4m0sXy_r38MfPzxjtG4wvwy0VuOwSSI/s400/IMG_2634+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />Slovenia was beautiful, and seemed like a lost fairy-tale kingdom. We enjoyed a hot day boating and swimming at Lake Bled, and we were amazed by the underworld-like Skocjan Caves. On to Croatia, and we nearly got blown away by the high winds coming over the mountains and slamming into the Adriatic Sea. It was a windy night in the roof tent.<br /><br />Due to insurance restrictions we were unable to cross Bosnia and Serbia, so instead detoured around through Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, where we spent a few days at the Black Sea.<br /><br />The border with Turkey marked our exit from the European Union. Istanbul was fascinating – east and west crash together here. We spent a full day at Gallipoli, and for the most part had the place to ourselves. The walk from the shore at Anzac Cove up to Lone Pine and the top of Chunuk Bair really made us appreciate the difficulties and hardships faced by the Anzacs in 1915.<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204604407566609474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6Oe00DBX2xFDsya5BeoAOTVAtPqFGZykt6z6a99k2HvEMJZFMMOuw0ibRVQ4j_yMqt0pML9DAHdYJWBUMLumrCJPOi7hePn0tkmrtZM1KpF3rUxEXCXgvI2gZMYCxEWbeEZUiVtt2hs/s400/IMG_3020+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />Across the Dardanelles, we were now officially in Asia. Our sight-seeing highlights included Troy and Ephesus. We enjoyed our two weeks or so in Turkey – the people were very friendly and hospitable. The carpet that we bought in Cappadocia will always bring back those special memories.<br /><br />The only visas we had arranged before leaving the UK were for Syria, so we needed to be there before they expired. Syria has extremely cheap diesel, but charges a diesel tax of $100 per week. We exited after six days, having visited Aleppo, Crac des Chevalier, Palmyra and Damascus, and with nice full diesel tanks.<br /><br />In Jordan we had intended to apply for transit visas to cross Saudi Arabia in order to get to the United Arab Emirates and Oman, but although we tried a few times we were refused. In the end we decided to revise our travel plans and drive through Egypt instead. We had a chance meeting with ‘The Duke’ who allowed us to camp on his land for the five days we were in Amman. After visiting Petra and Wadi Rum, we spent some time on the Red Sea in Aqaba diving while we waited for a new Carnet (to include Egypt). We made friends with a French family, Jeff, Estelle, Jeremie and Hugo, who were in the same predicament as us, and we were to see them again later in our travels. </p><br /><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204604532120661074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8gj0ZsMPU8kYjUgOq67zMmvpdPdgj2f5m_K9Ds5Z8B-ydoo2eQ95qdOIEYfxHmWWHjD0KHhJy2dOEKahaUgxPezEEp1_ACHN6e0WY9NTwnC50Jx6H5845zaLYum1LxZ9evdpHgdB4yk/s400/IMG_3698+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <div align="justify">Although part of Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula is very different to the rest of the country. We managed some more diving in Dahab, and the snorkelling at Ras Mohammed National Park was spectacular. After a quick trip to the top of Mt Sinai we made for Cairo, unfortunately arriving in the dark on a Saturday night. The traffic was the craziest we have ever seen. In Cairo we applied for and were granted visas for Sudan. In order to avoid the bustling Red Sea resorts on the coast and the compulsory convoys alongside the Nile, we headed to the Western Desert which forms the edge of the Sahara, and made our way to Luxor , where we made new friends in Louis the Dutchman and the Dutch Bikers Luuk and Guido. In Luxor we hired a couple of clapped out bicycles and spent a very hot day riding around, visiting the Valley of the Kings and seeing the ancient Egyptian tombs. The ferry to Sudan leaves from Aswan only once a week, though due to public holidays we were forced to wait an extra week before we could depart. Aswan is not really the best place in the world to kill a week. By this time, our French friends had caught up to us again, and another two motorcyclists from the UK, Cathy and Glyn, also arrived just in the nick of time to catch the weekly ferry. </div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204604652379745378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEv3PUnt_OokJ9UNbbvnfe1DrirEhCMXyy2XlDLozSMtIBHmGt4Y8mSpzlCCiep6qWVXEShLQoqtMFQzHElOk1wirhlkSBh_dL8PrXs07v0aFw_6VrnwqzY7rlQBxSr0N8Rs6T4cbT-N8/s400/IMG_4050+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />For the first few days in Sudan we all travelled in convoy, made up of three four-wheel-drive vehicles and four motorcycles. This section of the journey, following the Nile toward Khartoum, was the roughest section of road we had encountered so far. Construction of a new highway is well underway, so soon there will be asphalt all the way. Cathy and Glyn eventually made their own way off, and then Jeremie came down with Appendicitis, so the French hurried off to Khartoum on their own. After getting our visas for Ethiopia we made an overnight trip to camp out near the dramatic windswept pyramids of Meroe, and then made for the border. Our travels in Sudan were confined to the northern areas, so we were well away from the trouble spots in the south and Darfur.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204604759753927794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkrsqHjkzbcu0CoMkjiMLqPT6E4ZRb2J1P7OxdWKERtsVf0grk2JFcq_F-sJIaK30tswBjjRoYTKQFelZA61vk6YcZlaOh98Wjaz-aanOjBTo-kxtcMCKc9Bi8cnwsR60pbm7Mwx31GU/s400/IMG_4672+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Within 24 hours of crossing the border into Ethiopia we had climbed 3000 metres in elevation, and the temperature had dropped by 30ºC. In fact, that night it dropped below freezing in the tent. The highlands were spectacular, and the highest we got to in the Land Rover was a pass at 4200 metres. After visiting the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela we made our way to Addis Ababa, and managed to track down Louis the Dutchman. It was good to see him again. </div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204604901487848578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGTugAncmIIA4a-j9JN0cUVKPubctb8EDs040MI9gY_PmmqMdvwCuH3cBANo_EmlwF3jIovTM2BkA_hzrCBK_JJk2wUgspnQaT7PyZMfPExEwz1Yk4COC7TbbXXhAxyJ2HNcIT25fQfes/s400/IMG_4989+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />We exited Ethiopia through the less-travelled Omo Valley, coming into Kenya beside Lake Turkana. The roads in northern Kenya are pretty bad, and one of our front shock absorbers blew up a day from Nairobi. Highlights in Kenya included camping next to grazing hippos beside Lake Naivasha, and relaxing beside the Indian Ocean at Tiwi Beach. Fortunately we had departed Kenya well before the disputed elections.