African Adventure

- Driving from France to South Africa and back -
- Mit dem Auto von Frankreich nach Südafrika und zurück -
10/2005 - 10/2006

Arno Mayer schreibt auf Deutsch.

27. November 2005
In Nairobi passierte das, was viele Afrika-Reisende befuerchten, nämlich beraubt oder bestohlen zu werden. Mir wurde im Internet-Cafe in einer der besten Gegenden der Stadt meine Tasche mit praktisch allen wichtigen Dokumenten gestohlen. Ich hatte sie neben meinen linken Fuß auf den Boden gestellt, während ich e-mails schrieb, für die ich Unterlagen aus der Tasche brauchte.

Gestohlen wurden nicht nur mein Paß, meine Kreditkarten, mein

Marion Mayer-Hohdahl writes
in English.

Führerschein, mein fast neuer Ipod und mein Handy, sondern auch alle wichtigen Papiere für das Auto, nämlich die Carnets de passage, die nationale und internationale Zulassung für den Mitsubishi und den Anhänger sowie unsere beiden internationalen Führerscheine. Mit diesen Dokumenten kann der Dieb gar nichts anfangen, für uns aber sind sie sehr wichtig. Das Carnet de passage muß in jedem Land bei der Ein- und Ausreise abgestempelt werden. Ohne dieses Papier sitzt man völlig fest.

Ich habe den Diebstahl nach kurzer Zeit bemerkt, so daß ich die Kreditkarten sofort sperren lassen konnte. Der ADAC hat inzwischen bereits zwei neue Carnets auf den Weg gebracht. Und auch zwei neue Kredikarten sind per Kurier im Anmarsch. Einen neuen Führerschein werde ich erst nach unserer Rückkehr nach Frankreich im Sommer nächsten Jahres beantragen können.

Was mich am meisten ärgert: wir haben sechs Jahre in Südafrika gelebt und dort ist uns nie etwas gestohlen worden. Habe ich in Nairobi einfach nicht genug aufgepasst? Hätte ich meinen Fuß auf den Riemen der Tasche gestellt, dann hätte ich sie heute noch. Hinterher ist man immer klüger.

Die Deutsche Botschaft in Nairobi (Frau Taylor) war äußerst hilfsbereit. In nur einer Stunde hatte ich einen neuen Pass. Auch die kenianische Polizei und die Sicherheitsleute in dem Village Park Einkaufszentrum, wo die Tasche wegkam, gaben sich alle Mühe, uns zu helfen.

Am Tag vorher hatte ich mich auf der Suche nach der Mitsubisihi-Werkstatt (ein Ölwechsel und neue Bremsbeläge waren fällig) in der Innenstadt Nairobis völlig verfranzt. Auf einem Markt war ich plötzlich zwischen Hunderten von Einheimischen eingekeilt. Ich dachte bei mir „Wenn die dir etwas Böses wollen, dann könntest du dich kaum wehren“. Einen Tag später hörten wir, daß ein in der Stadt lebender Deutscher aus seinem Auto herausgezerrt und aller Wertgegenstände beraubt worden war. So gesehen, bin ich noch glimpflich davon gekommen, wenn man davon absieht, daß die Beschaffung neuer Dokumente und Kreditkarten ein paar Hunderter kosten wird.

Doch zurück zu meinem letzten Bericht. Nach der Durchquerung des staubigen und unwirtlichen Nordens Kenias ließen wir uns es in Nanyuki am Äquator gut gehen. Wir schlugen unser Zelt auf dem gepflegten Rasen des Sportsman’s Arms Hotel auf. Das Auto wurde gründlich gesäubert und die Seele ließen wir baumeln. Der Mount Kenya, den wir auf der Anfahrt in all seiner Pracht bewundern konnten, verhüllte sein Haupt allerdings ständig in Wolken.

Von Nanyuki aus ist es nur knapp zwei Stunden bis nach Nairobi. Unser Freund Hugo aus der Schweiz hatte uns schon vor Reisebeginn angeboten, bei ihm zu wohnen. Er war allerdings gerade nach Johannesburg geflogen, als wir in Nairobi eintrudelten. Für die nächsten Tage bezogen wir Quartier in seinem wunderschönen Haus im Stadteil Rosslyn mit Blick auf viel Grün am Stadtrand. Wir wollten eigentlich nur zwei Tage bleiben, aber wegen des Taschendiebsstahls mußten wir die Gastfreundschaft Hugos und seiner Frau länger in Anspruch nehmen.

Zwischendurch fuhren wir für zwei Tage in den Nakuru Nationalpark, rund 150 Kilometer nordwestlich von Nairobi. Der Park ist ein ganz besonderes Erlebnis, denn im Nakuru-See staksen mehrere Zehntausend Flamingos herum, die kollektiv ein ziemlich lautes Brummen von sich geben – etwa so, wenn Tausende auf Kämmen mit Cellofanpapier blasen würden.

Die rosaroten Vögel mit ihren dünnen Beinen und den schlanken Hälsen durchsuchen mit ihren Schnäbeln das Wasser nach Essbarem, führen in Grüppchen von fünf oder sechs kleine Tänzchen auf und stehen nahe des Ufers so dicht gedrängt in dem seichten See, daß von oben nur ein endloses rosarotes Band zu sehen ist. Rund ein Drittel der weltweiten Flamingo-Population lebt am Nakuru-See, wo sie ideale Lebensbedingungen finden.

Der Park ist auch sonst besuchenswert, weil er nicht überlaufen ist und außer den Flamingos auch Hunderte von Pelikanen, zahlreiche Büffel, viele Giraffen und auch Nashörner zu sehen sind. Mit dem eigenen Auto kann man bis an den See heran- und an ihm spazieren fahren, etwas, was sonst in Naturparks nicht möglich ist.

Die Preise allerdings sind gesalzen. Während Einheimische den Park für umgerechnet sieben Dollar am Tag besuchen können, wurden uns für den Eintritt und eine Übernachtung auf einem Campingplatz 80 Dollar abgenommen. Im nächsten Jahr sollen die Preise weiter erhöht werden. Ob dann noch so viele Touristen aus dem Ausland kommen werden?

Der Campingplatz am Südufer des Sees hat uns besonders gut gefallen. Wunderschöne Lage, ein Wasserfall dabei und eine Horde von Pavianen, die sich aber in respektvoller Distanz hielten und in zwei Bäumen direkt vor unserem Zelt schliefen. Nach Einbruch der Dunkelheit tauchte ein Büffel auf, von dem uns schon vorher erzählt wurden war, weil er das Camp, in dem wir die einzigen Gäste waren, offenbar besonders schätzt.

Wir tranken gerade Tee, als Marion mit der Taschenlampe ins Dunkle leuchtete, weil wir ein Geräusch gehört hatten. Sie sah zunächst nur ein paar Augen, die in unsere Richtung starrten. Der Büffel graste ganze 20 Meter von uns entfernt seelenruhig auf der Wiese. Wir packten unsere Sachen schleunigst zusammen und kletterten in unser etwa 1,50 Meter hoch gelegenes Zelt auf dem Anhänger. Mit Büffeln ist wahrlich nicht zu spaßen. Wenn sie angreifen, bleibt einem nur noch die Flucht auf einen Baum, sofern vorhanden, sonst sieht es zappenduster aus. Unser Genosse allerdings blieb ganz ruhig. Das Gras schmeckte ihm offenbar vortrefflich.

Wegen der hohen Preise im Nakuru Park fuhren wir am nächsten Tag an den Naivascha-See, der rund 90 Kilometer von Nairobi entfernt ist. Dort suchten wir uns im bekannten und von hohen Bäumen bestandenen Fisherman’s Camp einen Stellplatz. Aus dem See steigen vor allem nachts Nilpferde ans Land zum Grasen.

Für uns wurde es mal wieder eine fürchterliche Nacht, weil am Abend eine Horde von Kenianern indischer Abstammung und mitten in der Nacht zwei Minibusse mit Schwarzen in das Camp einfielen. Sie lärmten und grölten bis in die frühen Morgenstunden, so daß an Schlafen nicht zu denken war. Schade, daß das Seeufer wegen der Hippos mit einem Elektrozaun gesichert ist. Hätten die Schwergewichte freien Zugang zu der riesigen Rasenfläche des Camps gehabt, dann hätten wir vielleicht eine ruhigere Nacht verbringen können. Denn besonders mutig erschienen uns die Störenfriede nicht.

20. November 2005
Da Marion die berühmten Felsenkirchen von Lalibela in Äthiopien schon kannte, bin ich von Addis aus dorthin geflogen. Wir landeten zunächst am Lake Tana und waren dann in einer halben Stunde in Lalibela. Auf dem Landweg hätte ich über 600 Kilometer von Addis aus zurücklegen müssen und das hätte sehr viel Zeit gekostet.

Lalibela liegt rund 2 500 Meter hoch in der Mitte Äthiopiens und ist nach dem berühmten König gleichen Namens benannt, der im 12. Jahrhundert damit begann, Kirchen aus dem Felsen hauen zu lassen. Wie die Legende erzählt, griff er dabei selbst zu Hammer und Meißel. In der Nacht – wenn der Priester-König sich ausruhte – hätten dann Engel die Arbeit an den Kirchen fortgesetzt.

Insgesamt können elf Kirchen besichtigt werden, von denen gut die Hälfte leider eingerüstet ist. Von Renovierungsarbeiten sieht man allerdings nichts. Die einzigartigen Kirchen gehören zum Weltkulturerbe der Unesco, die nach vor Ort erhältlichen Informationen angeblich plant, über fünf der wichtigsten Gotteshäuser ein gemeinsames Dach errichten zu lassen so daß die hässlichen Blechdächer abmontiert werden könnten.

Die Priester und die Mönche in Lalibela haben nichts dagegen, wenn sie fotografiert werden. Allerdings erwartet die Kirchenleitung einen kleinen Obolus. Auch die Gläubigen scheuen Fotos nicht, wenn es dezent geschieht.

