Round the Mountain

Day 0 – Whakapapa Info Centre to Whakapapaiti Hut

Track &Terrain: Easy uphill, lots of track work. Walked last bit in the dark without any worries – track markers have reflectors easily picked up by torchlight so finding the track is easy. Whakapapaiti River can be unsafe to cross if its raining but no problems today.
Estimated walking time from DOC: 2-3 hours
My walking time: 3 hours
Weather: Clear skies, sunny until the sun went down, then full moon!

Journal: Today wasn’t really part of the plan, but I started walking anyway leaving the Whakapapa info centre at 7pm with the plan to suss out the track with the knowledge that I’d be soon walking in the dark by full moon and headlamp.

The first section of the track was really good and I was feeling like I was on a real tourist route the track work was so good (especially after the amount of untracked walks I’ve been on in SEQ!). I didn’t lose the sun until 9pm so only an hours walk in the dark. Trusty head torch on my head and even whent the track quality deteriorated a little, theres heaps of reflective markers so it didn’t feel too crazy at all. Full moon shining, some sections I didn’t even need the torch! Boots and feet got wet crossing the Whakapapaiti River – not quite sure if there was a better place to cross somewhere further up/down stream which might’ve been easier to find if it wasn’t dark. Whakapapaiti Hut is a cute and cozy little place. The hut warden and another walker are still up with the fire going. Feeling fit and strong after last weeks walks in Egmont NP and to Zekes Hut.

Day 1 – Whakapapaiti Hut to Mangaturuturu Hut

Track and Terrain: Not much track work. Lots of up and down all day. More difficult than yesterday.
Estimated walking time from DOC: 6 hours
My walking time: 8 hours (lots of stops and photos)
Weather: Sunny – clear skies. Hat, sunnies, sunscreen essential.

Journal: My day starts with a sleep in. I don’t crawl out of my sleeping bag until 9am after my late night the previous night. This means that I’m not walking until 1030am. I’m not sorried though. Lovely day, sun is shining and there’s plenty of daylight to play about with! I’m in no particular hurry. That’s the thing about going solo. No one has to wait for me, I don’t need to wait for anyone.

The track undulates and I stop multiple times, gazing u at the mountain admiring it as the angle changes as I start to move my way around it. I take lots of photos. I talk to the grasshoppers. I don’t see another human all day. I don’t get to my destination until 6pm. Once I get there I decide to make some rules. Shower before dinner.

I jump in the Mangaturturu River and splash about. The water comes off the mountain so it’s FREEZING and I don’t get the top half washed too well because it’s too cold. I’m such a pansy!

Now it’s time to sleep. I’m here by myself and can’t get the fire to start. I’ve used a third of my roll of toilet paper and a fifth of my bottle of cooking fuel. I think the wood is wet. I’m tired.

Day 2: Mangaturuturu Hut to Mangahuehu Hut

Track and Terrain: Awesome section of track straight up a waterfall (easy scramble), down the Ohakune Mtn Rd, then good track work all the way to Mangahuehu Hut = easy walk day.
Estimated walking time from DOC: 5hours 30mins
My walking time: 6 hours 15 minutes
Weather: Sunny

Journal: Oh my gosh – WOW! The route up to Wanganui corner is phenomenal. An awesome walk straight up a waterfall – an easy scramble. Amazing views all the way out to Taranaki! Todays hike is easier than yesterdays. I wake at 7:15, have coffee and orridge for breakfast. All set to go with my rucksack on my back at 9:15 and arrive at the next hut at 1530 – not a bad effort considering the number of photos, and multiple stops admiring the views, and the fact that my left Achilles tendon hurts. Ouchie!!!

Unlike yesterday – today I wee multiple people as I hike. First I see some friends I made last weekend heading up the hill for some skinning time and I’m frustrated at myself for not organising myself better so I can join them! I see some day walkers checking out Waitonga falls. I see the park ranger who has been out doing some track work on this section of the mountain and repairing one of the bridges – we have quite a long chat. I think he must’ve been feeling lonely too!

I see a couple of day hikers (oldies) speeding along to the mangahuehu hut and back on a day trip. I love speedy oldies and hope that when I’m that old I’ll have the same level of health and fitness to be like that too! When I get to the hut I meet a girl, Karen, from Guatemala. Also walking around the mountain but it’s her day 1. She hurt her knee on our side of the mountain skiing. I apparently processed her knee brace refund!

