THE RETURN OF PHILIP, BLUE NILE FALLS AND THE LONGEST DRIVE EVER!

19 May 2008

Day 79

Bahir Dar - Addis Ababa (National Hotel)

609Km

SARAH: I woke up not feeling very well with aching muscles. We had decided to try to drive to Addis and see the Blue Nile Falls in one day so we were up at 5:30am. Just as we were leaving we got the surprise of our lives as we saw Philip and his broken motorbike arrive!! He had had the bike repaired in Khartoum and had ridden it to the Ethiopian border where the engine oil had drained out of screw hole at the bottom of the engine and true to form he had continued riding so his bike is now well and truly stuffed! His plan is to leave it in Ethiopia and travel by bus to Nairobi. We had to say our goodbyes and hit the road so were not able to get the full story of how he ended up arriving at Bahir Dar at 7am and how he survived the shootout in Khartoum.If we'd known that the road to the Blue Nile falls was a rocky dirt road we may not have gone there but we were glad we did because the falls were lovely. The water, a rich red colour full of top soil, cascaded over black rock into a narrow but deep rocky ravine. The soil erosion in Ethiopia is very bad. I was feeling really ill and weak by the time I'd walked 20mins to the falls. The only thing that cheered me up was the sweetest, loveliest little girl who walked with us trying to sell us an Ethiopian shawl. Unlike the other annoying, pestering kids, she was genuinely nice with excellent English and invited us into her house for Injera and coffee which we had to turn down. She was so sweet Bruce ended up giving her more than she'd asked for her shawl and she then told us that she was going to spend 5 Birr on new shoes, 10Birr on another shawl to sell and she hadn't decided how to spend the other 25. She was clearly a bright little girl and with an education would do well in life. The other kids with us were just a plain nuisance. Back in the car we drove back to Bahir Dar and then started the long drive to Addis. We had to take it slowly, keeping our speed below 70km/hr to avoid the wobble. It was a slow painful journey and my whole body had started to ache badly. I thought that I may have malaria so Bruce pricked my finger on the side of the road to extract a blood sample for a malaria test. Fortunately it came back negative and I resorted to taking paracetamol to help me. Poor Bruce had to drive 13 hours solid to Addis. The road was tar but the animals and people were so stupid they'd walk right in front of our car causing us to stop frequently. So far my impression of rural Ethiopians is dirty and stupid and very overpopulated. We had to drive into the night again with Bruce sure he was going to hit something. Luckily the animals had all been taken off the road back into their enclosures but it was raining too now. We got to Addis at 10pm to find that the Bel Air Hotel was being revamped, was completely empty, and the owner had been drinking so we blew our budget and stayed at the National Hotel for 60$US but at that stage I didn't care and I just wanted to get to bed. By now my throat had erupted and I thought I had some throat infection.

DOCTORS FOR SE AND UBEJANE!

20 May 2008

Day 80

Addis Ababa (Baro Hotel)

0Km

BRUCE: We were up at 6am and after a quick breakfast checked out of the hotel and headed to the Poly Clinic that Se had seen the day before. She was seen by a huge white old lady who was a bit of a dragon and she said that Se had Pharyngitis and prescribed some antibiotics and painkillers. All for 10Birr and the mootie was 100Birr so all very good value! We headed up to the Piazza area and booked into the Baro Hotel which we knew to be popular with overlanders and it had secure parking. We tucked Se into bed and I headed off to get Ubhejane sorted out. I went to Ultimate Motors which the Cape to Cairo guidebook recommended as the Land Rover specialists and found them after a bit of running around. I went for a test drive with the head mechanic and the catastrophic shaking came on so he was able to feel it. When we got back to the workshop it was lunch time and the manager said that after lunch they would start checking the vehicle over. I was a little uncomfortable that there weren't too many Land Rovers there and mainly a whole lot of trucks and also by the fact that they wanted to go over ground that we'd already covered before. I found a place for lunch and as I was leaving I saw another waypoint for a Land Rover specialists, just around the corner so I decided to check them out. Ethio Lakes (N8 58.782 E38 45.353) struck me as a very professional set-up straight away and during the test drive with their head mechanic, who was taking notes all the time, I felt that this was a better place. He had no idea what was causing the shaking and after I'd told him that I'd first noticed it after putting new wheels on we agreed that we should have them rebalanced. The balancing place had no power so I will have return tomorrow. Got back to the hotel and updated a very tired Se and left her to sleep while I went out for a pizza. I was not feeling tired and headed up to the Piazza to find a bar for beer. Found a great place that was really busy and got chatting to two local guys who introduced me to some local Ethiopian music. After a few beers with the friendly locals I made it back to the hotel to a very angry Fiancé who'd been waiting up for me!

21 May 2008

Day 81

Addis Ababa (Baro Hotel)

0km

SARAH: I needed another rest day and was feeling a little better with the drugs kicking in. I actually ventured out across the road to call Mum and had a great chat but boy did it cost me! Still it was worth it as Mum was also not well with flu. I then got chatting to a well educated Ethiopian guy who's returning to the Omo Valley region from Sudan. His bus was held up just before the Sudanese-Ethiopian border and 6 masked men with guns took everyone's money and belongings but lucking nobody was hurt. The poor guy is now stranded with no money to buy a bus ticket out of Addis and is waiting for his German 'parents' (people who sponsored his education) to wire some money through. So I bought him lunch at our hotel and again felt relieved that we'd had no trouble in Sudan. This guy says he thought the gunmen were probably from Eritrea.Bruce returned in the late afternoon with some hopeful news. The wheels had been rebalanced and still the wobble was there so the mechanics looked further and found a bent arm on the transfer gear box so they are going to open it up and have a look. Finally some hope that this may be the source of the problem. I managed to walk across the road for a pizza dinner and rested in the hotel afterwards while Bruce went out to watch the Champions League final in town.