Die Kirchen sind alle nach demselben Prinzip gebaut. Zunächst wurde das Ausmaß des Kirchenschiffs bestimmt. Danach wurde darum herum Sandstein weggemeißelt, manchmal bis zu einer Tiefe von zehn Metern. Jetzt konnte daran gegangen werden, den Fels von außen her zu bearbeiten. Die Steinmetzen schlugen dabei Türen und Fenster aus dem Stein, bevor sie damit begannen, den verbliebenen, riesigen Steinklotz innen auszuhöhlen. Da ihnen dabei offenbar nur primitive Werkzeuge zur Verfügung standen, ist ihre Leistung nicht hoch genug zu bewerten.

Die Kirchen haben teils mehrere Schiffe, unter ihnen sind aber auch kleine Kapellen, wie jene, die Maria gewidmet ist. Am berühmtesten ist die St. Georgs-Kirche in Form eines Kreuzes. Warum die Kirchen quasi in der Erde versinken, so daß sie von weitem überhaupt nicht zu erkennen sind, ist umstritten. Die Version, Lalibela habe damit Feinde in die Irre führen wollen, weil sie beim Anrücken ja keinerlei Gebäude sehen konnten, klingt eigentlich nicht sehr überzeugend, denn von oben her waren die Kirchen jedem Angreifer sicher schutzloser ausgesetzt als wenn sie „überirdisch“ errichtet worden wären.

Einen Tag nach meiner Rückkehr aus Lalibela verließen wir Addis in Richtung Kenia. Wir bedauerten unsere Abreise nicht, denn jede Nacht, die wir auf dem Belair-Campingplatz verbrachten, war wegen des Lärms eine Tortur. Wir ließen uns von einem Taxi aus der Stadt hinauslotsen und fuhren zunächst im wunderschönen Rift Valley bis zu einem sehr attraktiven Campingplatz am Langano-See. Nach einer geruhsamen Nacht, die nach dem Trubel in Addis hochwillkommen war, ging es am nächsten Tag auf einer guten Teerstraße rund 600 Kilometer bis zur äthiopisch-kenianischen Grenze in Moyale weiter.

Ja, und danach ging wieder der Schlamassel auf einer richtig gemeinen Piste los, zunächst 250 Kilomter bis Marsabit in Nordkenia und dann nochmals 260 bis Isiolo, wo eine Teerstraße bis Nairobi beginnt. Die Strecke bis Marsabit ist nicht nur tückisch – die letzten 150 Kilometer bestehen aus spitzen Steinen und tiefem Schotter – sondern auch nicht ungefährlich.

In den vergangenen Jahren sind dort mehrfach Touristen umgebracht oder überfallen und völlig ausgeraubt worden. In letzter Zeit sind Fremde allerdings nicht mehr attackiert worden. Jedoch liefern sich zwei verfeindete Stämme immer noch brutale Kämpfe. Dabei geht es um Weiderechte, um Wasser und um Viehdiebstähle. Wie uns Einheimische in Marsabit erzählen, sind erst im Juni bei einem Massaker rund 90 Menschen getötet worden, darunter 21 Schulkinder.

Uns begegneten den ganzen Tag über höchstens zehn Fahrzeuge. Wer hier liegen bleibt, hat sicher ein Problem. An Zelten nahe der Straße, was wir zum Beispiel im Sudan oft getan hatten, ist überhaupt nicht zu denken. So blieb uns nichts anderes übrig, als bis zum Einbrechen der Nacht weiter zu ruckeln, ehe wir ziemlich erschöpft in Marsabit eintrudelten.

Unterwegs hatte ich noch versucht, eine Kamelkarawane zu fotografieren. Ich bedeutete dem Troß durch Zeichen, daß ich ein Bild machen wollte, geriet dabei aber an die Falschen. Die einzige Frau, die in der Karawane mitlief, ergriff sofort einen großen Stein und drohte an, ihn gegen unser Auto zu schleudern, falls wir uns nicht aus dem Staube machten. Wir wichen der angedrohten Gewalt. Später wurde uns erzählt, die Nomaden fürchteten Böses für sich und ihre Kamele, wenn man sie fotografierte.

In der Nacht fing es in Marsabit an zu regnen und auch am Morgen gingen bei Nebel immer wieder Schauer nieder. Das empfanden wir als gar nicht lustig, denn bei Regen werden Erdpisten ganz schnell zu schlüpfrigen Rutschbahnen.

Ehe wir losfuhren, trafen wir auf Timothy, einen Sozialarbeiter der anglikanischen Kirche, der versucht, den Viehzüchtern ein bißchen Landwirtschaft beizubringen und ihr nicht gerade üppiges Leben ganz allgemein zu verbessern. Timothy wollte an diesem Tag die Heimreise zu seiner Familie antreten, um mal wieder ein paar Tage mit ihr zu verbringen: Entfernung über 300 Kilometer.

Wir boten ihm an, ihn bis Isiolo (260 Kilometer auf grauslicher Piste) mitzunehmen. Wir haben es nicht bereut, denn Timothy machte uns unterwegs mit einigen Familien des Samburu-Stammes bekannt, die uns herzlich begrüßten. Die Frauen sind mit Ketten und Ringer prächtig geschmückt, die Männer tragen – wie die Massai – intensiv rote Umschlagtücher. Ihre Ohrläppchen haben sie so lange durchbohrt, bis regelrechte Löcher entstanden.

Timothy brachte uns viel Wissenswertes über diesen Teil Kenias bei, so daß die Fahrt auf der schrecklichen Piste kurzweiliger verlief als am Vortag. Etwa 40 Kilometer vor Isiolo waren wir so müde, daß wir versuchten, in oder um den Shaba Nationalpark einen Campingplatz zu finden. Das Übernachten im Park hätte pro Person über 30 Dollar gekostet. Nach einigem Hin und Her erlaubte uns die Parkverwaltung großzügig, vor einem der Tore über Nacht zu bleiben – gegen einen „bescheidenen“ Unkostenbeitrag von 20 Dollar. So campierten wir vor prächtigen Schirmakazien und bei einem phantastischen Sonnenuntergang auf freiem Feld.

Am nächsten Tag blieben uns nur noch 40 Kilometer Piste, ehe wir in Isiolo auf die lang ersehnte Teerstraße stießen. Die 80 Kilometer bis Nanyuki vergingen wie im Fluge. Der 5 199 Meter hohe Mount Kenya zeigte sich dabei in voller Pracht mit seinen beiden, vom Schnee bedeckten Gipfeln. Nach drei Tagen anstrengender Fahrt quartieren wir uns im Sportsman’s Arms Hotel ein, genauer gesagt auf dessen Campingplatz. Hier wollen wir den Staub der letzten Tage abschütteln, ehe wir nach Nairobi weiterfahren. Übrigens: Durch Nanyuki verläuft der Äquator, den wir nach 12 250 Kilometer und rund 50 Tagen erreicht haben.

13. November 2005
Nachdem wir uns am Tana-See etwas erholt hatten, machten wir uns auf den Weg in den Simien Nationalpark im Norden von Gondar. Wir mußten dafür wieder zurück nach Gondar, das wir ja schon besucht hatten, aber da die Straße nagelneu und sehr gut ist, machte uns der Umweg nichts aus.

Von Gondar aus führt leider nur eine Schotterpiste in das 150 Kilometer entfernte Derbak, wo der Park sein Büro hat. Wir brauchten drei Stunden für diese Strecke – für afrikanische Verhältnisse eigentlich keine schlechte Leistung. Der Eintritt in den Park kostete 50 Dollar. Darin waren zwei Nächte in zwei verschiedenen Camps und die Gebühr für einen bewaffneten Begleiter (Scout) eingeschlossen, der kein Wort Englisch sprach, sich aber als äußerst zuverlässig erwies.

Auf dem Weg zum ersten, 36 Kilometer entfernten Camp passierte das, was wir schon die ganze Zeit über befürchtet hatten: Hüterjungen bewarfen uns mit Steinen und beschädigten eine der Autotüren. Unser Scout verfolgte sie zwar sofort, konnte sie aber nicht fassen, da sie in verschiedene Richtungen auseinander stoben. Er gab uns aber zu verstehen, daß er die Übeltäter erkannt hatte und sie zur Rechenschaft gezogen würden.

Wir hatten bereits von anderen Overlandern gehört– so werden in Afrika die Abenteuerlustigen genannt, die kreuz und quer herumfahren –, daß sich die Jugend Äthiopiens einen Spaß daraus macht, Touristen-Autos mit Steinen zu bewerfen, waren aber bis dahin von einer solchen Attacke verschont geblieben. Die Reparatur der Beule wird uns einiges kosten, denn wir müssen die ganze Tür neu spritzen lassen. Abzuschreiben wohl unter: Betriebskosten für Afrika-Reise.

Auf dem Rückweg aus dem Park schleuderte ein etwa sechs Jahre alter Dreikäsehoch nochmals einen Stein gegen uns, verfehlte aber sein Ziel. Diesmal fasste der Scout einen der Begleiter des Sechsjährigen, der notgedrungen den Namen des Werfers herausrücken musste. Da wir auch die Parkverwaltung informierten, werden die Herrschaften Werfer wohl gehörig eins hinter die Löffel bekommen.

Doch zurück zum Park. Wir schlugen unser Zelt für die erste Nacht in 3 300 Meter auf – eine Höhe, die uns beim Atmen zunächst Beschwerden machte, denn als Flachlandtiroler ist man die dünne Luft nicht gewohnt. Unser Scout hatte außer einer dünnen Decke nichts mit. Marion kramte in ihren Kleidersäcken und verehrte unserem Begleiter einen alten Mantel unserer Tochter Alexandra, der ihm vorzüglich passte. Dennoch muß der Scout bereits in dieser Nacht ziemlich gefroren haben, denn die Temperatur ging auf etwa acht Grad herunter. Da hatten wir es in unseren molligen Schlafsäcken sehr viel besser.