Another couple of oldies turn up for a night at the hut too. Plenty of friends and company tonight. Nettie and Donna who are on a photographic mission. I make a fire with no worries tonight!!

Day 3 – Mangahuehu Hut to Rangipo Hut

Track & Terrain: Comparatively difficult. Not much in the way of track work. Just marker poles across rocky, sandy dessert. More uphill than downhill.    One quite steep gorge to get across – more difficult going down than going up.
Estimated walking time from DOC: 5 hours 30 minutes
My walking time: 8 hours
Weather: Sunny

Journal: Clean socks!

Early rise this morning. I cook my porridge and make a coffee. Donna and Nettie are already up after having a sunrise photographic mission. Karen leaves before me. There’s a big difference in track condition from yesterday. The forest disappears & before long I am standing in the desert. A desert full of rocks. The lanscape is so different I fell like I’m almost back in Namibia again! I only see one other walker today. A man from Auckland. He’s walking the same trail in the opposite direction. The air is warm and dry and it really seems like this side of the mountain gets much less rainfall. I cross the gorge Nettie had warned me about – the slopes made with loose scree but it’s not as bad as it looks at a distance. I wish I had more grip left on my hiking boots!

I stop to tape duct tape on to my sore Achilles trying to give it some support. That tendon feels like it’s full of sand! Weird. I’m a big believer in duct tape and paracetamol. I’m able to fix most things with this stuff.

Rangipo Hut is 1556m above sea level – nearly the same as base elevation at Turoa. Not surprising it’s a little colder up here.

My knees feel like they are an arthritic 80 and while I walk I think about the possibility of hiking with poles… I’d always thought that they were only for oldies or otherwise something extra to carry. I’ve been told by some incredibly experienced trampers otherwise though – they help the knees, make you go faster, and are particularly useful crossing rivers! Something to think about anyway… Could probably get away with using my ski poles!

Anyhow, dinner time – salami and soup mix split peas and pearl barley! Tastey.

Day 4 – Rangipo Hut to Waihohonu Hut

Track and Terrain: Similar to yesterday but much more down than up means a much easier day.
Estimated tramping time from DOC: 4hours 30minutes
My time: 4 hours 30minutes.
Weather: SUNNY!!!

Journal: A comparatively easy day. My knees are feeling like they’re 50 (which is better than yesterday’s 80!) and there’s nothing like duct tape to fix a sore Achilles! The landscape is much the same as the previous day but not nearly as much down and up. Karen and I wake early to watch the sun come up and are rewarded with a beautiful sunrise! I get walking early and I walk up over a ridge and I’m greeted by my friend Ngaruhoe!!

I walk along and I can see the back side of the Pinnacles. Mother Nature has given me another day of fine weather. The track today is mostly loose gravel and sand – nothing too steep. Despite a long lunch stop and lots of photos, and a side trip to the Ohinepango springs – I make it to the hut by 1315. And whoa – this place is FANCY! Solar panels, big spacious areas, gas stoves, picnic tables… I meet Kayla the hut warden from back at the Whakapapaiti Hut again aswell which is nice. Turns out I left my iPhone charger back in the other hut and she figured out I’d be here tonight and brought it back!!! So now I have power in my phone again from my portable solar panel and only no mobile reception!

There’s a weather report inside the hut and I think I might be getting wet tomorrow. The hut is so fancy that it feels really out of place to be in the middle of nowhere. I kind of want to leave. I think about keeping on walking back to the car but the sign says 5hours and my knees and Achilles are saying enough walking for one day!! And it costs $32 to stay here at this time of year and I’ve already paid so I decide to stay. Instead I go and have my routine shower in the river and visit the nearby historic hut then settle down for my afternoon nap. I’m normally not really into mistorical thing but this place is cool - it used to be used by Ruapehu Ski Club back in the days before RAL… there’s a photo of women skiing in their skirts from back in 1905! So cool to see women skiing even back then (even if they are wearing skirts!)

Day 5 - Waihohonu Hut to Whakapapa Information Centre

Track &Terrain: Highway! Steady uphill, then lots of downhill
Estimated track walking time from DOC: 5hours 30 minutes
My time: 3hours 30 minutes
Weather: Rainy, drizzly, cold!!

