DAY 66. TUES 10/04. Borj Cedria via Tunis to Parc Ichkeul, near Mateur. 147 kms. Total 14539 kms. "Bushcamp" entrance to Parc Ichkeul. N37 06.896 E9 40.082

Went straight into Tunis to try find the parts dealer in Rue Carthage. Wasn't quite where GPS map said it was but a few 100 m up the road at N36 47.561 E10 10.944, called PTR. (maybe it had moved?) Luckily they had the oil seals. Rob spent a few minutes scratching his head going through the parts catalogue to get the correct part numbers which was pretty confusing with all the axle types but luckily recognized the seals by sight once they were in front of him as he had taken them apart so often. Took 3 different seals just to be sure we would have correct part for inner and outer seal. Also got some lock washers and end caps. Only came to 20 TD, quite cheap. Went round the corner to a mechanic recommended by the parts place to get seals fitted at 19 Rue Ahmed Tlili (N36 47.809 E10 11.113). While driving there went past another Land Rover sign at N36 47.834 E10 10.958, presumably also a parts place but we never went in to check. Had everything done in about an hour including new bearings fitted as the mechanic agreed old ones were no good. Also only cost 20 TD, what a pleasure! Went back to PTR to swap the other new incorrect seal for one of the correct ones and buy another one of the other type so we now have a spare set. As it was now lunch time we dined in a tiny local eatery on chicken, chips, salad, bread and coke. Good feast. Decided to visit Carrefour supermarket (N36 51.879 E10 17.796) on our way out of town heading north and luckily with our new GPS maps navigation was easy and we found it no problem. Turned out to be an inspired decision as they have a fully stocked alcohol section so we stocked up with beer and Tunisian red wine. Beer comes in tiny 240 ml cans, like a can of Red Bull, so we had to buy many ;-) Also restocked our kitchen "cupboards" with essential provisions, toiletries and luxuries even including meat for the 1st time in a while (mince and Tunisia spicy sausages, a local speciality, which we ate that evening with mash - very tasty!) Everything we needed. On the way out, in the food court of the mall, we spotted a place making Belgian waffles, ice creams, milkshakes and crepes and promised to come back for some when we were next in Tunis. Headed out of town north west in the general direction of Bulla Regia, and camped at the entrance to Parc Ichkeul, a national park surrounding a lake near Mateur, next to a Euro campervan. Cracked the 1st beers in ages, ate our yummy sausages and slept in the back. Good camp!

DAY 67. WED 11/04. Parc Ichkeul to 14 km before Le Kef (via Bulla Regia). 197 kms. Total 14736 kms. Bushcamp.

Started the morning with some big game spotting. Leaving the entrance of the park towards Mateur, we saw a huge buffalo, which the Parc is famous for. (& a pair of nesting storks) Much like our southern "Big 5" buffalo - only slightly different. Lives in the wetlands so we are guessing some sort of water buffalo. This boosted our sparse West and North African wildlife count of the giraffes in Niger and the couple of gazelles we had seen running in the desert in Algeria around the Teffedest on 2 occasions. After that not too much excitement (except for a pairs of pliers Rob had forgotten to put away flying off the roof and down the road behind us) until we got to the Roman ruins at Bulla Regia, (N36 33.422 E8 45.263) where we spent 2 hours looking around the site. Most impressive are the elaborate underground houses named after the themes on the mosaics found in them e.g. Hunting House, Fishing House etc. Best mosaics are found in House of Amphitrite, of Venus, centaurs and cherubs. No doubt if this were in Europe it would probably be in a museum if not at least under glass, but here it is still covering the floor as it was 1000's of years ago! Also decent baths and theatre are found on the site. After that we headed towards Le Kef, our next stop, taking some back roads around a lake we spotted on a map in the hope of finding a good bushcamp. Approaching the turn off we were stopped twice, once by police and the 2nd time by the military, checking our details. This was strange as up till then we had never been stopped - always just waved through the check points as much like Morocco they only stop the locals. It became clearer later heading down the road when we spotted numerous army 4x4's (wide, mean looking things like a cross between a landy and a hummer) camouflaged with netting hiding in the mountains with surveillance gear pointed over the mountains! Ended up camping at a nice spot next to a river just before Le Kef and even were able to put up the tent. Listened to the radio and heard about the bombings in Algiers. That must have been what all the army surveillance was about as we were only about 30 kms away from the Algerian border, just over the mountains. Anyway, had a great camp, with lovely spaghetti bolognaise - with real meat! Inga needed to open the wine to make the sauce so Rob had to get stuck into the Tunisian red too - not too bad! 