Im wildromantischen Simien Park feierten wir ein kleines Jubiläum: Wir hatten mit 10 000 gefahrenen Kilometern fast die Hälfte unserer Tour geschafft. Im Park leben mehrere Tausend Menschen, die noch bis in eine Höhe von 3 600 Meter hinauf ihre Felder bestellen. Gepflügt wird – wie bereits vor Hunderten von Jahren – mit Ochsen und gedroschen wird das Getreide mit Pferden oder Eseln, die zusammengebunden im Kreis herum getrieben werden.

Die Armut in Äthiopien ist schlimm, aber was wir im Park zu sehen bekamen, erschütterte uns. Im zweiten Camp (3 600 Meter) tauchte am bitterkalten Morgen eine 17-Jährige mit ihrem dreijährigen Sohn auf, der völlig nackt war und kein einziges Kleidungsstück am Leibe hatte. Auch die Kleidung der jungen Mutter bestand nur noch aus Fetzen. Dank Marions Kleider-Vorrat konnten beide mit dem Nötigsten versorgt werden.

Im Simien Park leben mehrere Tausend Paviane und etwa 500 Exemplare der Gattung Walia Ibex, einer Art Steinbock. Während der Fahrt auf den abenteuerlich schlechten Straßen des Parks als auch im Camp Nummer zwei liefen uns Hunderte von Pavianen und auch etwa 20 Walias über den Weg.

Auf 3 600 Metern Höhe habe ich in der Nacht ziemlich gefroren und auch unser Scout hustete oft. Wir beschlossen deshalb, den Park am nächsten Tag zu verlassen und wieder an den weitaus wärmeren Tana-See zurückzukehren.

Und wen trafen wir dort? Wolfgang aus Mhödling in Österreich, der es geschafft hatte, sein Motorrad in Khartum reparieren zu lassen und der sich am See nun ebenfalls die Sonne auf den Bauch scheinen ließ.

Unser arg verstaubtes Auto und auch der Zelt-Anhänger wurden am See einer Wäsche unterzogen– was etwas voreilig war –, denn am übernächsten Tag hatten wir südlich von Debre Markos die berühmte Schlucht des Blauen Nil zu passieren und das bedeutete wieder 50 Kilometer auf einer Schotterpiste. Insgesamt waren etwa 1 100 Kilometer der ersten 10 000 Kilometer Schotter-, Sand- oder Steinpisten, die den Reifen besonders zusetzen.

Auf der zweitätigen Fahrt vom Tana-See bis Addis Abeba begleitete uns Hella aus Österreich, eine Sozialarbeiterin, die eine einjährige Auszeit genommen hat, um sich in Afrika darüber klar zu werden, welchen Weg sie danach einschlagen will. Auf der Fahrt nach Addis hatten wir in der Nähe von Fiche ein besonderes Erlebnis, das Begräbnis eines Dorfchefs. Auf freiem Feld hatten sich etwa 200 Frauen und Männer im Sonntagsstaat versammelt. Ein Dutzend Reiter führten auf festlich herausgeputzten Pferden und Eseln eine Art Theaterstück auf, das wohl Szenen aus dem Leben des Verstorbenen darstellte.

Wir waren gerade fünf Minuten da, als mich zwei junge Männer ansprachen und Geld verlangten. Ich hatte bisher auf solche Ansinnen in der Regel mit Nichtbeachten oder Humor reagiert. Diesmal aber platzte mir der Kragen. Geld für das Zuschauen bei einem Begräbnis? Ich gab den beiden ziemlich barsch zu verstehen, daß sie sich zum Teufel scheren sollten.

Die Älteren in der Trauergemeinde verstanden wohl, worum es ging, auch wenn sie kein Englisch sprachen. Jedenfalls nickten sie beifällig zu dem, was ich zu sagen hatte. Nach ein paar Minuten sprach mich ein Mann mittleren Alters an, der sich für das Benehmen der jungen Männer entschuldigte und sagte, wir könnten alles fotografieren und filmen, was wir wollten.

Gleich nach dem Eintreffen in Addis – Marion kannte es bereits von früheren Besuchen – suchten wir das Hilton-Hotel auf. Ich brauchte dringend einen Haarschnitt, wir mußten Geld wechseln und gleichzeitig buchten wir für mich einen Flug zu den berühmten Felsenkirchen von Lalibela, rund 600 Kilometer nördlich der Hauptstadt.

Marion war bereits dort und wollte die Zeit in Addis nutzen, um ebenfalls den Friseur aufzusuchen und es sich am Pool des Hilton gut gehen zu lassen . Mit Hilfe eines Taxifahrers steuerten wir danach den einzigen Camping-Platz in Addis an, die Pension Belair, wo sich die Afrika-Abenteurer in der Regel treffen. Wir fanden das Plätzchen, wo wir uns niederließen eigentlich ganz nett und kamen auch gleich mit zwei einheimischen Frauen ins Gespräch, die einen Drink im Freien nahmen.

Da das Geschäft mit Campern zu dieser Jahreszeit offenbar flau ist, vermietet das Belair Stellplätze an Taxi- und Minibusfahrer, die bis Mitternacht anrollten und entsprechenden Lärm machten. Um Mitternacht und dann wieder um sechs Uhr morgens klopfte ein Taxifahrer an das Zelt, den ich für 11.30 Uhr vormittags bestellt hatte, um mich zum Flughafen bringen zu lassen.

In Äthiopien leben die Menschen nicht nur nach einem anderen Kalender – jedermann ist deshalb hier gegenüber Europa um sieben Jahre jünger - , sondern auch nach einer anderen Uhrzeit. Der gute Taxifahrer verstand erst im dritten Anlauf, daß ich bei meiner Bestellung 11.30 Uhr europäischer Zeit gemeint hatte.

7. November 2005
Am nächsten Tag brachten wir unser Reise-Tagebuch auf den letzten Stand, Marion kaufte ein bißchen ein und wusch ein paar von der Wüstenfahrerei arg verstaubte Kleidungsstücke. Am Nachmittag tauchte vor dem Sailing Club ein Polizeiwagen mit Sirene auf. Wir dachten schon an hohen offiziellen Besuch, doch es waren unsere Motorrad-Reisegefährten Wolfgang und Jan, die den Club nicht gefunden hatten und kurzerhand die Polizei um Hilfe gebeten hatten.

Wolfgang war recht betrübt, denn einer seiner Stoßdämpfer sowie die Felge und die Speichen seines Hinterrades waren beschädigt. Hinter einer Bodenwelle war er in ein Schlagloch geraten, ohne ausweichen zu können. Wolfgang blieb zunächst in Khartum, um den Schaden reparieren zu lassen, während Jan am nächsten Tag Richtung Äthiopien abdüste.

Wir entschlossen uns, einen Ausflug in den Nordosten von Khartum zu machen, wo in Naqa die gut erhaltenen Reste eines Tempels und eines Palastes aus vorchristlicher Zeit stehen. Um dorthin zu kommen – es sind über 30, nicht markierte Kilometer über Stock und Stein sowie durch Sand zurückzulegen, heuerten wir an der Abzweigung von der Straße Khartum-Shendi einen einheimischen Führer.

Naqa übertraf alle unsere Erwartungen. Sowohl der Tempel als auch der Palast sind mit nubisch-ägpytischcr Kunst reich verziert, ein sachkundiger Führer vor Ort gab sich große Mühe bei der Erklärung dieser historisch bedeutungsvollen Stätte. Abgerundet wurde das Bild von mehreren Dutzend Nomaden, die an einem nahe gelegenen, 84 Meter tiefen Brunnen ihre Ziegen und Kühe tränkten. Das Wasser wird mit an Seilen befestigten Lederbeuteln aus der Tiefe geholt. Esel ziehen die Seile aus dem Brunnen, bis die prall gefüllten Beutel aus dem Brunnen auftauchen.

Am Nachmittag ging es nach Khartum zurück und weiter nach Wad Medani und Gedaref, den beiden letzten größeren Stationen im Sudan. Aus Khartum herauszukommen, war gar nicht so einfach. Wir bekamen immer wieder die Auskunft „Gerade aus“, fanden auch eine hervorragend ausgebaute Ausfallstraße, die unversehens mal wieder in einem Markt endete. Ein freundlicher Sudanese lotste uns aus dem Markt wieder heraus und auf den richtigen Weg nach Wad Medani. Nach einer Stunde Fahrt fanden wir am Nil ein ruhiges Plätzchen zum Übernachten.

Tags darauf setzten wir unsere Reise in Richtung Gedaref und zur Grenze nach Äthiopien fort. In allen Ortschaften versammelten sich am Morgen festlich gekleidete Männer und Frauen, die das Ende des Fastenmonats Ramadan feierten. Bis Gedaref genossen wir die gut ausgebaute Asphaltstraße, dann ging es wieder auf einen so genannten rough road, in diesem Fall eine Schotterpiste, auf der wir recht flott voran kamen. Die Abzweigung zur Grenze war nicht markiert, aber wir schafften es durch Fragerei trotzdem, den richtigen Weg zu finden.

Am späten Nachmittag stießen wir am Straßenrand auf Harald aus Salzburg, der mit dem Bus von Kairo zu seinen Eltern unterwegs war, die in Daressalam in Tansania leben. Er hatte zwar einen Fahrschein bis zum Grenzort Gallabat gelösten, aber der Busfahrer hielt plötzlich in einem Dorf an und Harald wartete bereits seit zwei Stunden auf ein Weiterkommen. Wegen des hohen muslimischen Feiertages herrschte auf der Straße nach Äthiopien kaum Verkehr und nach einigem Umpacken schafften wir in unserem Mitsubishi soviel Platz, dass wir Harald mitnehmen konnten.

Die Nacht verbrachten wir nahe eines Rundhütten-Dorfes in einer Gegend, die stark an Ostafrika erinnerte. Als wir unser Zelt aufschlugen, trieb die Dorfjugend gerade Ziegen und Kühe von der Tränke zum Dorf. Sie hielten für eine ganze Weile an, um die merkwürdigen Weißen zu beobachten. Wenig später begrüßte uns auch ein Einheimsicher mittleren Alters auf das Allerherzlichste (vielleicht der Chef des Dorfes). Da wir kein Arabisch sprachen und er kein Englisch, beschränkte sich unser „Dialog“ auf Zeichengeben.