Journal: Early rise, clean socks, clean shirt - Early getaway – the sun is hiding today somewhere behind the clouds. I can’t see my friends Ngaruhoe or Ruapehu today. They are playing hide and seek under the clouds.

I try to take some photos but I’m out of battery on my camera. Outside is cold and wet and rainy. I eat, pack and go. Walking a little faster today. It takes 2 hours to get to the Tama Lakes turn off. The lower one is only 10 minutes from the track. I think about going for it but I’m cold and wet and it’s raining. I regret walking in my cotton trousers rather than my “waterproof” ones which aren’t actually waterproof but at least quite a bit warmer when I do get wet! I keep walking. With no views or functioning camera there’s nothing to take photos of, nothing really worth stopping to take photos of so I put my head down and walk. Lots of people about on a Saturday on day trips starting from the village. I make pass Taranaki Falls which are pretty cool – and with the rain probably even cooler than on a sunny day!

I walk back to the car and I’m freezing cold, and thankful to have all my stuff in my car (which includes dry warm clothes!!) I think all this sunny weather I’d been having is making me get soft!!!

Cape Agulhas

Today my ride took me from Gansbaai to Cape Aglhas One of things I love about self supported bike touring is the flexibility to choose how far I feel like riding, how long I feel like sleeping in... Probably that's why it's taken me 4 days to ride 280km!! Today was the first morning I had set an alarm and my day had stated while the sun was still coming up. I chose to hot the dirt a little earlier than I needed to in order to have the chance at an extra coke stop in Elim. When I got there though the shop was closed so I was thankful I had my bag of rusks hidden in my backpack to munch on!!! I made it to the Cape by midday - plenty of time to go for a ride down to the southern most tip and explore town. Cape agulhus/Struis Bay is yet another beautiful place on this continent... I could spend days here but tomorrow I press on with the aim to get to Witsand.

Cape Town to Gansbaai

Whoopsies - I just realized I haven't written anything here since I was on holidays in Malawi! THese riders must've been keeping me busy!! TDA has finished for another year and now I have 3 more weeks until my next job starts (which involves nursing on Mt Ruapehu - right on the ski field in nz- lifes not bad eh!). There's plenty to do in that time though! First I have to ride my bike to Knysna! 10 days to unwind and explore South Africa after 4 months of hard work! There's no better way than on the bike! Bit of excercise, bit of chilling, bit of exploring, bit of Wimpy! So far I have made it to Gansbaai which is only 170km over 3 days! Nothing too difficult. The riding is beautiful- lovely coastline, beaches and mountains! It doesn't take much of a hill for me to feel it with the extra weight of the pannier bags though and because I haven't been doing so much riding lately I'm feeling a lite tired!! After that I sell my bike fly to Perth, visit Janey, fly to Brissie visit Mum and Dad, study for my ALS exam the following week, sell Hamish Corolla if that's possible in only a week, fly to NZ, buy another car.... Tomorrows plan is to get to Cape Agulhas - the southern most tip of the country! Backpacking here is a little lonely this time of year- there's been only me in my room for 3 nights in a row now!! I don't really mind though- it's nice to have a little space sometimes!

The Malawian Minibus

It's easy to take holidays. All you need to do is pack your bags and jump on a bus. Catching up to the group again is a different story though!

After 4 full days relaxing and chilling out in Nkhata Bay I decide it's time to move, time to start slowly making my way towards Lilongwe, with the plan to take the road via the Lake (not the way we go with the bikes) and spend a couple of nights first at Senga Bay.

On the map and from talking to the locals it sounds easy enough. If I want to get up early, there's a bus that stops in Salima (near Senga Bay) which goes usually around 6am. The problem with this is that I would have to get up before the sun which kind of makes me feel like I'm not on holidays anymore, so I decide to take option B - Minibus from Nkhata Bay to Dwangwa, minibus Dwangwa to Nkhotakhota, minibus from Nkhotakhota to Salima, then minibus from Salima to Senga Bay.