<br /><br />Into Tanzania, and on to Dar es Salaam. We parked the Camel at a campsite and went to Zanzibar for four days. This was the longest we had been away from the vehicle, and it was hard to adjust to hotel rooms and bought food. The Spice Tour was great value. Back on the mainland and on our way to Malawi for Christmas, one of our front springs snapped. Luckily we could still drive with it, and managed to get a temporary replacement the next day.<br /><br />We arrived at Chinteche Inn on the shore of Lake Malawi on Christmas Eve. Christmas dinner consisted of roast chicken and veges cooked on a fire in our cast-iron ‘potje’ (camp oven) and it was delicious. </p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204605060401638546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXHKy6GQVucvRwsGXOb4hS3KsmlOnu0fKDskfO-pUxi5ClY6QurRM-EYcxAwis0ajmJype-5HYMq6hOD_kwxturAe4n2vO-sW89p9onoDRdAzIhRVv2HoJw1V5CXFy2ZtDBbGCy2vO_M/s400/IMG_5787+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />For New Years’ Eve we made it to Flat Dogs Camp at South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. This was the beginning of the wet season, and it rained heavily to welcome the New Year in. We drove into the park and spent a day studying the game, seeing giraffes, zebras, elephants and even some lions among other creatures, as well as lots of birds. We completed our stay in Zambia with a day at Victoria Falls, where we even managed to walk over the bridge and put a foot in Zimbabwe. </p><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204605210725493922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4TQ7S020PepLDPo6zThFhq5nE42zFYFnxa6QhuyjzGJws9N6J_-wsJTVZ2BvnrRoiM88KPbwr5ybk_yI7dgOPU-uP3ndnE-iPj4vdT2LwqVVb_4xXQTSe2WJ2imzu49MqO_Ml-OwP33E/s400/IMG_6049+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br /><br />In Botswana we drove through the Chobe National Park towards the Okavango Delta. Unfortunately we got a little stuck at one point, but with a little digging and jacking and a bit of a push from some locals we managed to get out and carry on along our way. On the way north to Namibia we went to the Tsodilo Hills, and saw some very interesting bushman rock paintings, thousands of years old. </p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204605434063793330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLQA1sBo9fuKnweMDxzEbyxZK9hhp34meKye8bQcP32VLR4mqsTOXb11fv4s8_odEqxnJULrFWh8wlqjr3mZmF4Ib8z_aXcDBZTsa55QAnSVImIP0-wmtD_CcCZ__tolinuB7KQMYaoY/s400/IMG_6376+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />One of Namibia’s most popular attractions is the watering holes of the Etosha National Park, but it had rained a few days before we arrived and consequently the animals no longer needed to frequent the holes for water. We had fun in the puddles though. Further north we saw the Epupa Falls before making our way to the Skeleton Coast and Swakopmund, then inland to Windhoek. Here we caught up on a few necessary jobs on the Land Rover, including installing a new fuel tank and set of front coil springs. We also visited the huge dunes at Sossusvlei, and we were lucky enough to have the whole place to ourselves. </p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204605554322877634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV_Xh0t0QJjWMQdiqYq3JJTrXjO8xv38g-hvuK_lK6uqkYixcu4eQyTMysY3WCtb4Su0cpm2wGoYaFo8m8dHI_FRIuF4HPuDibVYYHLUENYpIyIemh0VywZR6w89HjfgHaKb78PjeVsHw/s400/IMG_7188+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />The South African border was the most orderly we had been through in months. In Springbok we collected our friend Ianthe, who accompanied us for a couple of weeks as we zig-zagged our way down the coast to Cape Town. It was good to have someone along for the ride. We finally arrived at Cape Point just over eight months from when we had left London. In Cape Town we carried out a few more essential repairs, as well as taking the opportunity to have our gearbox and transfer box both looked at in preparation for the next leg of our journey. We visited a few of Catkin’s relatives, eventually making it to Knysna via Cape Agulhas, the southern-most tip of Africa. From here it was back to Cape Town to arrange shipping to Australia. After days and days of cleaning, scrubbing, polishing and repainting, we finally loaded the Land Rover into a container, and sent it by sea to Australia. </p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204605691761831122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1H2-2S1uwwdlMlIKK6L2fn28lWJ-zNxYB2jE3bzpWDn3VX9JVjT9kL1LTKVfZBBMODLA6xkgla4jJLyLsnz-kZnjm7xJTQ_Ue0yeRhlgsLsZ-_6ZHV1H4gVXTGwGBzSxc7rfg82kAEJQ/s400/IMG_7374+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />In the meantime, we spent another week or so in Cape Town before flying to Perth via Dubai. During our stopover we also took the opportunity to see some of Oman, with five nights in Muscat. We have now been in Perth for just over a week, trying to understand just how it is you go about temporarily importing a vehicle into Australia. The Camel is scheduled to arrive this week, so with a bit of luck, by the end of the week we will have convinced the Customs authorities to let us have it back. Then we can finally get on our way, into the outback.<br /><br />In the eleven months since leaving England we have visited 31 countries in four continents, driven over 44,000 kilometres, crossed both the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn as well as the Equator. We have swum in the Black Sea, floated in the Dead Sea and scuba dived in the Red Sea. We have also swum in both the Indian Ocean (warm…) and the Atlantic Ocean (cold!). We’ve crossed deserts and mountain ranges, baked under hot sun and sheltered from torrential rain, but after 335 days on the road, we still have a great journey ahead of us before we finally get to little old New Zealand.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-18508535854686067772008-05-18T16:21:00.002+01:002008-12-10T14:32:37.723+00:00Coffee and Doughnuts<div align="justify">Our little visit to the Royal Oman Police in Muscat didn’t quite go as planned. My mobile phone had gone missing somewhere around the time of our arrival in Muscat. I had it on the bus, but could not find it the next day in our hotel room. I was pretty sure it must have fallen out of my bag on the bus, but the bus company had not been able to find it so it seemed that it was gone for good. In order to satisfy the requirements of our travel insurance I needed to report it lost at a police station. I have never had to do this before, but thought it would just be a simple matter of the police filling out a form with the particulars and then giving me a copy. If only.