The life and times of me.....Ben Southall

Time for a change I think....

2009-06-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

When I initially set out on my Afritrex expedition at the end of December 2007 I'd decided that setting up a blog would be a fantastic way for my friends and family to keep up-to-date with my experiences and to follow my progress around the African continent.

Since then blogs and blogging applications, widgets, add-ons etc have moved on in leaps and bounds and it's now possible to add posts by text, video or speech, through your desktop machine, laptop or iPhone.

With the help of my web-guru Ben Patterson, I've decided to design and build a new blog which will become my record of exactly what the job of Island Caretaker involves, some behind the scenes snippets and a blog of what the next six months of my life will be all about.

There will be future updates to this page every so often but for now I'll be concentrating on my new web-blog which can be found at:

www.bestjobben.com

With only three days to go until I fly back out to Australia every second is busy with planning, building content for this new site and preparing for the adventure ahead. If you've been following my exploits over the past few days, months or years then please continue to do so by altering your bookmarks right now!

Ben

Down to Cornwall and into the water again...

2009-06-14T23:28:00.001-07:00

Before I disappear for the next six months to start my job as Island Caretaker on the Great Barrier Reef there are a few important people in my life I had to see before leaving the UK's shores. Over the past few years a number of friends have left Hampshire and headed west to relocate in Devon and Cornwall and when you get down there you can understand why!

Still loaded and prepared from last weekend's exploits up in Scotland at the LAMM; Jon, Paul and I left in the Colonel (my trusty Land Rover and home for all of 2008) on Thursday and headed down the A303 towards the west country ready for a weekend of ocean based activities.

There's something great about going away on a mini adventure even if its just for a few days; the long drive, the camping, the little country lanes, the sounds and smells of the ocean and the countryside are all a welcome reminder that you're somewhere different that needs exploring!

Six hours after we'd left we dropped down the final descent from St Keverne into the sleepy hollow of Porthkerris where Dave and Turkey live to find their perfect little world exactly as I remembered it....but this time with Turkey running the catering wagon, flippin' burgers, blending cheese and generally amusing the locals with his own brand of questionable humour!

Being able to take time out from a hectic lifestyle is essential and something I really don't do enough of; its only when I get the chance to breakaway and head to one of the more remote parts of the country that I actually realise its good for the human soul to rest up, relax and let the sound of the ocean massage the brain into a trance like state - a one of the first real
opportunities to think about the job as the Island Caretaker.

Inside the head of me.....

Since May 6th back on Hamilton Island when Anna Bligh made the announcement that I'd won the job with Tourism Queensland life has been even more hectic than normal. I thought I used my days up pretty productively, planning a festival, plotting the next expedition and in between all of it trying to keep as fit as possible...but this has turned even my energetic lifestyle on its head.

Every day I talk to someone new, every day there's a different person contacting me from a another country and its truly amazing to have the chance to speak to everyone of them. We have a chuckle at each others accents, we struggle to understand each other sometimes and very often the time zones of the world just aren't taken into account as my phone rings deep into the night waking me as I dreamily ponder what the next few months will bring; adventure, the ocean and a vast amount of discovery.

As I count down the final days to my departure from these shores the last week has provided me with an interesting insight into just how the press can work, I have the deepest sympathies for some of the 'real' celebrities out there and can now understand how they have to watch everything they say just in case its taken the wrong way, let me explain....

Situation is this - I meet up with a good friend Ben Patterson on the way back from Scotland who's organised a meeting with a lady from the Press Association. We take a few, photos on the beach where I used to go as a child on holiday as a bit of promotion for the tourist industry in the north east (Bamburgh, Northumbria), she asks me a question....

"What will you miss about the U.K.?"

I answer as honestly as I can.....Mum's Sunday roasts, long summer's days, music festivals - genuine answers to a genuine question.

However the way the Sun newspaper in the UK and several in papers in Australia decided to take the answer in a slightly different way and labelled me the 'Whingeing Pom' - brilliant and totally taken out of context. Oh you gotta love the media. Have a look here and here for my response a day or so later....yet more laughs!

Those good bods at Tourism Queensland are right behind me though and came back at the papers with their total support for me in a few articles which followed up on the story, a taste of things to come I think.

As I sit here in my hotel room, having just come from Talk Sport Radio where I was a guest presenter for an hour on Ian Collins show, I'm thinking about the amazing opportunity ahead and the incredibly exciting six months of adventure and experiences which lie ahead.

The clock is ticking and the final week here in the UK is going to fly by, I have two full-on days of promoting the BBC documentary (which is out on July 2nd, 9pm BBC1) to come next week, an evening meeting the Governor of Queensland and then two days to pack everything I need into my bags before hopping on a plane to the other side of the world again where I'll meet my girlfriend Bre and move into the Blue Pearl residence under the watchful eye of the assembled world media once more! I cannot wait.

The limited details I've been given so far of the first six weeks of the job look jaw-droppingly exciting...diving at Cod Hole on Lizard Island being one of the obvious highlights as I try and dive as often as possible in an effort to get my Advanced PADI certification, I really want to dive on some wrecks and to do that I'll have to pass another course but they're all things which I look forward to ...maybe with the exception of sitting another exam!

This week has been particularly busy with three full days of interviews and appointments, I've tried really hard to give something back to the younger people in my area by organising some presentations at local schools, visiting my old primary school where I went for a year at the age of 10. It was so amusing going back to Ropley School and seeing quite how its changed, the secretary, Mrs Price, is still there and very kindly showed me my excerpt from the year book of 1986 along with a very embarrassing picture which the children all laughed at as only they can!

My 20 minute presentation told them all about last year's project Afritrex along with a little glimpse of what the Island Caretaker role will involve over the coming six months. Its amazing how different and almost nerve-racking it is presenting to 100 children....but they listened like mice and ooo'ed and ahh'ed in the right places as I showed them pictures of the African wildlife. A very rewarding experience all round.

On a bit of a roll I repeated the presentation to Liss Junior School this week, but this time there was the added pressure of addressing 250 children whilst being filmed by a French TV crew from the TV1 channel. It doesn't get much tougher than this.

Nicholas and Arnaud are filming a short feature for a current affairs program which goes out late in July and for their take on the story had me swimming in the Solent, chatting with friends Paul and Rachel over dinner and even came with me as I recorded the voice-overs for a BBC program called Inside Out, which I guest presented and goes out in September. Its been a busy week.

I have to mention another local adventurer from the Petersfield area where I live, Tom Heal who together with his good friend Will Smith who leave the UK at the end of the year in an attempt to become the youngest team ever to row an ocean. Find out more and support them at http://www.atlanticrowyt.co.uk/

We spent an amusing hour together having some photos taken for Life in Petersfield magazine around the lake in our fantastic home town! Best of luck to them both with their fundraising and training. Arghhh hours on the rowing machine - my least favourite item in the gym.

Being my final weekend in the UK I've organised another farewell party at the Mill Tavern, which people are welcome along to if your in the area, and then the countdown really is on....

In a week's time I'll be flying out to Brisbane to start a new job

AND I CANNOT WAIT WAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

The Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon

2009-06-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

Finally today the legs work again....

I thought I'd try another discipline of marathon running and jumped at the chance, back in February, to enter the L.A.M.M. my first real adventure race which involved two days of orienteering through the wilds of Scotland with my old friend Bryan Smith.

This sort of racing is totally different from a conventional marathon and a whole lot harder on the mind and body than I expected, but also incredibly good fun to be involved with.

It's known as the Connoisseurs Marathon for a number of reasons; you enter as a team of two and carry all of your camping kit, food, water and clothing which is needed to take on the Highlands of Scotland in the summer (read as 'wet and windy), don't know anything about the location of the event until 36hrs before it starts apart from "3 to 4 hours north of Glasgow", don't know anything about the course until you're handed a map and some co-ordinates and have to run it up, down and over some of the highest mountains in the area.

This is really tough event. Full stop, Period.

Here's the GPS route of our drive up to Scotland and back.....click the image

Wednesday 3rd June

I collected Bryan from a pub in Rugby after a three hour drive to get there and then drove all through the night to reach our destination, Glencoe, three hours after sunrise just as my head was starting to get to that nodding stage. Afritrex all over again with mammoth drives, this one being 567 miles/912 kms!

Thursday 4th June

We camped in Glencoe, setup the Colonel ready for a night/days sleep and were rudely awaken by RAF jets screaming overhead three hours later....there goes the sleep, so we cut our losses, packed up and headed to the pub for some well earned lunch.

Now Scotland at anytime of year can provide 'interesting' summer weather - I know after having numerous family holidays there when I was younger; rain, sleet, sunshine and the ever present midges but today was to be a pleasant surprise - 20 degrees C and sunshine all round. Perfect.

We headed out for a drive to soak up some air before we'd have to do it for real the next day on the marathon and found a stunning little valley road running alongside a river and got out for a wander.

Now I know I'm renowned for jumping into cold water anyway but this was a fantastic place to find - a cool flowing stream and waterfall with a deep pool and a huge jump off, far too tempting not to have a go so I stripped off and entered the surprisingly clear waters without freezing myself too much, amazing.

Finally after waiting for what seemed like ages my iPhone signalled the arrival of the email we'd been waiting for...the location of where this years LAMM would take place, Kintail, around 80 miles away to the north of where we were staying. Tonight we'd rest up and get a full sleep and then head to the location ready to pitch camp sometime in the afternoon.

Friday 5th June

We headed out of Glencoe towards Kintail via Fort William, situated at the base of Ben Nevis - the UK's highest mountain, and bought the last few things on the kit list we were missing and in near perfect weather conditions had a fantastic drive across the Highlands of Scotland and had a rush of nostalgia about quite how great this island we live on actually is!

Arrived at the campsite in good time and set up the tent just as in the distance a rainbow signalled the end to the fine weather and the approach of what we'd feared the most....rain. damn it, surely this would be here all weekend meaning a wet and uncomfortable two days pacing the hills. We went to bed with fingers crossed.

Saturday 6th June

Now I love the bagpipes; the sound conjures up scenes from Braveheart and Dead Poet's Society, determination through adversity and total Scottishness - but when you hear them at 5.30am as a wake up call to signal the start of a two day physical adventure they somehow loose their romanticism.

Stuffing the last of our kit into our 30L backpacks we left the Colonel behind and made for the coaches which would whisk us to the start point, following our every move on the laminated maps we'd be given so we had a good idea where we'd be heading from the off.

Fifteen minutes later we were there, I felt a little nervous to be taking on a new form of adventure racing but totally excited at the same time and hopped out of the coach to collect the series of co-ordinates which marked the checkpoints we'd need to complete the course for the first day.

Bryan spent a number of years in the military and knows far more than me about map reading and orienteering so showed me how to plot the control point positions and from their location, how to navigate between them using the contour lines and features on the map to give the best route around the course - and from looking at how close the contours are together there would be some serious slopes to go up and down!

We headed out into the grey morning with the first easy checkpoint on the horizon with a few other teams already on the way giving us an easy decision on how to get to it...follow the other teams! Once we'd both pushed our dibbers (electronic bracelets which need to be clicked at each checkpoint) into the boxes the next decision was a little more difficult - a huge mountain stood between us and the next checkpoint, so which way do we go around it!?!?

As we neared the decision point we decided to track east of the obstacle whereas others teams appeared to to west, oh well we'd stick to our plan and head along the contours keeping our height as best we could until the the edge of the cliffs and the eventual checkpoint...hopefully! We found the next checkpoint at the stream junction and made off into the distance for the remaining goals with the clouds gathering overhead all of the time.

By the early afternoon we'd found all but the last of the checkpoints and made our way down the final descent and wearily into camp to find the majority of the field already there, tiny tents already erected with people soaking their battered feet in the babbling stream to relieve them of the days exertions. 1400m ascended in total, 23kms as the crow flies or around 30kms on the ground.

After a light dinner of pasta, cous cous and energy bars we both hit the hay in 'the' smallest of all tents on show there - Bryan all the time happily claiming his £25 Ebay bargain was the way ahead, and I had no complaints sleeping right through until the dreaded bagpipes kicked off again at 5.30am once more!

Sunday 7th June
Tired legs, tired minds, tired feet - not the perfect recipe for a fast time and after consulting the leader board found we'd not done as well as expected being placed 109th out of 116 teams in the 'C' Class - oh well we'd just be glad to finish today really, this is another game altogether compared to conventional marathon running!

We trundled out of camp around 7.30am, the leaders and chasing pack having departed well before us all still competing for the lead, leaving us mere mortals to run at our own pace for the remainder of the day as we tracked back to base camp some 14kms away (as the crow flies which actually made it about 20kms on the ground!).

What a lovely way to start the day a sheer 600m climb to the first checkpoint followed by another 250m to the summit of the nearest mountain for the second - it certainly got the blood pumping and the knees working again. After some great navigating by Bryan we decided on our route for the next couple of checkpoints and actually made up some time on the other teams by racing (or as fast as our painful legs go carry us) down a pretty steep slope almost falling on our faces as we went to arrive at the machine in advance of our fellow competitors.

One of the checkpoints was placed on the far side of the river so through the chilly water we went which added to the weight of our already heavy feet, as dibbed in but the joy of reaching another goal was short-lived as we both looked at the map and the monster mountain which lay directly in front of us...as out eyes focused on the challenge ahead we could start to see other teams already on the ascent slowly inching their way hand over hand up the slope. This really was a testing point of the weekend - already fatigued, here was another huge personal challenge to take on.

We broke the back of the climb around an hour later and finally had only one more checkpoint to find before we could start to taste to start of the descent back down to the awaiting finish line, clean clothes, food and the Colonel!

Pressing on, and after a slight navigation error (!!) we finally hit the tarmac road and the last of the checkpoints, well we almost got to the checkpoint having to backtrack to it after getting caught up in the joy of nearly finishing and walking straight past it! As we crossed the line a few muted claps welcomed us and we staggered into the finish area to claim our prize for the weekends exertions - a free bowl of chilli and a cup of tea!!

We had a quick glance at the leader board and discovered today had been altogether more successful as we'd posted a final position of 127th out of 152 teams in the 'C' catergory. At least we'd got around and with minimal training too, if we do this again we'll be fitter thats for sure!

This event really has to be entered to be understood, its around a marathon and a half for our class, the elite runners cover another 20kms on top of that and finish around 5hrs in front of us. It's great fun, once you've finished, and a true test of grit and determination - I will be back for more at some stage in the future.

Thank you so much to Bryan for being the brains behind the brawn - we made a damn good team and even though he's just told me he picked eight sheep ticks out of his legs in the bath last night (I couldn't find any in mine - must have been too quick for them!) I'd love to do another at some point.

We headed out of the campsite after a quick dry shower and straight onto the road south passing the beauty of the Cairngorms before pitching the tent just outside Perth. Monday was spent trawling down the A/M1 south towards home with a slight diversion to meet a good friend Ben Patterson who's been responsible for creating and managing my website over the last year and is currently masterminding the next one. Great to see you BP and thank also for the very fun photoshoot on the beach at Bamburgh dressed in wetsuits for the Press Association - very memorable!

Off to Cornwall this weekend for more diving and water based antics.....next blog out just as soon as I can.

Ben

Frolicking in the sunshine on the Isle of Wight

2009-05-30T23:54:00.000-07:00

In the run up to leaving the UK at the end of June I've kept myself as busy as possible and finally after a few months of trying have made it to FARM-Africa and IDE-UK to present them with the remainder of the funds which Afritrex raised last year, the total for all three is now just over £20,000.

BBC INSIDE OUT FILMING - THE ISLE OF WIGHT

Time to take on a new challenge Ben and this time not a physical one but a mental one - how about appearing as a guest presenter for the BBC......eeek, not an opportunity to be passed up. So my girlfriend Bre, Jane the producer, Joe the cameraman and Ian the soundman all headed to the Isle of Wight (just off the south coast of England) to film a program all about this gorgeous little gem of an island and what is has to offer as a tourist destination.

I remember when I was about 5 years old (yes a stupidly long time ago I know) my Grandma and Grandpa sent me a postcard from the island and it looked something like this.....

...describing the Wonders of the Isle of Wight, I still remembered four of them and they are:

"Lake" where there is no water.
The "Needles" you cannot thread.
"Ryde" where you walk.
"Cowes" you cannot milk.
"Freshwater" you cannot drink.
"Newport" you cannot bottle.
"Winkle street" where there are no Winkles
"Newtown" which is very old

Coasteering

First stop of the day was to be Freshwater Bay to try something I've always wanted to have a go at, Coasteering - the process of jumping over rock archways, swimming through wave filled gaps, climbing up cliffs and ducking under water into invisible caves.

Arriving at Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking we met Owen our instructor for the day as I tried to persuade Bre to take to chance to dip into some freezing cold English water....for what I guaranteed her would be some fun!

We kitted up in our wetsuits, buoyancy aid, booties and helmets and all trundled off along the promenade towards the waves which were crashing onto the chalk cliffs making the heart rate raise just a little as we dipped our toes into the ocean full of expectation for the experience which lay ahead.

The waves continued to build as we swam out into the swell keeping close to the cliffs but just far enough away not to be pummelled into them and as we turned the corner the first of the caves came into sight. Owen leading us very expertly all the way offering guidance on the best way to take on this new form of adventure with a BBC underwater camera strapped to the side of his helmet.

We continued for another half an hour along the coast, clambering up the sharply hewn rocks, jumping off the higher ledges and swimming through some amazing caves and tunnels until I turned to look at Owen....and the camera was missing, oh crap there goes the best of the footage then!

Back on dry land we made our apologies for loosing the camera, dried off and headed back to the Colonel before leaving for the other side of the island after a wicked experience attacking the coastline with a very different and exciting approach to water sport.

Steephill Cove

Steephill Cove is a little piece of treasured history which really hasn't changed for the past 500 years and when you arrive down the steep footpath you can understand why - its the only means of access, apart from by boat, to the collection of fishing cottages. The Wheeler family have owned the vast majority of these amazing little houses since the 1400's along with the cafe and restaurant, Dave being the oldest member of the family. His official name is Dave Wheeler MBE, or the Island Caretaker! He was presented with his MBE a few years ago for services to deckchairs of all things, and when given the opportunity to go to Buckingham Palace to receive it he refused saying he didn't want to leave the island. In the end the Royal Family sent a Lieutenant to present it to him!

Dave's extensive family live here and every day his two sons Jimmy and Mark head out in their boat to check the crab and lobster pots, the catch from which supplies their wives with the supplies to run the cafe (famous for its Crab Pasties) and the restaurant. Real cottage industries which thrive here during the warmer months of the year.

Simon from the Ventor Blog stopped off to meet me and as we wolfed down a pastie he explained to me the tools of the trade I need to be employing to make my blog writing more interesting and interactive to all of my followers. He and his wife have been publishing their works on the internet for a number of years and were great to chat to. Thank you to them for their information.

Sea Kayaking

We raced back across the island to meet Owen and Tim who'd kindly offered to take Bre and I out Sea Kayaking for the last activity of the day, we launched just past Yarmouth and as we paddled along the coast trawled some lures for anything we may be lucky enough to catch in time for dinner.....wishfully thinking, we caught nothing and instead headed to the Fish n Chip shop for a guaranteed catch!

Bre and I retired for the evening to a fantastic cliff top campsite called Grange Farm where the owner had very kindly reserved the sea-view site for us and for the first time since January we erected the tent atop the Colonel. A little warmer than last time from -5c up to 15c, excellent.

Red Squirrels

Our last day on the island had more adventure and new experiences tied into it, starting with a visit to Alverstone Mead Nature Reserve to feed the resident red squirrels.

Red squirrels are the only squirrel native to the British Isles. They are disappearing from the mainland fast and are being replaced by the introduced American grey squirrel.

The Isle of Wight is an important stronghold as the Solent provides a barrier to grey squirrels. However a grey does find it’s way to the Island sometimes, so we need to be vigilant. There are contingency plans for dealing with greys that arrive on the Isle of Wight. Not only do grey squirrels outcompete reds, they carry the deadly squirrelpox virus, which is fatal to the reds.

It is illegal to bring a grey squirrel into red squirrel territory. The penalty is 2 years imprisonment or £5,000 fine. It is also illegal to release a grey anywhere, once it is caught.

Talk about cute, these little red-haired creatures rock and truly do feed right out of your hand, as soon as you crack a nut they come scampering across the roof of the hide and peer at you through their little black eyes. If you give them a whole nut the effort of breaking into it is all too much and they disappear off to bury it in preparation for the winter...in somewhere they no doubt forget about!

John and his group of volunteers had done an amazing job at preparing the woodland which surrounds the hide and provides a multitude of different environments for the local wildlife to thrive in.

Airstream Caravans

Another little hidden gem on the island, Helen and her husband have been running Vintage Vacations for a number of years in a quiet little field in the centre of the island offering a little taster of yester'year and the opportunity to stay in one of their immaculate Airstream aluminium caravans, or Land Yachts.

Talk about bright on a day like today, the sun glared off the perfectly polished body but as I walked inside a 1960's decor made me feel much more welcome...as did the swiss roll which we all munched by the plateful!

Triptracker GPS recording of our route around the Isle of Wight

Click on the link below to see exactly where we went on our little adventure.....

Some strange and wacky things from the past few weeks....

2009-05-27T03:24:00.000-07:00

There's been a few little gems surfacing since the announcement was made, here are some of my favourites.

Have a look at this link from The Daily Mash - pure gold!

Have a listen to this...if you speak french or just like a good song! "Sur Ton Ile"

Off to the Isle of Wight today for a little adventure in the Colonel, should make for an interesting blog post in a few days time....

Ben

Warsaw and more.....

2009-05-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the end to an era, I finally left Turf Centre where I'd been working on and off ever since coming back from Afritrex at the beginning of the year. Thank you so much to George, Roy and Beverley for giving me the chance to earn a few pounds while I decided what to do with the rest of my life!

Exploring new places, that's what its all about, right!?? So when Anita from Dzien Dobry TV in Poland called at the start of the week to ask if I'd like to visit their studios in Warsaw I jumped at the chance.

Early starts every morning are the norm for me, I usually wake just before my alarm goes off at 05:30hrs and head to the swimming pool shortly after, but a flight out of Luton Airport at 08:10hrs meant a 4 o'clock start which was ridiculously early even for me.

Simple enough through the usual airport procedures, I just wish that the UK's airport officials would smile a little more - I know they're at work and I know its a serious job they're doing but come on people!

After limited sleep the night before I fell asleep as we cleared the coastline of the east of England and awoke with popping ears as our plane dropped the final few hundred metres towards the runway with another new country appearing to me through the clouds below and initial impressions were good; an organised, green landscape with small villages everywhere and as we approached the city confines light industrial units gave way to the more expected cityscape. I was about to land in Warsaw.

Swiftly through customs and passport control and into the arrivals area where Anita was waiting for me and whisked me away to the studio's car which whisked us, at the speed of light, into the city centre passing ugly high rise apartments overshadowing some of the more traditional older buildings which had survived WWII. Something like 90% of the city was flattened during the bitter struggle which shaped this part of the world 60 years ago resulting in a very new city but one which looks like it was rushed together, understandably to house the masses of course, but slowly new more attractive development seems to be replacing the architecture of the 60's and 70's....never a bad thing!

I checked into the Mercure Hotel, a very modern designer pad right in the centre of town and importantly only 5 minutes walk from where I have to be in the morning for the program! Free internet in the room too, excellent!

Time to explore....with map in hand, backpack on and a sense of adventure returning I hit the main street heading for the famous Palace of Culture and Science, a 30 storey feat of architecture built by the Russians between 1952 and 1955. Its the eighth tallest building in the EU and the tallest in Poland so I had to get to the top and after paying the Z30 shot to the top in one of the high speed lifts for an awesome view of the surrounding city and sights beyond. It offers incredible views of the surrounding city and allows you to see well past the River Wisla to the countryside beyond.

On the way into the tower I spotted three Land Rover's parked up in formation outside the building, all customised ready for an expedition, one even had a rooftent on top - I had to find out more! The guys were from a group called Podroze 4x4 and organise expeditions within Europe and are currently gathering recruits for an expedition to Yugoslavia in September, shame I won't even be in Europe by then otherwise I'd have joined them. We chatted for nearly an hour about my Afritrex expedition, the highs and lows, how are different vehicles were kitted out and exchanged business cards and the commitment that we'd keep in touch in case there could be a possible future expedition together somewhere down the line.

Plenty more to see in this city I thought with a few hours to go until sunset it was off again, following my nose feeling happy to have met some like-minded people and with a spring in my step I trundled through the main park filled with people on their way home from work on sunny Friday afternoon...for now.

On a couple of occasions I thought to myself 'time to head back to the hotel now Ben' but kept stomping, my inquisitive nature getting the better of me as I wound my way past statues, monuments and fountains eventually popping out in the old town - a how pleased I was to have kept going!

The rather drab prefab buildings had now given way to older, more architecturally inspiring delights all rising four floors from the street below and adding a new element to the city for me...history at last, I watched as tour groups filed past me; up to 50 people following the pointing purple hand the tour guide thrust towards the heavens in a vain attempt to grasp every one's attention and focus. I even thought about tagging on the end but decided against it in favour of a particularly quaint little restaurant nestled in the corner of the main square...just in time as the heavens were about to open too.

After a seriously good portion of pork ribs, sweet cabbage and roast potatoes I considered the route home...at least an hour's walk and the rain was really dropping out of the sky at quite a rate of knots which meant only one thing, getting seriously wet. I pitied the band who were assembling en masse in the square even more though...the start of what would probably end up a total wash-out!

Back at the hotel I stripped off, showered and pondered the thoughts of the day and the great city I'd just had such fun exploring, hit the sack just after midnight ready for the day ahead.

Usual story - body clock wakes me up before the electronic version and 20 minutes later breakfast arrives; a very Polish breakfast but good all the same, with rye bread, cornflakes and yoghurt - certainly enough to keep me going until lunch anyway.

The studio where TVN film the Saturday morning show was a simple five minute walk away and as I made my way into the room I was greeted by a bunch of yet more friendly English speakers making me feel very welcome with morning coffee, cereal and make-up, yuk.

Why do they have to make you appear quite so ghost like!?! It baffles me and even made me giggle silently as the lady applied a liberal coating of hair spray to my usual messy hair, the first time I'd had this on since dressing up for a school play I think. In the ad break the two hosts made their way over to me and introduced themselves, sat me down in the standard green-room sofa and then we were live, me chatting away to them understanding everything of their perfect English!

09:37hrs - my slot on national Polish TV. It drew ever closer and as it did I felt more confident about the new environment I'd been thrown into over the last few weeks, I strode up to the table I'd be filmed at and took my place in between the fake fruit and designer bowls ready for the stream of questions they'd be firing at me, 3...2....1 and we're off again.

Five minutes of good conversation and only one slip up from the host, I'm not living in Coventry, I was born there!! Excellent job all round and off set ten minutes later before being escorted downstairs to another interview with the internet side of TVP, this time a little longer and more in depth and I will stick a link up here once I get it from them I promise.

Its amazing to me that you can fly to the other side of Europe and back in 48hrs all for 20 minutes of interview, still that's the crazy world we live in.

Just about got to the airport in time to get my flight home after an extended lunch with Anita, the excellent host who'd been looking after me since I arrived, and once the thunderstorm which delayed our take-off by 30mins had passed I was off back to the UK.

Well done Poland, a really damn fine experience all round.

Been away from my laptop for what seems like ages...

2009-05-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

This really is the first time I've managed to put my fingers onto a keyboard to try and update you on whats been happening in the world of Ben every since I left the delights of Brisbane on May 12th! My heartfelt apologies and I'll try very briefly to summarise my movements ever since but firstly I do have to show you some of the amazing images Dave Biddulph, my dive buddy in the picture below I have my arm around, took whilst diving off Straddie Island.