I'm at the Nkhata Bay bus stop by 8am, and find the right bus to Dwangwa pretty easily. The driver is in no particular hurry even after the bus has enough people onboard for it to start moving. Then the minibus starts beeping and carrying on... eventually we make it to Chincheche, a town not really very far from Nkhata Bay and I get told to jump on a different bus because the one I was on is having problems!!! So I sit and wait at the bus stop and eventually another bus rocks up. A guy comes up and introduces himself to me. He tells me his name is John Howard even before I tell him where I come from. He's of course yet another Artist wanting to sell me some paintings. Because I don't want to be rude I look at his paintings - some of them are quite good but I don't need paintings. So then he tries to sell me some small wooden elephants instead. I also don't need elephants so I don't buy them either.

Another bus pulls up and I jump on board and eventually we're on the road again This one gets halfway to Dwangwa before it runs out of fuel. Time to jump on the next bus that comes by...

Eventually there's another bus, and we're back on the move... this time moving at a good pace and we make it to Dwangwa by 2pm and I begin to think that perhaps Senga Bay is too far for a day and perhaps Nkhotakhota is far enough.

The bus from Dwangwa to Nkhotakhota goes pretty smoothly and I get to Nkhotakhota by 4pm. I think I can make it to Salima before the sun goes down...

I also meet back up with a guy called Issa who I first met earlier that day in Chincheche. He managed to get a lift with someone else from Chincheche to Nkhotakhota and he's surprised that I've caught back up to him!!! He's a friendly guy, well educated and with a good sense of humour.

I get to sit right up the front of the minibus next to another young Malawian man. This guy asks me if I can help to get him sponsorship so that he can go to university to study social studies. He tells me that he's very keen to get a good education because he wants to be the next prime minister of Malawi because he doesn't think much of the current one and he thinks he could do a better job. He knows it will be easier for him to become prime minister if he has a good education. I apologise for not being able to help.

The bus is moving very slowly and I glance at the fuel gauge and notice that it is nearly empty... (that's actually an understatement - I'm wondering if the fuel gauge is working becuase it looks like it's completely empty and the light is on!).

I really prefer when I'm going somewhere I've never been before to get there while it's still light if it's at all possible and I begin to regret not calling it quits for the day back at Nkhotakhota...

Sure enough, the bus coughs and the engine stops. No fuel left. The driver sends the guy that collects the money on a bicycle down the road with a jerry can to get some fuel. It's starting to get dark.

We hang out in the bus for quite some time wondering how long it will take for the guy to come back with the petrol. Meanwhile the driver periodically tries to start the bus up again and move it forward 5 metres or so...

Then the driver gets out and goes walking down the road. Eventually another minibus pulls up behind us and we all pile on. This time I am sitting back next to my friend Issa. Issa comes from Salima and he was just in Chincheche for business. I ask him if he knows a cheapish place for me to spend the night in Salima when we get there because I have had enough for the day!

At 9pm just 200m from the bus station, the bus runs out of fuel (again!). Thankfully we're as good as there.

Issa tells me that all the hotels near the Salima bus station are quite expensive and he tells me he knows a cheaper one just up the road. He finds some bicycle taxis for us and someone else pedals me up the road. I feel bad because it must be heavy with me and my big bag on the back of the bike! I hoped that the guy pedalling me knows where he is going becuase it's dark and I am tired, alone and if he doesn't then I know this could get really dodgy! Issa doesn't strike me as a dodgy guy though (and I think I am getting pretty good at picking them!). Anyhow, I get to this really nice little basic hotel. 500 kwacha per night (about $2.50) and I get my own clean room, bed, mosquito net. Shared bathroom with no running water but that's no big deal. The people are friendly and they make me some goat and nsima (maize meal) for dinner. Yum yum.

Today I was going to make it the rest of the way to Senga Bay but it was raining like crazy outside and I decided that I quite like Salima. It's not a tourist town which means that no one hastles me like I would expect once I got to Senga Bay!!!

I am enjoying my last day of holidays today. Feet up, read some book, bit of internet... Tomorrow morning I will get another minibus to Lilongwe. Fingers crossed it will only take one and it won't run out of fuel!!! I'm feeling really excited about going back to work and seeing everyone again!!

The Lake

Lake Malawi is a special place. Itś home to the biggest variety of tropical fish in the world which means when you go swimming itś like being inside a giant aquarium!

Yesterday I did two dives - a deep dive and a deep night dive. The first down to 22.6m and the second to 18m... we saw lots and lots of pretty fish and some big cat fish, some cool mouth breeding fish which catch their babies in their mouths and then spit them out again (pretty cool to watch under the water!)... business is a bit slow for the dive centre in Nkhata Bay which meant it was only me diving with both the dive masters.