DAY 68. THURS 12/04. 14 km before Le Kef to Dougga Ruins. 117 kms. 14853 kms. "Bushcamp" - Dougga Ruins

Woke up to a bit of rain, which lasted all morning. Our first real rainy day in Africa! Stopped at the hill top town of Le Kef for a bit of a look around as it is highly rated by our tourist guide book. Took a walk up the cobbled steps, through the white buildings, with blue shuttered windows, of the medina up to the Kasbah at the top of the hill, with great views down over the surrounding green hills. Would have been better if it wasn't still raining so only a brief but pleasant visit anyhow. Arrived at the next Roman ruins at Dougga (N36 25.491 E9 13.690), a much larger site, spread over the top of hills, just after lunch time. After a quick lunch eaten inside the Land Rover the rain cleared up and we were left with nice sunny weather for a 2 hour wander around the site. Highlights of this site are an impressive temple with 6 huge columns, and an equally impressive theatre plus a mausoleum tower. Also great views of green hills and yellow flowers from up the top. Left the ruins just after 4pm to try find a bushcamp on the way back towards Tunis. Drove for about 14kms before taking a side road into the country and stopping down a gravel road, behind a slight rock outcrop on a little patch of wild ground, in a generally flat farming area surrounded by a few fields. It was not great but didn't think anyone would mind. As it was still so early (5pm) and we were not hidden from view and with a few people walking by we thought we would wait until dark before setting up camp. Sat in the landy reading, listening to the radio, drinking a beer or 2 and munching on crisps until after dark when we put up the tent, cooked, ate and went to bed at about 9.30 pm. 5 minutes after getting into the tent a car pulls up with 3 men in - one in uniform, one in plain clothes but also some sort of official and the 3rd who I think was the farmer who had earlier seen us and had now obviously complained and told us we couldn't now camp here. They wanted to escort us back to Dougga Ruins. This was the 1st time this had happened to us on the trip (although it used to happen to Rob and the boys when they campervanned through Europe almost every day) This was fair enough but Rob was furious that is was now dark, we had just put up the tent and now they wanted us to move when the farmer had seen us hours ago when we 1st pulled up. Anyway arguing was no good as they spoke no English what so ever so we eventually relented and packed up. They then escorted us back to Dougga where we parked up alongside the road under the ruins on the grounds of a World Heritage Site! Not too bad, really, better camp than where we were. As it was now almost 11pm didn't bother putting up the tent again and just slept in the back. Couldn't believe that they would let us camp here and not on some patch of ground in the middle of no where! I wonder if they would have allowed it if we had asked earlier in the afternoon before we left the 1st time?

DAY 69. FRI 13/04. Dougga Ruins to Tunis. 175 kms. Total 15028 kms. Camping La Pinede, Borj Cedria. N36 42.755 E10 24.430

Due to our late night last night we didn?t get up too early and breakfasted on the last of the pain au chocolates and lovely Danone drinking yoghurts beneath the ruins. Got on the road around 10 am. Was a bit worried about getting to the consulate before it closed for the afternoon so took the toll road/motorway south east. Was a great decision as the motorway is completed but the toll booths are not yet operational so it was a free ride. Went straight into the Libyan consulate but unfortunately our visas were not approved yet - they were waiting for a fax from Libya. They said maybe tomorrow as they are also open Saturday mornings so we agreed to call in the morning. Spent a few hours at the internet cafe' near the embassy before going back to see if there had been any further developments with the visa but they were closed already for the afternoon. Went back to Carrefour supermarket again to make good on our promise or milkshakes, Belgian waffles and crepes which were lovely, although a bit pricy, but still worth it! Also restocked on the beer and wine as surprisingly they hadn't lasted that long as well as more meat and the spicy sausages again as they were so good the 1st time plus a few more things we had forgotten to get the 1st time. Even the little sugar cubes that all the Tunisians use for coffee. Posh campers, us! Debated just sleeping in the car park rather that drive the 25kms out of town to the campsite and then back the next day to hopefully collect the visas but eventually decided to head for the campsite. When we got there they recognized us from the 1st time and waved us in!