<br /><br />I first went to the police station nearest to our hotel on Thursday afternoon just after lunch, but after going through what it was I needed, I was told that everyone who could help had already finished for the day. As Friday is the weekend in the middle east, they told me to come back on Saturday morning. Saturday morning came around, but after explaining it all over again, was told to go to the bigger police station in another part of town. One of the locals sorted us out a taxi to get there more quickly, but although he had agreed a normal price, half way there the taxi driver reverted to the usual rip-off-the-tourist price, so we got out and walked the rest of the way (and he got nothing!). At the big police station, things still didn’t improve. First they claimed that because I had no record of the serial number that it would be impossible to report it lost. Then I was sent to ‘CID’. Finally someone senior decided that a report could be filed after all.<br /><br />After loads of waiting around a portly police officer finally filled out a form with all the relevant details. Everything was in Arabic, but it was a start. All I wanted was a copy of the report, but it was against their rules to release this, they said. Instead, they would use it to type a letter (again all in Arabic), which we would then have to take to the main police headquarters for them to provide us with an official letter to the insurance company (not quite what we were after). By this stage, however, there was no time for us to get to the HQ before it closed at 2pm, and even if there was, nobody could tell us where it actually was anyway! And, no, we couldn’t go tomorrow, as we were heading back on the bus to Dubai at 7am. In the end, as everyone was leaving for the day, one of the CID guys told me he would email it to me the following day. We left empty-handed and without much hope of ever getting anything by email (sure enough, nothing has arrived).<br /><br />We had left our hotel that morning intending to go to the Oman Dive Centre and at least do a bit of snorkelling, but it was now getting on for 3pm, and the only way to get there if you don’t have your own vehicle is, you guessed it, by rip-off taxi. In the end we decided to head back to the air-conditioned luxury of our hotel room. On foot, of course. Another one hour walk. In 45ºC heat… We’ll teach those taxi drivers a lesson. </div><div align="justify"> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201738799974290578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kBqhY6lCotRzELzHEnabGKhBuVGzwZJItlMH3SCijCvGfvtYyyo72HU4gYdX9hyphenhyphenwFi0ona7jpZB0KDBNBxvUAvm46IT1dUsBntfU4hgvq9RYYpmOsCgx7CGwbwuh9bDS0yYiCWlVUnQ/s400/IMG_7941+(2).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />It was now our last night in Muscat, and after posting Catkin’s blog entry, we wandered once more along the Corniche and through the souq (market). Catkin haggled for some frankincense, and we bought some Halwa, a very rich Omani sweet. It is so sickly sweet that your teeth almost drop out just looking at it. We finished off the evening at our favourite shwarma (like a kebab) shop, and then retired to our room to pack our bags and watch ‘Pimp my Ride’ on TV (at least it’s in English).<br /><br />Next morning it was up at 5am to scoff our bread and cheese for breakfast before another one hour walk back to the bus station. At least at 5.30am the temperature was only 34ºC. The trip back to Dubai was uneventful, although the bus was much fuller than on the way out. The stamps out of Oman and back into the United Arab Emirates filled up another page of my passport (not many left now). Once back in Dubai our plan was to head for Abu Dhabi, as we had arranged to meet a friend from the UK who is now living and working there. We were offered a taxi ride to the bus station for only 40 Dirhams, but unfortunately for the driver we already knew we could get there for only 4 Dirhams on another bus. The bus to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi was waiting when we got to the station, and within two hours we were pounding the pavements towards our friend’s hotel. Paul has been there for two or three weeks and seemed to be enjoying the ex-pat life. We had a great night drinking beer in the hotel bar, and he managed to sneak us up to his room for a free night on the floor. We were very grateful, as our accommodation costs were beginning to stretch the budget. We had found that food, drink and public transport were very good value in Oman and UAE, but ‘budget accommodation’ seems to be aimed at someone else’s budget – not ours.<br /><br />First thing the next morning it was back to the bus station and back to Dubai. We had already booked into the Dubai YHA, so jumped on another bus to get there and check in for our final night in town. The YHA has a great swimming pool which we hadn’t managed to use during our first stay there, but we whiled away the rest of the day soaking in the cool water. Later that evening we wandered up the road to the LuLu Hypermarket for another of their great value pizzas.<br /><br />We had planned our trip to the airport reasonably well, I thought. Up at 6.00, pack, check out, breakfast at 7.00, out to the bus stop at 7.15, plenty of time to be at the airport by 8.30am. What we hadn’t allowed for was that the bus that is scheduled to run every 20 minutes often doesn’t turn up for an hour and a half… We only found this out when talking to a local commuter, after standing at the bus stop for over an hour. Of course, a taxi was out of the question. The bus did finally arrive, and although it was packed, we managed to squeeze on with our packs without knocking over too many locals in the process. We were late to the airport, but luckily we had already checked in on-line, and the flight was quite empty anyway, so we breezed through check-in. The only drama was me setting off the metal detector and having to take off my boots and go through again in my socks. Twice. We had 30 Dirhams left to spend, and in Duty Free finally found a copy of ‘A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian’ which Catkin’s Mum had recommended in a comment on the blog many months ago.<br /><br />Emirates Airlines have an amazing selection of movies and entertainment – so much, in fact, that you don’t know what to watch first. At one point I found myself watching a stupid movie called ‘Mr Woodcock,’ about a PE teacher at an American High School, which is ironic because I also had a PE teacher called Mr Woodcock (funnily enough, not the same guy…). I also managed to watch a few episodes of ‘Russell Coight’s All Aussie Adventures,’ so am now all clued up about travel in the Australian outback. One movie we both enjoyed watching was ‘Goodbye Bafana’, about one of Nelson Mandela’s jailors during his time on Robben Island and then on the mainland leading up to his release. Having spent time in South Africa and visited Robben Island, it presented a very interesting perspective.