On arrival back in the UK the BBC, who had been filming a documentary for the last 10 weeks all about the Best Job process, had an amazing suprise for me as they'd arranged for my girl Bre to be flown over from Canada to meet me at Heathrow and I was truly gobsmacked having not seen her for nearly 6 weeks. I was so good to hold her and excitedly tell her all about the last two weeks and what our future 6 months together potentially hold. We giggled like school children at the opportunities on offer....

The emails haven't stopped, friends from yesteryear are appearing out of the woodwork like there's an outbreak of some 'ihavetocommunicatewithyou' disease and generally I'm trying as hard as I can to fulfil all interview requests for the multitude of people around the planet who all want to know a little bit about how it all happened. Its been full on and I've tried really hard to keep all of the local requests as happy as possible, the radio and newspaper's who covered my Afritrex adventure so extensively whilst I was away during 2008.

Requests and sponsorship opportunities continue to come in and TQ are doing there best to sift through them to find the best and most brand-effective ones which I can utilise over the next few months....all very exciting really.

Will post some more after the weekend as I'm off to Poland tomorrow early to appear on Saturday morning TV.....

Have a great weekend :)

Sunday 10th May 09

2009-05-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

If you'd asked me a fortnight ago what exactly I'd like to be taking away from this whole experience I'd have told you having to opportunity to dive in the warm clear waters of Queensland to give me some sort of perspective after dropping below the surface in Cornwall, South West England a few weeks ago.

My great mate Dave Brown is a Dive Instructor at Porthkerris Divers and as a little refresher I experienced my first ever dip into the rather cold ten degree waters of the Atlantic Ocean but loved every second of it...12m of visibility, kelp beds, a plethora of life and my first chance to dive with a friend since Bre back in November.

Manta Lodge and Scuba Centre are based at Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island, Dave collected me from the reception of my hotel at the ungodly hour of 06:15hrs - but the sunrise was incredible, the swell slight and the anticipation extremely high which got me out of bed as soon as the alarm went off!

On arrival at the centre we went through the safety procedures, collected my equipment and got to know my fellow divers who were mainly there to complete their PADI Open Water certification and were as excited as I was to be getting in the water. The tractor towed our RIB down to the beach and we after a simple surf launch we were out on the ocean finally!

Dave Bidduplh was to be my dive buddy, a funny little man who helped me get all of my kit on and eased me back into the routine of the correct procedures I needed to complete before heading into the stunning underwater world below the ever increasing swell. Then with a gentle splash I dropped in and was finally beneath the waterline, in went my regulator, out went my BCD air and down I dropped into the colourful world below...awesome!

Once I'd slowed my breathing, checked my buoyancy and left the group of other divers, Dave and I headed out around Flat Rock to investigate its surroundings and I wasn't disappointed. A Hawksbill Turtle launched itself off the ocean floor in front of me gracefully powering itself off into the clear warm water, thousands of bait fish swirled around my head and the multitude of corals and weird little creatures were everywhere, fantastic!

As we started to near the end of the dive a big shoal of Barracuda cruised towards us from a distance and only 5m away split down the centre and swam at speed past our heads - totally incredible and another first.

Once back on the boat with all my kit off I thought to myself how lucky I am just to have experienced this part of the day with still another dive to come.....and six months of huge adventure still ahead. WOW.

The ever increasing ocean swell resulted on four of my fellow divers turning a little green and they generously contributed to the fishes breakfast over the side of the RIB, so Tim our skipper turned the boat and powered it to Shag Rock; a more protected dive site inland of our current position. That should sort it out and after a superb 10 minute skim across the surface we arrived.

Keeping in accordance with our dive tables meant we'd have to wait on the surface before descending again, we fed on soup and snake sweets and joked together about the usual Pom v Aussie rivalry...this is going to be fun again after my South African ten years of getting used to it!

Shag Rock is a much shallower dive with depths up to 12m and the increased chance of seeing some rays and yet more turtles in the clearer visibility which was somewhere around the 15m mark. Safety checks completed Dave and I again headed into the watery world which was sploshing around us.

This was the best dive I've ever done for a number of reasons; its dive number ten for me and I felt totally comfortable with everything - equipment, buddy, breathing, the environment etc and enjoyed every second of it!! Dave took his professional underwater camera down this time and snapped away throughout the dive and I hope to have the images up on this blog and also www.afritrex.com as soon as I receive them!

Yet more turtles, wobbegong's (a beautifully ugly carpet shark which rests on the seabed), thousands of bait fish and stunning coloured worms and corals all littering the rocks and surroundings making it truly the most enjoyable dive yet. No sharks still for me, no rays or whales but they will come - this for now was good enough, I can't have too many emotions at once or I'll pop!

Back on dry land I said my thanks yous exchanged email addresses and met Sharon who was there to whip me away back to the hotel in time for a filling lunch at Look Cafe Bar just down the road.

The generosity of people here is almost overwhelming, John Henson the owner had been kind enough to give me a bottle of complimentary bubbly on the table and we enjoyed a yummy portion of Barramundi for lunch - good to be eating fish now and not looking at them. Everything in moderation of course.

Then before I knew it we had to go, the Big Red Cat wouldn't wait for us and we filled the car with our belongings and drove the short distance across the island to the slipway and sat in line with the other weekend fun-seekers. What a total blast I've had.

I can leave Australia this time around happy and content that I've done what I intended to do - get another dive in!!

Saturday 9th May 09

2009-05-10T06:26:00.001-07:00

We headed back to Brisbane yesterday after saying goodbye to my fellow islanders, the remaining TQ staff and Hamilton Island for the meantime, checked back into the Stamford Plaza overnight and awoke to a magnificent sunrise after my first good nights sleep in around a week!

Today symbolises the start of two days of rest and recuperation after the brilliant madness during the last week of controlled chaos. I grabbed some breakfast in the room whilst desperately trying to find time to get this blog up to date to let all of you know just what’s been going on….I have to keep you in the picture!

Sharon Raguse was awaiting my arrival in reception, these TQ staff are on time you know, we did the formalities, checked a couple of my bags in as the sheer amount of gear I’ve picked up over the last few days has meant trying to haul around far too much excess baggage, and headed in the car out of the city – my first experience of rural Aus!

I’m loving the buildings, the space of each plot, the uniqueness of each house and the cleanliness of the roads – no wonder so many people move out here! We arrived at Cleveland and had a couple of photographers to satisfy before jumping on the Big Red Cat which would whisk us across to North Stradbroke Island or Straddie as its affectionately known to the locals.

Driving on board we quickly found a comfy seat and grabbed a choco milk as one of the staff came up and asked if I’d like to head up to the bridge to see the view – of course I said and raced up the stairs! Mick the captain even let me drive the massive beast as we turned out of the main channel and headed across the gorgeous blue water passing mangroves and jumping fish, amazing!

As we pulled onto the slipway I said my thank yous and we drove the short distance to the Stradbroke Hotel through stunning gum tree lined roads and finally past the all important WARNING KANGAROOS sign which I’d been waiting for – a true icon.

Another friendly person welcomed us into the reception and gave me the keys to the apartment I’d be staying in overnight…plus there’s a cheese selection in the room as an appetiser! Amazing service.

This has to be one of the biggest WOW’s yet…what a superb place, three double bedrooms, two bathrooms and a balcony overlooking the ocean with BBQ and open plan kitchen and living area – fit for ten people at least!

The superb tailor made schedule which TQ has put together for me over the next two days gives me the chance to enjoy the quiet away from the flashlights of the cameras and it started off exactly as I hoped it would...with another 4x4 adventure!

'Barefoot Dave' was there to meet me at reception and we climbed onboard his Toyota Landcruiser and set off around the island, along the beaches, through the bush and over the huge sand hills with Dave telling me stories the entire time about the flora, fauna and vehicles the whole way. What a great afternoon of adventure!

Once we arrived back at the Stradbroke Hotel I freshened up and Sharon drove me up to the Amis Restaurant for dinner with chef/owner Peter conjuring up the most incredible delights for both of us...no choosing off the menu here, this was all about allowing him to serve us whatever he wanted - and he didn't fail to deliver; kangaroo, scallops, prawns, duck and then a range of exquisite deserts! I left feeling rather stuffed but extremely honoured to have had such a superb range of delights!

Tuesday May 5th 2009

2009-05-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

On a day like today when the heavens open you need some total self indulgence …and that’s what I got!

There’s no messing in the world of TQ, out of the hotel, down to the harbour and onto Voyager, another luxury motor launch. Cranking up the power as we left the marina the 2000hp engines
roared into life, lifting the bow of our beast out of the clear blue sea and onwards towards Daydream Island only 30 minutes away….

Arriving at the resort we had some hungry mouths awaiting, not our own for once…a pool of stingrays and sharks tame enough to feed by hand! Loaded with prawns I dipped my hand in allowing Pancake the Stingray to take a mouthful as I petted the top of his head leaving George the Cod looking on jealously – your turn will come! My nephews would love it here!

With the rain hammering down I headed to the luxury surroundings of Daydream Rejuvenation Spa to be pampered and preened into a state of relaxed nirvana by the highly trained staff.

Stripping down to the bare essentials I indulged in a ‘Daydream Delight’ – a sensory journey including an exquisite exfoliating salt glow and scalp massage releasing all muscle fatigue and stress and relaxing me like never before!

YOU REALLY HAVE TO TRY THIS, IT ROCKS!

Having cameras in my face 24/7 is an experience so we turned the tables on the journalists subjecting them to a little of their own medicine…see how you like that guys!

My legs barely working I staggered downstairs to Mermaids Restaurant to be greeted by a banquet of Aussie delights – rare moist beef, succulent lamb chops, humongous prawns, fresh oysters, lobster and a plethora of salads to boot, a feast good enough for Atlantis himself.

Another whirlwind tour of an incredible island and one that needs another visit sometime soon, thank you TQ!!

Wednesday May 6th 2009

Never normally one to suffer from nerves I awoke with a strange feeling in my head and body…there were only two hours to go until the final 20 minute interview with the selection panel and I was starting to feel it, yikes!!

Ok get into some sort of routine here Ben…down to the pool for a few lengths to get the blood pumping, that should sort it out. And so it did…for at least 20 mintues!

As I started the walk to the interview room my legs almost turned to slow motion as I closed in on the door and the interrogation I was about to receive…what a pleasant relief though as I entered the room to a casual sofa, sunny balcony and a smiling row of judges – no bright lights in my face here at all.

We chatted away for what seemed like literally three minutes and then it was over…all of that fuss and worry for really nothing at all, a total relief and as I left the room I suddenly felt 30cms taller – the weight of the world was off my shoulders with nothing further I could do to better my application for the position now. It was out of my hands.

Time to totally relax for the first time in a few days, Ben H from France and I headed to the beach for a swim away from the media and prying eyes and really the first opportunity to enjoy the warm waters of the Coral Sea, we swam, snorkelled and kayaked around soaking up the sunrays and atmosphere of it all – whatever happens now its been an amazing adventure and something I’ll never forget!

The Outrigger Centre 15:00hrs – The Big Decision

Nerves were everywhere, people looked worried, last minute concerned were talked about and we were even briefed on how to greet the first lady of Queensland, The Premiere Anna Bligh – ‘Premiere’ and nothing else!

As the 16 of us filed out onto the stage area we entered a room the likes of which I’d only seen at some of the largest sporting events in the world – and it was all about this the biggest decision of our lives!

It all started simply enough, the pre-arranged questions which each of us had to answer as Anthony Hayes came to us went by without issues and then Anna…sorry the Premiere, took the microphone to start the speech which would change my life.

“…..and the new Island Caretaker, from the United Kingdom, Ben Southall!!!”

TOTAL UTTER DISBELIEF AND AMAZEMENT WAS ALL THAT FOLLOWED!!

I walked to the centre of the stage and was mobbed by the other 15 finalists all very genuinely offering their thanks and tightest hugs imaginable which only added to the wobbly feeling my knees had in them, once the applause had died down from the 200 gathered pubic, media and TQ staff I took the microphone from the Premiere and prepared myself to address the entire planet about my new life!

I’ve always shied away from public speaking but will also reluctantly do it if pushed and this was one of those occasions…time to show them all why you’ve been chosen Ben.

With the initial thank-you’s out of the way I turned to my fellow finalists and thanked them all still rather blown away by the decision and the fact that I was now experiencing the start of an amazing journey together with 8hrs of interviews with news and media from around the world.

I lost count after I’d spoken to the tenth camera crew and interviewer as to quite how many feeds were being beamed across the world to channels and shows all following this the greatest PR stunt the world has ever seen….CNN, FOX, BBC, Reuters, Time magazine, CTV, The Times, Channel 7, 8, 9 & 10 they were everywhere and the more it went on the better it felt as my responses became more practised and the adrenaline was replaced by satisfaction and pure smiles. My cheeks were starting to feel it….stop smiling all the time Ben!

Once we’d cleared the final live feed, sometime around 21:00hrs I raced back to my room changed into something a little smarter and more presentable than the standard Best Job in the World t-shirt and made a beeline for the huge party that TQ were throwing in the Toucan Tango bar with all of my fellow finalists, supporters and all the others celebrating the end to an amazing four month adventure.

The music was pumping, the food was mouth watering and the drink was flowing for everyone except me….too many interviews still to do tonight you know, until I was ushered out of the function room and back to face the next of the feeds as America was just about waking up and needed to know all about the new Caretaker apparently.

I finally hit the hay around 23:30hrs and struggled to get to sleep as the adrenaline was still pumping around my body from the total excitement of the day.

I took the time to call Bre, away from the cameras, to let her know quite what the next few months involved and how I couldn’t wait to be back with her again so much sooner than expected. The unhappiness of not knowing when that would be had been replaced by the joy of a new job, and date to work towards. We are going to have such an adventure together!

The world of crazy coverage didn’t stop there though, before I knew it my alarm was ringing and it was suddenly 05:30hrs, time to get back down to the media centre for the next of the interviews…BBC World Service, BBC 4, BBC Solent, local radio in Aus, radio in Columbia, Malaysian TV, CNN again, the list went on and on! And then at 08:30hrs a break and the moment I’d been waiting for…time to get the keys to my new house – The Blue Pearl!! WAHOOOOO

Sitting down in the golf buggy with Ems driving we headed to the house I’d looked around just over three days ago but this time there were no other finalists there – just me and the world’s press again. I walked through the doors and suddenly the place seemed huge, in fact so big I’m scared I’ll loose Bre down one and of the house and not be able to find her!

Plenty more photos followed and then my first chance to dip into the spa to test the water and carry out my first task as Island Caretaker – cleaning the leaves out of the pool! This is the best spa I’ve ever been in, it has a lap pool built into it so put the motors on and it turns into a current machine which you can swim against as exercise – totally awesome!

Walking around the house there’s so much here, huge sofas, three double bedrooms, spa bath, state of the art media centre, fridge with cold water and ice (I’ve always wanted one of them!) and of course a view to die for over the Coral Sea. Thank you TQ so much from the bottom of my heart.

Our day continues....

2009-05-10T06:24:00.000-07:00

Just as quickly as it all started it was almost over, the current of the outgoing tide pulling me swiftly towards the Reefworld platform where I grabbed my camera and slipped back in for just another few minutes in the underwater paradise clicking away at as much as I could. Before I knew it the call was coming to get back on dry land and it was over….for today anyway.

Being treated as well as we are by TQ on this little adventure, a water departure was on the cards - but in a very different capacity to our arrival. An awaiting seaplane was moored just offshore and as we boarded the anticipation grew once more….another unique experience was about to commence.

The sound of the engine firing gradually built the speed of the plane until we were finally hoisted clear of the ocean and into the blue sky above. After a brief taxi we awaited the arrival of the other seaplane and two escorting helicopters by flying out over Heart Reef (a location made famous by TQ in their promotional material) then we joined into a perfect formation and headed towards Hayman Island, the location of our next incredible experience.

It’s only when you climb up into the sky the sheer vastness of the Great Barrier Reef becomes apparent, I’d been lucky enough to experience a tiny part of this 2300km long ecosystem and can only start to imagine what the rest has to offer. The length of it means it passes through 3º of latitude giving a totally different environment along its length…I will have to return to see more sometime very soon.
We splashed down in the waters outside the luxury five star resort that is Hayman Island and our pilot from Air Whitsunday skillfully taxied the seaplane into the harbour and then very surprisingly up the slipway to the car park area where we awaited the arrival of the other plane. Incredible flying/driving there Sir!

We were greeted by the staff and management of the Hayman Resort and for the second time that day my jaw dropped to the ground as the opulent luxury of the place hit me. Perfectly manicured lawns, crystal clear waters of the largest pool in Queensland and the backdrop of another stunning beach…can’t you Aussies learn to share a little more and give us some in the UK?

By now our hunger levels had raised to insatiable and the arrival of varied foods from around the world representing the nationalities of the countries the final candidates, couldn’t have arrived quickly enough. The intricate detail, quality and varied flavours of what we were presented with gave an insight into quite how well you would be treated if you were lucky enough to book a stay here! Crab noodles, Barramundi, Sushi and Maple Syrup ice cream to finish off were enough to satisfy even the largest of appetites!

Before we had a chance to gather our thoughts we were off again, using the obligatory golf carts which are such fun, we headed down to our arrival area and this time boarded another new means of transport…the good ship Sun Goddess, a luxury motor launch.

The friendly staff welcomed us onboard, offered us yet more exotic food and drinks and ushered us into yet more luxurious surroundings! A trip to the top deck was exhilarating enough as the salt air swept through my hair and the media interviews continued unabated. A chance to gather my thoughts on the day came as I retreated to the downstairs hospitality area and sat on the comfiest chair I’d found all day. What a pleasure!

We pulled into the dock at Airport Harbour back on Hamilton Island, our departure point a few hours earlier having experienced the most fantastic day of my Australian adventure. If tomorrow is even half as good as today I will return to the UK a very happy man and a perfect ambassador for the Great Barrier Reef!!

I have a new job….I’m the Island Caretaker!!

2009-05-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

The speed in which things have moved along over the last few days has been incredible, I suppose what I’m also saying is sorry…sorry for not getting any updates out onto my blog and website but there really hasn’t been a chance to do anything of my own since the announcement was made!!

I’ve had the most amazing experience over the last week with two days of incredibly intense tasks and tests at the start of it on our arrival at Hamilton Island…literally from the moment we stepped off the plane and hit the media scrum which was assembled in the entrance of the terminal building.
As we got off the Virgin Blue flight from Brisbane around 6 cameras were waiting there on the tarmac for us…as we turned the corner out into the arrivals area there must have been another 40! How on earth poor little Meiko, my now good friend from Japan, handled the huge number who were there to cover her alone I’ll never know – well done!

So in at the deep end, literally. Off for the first of the trials we’d be subjected to over the next 3 days; the swimming test. Donning our new Aussie Bum boardies and rashie we all stood at the edge of the pool preparing to prove we could float and swim to the gathered mass of crowds and press…and I think we all did really well, no body sank anyway!

Monday May 4th 09

It’s still not over; the effects of jetlag are there at 5am as my body continues to struggle with getting a good night’s sleep, but at least this morning there’s something worth waking up early to see…
My fantastic room, 10 floors up, at the Reef View Hotel looks out across the sand to the ocean in the distance and as the first rays of sunrise penetrated the horizon the view which greeted me was one of pure beauty. After weeks of preparing myself both physically and mentally the day had finally dawned which would welcome me to the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef and its islands.After a quick consultation with the schedule to check I was satisfying the compulsory clothing requirements I dressed up and headed downstairs to meet the other candidates in reception all preparing for the first of the psychometric tests of the week.

The room was ready, the candidates were ready…but breakfast wasn’t and all our tired little bodies needed was an injection of energy to stimulate the brain! It arrived in due course as we set about the task of completing the 186 questions required in the tight timescale together with trying to pack enough food in to see us through to lunch…possibly another challenge from TQ?!

With the mental testing out of the way we headed to our bus which whipped us, at a very leisurely 20km/h, to the awaiting Fantasea boat which would take us out to the snorkeling platform some 70km from Hamilton Island. Packed with crew, biologists, media and now 16 candidates the amply loaded vessel headed out of the harbour into the open channel, the swell building all the time with waves crashing over the bow of our ride upsetting more than a few of my fellow passengers.As we advanced on our snorkeling site we were treated to a number of presentations about
Fantasea, the Great Barrier Reef and the very quirky safety briefing - all important for anybody considering a trip on the water. Jacqui, the resident Marine Biologist, answering a number of questions I had for her relating to the way in which the eco-tourism side of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is handled, a subject which is particularly close to my heart following the research I’ve been carrying out over the past few weeks.

After 45 minutes we arrived alongside Fantasea Reefworld, an amazing mooring located right on the edge of Hardy Reef surrounded by crystal clear tropical blue waters – even more enticing than those of the Red Sea I’d been lucky enough to sample last year! We hopped aboard the floating adventure park and prepared for the first ‘at-sea’ task of the day. A quick visit to the changing rooms and I appeared back out onto deck dressed in my obligatory stinger suit (looking like a superhero, although lacking in the muscles department) essential for these waters even now during the latter months of the summer due to a variety of jellyfish which live here and can deliver a potentially nasty sting. No taking chances here!

With my fins on, snorkel at the ready and desire to get into the water becoming more than a little overwhelming, Hailey, James, George and I left the platform by motor launch and headed to the pontoon positioned up tide around 250 meters away.
I hit the water with the standard entry and immediately felt my snorkel leave the side of my mask filling my breathing tube with a good mouthful of saltwater…great start Ben! With this problem overcome it was back to the task in hand…..and finally a chance to explore this incredible underwater environment I’d heard, dreamt and fantasized so much about in the run up to getting out here…..

…..and what a delight it was to finally submerge below the surface to an environment I became so accustomed to last year; after the experience of Lake Malawi, Zanzibar and the Red Sea the Great Barrier Reef was really going to have to deliver to live up to its reputation!

As I descended below the wind-chopped waves above and finally peered through the mask I began to focus on the new world below me and struggled to control my breath with what I was seeing before me.

Coral absolutely everywhere and in all shapes, sizes and colours with a multitude of fish swimming around them – almost too many to count and understandably so, with 1500 species of fish calling the Great Barrier Reef their home. I’ve dived in some amazing other locations in the world before but the sheer concentration of corals here really blew every other experience out of the water (no pun intended). Stag coral, Finger coral, Brain coral all vying for position, gripping at every available place along the reef looking akin to an underwater forest. I’ve seen the rainforests of central Africa and now I was witnessing the underwater equivalent in Queensland!

As I became more comfortable in the still-churning swell I could relax and start to take in some the species I was witnessing; a young Maori Wrasse cruised by, a Green Turtle anonymously hugged the seabed some five metres below me easily visible in the clear, warm water, Nemo himself, in fact Nemo and his entire family presented themselves to me as I drifted past my jaw almost scraping on the coral as I went.

Travelling around the planet and the first day in Brisbane

2009-05-02T05:56:00.001-07:00

Date: 30th April 09
Location: London, England
Weather: Grey skies, occasional rain, 15ºc
Status: Excited but also a little apprehensive

If you'd like to follow my adventures then click on the Triptracker
image belowto see a route and the pictures I took along the way

Well here we go then, the adventure commences….firstly I must say it feels amazing to be writing a blog again, I loved trying to summarise my experiences, feelings and emotions as I drove around Africa last year and from the feedback I received from viewers of my Afritrex site they enjoyed reading them – something that’s obviously of utmost importance!

After a fairly late night packing the final things into an already over-filled suitcase I read through my jack-rabbit plan for the final time on English soil and headed to bed.

As appears to happen all the time at the moment, I woke well before my alarm clock! This must be due to the truly awful ship’s-claxon-like sound my phone makes shocking my body into gear every time I am awoken by it!

Throwing the last few items into my well used trusty travel bag I headed downstairs to see mum and dad on my final morning with them for a while, scoffed the usual breakfast down and packed my life for the next few days into the back of the car.

We hit the road at 6.30am filtering into the early morning traffic passing probably the same commuters I’d headed to London with a few years previous when I worked in Richmond for the Royal Star & Garter Home, but this time my mission was very different – I was off to compete in Australia!

As we pulled into the grey, concrete monstrosity that is the multi-story car park at Heathrow Terminal 3 my phone rang as planned on the dot of 07:30hrs with a call from Julian Clegg at BBC Radio Solent. I’ve done a few chats with him live on the air since coming back from Afritrex so felt relaxed and confident and had a good chuckle taking about what was to come in the next few days, as the departing aircraft roared overhead adding a realistic background to the ‘just about to depart’ scene we were trying to set.

The usual planning and efficiency of the Southall machine ensured we arrived at our destination hours before we needed to be there and we made our way to a café to while away the hours before George, the Irish finalist, and the BBC crew arrived. As the clock struck 09:00hrs Vari and Agnieskza toddled around the corner laden with bags and accessories ready for their equally hectic two weeks away as they attempt to film the last movements of the competition.

This would be the first time I’d met George, the other UK Top 50 entrants had a chance to back when the initial announcements were made back in March but I’d been in Canada so as he arrived up the escalator it was my first chance to see him in the flesh. A one minute video really doesn’t summarise a person that well!

We instantly got on, had a good bit of finalists banter and grabbed a drink as we attempted to hold some unstaged conversation in front of the cameras, particularly hard to do really! Time was pressing on so we headed downstairs to the Singapore Air check in desk and handed over the relevant documents to the assistant all the time hoping that our request for an upgrade had fallen on some slightly receptive ears. No chance.

‘It is not company policy to offer any economy passengers an upgrade’ came the well-practised response so the efforts which the team at Hill Balfour (PR company for Tourism Queensland), the BBC and myself had gone to had no effect whatsoever!

We made our way to the exit said another staged farewell to mum & dad before advancing to our departure gate with time advancing fast ready to jump onboard the new Airbus A380…oooo how exciting in itself!

With minutes to go we’d all made it onboard to a plane which was less than half full, brilliant news; George and I changed seats and moved forward to take advantage of the extended leg room in front of us…sleep may even be a possibility here!

The Airbus A380 is a fantastic experience with wide aisles, comfortable seats, very little cabin noise and the sort of in-flight entertainment you’d be happy to use at home with a huge range of things to choose from to speed the lengthy 12 hour flight along.

Given the better seats I thought sleep would be a dead certainty as the flight drew on, maybe the films were too good, maybe I was just that little bit excited about going to Australia but the end result was staying awake for virtually the entire journey and arriving in Singapore feeling a little less than well rested.

As the group of us wandered through the immaculately clean, state of the art terminal building we passed another group of travellers when one of them asked “Are you Ben?”
It was Greg, the American who lives and teaches in Singapore and was in the final for the Best Job as well, well spotted Sir! Feeling shattered George and I weren’t on top form but made our way to the transfer lounge and sat down for a much needed leg stretch and coffee before subjecting ourselves to the next leg of the journey.

So three finalists all here at once and how alike we all are, all relaxed, friendly individuals who seem quite relaxed about the coming two weeks of chaos and media scrum that’s bound to follow.

Singapore to Brisbane was a much more relaxing flight; after the body had got used to the fact I was trying to stuff dinner down at a time when I ‘d be expecting breakfast. Back to the
entertainment system and I found Slumdog Millionaire – the last time I’d tried to watch it whilst out in Canada I’d fallen asleep and was determined to make it through to the end this time. By all reports its a superb film but I dropped off again just after the opening credits and awoke a few hours later to the start screen….oh well!

Our flight swept in low over Brisbane and through a clear sky giving us a view of the city from above, one we’d be fully immersed in within an hour or so and after another near-perfect landing made our way into the terminal building. The increasing threat of Swine Fever has meant that health security has increased at all airports and we had to all walk past a heat seeking camera on the way to passport control just in case our body temperature was higher than expected due to flu symptoms….we all passed thankfully.

Kerri Anderson, Tourism Queensland’s representative, met us in the arrivals area and once the BBC girls had cleared customs we all jumped into our coach and headed to the Stamford Plaza; our rather fancy hotel for the first two nights of the adventure. Passing through the streets of Queensland’s capital on a Friday night gave me some great initial thoughts on the city – as clean as Vancouver, as modern as London and as cosmopolitan a Cape Town. I think I’m going to enjoy it here.

