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Day 46 by Karien van der Merwe 03/06/2006 22.00 We didn’t get a 04H00 wake-up call. In fact we didn’t get to leave the South African Embassy in Riyadh until much later that morning. (We waited until 10H30 for our Saudi police escorts to arrive.) Somehow it wouldn’t have seemed right if the last day of ... Day 46 by Malcolm Wells 03/06/2006 22.00 “the team has done it; safely and on time, just.” Excited? Just a little bit. Forty six days was the target for the Challenge and forty six days is what we’re going to do it in. Together with Naz and the team from the South African Embassy it’s off ... Day 45 by Karien van der Merwe 02/05/2006 22.00 Last night the team met one of South Africa’s longest serving and most endearing ambassadors to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Safi Abdullah Ehni has been living in Riyadh for 21 years and has worked as a freelancer for the Ministry of Culture and ... Day 45 by Malcolm Wells 02/06/2006 20.00 A day of nothing, of hurry up and wait. The team are in Riyadh and everyone is clear. Whatever the state of the paperwork, they are to head for Qatar tomorrow. There is one border left and tomorrow is Day 46. Day 44 by Karien van der Merwe 01/06/2006 22.00 A very sorry-looking team gathered in the lobby of the Alhamra Sofitel at 03H15. Some tried catching a few ‘z’s while waiting for transport to the South African Consulate where we had left the convoy on the day of our arrival. (Vehicles with right-hand ... Day 44 by Malcolm Wells 01/06/2006 20.00 “So close, but now the Challenge is going to the wire.” With a day in hand, the team leaves for Riyadh with a police escort and the best wishes of our new friends in Jeddah. Two members of the PME will accompany the team to Qatar. Today is a day of ... Day 43 by Karien van der Merwe 31/05/2006 22.00 Butie got his elephant back today. Ian left the hotel just after breakfast to go and fetch Butie’s vehicle. The fuel mule had arrived safely at the harbour in Jeddah and would be ready to go through customs at 10H00 – so Ian was told. Yet, he spent ... Day 43 by Malcolm Wells 31/05/2006 20.00 “The key now is whether we have enough time.” There will be no quick getaway. For reasons that are not entirely clear, the diesel carrier has been unloaded but there is a delay in releasing it. GAC and the South African Consulate go into action. The ... Day 42 by Karien van der Merwe 30/05/2006 22.00 Today we met a prince – His Royal Highness Prince Turki Bin Nasser Bin Abdulaziz, President of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME). Ian had been invited to give a presentation to the Presidency on Sasol’s GTL fuel and we were all honoured ... Day 42 by Malcolm Wells 30/05/2006 20.00 “the nervous tension of extended negotiations followed by last minute approvals, has left everyone a bit frayed.” The diesel transporter is afloat, that’s the good news, but when it will arrive in Saudi Arabia is a matter for speculation. At least it ... Day 41 by Karien van der Merwe 29/05/2006 22.00 The ferry was a fifty-year old, smelly rust bucket. There was no captain’s cocktail party to welcome us aboard and Hugo had to fetch a few cans (we always knew they’d come in handy) from the food vehicle to spare us the cafeteria’s slop. Yet, we were so ... Day 41 Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 29/05/2006 20.00 Yesterday’s success fades very quickly as it becomes clear that we have only had a temporary reprieve. We will be held to the guarantees we’ve given if we can’t chase up the elusive visas. The ship has docked but no-one’s leaving without something formal ... Day 40 by Karien van der Merwe 28/05/2006 22.00 The sun sets late in the northern hemisphere, with a magical half-light lingering long after the sun has gone. Last night, after our evening’s briefing, the team went up to the roof of the Hilton to watch the African sun for a last time as it slowly ... Day 40 Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 28/05/2006 22.00 Day 40, a day that is seared into the memory. The searing began at 4.45 in the morning in preparation for the third crossover to Tim Neary’s radio show on 702 in South Africa. The last time we did this was in Nairobi where the time difference was an ... Day 39 by Karien van der Merwe 27/05/2006 22.00 The temperature, it is said, rose to about 45 degrees Celsius in Port Sudan today. While Ian went out to arrange our passage across the Red Sea with a shipping company, the drivers braved the heat to find a car wash. There were five seriously soiled ... Day 39 Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 27/05/2006 22.00 The shipping date is finalized in a blizzard of e mails. The outstanding visas should be through today and, with luck we will be able to move the team tomorrow. Today has been document intensive but not difficult. My respect for the teams who will have ... Day 38 by Karien van der Merwe 26/05/2006 22.00 Port Sudan, a city of almost half-a-million people and the only major industrial port of Sudan, lies on the western shore of the Red Sea. Our next destination, Jeddah, lies across the sea on the western shore of Saudi Arabia. After covering more than 11 ... Day 38 Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 26/05/2006 22.00 Today is the day the Challenge says goodbye to Joe