<br /><br />We have now crept into Perth, Australia, under cover of darkness. By the time we arrived it seemed like we had been travelling almost constantly for three days since leaving Muscat on Sunday morning. Perth looks like a really nice place, although the temperature when we arrived was nearly 40 degrees cooler than what we had experienced in Muscat a few days earlier. We are glad now that we lugged some warm clothing around with us through those hot climates.<br /><br />We decided to try reporting the phone lost in Australia, to at least have something to give the insurance company. Sure enough, five minutes later it was done. So it doesn’t have to be a test of human perseverance after all.<br /><br />It is still over a week until we expect the ship carrying the container with the Land Rover inside to arrive. In the meantime we are staying at my cousin’s place with her family, and they are looking after us well. We have been searching for books to buy to help us to plan our route across the outback, as well as one to tell us about all the creatures to be wary of. So far on our journey, we have had only one confirmed sighting of a snake - a big puff adder in South Africa - and only a few scorpions and other nasties at various times. Despite the impending threat of death and disability from the Australian wildlife, we are looking forward to getting back on the road again.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-6359668621452552582008-05-10T17:14:00.008+01:002008-12-10T14:32:39.527+00:00Arabian Nights<div align="justify">Seeing as we missed off the Arabian Peninsula (thanks to the Saudi government) when we were passing by earlier on in the trip, we decided to take the opportunity of a stopover in Dubai en-route to Perth. However we still had some time to kill in South Africa as we wanted to ensure that the car had departed South African shores before we did and then there would be nearly another month before the car will arrive in Perth (via Malaysia). So we remained in beautiful Cape Town for another nine days. Plenty of time we thought for activities such as diving and taking a trip on the Cable car. This was before we realised that during our final week there were three, yes three public holidays and fairly changeable and windy weather.<br /><br />As it turned out, when it was good for us go diving, the conditions were not suitable. Oh well, we thought, the diving in Oman is apparently rather good so we will just have to wait until we are there. On another beautifully clear morning we decided to take a hike up Platteklip Gorge (the particularly steep ascent up Table Mountain) with the intention of taking the cable car down (I really hate steep downhills, unless I am on a mountain bike or snowboard of course). Remembering that the last time we tried to take the cable car it was closed due to high winds we kept an eye on the cable car as we walked up to the entrance to the gorge part, especially as the wind did seem to be increasing. Thankfully we had kept a good eye on it because by the time we reached the start, yes the cable car had stopped running. We did not see it running again until the day we flew out.<br /><br />Nevertheless we still enjoyed some lovely walks, right from the centre of Cape Town, up to Signal Hill and on to Lions Head, which afforded fantastic views of Cape Town and the coast.<br /><div><div><div><div><br /> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198783977351797826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKjGogxM9bueU7iXBKZ6bmmFShtYomIkY7Q24N1v6ZRFur2UuvzpVZ733rdr4bKfanULPcoNgPuVmVovzDiT2qIYtTIvMIxLsvlWSLSYZLsXX76DdpEYzSBrnUK6Qr6CsomFoJu14tVFE/s400/IMG_7802+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Of course after we waved goodbye to the car we also lost our accommodation. Hardekraaltjie Campsite, however, had some cabins for rent which were considerably cheaper than a backpackers. So we moved into Rose cabin for a few nights. Rose cabin came equipped with beds, a kettle, a few aluminium pans (great for burning food) a blunt kitchen knife and a fridge. It is amazing how quickly our routine changed as we adapted to our little cabin. Losing the car also meant that we had to walk everywhere now, although one day our neighbours from when we had been camping gave us a lift to the supermarket. </div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198783835617877042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-QX0l2L99HJfklTVkQJw7P_tE18pqv11cOyr3NRjIhcS-Yq4zoms-GIL-pb2llhUg7YDDI8U0uIOhoWDmf-DWozuWYSFV8ZKNvtiPIorpWCwFa4iWC_DEgHTwPewQkT_5El8CVkBZ2ZI/s400/IMG_7755+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />A couple of days before we were due to leave Cape Town we decided to move into the centre of the city. Hardekraaltjie was a half hour walk from the train station and the train ride was another half hour into Cape Town, and the trains did not run very frequently. On a previous day we had visited a few backpackers and eventually selected one which was pretty central and seemed to be fairly quiet- we were not looking for party central, although most of the backpackers in the city are in the partying area. Unfortunately we did not view it at 4am, but it was not the other backpackers that were the problem - it was the morons outside. The noise did not stop until gone 6am. These idiots would drive around in some crappy car with a souped up stereo playing their music so loud it made our whole room vibrate (on the third floor), then they would hoot their horns continuously for minutes on end, then the police would join in switching their sirens on and off while other cars sped up and down the street with cars double parked on either side before slamming their brakes on. I was almost expecting someone to tip a drum of oil onto the road so they could skid into it. One really sophisticated chap, with a couple of ladies in tow, decided to make his own disco on the pavement. While the ladies all hung around swaying to the music emanating from his car clutching their bottles of beer, he most indiscreetly took rather a long pee- oh how we wished we had our super powerful torch with us.<br /><br />After two rather sleepless nights we headed out to the airport and out of Africa. The easiest way to get to the airport is to take a shuttle. This was for us, though, rather expensive so we took a train and walked from the train station. Clearly this does happen very often. The train ticket vendor was rather surprised when I asked for 2 first class tickets to Lavistown and as we walked through the litter strewn neighbourhood after dismounting from the train it became clear that white people walking round with backpacks did not happen every day. Nonetheless everybody was polite and also everybody we passed greeted us and we arrived at the airport unscathed.