I’m writing the concluding part to this first day perched 20 stories up overlooking the Brisbane River with the sunrise about to happen on the horizon in the distance, yes there’s a few clouds in the sky and it looks like so monster rain in the distance but for now the day is starting off perfectly. I dropped off to sleep easily enough, but awoke at 4am and couldn’t get back to the land of zzz’s and with our first big press conference this morning at 06:45hrs (yikes!) an early start can’t be too bad an idea. and this blog is the result....

Saturday 2nd May 09

Not as bad as I thought...or at last not as hectic as tomorrow could potentially be really! The promised media scrum was nothing more than a live link up to Channel 9 in Australia and a single still photographer but what a great morning it turned out to be.

We assembled en masse in the reception donned our 'Best Job' tshirts and

slowly but surely the entire group of relatively new faces mingled and socialised all finding out a little more about each other than our initial one minute videos had allowed.

A real boiling pot of cultures and people which is fantastic, the opportunity to meet new faces, find out about their likes and dislikes and see how each other weigh up for the 'interview' ahead. We have since been told that it is actually an interview and not a competition!

Once we'd got the initial press photos out of the way we met Anthony Hayes, the TQ boss who would end end being my boss should I go on and take the job, and all sat down for a well earnt breakfast of fruit and yoghurt with all the trimmings - its amazing to be eating such good fruit again after Africa last year and the abundance we were lucky enough to have out there!

The effects of the previous 24hrs travel were starting to take their toll of all the long haul travellers so we slowly sloped off once our committments were satisfied and headed back to our rooms. I chatted with Greg and Clarke on the way and instead of giving into the desire we thought we'd head out to explore the great city which was all around.

Half an hour ater we'd massed in reception, headed down the jetty and onto the City Taxi boat which smoothly whisked us down stream towards Southbank, an area of the city with an artificial beach and perfectly clear if a little chlorinated water lapping at the edges.

It was a perfect morning to visit with clear skies, sunshine and the Buddhist Festival taking place in the park with all manner of activities and festivities taking place. We meandered through the early morning crowds and eventually plonked ourselves down on the beach to soak up the atmoshere and sun's rays....all the time protecting myself with the obligatory Aussie suncream as has been instilled in generations of the locals and the lesson of which had already rubbed off (sorry for the pun) on me!

Once we'd had a out fill we walked the route north out of the park, across the Goodwill Bridge and back into the CBD of the city for a bite of lunch before heading straight upstairs to the room where I then crashed out almost instantly for a few hours.

It's a great city with simple public transport, friendly helpful people and the sort of climate I could easily get used to....Oh the UK seems so far away now!

The final few days before departure....

2009-04-29T02:39:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the normality of my day to day lifestyle I've been hectically trying to fit as much as is physically possible into my final fortnight in the UK before heading out to Queensland for the last stage of the Best Job in the World competition.

Research, revision, studying - call it what you will, it all amounts to the same thing - trying to cram as much information into the 'long term' memory part of the brain as possible in as short a time as possible. Rest assured the other finalists will have been swotting up on their Queensland knowledge with the possible exception of the Aussie entrants as its their bread and butter, so I thought I'd better do the same. One way is to scour the internet meandering from page to page, another is to fall asleep into the pages of a good book but instead I thought I'd get out of the house and pay a visit to one of the most respected Society's in the UK - The Royal Geographical Society.

Eco-Tourism Lectures, RGS, London - Tuesday 22nd April

Established in 1830 they are located in a stunning building in Central London, have a membership of around 15,000 people ranging from professional geographers to expeditioners and enthusiasts and offer a wealth of advice and library services to anyone interested geographical science and associated subjects.

So imagine my delight when I spotted on their website a talk taking place all about Eco-Tourism, a subject which I've been asked about by a number of people since getting involved in this campaign designed to bring potentially thousands of new people to a location as environmentally sensitive as the Great Barrier Reef!

I contacted the society and booked a place ready to fill my grey matter with the additional information I'd need to have a balanced opinion on the effects that increased tourist numbers may have on this amazing eco-system.

I pottered up to London on a stunning day, with the now ever-present BBC crew in tow to film my every movement, and arrived at the building to find the speakers all expecting our arrival prior to the event taking place; a chance to ask some questions myself before they gave their presentations to the rest of the room.

Speaking with Professor Andrew Holden from the University of Bedfordshire was my first introduction to interviewing on camera and as I had no script prepared launched into a volley of questions which had been floating around in my head ever since I'd found out about the presentation. His answers were informative and gave me a much greater understanding of the effects which tourism can have on a global scale as well as with much more localised issues relating the the GBR itself.

Another quick interview with both Roger Heape - Chairman of the Travel Foundation, and Tricia Burnett - Director of Tourism Concern this time in front of the entire expectant audience for that evenings event (it went surprisingly well!) lead us comfortably to the start of the evening itself where I could sit down and relax for the first time that afternoon to listen to what I had come to learn about - The Environmental Effects of Tourism.

Interesting fact from the day - The water used on all of the world's golf courses in a single day provides enough water for 4/5ths of the planet to drink in that same day! YIKES showing why golf really isn't that green!!

Farewell Party - Saturday 25th April 2009

To celebrate heading off to Queensland and making it through to the final 16 I'd decided a few weeks ago to throw a leaving party to thank all of my friends for their support and last Saturday 25th April the extremely generous crowd down at the Mill Tavern in Haslemere hosted what can only be described as a fantastic day out for all....the only person who was missing was my girlfriend Bre, horribly far away on the other side of the world in Vancouver :(

Pierre Loup De Cam and Lee Forbes are the very active hosts there and together with the marquee which we've recently acquired for Onionfest ; the charity music festival at the end of July which I manage, we built quite a large hospitality environment for the gathering!

Saturday dawned cloudy and wet, so I went for a long run to help focus my thoughts on the day ahead, the coming week and the excitement of the next few weeks. By the time I'd finished another good 7 mile run the heavens had opened, closed and started to clear up so my optimism for a good afternoon in the sunshine was more justified, there is a reason that my friends call me their 'Sunshine Friend' after all!

The Mill Tavern has a fantastic garden in which we'd assembled the marquee the night before in case of inclement weather, the hog roast was turning and smelling particularly edible already and there was very little to do apart from help the bands haul there equipment from the cars to the stage area.

Its so difficult for me to sit down and do nothing so the 'waiting for guests to arrive' stage dragged by as I sat and listened to the bands tuning up. A few familiar faces started to appear and before I knew it the garden was filling up with loads of people I hadn't seen for ages - with my expedition last year I'd been away from some for 18 months and it was fantastic to catch up and socialise.

By mid afternoon there were nearly 200 people all milling about in the garden with awesome music, scrummy food and great weather ensuring that everything went brilliantly well and was the success I hoped it be when it was being planned. The final few drifted away by 23:00hrs leaving the remnants if cheese and wine for us to clear up. What a superb day out! But it did suddenly bring home just how close this is all getting now....

London Marathon 2009 - Sunday 26th May

This is the first time I haven't run the marathon in two years! Headed up anyway wishing all the way that I'd entered whilst away last year but this was all about my good friend Harry Panton who's entering for the first time and last year was a regular motivational emailer for my Afritrex trip.

London is totally transformed for me when there's something amazing like this going on in the capital, normally somewhere I try and steer clear of being a countryside lover, the abundance of people all cheering the runners on is a sight to behold and made a fantastic day out. Well done Harry and superb time of 4hrs 28mins....see you at the start line next year!

Media Appearances

As the date for departure out to Australia has drawn closer the number of interviews and questions I've had to answer has increased hugely and with it my confidence levels.

It's quite an experience trying to honestly and professionally answers questions with a microphone or lens is thrust in your face and now the exposure is about to hit a peak with the media spotlight firmly fixed on us 16 gophers as we vie for the position of Island Caretaker. Here's a few pictures of the various media interviews I've given with the final one for now happening only a few hours ago at the ITV studios in Hampshire with the very famous Fred Dineage! Enjoy....

The support I have received from both friends and family has been overwhelming and as I enter the final 24hrs before I fly off to the other side of the world to experience one of the greatest continents on the planet my head is awash with questions and thoughts of what the next few weeks will hold. I'll be keeping this blog as up-to-date as I can for the sake of all those who are interested which hopefully includes you!

Here comes the next adventure...bring it on!

Ben :)

Could I do any more!?!?

2009-04-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

Now that's how to spend a weekend away......out of work at 17:30hrs on the Friday night and straight onto the road out of Hampshire heading West toward Cornwall to meet a couple of friends.

Destination Porth Kerris on the Lizard Peninsula for a couple of days of amazing experiences and hopefully good weather, my good friend Dave Brown lives there and works as a dive instructor at Porth Kerris Divers where I'd be refreshing my underwater skills and having my first real contact with some damn chilly water. I only learned to dive last year and obtained my PADI accreditation in some of the warmer waters of the world - Lake Malawi and the Red Sea so up until this weekend I'd been totally spoilt with the amazing environments I'd be lucky enough to dive at.

The four hour drive can sometimes be a total ass of a journey down, the end of the school holidays and the fact it was the start of the weekend didn't bode well at all but as we cleared the usual traffic bottle neck of Stonehenge the roads seem to clear and we made it just in time for last orders at the pub!

Getting up to swim every weekday morning rather annoyingly sets my body clock for me so unsurprisingly I was first up at just after 6am and decided not to waste the morning so headed down the track from Dave's house to the ocean below lapping quietly at the pebbles with its rhythmic swishing sound and decided to take some photos of the misty, grey atmosphere I found myself wrapped in....enjoy!

My bestest buddy Jay lives on his own yacht, Curlew, which he moors just outside Falmouth so we arranged that he'd sail across the bay to meet us for a morning of sailing and relaxing abroad his stunning investment....but the weather just wasn't playing the game. Every minute the sound of the foghorn resonated across the water warning anyone crazy enough to try moving on the water the position of the mainland, pretty difficult to see through this pea soup. He'd have been foolish to have tried going anywhere at this stage so we had to play the waiting game until finally as mid morning arrived the blue skies and sunshine started to show their faces for the first time that day! Hooray!

In their continued effort to film everything that I enjoy doing, the BBC had arranged to come down for a short period of the weekend to film us sailing and diving....they'd be sorely disappointed though, the fog and lack of wind meant the closest we got was rowing out to the yacht as it was moored in the Helston River!

The afternoon continued to improve so we all made our way back to Porth Kerris as I prepared for my first dive in nearly 4 months...what a contrast to the last one as well, 26c in the Red Sea plays against 10c and English Ocean!! Brrrr

Dave's a great instructor and ran me through my safety procedures again before we donned our semi-dry suits, checked tanks, checked each other, talked our way through the dive ahead and then grasped the rope in our hands which led us down the rocks to the pebbly beach below and made our way to the waters edge.

Time to do my best to protect myself from the freezing ocean I'd be lowering myself into very soon. Now I suffer from the cold anyway with numb fingers for no reason (hence my decision to visit warmer climates for the last 12 years) so all protection was taken to protect my extremities...gloves, hood, double suit - the works!

We gave a final safety check to each other and walked into the small waves lapping at the shore, slowly lowering ourselves into the clear cold water all the time becoming lighter and lighter as the weight was taken from our bodies by the buoyancy of the salt water. Masks and fins on, one last ok and then under the water.....

WOW I'd almost forgotten how good it felt to be diving under the water, flying and floating perfectly as I steered myself behind Dave through the kelp beds which twisted up from the ocean floor some metres below. My first impression were not of the cold instead of the superb clarity of the water with visibility up to around 15m allowing me to see far off into the distance towards the sheer rocks which make this dive site one of the best in the UK.

The abundance of life around really surprised me too, yes its the ocean and yes its Cornwall but to see anemones, starfish, prawns, crabs of all sizes, dog fish and plenty of other white fish swimming around really blew me away and gave me something I thought I'd never say about an dive in the UK....a real sense of pride about what my native land's shores have to offer. There's so much to see in lake Malawi, The Red Sea and the Great Barrier Reef as everybody knows but to see this in UK waters was eye-opening and spectacular!

We dropped down to 17m as we cleared the easterly tip of Dawana Rocks and made our way back inshore until we'd reached our beach exit point and clambered awkwardly out of the slight surf...I tried to speak to let Dave know quite how amazing the experience was but my bottom lip was frozen solid and wouldn't work so all I managed was a series of muffled barks...much like a seal trying to speak I imagine!

Once we'd packed up, dried off and put some warm clothes on we headed back to Dave's caravan come house for a hot cup of tea and some scoff...surprisingly tiring all that exertion you know and well deserved. All in all a fantastic experience and one that I'll repeat again very soon I hope with just the Great Barrier Reef in between of course!

Finally the sun shone during Easter!

2009-04-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

Now for most people who celebrate Easter, Good Friday is usually the start of a particularly relaxing few days off work with time spent in the garden, seeing friends or just watching some sport on tv....but I'm afraid I don't subscribe to that at all, it's potentially one of the most usable and busiest weekends of the year now that the clocks have jumped forwards by an hour and the evenings are that much longer!

For me Good Friday is nothing more than another day of work. The agricultural business which I'm project-managing right now celebrate their busiest month of the year starting this weekend so its all hands on deck to help out with the melee of phone calls, customers and drivers all needing help....AND RIGHT NOW!!

Once I'd watched the clock tick past the 17:30 mark it was time to head home to prepare for the weekend ahead, and as usual I'd planned far too much to fit into the short three days off.

A good friend who works for a PR company handles an electronics company as one of her clients and in passing a few weeks ago mentioned the Best Job in the World and how well my application was going for the role, apparently their ears pricked up at the thought of being able to get some of their products out to me where I could test them in 'The Field' so to speak, proving their worth at actually handling some of the conditions they were tested for.

I was intrigued too...I love technology, gadgets and anything else which could add an new air to my blog reporting to make it more visually appealing to anyone out there who actually reads them! The box which greeted me when I got home was stuffed full of the usual air packing and after delving deeper to the bottom found three new toys to unwrap and play with....OOooo it was just like Christmas all over again.

Oregon Scientific had been kind enough to send through three of their latest products for a good old fashioned roadtest, a weather station watch (superb timing guys, the Suunto which I normally wear is out for repairs this week so arrived at exactly right time!), a pair of super slimline walkie-talkies and an Action Video Camera!

Time to get using them then. I strapped the watch to my wrist, set the date and time and worked it all out....simple enough. Now I'd checked the weather out on my usual site http://www.metcheck.com/and didn't hold much hope for the weekend ahead...grey, wet and not exactly the start of summer all of us weather-addicted Brits hope for on a holiday weekend.

Unfortunately the watch didn't give much more of an optimistic outlook either with clouds and a sun showing on the face.....well sit on the fence why don't you! Still the training has to continue so come first light on Saturday morning I'd needed to get out onto the tracks and footpaths of Ropley to keep the fitness levels high.

Never the easiest thing to do, drag yourself out of bed to go for a run - I don't seem to have a problem getting up at 05:30hrs every weekday to go swimming before work but on the weekend when the cloud base outside looks like it hovering just above ground level and the outside temperature isn't much over 10c its damn hard to shoehorn yourself out of a very comfortable pit. Bring on the delights of Australia and the pleasure of training in the warm again....oh how I miss African roads.

I've been upping my training over the last few weeks to give my mind something else to think about instead of The Best Job application and my gorgeous girlfriend over in Canada so horribly far away. The stamina and mental strength which I need to get me up the hills when I running further than normal and now with a 15kg backpack on certainly do that!

Its all in preparation for the Low Alpine Mountain Marathon, a two day event at the beginning of June somewhere in the north of Scotland - the location for which remain secret right up until the last minute. No idea why...as if we'll try and get up there in advance to put ourselves through hell, it'll be bad enough on that weekend surely! Bryan Smith, a good friend from Mumm Champagne days, will be my partner over that weekend when we have to orient our path, carry all of our food, water, tent and clothing all whilst running towards a seemingly impossible finish line some 48hrs after we start, and getting out now to train with a full backpack on is one of the best things to do locally to ready myself for the challenge. The total distance we'll need to cover is released just before the event but I've been told to prepare for a marathon a day up and down some of the steepest mountains in the Highlands and Islands....haha love it.

Ropley's a pretty hilly place for the South of England but nothing in comparison to the Scottish mountains, in fact nothing at all and as a result when I head out of the door with my running shoes on, my backback loaded and water filled I head as far off the beaten track as possible.

Having lived in the area for around 20 years I know all of the local roads from playing on them as a kid and training on them more recently...but recently I've taken to leaving the roads behind and following the footpath signs which I regularly drive past thinking "I wonder where the hell that goes to?"

Over stiles and through fields, ducking under branches, shoes splashing through the puddles formed by the dreary rain and squelching through the sloppy mud my feet crash into as they pierce the leaf-littered floor of the woods - this is real running and great training, the straps of the backpack needing regular adjustment to keep the load on my back level and tight to my body, my feet need more accurate placement to lessen the chance of the inevitable fall and my legs feel heavier after every slight incline....it must be good training surely?!

After winding through the back lanes of the neighbouring villages I open out onto the muddiest track of the morning and there's crap flying everywhere from my feet as I pace through the wet bye way before finally breaking out onto a familiar looking piece of tarmac only a couple of miles from my house, and I'm on the home stretch finally.

A quick glance at the watch as I turn into my driveway and I've managed 90 mins of fast-paced training with the load strapped firmly to me all the way banging into my lower back like a demolition ball doing its work - its only when I stop I realise that the padding which should have protected me from the aluminium bars has slipped leaving them exposed and the source of the last 30 minutes irritation and soreness.

When I head out for the same run later this week I'll take the Action Cam with me and try to catch some of the footage from my training for you all to see.

"So what happens if I don't get this job then" I've asked myself a couple of times now...well of course I get on with planning and organising the next mission to get my teeth into. One of them being Onionfest - the charity music festival which raises funds for Char's Fund. A cause very close to my heart after I lost a great friend to the awful Tsunami which devastated the Indian Ocean area back in 2004.

Another sideline which jumped forward in leaps and bounds on Saturday would be doing another extreme fundraising expedition/stunt to challenge myself and possibly some other people. the mind wanders amongst various things....rowing across the Atlantic or Indian Ocean, swimming across the English Channel or sailing around the world with my best friend Jay Byrde or as part of the Clipper Ventures adventure. All of them excite me, all of them cost some serious funds so saving money has to be number one!

I met up with a friend I used to go to college with on Saturday and it was great to see dear Holly Budge, who has just become the first women to skydive over Everest...not bad hey! She's been looking for a new adventure and after chatting for a long time we shook hands on the idea that something, not sure yet exactly what, but something will be done together in the very near future. Thinking caps on...she has the extreme side and I have the endurance so we have to see what combines the two....any suggestions on a post card please!

After meeting Holly I headed down into my local town of Petersfield to put together the final touches for Spring Onion, a pre-Onionfest fundraiser taking place on Easter Sunday in the local pub featuring four local bands, which if all goes according to plan should result in us raising enough money to buy a new marquee to house the bar and second stage at this years main Onionfest event on July 25th.

We managed to sell all 200 tickets, sell all the food at the BBQ and all the interesting cocktails too and once we'd cleared up the mess, paid a few bills and counted the cash found we'd made over £1400 which was totally mind blowing and secures a new professional looking marquee in which we can house the open-mic stage and one of the bar areas. This years event will be better than ever....

A lovely little present was waiting for me when I got home that evening, the postman had dropped of a DVD of my interview on ITV Meridian News, our local independent broadcaster, which went out a few weeks ago - before the decision had been made for the final 16 and being in London had missed it when it went out on regional TV. So I called up Bre and played it as loud as I could over the phone to her in Canada. Here it is....

Sunday took me to a world I never normally associate myself with.....ever; Public Holiday Clothes Shoppers Hell!!! Ahhhhhhhhh

In the details I received from TQ about the next round of the application process came a packing checklist and on it were a number of items I either don't own or have but are in such a tired state that they need replacing and this could only mean one thing....fighting against the other shoppers to grab a deal!

Not being the most au fait person with 'Cocktail Attire' and 'Casual Evening Wear' (my wardrobe amounts to a large collection of casual shirts and that's about as smart as it gets!) I enlisted the help of my dear friends Luke, Josie and Fraser to help with the elimination process and we headed down to Gunwharf Quays together. Four hours later we left.....tired, shopped-out and poorer but damn confident that I now have the wardrobe necessary to present myself in an honest, tidy way to the awaiting TQ bods and media lovies who'll be there in Queensland!!

No photos here obviously to keep the surprise!!

Testing the new equipment continues in earnest -I took the Action Cam out for a run this evening and put together a little movie for you all to see how I spend at least 4hrs of every week trying to keep in tiptop condition in the countryside of Hampshire.....

So that's the last week, this week could be even better and I can't wait to start putting together the next blog already, here's a little taster for you all:

Head to Cornwall, South West England on Friday night to meet my friend Jay on his yacht, sail across to the Lizard peninsula Friday night
Saturday morning surf early before a light lunch then
dive in the afternoon for my first cold water experience in the UK!
Saturday night - live radio interview
Tuesday - live radio studio interview then head to London...
Royal Geographic Society talk and interview on Eco-Tourism and the world's reefs

Should be a superb week and just a few things like work, swimming and researching in between....SLEEP WHEN YOU'RE DEAD I SAY!!!

Over and out for now,

Ben

Happy Easter to everyone!

2009-04-11T03:54:00.001-07:00

Sleep when you're dead that's the theory anyway! As usual I'm trying to cram far too much into a weekend as I race to get everything organised and completed in time for the big off at the end of the month.....

Farewell party to finalise for Saturday 25th April - Taking place at the Mill Tavern in Shottermill, Surrey for anyone who'd like to come down for a hog roast and BBQ in the afternoon.

Pre-Onionfest fundraiser - 'Spring Onion' taking place tomorrow, Sunday 12th April. Every year I help to manage a charity music festival which raises money for Char's Fund which was set up after the loss of one of my great friends Charlotte Jones who tragically died in the Asian Tsunami. In order to raise some funds to buy a marquee to house this year's bar we're putting on a day of music in The George with loads of great bands and a BBQ so come and join us!

Diving in Cornwall's freezing water next weekend with another superb friend Dave Brown. Having never dived in the UK's waters before I thought it may be about time to get my feet wet...and cold before I sample the warmth of the Coral Sea!

Eco-Tourism talk at the Royal Geographic Society in London

Training run tomorrow with more weight on my back in preparation for the LAMM at the beginning of June

The second stage of the application process to whittle down the final 50 to a final 10 (which later became 15) involved writing a 300-500 word short story explaining lots about your life....I'd love to see if anyone actually only used 300 words, doubt it!

A few people have now made this public so in the name of fair game, I thought I'd do the same....I did initially write it down as a word document but only when it came to within 5hrs of the deadline suddenly thought....everyone will be doing that, lets make another video instead!!

Having my amazing girlfriend Bre there with me at the time helped no end, I was still out in Canada and she suggested a great place to go and film it, Lynn Canyon suspension bridge in the middle of another awesome part of North Vancouver.

Yes again the temperature was touching freezing, just as with my initial application video when I filmed the 'Practically a fish myself' scene, so the camera batteries kept dying in the middle of takes which meant racing back to the Ecology Centre to recharge and warm them up and all of this knowing that the clock was ticking closer to the deadline. But we did it and here it is....

Should be reporting back very soon on some exciting little gadgets I've acquired to make reporting on my blog more interesting and interactive later this week....watch this space!

Enjoy your Easter holidays wherever you are in the world :)

Ben

Keeping training, keeping learning....

2009-04-08T14:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday 4th April - BBC Weekend News

After a particularly quiet Friday night spent with friends at a restaurant in London I hit the hay early to get as much sleep as possible before the second day of media attention following the announcement of the Final 16 for the Best job in the World.

I clambered into the Land Rover (The Colonel for those who don't know him from last year's exploits http://www.afritrex.com/afritrex_the_team_landy.php) but it felt weird driving across London in what really was my home for the last year for the entire expedition. Land Rover's in London are generally frowned upon as Chelsea tractors - and rightly so! Do you really need a big 4WD to get up the kerb and into your gravel driveway?!!

Still The Colonel stands out and gets a few looks and thumbs up as Bacchus the Buffalo (who made it all the way from South Africa with Bre and I) looks proudly out from his rooftop position overlooking the front of the Landie.

I pulled into the BBC Television Centre at Wood Lane and the familiar looking building was strangely empty...it was 7.30am on a Saturday morning but I had hoped to bump into Sir David Attenborough, Jonathan Ross maybe or even Fern Cotton...but there was no one around at all! I made my way to the stage door reception and still no one...what should I do? Spotting a sign on the wall clearly saying BBC Breakfast I followed it all the way to the studio - which was empty!?!? Wow I know the BBC is struggling for funds but not having anyone around was a little disconcerting. I made my way back to reception and sat watching the programme being broadcast from somewhere within this huge concrete monster...but where!?!?

Finally Antonia rang and asked if I'd arrived!! She came and met me at reception and led me straight into make-up.....bloomin make-up!! Apparently I was 'shiny' even though I'd only stepped out of a shower an hour before so had to succumb to the same brushes and pampering everyone else does who goes in front of the cameras. Industry standard darling :)

Sat in the Green Room waiting was an interesting experience, there were three school-girls who'd met Michelle Obama the day before, a single mum discussing goodness only knows what and the weekly newspaper reviewer Simon - we made quite a mixed bag and had some funny chats about our circumstances and our short lived fame!

Then the call came, "Ben you're on in 10 mins ok"

It was all getting a little more serious now, the initial racing heartbeat and clammy hands of the first live interview on BBC South Today only 13hrs previous to this were a distant memory, but the pressure of keeping it all together and reporting the answers to more unknown questions in a professional manner kept the concentration levels max'd out as I sat and waited patiently for the nod, and then it came....

Into the studio I went with the knowledge that this broadcast was going out live to the entire UK on BBC1 and even over the entire planet on the BBC satellite network to a potential audience of billions...no pressure then! What a surprise the studio was though, the presenters Charlie Stayt and Sonia Deol had a bank of auto cues in front of them, the traditional red BBC desk and nothing else really - no studio team, no directors nothing!

Miked up as I came into the room by the only other person working there I sat down on my stool and chatted briefly with my interviewers off-air before the feature being played to the viewing public ended...and it was my turn, I felt the throat tighten slightly as I happily watched my application video played once more but this time to the country. I must have heard this thing a thousand times now but to see the presenters enjoying it was a good reflection on how a newbie to it must feel...something I'd rather lost since January when Bre and I made it.

After a few questions on air, during which time they played the TQ promotional video for Hamilton Island, it was all over and I felt pleased with the way it had gone...no stalls, staggers or blunders - a success then.

The second appearance at 09:45hrs went even better, more relaxed, flowing answers and a comfort level i now felt happy with - TV actually rocks! As I finished the feature Antonia told me that BBC World Service had been in touch and that they wanted to do a pre-record radio interview downstairs so we made out was to what must have been THE oldest building at Wood Lane...certainly no one had decorated it for since at least 1970....gorgeous brown and beige trimmings and walls, yummy!

A full on morning of media presentations out of the way I left the building, climbed into the Colonel and drove back to Hampshire for some well earned rest!

Ben

P.S. I think I'll put as copy of my 'short-story' up in this blog sometime in the next few days so you can see what the second stage of my application was all about and maybe even why they chose me to go through....

Happy Easter to you all :)

WOW....I'M OFF TO AUSTRALIA AS ONE OF THE FINAL 16!!!

2009-04-05T07:21:00.001-07:00

The final 50 (which became 48) applicants from around the globe must have been doing pretty much the same as I was on Thursday night, biting nails, twiddling fingers and generally annoying those around them with the nerves which were building up pending the decision by Tourism Queensland on who would make it through to the Final 16 for The Best Job in the World.