Die restlichen 25 Kilometer Grenze waren – wie man so schön auf Schwäbisch sagt – grottenschlecht. Mehr als Schritttempo war wegen der tiefen Löcher und Sandkuhlen nicht möglich. Wir hätten uns aber auch gar nicht zu beeilen brauchen, denn als wir in Gallabat ankamen, wurde uns eröffnet, daß der Chef des Zolls noch schlafe – nichts Ungewöhnliches, denn auch er hatte mit Sicherheit am Vorabend das Ende des Ramadans kräftig gefeiert.

Nach einer Stunde erschien der Chef gut ausgeruht, stempelte das Carnet für unser Auto in Windeseile ab und gab mir zu verstehen, daß er die Deutschen ganz besonders möge. Die Passkontrolle auf äthiopischer Seite verlief ohne Probleme in einer Rundhütte. Auf den Zoll, so bedeutete man uns, würden wir in etwa sechs Kilometern stoßen. Dem war aber nicht so und einigermaßen verwirrt fuhren wir wieder ein Stück, ehe wir die Auskunft bekamen, der Zoll befinde sich im nächst größeren Ort, in einer Entfernung von etwa 30 Kilometern.

So war es denn auch und auch dort war der zuständige Beamte außerordentlich zuvorkommend und höflich. Jetzt waren wir sozusagen legal im Lande und setzten unsere Fahrt frohgemut zur Provinzhauptstadt Gondar fort, alles auf einer rund 200 Kilometer langen Schotterpiste.

Wir hatten das Glück, am Ende der Regenzeit nach Äthiopien zu kommen. Das Land präsentierte sich in saftigem Grün. Hinter jeder Kurve taten sich neue, atemberaubend schöne Landschaft auf, besonders als es in die Berge hineinging. Wir kamen aus dem Staunen nicht heraus.

Nach der „Trockenzeit“ im Sudan, wo Alkohol als Teufelszeug gilt, leisteten wir uns bereits beim Zoll-Stopp eine Flasche kühlen äthiopischen Biers. Eigenartigerweise schmeckte es uns nicht so gut, wie wir es uns erträumt hatten.

In Gondar fiel sofort bei unserem ersten Stopp ein Dutzend Jungendlicher über uns her, die ihre Dienste bei der Hotelsuche anboten. Ich war ziemlich genervt, bis Marion sich aus der Gruppe Daniel herauspickte, der recht gut Englisch sprach und uns zu einer nahe gelegenen Pension lotste, in deren Innenhof wir übernachten und unser Auto sicher abstellen konnten.

Am Abend ließen wir es uns in einem Restaurant recht gut schmecken und leerten ein Flasche äthiopischen Rotweines. Am Morgen erschien Daniel pünktlich um acht Uhr, wieder mit einigen „Helfern“ im Schlepptau. Sie ließen uns aber bald in Ruhe, nachdem wir ihnen klar gemacht hatten, daß wir nur etwas mit dem aufgeweckten Daniel zu tun haben wollten.

Mit Daniel gingen wir zu Fuß zum Palastbezirk in Gondar, wo mehrere äthiopische Herrscher im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert insgesamt elf Prachtbauten errichtet hatten. Sie vermitteln einen guten Eindruck von der Kultur dieser Epoche, als Gondar die Hauptstadt des Landes war.

Besonders beeindruckt hat uns jedoch die Kirche Debre Birhan Selassie am Rande der Stadt, die 1682 erbaut wurde und deren Wände und Decke wunderschön bemalt sind. Noch in den Originalfarben sind zahlreiche Szenen aus der Bibel dargestellt, die Decke ist ganz mit Engelsgesichtern geschmückt. Die Kirche ist ein Kleinod, auf das die Äthiopier stolz sein können.

In Gondar brodelte es während unseres Aufenthaltes wie in anderen Städten Äthiopiens auch, vor allem in Addis Abeba. Die Opposition ficht immer noch die Parlamentswahlen vom Mai an. Bei Unruhen in Addis kamen 40 Menschen ums Leben. Zur gleichen Zeit drohte auch wieder ein Konflikt an der von der UN überwachten Grenze zwischen Äthiopien und Eritrea. Beide Seiten zogen wieder mal Truppen zusammen.

Trotz zahlreicher Gerüchte – „da wird geschossen und dort hat es wieder Demonstrationen gegeben“ – ließen wir uns in unseren Reiseplänen nicht beirren und fuhren von Gondar nach Bahir Dar am Tana-See weiter, durch den der Blaue Nil fließt. Auf dem Campingplatz des Hotels Ghion trafen wir Caroline und Peter wieder, zwei unternehmenslustige Österreicher, deren Bekanntschaft wir bereits in Gondar gemacht hatten und die uns wertvolle Tipps über den Simien-Park gegeben hatten, den wir auch erforschen wollen.

Mit ihnen unternahmen wir eine ganztägige Bootsfahrt auf dem Tana-See, um uns auf Inseln insgesamt vier, im Inneren ebenfalls außerordentlich schön bemalte Kirchen anzuschauen. Im Hotel Ghion trafen wir auch Mike aus England wieder, der es mit seinem Motorrad ebenfalls bis zum Tana-See geschaftt hatte. Und auch der ältere, radelnde Japaner, den wir zuletzt in Wadi Halfa im Sudan gesehen hatten, trudelte im Hotel Ghion ein. So klein ist die Welt ...

1. Oktober - 1. November 2005: Frankreich, Italien, Tunesien, Libyen, Ägypten, Sudan
2. November - 29. November 2005: Sudan, Äthiopien, Kenia
30. November - 18. Dezember 2005: Kenia, Tansania, Malawi, Mozambik, Simbabwe
19. Dezember 2005 - 15. Mai 2006: Südafrika, Frankreich, Südafrika
16. Mai - 18. Juni 2006: Südafrika, Mosambik, Tansania
19. Juni - 25. Juli 2006: Kenia, Äthiopien, Sudan, Frankreich

November 28, 2005 -- KENYA
Last night our friends, Hugo and Marietess, came back from South Africa. It was nice to see them. Hugo is working as a consultant from the Swiss Government with the UN TV channel Irin, he is supposed to lend them a helping hand. Today we went shopping and again just relax time. The Carnet de Passage, the international car papers, were delivered this afternoon by a courier service. ADAC, the German car agency insurance, charged us the full amount of Euro 360.- again for the copies of the 2 car registration papers. I do not think it's fair.

November 27, 2005 -- KENYA
We were not the only one to complain about the noise of the locals. A masaii tour operator which 3 „msungus“ told the two different groups as well to shut up and respect others, only to be told off as a fucking African by the Indians (they are both Kenyans, but I guess first comes their identity). I do not know what the Africans told the masaii but he had no impact either. We left before 7 a.m. with hardly any sleep.

On the way out, we saw a hippo out of the water which was at least a nice sight. He or she, I did not dare to look to closely, was munching happily on the gras, a few meters away from us.

The attitude of the Indians was disturbing and I am still upset. Because they also attacked us racially. It reminded me with horror of the guy in a cellphone shop in Nanyuki. He told me , he hated „those“ people, that Kenya is a terrible place to live. As I ask him why he did not leave for India, he told me that he cannot make money in India, but it is good in Kenya – with those people he hates! What a life! He came to Kenya when he was one year old. Just imagine all your life being spent with other Kenyans you despise.

We are back in Nairobi catching up on lost sleep, writing and again washing clothes. Camping is dirty business!

One of my best friends in Vienna asked me about my personal feelings of the travels we are doing. It seems that I do not think much about it. We have an agenda, we have to get to South Africa after Christmas because friends are arriving. I do not think about my future, nor the past. I am just enjoying the trip, being with Arno, discovering new place or re-visiting old ones. I am more relaxed not having to „sell“ story ideas all the time. It is great to know that one can do whatever one wants, i.e. spend more time at one place or another. It is a freedom of sorts.

Some people in their fifties are searching and/or wanting to change their life. Not with me. I have had a great life so far, a beautiful family, a great job and even greater friends. I love doing films, which I am doing right now as well.

I do think a lot about my kids. Alexandra is working now as a journalist at one of the bigger regional papers around Boston. She has managed her life very well, always being responsible and studious. It has paid off. She is now living with her French boyfriend together near Boston after having finished her Masters of Communications at American University in Washington, D.C. Christopher is still my worry-child. He is right now in Panama filming again with the Survivor people from the States. He went with them before to the South Sea and Guatemala. Our son should finish his degree in filmmaking in the spring of next year. Hopefully he is driving back with us to Europe when we leave South Africa in the beginning of May 2006.

November 26, 2005 -- KENYA
What a sight! We had rain at night, but the sun was up in the morning. The baboons left their sleeping tree as sleepy as we were. They are so like us. They rub their eyes, sit around before they get the energy to hunt for food. Arno and I walked in the direction of the waterfalls until we saw 2 buffalos gazing directly at us – there were perhaps 10 meter between us. I was checking all the trees in our neighborhood, but they were as startled as us and ran into the bush. All the animals come early in the morning to drink from the pool in front of the waterfalls.

I thought about Christopher. If our son would have been with us, I am sure he would have swam in the pool already. He is such a bush baby. I washed our dishes with impala antilopes surrounding me, the baboons watching me – heaven. It was hard to leave this place. On the way back we drove through the whole park again and again we were lucky with all kinds of animals from rhinos, buffalos to giraffes.

We drove back to Lake Naivasha. It would have been too expensive to stay another night at Lake Nakuru. The last time I was in Lake Naivasha was in the early seventies. The lake is known for the large hippo population. We found a beautiful spot right on the lake. The hippo did not take long to show his face off and on out of the water. Pelicans were swimming on the lake. We considered ourselves lucky until three cars of Indian-Kenyans pulled in. About 15 young adults. They started immediately with music and noise. It continued until after midnight even though Arno and I on separate occasions asked them to turn it down. One guy with I guess lots of alcohol in his blood started screaming and swearing at Arno. We packed our things at close to 1 a.m. to move further into the camping site where we thought it would be quiet. It was until a half hour later, when 2 matatas, local taxis, came rolling in. They had no tents, but plenty of beers and music which lasted until we got up at 6 a.m. What a night! This is a song I could sing many times during our trip.