<br /><br />We landed in Dubai on a warm and smoggy morning and negotiated our way to the Youth Hostel by bus. We then headed into town at 8am because we could not check in until 14.00. We spent ages wandering around trying to find a coffee shop that was open, just to have a drink and get out of the sun. On our previous forays into Arabic countries we never fully appreciated that there is nothing open in the morning. The following days we walked down the same streets in the late afternoon and it could have been a completely different place, all the shops and cafes were open and there were so many people around. </div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198784243639770194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0u98TvBEqqJvkC1XpRGn91JESjuTAZnZUear9-N1ej7dE0g6kG58adSeVptu8RgM_q4JF4cOVCZtZ18OQtth4UQ0p_xXT2RiSPSrJ5z_6skR4qlbZyWCYkssdcZKppOQgJlwEcDiWlY/s400/IMG_7821+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />We did find a bit of life at the wharf where immigrant labourers were loading/ unloading dhows in what seemed to us a most precarious manner. After wandering through the Gold Souk and many other street including the car spare parts quarter (one of the best we have seen on the trip so far) we eventually found an air-conditioned coffee shop in a mall where we hid out for a couple of hours until it was time to claim our room at the Youth Hostel. It is a good thing we are not here in the middle of summer - at least it is only 45ºC at the moment.<br /><br />Over the next couple of days we managed a bit of sightseeing. Dubai is a much more interesting city than I had imagined. We enjoyed some brief respite from the stifling heat when we made the quick trip across the creek on an Abra. These rather small but sturdy boats zip across the creek racing each other in a manner distinctly reminiscent of dodgem cars, especially when it comes to parking - this really is parking by feel. In the twilight we visited a restored area of old merchants houses with wind towers and courtyards. We viewed the inside of one which now houses a philatelic museum, it really was most interesting and enlightening. Stamp collecting has taken on a new meaning for me. </div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198784346718985314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhrj1HMjYVWDwo49-FVOQ2Ug0M7Q2tjL3ckArTJhjdvPfOKoyImIhAgHiLzmbJeJiV1oclEs7CO5FjQEzFYI0X2UHFubQaibr16uAH203kOVBCCat3qKqGMY8scgKrWP5LaCjjPYX4VU/s400/IMG_7866+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Another day we navigated our way out to Jumeira which is home to the iconic sail building (which is an hotel) of Dubai. This area of Dubai even has air-conditioned bus shelters. There are signs prohibiting eating food in them. I am sure that this is to stop people having picnics in the cool of the bus shelter. We also spent a couple of refreshing hours on the beach right opposite the famous “World” development a little way out to sea. However, we saw nothing through the smog and haze.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198784445503233138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jmNZDGjgi-3eq6qwfQEeOv0e19-DJndkPMMOT2xafC548bF40d3Yxihhx6cs_c4ZkSm9aRB-QfYhfUYJYSesjFnBeTj0k1XeotY9uqmIAH_8SEtM1Pe1wGaD4L1du_NEBEYUAmxnPR4/s400/IMG_7895+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Although the Youth Hostel does not have a kitchen (they seem to have changed quite a bit since I last stayed in one) the street food in both Dubai and Oman has been really good value and tasty, mainly with Indian or Lebanese influences. However, one night we ended up with some food that was just a little too spicy for Gavin’s palette. Luckily for me I got to polish of the wonderfully tender chunks of lamb.<br /><br />By now it was time to head towards Oman and Muscat. We had heard of a dive centre a little way out of Muscat which also rented out cabins on the beach for a reasonable price. It sounded so perfect. After a couple of days in Dubai I started to come down with a cold. Bad news for divers - a cold and diving is a nasty combination. So although I have not felt unwell at all with this stupid cold, I cannot dive. Ok we thought, why don’t we just head out to the dive centre anyway and hopefully it will improve? Well despite all our attempts to make contact with the Oman Dive Centre (from South Africa, Dubai and Muscat) we have heard nothing. Their phone numbers do not seem to work and they did not respond to our emails. Also when we could finally access their website it seems that their cabin prices have increased by 400%. So on our final day in Muscat, incidentally I am still very snotty, we thought we would go out to the dive centre and just go snorkelling. We just had the small matter of reporting a lost mobile phone to the police to complete. The phone had been lost a few days earlier but when Gavin had tried to report it he was asked to return to the police station after the weekend. Gavin will give you an indication of just how futile such a process is Oman in his next post, but needless to say four hours later we had achieved nothing and no time left to get to the dive centre.<br /><br />As is commonly the case, things often turn out very differently to how we anticipated but we have had a very interesting time in Oman. We have been staying in an hotel overlooking the harbour and port in Muscat (Mutrah), which feels more like a small town than part of the capital city. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198784673136499858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhawPNqW6iWC-nbr0miMXf2-hW4osc82gcsiFa39mTKcjrxmRR_gvN3eUBw72lLxM_XCXYVF0H_6H63krs2zMeo_xBvMd4axfRwRtwDYXKo38ydI51DFo_wV0AWlJafpklRHJoo3XPaUT0/s400/IMG_7944+(2).JPG" border="0" />We walked along the Corniche to the old walled city of Muscat and spent an interesting hour or so in the city wall museum developing insight into Omani history and culture. Despite its rather delayed entrance to modernity the country seems to be very well developed and so much cleaner than most of the countries we have passed through since leaving Europe. The Omani border post is certainly the most grand either of us has visited. We even picked up a complimentary map of the country. How ironic that there are so many countries we have been through with no map available at all and the only one we don’t drive to ourselves has a map.<br /><br />Another day we managed to find our way to Qurm beach about 10 km away which involved a bit of a walk. Here the distances when walking seem to more than double due to the heat and we have not had very good experiences with taxi drivers - again Gavin will explain. We had hoped to find some food along the way, according to our map we would walk past a major mall, but of course at 11am on a Friday nothing seemed to be open. So we had a lovely few hours on the beach with our 2 oranges to sustain us. In an effort to retain some modesty I initially kept my shorts on over my bikini, but all the men stared at me anyway, when I was sitting on the beach and when I went in the water. So after seeing some other western women bravely wearing bikinis I followed suit, but I certainly would not have behaved so rashly if Gavin had not been there.