I'd not felt anything all day in the Thursday as being involved with my job from 7.30am until 5.30pm during the busy season doesn't really give me any time for anything else..but as I got into my car and started the drive home it started to dawn on me that the decision into who'd be going through to the final was now only a few hours away and the stomach started to feel a little different - the chrysalis was twitching and becoming a butterfly! The last time I felt like this I was 216m up on the Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa about to throw myself off it!

BBC Wales have been with me on and off for the last few weeks filming the background to a documentary which followed all four of the UK applicants (Sarah Louise, Holly and Doug) as we went about our own very secretive press and marketing campaign around the UK, and tonight was to be no different.

I met with Agnieszka and her husband Stuart at Alton Sport Centre where I head every week to pursue another love of mine, climbing. My good friends Rich and Sam were along for the night and under the pressure of the camera we picked our way to the top of the routes whilst trying to keep straight faces as our tired limbs struggled to make it through another 'take' just to get the perfect picture.

At the end of the session we all went our own ways with Agnieszka and Stuart following me back to the comforts of my house in Ropley where a sumptuous fish pie awaited us ready for the pending decision. Mum had cooked up a storm and we took our places around the dinner table, phone on charge, camera rolling ready for the anticipated decision which was due at 11.30pm

The clock ticked away, the impatience grew - mainly from Agnieszka I hasten to add, and then the phone started to ring....

"Shall I get that" I enquired
"YES OF COURSE YOU SHOULD!" came the reply

"Hello Ben speaking" I nervously answered...
"Hi Ben its Peter Lowlor here from Queensland, how ya going mate?"
"Ah very well thanks, how can I help you?" - as if I didn't know!
"Congratulations mate, you've made it through to the Final 16 for the BJITW and I look forward to meeting you out here at the beginning of May!"
"Thats awesome, I can't wait - see you there" I think I babbled down the phone to him...

The obvious celebrations followed with Mum and Dad cracking the champagne open and me racing into the study to get my girlfriend Bre onto the webcam to break the good news to her on the other side of the planet.

"You're not going to believe this baby...I'm through!!"
"OMG you're joking!!!" Came her startled reply

Its got a couple of big meanings really to get through this far, obviously the chance to get out onto the Great Barrier Reef and to swim, dive, snorkel etc is a massive excitement, but it also gets me one step closer to another dream of mine - being back with my girlfriend who's out in Canada and being given the job will mean she can come out to the island to join me for another six months together. It was clear to see how excited she was!

After a drama had calmed down and the camera had stopped rolling it was time for bed before another early start ready to deal with the UK's media enquiries....as if I could sleep!

My plan for Friday 3rd was to visit the three charities I'd raised money for with my Afritrex expedition. The BBC were at the house bright and early and we started the shots they'd need interviewing Mum and Dad and their reactions to the success of my application for the role. Finally we made it out of the house and hit the road to London with Agneiszka
onboard the Colonel for the first time.

We arrived at the Royal Star & Garter Home, where I used to work, the first of the charities I hoped to see to hand over a big cheque for last years efforts in Africa.

There's been a change of CE at the charity so I met Mike Barter for the first time and handed over my cheque to him in the surroundings of the stunning garden at the Home which overlooks the Thames from up high. Together with the appeal which the Home sent out the total raised for them was £15,701.22!!

How does time disappear so damn quickly?!? Before we knew if half the afternoon was gone and we had to abandon the idea of visiting my other two charities much to my disgust, this filming thing takes longer than you'd ever imagine!

Instead Plan B swung into place and made a beeline straight for the headquarters of Hills Balfour Synergy, the PR company who handle all of Tourism Queenslands campaign where Jane, Anna and Daisy work and between them, and others from TQ around the world, decided to select me as the representative from the UK who's make it through. Very important people in other words so when you tell them you'll be there....YOU HAVE TO!!

London traffic - something I really will never get used to or miss, African roads are bad, African drivers are acceptable but London just eclipses everything I witnessed last year including the chaos of Accra! It took nearly 90 mins to drive the short distance to their offices and then we had to sit around whilst the camera-crew arrived....edging ever closer to my next appointment at the BBC studios at Millbank scheduled for 6.30pm!

It was awesome seeing the girls again, we shared a celebratory drink, checked out the stats from the coverage the story had been receiving that day and talked briefly about the next few weeks. I hope to be in control but I feel it'll be another rollercoaster of a ride all the way to my departure for Aus at the end of the month.

Ten minutes later I had to rush out of the door to make the 2-stop tube ride to Westminster and sprinted across Parliament Square to the amusement of the tourists and police assembled there on a sunny afternoon, and fell into the offices of the BBC with 5 minutes to spare. I plonked myself down in the link room, mopped my brow and prepared for the light on the camera to turn red.

I felt a little apprehensive talking for the first few seconds to a room with no one there but the technician, but then got into my flow and ended up loving it, this limelight this is really good fun!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/england/hampshire/7980717.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0ydsSkgRlc

A great 2 minute feature was beamed live into the South Today studio in Southampton and then suddenly it was all over with the appointments for the day having been satisfied, well very nearly - I have to get to the other charities at some stage but a full-on day of media based coverage was over.

At least I thought is was....driving out of central London the phone rang for the gazillionth time with a happy sounding Chloe on the end from BBC Five Live asking if I had 5 minutes to do a pre-record for their Outlook program, of course I would - its the station I listen to on the way home from work every day! I stopped at a friends house for the night, found a quiet room and delivered my final interview of the day.

Wow quite a first day as a finalist! 5 x radio interviews, 3 x newspapers and one TV appearance - all in a days work!

I almost fell asleep before I got into bed....time to count some valuable ZZZZZ's

Ben

TV, PR stunts and my week

2009-03-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

Talk about exhausted, I've never had a migraine in my life and today I did...crazy swirling visuals and then the onset of a headache which can only really be associated with the stresses I've been placing myself under the last few days.

I've been on the back foot ever since returning from Canada, where I'd been for a fortnights holiday with my girlfriend Bre, the other UK finalists had the advantage of two weeks self-promotion whilst I was out of the country and really need to pull my socks up to stand any chance in the media scrum which has seriously dissolved to nothing in that time.

What I needed a was stunt, a really good PR stunt which instead of appealing to all of the radio stations, tv channels and media oputlets directly, would instead draw the journos out of their offices to witness the Ben-style crazy event.

So as with everything in life I started off big...and then had to tone it all down again as my expectations and dreams were slowly shattered and lay in tatters around me. It really was a hugely depressing three days as deals and pledges fell through all around me.

Try Trafalgar Sqaure on Mothers Day, with a 10m x 10m acrylic fish tank full of water, fishes and.....me of course! Mumm Champagne supplying the bubbly for the game 'Champagne Cork Bobbing' and three or four travel companies promoting themselves alongside and also footing the bill for the entire thing!

But how much is Trafalgar Square you ask....only £1000 per hour!! A cost which scared the life out of me and the travel companies who I'd asked. "Oh we'll do it if we can come along for free you know!" Yes but unfortnately my pocket doesn't stretch quite as far as that I'm afraid, so the idea here was canned.

I wandered back from, one of the Australian candidates, Hailey's little gathering at Big Ben with a heavy heart and a heavier bladder as I trundled down the embankment thinking of new plans. The National Theatre had an amazing site right on the Thames with a high footfall and a big enough car park to house the tank and truck so thought I'd struck gold when I went inside to enquire about its viability and Alison there said it'd be fine. All I had to do was send her my proposal and we'd start working together, finally some success!

The next day arrived, I finished the proposal and before I could send it I'd had a message from Alison to say that they now wouldn't be able to host the event as they (a) didn't have the staff on Mothers Day and (b) didn't think the underghround carpark would be able to support the weight of the filled tank and truck. Great back to square one....or so I thought, it was actually square two. Worse was to follow.

Establishing exactly when the fishtank would be ready and transported down to the capital from Birmingham was the next issue raising its ugly head and it got worse the further into it I got. Yes, they could supply the tank to me free of charge but as it was made from matt acrylic it would have to polished in order to make it transparent...a process which would take two men five days and there wasn't enough time left! This was turning into a disaster.

So I'd been left with no location and no tank.

Working full time is the way to pay the bills but not the way to try and organise a PR stunt with limited time or funds, I'd only been back at work for two days after a year off and was seriously taking the biscuit with my boss!! Phone calls all day and hardly any progress for the projects I was meant to be working on at all. Eeek.

Today has been the best day of the lot, my dear friend and Location Manager Luke Marshall got on the case. His 15 years of experience working in London finding sites for major films, tv programmes and commercials paid off and by lunchtime we had a site on the edge of the Thames in Hammersmith. The age old 'Its not what you know.....' really meant something today!

The fishtank has been scaled down slightly to a large paddling pool but the concept is the same, me in the water in a suit, free champagne for the winners of my competition and lots of friends there for support along with the masses of public and media (hopefully!) who'll be walking that way on Mothers Day.

I have everything crossed and can't wait to get in yet more cold water after the application video, but it should be damn good fun all round.

Bring on Sunday, more to follow....

Best Job in the World!! - How it all happened

2009-03-15T17:45:00.000-07:00

I really don't think my feet have touched the ground since I got back from the Afritrex experience!

I had a few days work with Luke, who joined me through the first few weeks of the expedition, then I had a few days work with Owen who joined me for....none of the expedition and then I decided to head off again around the world to explore and discover another new country with the help of my dear girl Bre over in Vancouver, British Columbia!!

Then it all happened, and so damn quickly too...one day it was just a suggestion from a friend. "Ben there's the perfect job in the newspaper for you, you just have to go for it!!"

And I was handed a cut out from the Daily Mail advertising 'The Best Job in the World' by Emma along with being emailed by my Aunty in Spain to say...."get your ass into gear Ben, this one's for you!"

So we set to work, not really knowing exactly what we'd be coming out with at the other end, something witty, funny but intelligent and a genuine representation of exactly what I'm about and what makes me tick too. My girlfriend Bre is another source of my constant energy - we bounce off each other and her help writing an amusing summary of what I'm about was right up her street. I typical Bre style we created lists, scribbled lines out and practised them to each other, every time building confidence as I practised 'piece to camera' work for the first time on a few weeks since being on the road....all massively exciting though!!

We had our script, moved into the great British outdoors, and it was freezing cold in fact the day before the South of England experienced its worst snow for 20 years with gorgeous temperatures of -2c on the day, yikes!!

And this is where the amusing part of the day really took place, we'd finished off the main part of the filming, using a number of takes for each shot up to now, here on the banks of the freezing cold lake it really wasn't an option.

I'm sat there as Bre sets up the camera hidden in the hedge, in only a pair of shorts with a snorkel and mask on my head sitting on a cold wooden bench looking out onto an empty Hampshire lane.

"Are you ready Bre, its freezing out here?" I questioned

"Almost baby, just getting it level" she replied

"You know we have only ONE take on this so please make sure it works first time!" pleading to get everything just perfect to save me the pleaseure of freezing my knackers off for a second time.

Then just a we're about to shoot and Bre says 'action', along come a walker into my periferal vision....damn it we'd have to stop! So I sit back down, the inquisitive rambler unaware of Bre's presence in the bushes, he looks me up and down and continues to walk past me taking in and trying to register what he's seeing.

"It's prefectly normal behaviour you know" I explained.....to which he turned silently and kept walking!!!

With our observer out of the way I steadied myself for the shock of the freezing water, the unknown bottom to the pond and tried to establish my escape route back to the Land Rover, my towel and some form of heater (although Land Rover's aren't best for this!)

3...2...1 and I ran down the jetty stuffing the snorkel in my mouth and just launced off the end into the murky depths, my knees hitting something under water, my mask coming clean off my eyes and the snorkel seperating just outside my mouth leaving my lips open and allowing the grim water to fill my mouth! Ha just what I didn't want!

Here's the full version so you can see just how much fun it really was!

We raced back to the house, emptied the leaves and mud out of my boardies and sat in front of the fire laughing at my stupidity and tried to warm up whilst learning how to use Windows Movie Maker for the first time. Actually its damn easy and by 2am the finished version was there all done....ITS A WRAP!! - as I believe they say in the industry.

Its only when the total number of entries were announced that I realised quite how unlikely it was that my application would ever go any further....come on there must have been at least 50 better produced videos, 50 more qualified people and 50 more bikini girls than I could ever offer so assumed that my entry would fall by the wayside and be lost for enternity with only Bre and I remembering the fun and stresses we had shooting it!

31st December 08

2009-01-02T03:44:00.001-08:00

Date: 31st December 08
Location: Guildford, Surrey, England
Weather: Cold and crisp, heavy frost overnight 2°c
Status: Starting the final day…..

So this was how it was going to be then, the final day of my African adventure and I was playing out in the freezing conditions of the UK! I jumped out of bed though with the realisation that it’d all be over pretty soon, bar the friends and family I’d hopefully see as I crossed the finish line!

After the usual pre-marathon nipple-plastering and vasaline rubbing session I gathered my thoughts and warm top and got into the Colonel complete with Bre and Dad for the final drive of the expedition.

Dad had very professionally organised the route for me taking me back to Petersfield on the back roads ensuring I’d cover the required 26.2 miles to make it all official and together with Bre they’d form my team of water suppliers and direction givers!

We left and started the run from Shalford, just south of Guildford, and after a toilet stop started the run with cold fingers to start off with. Two hours into the run I’d made it past Haslemere and into the small village of Miland, marking the halfway point for the run, by this stage I was starting to feel the cold and shivered every time I stopped for a drink break….this is so different from African runs!

The undulating terrain around Liss and the final approach to the Jolly Drover at the top end of my marathon was exhausting, it’s easy to think halfway through a marathon that everything is going well and that the second half should be easy…but then it all starts to bite as the legs tighten, the pain kicks in and the energy levels disappear suddenly leaving me desperate to see the crest of the hill.

The drop down into Petersfield along the A3 was much better, my family and friends had started to appear at the sides of the road with even the odd banner about to motivate me for the final push into the town square where I was hoping to meet a few people. But what I didn’t expect was quite the welcome I received!!

There must have been 40 people there including an official finish line, TV cameras and reporters all wanting to talk…something that’s very difficult to do after running for four and half hours! Once the pulse had settled again I managed a hug and kiss for them all and even had a great pint of good old English ale, my first since leaving a year ago, and it tasted awesome!

And then it was over all of the dreams, plans, challenges and expectations which I had set myself nearly three years ago were lying there in front of me completed….Bre, the Colonel and I have formed the most incredible team and I sincerely hope there is more to come in the future. For now were going home to spend New Year’s Day with family and to do a good old catch up, bore them with photos and complete the website for you all to see….

Thank you all so much for reading, writing and being involved, it really has meant the world to me…..

Over and out…for now.

End of day location: Ropley, England
Distance covered: 42kms running, 20kms driving

30th December 08

2009-01-02T02:29:00.003-08:00

Date: 29th December 08
Location: Mont Blanc, France
Weather: Very cold with snow and sleet, -5°c overnight
Status: Within a day’s drive of home

Wow that was extreme camping….so cold overnight so we were lucky to have my two mountain climbing sleeping bags which are rated down to -25°c and gave us plenty of warmth in the cold tent.

We were back on the road by 8am and without Kees filling the mirrors could up the speed to 110kph when the conditions allowed, the weather slowly deteriorated and snow started to fall which even the fleet of salting trucks couldn’t keep from blocking the outside lane of the autoroute.

Our progress was constant and as we arrived in Reims I decided to head to the Mumm Champagne cellars and pick up a bottle ready for the New Year celebrations, having worked for them in the UK for ten years it was great to see where all of the fizzy stuff is made.

Late on in the afternoon we made it to Calais and after trying the channel tunnel which was full we headed to the ferry and booked the Colonel and ourselves on the next available crossing back to the UK.

On arrival at the famous white cliffs of Dover Bre and I held our breath as Baccus the Buffalo was facing his final test…could we sneak him through the final border of the trip and safely home to Hampshire? The police and customs stopped the Colonel momentarily to check our number plate and waved us through….we’d done it!!

The joys of the M25 and thick fog slowed our progress back to my sisters house in Guildford where we finally arrived at 1am, a quick chat and into bed ready for the alarm clock at 7am in order to ready myself for the final marathon home!

End of day location: Guildford, Surrey, England
Distance covered: 950kms

28th December 08

2009-01-02T02:29:00.001-08:00

Date: 28th December 08
Location: The middle of the Mediterranean Sea
Weather: Cloudy, cold and fiercely windy. 15°c
Status: Scared for some reason….

After a good nights rest we copied the last of our photos and videos from Kees to my collection, Bre did some more memory book and we all prepared for the departure and goodbyes which would be happening in a few hours time.

Its strange I had a mixture of feelings throughout the last few hours and days and they now became stronger and harder to deal with, firstly the happiness of leaving Africa after battling for so hard over the last few days and weeks but then when thinking about it, it was replaced by a feeling of disappointment that the adventure no longer continues and the harsh reality of the fast, uncaring lifestyle that is presented to us in Europe of money, work and generally selfish people.

I understand that this is a harsh statement but some of the people I have met in the last year have been hugely caring, will go out of their way to help you and think nothing of spending an entire day helping you out with no reward. There’s always exceptions to the rule but I find it hard to think I could easily find the same as easily in the UK as everyone needs reward or gratification for the simplest of things.

We docked in Genova in howling northerly winds with snow sweeping down off the mountains and it gave us a taste of what a stupid decision it had been to return to the UK at this time of year! We eventually managed to get the trucks off the ferry after waiting for ages for a broken down car to move and drove through the customs area without challenge.

Kees led us out of the city on our last journey together for now and we pulled into a service area to have a final meal together, buy some supplies for the journey ahead and say our final farewells to the big yellow tortoise and its amazing driver, Kees and Bindhi….for now!!

Bre and I drove on for another 150kms until we arrived at the foot of the Alps to be greeted by snow and ice everywhere and made a freezing cold camp in a car park.-5°c overnight so big cuddles were needed!

End of day location: Mont Blanc, France/Switzerland border
Distance covered: 300kms

27th December 08

2008-12-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

Date: 27th December 08
Location: Tunis, Tunisia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, cold. 18°c
Status: Ready for home….

After the rude awakening by the security guard I packed away a cold, wet tent and we drove into the city to find the offices of the ferry company to book our ride back to Europe. It wasn’t open so we caught up on an hour’s sleep and waited…

Eventually the manager turned up and I went inside and sorted out the particulars we’d need to get us all back to Europe. It actually worked out cheaper to book here than over the phone or on the internet so a success already.

Once we’d done I noticed I had a flat tyre so after Kees little flat yesterday I had one as a sympathy puncture 12 hrs later. We are the most efficient team now and had it changed and repaired within the hour!!

Went into the centre to the medina to find some last minute gifts for people and to eat some lunch. Then back to the ferry port to wait where we’d spend the night before boarding at 9am tomorrow for a 2pm departure.

Watched our last African sunset at around 5pm as it fell into the outline of the city, a very poignant moment…..back to Blighty Colonel, your African adventure is over, for now…

End of day location: Tunis, Tunisia
Distance covered: 20kms

26th December 08

2008-12-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

Date: 26th December 08
Location: Iles de Jerbra, Tunisia
Weather: Scattered cloud and sunshine, cold though! 20°c
Status: Nearly out of Africa, good or bad?

Up early and finished a few updates to the website before we headed to the south west side of the island to take the ferry across to the mainland…this as supposed to save time as it cut off 120kms but the queue for the boat was huge and we sat for an hour waiting so gained nothing!

Eventually cleared the crossing a got onto the road through some overly Tunisian countryside which wound through the coastal towns and was painfully slow due to all the trucks.

We drove all day and as the sun went down had around 150kms to go so stopped and bought a kilo of lamb from a roadside bbq for nibbles…very amusing in a sick way as the skins of the sheep hang next to the fire which is cooking the mutton along with a group of live sheep watching all of the proceedings. I wonder what they must be thinking….

Arrived at the peage road, the first since France, which gave us an amazing newly tarmaced motorway which reminded me of Europe and how easy everything and simple it all is. I miss Africa already. We stopped at a Shell service station for a drink and Kees and I just stood there staring….stocked shelves, massive choices and whatever we wanted to eat or drink, and in so many flavours!! Together with that though came the feeling of no individuality, being a clone, part of a horribly globalised system; something which Africa is a million miles from and so beautiful for.

We pulled into the outskirts of Tunis and found another modern, clean and organised African city reminiscent of some French Mediterranean coastal resorts. Our destination for the night was the Almicar Hotel as they allowed camping in the car park, when we eventually found it the place was closed but the slightly drunk security guard allowed us to stay there anyway….well until 6.30am when he woke us and told us we had to be out by 7am!

It felt awful to cover those last few km’s on African soil after nearly 60,000 in the past year and I miss the experience already, Bre and I chatted about the good times, the bad times and the rest and are convinced we’ll be back here sometime soon. For now Africa is finished with us and we are with it….

End of day location: Tunis
Distance covered: 530kms

25th December 08

2008-12-26T01:22:00.000-08:00

Date: 25th December 08
Location: Iles de Jerbera, Tunisia
Weather: Blue skies with a few clouds, 20°c
Status: Happy Christmas to all….

Up after the first real nights sleep in about 4 days with bleary eyes and reluctantly got out of bed….damn too late anyway as we’d missed breakfast!

Met Kees and tried to sort out Bre’s hair ready for the UK but had no luck trying to find someone who could actually do African style braids so instead booked a quad bike ride for all of us which was to leave at 2pm.

Pottered around and soaked up the lack of English Christmas, all the time thinking of my family back home enjoying theirs! Met the guide for the quad ride and we all made our way to the departure point about 200m walk away.

Helmets on with Bre smiling all the way and there they were out rides for the next hour and a half. We drove through the small villages and onto some crappy dunes along a beach and then back. Wish we’d done it in the desert to be honest as wadi bashing would have been awesome.

Back to the hotel for lunch and then used the net for a while before we had dinner and all three of us with Santa hats on went our to the bowling alley for a few games and then headed back to the hotel for an early night. Another good drive to the capital tomorrow….

End of day location: Iles de Jerbera, Tunisia
Distance covered: 0kms

24th December 08

2008-12-26T01:20:00.002-08:00

Date: 21st December 08
Location: Soloum, Egypt
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 28°c
Status: About to undertake a monster drive…..

The past day has been spent feeling hugely frustrated and having to deal with the reality that there’s no way I’ll be able to make it home now in time to run the final marathon on Xmas Eve or to be with my friends and family over the Xmas period, Balls.

But the next challenges have to be realised and an attempt made to get the correct stamps in our relevant passports which will carry us through the next stage of the trip and Libya. Our destination for the day was to be Alexandria, the home of all three consulates for the relevant countries or so we thought. Mum and Dad had managed to find the addresses of each of them using the power of the internet and we finally set off at just after midnight on the 1000kms round trip to the east and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

I drove for five hours and finally the sun started to show its face over the horizon as we were entering the city limits and we made our way to the seafront as there were a few hours to spare until the first of the embassies opened at 8am. The Mecca Hotel had a particularly helpful receptionist who said that instead of hiring a taxi for the day we could use him at no charge, so he was employed. His shift finished at 8m and we all made our way in the Colonel to the British Consul and I went to present my passport to them.

After only 10 minutes I was back out on the street complete with fully translated stamp just as the Libyan’s had asked for so the mission continued with all of us wishing that the rest of the day would go just as well. That thought lasted for just under an hour as we found the addresses for both the Canadian and Dutch consulates but ones which they had moved out of six months prior to our arrival!

The embassies for each have now taken responsibility and are based in Cairo, some 220kms away and the last words we really wanted to hear! We paid off our guide and left the outskirts of the city just after 10am with a new drive and determination to get these damn things finished if it killed us.

Driving straight to the Dutch embassy was the order of the day and Kees rushed out to collect his stamp….except they wouldn’t offer one until 2pm….so to the Canadian one! There story was that they would fill in the English version but not the Arabic one which would need a translator to do it! The short of the story is we managed to get everything we wanted and had all three passports completed just after 4pm, and after taking a massively wrong turning out of the city finally got to the Carrefour supermarket to stock up at 7.30pm

A ‘short’ 750kms drive awaited me after the 10hrs already completed and surprisingly it went very quickly, that was untli the final 100kms which dragged on and as I nodded like a tired dog but managed with the help of cold air and loud music to keep myself awake. Not recommended in the Highway Code I know but essential to keep us moving as intended. A total of 1468ks covered in a little over 28 hours.....the equvilant of Portsmouth to Dundee and back!!

End of day location: Soloum, Egypt
Distance covered: 1468kms

21st December 08

2008-12-26T01:20:00.001-08:00

Date: 21st December 08
Location: Soloum, Egypt
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 28°c
Status: About to undertake a monster drive…..

The past day has been spent feeling hugely frustrated and having to deal with the reality that there’s no way I’ll be able to make it home now in time to run the final marathon on Xmas Eve or to be with my friends and family over the Xmas period, Balls.

But the next challenges have to be realised and an attempt made to get the correct stamps in our relevant passports which will carry us through the next stage of the trip and Libya. Our destination for the day was to be Alexandria, the home of all three consulates for the relevant countries or so we thought. Mum and Dad had managed to find the addresses of each of them using the power of the internet and we finally set off at just after midnight on the 1000kms round trip to the east and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

I drove for five hours and finally the sun started to show its face over the horizon as we were entering the city limits and we made our way to the seafront as there were a few hours to spare until the first of the embassies opened at 8am. The Mecca Hotel had a particularly helpful receptionist who said that instead of hiring a taxi for the day we could use him at no charge, so he was employed. His shift finished at 8m and we all made our way in the Colonel to the British Consul and I went to present my passport to them.

After only 10 minutes I was back out on the street complete with fully translated stamp just as the Libyan’s had asked for so the mission continued with all of us wishing that the rest of the day would go just as well. That thought lasted for just under an hour as we found the addresses for both the Canadian and Dutch consulates but ones which they had moved out of six months prior to our arrival!

The embassies for each have now taken responsibility and are based in Cairo, some 220kms away and the last words we really wanted to hear! We paid off our guide and left the outskirts of the city just after 10am with a new drive and determination to get these damn things finished if it killed us.

Driving straight to the Dutch embassy was the order of the day and Kees rushed out to collect his stamp….except they wouldn’t offer one until 2pm….so to the Canadian one! There story was that they would fill in the English version but not the Arabic one which would need a translator to do it! The short of the story is we managed to get everything we wanted and had all three passports completed just after 4pm, and after taking a massively wrong turning out of the city finally got to the Carrefour supermarket to stock up at 7.30pm

A ‘short’ 750kms drive awaited me after the 10hrs already completed and surprisingly it went very quickly, that was untli the final 100kms which dragged on and as I nodded like a tired dog but managed with the help of cold air and loud music to keep myself awake. Not recommended in the Highway Code I know but essential to keep us moving as intended.

End of day location: Soloum, Egypt
Distance covered: 1468kms

18th December 08

2008-12-26T01:17:00.000-08:00

Date: 18th December 08
Location: Soloum, Egypt
Weather: High clouds and warm sunshine, 27°c
Status: I think we’re off, but don’t say it too loud just in case…

For the last two days we have been at the mercy of our tour agent in Libya who is trying to organise our Libyan visas as quickly as he can….or so he says! In one phone call he tells us it will be ready on the 18th and in the next its back to the 20th, all of this is extremely frustrating and gives me very little confidence that Bre and I will be able to make it back to the UK to run the final marathon as planned on Christmas Eve.

In that time we’ve cleaned the trucks, again, painted the flags of all the countries we travelled through on them, cooked up some of the last dry supplies we have into really good meals and restocked with consumables for the long road trip west….whenever that happens!

And then all of sudden Sami called again “I have the visas in my hand here in Tripoli!!” – “What?!” I replied…..”Yes I’m sending a driver to the border now to meet you, he’ll be there in seven hours”

Action stations all of a sudden, photocopies of the Arabic page of our passport for the predictable police stops we needed, I had to confirm the boat date and time from Tunis – and it was still December 21st at 14:00hrs.