Back at the bar at the place I am staying I meet Ima - A british nurse currently nursing locally in Malawi. The truth about the lack of ECG machines is uncovered. Ima has an ECG machine in her office but it´s the only one in the hospital and she says she has only used it twice since she has been there. The person who had her job before she did didn´t even know how to read ECGs or to use the machine so it never got used.

Ima thought she would be using the machine every day as she has a background in ED and knows about ECG interpretation but the problem is that knowing that a person has a left bundle branch block doesn´t change much - with no cardiologist to refer people on to, very basic availability of drugs, no cardiac catheter lab, there seems little point.

Ima has also offered to teach some of the staff trauma skills... she believes a bit of basic c-spine immobilisation would go a long way. Nkhata Bay is not a trauma centre but traumatic accidents still do happen frequently (most common is drunk people getting hit by cars). If these people are lucky they get bundled into a taxi and taken straight to Mzuzu which is a bigger centre. Most just go to Nkhata Bay and sit and wait in the waiting room for hours waiting to be seen... then perhaps if they are bad they get bundled into the ambulance or private vehicle and taken to Mzuzu... more often than not these people die during transit. But getting the hospital staff to stay behind for education is a difficult mission...

I think I have discovered why the life expectancy of the average Malawian sits at a low 43 years old and I think it goes much much further than just the HIV problem.

Holidays - Nkhata Bay

Every time I visit Africa my eyes are opened more to the fact that there is such a huge cross cultural gap that both us Westerners and the African People struggle to understand each other. Yesterday while escaping Chitimba Beach and heading to Nkhata Bay on mission vacation, I see things which although do not surprise me, they still make me look twice!

I was sitting in a local minibus on my way from Chitimba to Mzuzu when an older woman gets on and sits next to me. She is holding a big bundle of thick blanket. When I look more closely I see a tiny infant is wrapped inside. The lady sees me looking and she smiles at me. ¨She was born just last night¨ I am told.

Back home I am sure the child would still be in the hospital, not crammed like sardines in a minibus.

The minibus stops every 5 minutes and every 5 minutes thereś some people tapping my shoulder through the open window wanting me to buy their bananás and sweet potatoes. One lady has another tiny infant sucking madly while she´s wanting me to buy her bananas. Another baby that was born yesterday I am told. These women seem to pop them out almost like itś something they do everyday!!!

So I´m here on holidays here in Nkhata Bay for a week just taking a break from everyone and everything on TDA... Itś a cool little spot right on the water with plenty to do. Thereś free snorkelling, canoeing and boat rides from the place Iḿ staying at, and most importantly thereś DIVING!!!

Todays plan is just to relax and explore town. I already started the day off with a nice long soak in the bath tub. I washed my hair 3 times while I was in there and I am not proud of the colour of the water when I made my exit! Needed a shower afterwards!!! I have a cheap little chalet with my own chalet for the price of a chalet with a shared bathroom.

I have made lots of friends with a heap of the local guys already... My friend Benson might give me a hair appointment - these dreads are needing a bit of attention. I met a guy while I stopped at the bank in Mzuzu called Pumpkin - he remembers Miles from when he was in Malawi in 2007! And my friends in Nkhata Bay have cool names too - their names are Happiness, Gift, and my favourite name so far - Happy Coconut! Thereś also some people with normal names here too.

Nairobi-Arusha

I managed to get the stuff I needed to get sorted at the embassy with no dramas once I was through security and they'd taken both my mobile phones, my camera, and my charging cords. (They let me take in my leatherman though!).

I have discovered that security guards always know cab drivers though and cab drivers know where to get the bus to Arusha so getting from the Embassy to the bus stop was not a drama. Now I'm just filling in time waiting until 2pm when the bus goes!

While I was wandering around I meet Teacher Joseph. Teacher Joseph is a primary school teacher from South Sudan. He is a very well educated man and asks me where I am from. He knows who the last 3 prime ministers are in Australia, and even recalls the flooding in Brisbane which happened over a year ago now. Teacher Joseph was taken by missionary workers to Kenya as the South of Sudan became more unstable. The missionary workers have since gone further south to Tanzania and told Joseph that he should be able to find work in Nairobi. He is looking but it has been 2 weeks and it is difficult. He is a friendly man and he says he is not asking for money, just for food - rice and sugar. Because he is so well educated, underweight, and dark skinned (like Sudanese people who are darker than Kenyan people) and because I still have Kenyan shillings in my pocket and I'm about to leave Kenya, we go to the supermarket and I buy him some rice and some sugar. I can tell it has made his day.