22 May 2008

Day 82

Addis Ababa (Baro Hotel)

0km

BRUCE: Se was feeling a little better this morning so we decided to go to the Land Rover place together and spend the day there. We got our first minibus taxi down there which was literally 50 times cheaper than the cab I'd taken yesterday. The guys had the transfer box off and after inspection, concluded that there was nothing wrong inside, only a bent lever connection on the outside that may have affected the engagement of the synchroniser between high and low range and also may have affected diff lock. After a long day of waiting the vehicle was reassembled and the lever corrected and we tested the vehicle on the ramp. The Landy moved with just the rear propshaft on although I still cannot engage diff lock which I realised today I have never been able to engage as the light on the dash has never come on. We established today that the light does work when diff lock is engaged. It was knock off time when we went for our test drive but the drive showed no change at all. We passed the young mechanic who's been working on the car on the way back and he was gutted that it was not fixed. So we returned to the hotel feeling really dejected.At a last gasp attempt we decided to call Paul at Foleys to see what he thought. He said he knew the problem straight away and that it was the swivel pin bearings that we'd had checked in Khartoum!!! Paul the asked about the rest of the car and I told him about the transfer box and the fact that the Landy appeared to be only in front wheel drive.I told him about the jack test we'd done and said that before the adjustment on the transfer box if we jacked up one wheel the car would not move and the wheel would spin but that now the vehicle would drive off the jack with drive from the rear wheels. Paul was horrified and said that the vehicle should not drive off the jack unless diff lock was engaged! He also said that if we drove with diff lock engaged we'd cook the transfer box in under 2000km. Feeling devastated we went back to Ubhjane and tried the jack test again and sure enough we drove off the jack meaning that diff lock was engaged and that our transfer box was at risk even though the diff lock light was not on on the dash. So we'd started with one problem and now had two, with the second more serious than the first. Feeling sick we forced down a pizza and went to bed early so that we could be up at 6 and at the garage by 7:30am when they opened.

s***S AND GIGGLES!

23 May 2008

Day 83

Addis Ababa (Baro Hotel)

0km

SARAH: It was back to the garage again at 7:30am and we were there before the mechanics arrived. WE relayed Paul's info to them and were keen to check that the car isn't in diff lock at present. After readjusting the lever mechanism we tested it and were relived that it performed just how Paul indicated it should. 4Wheel drive is now operating permanently and diff lock works but still with only manual engagement from under the car. So it was back to the wheels and they disassembled both front wheels and replaced all wheel and swivel pin bearings and also replaced the pitman arm that connects the track rods to the steering box. We waited anxiously all day for the test drive but they didn't finish in time and we'll have to wait until tomorrow. Luckily they work Saturdays. We took a cab to Bole Rd where we had a nice steak fro dinner and did some people watching. The whole city operates with an effective mini bus service that runs on certain routes, just like the London underground except you need to recognise where to get off. We'd just climbed into the back of one of these and established loudly that it went where we needed to go and paid the man 4Birr when my stomach started to cramp violently! I thought it would pass but it got worse in the next 5 mins to the point where I thought something had to get out now! So Bruce banged on the roof of the minibus shouting ' stop the bus, stop the bus' and people looked at us really strangely as these two white people bolted out of the bus after just getting on. Squeezing my bum together I made it to a pub toilet just in time although the toilet cleaner didn't look so impressed. She was even less impressed when I had to go again! So feeling much better we left and made it home safely.

REPAIRED LAND ROVERS AND THE REAPEARANCE OF PHILIP

24 May 2008

Day 84

Addis Ababa (Baro Hotel N9 01.841 E38 45.219)

0km

BRUCE: So after 3 hours sleep (I'd been up drinking and playing cards with some fellow travellers) I was up at 5am and into a mini bus back to the garage at 6:30am. The guys had started working at 7am and by 8:30 Ubhjane was back together and it was time for a test drive. Lemma came with me and we headed for the ring road which was the only place we could get up to 80km/hr (sounds like Back to the Future!). The catastrophic wobble was gone and all that remains is a slight vibration through the steering which we think is the worn track rod ends. So good news!! When we got back they sorted out the diff lock that was not engaging. When all was done we were invited to join them for lunch at their annual get together which was great - Injera and meat! The guys did a great job and were thoroughly professional. A real pleasure to deal with. Se and I got back to the Baro Hotel after a stop at a supermarket and packed up the Landy ready to hit the road tomorrow. Later that afternoon I walked out of the Hotel and saw a white pick up with THAT 125cc motorcycle on the back of it! Philip had returned!! He was going to try and have his bike fixed in Addis and continue on South! When he suggested that he may ship it back to Germany for repairs and try again next year, we told him not to be stupid and to just buy a bigger bike! Something tells me it's not the last we've seen of this bike. We got a take away pizza and did some route planning on the veranda while chatting to Lilly and 2 American travellers. Se and I are both excited to get back on the road again after being laid up in Addis for so long.