So a quick bit of mental arithmetic concludes that we have 2200kms to go between here and the boat in 65 hours time. Add in stops, food and a 2 hour buffer for the check in and we have 55 hours to make it at an average speed of 40kmh!!! Surely that should be possible? Let’s just keep our fingers crossed and see hey.

Well I’m back and since writing the first part of this journal entry every thing has gone tits up, and I mean properly destroyed. Our chances of ever getting to the boat on the 21st now lie in tatters as we have been refused our entry into Libya based on the lack of interpretation by the asshole on the gate.

So there we were driving to our penultimate African border with expectant hopes in our hearts that we’d make it through without any problems and as I type this be driving west as fast as we could towards Tunisia….and then the Libyan authorities dropped the bombshell – we didn’t have the official certification stamp from our own embassies we required next to the Arabic translations in our passports and would not be granted entry to the country even though Tripoli had issued us our visas based on having seen scans of them only 72hrs earlier!!

We were stuck fast in the middle of no-mans-land officially stamped out of Egypt having handed in our number plates, driving licence and having happily accepted our exit stamps in both our passports and carnets and were now unable to enter our next country due to a technicality and now faced the daunting prospect of attempting to re-enter Egypt with no visa and no money to pay the huge import costs required for each vehicle.

Enter our helper Mr Ahmed who had been sent to meet us at the border with the paperwork we thought we’d need to enter. He comes from Libya, speaks very little English but is overpoweringly helpful and wears a happy face; particularly useful when dealing with the horrible officials and policemen who Egypt seem to employ at all points of contact with foreigners!

At 11pm we’d decided to give up the Libyan attempt and tried instead to go back in to Egypt to somehow get the correct stamp. We walked, talked and went in and out of maybe 20 different offices, walked to the gate and back numerous times with Ahmed leading us on a seemingly impossible task of having our exit stamps reversed and our number plates re-issued and finally at 4.30am decided to call it quits for the night. But oh no the Egyptian police had other ideas “you can’t sleep here, you need to go back to the border town 16kms away to the hotel and come back in the morning” – yeah and how are we supposed to do that with no passports…and there’s no way we were going to leave our vehicles in their compound anyway!

So we all got into Kees’s truck, closed the door, drew the curtains and went to sleep oblivious to their knocking at various times during the night! When first light appeared we were back on the hunt and with more top officials around we seemed to slowly get further into their antiquated system…have they ever even heard of a telephone before!?!

We left the comforts (?) of their yard just after midday with our plates back on, our passports and carnet stamps removed with the aid of their latest technology, tippex! Back to the hotel were we have waited for the last few days and into deep discussion - just how are we going to leave this hole!

As it stands at 5pm on Friday we’re off to our relevant consuls in Alexandria on Sunday to have the passports stamped, again, and will attempt another break through the border and the formalities associated with it.

End of day location: Back in Soloum, Egypt
Distance covered: 25kms, 12 in the wrong direction!

15th December 08

2008-12-25T10:32:00.001-08:00

Date: 15th December 08
Location: Sidi Barrani, Egypt
Weather: Blue skies and sunshine, hazy p.m., 25°c
Status: Still unsure about the next few days and VERY FRUSTRATED……

Up as the first truck of the morning started it loud, clanging diesel engine next to the tent meaning further rest was impossible leaving getting up as the only option. Still only 80kms to go until we reach the border town of Soloum so no point staying in bed!

Kees had a few problems getting his truck up to full speed for the first part of the journey today making us think that he has something wrong with his fuel or air supply to the engine, further investigation to follow…

Breezed through the 80kms and arrived at the police checkpoint outside of the border town so the usual interrogation and paper checking that accompanies the edge of a country, “How many days are you staying for? Where are you staying? Where are you from? etc.

We had no idea where they’d actually allow us to camp up and so asked the friendly police their advice, the Sita Hotel as it’s the only one in town came the reply ao off we went to find it. in fact it was well signed, they stood out being the only ones in English through the entire main street and we pulled into the car park to enquire as to where we could park. The young manager showed us to the rear car park which was perfect as it was hidden from the road and bar the tight squeeze for Kees’s truck gave us a great area to stretch, empty and service the trucks in.

Whilst relaxing in the sun reading a book my phone rang and it was Sami our Libya visa helper, he told us the visas would be ready on the 20th at 14:00hrs…..WHAT I SAID, BUT YOU SAID THE 17TH at the latest….I was furious and after some discussion he said he’d speak to immigration again to try and get it brought forward…it would mean ther’d be no chance of making the boat on the 21st and being home for Christmas Eve for the marathon, Balls.

We walked into the town found an ATM, internet café and bought some snacks all the time welcomed to the town by the locals who’d ask where we were from etc. I wasn’t in the mood and should have been more forthcoming but the timing wasn’t perfect to hold a conversation that’s all!

Back to the camp and had some dinner before going to bed to watch a movie. I spoke to Sami briefly who again said he’d do his best to try for the earlier date and I left it at that…nothing more I can do! If we don’t get it until later then I won’t make Xmas Eve and will feel as if this part of the expedition has been a failure as any other date will really loose the significance and attention that a final marathon would deserve.

To say I’m going to bed tonight a little annoyed and disappointed would be true….night.

End of day location: Soloum, Egypt
Distance covered: 83ks

14th December 08

2008-12-15T06:56:00.001-08:00

Date: 14th December 08
Location: El Alamein, Egypt
Weather: Warm day, cold night. 25°c
Status: Heading to the border, slowly, slowly….

Up early as the garage forecourt we’d stayed I sprang to life, had a bite of breakfast and filled the water and fuel tanks of the trucks before hitting the rod west….got a km down the road then turned off!

Entered the town of El Alamein and due to the excellent signage for once found the cemetery no problem. It’s a very typical commonwealth war memorial with row upon row of light beige headstones all bearing the identity of one unfortunate person who fell in the name of their country many years ago.

There are 13,000 people buried or cremated here and the atmosphere as I walked around the site by myself was quite numbing and moving. Two things grabbed me, the number of unidentified graves marked only by the words ‘ Unknown Solider’, and also the number of dates on many which were the same that of 21st October 1942. a very bad day for the Allied Forces.

I identified the graves of the VC recipients who’d fallen here through the cemetery register and took a moment to talk to the gardener, the only of other person there. After a few photos we all left

We drove west for 200kms until we found a road which headed along the coast and some amazing white sand beaches with some of the bluest ocean of the trip, we had not set a destination for the night and decided to drive off the road across the sandstone and pitch a camp for the night.

We walked onto the beach and I had a dip in the Med, surprisingly warm for this time of year, and as we walked up the beach were greeted by four military personnel who’d been watching us from afar! Great, they then told us that due to smugglers along this section of coast it was dangerous and we’d have to move on. Yeah right, typical Egyptian over touristic diplomacy again…..we’ve camped in the Congo, Angola and other exotic locations and they wouldn’t let us camp here….the middle of nowhere!

So we drove on into the sunset and eventually pulled off the road into a service area where the trucks seemed to be stopping and setup camp for the night…again.

Dinner with Kees in the truck, a movie, then bed.

End of day location: 60kms short of the border, Egypt
Distance covered: 345kms

13th December 08

2008-12-15T06:55:00.001-08:00

Date: 13th December 08
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Weather: Cold morning, cloudy afternoon, cold night! 26°c
Status: A little concerned but going west in preparation….

Up this morning in the cold with a rumbling belly, damn Egyptian water! We packed up our camp, paid the bills and said our goodbyes to our kind hosts then headed to the pyramids for a look around.

I’ve been to them before and remember it from 20 years ago as a place of massive hassles from touts and a grubby reception area and its good to see that in those 20 years nothing has changed! Yes they’ve got a new ticketing area but there’s litter everywhere, broken wooden platforms leading down to the tomb rooms and still the persistent camel and horse salesmen. You think the government would realise the importance of this, one of the seven wonders of the world, and make the changes need to make it an incredible tourist attraction…there’s enough visitors to pay for it!

We visited the usual areas and had the photos in front of the sphinx etc, bought some tat and wound up the salesmen as much as we could! Then hit the road out of town towards the Mediterranean to complete the second side of the virtual triangle which forms Africa. The road was great tarmac and we arrived at Alexandria’s outskirts just as the sun was setting to the west and thinking we could find a beachside camp we carried on along the coast.

Oh Egypt why do you do it to yourself? Every metre of coastline along the Red Sea and again here along the Mediterranean is either developed or under development by monstrous holiday resorts which ruin the coastline and don’t even allow you a view of the ocean….we had to drive on for another 100kms trying to find anywhere to stop but after a couple of hours were totally defeated and pulled into a petrol station by El Alamein and pitched the tent for the night!

A useful stopping ground however as the military cemetery is only a km away from here which I’ll visit in the morning. I’m now sitting in the truck awaiting a phone call from Sami to confirm the next steps for our Libya visa and am slightly worried. Oh please can this part go according to plan I really want to get back for Christmas now and to be able to take Bre around showing her off to my friends and visiting some exciting places with her….thank you whoever’s listening.

End of day location: El Alamein, Egypt
Distance covered: 300kms

11th December 08

2008-12-15T06:54:00.001-08:00

Date: 11th December 08
Location: Cairo, Egpyt
Weather: Clear blue skies, warm day, chilly night. 26°c
Status: Prepared for a little wait now…

Up at first light and had a good breakfast before I started to do a few jobs which were overdue on the Colonel. One of the rear hub gaskets seals has started to leak so I replaced the gasket, checked the axles oil level and replaced the bolts hopefully leaving everything properly sealed.

I decided to grease the propshafts as they haven’t been done for a while and whist tinkering noticed that one of my front shock absorbers has blown leaving lovely oil all over the axle! Struggled to get the nut undone so decided that with only tarmac to go and no noticeable difference in the handling, I’d replace it when I get back to the UK, lazy I know. Polished Bacchus so he looked all smart and new.

Bre, Kees and I then drove into the centre of Cairo through the hectic, unorganised, chaotic traffic…truly some of the worst so far in Africa. It is one of the overriding things I remember from my trip to the city some 20 years ago! Found the Sultan Hotel where the remainder of the Watkins are staying and even managed to find a parking space outside, paid the card system for the day and went inside.

Bre was trying to find new hair to sort out her braids in time for the trip to the UK but here in Arabic Africa there are no back hairdos which use the same material so a fruitless process which took most of the day, we try again in Alexandria.

Kees and I went out to the market and bought a new set of horns each to compete with the mad traffic and horn-madness which Cairo is. His being the craziest of the two with 6 sound adjustable police sirens! Will fit tomorrow.

After a kofta dinner we went back to the hotel and I had a call from Sami, our Libyan fixer, to say that unfortunately the visas won’t be ready until the 17th so we’ll miss the first of the boats across the Med and will now have to wait until the 21st leaving only a day and a half to drive all the way back to the UK from Italy…..and then run a marathon! Yikes.

Drove back the 22kms to the camp and went to bed.

End of day location: Giza, Cairo, Egypt
Distance covered: 45kms

9th December 08

2008-12-15T06:53:00.002-08:00

Date: 9th December 08
Location: Sharm El Naqa, Egypt
Weather: Blue skies to tart, as we went north the clouds appeared and it got cold! 28°c
Status: Decision made….

Still nothing on either the email or by phone from Sami my contact with Ocean Tours who is ‘trying’ to organise the Libyan visa, it has been 6 days now without contact and I feel like the trail has gone cold almost making my mind up for me on the route home.

We got up bright and early and prepared to leave the excellent dive resort but realised there was no-one in reception until 8.30am and so had to wait around to collect our passports, make the payment and have our dive logs stamped.

Kees and the others headed off whilst Bre and I stayed behind, the Colonel being so much faster giving them a head start to sort out flights for Savannah and to get info on the Syrian visa situation. Eventually Mohammed arrived on site and we paid and said our goodbyes promising to return one day…

We arrived in Hurghada and met the others in the car park of the hotel we’d stayed in as we could get free wireless from there! Still nothing from Sami unsurprisingly. We did however get some good info re: they do grant visas at the border so we can just drive straight there and not have to stop at their embassy along the way wasting more time.

Our little convoy left the terrible town behind and after 314kms we stopped off at the Sahara Inn and Motel where we decided to stay the night. Savannah is likely to fly back to Canada tomorrow from Cairo and I have a feeling I am the chauffeur!

End of day location: Zafarana, Egypt
Distance covered: 314kms

8th December 08

2008-12-15T06:53:00.001-08:00

Date: 8th December 08
Location: Sharm El Naqa, Egypt
Weather: Windy and high clouds making it feel chilly but warm later. 28°c
Status: Changing plans and excited about it!

Up early as the wind was howling through the tent making it chilly, a quick bite of breakfast and then spent a while thinking through new options for the final three weeks of the trip….the Libyan visa application is taking far too long meaning that I probably won’t make it home in time for Xmas at this rate, something which would ruin the entire professional approach of Afritrex.

The second option which I have come up with is to drive the remaining 5000kms home but instead of going west through Libya, go east through Jordan, Syria and up into Turkey and mainland Europe. It would probably be the only way I’ll be able to make my Xmas Eve return date. The only sticking points may be the visa for Syria and the conditions of the roads through Turkey during these winter months.

Kees and I decided to head to the dive shop to check out the prices of the various options for exploring the underwater section of this amazing stretch of coastline and eventually decided a single beach dive would be the best option. The snorkelling here is the most incredible I’ve ever seen and only 10m from the waters edge there’s a huge amount to see as the ocean floor drops away from the coral edge. At the last minute Bre decide to come too and we all paid up and went for an exploratory snorkel just to whet the appetite!

After a light lunch we returned to the school to kit up and the procedures of my Open Water certification in Malawi came flooding back, Dusty who trained me back there was very safety conscious and in comparison this resort was ok but not quite as full on as her…it was a great place to learn.

We entered the water and ran through a few safety procedures, Bre taking lot of notice as she hadn’t dived for a year and wanted a good refresher session. As we dropped off the precipice the coral was fantastic and all around a multitude of fish species of all shapes, colours and sizes including moray eels, eagle rays, giant clams and almost everything else…apart from the elusive sharks damn it!

We descended to nearly 25m according to the dive instructors watch, we didn’t get issued with our own gauges which was odd, and that’s the deepest I’ve ever been to and the only slight problem I had was equalising my left ear which has always given me problems since I was kicked in it!

After 45 minutes our air levels were getting towards the red so we heading back to the shore and had a safety stop at 3m for 2 minutes and then left the ocean after a superb experience. We washed and packed the equipment away and warmed up in the showers.

Had a good dinner again and discussed the next few days with everyone, I would like to avoid Cairo and get moving as quickly as possible now in order to get home, along with Kees but the Watkins seem intent on trying to return there as they stayed there for a while. Whatever happens we’re going as quickly as possible home now!

End of day location: Sharm El Naqa, Egypt
Distance covered: 1km underwater

6th December 08

2008-12-15T06:51:00.000-08:00

Date: 6th and 7th December 08
Location: Marsa Alam, Egypt
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 32°c
Status: Disgusted by Hurghada!

Left the relative comfort of the café’s garden and hit the road north passing more and more resort style hotels in various states of being finished, their frequency increasing the further north we went towards Hurgahda.

Getting to the internet was the most important job to ensure that the visa applications had gone in to Sami as the email I had sent bounced back worryingly. We drove the relatively easy 250kms along boring straight tarmac and arrived just after lunch in what I can only describe as my idea of hell!!

Wall to wall hotels, souvenir shops and pushy salespeople wherever you went, and the town was full of foreign mainly European or Russian tourists all horribly taken in by the place. There is not an inch of beach front left for the public, purely reclaimed land for the next ghastly development!

Add to that the fact that the tourist police here won’t allow you to camp and I had an instant dislike for all around me! The only option was to check into a hotel for the night and head out as quickly as we could the next day, enter Hotel Zahabiha….

I won’t be staying here or anywhere like this ever again…now I can appreciate the value of the package holiday for some people but it has never, and will never, appeal to me! The room was good enough, the food was acceptable but the class of people here was, shall I say, slightly lower than normal! Enough said….

We got up early and Bre and I left the others in the town to go back down south towards Sharm el Naga, around 50kms away as is it indicated on the map there’s the chance of camping and as we could be waiting a few days for the visas to be issued I want to stay somewhere I can save money and enjoy too.

Arrived at the dive shop and the place had a good feel from the start, only around 20 guests on the beach, a friendly welcoming reception and crystal clear warm waters teeming with life…possibly the last of the trip!

We set up camp and told the others of our good fortune so they decided they’d join us in time for sunset, Ammon had other ideas and wanted to save more money by staying in Cairo in some hostel so left on an afternoon bus.

Bre and I went to the beach and snorkelled around loving the huge array of life everywhere, the fish come right up to you and even have a nibble of you let them…we’ll dive here tomorrow for sure!

Paradise has been found again after yesterday’s hell, thank god!

End of day location: Sharm el Naqa, Egypt
Distance covered: 50kms

5th December 08

2008-12-15T06:49:00.000-08:00

Date: 5th December 08
Location: Aswan, Egypt
Weather: Sorry but clear blue skies and sunshine again, 32°c
Status: After waiting all morning we’re moving again….

Got up bright and early for breakfast to enable us to get away as quickly as we could to try and get all the way up to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast…but for some reason noone else was; we were still waiting, annoyingly enough, for people to arrive at 11am…..ARGHHHH WHY DO I BOTHER SOMETIMES!!

We started the drive out of town and headed north along the banks of the Nile being stopped at every town by police checks, this is the first week following the stopping of the age-old convoy system which has operated here in Egypt for all tourist cars and buses and it appears they are still very much set in their old ways still!

We drove north to the town of Idfu and then as the sunlight-driving-hours-only curfew would be taking effect before we hit our intended destination for the night I decided to reroute us east towards the coast as it’d be easier to find a place to camp for the night away from the tourist trail.

We drove for three hours until we hit the Red Sea coastline and after another longer police stop entered Marsa Alam, a small town centred around diving on the magnificent reefs here.

We pulled up at a little restaurant and arranged with the owner to stay the night in hs grounds providing we ate there…usual story! Had a great meal of chicken and pizza and went to bed.

End of day location: Marsa Alam, Egypt
Distance covered: 375ks

4th December 08

2008-12-04T21:56:00.001-08:00

Date: 4th December 08
Location: Aswan, Egypt
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 35°c
Status: Almost able to move again….

Up early again and down for the free breakfast of boiled egg, bread and jam, yoghurt and coffee and then on the mission of continuing the quest for the Libya visa!

Went to the only free wireless internet location in the city…..ARGHHHHHHHHH ITS MCDONALDS!!!! I despise the place and everything it stands for but the temptation of a chargeless internet for the three hours I need there is too much to refuse…time to use them.

Updated all of the website and replied to emails before Kees and Savannah arrived on site to drag me away for some lunch in another location thankfully. Went back to the hotel to get Jose our Spanish friend and headed out of town towards the port to collect the rest of the Motley Cru!

Arrived there before the boat arrived so Jose could organise taking things from his vehicle before customs closed for the day and waited….

Finally the passengers from the boat started to disembark and the familiar faces of the Watkins family arrived through passport control. We loaded them up and headed back to the city and the hotel.

I disappeared with Kees and the three passports of myself, him and Bre to the translation agency to have the Arabic copy entered, a requirement for the next leg of the journey, they’d be ready at midnight after a good meal.

We all went out, minus Brandon, to Aswan Moon for some dinner which was great and then just before midnight headed back to collect the completed passports now with the translation.

End of day location: Aswan, Egypt
Distance covered: 25kms

2nd December 08

2008-12-04T03:28:00.001-08:00

Date: 2nd December 08
Location: Aswan, Egypt
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 33°c
Status: Awaiting the arrival of the rest of the group

Up early and took advantage of the free breakfast before the trail for the day started all over again, this time trying to get Kee’s leaf springs fixed which he snapped on the road out of Sudan.

Found a friendly taxi driver who knew the right sort of direction to be heading in and we all drove out of town in convoy to the industrial area where we found our goal. A tiny little garage that dealt solely in leaf springs, perfect!

They fabricated some new ones then as they were fitting them the other side decided to snap so it was back to the workshop to make some more these having been weakened by the harsh roads to.

We returned to the hotel late in the afternoon then I ran Jose down to the port to collect some of his things from his impounded VW van which has to stay there until he renews his carnet. Customs wouldn’t allow him to remove anything from it until the offices opened again in the morning so a wasted trip all round.

Went up to the Panorama Tower Bar at the Movenpick Hotel for a drink and then bed as early start in the morning for the trip to Abu Simbel.

End of day location: Aswan, Egypt
Distance covered: 24kms

1st December 08

2008-12-04T03:27:00.001-08:00

Date: 1st December 08
Location: Aswan, Egypt
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 30°c
Status: Bloomin marvellous actually!

Egyptian paperwork and bureaucracy all day long!!

Up early and had breakfast before Jose, Kees and I jumped into a taxi and headed back to the port; the scene of the unsuccessful exit the night previous! After nearly tow hours in customs dealing with a chain smoking semi-decent guy with an untrained secretary we left and headed for the traffic department.

Jumped the queue courtesy of our expert taxi driver and left with our next piece of Arabic paperwork which made no sense to us then straight to the insurance company to pay a ridiculous price for a service we paid for back in Tanzania…but the Egyptian’s fail to recognise for some reason, money no doubt!

By this time it was well past lunch and we returned to the traffic police who surprisingly promptly issued us with our number plates, Kees a 28 and me 23…in Arabic of course!

Back to the port to affix them to the vehicles and then we drove into town proudly displaying them for all to see!

End of day location: Aswan, Egypt
Distance covered: 30kms

30th November 08

2008-12-04T03:26:00.000-08:00

Date: 30th November 08
Location: Lake Nasser, Egypt
Weather: Totally stunning blue skies and sunshine, 34°c
Status: We are sailing, we are sailing…

The sound of the engines droning in the distance was enough to put me to sleep within minutes of my head hitting the pillow and it felt like only an instant later that the alarm clock on my phone went off to awake me from my heavy slumber…but I’m glad it did as the most beautiful sunrise erupted from behind the distant rocky shoreline. A warm yellow glow became a vivid orange before transforming into the red start of another day with us making great progress north at 14kph!

I spent the morning clearing the last of the dust from the Colonel as I tried to remove all trace of the difficult day spent racing towards Wadi Halfa, cleaned and repaired the little jobs that I’d been meaning to do for the last few weeks and even had time to catch up on the website and journal.

As lunchtime came and went we closed in on our destination Aswan and finally the port came into view around 4pm, it took half an our to dock and then all of a sudden the crew disappeared and we were left with our trucks stuck on the barge!

We finally found the fixer Mahmood who starting working his magic and within the hour we had somehow moved the barge onto the slipway and unload out precious cargo. We discussed with customs the idea of staying in our vehicles overnight and they were initially very receptive but once the boss had been asked the mood changed and we became a ‘security risk’ and with it all chances evaporated.

The four of us had to take a taxi into town to a hotel where we stayed the night much to our disgust!

End of day location: Aswan, Egypt
Distance covered: 347kms

29th November 08

2008-12-01T10:15:00.003-08:00

Date: 29th November 08
Location: Wadi Halfa, Sudan
Weather: As it has been for the last two weeks, hot and sunny, 37°c
Status: Moving but not driving….on the barge at last!

Up at first light and packed away after a light breakfast…today is the day when we separate for a few days and take different methods of shipping in order to arrive in Aswan.

We drove the trucks to Magdy’s office and went through the final paperwork in order to get our clearance for the shipping company. The Watkins, minus Savannah as somehow she managed to get herself on the barge too with an oscar-winning emotional drama queen performance, organised where they’d be staying for the next few nights as they await the passenger ferry.

A couple of hours later all was completed and Kees and I drove into the customs area of the port and finally onto our barge. Unpowered and chained to the side of two other barges, our floating home for the next two days was manoeuvred into position alongside the powered version complete with radar and wheelhouse and after a few minutes of work by the crew we were in position for the journey ahead.

It forms an exciting part of the trip and one which I’ve read about extensively on the web and through contact with other overlanders, this is the last part of the journey from Cairo down to Cape Town which cannot be driven due to military reasons…at least for the next year as there is a new road being built which will render this part of the trip redundant, a real shame as its really quite romantic…just wish Bre was here to share it with!

After we’d cruised at 13.5km/h for just over an hour we arrived at the border, well a group of huts and a camel on the west of the lake, and the barge was driven right up to the beach until it could go no further. The officials from Egypt came on board confirmed the passports and vehicles were in order and promptly left again, we continued on our way.

The sunset was spectacular to the rear of the vessel but half an hour too early as we arrived at the banks of the Abu Simbel temple just after it had dipped below the horizon….to dark for photos, but then all of a sudden the tourist light show started and we were treated to an awesome sight as we slowly cruised past, the temple illuminated in all of its brilliance, and for free!

Its great to be moving towards the next country and the downtime gives me a chance to clean and repair the truck after the last few rushed days of dusty bumpy travel.

End of day location: Lake Nasser, Egypt
Distance covered: 95kms at bedtime

28th November 08

2008-12-01T10:15:00.001-08:00

Date: 28th November 08
Location: Abri, Sudan
Weather: Another stinking hot one for us, 38°c
Status: Ready for the day ahead and the ferry….

Up at 6.30am after only four hours sleep and bleary eyed we got the trucks warmed up again. It barely seemed the engines had cooled down before we were calling on our steeds to once again carry us through the worst of the roads that this part of Africa has to offer! How they continue to run day after day I’m unsure, but this really could be the final day of off road driving that the expedition has to offer…from here to home its tarmac all the way!

Once the diesel had been filled up it was the usual process of me leading trying to pick the best track through the dust and roadworks with Kees following a fair distance behind to avoid the worst of the dust I was throwing up at him. We continued for a couple of hours with the scenery changing from level sand desert to more rocky and mountainous with the new road cutting its way through the stark landscape.

We had to stop and wait for Kees a couple of times as the tortoise developed more problems with a sticking clutch pedal and then more leaf springs breaking under the strain of still carrying too much weight.

After three hours the dust finally ended and we were graced with 50kms of new tarmac leading into the port town of Wadi Halfa on Lake Nasser, the last road section we’d be using in Sudan. We drove straight to Madgy’s office, a contact who’s well known amongst overlanders as he sorts all of the paperwork for you when you arrive.

It felt a bit of a copout really as everything he did we have done ourselves for the past 11 months….carnet, passport etc but his efficiency and knowledge of the system is second to none and allowed us to sit and watch for once. I felt a bit like Ewan McGregor and hated it…..being pampered in such a way!

Once we’d sorted everything and arranged a departure time of 7.30am we headed back to Magdy’s place for a well earned shower and drove out of town back into the desert to find a camping spot.

Cooked spaghetti Bolognese and went to bed. Big day tomorrow as Kees and I leave the group for a few days as only the drivers of the vehicles can travel with them, the Watkins will join us at a later date in 5 days time when the passenger ferry docks in Aswan.

End of day location: Wadi Halfa
Distance covered: 198kms

27th November 08

2008-12-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

Date: 27th November 08
Location: Meroe, Sudan
Weather: Blue, blue skies, one of the hottest parts of the trip….40°c
Status: Making great progress towards the next border….

We awoke at first light with the most incredible view around us of the famous pyramids at the old Royal City at Meroe and before the office opened and the touts arrived all went for a walk around the World Heritage Site, a little naughty I know to avoid paying the entrance fee but you have to appreciate quite how incredible this place is without the hassles!

As there was such along way to cover on the roads we decided it’d be a day of continual progress with our final destination being the end of the tarmac just north of Dongola….before another “Road of Hell!”

Progress went well, sudan has got some of the best asphalt roads in Africa and we arrived at Atbara by mid morning and then proceeded to sit at the ferry point to wait for the next available ride across the Nile. Three boats came and three boats went each time the damn thing pulled into one of the other waiting areas beside us…but never our one even though we’d been advised which one to wait at. Frustration grew and eventually we commandeered our floating barge to take us across…and then we were on the road again.