Hana. Joe’s been a huge help since Nairobi and has quickly fitted into the team but his day job beckons. This is going to be a shipping administration day when we crunch the paperwork, smash it into ... Day 37 by Karien van der Merwe 25/05/2006 22.00 We arrived too late in Gedaref for dinner last night and had only time for coffee or tea this morning – a real challenge for some of the team members’ bigger appetites. Yet, we were all ready to move on – in 36 days Africa has moulded us into much ... Day 37 Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 25/05/2006 22.00 After the excitement of yesterday, today’s task is to make sure the team can ship from Port Sudan to Jeddah. The Sasol Chevron GTL Challenge is making the jump from Gedaref to Port Sudan which is another hard road bash but, as Joe says, the roads are ... Day 36 by Karien van der Merwe 24/05/2006 22.00 When the morning mist lifted, we found ourselves high up on a hill, overlooking the picturesque town of Gondar, nestling in the valley of a million hills. We were surrounded by history – On a far-off hill stood the ancient Debre Berhan Selassie Church. ... Day 36 Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 24/05/2006 22.00 Today sees the first of three major challenges which we will have to overcome if we are to succeed – Sudanese border, Red Sea crossing, Saudi border. If we can get to Gedaref in the Sudan today we will be back on track. The team leaves early and is ... Day 35 by Karien van der Merwe 23/05/2006 22.00 “My glass is already half full again,” said a smiling Geoff at our first pit stop for the day. We had left the mishmash that is Addis Ababa and headed up to the high grasslands of the north. 750 km of hard driving to Gondar lay ahead. As the altitude ... Day 35 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 23/05/2006 22.00 The team has reached Gonder. Gedaref is possible for tomorrow. Game on again. Papers sorted, the team is going all out for Gonder. If we can reach Gonder today then the border is doable tomorrow and the Challenge can be in Port Sudan for Thursday. ... Day 34 by Karien van der Merwe 22/05/2006 22.00 Today Ian, Joe and Ramona, with the help of the South African Embassy, accomplished what few people – if any – have ever done. They managed to get twelve Sudanese visas in just one short day! Why did we not get our visas before leaving South Africa? ... Day 34 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 22/05/2006 22.00 WE'RE CUTTING IT FINE BUT THE CHALLENGE IS STILL ON. Monday – and there are now three critical tasks to be completed if we are to succeed. The first of these is to square away the Sudanese visas. Here, as so often during the Sasol Chevron GTL ... Day 33 by Karien van der Merwe 21/05/2006 22.00 Another Sunday – stuck in another city, waiting for visas. This is Africa with its own time and rules. Ethiopia, for example, hasn’t experienced the New Millennium yet – here we’re in the year 1998. Asefa, an Orthodox Ethiopian working for the South ... Day 33 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 21/05/2006 22.00 IF WE ARE STILL IN ADDIS BY TUESDAY LUNCHTIME THEN ALL BETS ARE OFF. Another day in Addis and there’s nothing to be done about it. The planning takes a more crystalised form and we are looking to be in Port Sudan for the 28th May. Tomorrow will be ... Day 32 by Karien van der Merwe 20/05/2006 22.00 The Hilton Hotel stands out like a sore Western thumb – in sharp contrast to the African shack-land beyond its security walls. “Every day I come to work in a foreign country,” said receptionist Seifu, one of more than 600 Ethiopians employed as hotel ... Day 32 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 20/05/2006 22.00 WHAT WE ARE ALSO CREATING IS A VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE PLANNING SIMILAR TRIPS UP AFRICA INTHE FUTURE. Today is the first time since the trip began that my family have had internet access and are able to see what has disrupted family life ... Day 31 by Karien van der Merwe 19/05/2006 22.00 Gone was the cacophony of the night before. Fish eagles, marabou storks and yellow bill kites soared in the early-morning thermal current above our heads. It’s a month since our send-off from Kyalami in Johannesburg. We had made it to Ethiopia’s ... Day 31 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 19/05/2006 22.00 IT'S THE TELEPHOTO LENS I WAS USING – IT MAKES EVERYTHING LOOK MUCH FASTER. The team has made Addis Abeba but again we have been bitten by the curse of the weekend. Attempts to secure paperwork fail and the Sasol Chevron GTL Challenge will now have to ... Day 30 by Karien van der Merwe 18/05/2006 22.00 We woke up at 05H00 in Kenya’s semi-desert and broke down camp before daybreak. It was a relief to pack away dry tents and equipment for a change. By 07h00 the convoy was ready to leave for the border – with two armed military escorts on board. The ... Day 30 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 18/05/2006 22.00 AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE AT THESE CONFERENCES WHAT GTL WILL DO FOR THEM, IT IS NICE TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THEM. The pictures from yesterday are in and it is not good. The 4x4 is going faster that I want to see it go and the mules are going too ... Day 29 by Karien van der Merwe 