<br /><br />On the way back to the bus we passed an open coffee shop so we ducked in for samoosas - yes I have managed to convert Gavin, although it is more to do with desperation as the samoosas here are not spicy.<br /><br />It has been a bit of a culture shock coming here. Not only do we not have all the comforts of camping and our car but the whole rhythm of life is so different. One aspect of this that is so liberating for us is that we do not have to worry about being somewhere safe when it gets dark. In Cape Town, especially as the nights were drawing in, we needed to ensure that we could catch a train in time so that we were not walking back to the campsite in the dark. Whereas here it only starts to get lively in the evening, when it cools down enough to sit outside.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198784587237153922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33SLXlljN2iCE2wrfuCHdvN6r6JL5qdnD-053G8m-NGJLq5M5mmhPPUZyckiVOkAfMuTrTtd2h_s9tes6u1Q4Dx4AOlr0Vt4y3VPKWx3sDueZHbm8yjiHHFmA7CSxbREAfDMMNU6Sc_c/s400/IMG_7926+(2).JPG" border="0" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-80291085329553967302008-05-02T22:46:00.001+01:002008-05-02T22:48:19.099+01:00Time to make like Karen Blixen and get Out Of Africa. In departures now. Nobody has guessed correctly where to yet. Keep trying...texthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10606530949423582189noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-76801391248137821922008-04-25T12:20:00.011+01:002008-12-10T14:32:41.993+00:00Extra-Vehicular Operations<div align="justify"><div><div><div>The inevitable delays in our arrangements for shipping meant we had time for even more cleaning and preparation of the vehicle for its long awaited debut on the Australian scene. The shipping industry is big, and moves thousands of containers around the world every week, but when you are just two people trying to transport one vehicle in one container you are only a tiny part of a very big picture. Suffice to say that our hopes to have the Camel in a container by the end of last week were in vain. We had spent the first part of the week furiously trying to complete the last minute jobs that needed doing.<br /><br />As Catkin had mentioned, I had been concerned about the leak from our power steering box which had slowly become worse over the previous weeks. Our visit to Schalk Burger (the highly recommended mechanic, not the Springbok) the previous week hadn’t been completely in vain, for although he wouldn’t have been able to look at the box for us for another week and a half, he did suggest a couple of other places who might be able to look at it sooner. He was also very interested in our journey, and has a huge map of Africa on the wall of his workshop, presumably so all his customers can show him where they had been, where they had got stuck, where they had smashed their suspension that he would be about to repair, etc.<br /><br />We tried both places Schalk had suggested for the repair. The first quoted quite a high price, but for the work involved it wasn’t really that unreasonable. The second said that they don’t really fix the boxes, they just replace them with new ones, which are about three times the price we had been quoted for the repair previously. The workshop manager then told me that it might be possible for me to replace the existing seals without doing a full rebuild, if I was keen to give it a go. Actually, I was keen for someone else to give it a go, but it was the cheapest option, so obviously the one for us. The guy was really helpful, photocopying the exploded drawing of the box showing all the parts and giving me quite a few handy hints from the last time he had done the same job.<br /><br />I tackled the job the next day, and it took the whole day to get the box out, replace the seals and get it all back together again. It would have been much quicker, but in true Land Rover fashion, most bolts or fittings were in inaccessible places, and when you finally got to them they wouldn’t undo anyway. Catkin’s smaller hands were called upon to reach through small gaps between other parts, and she spent another afternoon traipsing around the local industrial area looking for a circlip to replace one that had broken. Nobody had the right size, so the broken one has ended up going back in. By the time everything was back together it was well and truly dark. </div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193142369538067858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSvbaJHyNo9filr45-ImMtpMXcoQDFr5EiaZYd89wo56-FNZyhzceJar8ZpVRd684xWvODYRyBYJrxRI33MD_3musZeBjEjA5novDsFzNm_POwKxQp6NOp5A71XZHM3LnFlrmZbj3Ad4U/s400/IMG_7695+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />All of our scrubbing, and the use of a water blaster, over the previous weeks had finally got rid of most of the caked on lime we had picked up in the Etosha National Park in Namibia nearly three months earlier. It had also removed a good deal of the protective coating on the chassis and underbody as well. We had already decided that a new coating would not only help protect the steel chassis, but would hopefully also serious impress the Australian quarantine official we he or she inspected the vehicle for cleanliness in Fremantle. We found a paint factory nearby, and they sold us a can of their special black chassis and underbody sealer. Another full day was spent wriggling around underneath the Land Rover reaching into every nook and cranny with different shapes and sizes of paintbrush. It was a pretty messy job (I still have paint on me in places I can’t even see) but worth it, as it came up really well. Hopefully it impresses those Aussies…<br /><br />Throughout our long and tortuous travels we had managed to accumulate not an inconsiderable amount of extra ‘stuff’. Pamphlets, maps, books and souvenirs were all taking up valuable space, along with some items we had brought from England but barely or never used. We wanted to streamline our operation, but more importantly needed to make room for all the wine we had bought in South Africa. We had made enquiries with a few shifting companies but none bothered to reply, so we have ended up sending two rather large boxes to New Zealand by post. We can now fit almost everything into our eight crates in the back, so it’s much more organised. A place for everything and everything in its place. I love it. I’m sure my sisters won’t love it so much when they have to go and pick up two 30 kilogramme boxes from the post office. </div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193142747495189922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCJpVDWQY7iuY2xiaFW6LKMY8g7XRJ73IsqXuIOL5aqovnlTjG6fkAr8wxFOR9Ag-TWctgV7mb_b76mI-OLmhPaE92tzVkOrxV_in64wEjnWompB033sRAGgbJlWBUoKkdgn0mPHxeIs/s400/IMG_7713+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />We even went out for dinner one night last week. A friend and former colleague of mine, Albert, and his wife Aggie were in Cape Town. We had last seen them when they had been at our leaving do at the pub on Clapham Common. It was good to see them both again and hear their news.