The sun dropped low in the sky and eventually disappeared behind the horizon but still we pressed on, it seemed at times we were the only vehicles on the road which absolutely nothing in the way of traffic passing us for almost two hours. We turned north at Dongola and followed the new tarmac until 20kms from the town it ran out…abruptly and became the suspected roadwork infected stretch we’d all been dreading.

Rocks, sand and deep sections of pure mud dust became our hell for the next few hours as we struggled to see the correct route through the darkness and battled with the clouds of dust which surrounded the vehicles as soon as we slowed. We’d fuelled up a good 400kms beforehand and were growing anxious our tans would soon be empty and summoned the powers of the gps to find our next stop off….some 180kms north, at the speed we were travelling at it’d be another 3hrs before we’d arrive there….after 2am!

The constant attention and strain on both drivers and vehicles finally came to and end at just before 3am when we pulled into the silent town of Abri, found the diesel pumps and parked 100m away on the bank of the Nile ready for an early off in the morning. A very tiring but successful day.

End of day location: Abri, Sudan
Distance covered: 800kms

26th November 08

2008-12-01T10:13:00.002-08:00

Date: 26th November 08
Location: Khartoum, Sudan
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine….flippin hot! 40°c
Status: Hopeful and happy with the arrangements…

Up early in the morning to start the day off well with a quick phone call to Midhat to see what the update was o the situation with the ferry….he still hadn’t called them so we pottered around for the morning awaiting his call back, which never came!

Kees, Savannah, Bre and I headed out for some breakfast and could only find a take away open so had to settle for chicken schwarma at 10am washed down by another excellent juice. That’s one good thing about a country with no alcohol allowed, they do make more of an effort with their non-alcoholic juices and smoothies!

Called the second of the contacts I had the details for, a guy called Magdy who is based in Wadi Halfa and is also a good source on information for ferry information….Midhat was proving to be unreliable so I had to go elsewhere, simple!

This proved much more fruitful as he told us there was the large barge which we would need in order to get Kee’s truck on board, actually sitting at the dock in Wadi Halfa but would be leaving tomorrow which wouldn’t leave us enough time to cover the 1000kms between us and it before it departed.

Enter Ben and some diplomacy…..”if the barge waits around for us then surely the truck that is on it will benefit financially once we arrive by splitting the cost between us all?”. Magdy disappeared and called back 10 minutes later to say they wait for us but we would have to pay the daily mooring rate of $175 for every day it was delayed….no problem, we’d just halved the cost of the barge and were sure we could make it in 3 days anyway.

We left the Blue Nile Sailing club, went to the supermarket to stock up on food and supplies (on the way Kees had to pay S£100 to a guy he ran across the front of with his truck…ooops) and filled up on the lovely cheap fuel at 30p per litre.

Took the road out of the capital and drove out of the city passing the numerous police road blocks and out into the surrounding desert again….long tarmac stretches with infinite horizons off into the distance and nothing more.

Drove until an hour after sundown to the ancient site of the pyramids at Meroe, had a quick walk around them in the dark and went to bed.

A long hot days drive tomorrow me thinks…..

End of day location: Meroe, Sudan
Distance covered: 238kms

25th November 08

2008-12-01T10:13:00.001-08:00

Date: 25th November 08
Location: Khartoum, Ethiopia
Weather: Very, very hot and sunny. 40°c
Status: Baking in the daytime…..

Up at first light which is the only time of day during which you can acheve anything as the temperature is so much lower! Packed away the tent quickly and updated some more of the website then Bre, Ammon and I drove out to the ony bank in town which supposedly would allow you to use a visa card to withdraw local currency.

Found the brnch no problem and after a quck chat with the manager established that this ervice had been available up until a week ago but since a US businessman used it and the American government found out this loophole in the countries sanctions against Sudan, it has been closed, damn them!

Instead swapped some dollars at the Forex and then got all the photocopies we’d need in order to gain our registration with the government here, a clever money making initiative which means all aliens must register within three days of arriving in the country at a cost of $40. Once they’d all been completed we handed them in together with the relevant form and photo and waited.

During this time we drove off to find a Land Rover parts place which by chance had removed a rear shock absorber mount from an old vehicle the day before and let me have it at a knock-down price. I’ll keep it should the other one fail.

Stopped at the office of one of the travel agents who helps organise the barge across Lake Nasser for information and it turns out that we’ve just missed one of them by a day and the next scheduled one leaves on December 10th ….too late for us. The charge to charter one independently of other people is $3500!!!! He will find out if there are any others booked we could get on with. I really do hope there is….

Returned to collect the completed passports and then back to the camp for an afternoon siesta in the sweltering heat of mid-afternoon…how they cope when the mercury hits 50°c in the summer I don’t know!

Filled the truck with water and supplies before getting heading out for dinner with Bre and then going to bed.

End of day location: Khartoum, Sudan
Distance covered: 10kms

24th November 08

2008-12-01T10:12:00.002-08:00

Date: 24th November 08
Location: Gederef, Sudan
Weather: Totally hot, sunny and too hot! 39°c
Status: Into another capital city today….

Up at just before sunrise to witness the massive fiery ball breaking the horizon with Kees. His fanbelt gave up the ghost yesterday and needed replacing so we sert about it before the others appearedand half an hour later we were done.

No Kees occasionally likes to do things which are out of the ordinary and this was to be one of those mornings! “Ben I’ve always wanted to roll a huge boulder off the top of a hill and film it….are you up for it?” Of course I was!!

So we loaded a couple of bottle jacks into the backpack and he, Savannah and I set of up the large hill behind the trucks with the intention of causing a rather unnatural landslide…not recommended I know but very amusing potentially! We made it to the top in just over half an hour and positioned ourselves on the side facing the others below and after choosing a suitable boulder Kees placed the jack under the edge ready for the off. Brandon was filming from below and at the countdown the jack was pumped until the massive rock tilted enough to drop off the side of the hill and smash heavily down the slope until coming to rest at the bottom in a cloud of dust and crashing noises!

A very amusing episode and safe as there was no one else for miles around. Mum I know you wouldn’t approve!

We hit the road and made good distance along the long, featureless road with just the usual racing buses making up the other vehicles on the journey. The outskirts of Khartoum came into sight around three hours later and what a surprise it was!

Its probably the mot westernised North African city I’ve been to with great roads, signs and markings, loads of new looking businesses and vehicles of mainly less than ten years old! Our destination was the Alien registration office in the centre of the town and the traffic was pretty heavy so slow progress meant we didn’t get there in time before it closed….damn it again!

So back tomorrow for the paperwork which means we can be in the country legally at last! We headed to the Blue Nile Sailing club, a well known overlander hang out and found another Landie from Germany there. We had a good chat and enjoyed the view from the banks of the Nile before all heading out to dinner with a couple of guys called Roland and Ras, nutters and great fun as they took us all in the open back of their 1980’s Land Rover 90!

Came back and poached free internet from the wireless of the sailing club before heading to bed.

End of day location: Khartoum, Sudan
Distance covered: 308kms

23rd November 08

2008-12-01T10:12:00.001-08:00

Date: 23rd November 08
Location: Just short of the Ethiopia/Sudan border
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, great for driving
Status: Moving on quicker than expected….

The perfect choice of location for the camp last night ensured an early rise with the sun blasting through the tents door, so after a quick bite of breakfast we hit the road again….or the road hit us again with more uncomfortable stony track after we’d cleared the initial 20kms of tarmac.

The route to the border passed through small villages and dusty tracks until we finally arrived at the border with Sudan. A hustling, bustling border post with the usual hassle of money changers on the Ethiopian side but once we’d got through no-mans-land the situation changed into a more orderly and logical Sudanese side.

We entered the immigration area and checked ourselves into the police station where we filled in the usual forms but they wouldn’t allow us to register there, instead we would have to head to Gederaf around 150kms into the country, no matter as we had three days to do it.

Kees and I sat in the customs hall waiting for the officials to stamp our carnets and after the obligatory coffee and tea session with them, had our documents returned all in order. We were happy to get on the move again and this time the tarmac lasted for the entire distance to the town of Gederaf!

We followed the gps through the streets to the police station, went in to see the female police chief and were told that the office was now closed as it was a Sunday and that we could either come back tomorrow or complete the registration in Khartoum at a reduced rate….we didn’t need to be told twice!

Another 75kms down the flat, featureless road we spotted a group of low lying hills off to the side of the road and pulled off the highway to make camp for the night.

End of day location: Past Gederaf, Sudan
Distance covered: 308kms

22nd November 08

2008-12-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

Date: 22nd November 08
Location: Gonder, Ethiopia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 32°c
Status: Amazed that we’re on the move finally!

Got up at first light and packed everything away after a quick bit of breakfast, and then found we were blocked in by no less than three other cars…had to wait for 45 minutes before they shifted their asses and we could leave the decrepit old hotel grounds.

Took the road out of town towards Gorgora to go and find the Dutch place….thats all the information they gave us, the Dutch Place!!! The stony road to the lake took just over and hour and surprise surprise we had another puncture as expected around the valve of the tyre which hadn’t had the plastic collar put onto to it in the first place!! So for the seventh time on two days I changed the wheel 

Arrived in Gorgora and had no idea where to head to but the helpful locals all said “Tim’s place” questioningly. They pointed us in the right direction and we followed a track through the shacks until we spotted Kee’s truck in the distance. Ammon was up and about and we all decided that today would be the day we’d try and get moving towards the next of the countries, Sudan.

Bre and I left in the Colonel to get to Gonder first in order to sort out a few replacement inner tubes in case we needed replacements with our current run of luck, to have a final juice at the Sofa Juice bar and to do some last minute shopping. By 2pm all of the jobs had been finished and we made our way meet Kees who was waiting for us.

We departed from Gonder and instantly lost the good tarmac and as expected hit the painfully rough and rocky unmade road towards the border…and then all of a sudden we had perfect tarmac….and then all of sudden it was gone again! Gotta love these African road finishing schemes!

We drove on until the sun as just dropping out of the sky and found a bush camp at the edge of the road which was out of view, flat and ready for out weary heads.

End of day location: Bush camp, 75kms short of Sudan border
Distance covered: 275kms

21st November 08

2008-11-24T13:44:00.001-08:00

Date: 21st November 08
Location: Chenek Camp, Simien National Park, Ethiopia
Weather: Cold to start then the sun came out and hot again, 28°c
Status: Relaxed finally after the worst day of the trip so far….

It all started off ok, I woke up after the epic effort that put I yesterday in order to complete the ninth of the Afritrex challenges feeling very happy, not sore at all and desperate to get back to Gonder in time to meet Kees and the rest of the Watkins who’d hopefully be there so we can start the rush across Sudan.

Lowered myself down the ladder with no ills effects being felt, grabbed my washbag and trotted across the campsite to the gurgling mountain stream which was at the far side….frost and ice were all along the banks so I woke myself up with a good old fashioned ice-cream-headache dunking of the head and shave…brrr!

Cooked up a storm of an English breakfast which I’d pictured in my head whilst ascending the last part of the climb…the full works, eggs, toast, beans and bacon talk about needed after everything Ras Dashen had taken.

The Colonel developed a leaking shock absorber on the drive up here so finally I had a chance to sort out replacing it with the spare I was carrying…all went well and within an hour we were all packed up and on the road. We gave Nana, my scout from the past few days, a lift back to Debark 56kms down the stony, broken but totally stunning track passing shepherd boys who gracefully waved, then threw stones. Vast mountain ranges and drops and more Gelada Baboons at the edge of the road with their wavy long blond hair…..quite like me Bre told me!

We dropped off Nana and collected my certificate of completion and started on the even worse rocky, stony, dangerous road of 120kms to Gonder…all was going well for the first 60kms then the Colonel started to swerve from left to right. Was it my suspension repair that had gone wrong? No instead the first puncture since having the new tyres fitted in South Africa (I do think I’m due one when you look at the state of the tyres after the last few thousand kms!). I stopped and started to change it and within 5 minutes had a crowd of 15 women and children all around looking and laughing amongst themselves! A old man joined us an tried to help but was pretty useless and within 15 minutes after a round of handshakes and photos we were on our way again…with me very unhappy at the failure of the tyre!

So we potter along and 10kms later a loud bang and hiss…..yep another tyre has blown, balls what a shocking road it was proving to be! We stop again and again a crowd forms this time a young lad whose good at gymnastics and stretching decides to have a stretch-off with Bre and the two of them go through more and more intricate twists, cartwheels and turns all to the amusement of those gathered. In the meantime I change the second tyre of the day and my frustration growing immensely. We receive a text message from the Watkins that they haven’t made it to Gonder as planned instead to Gorgora on Lake Tana some 60kms away down an equally as bad dirt road….why couldn’t they just keep to the plan and meet at Gonder…..ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!! Sometime I think I shouldn’t wait for Kees as it may well hinder my challenge to get home for Xmas Eve…..

We finally arrive on Gonder as the sun is setting and drive straight to the nearest tyre depot where the run down little place and its two guys set about trying to fix the problem. Instead of simply inserting rubber plugs as they would in most of Africa they instead take the entire tyre off and affix a patch to the inside of the tyre…yeah great one guys as your compressor has absolutely no power and can’t get the tyre back on the rim…muppets. I try a few tricks I’ve learnt but nothing works so I have two tyres sitting there and no air in them.

I hate using inner tubes if not necessary but the situation calls for it and I dig two out of the truck and they proceed to stick them in….now I should have watched them as they failed to put the essential plastic collars around the valves to prevent chaffing, but I didn’t and they didn’t!

So I drive off thanking them, get to the run down old Fawlty Towers style hotel, stuff a crap dinner down watched in the room and pestered continually by the four cast there, and return to the truck to hear a hissing noise from the front tyre! ARGHHHHHHHH AGAIN!!!

Bre heads off to bed and I decide I can do this better myself so dig out all the tyre changing kit, proceed to fit new inner tubes (the last I have) and an hour later have the tyres back on and ready to go.

A day of frustration, I changed 6 tyres in all and now feel more knackered than yesterday….no one said this was going to be easy. I sincerely hope that tomorrow when we arrive at Gorgora to meet Kees, he and the family are ready to drive to the border or I feel I will have to leave them in order to make the boat across from Wadi Halfa which leaves on the 1st….it really is all about this boat now.

Fingers crossed for better things tomorrow….

End of day location: Gonder, Ethiopia
Distance covered: 168kms

Ras Dashen ascent

2008-11-24T12:29:00.004-08:00

Ras Dashen ascent

Let me give you a quick background to the reasons behind my particularly tough and exhausting last few days which saw me complete the ninth and last of the ten challenges on African soil.

In order to complete the Afritrex expedition as I planned it and arrive back in the UK to complete the tenth and final challenge of the final marathon back into my home town of Petersfield, I have to be at Lake Nasser on December 1st to catch the boat across from Sudan into Egypt. This will give me ‘just’ enough time to make it across the remaining countries and back to England. If I fail to get to that boat I would have to wait another week and my dream would be extinguished…..

To climb Ras Dashen takes a minimum of three days but I don’t have that long as every day is essential in order to reach my goal so I have to make time somehow and the simplest of ways is to cut down the ascent time by a day and try to do the entire climb in two.

So that’s exactly what I tried to do! I left Bre looking after the Colonel at the Chenneck base camp at 3600m above sea level on a cold a frosty morning with the sun just warming the cold rocky ground, I’d decided that I’d really put myself through it by carrying all of my own it including tent, backpack and water for the three days which gave me a combined weight of nearly 18kgs…it all felt god for the first hour!

My scout for the trip was called Nana and spoke two words of English, “good” and “ok”….as with many Africans these are standard answers to everything and have no bearing on what the question is! He came equipped with a funny furry hat and open toed sandals, not the most practical clothing to take on such a challenge but he set the pace anyway as we started up the steep slope to the first pass we’d have to cross.

I hadn’t really grasped quite how taxing this climb would be and based it on the fact that all of the others had been straight up and down climbs which involved the first few days ascending and a final hard push to summit and get back to the base camp by simply dropping down in altitude to the exit.

Ras Dashen involves three separate ascents the first of which takes you over the second highest mountain in Ethiopia at 4200m asl, it’s a hard trek as the air is thin and the backpack is full at this stage and as you break the summit you then drop down sharply in altitude over rocks and down dusty mule tracks until you reach the valley floor at 2800m, having lost 1400m in altitude but the day isn’t finished there as the camp for the night is another 500m up in a small village. By the time I got here is was shattered, the days exertions had taken their toll and my thighs were starting to cramp up, something I’ve never had before! Eek not good for the next day.

I set up camp in the afternoon sun and fell asleep in the warmth of my tent before waking an hour later and scoffing down three of the army ration packs I’ve carried all the way around Africa just for this moment! And delightful they were too…not! Lamb hot pot, chicken and herb dumplings and fruit dumplings with custard!

In the late afternoon I’d conceded to myself that in order to make it back to the starting camp by the end of the next day I would have to employ some local help or I’d never make it and organised a mule and boy to carry my backpack up the last of the slopes and through the pass.

Nana and I arranged to wake at 3am and to leave just after in able to make the challenge in one day. When the alarm went off the next morning Nana was nowhere to be seen and after a search of the living quarters where the scouts stayed failed to come up with anything and had no option but to head back to bed….damn him! I woke again at 4am and tried once more but the idiot was fast asleep still until I spotted him under his shawl and wriggled him with my foot to wake him from his slumber…

We finally left on the dot of 5am, two hours late! Our ascent in the darkness was lit by only my headtorch as Nana had nothing with him, and we wound our way up through the fields and villages which amazingly appear all they way up to 3800m, the very fertile soil and warm daytime temperatures providing good growing conditions. We arrived at the rocky slope leading up to the peak with the sun just breaking to horizon after a three hour ascent and made our way to the final hand-over-hand climb of the wall to the summit.

I took Nana’s rifle from him as he scrambled up and he took my trekking pole in return, then we were there at 4543m asl and at the top of the final one of Afritrex’s five summits which the expedition consisted of! Success indeed and after taking the obligatory photos of our achievement we gathered our things and started the descent passing others on the way.

We arrived back in camp at 11am, I found my boy and mule and tried to confirm that we’d be off in a few minutes time once I’d collapsed the tent, however there was no mule! Arse, all that planning the day before and it had fallen apart!

Instead a local boy offered to carry my bag for me, I packed up tent and bag, loaded my new ‘mule’ with my load and we set off down the slope to the valley floor below. We arrived at the river an hour later and ate the last of my ration packs to give me enough energy to take on the greater of the two climbs for the day, a massive 1400m!

We passed through the village with the local children following me and the guide saying “salaam” and “hello” over and over until I replied, very touching but also very annoying when your knackered!

It took a huge effort to get over that final 200m to the top of the pass for all of us and when we finally broke the summit we all stopped and congratulated each other before heading down the final 800m descent past Gelada Baboons and Mountain Ibix. Bre rushed to greet me and the efforts of the last two days hit home as the legs collapsed and I threw down food and water to replace the lost energy.

This was the hardest of the lot, the effort required was more than the Comrades, or it seemed so at the time, but two days later the legs feel back to normal and I now can’t wait to find an excuse to get to another slope sometime soon!

18th November 08

2008-11-24T12:29:00.003-08:00

Date: 18th November 08
Location: Debre Tabor
Weather: Great driving weather with sunshine all the way. 32°c down to 4°c at night
Status: Preparing for the next of the challenges, and the cold!

Up at 5.30am with the sun still hidden behind the horizon so packed the tent away in the dark, had a quick bite of breakfast and hit the road….the unbuilt road again!

A short 75kms drive brought us to the junction with the tarmac again which we were all pleased to see after the last few days driving. This Africa trip has hardened me to the delights of African roads and made me want an appreciate the good smooth black stuff even more than before and the UK’s roads will never give me anything to complain about….EVER AGAIN!

Drove the relatively easy 120kms towards Gonder, stopping briefly on the way to visit the ruins of an castle built in the early 1500’s which took us up an overgrown 4x4 track which added to the air of mystery surrounding the place, however the gang of 20 odd locals who unofficially escorted us around the place took this away straight away! We paid one of them for taking us around, far too little according to him of course…so we turned the Colonel around a left much to his disgust!

Arriving in Gonder we stopped off at a recommendation in the guide for a fruit juice of mango, strawberry, papaya and avocado all served in a single glass but separated from each other…..tasted awesome! Gathered some extra cash for the ascent of Ras Dashen as I’d no idea how much it was likely to cost and took the road north out of the city.

After the pleasure of the tarmac it was back to the painful ungraded rocky road for another 2hr drive to Debark, the base town for the Simien National Park, and this time the road had taken its toll on the Colonel. I noticed under one of the back wheels a pool of oil ad finally after 33,000 miles one of the rear shock absorbers had given up and burst. Not too bad a performance really! A change will be needed as I have a replacement sometime in the next few days but getting to the mountain is the most important thing now.

I arrived at the park office and made the relevant arrangements for the climb, they told me that I’d need to take three days for the ascent but if the guide agreed then we could try and do it in two. I really need to do it in as little time as possible as the days between here and the likely ferry date of December 3rd are too few, so making them up here is essential if I’m to make it back to the UK in time for Xmas as planned!

Bre will be staying with the truck during the climb but the park regulations state that she’ll need an armed scout with her at all times in case of problems in the park, typical but good insurance I suppose. He jumped in the truck with us complete with his trusty antique looking musket, and we drove along an incredible scenic mountain pass for 56kms passing groups of Gelada Baboons, Mountain Ibix and unique birds to this area. The Colonel hadn’t been above 3500m before yesterday and now today he’s quite happily driving along at 3700m, a first for him!

The campsite at Chennak is at 3660m above sea level and has the most spectacular views all around, as the sun set we put the camp together and cooked the most terrible dinner of pancakes and cheese/bacon sauce….everything seemed to go wrong!

Noticed in the evening that some shit had stolen one of my water containers from the roofrack whilst the truck had been parked up, must have been while we slept in the room at Lal Hotel, Lalibela. The idiot forced the retaining bar and broke it but is suppose they must have needed it for something more than I did. Oh well.

Its damn cold now the suns gone down, from 30°c when we arrived down to 0°c now….eek and a harsh reminder of what the UK holds for me when I get back to England!

End of day location: Simien Mountains NP, Ethiopia.
Distance covered: 280kms

16th November 08

2008-11-24T12:29:00.001-08:00

Date: 16th November 08
Location: Woldia, Ethiopia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine…again! Awesome day for driving. 30°c
Status: Loving being off on our own again….the world is a good place today!

Awoke from a deep sleep in the luxury surrounds of the Lal Hotel, Woldiya’s car park! Was another cold night as we’re at altitude so we packed the tent away quickly, got the engine running and the heaters on to warm our cockpit. As we left the fuel station in the town we were stopped by a guy selling the local Ethiopian scarves, of which I bought two, one for me and one for a friend who’ll really appreciate it when I get home!

The road ahead for the day I knew to be a testing one, called the China Road as it was originally built by them in the 70’s and its condition ranges from decent graded gravel to messy muddy surface in the rainy season so we were unsure how we’d find it!

This was one of the best and most scenic drives of the entire trip, similar in the quality of scenery that we’d seen in Rwanda but the whole scale of things has been racked up ten notches. The farming is more colourful, the altitude makes the air clearer, the drops from the side of the road are more frightening and the enormity of the mountain ranges are difficult to take in…not for the first time we have overused the word ‘wow’ all day long.

We stopped for breakfast half way up one of the passes, probably one of the only places we’d be able to get half an hour free of people as this is such a populated country and time by yourself is literally unheard of! Once we’d had the usual I tried to start the Colonel and nothing….no starter motor at all, it had happened once before in Malawi and that time we’d luckily been facing downhill, this time we were facing up a mountain pass with a 300m drop behind us!

Bre and I tried to push the Colonel up the hill and got a few metres before the gradient hit us, we jammed a rock under the wheel and waited for the next vehicle to pass, five minutes later it arrived and three guys jumped out to help us. We all pushed and I bump started it and we were on our way again. Fingers crossed it was another rare occurrence…..

We continued to climb up in altitude until we were at the highest point the Colonel has ever been to a chilly 3547m, he puffed a little more than usual but made it along the freshly graded road surface with no problems, we even had a few stretches of fresh tarmac to up the average speed. We eventually hit the village of Dilba and turned right down a bumpy track, after 10 mins we decided we taken the wrong turn and headed back to the junction to take the longer but correct road to the town of Lalibela.

We dropped off the high escarpment and down into the valley below passing groups of children and the occasional farmer tending his fields, an hour later we’d arrived at the tarmac road which led into the town of Lalibela, famous for its rock-hewn churches built in the 12th century.

We made our way through the narrow streets to the Lal Hotel…again, this time a collection of local style tafel double storey roundhouses rather than a standard hotel. Camping was damn expensive so it worked out cheaper to take a room which was different!

Our priority was to have a tour of the churches as soon as possible and spoke to the reception who organised a guide to come an hour later to meet us. There are 11 churches in total and the tour is usually split over 2 four hour tours of each location, but in traditional Afritrex style efficientness we managed to cramp it all into one afternoon!

A short taxi ride took us to the first and largest of the churches which was an amazing sight. Originally built by King Lalibela in response to divine intervention when he saw a shining light in the sky when staying there in the 1100’s…apparently it was Haley’s Comet. It is then believed that all of the 11 churches were excavated from the surrounding hillside in 25 years by one of two ways (1) with the assistance of angels or by (2) a team of some 40,000 people. Being a sceptic I believe the second!

There are two collections of churches all of which are all linked to each other by a series of underground channels and tunnels and are truly incredible works of architectural magnificence. The largest of the churches is 37m x 50m long and contains 12 rooms, they al have intricate carvings on the walls and ceilings and have now been protected from the elements with a permanent modern looking roof to divert the rains and damaging sunlight.

We visited all of them taking loads of photos as we went and then as the afternoon drew to a close walked back down the hill with our guide through the streets of the town passing villagers and the locals who were as interested in us as we were in them!

Dinner at the hotel then bed.

End of day location: Lalibela, Ethiopia
Distance covered: 180kms

15th November 08

2008-11-24T12:28:00.003-08:00

Date: 15th November 08
Location: Debre Birhan, Ethiopia
Weather: Clear blue skies and cold overnight, scattered clouds in the day. 32°c
Status: Happy Ethiopia has come up with the goods and is awesome….

Up at first light to get a full days drive in, yesterday was a pretty hard short drive on roads which I didn’t enjoy! We packed up the tent and said goodbye to Johann the biker from South Africa and turned north out of the village passing the early morning traffic of horse drawn carts and donkeys.

The road was the same as yesterday for the first 50kms and rose in altitude again until we were sitting right up in the clouds at 3100m, the Colonel not particularly liking the thin air which has exacerbated his wheezy chest and resulted in more unsightly smoke being produced….a bit of a worry as we have now left the relatively mechanic-safe environment of Addis and entered the much more rural countryside.

As we entered a tunnel which had ben drilled through the mountain range the road suddenly improved and the smooth tarmac of the south was back with us, much better for the average speed as we’d only been running at just over 40kph for the last hour.

At the side of the road we spotted a group of Gelada Baboons picking away at the mountain grasses, they’re pretty rare and the subject of a few nature documentaries I’ve seen so we were really chuffed to have seen them and been able to photograph them from the comfort of the Colonel. They have a strange red/pink marking on their chests which looks like a conventional baboon’s ass!

The scenery was incredible and the wow factor is back in the truck as Bre and I struggle to photograph all of the amazing sights were experiencing. The green, fertile, mountainous terrain is punctuated by vast flood plains with rocky, dry river beds which in the rains you could imagine look like aqua battlefields not the serene grazing lands we’ve driven through today.

As the road stayed the good tarmac we’ve come to love we managed to cover a good few kms in the latter part of the day and managed to get all of the way through to Weliyda around 380kms from our starting point. It’s a pretty non descript sort of town but gives us the ideal stepping stone to get into Lalibela early tomorrow to visit the famous rock-hewn churches which make up one of the official eight wonders of the world.