Chilling time in Nairobi

It's been 2 months of hard work. Today I am frustrated though because I stayed back a day in Nairobi to get some paperwork sorted for my next job which involves getting certified copies of specific documents and a stat dec which means a trip to the embassy. Apparently it's labor day in Victoria though so that means that the embassy is closed. There's nowhere else along our route that I can get these documents sorted though.

After I finish being frustrated I decide I am actually somewhat thankful because I am feeling a little ready for holidays!! It's the first time in 2 months I have had a bit of time to myself and I lie on the bed and sleep for 4 hours!

The African Health Care System

I am learning the hard way why the life expectancy across Africa is so much lower than it is back home.

The problem isn't simple. These people and hospitals would really benefit from many things including but not limited to:
- Better education for doctors so that they can diagnose accurately!
- Even better education for nurses so they know how to nurse
- Better plumbing so that the water always works
- Better diagnostic equipment to help with more accurate diagnoses
This is not an exhaustive list.

Today it's a rest day and there's no medical dramas. I go and check out Marsabit hospital anyway because I've never been there before and I don't know what is there. It's as I expected - basic. Not a good place to be sick in.
Facilities include:
x-ray
laboratory services
basic surgery (not entirely sure what)
maternity unit
physio

No ultrasound. No ECG machine. This is Africa.

Khartoum

Well surely you have all noticed that the air around you is smelling a little nicer because I just took my first shower in 11 days! That is a new record because I forgot to have one when I had the chance in Aswan! Babywipes are awesome things but really don't beat a proper shower.

Life here continues to be busy. My next task for the day is to get a rider briefing sorted out for the new sectionals who are joining us.

Logistical dilemmas are never ending - the main one at the moment is what to do with all the tour equipment we had in the new 5 clients lockers?! Somehow we'll make it work.

Got to check out the Resus bays at the Royal Care International Hospital Khartoum yesterday - not for anything serious though. They've got some nice facilities there so I'll have to make a note in the tour bible.

I think I really must write the TDA Medics Handbook this year to put in all the tips of the trade I have learnt... I'm sure it would make life a lot easier for medics to come in future tours!!!

Back in the Sudan :D

Once again it's been a while and again I apologise.

Work has been busy busy. Especially since we have our own trucks again which met us in Wadi Halfa.

Today I'm in Dongola and have been on many missions.
My medical clinic is finally sorted.
My main emergency response bag is finally sorted
The secondary emergency response bag remains a work in progress.
I had a big win at the chemist today and found some more Adrenaline, and an even bigger win when I got some Suxemethonium and Pancuronium. They didn't have Vecuronium which is what I'm used to using so I'll have to do a bit of reading up on this pancuronium stuff but at least we now have intubating drugs to go with the rest of our intubating equipment!

The other day while climbing off the roof of the lunch truck I managed to rip the crotch of my pants big time. This was a big problem because I only brought one pair of long pants with me!!! Thankfully this is Africa though and in Dongola today I went to the Tailor and got him to sew them back up from me and the pants that have already made it through 2 TDAs are back to being wearable again!!!

There's a big mission going on trying to sort out the space on the trucks. Riders have too much luggage, all the tour equipment and food struggles to fit on. What doesn't fit into peoples lockers must disappear.

I did a big cull of medical equipment. Mostly just packaging rather than the medication itself.

There hasn't been much action in the clinic.

The ferry trip from Aswan to Wadi Halfa was smoother than usual getting on - didn't have so many people to push through at least! One of the clients, Esther, dreaded my hair, which is great because it means that it is much easier to look after while I'm camping for four months and I'm not good at hair maintenance normally anway! It took her many hours and it was the first head she had ever completely dreaded and I am really greatful for her effort!!

Well I'd better get back to it anyhow!!

Ready Set Go!

Well, I apologise that it's been a while since my last post, but chances of getting online in the desert is somewhat slim, and then when I was in Safaga this site wanted to verify my login in Arabic and I couldn't understand what I was supposed to type in the box!