<br /><br />By now we had all but confirmed that we would be loading the Camel into a container at the port on Wednesday 23 April. To celebrate our third to last night camping in Africa, and our final African full moon, we decided a special dinner was in order. We had been on the continent for seven months. Roast lamb is one of our favourites, and it was delicious. Catkin has honed her potje technique to perfection. My getting charcoal to burn using turps is coming along nicely, too, thanks.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193142919293881778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBZsH4mIJqG0UUakCfcmz4vl52U9KRFE55fHD5ug-kvB0T0bdWORZKKAT7iN4qluB8RTSPgHcVmQzKMsxAol9rP3vATOkVLPM3L90RebJLIaEtntGtTet_7r9SX8s2Per81aLnKAr2a0/s400/IMG_7721+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Later that night we had the most excitement we had seen for a very long time. We had been camping in the same campsite in Cape Town for almost two weeks, which is the longest we have stayed at one place since leaving the UK last June. There were a few permanent and long term residents, people came and went, some guy practises his driving around the campsite everyday, but really nothing much happens. Probably the most interesting thing was for the other campers watching us do our almost daily ritual of unpacking everything from the back of the Land rover and spreading it all over to grass around the vehicle before packing it all in again at the end of the day. A few days before, an overland tour truck had arrived at the campsite, but we didn’t think much of it. On this night, however, the police suddenly swooped on it, set up flood lights and proceeded to spend a few hours searching around in the back of the truck. We were coming up with all sorts of murder and espionage theories. Later the customs officers arrived – it turned out the driver had been smuggling goods into the country. </div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193143795467210178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixK_eT6baiT66SHRy0P8okOgTGuIrM1BmfzQTDLRtc1q_Y_3HmcE805qixEVSIEZQuhlUH-OUVgorTpqlzkWfXQBKoe0aiEaDpFHm9OlKtEkbY8FgfsjvKEgou7SPhcBDxE2pjX5YVK88/s400/IMG_7730+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />Finally, the day we have all been waiting for arrived – “containerisation day.” We had spent the previous night packing our bags with what we would need for the few weeks the Land Rover would be at sea. The vehicle was clean inside and out, and we had managed to stop all the oil leaks. Well, nearly anyway. We had been told that we could not ship with any more than a quarter full tank of fuel, so had made sure that it was showing just under a quarter (the small tank – if they had checked the big one it was just over a quarter full…). At the container depot the customs agent checked registration, engine and chassis numbers and signed off our carnet.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193144216374005202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhfnZwNRfb5Qx1RxFkivB3jax71h2AuTSGCRcECl844k9J2ApQwMZvTGHbJAMtN5kwnrUOePRyd-eIVzg_lcrsEAhIK-87f8YeOfqoTlsfiwVgXDlrrtddkhkUtf1ffKXrN7Qo5iIyquY/s400/IMG_7738+(2).JPG" border="0" />My major concern was fitting the vehicle into the container with the roofrack on. I was pretty sure that the tent would be too high and would have to come off, but was hoping that provided we dropped the sand ladders down a notch and laid all the jerry cans flat, that we could leave the roof rack on. The highest point would be the two rails on the jerry can rack, but I had measured the height against what I had been informed was the clear door height of a standard 20ft container and was certain that if we let the back tyres down to a third of their normal pressure, we would be okay. It worked, because we just sneaked it in. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193144701705309666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_TsL6jvK13oo4SR2RPZzwWiPvr35dodbuU9tK9z1pTWnv627o51xtgSEB3D53yqOS07j8FA29-xRPqiwXomOQ6VeHKxBPQPafdefJlzv06IAoCrW8FoGAoSb0JJDw_A5myXfpy3x4j0/s400/IMG_7746+(2).JPG" border="0" />The port workers proceeded to nail chocks to the container floor and strap the Camel securely into the container so that it wouldn’t rock around too much on the high seas. The final task, again in preparation for Australia, was fumigation. The container was closed and Methyl Bromide was pumped in. We stood clear (me especially). The container was sealed, and for good measure I put two of our own padlocks on the doors. All going well we will see it again in Fremantle in just under a month. The vehicle was containerised; we were now officially on EVO.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193144907863739890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCve-h5B0d4h2TJuqO8yXC3SB3ZxPMJc2pvNPhBIrU-dmZsnCCD9GxPMnxCexLmH2BpaozpMxZFFwBqumvSEmw8EocfvAQfzaA-Q9mZawfmOouISWrhjZb2CtWxzXLX4KVnvzsuP7q6w/s400/IMG_7748+(2).JPG" border="0" /><br />In the meantime, in the absence of finding any sea passage between South Africa and Australia, we have booked ourselves flights to Perth, with a stopover to kill some time. Details of our mystery destination will follow in due course.<br /><br />We have another week in Cape Town, and are hoping to go diving, despite the cooler water temperatures. Our last dive was in Dahab, Egypt, so it has been, well, seven months. How time flies. We are still at the same campground, but have moved into a cabin. It is extremely strange, though, not having the vehicle and all our gear, and a list of jobs to attend to. I have had to go and buy the latest Land Rover magazine to compensate.<br /><br />Finally, today is Anzac day, which for me now is even more solemn, having been privileged to be able to visit Anzac Cove when we were in Turkey in August, walking on the beach and climbing the hills to Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair. It was mostly deserted when we were there, which I understand is a far cry from what is normally like at this time of year. What surprised us was the numbers of Turkish there, which stands to reason, as it is one of their great victories under the future leader Ataturk. The other special memory we have of our visit there is the genuine friendliness and hospitality of the Turkish people. It was one of the highlights of our trip so far.<br /><br />Anyway, enough rambling from me. More news soon, and maybe even a special bumper issue in the not too distant future.