November 25, 2005 -- KENYA
We just have to wait for our papers and a new VISA card to arrive from Germany. There is nothing to do except wait, therefore, we decided to leave for Lake Nakuru. In the book it said that the old road towards Naivasha which we had to pass was more scenic. We took it. It was a mistake. We have seen bad roads, but tar roads with huge potholes are another thing. Some of them could swallow a small car. The landscape is lush, tropical, everything seems to grow there. It is 150 km until Lake Nakuru. But we were glad to stop after the village of Naivasha at Lake Elementaita. It is a self-help project for the local population. One can drive all the way down to the lake with an entrance fee of KSH 300.- per person. It is about 4.40 $. Around the edges of the lake, pink flamingos are living. It is beautiful. The kids from the village tried to sell us flamingo feather flowers which are not my taste. But since they were very helpful with finding the track to the lake and explaining the countryside, two of them walked off with new jeans.

From there we continued to Lake Nakuru National Park. It is the place in Kenya which has the biggest flamingo population. At one time, they had 2 million flamingos staying there. Now there are hundreds of thousands. It is stunning. One drives very close to the lake shore, the birds did not seem to mind and just continued their courtship. One female, I gather, and 4 males stalking each other. Happy flamingo lady!

It is one of the most beautiful small parks I have seen. Unfortunately, the Kenyan Wildlife Service takes a price which is hard to swallow. 30.- $ per person, just the entrance fee for a 24-hour stay. It is in every park like that. Fees are from 15.- onwards per person. Then you pay camping (10.- $ per person ) and/or hotel on top of it. For one day, it is a hefty 80.- $ for us. But we saw a lot: giraffes, buffalos en masse, haartebeest antilopes, wildebeests, vultures, pelicans, one schakal, many white rhinos, dick-dick and impala antilopes.

We set up camp in the late afternoon in the south of the park, next to a waterfall. A splendid spot. Baboons were watching us – just great. What we did not know was that the baboons had the 2 trees as their sleeping spot next to our tent. They do stink or their droppings. We were happily sipping some wine, when we heard snorting noises. It was pitch-dark. We shone the flash light right into the face of a buffalo. Arno and I did not hesitate. We climbed up our tent ladder as soon as possible. The camera team and I were once chased by a buffalo. The cameraman and the person we filmed climbed up an acacia tree. If you do not know acacias, it is not what you want to do. They have long and hard thorns. I ran into the bush. But the buffalo was not following me, it had stopped in front of the tree, guarding the 2 persons. We had to manage slowly the car in between the buffalo and the tree for them to come down. They were scratched and bleeding from top to bottom. Just this little anecdote to explain why I did not wait nor brushed my teeth nor went to the toilet. All had to wait!

November 24, 2005 -- KENYA
We wanted to leave today for Lake Nakuru. But first we drove to the pretty upper-class shopping center for the internet café. While Arno was writing, I went shopping and as I came back after about one hour, he had nearly finished all the emails. But what he did not notice was that someone had taken his bag with ALL the papers from next to his feet. What a shock! The passport, the IPOD, the cellphone, 70.- Euros, all our vaccination papers , but the worst thing which was gone were the Carnets de Passage, the international car registration papers. Without them we cannot leave or enter a country. We called immediately the French and German banks to stop our credit cards, then the German Embassy for a new passport and ADAC, the car insurance, for new car registration papers for the car and the trailer.

Well, we did not leave for Lake Nakuru. Arno and I just could not believe it. We have lived in Africa a long time, have traveled all over, but to have your bag taken in an internet café seemed highly unlikely. The police was helpful, as was the lady at the German Embassy. She said to Arno, it seems that the robbers are out in force today. You are not the first one! Arno got his new passport within a few hours.

November 23, 2005 -- KENYA
A peaceful night at Hugo’s house which is beautifully surrounded by a huge plot. Every window one looks out of, there is only greenery. I still had laundry to do. Arno took the car into the garage for an oil change. Besides that, our rear brake pads were totally worn out. Again relax time and lots of reading.

November 22, 2005 -- KENYA
We drove from Nanyuki to Nairobi where we could use the house of a former colleague and friend. They were not there, but left us the key. The first thing I did was wash all the linen and our clothes. I hope to have gotten rid of all the little creatures which tended to bite us during the night. Otherwise I just enjoyed reading. With camping we are usually in bed by 8 p.m. since there is no light. At 6 p.m. it is dark in Africa. By the way, the oranges won – no more power to President Kibaki.

November 21, 2005 -- KENYA
What a nice thing a hot shower can be. I forgot how it feels like. In the price of the camping, a breakfast menu was included (for us total about 15 $). What a nice change. Unfortunately since we are in Kenya it rains every evening. The temperature during the day is comfortable – in between 20 to 27 degree Celsius. We still have to get used to the 2-class system. No matter if you eat or sleep, non-residents in big hotels have to pay much more. Here at the Sportman’s Arms Hotel the difference is over 1000.- Kenyan Shillings per room or chalet. Right now we get for 1 $ about 70 Ksh. Gasoline is also more expensive in Kenya than what we had to pay in the other African countries (-.80 $ per litre).

The people are more distant to foreigners when you compare it to Ethiopia. Here we are called Msungu – the white one. In Ethiopia kids screamed „you, you, you“. At first I thought it was a song. The adults called us in Ethiopia „Faranjis“ – no matter if you are from Europe or the US – they just call you „Whitie“.

Today Kenyans have 2 days off. They are supposed to vote for or against a new constitution. Apparently it has divided the country right down the middle. If you vote „Yes“ for the new one, the President will have more power. If „No“ the President might appoint a prime minister, as I was told. But everywhere you saw oranges and bananas – not the real ones. The „Yes“ camp were the bananas, the other the oranges. It took a while for me to figure out what they are talking about.

November 20, 2005 -- KENYA
We drove the 40 km left to Isiolo on bad road. From there the tar road started. We had forgotten how nice driving can be. We drove through beautiful countryside all around Mount Kenya. We saw the 5199 meter high twin peaks with snow in sun which is rare. Usually a cloud is hiding the top of the mountain. We passed our 12 250 kilometer in Nanyuki at the equator. We found a beauty of a place at the Sportman’s Arms Hotel. We could camp on their grounds with a room to use for toilet and shower. They have a great restaurant, swimming pool and health center with sauna and steam bath. We did not have time for that yet. First we needed to get money (from an ATM machine), call Hugo, a friend in Nairobi, go shopping for food and re-arrange the car. It needed a car wash badly as well. The fine dust from the road was everywhere. We were also gritty from top to bottom.

November 19, 2005 -- KENYA
It rained at night and in the morning. We were scared of the road. At breakfast at Jey-Jey we met a Kenyan who works as a community developer in that region. He had nine days vacation and wanted to go to Isiolo to see his wife and 2 kids. We decided to take him along. What a good decision. The road which was still very bad – less stones, but muddy with deep holes – seemed less dangerous with Timothy. After Marsabit where we stayed the night we still had 260 km to go until we would hit the tar road in Isiolo.

Timothy is Kikuyu and is able to work with all the different warring tribes. If he would be one of them, he would have been dead already, he told us. We stopped at the Samburus. He is working with the women to teach them a healthier way of live. The Samburus are related to the Massais. The woman wear beautiful beaded necklaces and head-sets. The men usually have huge earlobes. When young, the ears have a small hole and after a period bigger objects are being put in so that in the end the earlobe is big enough to put a can into it. They are nomads with usually cattle, goats and camels. No tribe says how many animals they have. Timothy is telling them to sell their animals when they are nice and fat and not wait until the drought lets them die. But so far his teachings had no effect. He also would like the women to grow veggies to counter the malnutrition. The Samburus food is milk and meat. The meat is kept in oil for month. It will take a long time for them to change their way of life.

We left Timothy just before Isiolo. Arno and I wanted to camp at one of the national parks just before the town. We will contact Timothy on our way back. He wants us to meet the different tribes he works with and wants to visit with us Lake Turkana. This time we did not feel like driving more difficult tracks to get there.

The Shaba Nature Reserve and the Buffalo Springs Reserve are just 38 km before the Isiolo tar road. Since it was getting dark, we drove into Shaba only to be told that the entry fee into the park is 30.- US-$ per person as non-residents. It did not matter that it was late and we wanted to sleep only in a „safe“ place. Wild camping is not advised in Kenya, especially not in that area. We asked to sleep near them outside the gate. For 30.-$ it would have been feasible. We declined and drove all the way back to the main road. We asked at the Kenya Wildlife Service again if we could not pitch tent near them. The officer in charge, Mohammed, finally agreed for 20.- $. It is a rip-off, but we had no other choice. The sun was setting as we drove into the bush with lots of acacia trees around us. It was just before the Buffalo Reserve near the houses of the staff. I am still upset about the 20.- $. But the camping spot was great and wild. In the middle of the night, Arno thought he heard hippos next to us.

November 18, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA/KENYA
Bucket shower again in a non-descriptive shower stall. I decided to just get washed up at our camper. We have a water tank in the trailer. That saves us nearly every day.

The crossing of the border was easy. It took 2 hours but no problems until we continued into Kenya. It is a shame. In Ethiopia asphalt and in Kenya no road. There are tracks with lots of gravel. The stones are scratching the car underneath all the time. There is no possibility to make new tracks. On each side is desert with big stones. What horror. Not only that, it is probably the most dangerous stretch of road we will encounter in Africa. The Boran, the Rendille and the Gabbra tribes are arch enemies. They tend to kill tourists as well as their own kind. In July, the Boran killed 21 school kids and 40 adults. As revenge, the Gabbra killed 10 Borans the same day. They stopped a car driven by an Italian priest who had to witness the slaughtering of people. He wanted to save a one-year-old child but the Gabbra just massacred the baby with their panga as well. The priest left for Italy, never to work in Africa again.

