All 5 entries tagged Sahara

Teams in Nouakchott, Mauritania

Hi Everyone,

All teams [apart from George] arrived last night from Dakhla to Nouakchott after a 850km drive through endless desert roads. A number of car related minor breakdowns yestersday but ok.

We all stayed together in the Auberge la Dune hotel and had loads of essential pizza in nearby resturant. Hard to believe that Nouakchott is a capital city as no or very limited mobile coverage, cant use credit cards anywhere and no cash points!!!! Very sandy and windy here… Mauritania is such a friendly place though.

This morning Nathan and Frankie off to fix mercedes after tyre problems, Mark and Karl hanging around nice hotel drinking cafe waiting for Nicola to fly in. Together heading off from airport to catch up the rest of the teams who all left in convoy this morning.

Aim over the next couple of days to head towards Kiffa and then Sunday to Nema for fuel and provisions.

Monday to Nara and then a couple of days later onwards to Timbuktu. We will have again limited mobile and internet access until maybe Timbuktu on the 11th or 12th.

Until later,

Mark, Karl and the all T4 teams.

Mark Swift : 06 Jan 2007 12:52 |  Tags: Desert Sahara Timbuktu Travel |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

New Years Day

Update from Mark in Sidi Ifini Morocco…

Eight teams all spent a relaxing day fetling with cars, swimming in the big Atlantic waves etc on New Years Day. Just George still to catch us up from late start via Malaga. Great beach firework display last night from Paula and tim. Everyone well.

About 420 either miles or kilometers [not sure which!!!] to Layonne tomorrow morning into the Western Sahara staying a campsite 40km north of town.

Using funny keyboard here so this has taken 20 minutes to type!!

Mobile phone coverage starts to get patchy from now on….

Until later, Mark [Team Sheen with Karl]

Mark Swift : 01 Jan 2007 20:34 |  Tags: Desert Sahara Timbuktu Travel |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Timbuktu Tomorrow

I am off tomorrow morning on my latest adventure / expedition driving from the UK to Timbuktu in Mali to see if thar Timbuktu place actually exists…

Blame it on a cocktail of a passion for petrol, travel and adventure and too much Paul Theroux, Alan Wicker, Micheal Palin… So tomorrow I leave with my good friend Karl Parsons in a 1988 un-tested Volvo 240 with a group of twenty others. The plan is to travel down through France and Spain, into Morocco by Saturday and to a tiny coastal resort call Sidi Ifni for New Years Eve. Then follow the north African coast line for about 1,000 miles until heading into Mauritania before turning East into the Sahara Desert. This is where the action begins in earnest, where the roads run out and the barren empty desert opens up. The intention is to get to Timbuktu by the 11th January and the Sahara Music Festival a couple of days later. We will fly back into the UK from Bamako, Mali on the 20th January.

Tomorrow is already here, so time to do last minute packing and then a big of kip and off in the morning down to home and Coventry and then onto Exeter to pick up Karl and then to the ferry at Portsmouth…

Until later,

M

Mark Swift : 27 Dec 2006 00:30 |  Tags: Desert Sahara Timbuktu Travel |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Off to Tmbuktu

Writing about web page http://www.theindependentandgloriousrepublicofnowillistan.co.uk/

Last day of term today, just a bit of tidying up to do and the department panto!

In less than a week the T4 challenge will be fully under way heading the 5000 or so miles to Timbuktu. After the Merc debacle and the Volvo has not sprung into action (more like limped).

We will be using the space to update everyone of our progress over the next weeks… A very kind HP will be publishing any SMS texts received when we are away. Thanks HP!!!

Our route for the nine teams is:

Mark Swift : 21 Dec 2006 09:32 |  Tags: Desert Sahara Timbuktu Travel Wmccm |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Timbuktu Travels

I am off to Timbuktu in next month of a new adventurous expedition (yes really) with 20 others. We depart on December 27th 2006, leaving the British winter behind, heading (driving) south to the vast expanse of Africa, and Timbuktu, back home toward the end of Jan 07’.

New year will be in Sidi Ifni, a very remote old fishing town half way down Morocco, should be bliss…

The Spanish atmosphere and the Art Deco architecture (..in Sidi Ifni) are two reasons to visit this coastal town. It was not too long ago, 1969, that Spain relinquished its enclave. It sits on a cliff top and is full of fantastic architecture and ironwork.

This is the forth such adventure I have embarked upon, see the Bangers and Travels gallery for previous trip photos.

We will drive are entirely inappropriate age-ravaged cars on a journey of over 4,500 miles, crossing inhospitable terrain and hoping to surpass any difficulties that we may face.

We aim to raise lots of cash for the Stroke Association.

More to follow!

Mark Swift : 29 Nov 2006 17:32 |  Tags: Desert Sahara Travel Wmccm |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem