Well it is time to bid Ethiopia farewell. We have had a blast and loved the smiley happy locals. We started out in rolling lush green hills, moved to flat savannahs onto green lush farm lands, some rock scapes and then finished with a landscape that was mainly the thorny Acacia trees which were rather uncomfortable when you went to the loo and walked or squatted too close to the 5cm thorns. Ethiopia was certainly a surprise and not the starving desolate lan...

Life on the truck is settling nicely and we are all getting into a routine. Days on the truck are either long, medium or short with a long drive day being up to 9-12 hours driving and a short one being about 2-3 hours. Driving is quite rough at times and the further back you sit in the truck the more you get thrown around. The truck can seat 24 and has a 'beach area'. The beach is just above and behind the cabin and is 3 mattresses across the front of the t...

The theft occurred last night when Mayke made a terrible error and left her backpack outside her tent for about an hour after we set up camp and it was stolen! She had decided that she would organise her stuff and get a 'tent bag' sorted for campsites and so had taken her big bag off the truck. The police were called, the security guard who was sitting about 3m from the bag was arrested and put in jail and she was amazingly calm. The group is now in the proc...

A long day of driving and a flat tyre (2nd for the trip so far) saw us arrive in Lalibela - the Jerusalem of Ethiopia. We got to upgrade and stay in a hotel with a bed and ensuite bathroom. We felt very spoilt indeed. We were staying Ethiopian four star equivalent and it was only 10USD per night. I think at this point a bed was just what I needed and I felt so much more refreshed, clean and willing to set up my tent again following 2 glorious nights sleep an...

Being so close to one of Africa's most picturesque Mountain ranges saw us go for an overnight trek to the Simien Mountains. Headed off at 7am on Monday morning and started trekking at about 1pm for approximately 5 hours. 3 of our group just took the bus straight to the campsite as they were in the throes of vomiting and diarrhea. We saw loads of Gelaba which are the baboons that are native to this region. They are vegetarian and so did not mind one little bit...