Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
We made it. It was a very tough day. We think that we got the ECU in Gobieta
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
We made it !! 22 days on the road and the 9th team to cross the line. It was a very tough day. For large sections of the day we expected to break down and be stuck on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. We think that we got the ECU wet on one of the river crossings causing the engine to lose power and miss-fire. Top speed was around 50mph so it took us 13 hours to get here. It poured with rain all day making one section of road that had not been sealed almost impossible to cross. It was full speed and hope for the best. Real Sega rally driving. We owe another big thank you to the David & Goliath team who followed us for the first 200km to make sure we were OK. The traffic coming into town was truly horrendous. Some of the worst driving we have seen in the last 7,300 miles. We are both looking forward to getting home to our friends and family.
Bayankhongor, Mongolia
just noticed I spelt the town wrong. It's been a long day.
Bayankhongor, Mongolia
a longer than expected day. We started with a quick trip to the garage to bolt on the plate protecting the exhaust. We were left on our own to search the floor of the garage for suitable bolts and do the repair ourselves. We ended up leaving town around 10am and bumped into the David & Goliath team a few miles out. We had quite a few miles of blissful Tarmac before being thrown back into the bone crunching roads again. The driving was exhausting. We were towed across one river where Gobetia started floating. Quite a strange feeling. She is really starting to suffer. The engine is starting to miss fire so let's hope we make it.
Govi-Altai, Mongolia
we drove hard all day to get to Altai. Very pleased to leave the mosquito infested campsite that was our home on Thursday night. We stopped for a pleasant breakfast with the David and Goliath team. We had 13 hours on bone juddering roads and Gobieta is starting to creak and groan. We have ripped off a bolt holding the casing protecting the exhaust and the air conditioning gave up briefly. She particularly did not like the sand storm that halted our progress about 50km outside of Altai. Howling winds that saw the temperature rise dramatically to 51 degrees. Visibility dropped to zero and at one point we had visions of sleeping in the car. The terrain has changed again. Starting to look more desert like. One clue was the number of camels we passed. We also saw a wild deer like creature.
Khovd, Mongolia
we almost made it to Khovd but we took Gobieta for an unexpected swim. If it was not for the David and Goliath team we would have floated downstream. So a big thank you to them and the wonders of kinetic tow rope
Khovd, Mongolia
almost made it to Khovd but we took G
Altai Republic, Russia
we drove the Altai mountains today. Truly amazing. Some of the most breathtaking scenery we have both seen. We stopped to dry out the tent and clean our dishes by a river. Some local truck drivers stopped and offered us some vodka. We explained that we were driving so politely refused. They said that this was not an issue in Russia. We drove on stopping for lunch after deciding that getting to the border would not be possible. We are now camping by a wide river. Apart from some wild horses and meerkat like rodents we are alone. I almost forgot the man eating mosquitos, they can bite through denim and clearly have not feasted in a long time. We plan to be up early to hit the border when it opens at 10am. We are now ready for the wilderness of Mongolia. Just crossed the 6000 mile mark
Altai Republic, Russia
we drove all day to get as close to the Mongolian border as possible to ensure we cross before it closes for the weekend. Changing our original plan to stop in Barnaul. Early in the morning after striking camp we stopped in a very small town for a coffee. Rene does not function without it. Sadly the circus was just pulling into town and we parked next to the animal cages. They were in a very sorry state. Particularly the bears who strained to get out of their dirty and very small cages. It was quite distressing. The coffee however was nice and the owner seemed amused by our collection of currencies and our inability to recognise Rubbles. We met a couple from Luxembourg who had struggled to cross Mongolia in a Toyota Land cruiser. They had to come to the rescue of a Mongol Rally team by pulling them out of a ditch. Apparently there has been a lot of rain and the rivers are high
Altai Krai, Russia
we were pleased to leave Astana. A modern capital that lacked any charm. We left under a downpour which was tropical at times. The road turned into a river washing Gobieta clean again. We drove through a section of rolling grasslands with wild horses roaming freely which is what we are expecting to see in Mongolia. We also had our first real interaction with the police. We had seen a couple who tried to wave us down which we had duly ignored. This one was having none of that. Chasing us out of town with sirens blaring. We pulled over and played the fool. Shaking their hands, introducing ourselves and smiling as much as possible. After a brief explanation of our journey and a few exchanges of pleasantries regarding our speed we were let go to head to the Russian border. We left Kazakhstan without too many problems. Entering Russia was a whole different ball game. We became minor celebrities as several bus loads of Uzbekistan migrants surrounded our car and proceeded to ask lots of questions tell jokes and generally make us feel welcome. It became quite a party as they reviewed every detail of our car and made fun of us. They even very generously gave us two melons showing us how to cut them. They had been waiting on the border 1.5 days when we turned up. They were on their way to do the hard jobs in Russia. We finally crossed the border after a 4.5 hour wait and have ended up camping in a field. 5300 miles and counting
David
The Gobi Brothers (not brothers really just good friends - at the start and hopefully at the end). Born in Burundi and New Zealand so different parts of the globe.
Rene Vanderveken
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