Life on TDA is never without drama and I must say it's nice to be back at my other home living the life on the road again!

Mostly so far I have been manning the lunch truck for our riders. Our lunch truck driver speaks little English and I speak little Arabic but Zait (the Egyptian lunch truck driver) and I seem to understand each other quite well considering. Yesterday we got ourselves into a bit of a pickle when we got the lunch truck stuck in the sand because of a slight communication error... Thankfully the dinner truck was able to save us.

Today the kids were a little vicious which meant for the second time already this tour we had a cyclist involved with a motor vehicle... thankfully only minor injuries and it wasn't necessary to go to hospital in the Egyptian Ambulance who tends to follow us along as we ride (as well as about 10 police cars, and the fire truck).

I am really looking forward to getting back into the Sudan to see our own trucks again!

Back at Changi again - next stop Cairo :D

The ride from Takeo to Phnom Penh was nearly uneventful. National Highway 2 was a pleasant ride and I didn't feel like I was riding on a highway. If anyone reading this is ever contemplating a similar route I probably recommend Highway 3 over Highway 2 only because it has such a nice wide shoulder and you don't have to be so much on the alert to oncoming traffic as well as keeping eyes in the back of your head for the stuff coming up behind. On highway 2 it's often necessary to ride off the pavement onto the dirt shoulder to allow for bigger faster traffic to pass, although traffic was not heavy.

It wasn't until I rode into PP that I had absolutely no idea what road I was coming in on. I stopped at an intersection off the road but still on the pavement that the motorbikes use. I try to ask the traffic cop where I am on my map. He is asking me to keep moving because I'm apparently blocking the intersection even though I'm not on the road. I don't listen to that part. He points vaguely in the direction that I should take, but I really want to know where I am on the map because I have no idea what road! The traffic was pretty crazy but the basic rules are still the same as most other crazy cities I've cycled in - give way to whatever is in front of you. Anyhow, after taking the super long route I eventually find my way back to the Mad Monkey where they still have my bike box and my camping equipment (phew!).

I repair all the holes and tears in my bike box that happened during transit Brissie to PP with boxing tape and a few reinforcing cardboard pieces. Hopefully it'll get to Cairo ok. At the airport I get into a disagreement with the guy at the check in counter over how much baggage I have. I have 34.3kg of luggage which includes 23kg of boxed bike. I produce my letter but he doesn't listen because I don't have an approval letter from head office. Smart guy. Suddenly I'm wishing that I'm wearing 7 pairs of undies, 3 pairs of cycling knicks (chamois if you don't come from Aus and get confused about what this means!), my one cycling jersey I decided to take with me (my other t-shirts can double to ride my bike in), in addition to what I'm already wearing (which is only one pair of underwear, two pairs of loose fitting shorts, one pair of long pants over the top, 4 t-shirts, my explorer socks, a pair of sports socks, my runners... I think that's all but who can be sure. I was considering tying my sarong around my waist aswell...

Then he suggests I take my massive red duffel bag as carry on. I have not one but 3 planes to get on though so I'm not really happy with this plan because I think it's a bit big and the cabin staff might get narky at me, even if I could get away with it for the PP to Singapore stretch.

Eventually he tells me if I take 4-5kg out of my red duffel bag it will be under 30kg which is ok (even though I only have a 20kg ticket, normally they are ok with that until you go over the magic 30 number). So I take out my tent and my sleeping bag in the middle of the airport and remove my tent pegs and put them back in my red duffel just in case the security guys at any of the checks think I might stab someone with one of them.

So now I have 5 pieces of hand luggage to keep an eye on BUT NO EXCESS BAGGAGE FEES! and I'm very thankful to those little mini carry on luggage trolleys they have at Changi airport. I keep peering over it and counting and making sure I still have all five pieces - tent, sleeping bag, hydro pack, helmet, and kite (ok so this bit is a luxury but I just couldn't leave it behind!!). I still have another 2 planes to get on so hopefully I don't have any more issues to deal with!!

The Takeo Orphanage

Immediately as I walk out of the internet place after my last entry I meet a Cambodian girl, Kanha. Kanha is a 19 year old orphan girl who now helps teach English at this little orphanage in Takeo. She asks me if I would like to visit the orphanage she lives at. Of course I jump at the chance. It's a small distance away and Kanha has her bicycle with her and suggests I ride with her - so I jump on the back and ride side saddle like the Khmer do until we get to the guesthouse I'm staying at and I pick up my own bike.