With that in mind, Arno asked what we should do in case of all cases. We decided if someone is in front of the car with a machine gun, just to duck and drive as fast away as possible. In the real scenario, it probably would not work. The roads are a hazard by themselves. We were also afraid of car problems. There are some trucks in a sort of convoy, but we passed not more than a handful the whole day. We finally arrived at a safe settlement at 7 p.m. – after 9 hours of „driving“ – having done 350 km. We had had it and wanted a meal with a beer at the Jey-Jey center where we could camp next to the motel. No way! It is run by Muslims. We heated up a soup ourselves and had a bottle of Ethiopian wine next to our car.

November 17, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
It rained at night. The days are usually sunny. The temperatures are in between 20-30 degrees celsius. This morning I had to take a bath in the lake. There was no water in the so called showers or toilets. The „holes“ we stayed in are not worthwhile to describe. I never thought that Arno would be game for that kind of travel. I had the „joy“ before of staying at terrible places in the world, but Arno always wanted his comfort. It is better to camp wild than use some of the facilities we have had to use.

I hope that I did not get bilharzia. It is a parasite who lives in little snails in slow moving waters like lakes and rivers. The buggers penetrate human skin and migrate to the vital organs. But I needed to be cleaned up and I took the risk. In 2 months I will have a test done. It takes that long for the incubation period. This is Africa as well.

We continued on good roads to Yavello along banana, pineapple and peach orchards. The Ethiopians have a new crop. It is Khat which is a mild drug. They chew it. The leaves look similar to laurel. The crop is being exported mostly to Jemen. It is the Ethiopian crop with the highest amount of income since the coffee beans trade went down the hill.

We decided to drive all the way to the Ethiopian/Kenyan border since the road was good. We arrived after 600 kilometers just before sundown in Moyale and camped next to the Bekele Motel. We had the use of a room for the toilet and „shower“.

November 16, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
We are glad to leave this place. I got „my“ taxi driver to lead us to the Austrian Embassy Residence for an interview with Dr. Joachim Oeppinger who is in charge of the ADA (Austrian Development Agency) projects in the country. He told us about the problems in Ethiopia, mainly overpopulation, not enough land for families to feed themselves etc. His estimation is that there is not 60 million Ethiopians but already 75 millions, with each year at least 1.5 millions births. He has no clue what will happen in the future with Ethiopia.

We wanted to film the interview on the gras in the garden until extremly hostile ants crawled up our legs. They were everywhere. The last ones I killed all the way up my bra. They also bite. Ferocious little buggers. We stayed on safe grounds after that. Joachim told us about the party they give for the Austrian National Day. The whole garden grass area needs to be sprayed otherwise they would have a national „ants“ dance. The interview was very interesting. I am glad I had the chance to meet him again.

Ethiopia needs a land reform. The state owns the land and each family works about a 1 hectar plot. This is enough for one family, but each generation the plot is divided into smaller ones. The average family has 6-8 kids. It is a mathematical question until they run out of land. The Ethiopians have as a main staple their injeras. The „tef“ is like a wild gras with miniscule grains which are being fermented for 3 days until they make flat sponge-like crepes for their daily meals. The bad thing is that the harvest is only 200 kg per hectare whereas wheat would give 1 ton. Since the farmers use their oxens with a wooden plow, they only scratch the soil surface for about 30 cm. The soil is overused and has no value anymore. Just this example to explain the dilemma Ethiopia is in.

We followed the cab driver out of Addis and drove to Lake Langano on 190 km of good roads. The Rift Valley until Bulbula is beautiful. The scenery changes from savannah to mountains with acacias, fields, gras huts villages and everything very proper. The Wabe Shebelle Resort is run down, but our camping spot on the lake underneath an acacia tree is dreamlike.

You have to sign in at the reception and after a few minutes, the first patients for Arno arrived. Somebody must have told the people that Arno is a doctor. Three people had headaches which we could „cure“. If they needed an amputation, we would have told them then and there that Arno is not a medical doctor.

I needed a doctor as well. In my left foot I had an itchy spot which turned out to be the famous „jigger fleas.“ They burrow their way into feet and lay their eggs there. I needed a needle to get the disgusting stuff out. It left a crater in which I can put the tip of my pinkie.

The national animal in Ethiopia seems to be the flea. As Joachim Oeppinger explained, there is hardly a spray efficient enough to eliminate them anymore. The little beasts have become resistant. It started as we took our scout in the Simiens into our car. But the Ethiopian churches are well-known for the fleas as well. One has to walk around without shoes – what a feast for them to jump onto new flesh. I spray every night the tent. Now we spray our body as well.

November 15, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
I will not repeat myself, but the nights did not get better. I met a nice taxi driver who quoted the correct prices for the fares. I engaged him for the whole day. First I went food shopping to a Western grocery shop called Bambis. Usually I would not buy a few slices of salami and gouda for each 4.- US-$, but boy it does taste good when you travel in Africa. We drove to several shops for the orthodox crosses I like so much. Finally found the one, I went to the last three times I was in Ethiopia. Got the same price like last time which made me feel good. No rip off there. Then I went back to the Hilton for emails etc.

As I came back to the camping, Arno was already there. Here is his account of Lalibela:
"Since Marion already knew the famous rock churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia, I flew there alone from Addis. We first landed at Lake Tana and were then in Lalibela after half an hour. By car, I would have had to cover more than 600 kilometres and that would have taken a long time.

Lalibela lies about 2,500 metres high in the middle of Ethiopia and is named after a famous king who started having churches carved out of cliffs in the 12th century. According to legend, the king himself used a hammer and a chisel. At night -- when the priest-king rested -- angels are said to have continued the work on the churches.

A total of eleven churches can be visited; unfortunately, a good half of them are covered by scaffolding. But there is no renovation work to be seen. The unique churches have been designated as a world heritage site by Unesco, who I was told is apparently planning to construct a common roof over five of the most important churches, so that the existing ugly steel roofs can be dismantled.

The priests and the monks in Lalibela don't mind having their picture taken. But the church leadership does expect a small donation. The faithful also don't shy away from the camera, as long as the pictures are taken unobtrusively.

The churches are all built after the same principle. First the size of the church's nave was determined. After that, sandstone around it was chiseled away, sometimes up to a depth of ten meters. Now one could start working on the rock's outside surface. The stonemasons chiseled doors and windows out of the stone before starting to hollow out the left-over, enormous stone block. Since they only had access to primitive tools, their achievement cannot be praised enough.

Some of the churches have several naves, and under them are also smaller chapels, like those dedicated to Maria. The most famous one is the St. George church, which is formed like a cross. Why the churches practically sink into the earth, so that they cannot be seen from far away, is disputed. The version saying that Lalibela wanted to thereby mislead enemies, since they wouldn't see any buildings when approaching, doesn't sound very convinving, as the churches would probably be more defenseless to aggressors coming from the top than if they had been built over-ground."

November 14, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
Another night in hell. The orthodox church was going strong the whole night. When you want to sleep, the sing-song of the priests sounds like meowing. They do not have the melodical songs like in the Russian orthodox churches. The loudspeakers’ scratching noises do the rest.

The Ethiopians like to let their car idle for ages, pumping the gas pedal in between until the engine screams. I got up before 6 a.m. – just could not take it anymore. The bad thing is that there is no other place to go with a camper. We could have checked into a hotel. But in Ethiopia, as it is in other African capitals, either you go cheap or expensive, there is nothing in between. And cheap, I rather stay in my tent. At the Bel Air, Arno showered once, I never. The whole place is pretty disgusting. I talked to the owner, he just wants to sell it. He does not keep it up anymore since the taxes in Ethiopia are apparently too high.

Thanks to the pool at the Sheraton, I got my shower. I stayed the whole day there reading and swimming. The lunch was great as well. It made my day which started terrible. I went in the morning to the Hilton before the Sheraton. It was just the day for them to clean their pool. Another taxi ride with too high a fare got me to the Sheraton which is fancier than the Hilton. What a great day though. I only got a sunburn. Addis is quite high and the sun is strong. But it was worth it.

November 13, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
What a night again! The Bel Air is no hotel. It is a parking lot. Business must be bad because they take onto their grounds taxis, mini buses and cars. The coming of cars continued until midnight and the going of cars started at 5:30 a.m. The Ethiopian like to let their cars run warm before they drive off. That does not last only minutes, but up to 10 minutes. We were also woken up at midnight because the taxi driver wanted to take Arno to the airport.

We told him at 11:30 a.m. during the day. Well , he came again at shortly before 6 a.m. He got confused about the European time and his Ethiopian one. There is a 6 hours difference. Ethiopian day time does not start with 1 a.m. but with 6 a.m. Not only that. The year is different as well. We are only in 1998 which makes me 7 years younger. Too bad that that will change going into Kenya. But the night was terrible all together. Arno and I just laughed in the early morning hours, otherwise we would have cried.

We seem to be the only guests in the hotel. The people are nice and last night we met up with 2 Ethiopian ladies who invited me to their home. I will go tonight. Arno left this morning for the beautiful monolithic churches of Lalibela while I had my beauty session. Hell I needed it after 6 weeks on the road.

Right now I am sitting in the café of the Hilton hotel and writing this with a glass of wine next to me. What a change this is from our Bel Air parking lot.

November 12, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
In the morning they wanted us to pay for the room and the car in the parking lot. I told them they were crazy and managed only to pay for the room. It does take nerves to travel in Africa.

We drove through the Nile gorge from one high plateau to another. The difference was up to 1500 m altitude. Unfortunately our freshly washed car got griddy again. The road was not fully asphalted. Somehow we have enough of bad gravel roads but we know we still have thousands of kilometers ahead of us. The countryside again was spectacular. Fields up high in the mountains, nice villages, no garbage anywhere. The only settlements that looked not too nice were the ones along the road. That is were the trucks and mini buses seem to stop but otherwise Ethiopia has ever changing beautiful landscapes.