17/05/2006 22.00 We left Nairobi before dawn. Our aim was to get as close to the border of Kenya with Ethiopia as possible. It was going to be a rough ride on a very harsh road of gravel and sand, but a ride deep into an Africa none of us could have imagined. With ... Day 29 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 17/05/2006 22.00 THEY HAVE PRETTY MUCH COMPLETED THE TRIP IN A SINGLE DAY AND MADE UP SOME TIME, BUT THEY'VE PAID A PRICE. The team is moving up towards the Ethiopian border. They have been five days in Nairobi and they are champing at the bit. As a result, they ... Day 28 by Karien van der Merwe 16/05/2006 22.00 Another day at Jungle Junction! Sitting around, waiting for visas is beginning to work on the team’s nerves and the team is beginning to work on one another’s nerves. Since Nairobi (nicknamed ‘Nairobbery’) is not a city a visitor would want to walk ... Day 28 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 16/05/2006 22.00 THE PRESSURE IS NOW ON AND, IF THE ALTERNATIVE TO HOURS SPENT SHOPPING IS HARD TACK AND ROADKILL, THAT'S THE WAY IT'S GOING TO BE. Day 29 starts with a 5.30 am arrival at Heathrow. Back in Kenya, the team are still chasing paperwork. On the plus ... Day 27 by Karien van der Merwe 15/05/2006 22.00 It’s Monday, our third day at Jungle Junction and we’re waiting anxiously to see if Nazmirah, our guardian angel and the darling of the team, will be able to secure our visas for Ethiopia and an extension visa for Sudan. There has been a change of ... Day 27 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 15/05/2006 22.00 THE COMPARATIVE OIL STATES ARE NOT DUE ENTIRELY TO USING GTL, THERE ARE OTHER CONTRIBUTING FACTORS, BUT IT IS STILL AN IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE. Monday and the team gets going, finally. The morning is taken up with a planning meeting and the following ... Day 26 by Karien van der Merwe 14/05/2006 22.00 Today was Sunday and, like people do on Sundays, the team took a break. Chris recommended a little tour that included visiting orphan elephants, feeding giraffes and drinking coffee at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden. We were surprised how close to ... Day 26 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 14/05/2006 22.00 THERE'S NOTHING TO BE DONE PAPERWORKWISE EXCEPT WATCH ANOTHER DAY GO BY AND HOPE THAT WE WON'T REGRET IT. ‘A slow lazy day ends at Johannesburg Airport where West Ham’s triumph ensures that this year’s FA Cup Final will feature two teams of class and ... Day 25 by Karien van der Merwe 13/05/2006 22.00 After a very long and stressful day, we woke up in the luxury of dry hotel beds, grateful to have been out of the rain and mud for one brief night. Before midday, five well travelled and lived in vehicles left the parking lot of the Intercontinental ... Day 25 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 13/05/2006 22.00 AFRICAN OVERLANDERS IN NAIROBI WOULD DO WELL TO SEEK OUT CHRIS AND JUNGLE JUNCTION. Because of our unintentional habit of arriving in Africa’s capital cities at the weekend, there is little to be done in the way of paperwork for the re-route. The ... Day 24 by Karien van der Merwe 12/05/2006 22.00 For a third day in a row, we woke up to rain, soaked bedding and muddy tents. We loaded the vehicles, adding more Tanzanian soil to our five grubby vehicles. The once shiny convoy was beginning to have the “we’re travelling through Africa” designer ... Day 24 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 12/05/2006 22.00 IN STAGGERS KARIEN LOOKING LIKE A CROSS BETWEEN THE AMAZING MUD WOMAN AND THE LAST SURVIVOR OF AN ATTACK BY THE SWAMP THING. Nairobi and no awkward conversations, just a friendly welcome. The team plans to arrive early afternoon so there’s not much to ... Day 23 by Karien van der Merwe 11/05/2006 22.00 It’s our 23rd day into the Challenge, we’re back at the Masai Camp in Arusha and all is well – Ramona is back in the saddle and ready to cross the border into Kenya with the team tomorrow. Ramona triumphed over Africa’s biggest killer disease, exactly ... Day 23 - Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 11/05/2006 22.00 FOR THE SECOND TIME IN LESS THAN A FORTNIGHT AN AWKWARD DISCUSSION WITH THE AIRPORT AUTHORITIES BECKONS. It’s Thursday so the airport beckons. Airport days are horrible days because everyone suddenly wants something immediately and there is a time ... Day 22 by Karien van der Merwe 10/05/2006 21.00 “The day was too short!” is how three members of the team summed up today. It wasn’t as though we started late. We were up and ready to go into Ngorongoro Crater by 05H30 – way before sunrise – but, there was nothing we could do to beat the clock. We ... Day 22 Expedition Director's Diary by Malcolm Wells 10/05/2006 23.00 The good news is that Ramona is back on her feet. I get a call from the Doc first thing. He’s satisfied that she’s on the mend. I pass that news on to the family and breathe out for the first time in 24 hours. The other good news is that the London ... Day 21 by Karien van der Merwe 09/05/2006 22.00 We woke up to pouring rain this morning and some of us were very grateful for having had the guts to chicken out on the tents last night. It was the hardest and most consistent shower we’ve had on the trip. The grey clouds and low-hanging sky were a sign ...