We’re staying in the car park of the Lal Hotel in the town, it was our first choice but was then also recommended to us by a little Italian overlanding lady we met on the drive here today. I thought I was doing something pretty extreme with this travelling thing but she’s doing Rome to Cape Town all by herself in a Toyota Land cruiser….mad.

End of day location: Wolida, Ethiopia
Distance covered: 380kms

14th November 08

2008-11-24T12:28:00.001-08:00

Date: 14th November 08
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Weather: A few clouds today but the sun was still out and shining, 32°c
Status: Wahoo, we’re moving again!!

Up good and early to get the list of jobs done before leaving the capital for the last time, the visas are in the bag, the truck is prepared and we now need to haul ass to get home in time for Christmas!

Bre and I have decided to leave the others again for a few days, they wanted to stay in the capital for a few days longer and we need to get ahead in order to climb Ras Dashen and be back in Gonder by the time they arrive in around a weeks time.

It felt great to be off on our again, the road our destiny and the spirit of adventure truly coursing through our veins once more. Lets see if the people of the north are as friendly as those in the south….

We stocked up on supplies in the supermarket, filled with fuel and took the road out of the city, it wound up the hillside through small towns with the usual cattle and donkey slowing our progress occasionally. The landscape becoming more farmed and arable based as we went which gave us amazing views into the distance forming patchwork on the hills around.

Another road under repair though I’m afraid with long sections of rocky diversions, dusty times following construction trucks and worryingly the occasional puff of white smoke from the Colonel, hopefully a sign of the terrible quality Ethiopian fuel rather than the Colonel developing lung problems this late in the expedition!

We drove for a few hours until we reached the town of Debre Birhan and made our way to the Adaklu Hotel in the centre of town as it offered a secure courtyard for the night. We haggled over the cost for a while then made the tent and enjoyed some dinner with some overlanders on their motorbikes who had left Europe a couple of months ago and were heading to South Africa. The usual exchanging of route info, latest maps and stories until I decided it was time for a movie and bed.

A cold one though as we’re up to 3000m above sea level so a good chance of frost in the morning, yuk.

End of day location: Debre Birhan, Ethiopia
Distance covered: 130kms

12th November 08

2008-11-24T12:27:00.003-08:00

Date: 12th November 08
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine…this is the rainy season in africa, what’s happening! 33°c
Status: Still on the visa mission….

Up early again, packed away the tent and cooked Bre and I a full English breakfast, yum indeed.

Hit the roads of the capital to the Sudanese embassy to hand in the forms required to start our applications. The same unfriendly guy met us at the gate; I’d make it my job today to get him to smile whatever happened!

We queued to hand in the forms and have them checked, were then told to wait for our turn to be called back to the window, this took half an hour until we got them back with a load of red scribble on them to say they’d been accepted, first job done. Mr Oh-So-Unfriendly then ushered us around to the accounts window where we’d have to pay the admin fee of $61 each except the US visa which is $150! This completed the next stage was to return to the first window to hand them back in where we were told to come back tomorrow at 3pm to collect them!! What a palaver!

So ack to the camp again to start the next line of enquiry which will enable me to get home as planned…the ferry across the Aswan from Wadi Halfa. There are many different stories on quite how difficult it is to book a place for the vehicles here and with Kees’s huge truck in tow its essential that we get the particulars right early on. I take a few numbers in Egypt and Sudan, try to call them and get nowhere….typical Africa again. Will try tomorrow.

Kees, Savannah, Bre and I headed off to the pool to cool down and use the internet, there’s only one place to go in the city and that’s the opulent luxury of the Sheraton Hotel again, full of businessmen and official looking people we traipse in straight off the street with our towels under our arms in shorts…the reaction of the doorman wa brilliant, and I think he actually had a great time joking with us as we out our towels and laptops through the security scanner!

Had a bite to eat in the town and went to bed.

End of day location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Distance covered: 10kms

11th November 08

2008-11-24T12:27:00.001-08:00

Date: 11th November 08
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine. 32°c
Status: Awaiting the visa process again…

Up early, a bite of breakfast then headed out with Amo and Bre to get to the Egyptian embassy to drop off the receipts which they require as proof of where we’d acquired our Ethiopian currency from, they accepted them and told us to return at 4pm to collect our passports.

We all went along to the Sudanese embassy next to start the line of enquiry as to what we’d need for this visa, its renowned as being a really tough one to get with the grumpiest staff in their embassies, a fact which I can pay testament to after our experience with the unfriendly lady in Nairobi!

We queued outside for a few minutes with some other people until the door was swiftly pulled backwards and the grim faced smoking man allowed us to enter, we joined the next queue and after 10 minutes got to the front to be greeted by a smiling decent gentleman who issued us with the forms, told us what we’d need and happily said goodbye….quite a turn up!

Back at the camp Kees’s truck was now fixed and we spent the afternoon making an awesome lunch, catching up on emails etc and when it was time to leave did so with the Egyptian embassy being our destination.

Collected our visas and photocopied the relevant pages for the Sudanese application tomorrow and decided to head up into the hills to find the Washa Mikael rock church which overlooks the city. We pulled into the car park of the church which signalled the starting point of the drive and found a guide who would take us through the narrow villages to our goal, he sat on the bonnet and we drove for half an hour up a steep rocky road before grassy area we arrived at signalled our destination had been reached.

The church itself was bombed by Italian extremists a number of years ago which collapsed the roof and since then the church is only used twice a year which means it’s a little run down and overgrown but still leaves you amazed at how the excavation was done. The church has around 12 rooms and some amazing arches all of which have been hewn out of the bedrock. The entrance to the church is the most impressive of all with a 10 metre long tunnel leading to it.

We walked from here to the hill which looks over the city and the views were stupendous, the sprawling mass of Addis captured by the mountains around with patchworks of green and brown fields surrounding the obvious civilisation within.

The sun was setting so we made our way to the truck and started the descent back down the hill and through the evening chaos of the village streets, donkeys pulling their loads, the local running club meeting up and the hustle and bustle which makes Africa so amazing to me.

We had dinner and went to bed.

End of day location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Distance covered: 20kms

10th November 08

2008-11-24T12:26:00.002-08:00

Date: 10th November 08
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 32°c
Status: Awaiting our visas for the next few countries……

We awoke this morning feeling cold, really cold. The city is the third highest capital city in the world at 2400m above sea level and boy did it feel I this morning, it’s the coldest we’ve been since winter in Namibia!

Had a shower to warm up and packed the tent away then headed to the bar for a scrambled egg breakfast and strong Ethiopian coffee…its mad stuff and looks like thick liquid liquorice when its poured, it also leaves a sludge in the bottom of the cup when your done!

Headed out to the Egyptian embassy in convoy to apply for the next-but-one visa we’ll need in order to apply for our Sudanese visa in a few days time. The Sudanese insist that to grant a transit visa they need to see evidence that we actually intend to leave their country. The unusually stern doorman allowed us entry and we filled in the usual forms, the British are charged more than usual here for some reason and I out of
the group have to pay the most!

Next problem is they won’t allow us to pay for the visa with dollars instead we need local currency…of which the family don’t have enough, so the mad chase around the city starts in order to be back in time for the closing of the application office at midday. We try to get to the centre as we know there’s an ATM at the Sheraton Hotel but Kees is stopped in his tracks by the police as they have a restriction on all vehicles over four tonnes in the centre to reduce the likelihood of terrorist activity around the main important buildings of the city. This of course however doesn’t really help us!

Kees instead heads off back to the Belair Hotel and Ammo, Bre and I start the mad trek around the city to collect money and return to the embassy in time to pay for the visas…..as usual I am the high-speed truck which has to do all of the work, can you believe it a Land Rover being the quickest vehicle!

We get to the Sheraton, grab the money and return to the embassy with half an hour to spare but the lady there throws another spanner in the works….we will all need evidence of our money changing transaction in the form of a photocopy of the card used and the receipt….great, none of us have it! We’re told that if we have it back to her by first thing in the morning then it shouldn’t be a problem, at least that gives us some leeway.

As we leave the embassy another overlander in his Toyota pulls up, I start chatting to him, an American called Eric whose basically travelled the same route we have for the past few months…we’ve just never met him! he’s been staying at a place in the city called Wim’s Holland House, setup by a Dutch guy called Wim funnily enough!

We follow him to the little oasis in the city centre and find a great place where we can stay for the next few days for free with a bar, restaurant and secure parking right in the centre. Superb! We return to Kees and the others and drive down to let them see the awesome place we’ve discovered. Perfect.
Spent the afternoon setting up camp and relaxing in our new found base then went for a drive around town to see some of the sights.

Had a meal with the family in the bar and then watched a couple of movies before heading to bed early.

End of day location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Distance covered: 20kms

9th November 08

2008-11-24T12:26:00.001-08:00

Date: 9th November 08
Location: Awassa, Ethiopia
Weather: Lots of sunshine and the odd cloud, 30°c
Status: Hating the delays more than ever….

Bre and I were the first one’s up again…I think actually she got up first of all as she’s so intent on bringing the photo album up to date she couldn’t even sleep last night, its not so much as an obsession, more a job!

Spoke to Dad and my sister, Becky on the sat phone briefly to wish them both happy birthdays. I couldn’t get to a phone on time so had to resort to using the on board technology to wish them well.

After breakfast the local engineers arrived on time to finish off the work on Kee’s truck and I sat down and read a book, had breakfast, watched a movie…in fact loads of things before we had the message that everything was finished and we’d be on the road soon, finally.

We had the warning call that we’d be leaving by 1pm from Kees and that he just had to wash the truck and we’d be on the road…then eventually at 2.30pm he rolled up leaving us all fuming that again we’d be driving in the dark and I’d be navigating another new African city with the tortoise in tow. Hmmmmm

The road to the capital was particularly empty as it was a Sunday, we stopped on the side of the road to buy some strawberries and as the sun went down we still had a good few km’s to go. We made our way to the Baro Hotel but had problems getting Kee’s truck under the electricity wires so had to move onto our second choice. Can you see a theme running through the last few days yet!!?

Made our way to the Belair Hotel and made our camp in the car park, a light bite of dinner then bed. Up early tomorrow for the next visas…

End of day location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Distance covered: 270kms

7th November 08

2008-11-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

Date: 7th November 08
Location: Awassa, Ethiopia
Weather: Patchy blue skies and clouds, rain on the drive. 24°c
Status: Off on a mission….and running over someone too!

The job for the day….to get the replacement parts we need to get Kees’s truck on the move again! We woke up as the sun came up and the rain was chucking down outside, it appeared that the storm which was flashing away in the distance overnight had deposited most of its contents on out campsite as the place was awash with the wet stuff.

Still packed up and had a quick bowl of cereal waiting around for Abiy, our new found English-speaking friend who Kees had befriended the evening previous, to arrive. The three of us got in the car and turned out of the campsite towards the capital 250kms away. The road was excellent, in fact one of the best in east Africa, and smooth tarmac took was through the lake filled lands of southern Ethiopia and towards the city.

We arrived at the outskirts and with Abiy’s help headed into the centre navigating our way towards his brother who was already searching out the required part for us on his day off!

We hit a section of new unsurfaced road and were crawling along in the traffic when all of a sudden the totally unavoidable happened. Now let me explain first, Ethiopia is THE country I have feared the most in terms of problems on the roads. Kids throw stones at you, adults play the shadow-chasing game and try to get out of the way the last minute, smiling at you once they’ve done it….and a Canadian couple we met a few years ago – Tom & Janet actually hit and killed a young boy here with horrible consequences and a long time trying to calm the baying mob!

I was in first gear following a minibus when a young lady stepped out in front of the Colonel looking totally the other way only a metre in front of the truck….I had nowhere to go at all, the wheels skidded for the two metres it took to bring the truck to a halt, the bull bar hit the lady and with her shopping in both hands she fell to the ground. I was totally shocked and in no way guilty but jumped out of the car to see she was ok. This all happened in near stand still traffic in the middle of a market area so instantly it was spotted and people came running, now I mean lots of people. Within seconds we had a group of maybe 40 individuals all shouting, gesturing and pushing us with no understanding of the language all we could think of was to get out of there as soon as possible and both Kees and I grabbed Abiy and got him into the car….we wanted to drive to the nearest police station as quickly as we could.

As we desperately tried to get away and drive through the traffic, which was impossible, all I could see were maybe 20 people chasing us down the street….there was whistling, the front runners easily caught the Colonel and were banging on the sides and we couldn’t get away, and then all of a sudden it was there, the Saris Police Station. We screeched to a halt, locked the doors and ran inside explaining the situation to the women police officer who was the first to greet us.

She tried to calm us down, sat me in her office and explained that we were safe with her and the Colonel was now being looked after by her truncheon and rifle holding colleagues!

Wow how it all exploded in such a short time!! After 10 minutes the I-didn’t-look-before-i-crossed-the-road lady arrived looking shocked herself. The last time I’d seen her she was being man-handled by the massed gang and didn’t show any signs of pain or problems, but now suddenly she started crying and clutched her arm….the white man has money, if I fake this I can get some of it!

Procedure here is to get the injured to the nearest doctor to see what the problem is and then deal with the financial side of things accordingly. So off Aviy and her trotted across the road to the hospital – sometimes there is one when you need one! I sat with the very kind police lady and we set about improving our language skills and understanding of each others countries, families, cultures, calendars, time system, working hours, etc etc! all very pleasant in the situation.

An hour an a half later Aviy, the lady and now her immediate family of 7 people returned to the station clutching an x-ray, prescription and the answer I was looking for….nothing was broken of even bruised! The doctor has said she had no problems and gave her a paracetamol for her headache, this meant I was in the clear both for the situation and for her medical bills. I offered to cover the cost of the x-ray and gave her a little sum of money for her clothes to be cleaned and for the shopping she’d lost…we all signed a very unofficial back of an envelope and went our own way. It was an awful mess to start off with but ended very amicably and thankfully peacefully and we were all in one piece!

With the little episode behind us and half the day gone we drove off to meet Aviy’s brother who’d managed to locate a replacement clutch for us….well the outside was ok but the centre was totally wrong with 4 teeth not 28, no matter at all. In Europe they have to order another complete unit and you’d have to come back a week later to collect it….not in africa, they took it to the local engineering shop, removed the heavy duty rivets and centre and replaced it with the one from the original…simple then!

While we were waiting Aviy took us on a tour of the capital, a very clean, well laid out place it is too. We stopped off at his recommendation for a coffee and bite of lunch….the Sheraton no less!! An immensely opulent English-style hotel with full bomb squad vehicle search, red BT phone boxes and security guards wearing London bobby style helmets, amazing!

We had a bite to eat, sampled the local coffee and headed back out to take to on the rush hour traffic and find our way home. Once we had got to the right exit on the ring road the darkness was total making driving interesting as we tried to make our way past the convoys of trucks all making the long 3 day haul to Djibouti and the port there, Ethiopia’s life line.

The road back was pretty uneventful until suddenly I spotted a pair of eyes on the side of the road…it was a full grown hyena, then there was another and this was only 5kms out of the city outskirts. They scavenge here and Aviy said they commonly are seen in town too, totally amazing.
Our road south took us through several large towns and by each one we spotted more of them until we hit Shashemene, 40kms from Awassa where we were aiming for and right in the centre of the nearly deserted town there was another down a side street.

This was enough to get our hearts racing so we took off after it keeping it in our lights only a few metres in front of the truck and followed it right up to a garden fence where it disappeared off into the darkness! What a superb end to the otherwise hectic day!

We arrived back at the camp around 11.30pm and set up camp finally for the night. An eventful but interesting day all the same.

End of day location: Awassa, Ethiopia
Distance covered: 570kms

6th November 08

2008-11-24T12:24:00.002-08:00

Date: 6th November 08
Location: Awassa, Ethiopia
Weather: Scattered showers and thunder, 34°c in the sun, cold at night
Status: Trying desperately to get Kee’s truck running again…

Up at 7am to the sound of rain on the tent, never a good sound but within a few minutes it had stopped and the sun came out to dry the tent out. Had a bite of breakfast including Ammon’s pancakes which was a turn up for the books once we’d got around the rotten eggs in the fresh box.

Spent the morning changing one of the rear shock absorber top mounts which had disintegrated on the road through the north of Kenya, then took the Colonel to the local car wash and had all of the mud pressure washed off from the underneath so I could give him a good check over after the mental corrugations of the last few days.

Kees had headed off to fid a local garage who could rectify the problems he was having with his truck, a little self-diagnosis seems to point to the clutch and a major problem with the friction plate. He returned on his bike with Marconi who runs the camp and who has helped him out with the language problem, the mechanic arrived later in the afternoon to remove the old one and try to locate a replacement somewhere in this town, failing that a trip to the capital Addis Ababa would be in the order of the day to collect one ourselves.

Bre, Savannah, Kees and I headed out in the evening to the city centre to the National Hotel where we decided to try the local cuisine. Not being able to read the menu even we consulted the Bradt guide and ordered wat, a mixture of boiled meat usually ox or mutton with onions or peppers served with a hot sauce and all neatly piled in the centre of injera – a traditional large pancake shaped substance made from tef, a nutty tasting grain unique to Ethiopia. The dough is fermented for up to three days before it is cooked giving it a foam rubber texture and a slightly sour taste! Everything tastes ok with chilli sauce on it though!

We ventured further up the street for pastry and strong Ethiopian coffee for dessert and then back to the camp for bed as I have to drive Kees to the capital tomorrow if we hear nothing back from the garage first thing.

End of day location: Awassa, Ethiopia
Distance covered: 10kms

5th November 08

2008-11-24T12:24:00.001-08:00

Date: 5th November 08
Location: Yabello, Ethiopia
Weather: Scattered clouds and the occasional shower, 26°c
Status: Waiting for a prognosis on the state of Kees’s truck…..time is ticking on!

Woke up at 6.30am and immediately were up and packing away the tent, Savannah of all people suggested that we get on the road early so that we weren’t driving in the dark at the end of the day….I secretly think its because she couldn’t use the Turkish style toilets and wanted to get to the next stop asap!

We passed swollen rivers and huge puddles and were glad not to have taken the option of going off road to the Omo valley, which although it has amazing local tribes with lip plates and all would be too much for the trucks in the rainy season!

And I really glad we didn’t take that option as 150kms down the road Kees disappeared from my rear view mirror coming down a steep slope and after 20mins of waiting Ammon and I decided to turn around and find out what the problem was….and there it was stranded by the edge of the road halfway down the slope. The constant braking and sudden gear change down to loose speed had resulted in Kees losing his clutch totally and he was now stuck fast…..with a group of at least 50 people around him already!

Ammon, Bre and I drove back into the tow to try and find a tow truck for him and after pulling into a couple of garages found an English speaking manager who returned to the scene of the problem with us on his motorbike.

Once he’d surveyed the situation and agreed a price with Kees the rescue truck came to the scene, connected a tow pole and they started the slow painful trip of 150kms to Awassa the nearest big town where we’d be able to get help….hopefully!

Ammon, Bre and I continued at a quicker pace to scope out the camping options in the town and arrived half an hour before sundown in Awassa on the shores of the lake with the same name, we made our way to the campsite listed on a few other Overlanders webpage’s and T4A to find that the lady owner had returned to Germany a few months previously!!! The guy who was looking after the place did allow us to stay however and we set up camp and waited for the tow truck and the others to arrive.

Finally around 10pm the sound of Kee’s voice greeted us as we walked down the road to find them and with some careful reversing manoeuvred the lame tortoise into its resting place for the night and probably the next few days!

End of day location: Awassa, Ethiopia
Distance covered: 294kms

4th November 08

2008-11-24T12:23:00.002-08:00

Date: 4th November 08
Location: Moyale, Kenya
Weather: Scattered clouds, intermittent showers and colder, 24°c
Status: Into another country so very happy!

Up nice and early and managed to get the tent packed away before the rain started to fall again, but it wasn’t even enough to wash the truck off! Had the usual breakfast goodness and then we all drove off back through the town to the border ready to sign ourselves out of Kenya.

The usual formalities were passed off easily enough, the customs didn’t ask for any additional road tax even though I’d only paid for about 5% of the distance I’d been and the passport guy made Kees and I laugh as he told us he was re-inking his pad for the stamp to allow other people to see that Kenyans are advanced and clinical with everything they do…although not as up to date as us Europeans!

We drove the short distance through no-mans-land and switched sides of the road as Ethiopians drive on the wrong side – take note Bre – and to the officials for our entry stamp. We had a good laugh with the officer who jokingly told us off for talking in his office. Then it was over the road for the carnet stamp, we waited for 5 minutes before the official turned up and then strangely he actually wanted to match up the engine and chassis numbers with our vehicles…the first time this has happened in Africa! All very efficient.

No problems with anything so we did the usual money changing and readied ourselves for the supposed hell ahead – unfriendly people and stone throwing! Hmmmm.

As we left the border town I started the usual waving at the locals and surprisingly the vast majority of them waved back, in fact nearly all of them and the girls are so pretty too and noticeably lighter in their skin complexion than the darker Kenyans. The road was good tarmac, the first we’d seen in around 3 days which was a welcome relief to the Colonel and its occupants. We slowly gained height and left the drier desert conditions and entered the greener, more fertile landscape of the Mega Escarpment which runs along the southern edge of the country and as we went the locals kept on smiling and kept on waving back….awesome and I was loving this part of africe immensely.

The rain clouds were massing in the distance and to both sides but we managed to get away with a few drops on the windscreen but did see some amazing rainbows too! We pulled into the first major settlement of Yabello and the luxury, hmmm, of the Yabello Motel. We were given the gorgeous surroundings of the puddle filled Total fuel station car park but had the security of knowing that the 60 year old guard complete with navy style jacket and AK47 would be there looking after us that night!

Bre and I had tomato, mozzarella and onion salad for dinner, we all discussed the options for the next few days and went to bed. Early start tomorrow.

End of day location: Yabello, Ethiopia
Distance covered: 210kms

3rd November 08

2008-11-24T12:23:00.001-08:00

Date: 3rd November 08
Location: Marsabit, Kenya
Weather: Heavy rain overnight, then sunny with scattered showers in the afternoon, 32°c
Status: Delighted to have made it through the day!

I awoke to the sound of heavy continual rain and driving wind hitting the outside of the tent which kept Bre and I in there for a good hour longer than we should have done, but by the time we clambered down the ladder the sun had just about shown its face enough to venture out. It was one of those mornings in which you had around 15 minutes to do everything you could before running for cover again as the next wall of rain hit you….the tent suffice to say was packed away wet, but the inside remained beautifully dry as ever!

Henry’s Place where we’d stayed was sited right next to the bakery and although we were too early to get fresh bread the group of funny ladies there did sell me some fresh muffins which were just as good! The torrential downpours overnight has caused the red mud to turn into a slippery quagmire and Kees had a few problems reversing out of the camp site, worse was to follow however as when we drove out to the main road for some reason he took the right hand turn rather than the left and ended up stuck fast trying to get up the slope to the main road. To make matters worse the 4WD system isn’t working properly and the once-superb-tyres are now much less so and offered very little grip.

Great, the first 2kms of the day and the tortoise gets stuck! After a session moving some large volcanic rocks from its path, Kees managed to reverse the truck all the way back down to the junction and take the correct turn so we could start on the second half, a reputedly the worse half according to our fellow German campers, of the road of hell!

We fuelled up and hit the road which instantly was hard and rocky causing our speed to drop significantly as care had to be taken to protect the vehicles if they were to make it to the end of the day….let alone back to Europe! We dropped down in altitude again until we were passing through a really vast dry desert, well its called a desert but there are numerous trees everywhere and the rain had evidently fallen very recently leaving us with thousands of puddles and lakes to blast our way through as we tried to keep the vehicles speed up in order not to get stuck!

There was very little sign of life out here apart from the group of tribesman herders walking their camels, goats and cattle through the arid landscape and the mind boggles as to how on earth they can exist out here in this extremely difficult environment. We stopped for lunch by a water hole with the temperature hitting the 37°c mark, fed and watered and started on the remaining 160kms which would take most of the day.

As we neared the end of the straight desert road a mountain range came into view, the Mega Escarpment in Ethiopia, green and lush in the distance with heavy dark rain clouds dropping their load over the area, the roads in front of us showing what had been happening less than an hour ago with evidence of a downpour which had filled the drainage channels next to the road and was sending torrents of racing chocolate brown water foaming through the undergrowth and across the road in places giving us huge splash-throughs for the trucks! Kees bore the brunt of the spray as I was leading and he was somewhere in the mess behind according to my mirrors!

The last 80kms from Sofolo to the border town of Moyale is a well known danger spot and as we exited the town came to the usual police stop where they asked us if we would be using a military escort for safety, we declined as hopefully the two trucks now offered a degree more protection than just the one….and also as we liked the feeling of adventure in this dangerous part of Africa. Stupid maybe but out judgement of such situations is so much better than it was six months ago, so we just decided to go ahead alone, fingers crossed all round!

As the sun dropped out of the sky it became increasingly difficult to see the wildlife darting across the track at the last minute, little Dik-Diks, Kudu and local livestock all making the drive that much more exciting as we so so almost hit things on occasion, racing through the African bush!

We finally rolled into Moyale around an hour after sunset, drove to the Kenya Wildlife Services campsite along another terrible road and setup for the night, tired, sore in the back but happy to have made it along one of the most renowned roads in east Africa. We are now officially entering North Africa for the first time since back in February, bring on tomorrow and the delights of stone throwing children and apparently antisocial miserable people!

Ethiopia now is the time to prove yourself otherwise…..

Movie and then bed.

End of day location: Moyale, Kenya
Distance covered: 250kms

2nd November 08

2008-11-24T12:22:00.002-08:00

Date: 2nd November 08
Location: Isiolo, Kenya
Weather: Great start to the day, drove through a dust storm, then cold windy evening. 37°c
Status: Shaken to pieces after today’s drive….

Up at 6.30am which brought back memories of the trip down the west coast, Patrick and I were first up and knocked on the big tortoise to wake its inhabitants and slowly the group rolled out of their prospective lairs from their sleep.

After a bite of breakfast we pulled out of the camp site and said our goodbyes to Patrick and Sarah who from here would be driving back south down to SA, the niggling problems they’ve had with the engine overheating still appears to be causing problems and their funds are low so they have to head home unfortunately.

Kees and I filled the trucks with fuel and we all started on the road north out of Isiolo preparing for the worst, the first few kms confirmed that the tarmac surface was gone and replaced by a freshly graded dirt road…ok for a few kms and then it turned into a building site with several tracks all going in the same direction, none of the offering more than the standard corrugations, rocks and dust to our dismay.

The landscape changed from the greener slopes of Mt Kenya into more arid, dusty conditions with green spiky acacia trees everywhere to add to the harsh environment…..although they do look amazing and oh so African! The road however didn’t change that much at all and our average speed didn’t rise above 40kmh the entire day, its so hard when driving to decide whether or not to so slowly over the bumps lessening the impact on the suspension and inhabitants or to drive at 60+ so as to ride the crests of the corrugations and lessen the impact all around….at the expense of grip, steering and braking power!

After the first half, around 140kms, of the journey gone, the villages were becoming fewer with more distance between them and the locals more and more, well local! The tribal groups this far north in Kenya are very striking in their appearance with hugely traditional clothing supported by spears and hunting rifles which give them a frightening appearance and they hate to be photographed…so we didn’t!

The problems of the past with north Kenya have been amongst the tribes in this part of the country and only a few days ago they ignited again to the east of here, it’s common to take a military escort on this road in case of banditry action but we didn’t. In fact thinking about it Bre and I were out on our own pretty much, Kees had left before us in the morning as we had to go and sort out a refund from the camp site and we didn’t catch them until late in the afternoon meaning we spent the entire day by ourselves driving past military posts and the odd vehicle, very exciting!