We passed a funeral ceremony. Actually it was our 9th dead person we saw. Most of them were carried on stretchers to the burial ground, but this one was an important village person. His body was in a coffin, decorated with a beautiful clothes. One touching aspect was a colorful umbrella over the coffin. Hundreds of villagers were playing out scenes of his life. Women were wailing, beating their chests, men were riding their beautiful decorated horses around, telling stories about the deceased. I filmed. Arno got into an argument with a youngster who wanted money from us. Apparently the older villagers did not mind us taking photos, because I could continue filming. The whole ceremony was quite extraordinary and we were glad to have been witnesses.

I do not know why we saw so many dead people on our way in Ethiopia. One reason might be the high HIV rate. Every 5th person is infected. This information was given to us by a German who is working in Sudan and Ethiopia in the TB and lepra sector. In Sudan apparently only 5% of the population has the virus. The life expectancy in Ethiopia is 49 years and the literacy rate is only 35% which is quite low for an African country. Sometimes I wonder where all the donor money goes. I can only guess that the war with Eritrea was expensive and now the build -up of troops at the border again. African leaders like to receive aid, but no advice from Europeans. The EU and the Americans put pressure onto the Ethopian prime minister in the last week to stop his differences with the opposition and to stop the troop build up at the border with Eritrea. When this happens, most African leaders immediately talk about colonisation behaviour!

We left Hella from Austia in Addis and continued to the Hilton, my former stomping ground whenever I was in Addis. Not that I stayed there, but I used their facilities. Arno got a haircut. He also bought a ticket to Lalibela. I have filmed there extensively and did not want to go back. The road from Addis to Lalibela is bad and that for about 600 km. Therefore, Arno will fly tomorrow.

We ate at the pool and drank some good Ethiopian white wine – Heaven after the rough roads through Sudan and Ethiopia. We paid a cab driver to drive in front of us to find the Bel Air hotel. It seems to be the only one where we can put up the tent. It is very run down, but we found the only place where we have a kind of flower garden in front of our trailer.

November 11, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
We had our car washed early in the morning. For what reason, I do not know. There are only a few asphalted roads in Ethiopia. But it did feel great touching the car and the trailer without the gritty feeling of dust. The young car washers chose some T-shirts. I gave them some money as well which they did not expect. Those youngsters were not like the rest of the ones you meet in this country. They demand only. One 10-year old came and said he wanted a shirt as well. „Mother dead, father dead, gimme Birr„ (the Ethiopian currency). I have heard this before. It could be true, but who knows. I never give money – so he left.

We left with another traveler towards Addis. This time we took Hella from Tirol with us. She is on a 6-month traveling tour of East Africa. She is looking at some aid projects in Ethiopia and Uganda. As a social worker she wants to work on a voluntary basis in Uganda.

We nearly had an accident. A taxi in a mini-bus went up a mountain cross-wise. It was a miracle that he did not hit us as he took a left swing towards us as we were passing. It was the second near accident we have had. The first one was in Egypt. I was overtaking a truck. The road was asphalted but he hit the sand on the side, sending up a cloud of it over us. I was blinded by sand, driving just straight and managed to stay on the road.

We stayed on the parking lot of a hotel in Debras Markos. I took a room as well to have a toilet and a shower, but we decided to sleep in our tent. The rooms were more than basic.

November 10, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
I got up shortly before 7 a.m. and advised Arno to stay put. The camp is situated in a dip of two mountains. The sun would not reach it until an hour later. Some patches of the ground were frozen. I guess the temperature went down until 0 degree celsius. We decided then and there, that we would leave the park one day earlier to warmer grounds. Again it is more than worthwhile to visit, but after the sunset it is bedtime until the sun rises again – unless one is an eskimo.

Arno had met a Bavarian, a former teacher of religion, the night before. He came and asked me to give some clothes to a lady and her 2 year old baby. Usually, I do not do that. I give clothes to people I photograph or film or when they have done something for me, like washing the car or our clothes. I do not want that Africans see white people as givers. It is bad enough as it is. It seems that all the Ethiopian population is begging one way or another. The young kids are the worse. They are so persistant that I have to keep my temper.

I gave the woman some clothes though. Her baby was naked. She held him against her own body for warmth. Her clothes were in tatters. Not one piece of clothing was whole. I also gave her a skirt with a sweater. The baby left with 3 T-shirt on top of eachother. He stared at his arms. It was most likely the first time that they were covered with something. Apparently, her husband had died. She does have a field but no family around her for support. I have seen poverty in this world, but the poverty in the Simiens is extreme because of the temperature of the place.

We drove back to Debark. Kids threw stones again but missed us. Our scout ran after them. He finally picked up the older one of the crowd. He squeeled as one says. The boy gave the names of the young stone throwers to the park authorities. We had read already that this is common in Ethiopia but so far only in the Simiens we encountered this. The French travelers we met in Khartoum were hit as well in the north of Ethiopia. Their car window was broken. This is most annoying since Ethiopia is not the safest place to leave your car alone – especially not with a broken car window.

We drove again to Gondar. I went shopping for bread and was followed as usual by a crowd of youngsters. They stick like glue to the tourists. Daniel saw me and ran towards me for a hug. But not forgetting to ask for another T-shirt. I send him off. As he helped me last time around Gondar, I gave him enough. This time he did not „earn“ another piece of clothing.

We decided to drive all the way back to Lake Tana. We arrived just as the sun was setting. It was a surprise to find Wolfgang from Moedling on the campsite. He did manage to have his motorbike repaired in Khartoum. He hopes it will last until Nairobi where it might need an overhaul.

November 9, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
It was cold at night. Arno and I slept in our clothes. His comment: „For a newly wed couple it is not advisable to visit the Simiens. Nothing works at that altitude and with that climate“.

The poor guide. He only came alive after several cups of hot tea. The park authorities had given him 10.- Birr , about 1.20 $ , to buy food. He only had a ration of bread with him. They expect you to feed him, which is fine by me, since I have a „kitchen“. But most people go hiking for several days in the Simien. I do not think that they have extra food for their scouts. The people are extremely poor in the Simien. They do have fields, but no money to buy essentials.

We drove to the second camp at 3600 m altitude. Stunning scenery. The farmers still cut their fields by hand. 4 horses bound together are threshing the corn or sorghum. It all seems from another world. I filmed and everybody was very friendly. We went in the afternoon on a hike and saw hundreds of funny looking baboons. The males look like they have a lion’s mane on their backs. In the late afternoon about 20 Ibex, a kind of antilope species, came close to the camp. Actually they look more like a „Steinbock“. I do not know the name in English right now. In the Simiens the red fox is at home as well, but we did not see him.

In the evening, it got really cold. We bought some wood for a fire. For the scout and his friend I had corn which they barbequed on the fire. Some tea with a shot of cognac helped in the beginning to get rid of the cold, but we crawled again fully clothed into our sleeping bags at about 7:45 p.m. Our scout slept with another scout close together next to the car.

November 8, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
During the night there was trouble again in Bar Dahar. I heard at midnight the demonstration against the government going on. It stopped at about 4 a.m. after some shooting and ambulance sirens. I wanted to go and check out what was happening, but Arno was not up to it. All alone – a white face – in a middle of a crowd did not seem to appealing to me either.

The young Austrian couple, Karoline and Peter, gave us a present in the morning. It was the nicest present one can give to Germans traveling in Africa: a cured ham and black bread. They took it with them from Austria for when they go hiking. They did not eat it and were going back to Austria in a few days. Hence, we were the lucky ones.

We left for the Simiens mountains. First we had to go back to Gondar to continue up north. The road to Gondar is good, we shopped and drove on 150 km bad road to the last town before the national park. In Debark we had to sign in and pick up the scout. Usually they like you to take a guide as well, but there was absolutely no space in the car.

Once in the park, we had another 36 km of pretty bad road to the camp Sankabar at about 3300 m altitude. It is beautiful though. Around 5000 people live in the park as well. Their fields are all the way up the mountains. Some part of the Simiens park looks like the grand canyon in America, then just steep mountains with yellow flowering fields. The bad thing is that the young shepards like to throw stones at vehicles. Well, they got ours. We have a pretty good dent in the car door, just below the window. Our scout ran after them, but the young rascals – probably not older than 10 years – were much quicker. He thinks he knows them and will report them to the authorities.

In the afternoon we had about 16 degrees celsius. After dark it went down to 8 degrees. Arno and I started to get cold after the sunset. The scout had nothing on except a jacket and a shawl over it. I gave him Alexandra’s woolen winter coat. He put it on immediately over his own jacket and started to crawl up on the ground – without tent, mattress, sleeping bag. I still had a camping mattress which I gave to him as well. I felt so bad. The colder it got, the more clothes and sweaters I pulled out for him. One could say, they are used to the climate, but for a European to have somebody sleep on the ground in front of the camper, does not work. I told the park authorities later as well. The answer was, the Austrian Development Agency is thinking of buying them tents. I do not understand why most African countries only depend on foreigners to help their people.

Back to the Austrians. They have reforestation programs, have build huts and park centers and are very welcomed in the Simiens. It is funny. We have run into many Austrian travelers and now the Austrian Development Agency. I wanted an interview with the person in charge of the ADA program, but he had meetings. I am going to meet Doris from ADA in Addis later and will ask her about the Austrian projects. Apparently, they would like a voluntary removal of all the Ethiopians in the park. It does seem odd that people are living in a national park which is declared a world heritage site.

November 7, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
The boat skipper came by to show off his new pants. He was so proud. Today is relax time with writing and washing. Tomorrow we want to drive to the Simien Mountains National Park. Hopefully the park is open. Last time it was closed as a result of the fighting in the north. The Simien mountains are in between Gondar and Axum which is close to the Eritrean border. It is not advised to go to Axum right now which we will not. The park has an altitude of 3.300 m and is in the Afro-alpine zone. It is designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site. It also has the fourth highest mountain in Africa with 4.543 meters high. We are looking forward to the trip.