I meet all the kids at the orphanage - they are currently aged 11-18 years old. There is currently about 30 orphans but at times there are more like 100. I introduce myself and they are impressed at all of the distances I have been riding!

The big focus is on learning English so that these kids will have a chance at getting a decent job. They also get taught about maintaining good eye contact at all times. They all do their own laundry, and they have a cooking roster, so each day 3 kids will work together and cook dinner for everyone. There is a small two story building, and the boys sleep downstairs, and the girls upstairs. They have a communal wardrobe (boys and girls separate). Mattresses and a mosquito net go up at night time, and during the day they get packed away to create more space.

They have 3 separate classrooms, but the roof really needs repairing as there's lot's of holes and I imagine it would disrupt learning in the wet!

I meet Big Al who is a Phillipino guy who runs the place basically by himself. He says he could do with a hand and is on the lookout for volunteers and I promise to spread the word and apologise that I have to leave Takeo the following morning. I honestly would have loved to spend a few days there helping out but I needed to get to Phnom Penh to catch a plane!

I can eat noodles with chopsticks!

So it's been a few days since I've posted anything here - my apologies but the internet connection speed in the town of Kep was a true test of my patience so I decided to occupy myself otherwise - exploring the crab market and the beaches around town instead! And of course put my feet up for a bit and read some book.

The ride from Sihanoukville to Kep was not nearly as challenging as the other way around. I think it was partially because I ate a tonne of food on the dive boat, and also because I got all the hills over and done with first thing in the morning before the heat picked up too much!

I don't mean to brag but I'm turning into some kind of chopstick eating noodle pro! Still got a few more chances to practice though to polish up this new skill!

Todays ride was particularly beautiful. I only spent 5km on the highway, the other roughly 120km I spend riding the back roads. I meet a guy who gives me a private tour of his pagoda. There are a lot of pagodas here but it was only the first one I have been to see. I think it is easy to over do the pagoda seeing sometimes! He asked me if I'd seen any of these other pagodas (probably famous if you're into pagodas) and seemed really disappointed when I hadn't.

I also met a boy who spoke really good english (almost fluent). He said he'd been learning it for 3 years now at both private and public schools. I found another lady who was selling fried banana, and also some really really good sticky rice with rhubarb in the middle, wrapped up in vine leaves. Yummo.

And now I'm in the town of Takeo! Yep I finally found it! Tomorrow I ride 80km back to PP on National Highway 2 (fingers crossed!). The word is that NH2 is bicycle friendly with a nice wide shoulder so I'll suss it out for myself and see how it goes! I have a nice clean room and an ensuite bathroom all to myself for the fine price of $5USD. I'd be in my tent for that amount of money at home!

How to drink champagne underwater

It's been a lovely 2 days off the bike. I have had my feet up relaxing on a boat the entire time (apart from the 5 dives we managed to fit in when I was underwater!)

For any divers reading this the visibility was pretty poor (like between 1-4m) but the sponges were cool, and the fishies were nice, and diving is cool anyway and just fits in so well when you feel like taking a few days off the bike that the low vis didn't really matter that much. I am now a certified Advanced Open Water Diver!!! And scored a free t-shirt (which is great because I only had the three I was wearing at the airport).

Buuuut... we did have one dilemma - what do you do when you're planning a night dive starting in 2011 and finishing in 2012 and need to have a new years toast??? The guys at Scuba Nation Cambodia have it all figured out!!! Here's how it works - all you need is a pot from the kitchen, a bottle of champagne, and a piece of oxygen tubing from the divers first aid box!!!
1. kneel on the ocean floor
2. turn the pot upside down and fill it with air using your occy (you might need to take a bit of extra lead so that you don't float up too much too!!!)
3. pop the bottle of champagne in the air pocket created by the pot
4. insert oxygen tubing
5. use the tubing like a straw take your regulator out of your mouth and have a drink!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE :)

Tomorrows plan is to retrace the 110km back to Kampot then continue a further 10-20km I think (need to check the map before I go to sleep) to the little town of Kep. Meant to be a lovely spot. Will write more then.