As we entered the last part of the journey and the area known as the Kaisut Desert it almost appeared to be raining to our east but with an orange tinge, and then it dawned on me that it was actually a dust storm coming our way – the first of the trip! We kept driving along its front edge until it had just about caught us and at its front a number of dust devils were spinning furiously, we stopped just in its path as it swirled around the truck, then the wall of dust hit us darkening the sunshine to twilight and adding a new smell to the air and increasing the temperature inside the truck as we had to close all the windows and vents!

Once out of the other side the sun returned and we continued on our way to Marsabit around 50kms down the track. We turned off the main drag and into Henry’s Place the halfway stop off to the border where the others were waiting for us. Set up camp, cooked a thai green curry, watched a movie then went to bed. Another big day tomorrow then the unknown delights of the people of Ethiopia…..

End of day location: Marsabit, Kenya
Distance covered: 280kms

1st November 08

2008-11-24T12:22:00.001-08:00

Date: 1st November 08
Location: Nanyuki, Kenya
Weather: Clear skies to start, then thundery clouds with light rain. 32°c
Status: We’re off again, moving north slowly

Up at 8am and went straight to the pool at the Sportsman’s Arms Hotel where were staying to refresh myself….well freeze my head actually, the night tie temperature meaning the water was actually frikkin freezing! Sat and read a book for a while in the sun the headed back to the truck for breakfast.

I had a problem on the way out of Nairobi yesterday with the indicators on the Colonel, they suddenly stopped working so I set about trying to fix them…checked the relay, nothing there, checked the flasher unit…faulty so went into the town to find a replacement.

Easier said than done, there are probably 20 different auto spares places in Nanyuki and after checking all of them found none of them actually stock a simple component like I needed. Balls, no indicators until the next town then….

Hit the road north once Patrick and Sarah had arrived from Nairobi, they’ve been having their Nissan fixed and wanted to do a final drive with us before they turn and head south back home to South Africa, so the good old convoy was together again!

We tracked around the base of Mount Kenya, just staying in front of a huge storm and got 80kms before the sun set and we found a campsite just short of Isiolo…..around 50kms short of the road from hell!

The brakes on the Colonel had an overhaul in Nairobi and this being the first long run since fitting new pads etc, they decided to lock on after a constant downhill section so when we arrived I had to strip them down, lubricate the necessary parts and refit them. We’ll just see if it’s done the trick tomorrow morning!

Had a final meal with everyone and discussed the next few days and weeks ahead, seems Kees and I want to be home in time for Xmas its just working out what we can do on the way home. Bed early as we start the early days and long drives tomorrow…

End of day location: Isiolo, Kenya
Distance covered: 80kms

30th October 08

2008-10-31T01:57:00.000-07:00

Date: 29th and 30th October
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Weather: Clear blue skies, light wind and hot sunshine. 30°c
Status: Preparing for the trip north….

The last few days have been all about preparing for the next few weeks and the trip ahead as we finally leave the easy style living of Nairobi and head back out onto the road this time with Kees and the rest of the Watkins family in tow.

They arrived in the capital in time to say good bye to Mum and Dad and since then have spent some time applying for their visas for Ethiopia, meeting up with an old friend from Canada and readying themselves for the trip ahead. It’ll be great to be moving with them again as we take in the delights which Ethiopia has to offer.

I only hope the frustration of travelling at a much reduced speed with the tortoise in tow doesn’t mean that I’m not able to make it back to he UK in time for Christmas. I have spoken to Kees and he does intend being back in Holland at the same time, we will take in as many days of sightseeing as we can whilst at the same time keeping moving in time with my tight agenda!

We’ve been back to Carnivores restaurant with the family and filled ourselves to excess again. We also made enquiries with the Sudanese embassy here to see if they will issue us with the 14 day transit visa we require to make the trip through the country. Little Miss Totally Unhelpful behind the counter said no unsurprisingly and instead offered the 7 day version which is too short. She did give me the number for their embassy in Addis Ababa where I think we can get the extended version but after I spoke to them I came back with less confidence as they asked me to appear in person rather than offering any information over the phone. We’re back into tough Africa again and dealing with officialdom will be hard work and tiring especially as we have the added pleasure of returning to Arabic speaking lands which throws in a new element of difficulty!

Tomorrow we leave for the town of Nanyuki, the overnight stop before taking on the ridiculously tiring corrugated road north to the border, the vehicle is ready, I am ready, I just hope that the renewed political violence which has just kicked off again in north eastern Kenya doesn’t overspill into the area we’ll be travelling through. An armed escort was always recommended for this road so we’ll have to see what happens!

Africa seems to have periods of calm and trouble and the area of Rwanda and around Goma where I was supposed to be climbing Mt Stanley has again become a hot spot with fighting factions making it a no-go zone once more. The town of Kigoma where we stayed for a few days is again receiving refugees at an alarming rate so we made it through just in time.

Any plans to visit Eritrea and Somalia have also been shelved as renewed bombings and killings are now rife again…….its a crazy, dangerous world which we’ll be tip-toeing through over the next few weeks. Let’s hope that Christmas celebration with the family actually happens!

Be happy and be safe,

End of day location: Nairobi, Kenya
Distance covered: 0kms

26th October 08

2008-10-28T07:20:00.001-07:00

Date: 26th October 08
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Weather: Overcast in the morning then sunny afternoon…perfect! 32°c
Status: Tired but very happy to have completed another challenge!

So this is it, the day of another challenge and its time for the Nairobi Marathon. I feel good and ready for it and if the weathers right I may even have a go at setting a personal best!

Up at 5am to pack the tent away as I intend taking the Colonel down to the start area and depending on how cheeky I feel, hopefully getting him parked right in the think of it! Went through the usual pre-race protocol of getting into my kit, applying vasaline to all of those potential ‘chaffing’ areas, stuck plasters over my nipples just in case and double tied my shoe laces!

Had a light breakfast of weetabix and yoghurt, forced down a couple of energy bars and prepared to leave for the race start. Drove the few kms down to the stadium and managed to get past the first few closed roads by chatting with the police and explaining our situation, sweet. Thought we’d have issues getting through the security checks at the main gate but there wasn’t even a guard there so we just drove through and found a parking space in between all of the PR stands, sweet again!

We started to assemble around the start line, a division between the 10km’ers, the half and the full marathon runners with the wheelchair entrants at the front of us all. There’s such a difference between the chair they use here compared to the London marathon….home built welded monstrosities which weigh a ton and cost next to nothing to make!

Bre had come down with me to the start area and as I shoulder barged the other entrants to try and get towards the assembly area she was doing the same with the spectators!! In fact better than me…..there she was beaming a huge smile at me in the distance from inside the VIP area….how’d that happen!!!??! Good photos though!

The start gun fired on time at 7.05am and the pack of elite runners sprinted off into the distance, and I mean sprinted. I promised myself from the start I’d run at my own pace and not be effected by the speed of those around me; but its much easier said than done as everyone races off into the distance! The circuit wound it way through the city initially passing the main financial area and parks offering a great spectacle and tour of the city. We wound up and down some of the main streets and by the time I’d got to the first of these the elite runners had already completed them and were looping back around and heading out of town….how depressing!

I felt good though considering the lack of real running I’d been able to do in the last few weeks, my training had been limited to the two mountain ascents which whilst being good for short term stamina only extended to periods of five hours at a time and at walking speed!

Staying at my own pace however was difficult, the lack of km markers or signs on the entire route made it nearly impossible to keep tabs on how my own race was going, how I should be pacing myself against the clock or even which other runners to try and use as pacemakers. Yes I knew I wasn’t at my most fit and would expect to struggle towards the latter stages of the race but having no means of keep tabs on my speed meant the inevitable happened and I ran along just a little too fast, something which would start to affect me in the final few kms!

Once we’d left the confines of the city it was out onto the Mombasa Road……unfortunately! It’s a single straight road which runs for nearly 8kms south through the industrial parts of the city to the airport and is tedious to say the least, a badly surfaced dual carriageway with few supporters which tests the mental mettle in a huge way. I’d studied the map of the circuit before the race and took into account I’d have to run up and down this same piece of road four times!!! ARGHHHH, boredom central….

To deal with these mentally zapping stretches I adopted the numbers game which helps me through the tough parts….nothing technical, basically I just count my breathes which happen around every four paces….from one up to 1000, sounds soul destroying but it does help honest! The downwind stretch took 1500……

As I came back into the city for the return leg of the first lap I passed the stadium where I’d be finishing and there were Bre, Mum and Dad were facepainted-up and cheering as I went past. It was excellent support and just what I needed as motivation for the worst part of the race; the last 16kms back down the Mombasa Road!

The half marathon runners had all left the circuit now so the road was fairly empty and it gave me a chance to start counting again. Nearly 45 mins later I was approaching the city again and finally caught sight of the floodlights which tower over the finishing stadium and signalled the end of another challenge.

As I entered the final state three little local boys started running along with me, I took a photo and they held my hands all the way to the final section of the race as I entered the stadium, awesome! As I entered the arena there it was the finish line…and after one lap of the circuit I upped the pace to a final sprint, turned and took a photo of myself heading to the line and crossed in a rather sedate 4hrs 12mins!

I collected my certificate (amazingly printed within 5 mins of finishing!), my finishers medal and a big hug from my group of four painted supporters! The legs felt very tired and the heat of the day had meant I’d sweated much more than usual with salt all over my legs and arms……

We headed to Carnivores restaurant in the evening with Patrick and Sarah who’d arrived that evening, awesome to see them again, stuffed ourselves full of ostrich, crocodile and other exotic meats and headed back for a luxury nights accommodation in the tented camp at Wildebeest! I fell asleep instantly!

End of day location: Nairobi, Kenya
Distance covered: 42.2kms! Leg powered of course!

24th October 08

2008-10-28T07:19:00.002-07:00

Date: 24th October 08
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Weather: Scattered showers and sunshine, 30°c
Status: Getting ready for the marathon…mentally

The Colonel has all of his niggles and problems sorted out today so it was an early start for both Bre and I, we packed away a wet tent and met my parents for a bite of breakfast before driving the truck through the morning rush hour traffic (which seems to run from 5am to 9pm!) to Magma Holdings, a Land Rover service centre run by Titch.

I met him through Allan at Wildebeest Camp who also takes his Landie there for its servicing etc and comes highly recommended. He’s an Englishman who has lived out here for a number of years and now maintains and services all 4x4’s including the British army vehicles in the area….good enough for me then!

I grabbed a taxi back to the camp and as the morning was pushing on we headed out for some early lunch at the local Chinese/Japanese/French food court. Mum and dad tried sushi for the first time and I thing enjoyed it!

Managed to get all of the photos, routes and diary finalised for the site which will be updated in the next few days now there’s a decent internet connection available. Had a chance to drive around the marathon course which certainly looks city based, it twists and winds through the centre to start and then heads out onto the airport road for a couple of laps before finishing in the national stadium. Hope the wind is light, the traffic non-existent and the rain stays away!

Got a taxi back over to collect the Colonel and sat in traffic for nearly an hour to cover the 8kms to the garage, collected the truck minus the tappet ticking noise (at last!) and drove back to the camp for dinner and a movie. Bed.

End of day location: Nairobi, Kenya
Distance covered: 20kms

22nd October 08

2008-10-28T07:19:00.001-07:00

Date: 22nd October 08
Location: Masai Mara, Kenya
Weather: Grey skies and cloudy start then clearing before evening rains.
Status: So happy to have seen the migration!!!

A very early start at 6.30am, in fact so early we left before breakfast but it enabled us to get into the Mara as the sun came up over the horizon (just) and into one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever been on the planet; distances which are hard to perceive, horizons which disappear towards infinity, and landscapes which you see on only the nature documentaries. Our aim for the day was to find and track the migrating wildebeest herds which at this time of year travel south from the Masai Mara towards the Serengeti in search of the new grasses which the rains bring at this time of year.

We tracked along the Talek river finding numerous crossing points which had previously been used by the herds but no evidence of any activity in the last few hours. Mum spotted a group of lions in the distance so we made our way across to them and spent some time just watching them only a few metres away lounging in the morning light their bellies full of lasts nights kill no doubt.

We moved on along the river finding scattered groups of game, antelope and the occasional small herd, then as we cleared another small rise there they were in front of us…..one of the huge migrating herds slowly heading south at a slow march. What a stunning sight, led by a group of antelope, there were thousands of the wildebeest all forming a long line two or three animals wide from one horizon to the other. We sat and watched as they passed the Colonel only 20 metres away, then they were gone…..

Its what I came here for and we all loved it, the stuff that documentaries are made of! We moved along the rover to one of the famous crossing points where the wildebeest take on the might of the river and Russian-roulette of avoiding the waiting crocodiles who take their fill at this time of year! But there were no waiting herds only the droppings and odd carcass of the unfortunate few who’d been gobbled!

As we had to make it back to Nairobi for the evening we unfortunately had to cut short our day’s viewing and drove due east across the wide open plains towards the gate we’d entered through a day previous. We left the park and started onto the shaky, rough road and 15kms down the track suddenly the Colonel came to abrupt halt…the engine suddenly dying!?!?!??!

Dad and I hopped under the bonnet to investigate and assumed something had happened to the fuel system, we bled it but nothing happened and the engine refused to fire up! Great were right in the middle of nowhere, the only people around are the few Masai children who’ve turned up to watch the drama unfold and we can’t find the problem.

Time to talk things through logically, fuel supply bled but no fuel getting to the cylinders…must be the fuel-cut out solenoid. Then as were starting to look into it by chance a Land Rover appears over the horizon….with the local mechanic driving it!!! Haha sometimes things just happen. He stops and instantly diagnoses the same problem we had, we find there is no power to the solenoid and install a new wire to replace the old one which somehow has broken or come loose on the terrible surface! We try it and the engine fires up! Superb 

Off again we make good time until we find another stranded vehicle with five locals who are going nowhere. The driver has somehow driven the car into the ditch, so to return our good karma for the day we get the tow rope out and pull them free of the ditch! They bump start the car and they’re off again!

We continue the drive back to Nairobi and to the comforts of Wildebeest Camp where our awesome hosts Allan and Lynita greet us with a sumptuous dinner before we hit the sack after an amazing day.

Kenya and the migration rocks….

End of day location: Nairobi, Kenya
Distance covered: 318kms

21st October 08

2008-10-28T07:18:00.001-07:00

Date: 21st October 08
Location: Voi, Kenya
Weather: Starry night followed by a gorgeous sunrise and good weather all the way. 32°c
Status: M&D suffering from a cold each, rest of us pushing on just fine…

After a great night’s sleep on a really comfy bed we headed out for an early breakfast which was included in the cost of the room, packed up the truck (it somehow all fitted just as before!), and took the 20km track through Masai land back to the main Mombasa to Nairobi road. Its renowned for being a poorly surfaced, heavy traffic route which takes hours to travel along…..so what the hell happened? A perfect surface and such long straight sections that overtaking, even in a fully loaded Land Rover, was no problem at all and we got to Nairobi for a late lunch.

Popped into the DHL office to collect my new carnet de passage which the ADAC in Munich have sent out to me, I have used all of the 25 pages in the old one and need this document to allow me to import and export the Colonel into the remaining countries without further hassles!

Departed after bite of lunch from the capital and took the road north out towards Narok along the escarpment which leads into the edge of the Rift Valley and what an amazing road. The views stretch far off in to the distance with storms lurking ominously over the great plains with the occasional flash of lightening illuminating the closing evening gloom.

The newly surfaced road which gave us a speedy route towards the entrance gate of the reserve abruptly ran out after a small village and left us with a terrible unsurfaced dirt road with heavy corrugations and slippery mud sections…..progress predictably slowed to a crawl.

We finally arrived at the entrance to the Mara at around 6pm just as the sun was setting, our lodging for the night had telephoned a couple of times to check we were still coming, and after paying the entrance fee entered the park in near darkness….something I didn’t think we’d be able to do but it was amazing!! Elephant, impala and loads of little night birds and creatures ran in front of the truck as we covered the 22kms to the camp.

We arrived after 7pm with all of the staff awaiting our arrival. There haven’t been nearly as many tourists as they’re used to in the last few months due to the impending global recession and the international media projecting an image of a troubled Kenya since the problems following the elections way back in February. We were the only ones staying there in a stunning location right beside the Talek River with frog calls all around and the splashing of hippos in the pool outside Mum and Dad’s tent!

Dinner then bed…..

End of day location: Masai Mara, Kenya
Distance covered: 620kms

20th October 08

2008-10-28T07:16:00.002-07:00

Date: 20th October 08
Location: Pangani, Tanzania
Weather: Clear, blue skies and hot sunshine, 36
Status: Moving east as quickly as we can to get to the migration…..

What a totally gorgeous location to wake up!! The Peponi Beach resort is so close to the ocean I thought the Colonel’s tyres would get wet in the night as the tide came in!

We sat and enjoyed breakfast in The Munching Room, eggs on toast followed by fruit and cereal, yum. Chatted to Derek the expat owner who’s run the place for the last 9 years and discussed his Series One Land Rover amongst other things. He used to live on the Wild Coast in South Africa and also right next door to Port Edward therefore he’s a Natal Sharks fan…small world!

Took the road back into Tanga and filled up with fuel with a very friendly little attendant, worked out the mpg at around 22 for the last 450kms – not too bad considering the new increased weight on board!

The road up to the Tanz/Kenya border was a graded dirt road which twisted along the coast for 70kms, along the way we came across a German lady and her daughter in their Land Rover who’d broken down. We stopped a found her fuel pump wasn’t working so fed a new wire to it and within half an hour she was off again.

The border formalities were the usual banter with money changers etc except this time there was also M&D to deal with too! Within half an hour we’d cleared the system and were off again but this time on much better tarmac for the 90kms through to Mombasa. Stopped and shopped for some lunch and then took the westerly road towards Nairobi.

Drove for another couple of hours before turning off the main drag as the sun was setting towards Rock Site Camp, which sounded promising! When we arrived they wouldn’t let us camp there so we had to take rooms….no great problem as they were stunning overlooking the Tsavo Plains out in front of our verandas. We dipped in the infinity pool and arrived on time for dinner which was included in the costs.

Bed

End of day location: Maungu, Kenya
Distance covered: 340kms

19th October 08

2008-10-28T07:16:00.001-07:00

Date: 19th October 08
Location: Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Weather: Clear blue skies and scattered clouds, then showers! 36°c
Status: Off for the next part of the trip now!

After a great fortnight together we said a sad goodbye to Jimmy who had to return to the UK and caught his flight from Dar airport at 8pm yesterday evening. We did a whole load of things together the best of which was climbing Kili together and battling through the altitude and cold to make it, the last week has also been a wicked experience as we relaxed on the beach and virtually perfected the art of Frisbee together!

So up this morning for a grand breakfast with Mum and Dad, got straight onto the main repair job for the Colonel together – replacing the brake vacuum pump which is ticking away. Finally found TDC and removed the old unit, replaced it with the new one and struggled to get the bolts in but finally it screwed into place! Started up the engine and the noise was still there….damn it, must be the tappets that need replacing so another job to do at some stage!

Somehow packed everything for the four of us; Bre, M&D and me into the Colonel and although it was a tight squeeze we managed to compress everything into the cabin rather than using the roofrack, just in case the rains came!

Retraced our steps back up the road north towards Serenga and after 270kms we turned left at the junction which turns east towards the coast and Tanga, the forth largest city in Tanzania. We’d made good time on the road so decided to head to the coast for the evening and a tiny village 15kms north of Pangani to a little place called Peponi Beach Resort down a great little dirt road which wound its way through small villages and camps until it opened out onto the beach again and the delights of the Indian Ocean!

Mum and Dad grabbed a banda hut with a great setup and double bed room, whilst Bre and I parked the Colonel directly on the beach overlooking the ocean and the fishing boats. We dropped into the bar for a drink, game of darts and then some wicked food before meeting the owner, ???, a superb English chap who runs the place and has been out in Africa running various businesses since the end of the 50’s. A real Englishman with a few Landies and a love of cricket and rugby – one of the finest and most chatty men I’ve met on the trip!

Headed back to the truck for another early night…..

End of day location: Pangani, Tanzania
Distance covered: 396kms

17th October 08

2008-10-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

Date: 17th October 08
Location: Peja, Zanzibar
Weather: Very hot, sunny and blue skies. The most idyllic weather of the trip. 36°c
Status: Saying farewell to Jimmy on the beach with THE Frisbee session…

Left the delights of our beachside cottage and made our way to the usual breakfast of fruit, coffee and eggs. A stunning start to the day with no wind, blue skies and a flat calm ocean in front of our Frisbee playing area. It been a big part of this trip….frisbee that is! Starting off with Luke and our Dune Frisbee, Frisbee on the Atlas mountains, Frisbee on top of Kili and now Frisbee at the edge of the whitest sandy beach we’ve been to! Awesome.

Spent the first few hours of the day snorkelling out to the reef far off in the distance as the tide was high, the first few hundred metres were pure sand and then the arrival of the sea urchins…in their hundreds with long black evil looking spikes! At this stage of the day we had around a metre of water between us and them as we floated past, passing corals and shoals of tiny fish which hid as we approached in their twisting homes on the reef.

We swam for one and a half hours slowly making our way to the outer reef, all the time the tide slowly disappearing beneath us making the going more and more dicey as we scraped past the spiky obstacles on the sea bed. The sun had been beating down on us for ages and was cooking us from the outside in so we decided to call it a day and head back to the shore, easier said than done!

The outgoing tide had reduced the water to half its original depth and now our sagging bellies and knees were scraping the corals rather than sliding past them! Bre cut her thigh, I scraped my knees and foot and Jimmy did the same!

Back at the hotel we packed up and headed over to the Paje by Night camp for lunch and used their wireless to update the website then caught the same taxi back to Stone Town and our original hotel Marinda Guest House.

We all walked down to the ferry ticket office to arrange tomorrows transport, waited for half an hour as the manager brought more tickets for us then walked into the centre to see some of the historic architecture which the town is famous for. Problem is they’re doing a load of restoration work as it’s the low season and the famous gardens are hidden behind corrugated steel sheets, we kept going and then found our choice of eatery for the night, the Monsoon but it looked straight across the road onto the hidden gardens. Balls.

Choice number two was the famous Tower Top Restaurant which we found after navigating the narrow streets, most of which resemble Marrakech and reminded me I have to go back there at some stage! The place requires booking in advance as it only seats 24 people on cushions at the top of the verenada area…which of course we hadn’t done. The receptionist was very helpful and telephoned upstairs to check if there was space and luckily they’d been a cancellation so we were in and straight away!

The location is the best in the town with views of the harbour and surrounding areas from six flights of stairs up, we got there just in time to have cocktails as the sun set into the ocean!

A four course meal which was superb even included traditional Ngoma dancing in between courses, loads of ass-wiggling and giggles!

Taxi back to the hotel then bed

End of day location: Stone Town, Zanzibar
Distance covered: 50kms

16th October 08

2008-10-23T05:51:00.000-07:00

Date: 16th October 08
Location: Stone Town, Zanzibar
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 35°c
Status: Ready for some serious beach time….

Up at 6.30am and into the breakfast veranda overlooking the dhow harbour and the port which provided a superb setting for our eggs and coffee, we all talked about how we’d like to get to the coast for the next day or so before Jimmy has to head home and decided to catch the tourist taxi which left at 8.00am….only 15mins to get every thing ready!!!

Managed to chuck everything in bags and were into the taxi around 15 minutes after talking about it on the way to the east coast and the town of Paje, a coastal fishing community located on white, fine sands with coral reefs and palm trees….heaven in fact!

The hour’s ride took us to the doorstep of the hotel Arabian nights which we thought we’d stay at but it turned out to be $120 for a double room – stuff that! The place next door was just a good and only $90 so we checked into two doubles and a single. Within half an hour of arriving we’d got our beach gear on and were enjoying the luxury of the sands and the 30° water, awesome again!

The afternoon involved using next doors wireless to update the website, munching down some exquisite fresh seafood and deciding what we’d do for the next few days. It really is a piece of tropical paradise here and somewhere I’d love to return one day for a special holiday of honeymoon, watch out Bre!!!

Headed down the beach to the Cristal Lodge for another superb seafood dinner, this time Red Snapper, and then took a moonlit walk along the beach back to the camp for an early night.

End of day location: Peja, Zanzibar
Distance covered: 55kms

15th October 08

2008-10-16T03:07:00.000-07:00

Date: 15th October 08
Location: Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Weather: Heavy rain overnight then clearing up to leave a hot and humid day. 34°c
Status: Drifting aimlessly in the Indian Ocean……

Africa, you’ve gotta love it!! it really has been one of those days, that started off well and then deteriorated pretty rapidly. We got up early and had breakfast with Mum and Dad, a superb mixture of fresh fruit, scrambled eggs and pancakes. Took my own coffee along as it was one of those chicory-real coffee substitutes.

James spoke to the owner of the campsite who gave us some information about the journey across to Zanzibar and the running of the ferries. There was one leaving at 12.30pm and if we hurried we’d make it, mistake number 1.

Hurriedly threw everything we’d need in a bag and organised the truck so it could hold the remainder of our gear for the next few days whilst we were away. Left it securely parked in the hotel car park and caught a taxi to the ferry port which took 20 minutes, longer than expected so we arrived at the first ferry across to the main Dar terminals late.

Grabbed our tickets and joined the throng of passengers already waiting for it, after 20 minutes they let us all on and we were just swept along by the crowds until we were all just about together. The short 10 min crossing took far too long and we arrived at our destination with just enough time to grab a cab to the second ferry port (across to Zanzibar) and rush to what I thought was the ticket office to buy our tickets. Mistake number 2.

What I thought was the office was in fact the office of one of the touts, Ally. A nice enough character but he was in it for himself and after we’d bought the tickets we sprinted down to where the ferry was supposed to be leaving from…..and it was already gone. Balls.

The next one was due to depart at 4.00pm but this was the fast ferry which would cost us another 15.000 schillings each. Reluctantly I parted with the cash for all of us, Bre all the time thinking to herself “why the hell is he doing it!” what I should have done was walk myself to the ticket office and buy the damn things but the heat of the moment and the urgency to get across to Zanzibar made me loose my normal level headed self and I just went ahead and did it.

We just spent far too much on the tickets across to the island and now had to wait for another 3hrs until we’d depart. Not according to the normal well-oiled Ben plan, balls x 2.

Hmmm so we sat and waited it out, me worrying all the time about Mum and Dad and their first day’s experience with Africa again. They didn’t seem to mind but I’d rather things would go smoothly of course!

We got ourselves going around 3pm and made our way to the terminal, arrived with no problems and queued for nearly an hour before we made our way on board….at least the tickets we’d been sold were genuine! The boat was similar to the ones used between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight seating around 200 people inside and also out which was weird!? A high speed ferry chucking up god knows how much spray soaking everybody at the rear, well at full speed at least!

An hour into the 2 hour journey the swell was rocking the vessel around beautifully with a few of the passengers blowing chunks into black sick bags, the sun was starting to set and we were cruising along very well. Then the vessel suddenly slowed and we were trickling along at less than the speed of a cross-channel car ferry, this was accompanied by the sound of a very rough engine. After 20 minutes of drifting one of the crew came down and told us we’d lost one of the engines!!

Its now an hour later and we’re still slowly plodding across the ocean towards our destination which originally we were supposed to be at for 6pm, its now nearly 7pm and were not even close yet!!!

Australian boat, African crew who stand no chance of fixing the damn thing and us the passengers wondering when we’ll make it to the island! That lobster which was on the cards seems a very long way away now!

Watch this space…..

Arrived at the port finally at 8pm and met our walking taxi Eddy who took us to the hotel, amazingly gorgeous place with two double beds (in case of arguments!) and air con all for a very reasonable price. Ordered a taxi and then made for Mercury’s, a Freddy Mercury tribute seafood restaurant on the beach which serves the most amazing seafood imaginable. Bre and I shared a full on seafood platter which was awesome and then we all headed home.

End of day location: Stone Town, Zanzibar
Distance covered: 80kms across the ocean