November 6, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
We went with an Austrian couple who are visiting the country for 2 weeks on a boat ride. Lake Tana has several islands with old churches on it. We took the quite expensive ride (25.- Dollars per person) for the whole day. The skipper gets per day 1.25 Dollar as he told us. Entrance fee per person per church is about 2.50 Dollar. Each priest, nearly each person who passes you, ask for extra money. Even though the churches with their wall and ceiling paintings dating from the 17th century on are worth the visit. The most beautiful one is the furthest away (3 hours boat ride) and if it is only that less people are there because of the distance. All the other ones nearer to Bahar Dar have more dealers/wheelers to want to show you around. One is obliged to take one of the hazzlers along which means payment at the end. On one island, one „official“ guide did not take our tip but asked for nearly 8.- Dollars for the hour he showed us around. A waiter for example earns 1.- Dollar a day.

If one is not up to fighting about everything you buy or do, do not come to Ethiopia even though culturally and landscape wise it must be one of the most beautiful countries in Africa. The skipper earned through our tips triple the amount he earns officially. He chose one pair of pants and sunglasses from our collection.

Tonight the church loudspeakers were quiet.

November 5, 2005 -- ETHIOPIA
We had heard already on the news of the BBC about trouble brewing along the Eritrea and Ethiopian border. Not only that, but 40 people were being shot by the army in Addis during demonstration against the Government. In May Ethiopia went to the poll. In most cities, the opposition won. The Government still holds the power by force. In Gondar the army had shot 3 people yesterday and demonstrations were being held in most Ethiopian cities. The students are the one to suffer most. The Government shut schools to control them. Many opposition followers are in prison. This morning everything was quite. But police and army were everywhere.

Daniel showed up in the morning to show us around. Gondar has a castle ground of about 7 hectares. Different castles were built by the rulers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Gondar was the capital from 1632 – 1868. It was quite impressive. Then we went by taxi to the most beautiful church in Ethiopia. Debre Selasse church is known for the most extensive ceiling and wall paintings and dates back to 1682.

Daniel and I went shopping. We had to hazzle for each item: bread, cheese, liquor, beer. Everything was near double. In all the countries we passed, one can always get one kind of cheese „La vache qui rit“. It is quite ironic coming from France ourselves. Daniel helped, but as I gave him money for his services, he was urged by his street friends to ask for more. I nearly flipped.

Ethiopia seems much poorer than Sudan. Even though Sudan is said to be the poorest country. Perhaps it is because there are people everywhere. It is next to Nigeria with an estimated 60 million inhabitants the most populated country in Africa. Every year an estimated 1.5 new citizens are born. The country can hardly feed itself.

In the afternoon we continued to Bahar Dar on very good roads. It is on Lake Tana. We camped at the Ghion hotel’s site on the lake. Their hotel is nothing to write home about. The rooms are terrible, but as campers we can use one to shower in . We feel good to sleep in our tent. But the site is great. It is right on Lake Tana. One can eat under huge trees in a beautiful garden. The food we ate was very good. Some other people were complaining.

We had thought to escape the loudspeakers of the Islamic world. Not true. The orthodox churches in Ethiopia use them as well. And that for the whole night. We heard the prayers from about 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. in the morning. They were only broken by the imam calling on their loudspeakers to the muslim population to come for prayers.

November 4, 2005 -- SUDAN/ETHIOPIA
During the whole time in Sudan the temperature was 30-40 degree celsius. Since it is very dry the heat does not bother us so much as the dust. We only had to manage 15 kilometers to the border to Ethiopia. We got through the Sudanese customs within 2 hours. The passport stamps were done quickly, but the carnet de passage –papers for the car and the trailer took longer. The guy in charge had to be woken up. He had celebrated the end of Ramadan!

Passing into Ethiopia was easy since we had the visas already from their Parisian Embassy. We needed the stamp for the car papers which apparently was being done after 6 km into Ethiopia. We drove even further, could not find the customs office, backed up and had to drive again further to find it finally after 35 km. Quite confusing. Again the officers were very friendly and helpful. We changed money on the black market. What a relief to pay with Birr – the Ethiopian currency. It is 8.5 Birr to a dollar. The Sudanese currency was confusing. Officially it is Dinar, but the people quote everything in the old currency Pounds which is one O more than the Dinar. One dollar was 238.- Dinar. Boy – it is easier to divide into 8.5 to get an idea of what thing costs.

The countryside from the border all the way to Gondar was incredible. The 3 months rainy season had ended in September. The fields are green. Flowers blooming everywhere. We climbed up to 2000 m altitude. Beautiful mountains around us.

We got into Gondar, the ancient capital of Ethiopia and were immediately surrounded by groups of quite noisy youngsters. Every one wanted to show us the way to the hotel. We follow one only to find ourselves in front of another hotel. Arno lost it. I had to manage the situation which truly was annoying. I picked Daniel, a 13 year old smart street kid. We put up camp in a courtyard of a small hotel. When we went out to eat our first injera – the local stable food, we were again followed by a crowd. One boy just sat beside us in the restaurant and stayed there with two others from another European couple. Since the waiters did not speak English, the boys translated. I did order one injera which is a spongy kind of pancake with veggies and meat. The waiter served two injeras topped with everything they had in the kitchen: salad, meat, fish, lentils, stew. We insisted to only eat one. Well as anybody can guess now, the second injera was eaten by the three boys. They profited by ordering whatever they felt like. Naturally we had to pay for 2 injeras. What guts!

The price of diesel is the same as in Sudan: 40.- Euro cents per liter. We definitely like that. Our car is still going strong. The set-up of the tent takes minutes and for a change nothing was broken or spilled. We finally manage after many weeks on the road to pack that everything stays intact.

November 3, 2005 -- SUDAN
We passed our 9000 kilometers on the road to Wad Medani which was very good. From there we continued to Gedaref . The landscape changed totally. The villages were more African with rondavels. The people have huge herds of camels, goats and cattle. Everybody again was very friendly and waving at us. Single mountain formations were in between fields and acacia woods – just stunning.

From Gedaref to Gallabat again the landscape was beautiful. Usually we had gravel roads with sometimes huge potholes. They were big enough to do serious damage to a car. All along the roads we saw people dressed up in their finest outfits. It was the end of Ramadan and the second most important festival Eid al-Fitr was being celebrated. In front of every mosque huge crowds were sitting to end their fast. It was ironic. We were on our way out of Sudan and had managed it at the last day of their fasting period.

We met Harald from Salzburg along the way. Because of the end of Ramadan, no busses were going to the Ethiopian border with Sudan. He did have a ticket for Gallabat. The bus driver apparently decided to rather celebrate than end the trip at the border. We repacked our car to take him along. Harald is backpacking for 2 month. He wants to visit his parents in Tansania and started by local transportation in Cairo.

We set up camp in the bush. It was so beautiful. Big acacia trees in savanna like surroundings. Only the giraffes were missing. The nomad kids stayed respectfully a few meters away, just watching us. One of the adults came to meet us. Since we could not communicate, the conversation was limited.

We risked after the stunning sun-set a shower under the stars. If caught I probably would be stoned for indecent behaviour. The crickets were chirping along. There was no wind, just a beautiful sky with the most unbelievable amount of stars. In the African country side with no pollution, the stars are so bright. We saw three shooting stars as well. What a night – like an African dream.

Sudan is well worth a visit. The roads as described are not the best – to put it in a positive manner. But the people are very friendly. We camped wild –except in Khartoum- and were never bothered. To the contrary, people greeted us and even gave us welcome presents like melons. It is a dream for the „wild“ 4x4 drivers. That is definitely not us. We are too scared that something happens to the car and/or the trailer. We would have been lost if something did happen. Neither of us has any clue what to do when something goes wrong with the car. We will buy a satellite phone where ever we can find it for a good price. It is a little late to consider that. But one never would have imagined the isolated spots we drove through – with few people to pass in a day. They would not have been able to help us neither.

November 2, 2005 -- SUDAN
We decided after all to stay another night at the Blue Nile Sailing Club. I did the laundry myself. Arno went to the internet café to send our diary yesterday. It was too late to leave then. We both took a sleeping pill and managed to get through the night that way. Jan from Netherland and Wolfgang from Austria were escorted by police with sirens on to the camp ground yesterday. They got lost in Khartoum. Mike from the UK decided to drive slower and stayed behind. Wolfgang had had bad luck with his motorbike. He hit deep potholes. One spike and the shock absorbers were broken. Jan left this morning towards Ethiopia. Wolfgang is trying to get his bike fixed, and we left for the temple ruins of Naqa.

We had tar road all the 143 km north of Khartoum. The sign on the road near a gas station said „35 km to Naqa“ but there were only sand tracks going in all different directions. We had read already in the book, that the temple of Naqa will be hard to find. We took a guide from the gas station. As ever it took quite a while to agree on a price – from 20.- US $ to 8.-$ which is still quite a lot of money in Sudan.

The ruins of the temples are absolutely beautiful and worth visiting. They are surrounded by mountains. The nomads were watering their cattles, sheeps, goats on an ancient water well nearby. It was 84 meters deep. The water was pulled up by an inner tube on strings by donkeys. Young kids had to ride the donkeys back and forth to get enough water for all the herd.

The Naqa temples date back from 300 B.C. The decorations were influenced by Nubian and Egyptian design. Formerly all of Nubia belonged to Egypt. We found a local guide who was easily understood in English and quite knowledgeable. Usually one needs a permission from Khartoum to enter the antiquities. We managed to see it without the permit which was also less expensive. Again the clothes we gave to him were very appreciated.

We drove back to Khartoum only to leave the city in the direction of Wad Medani. Again we got lost and stuck in a market. Two Sudanese helped us to find the way out. We had bought tomatoes and potatoes at a stand. The guy wanted 10.- US-$. We left. He came running after us. We finally paid 2.- $. After a while this game gets to you.

The nice thing in Sudan is that the gasoline still only costs 40.- Euro cents per litre. In the evening we camped in a field on the Nile. This time only one of our gas bottles leaked everything on our bedding. Somehow one expects every day something to go wrong.

October 1 - November 1, 2005: France, Italy, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan
November 2 - November 29, 2005: Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya
November 30 - December 18, 2005: Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
December 19, 2005 - May 15, 2006: South Africa, France, South Africa
May 16 - June 18, 2006: South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania
June 19 - July 25, 2006: Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, France