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-24316353053178134602008-04-21T09:03:00.000+01:002008-04-21T09:07:15.609+01:00Cakes!Happy birthday Danielle. Hope you remembered to buy cakes for everyone at work... Whoops, perhaps I shouldn't have said anything!<br /><br />We are still in possession of the Camel - arranging shipping is a slow process. It's as clean now as it has ever been though. Hopefully into its little box on Wednesday.<br /><br />More from us in a few days.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301155218607505602.post-20311830769474068952008-04-14T13:27:00.009+01:002008-12-10T14:32:42.048+00:00The Road to Hell<div style="text-align: justify;">We had a relaxing time with Graham and Yvonne, although much more relaxing for me because I was not in the “Stopping oil leaks brigade”. Yvonne even took me to her hairdresser and I had a very much needed hair cut. My efforts at hacking off the end of my plats periodically was not really the best plan despite Patsy’s valiant attempt to tidy it all up in Paarl. It was also exciting to receive some mail which a few people had sent to Graham and Yvonne’s. Bank statements have never been so interesting.<br /><br />The Garden Route of South Africa is really rather lovely and aptly named. It is such a verdant and lush area. Yvonne took us to their local farmers market and the produce really is amongst the best in the world I think, such delicious food. There is so much to do in the area and we did manage a short hike but as we had finally made up our minds to ship to Australia we were keen to get to it back in Cape Town.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rKstH9sVYTuXFCsc-kRWhe4WwRcUa60E9U9eFGtLnlN2IAFJo68bG6oBv_PKmPOf5xz8evwVagpVVE3jawuWov0gUS36rHFeIG9OGLIncULbrMfKVl3r5HFo8WUMFkr0HPprV57NdD4/s1600-h/IMG_7645+%282%29.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rKstH9sVYTuXFCsc-kRWhe4WwRcUa60E9U9eFGtLnlN2IAFJo68bG6oBv_PKmPOf5xz8evwVagpVVE3jawuWov0gUS36rHFeIG9OGLIncULbrMfKVl3r5HFo8WUMFkr0HPprV57NdD4/s400/IMG_7645+%282%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189080261050858098" border="0" /></a><br /><br />With our tummies full of the results of Yvonne’s lovely cooking we carried on to Knysna before heading back to Cape Town via The Klein Karoo. We spent a few days exploring the dirt tracks and steep mountain passes. The road to Die Hell took us over the Swartberg pass, a very scenic road, through arid vegetation for ages and then suddenly we dropped down into a green valley dotted all over with Aloe Vera. This place is in the middle of nowhere and the road, tortuously clinging to the side of the mountain, was built to serve a very small farming community many years ago. WHY? Surely there are easier places to get to find for farming.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99gSBly9STWaGF4SjwyyMi4ltZ9ItTosXz41AWhqjmGJUzQazIOJVB6opkU2cdfiQGs_vOug_QAK3aMA90vJXxfWnjVr6-lp9Ewvnrz3_4nHeDfsg8wh5o8fmcRP_By0QdX4vEX7KqkE/s1600-h/IMG_7649+%282%29.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99gSBly9STWaGF4SjwyyMi4ltZ9ItTosXz41AWhqjmGJUzQazIOJVB6opkU2cdfiQGs_vOug_QAK3aMA90vJXxfWnjVr6-lp9Ewvnrz3_4nHeDfsg8wh5o8fmcRP_By0QdX4vEX7KqkE/s400/IMG_7649+%282%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189080351245171330" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The next day we arrived back in civilisation and stopped in some very pretty towns, although they are looking to be very much in need of upkeep and maintenance. After a fresh chip butty in Calitzdorp we headed in to the wine and fruit area. No doubt about it, it is harvest time. Many times we got stuck behind lorries heavily laden with fruit crates on the windy roads. We also passed many large areas of fruit drying in the sun.<br /><br />We had been recommended a mechanic in Strand and Gavin was a bit concerned about leak from the steering box so we made a bit of a detour to ask Schaulk’s opinion. Apparently the steering box is a particularly fiddly device and Schaulk could not fit us in for another ten days or so. This meant that shipping would be delayed by another week. Schaulk suggested a couple of other workshops we could try. One gave us a rather large quote and the other reckoned that Gavin should be able to change the seals himself- it would be quite difficult though.<br /><br />We spent two nights in Strand at a rather strange campsite. It seems that many years ago part of the campsite was retained as a campsite and the rest became a sort of “white” squatter camp. The living conditions inside were certainly much better than the other squatter camp we visited in Cape Town, but it was rather bizarre.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjnxgnB6aLMV8AM7o7BHyEco9GIZhUE0NOVEGJFCW29VegDGqPK7XbD77hkMSs3BWcg3EKk0LuhF3xkWWJxRU-nwAdvtUHotWppb-rRtLCDnwmAVGGXrqeymIeHJ4oAcW12PG_ltOSZQ/s1600-h/IMG_7688+%282%29.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjnxgnB6aLMV8AM7o7BHyEco9GIZhUE0NOVEGJFCW29VegDGqPK7XbD77hkMSs3BWcg3EKk0LuhF3xkWWJxRU-nwAdvtUHotWppb-rRtLCDnwmAVGGXrqeymIeHJ4oAcW12PG_ltOSZQ/s400/IMG_7688+%282%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189080939655690914" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We have been camped in Bellville, Cape Town for quite a few nights now. It is convenient for the shops, and more importantly- the industrial areas, which yet again I am getting to know very well. I am even getting to know the street hawkers now, they cannot understand why I am walking everywhere rather than driving. Gavin has repaired the leaking steering box and had such trouble with it that even my assistance was required- yes I was actually allowed under the car.<br /><br />So we have scrubbed, hosed, power washed, scrubbed, hosed, washed, polished and even painted some parts of the car in preparation for the very fussy Australian officials. We started doing this before Easter and I think we are just about there. I now defy an Australian to find any Saharan sand, Nile silt, Ethiopian road dust, red African dust, Botswana bog or Etosha lime in any nook or cranny. As for the oil leaks I am sure Gavin will give a detailed account in the vehicle blog for anyone who is interested.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKz2D8JaK5ccl1FqqsRuNMfMic2RbBSfTO4TE3RCv0R3nlI5eAKswrSlnHtqrPIhTdxMppbD8pVElAxfUXuHmW5tyZNpG0Un3vao3K54Q28SAJMFPTWJ5wpNce6rcIjvL5aPoB8ztylMU/s1600-h/IMG_7711+%282%29.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKz2D8JaK5ccl1FqqsRuNMfMic2RbBSfTO4TE3RCv0R3nlI5eAKswrSlnHtqrPIhTdxMppbD8pVElAxfUXuHmW5tyZNpG0Un3vao3K54Q28SAJMFPTWJ5wpNce6rcIjvL5aPoB8ztylMU/s400/IMG_7711+%282%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189081145814121138" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We are provisionally waving goodbye to the old car on Thursday or Friday and then all we have to sort out is……. how we are going to get to Australia. We are reluctant to book anything too soon in case anything should change with the shipping.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3