journal entries

Jul 05: [DW] Land of Pharaohs

Jun 05: [TS] Crazy Cairo

May 05: [TS] Sudan

Apr 05: [DW] Serengeti

Apr 05: [TS] Bandit Zone

Mar 05: [DW] Rwanda

Mar 05: [TS] Zanzibar

Mar 05: [TS] Into Interior

Mar 05: [DW] Ethiopia

Feb 05: [TS] Nile Challenge

Feb 05: [TS] The Pilgrimage

Jan 05: [TS] Mtwara

Jan 05: [DW] Tanzania

Jan 05: [TS] Wheel Clamped

Dec 04: [TS] Madagascar

Dec 04: [DW] Malawi

Dec 04: [TS] Mozambique

Nov 04: [DW] Okavango Delta

Nov 04: [DW] Zimbabwe

Nov 04: [DW] Botswana

Nov 04: [DW] Sesriem & on

25 Oct 04: [DW] To Sun City

22 Oct 04: [TS] Etosha Nat Park

18 Oct 04: [TS] Namibia

2 Oct 04: [TS] Lesotho

28 Sep 04: [DW] Wild Animals

24 Sep 04: [DW] Wild Coast

16 Sep 04: [TS] Garden Route

9 Sep 04: [TS] Arrival

Aug 04: [TS] Intro

the bandit zone

There is only one practical road going north in all of eastern Africa from Kenya to Ethiopia. It starts with bitumen in Nairobi then 300kms out inconsistent corrugations begin mixed with deep gravel tracks, sand
tracks and volcanic rock sections the shape and size of rubics cubes cutting into your tyres until you get to the border where the bitumen begins again all the way to Addis Ababa. The section of untarred road is 530kms and with no breakdowns you can drive it in two long days. This section is also known as the bandit zone.

It is a flat dry desert landscape becoming less vegetated the further you go north until you get to the border. Some of the bandits are next generation Somalians who
attempted to take over the area in the 1960's. The others are from local tribes in the area.

A part of tribalism works on to look after your own tribe and everybody else is free game. This is the way they can justify their actions of robbing anyone they can outside their tribe. They hide in the bushes on the side of the road and start shooting at you until you stop and then take what they can. We were told that we had a choice of taking an armed guard with us or travelling in a convoy and not to drive at night.

The evening we arrived at the start of this section a local guy said that the bandits are not as bad as they used to be and that it was pretty safe which was reassuring.
So we took off early next morning with fruit, bread, a whole cooked chicken and some all important fluids. Looked for some ice but its as rare as a straight bit of road in Rwanda around here. The deterioration of the road was immediate but we were taking it slow. 30kms along we hear a noise coming front the back left of the van. It was the shock absorber which was leaking fluid and not doing its job which in turn put a lot more load on the van and the components around it. The brake warning light came on a little while later and at the 60km mark we came across a car on the road that had rolled three times but ended the right
way up. It had just happened and the four men and one woman that were in the car were pretty shook up.

The lady asked if we had a tow rope, a spare wheel, a jack and if we could tow their car back the way we just came. The car's roof was crushed in and two of the tyres were blown. She was in shock from the accident and was just trying to get out of the situation as quickly as possible. Just then a four wheel drive came along going in the same direction as them and they ended up helping.

We got going again but not before we noticed some brake fluid coming from the back left tyre which meant the brake cylinder had lost its seal. We saw many camel caravans and there were friendly kids in colourful robes herding goats. There were bare breasted women and others in colourful robes with veils.

At 90kms we had our first coldish ale. At 117kms the shock absorber completely collapsed and was dragging on the ground. We tied it off and noticed an electrical component hanging down from the engine so we tied it off as well. At 137kms we could hear another sound from the same back left tyre. We took it off and removed one half of the brake shoe and components that collapsed in the drum. We also noticed at this time water leaking from a hose connecting to the motor. We repaired the leak but the hot afternoon sun was bringing
out the sweat in us. At 148kms another sound, the brake cylinder completely collapsed and we were forced to removed all the remaining parts out of the drum and seal the brake line going to that tyre.

Had lunch under a tree off the track and got going again but now the beer temperature was hotter than the temperature around it. The best thing about drinking warm beer is that you don't mind drinking the dreggs.
We stopped at a local village and had a game of pool with some locals. On the track again and five kilometres out of the village we hear another sound coming from that tyre. The hand brake cable going to
the tyre snapped off so we tied it off. Ten kilometres down the track we pick up a tribesman, spear and all and took him about 30kms along. Arrived at our destination of Marsabit dirty, dusty and exhausted at
nightfall.

Next morning we couldn't find a shock absorber that would fit but we were introduced to a truck driver who was going our way. He had a firm handshake despite the missing thumb and introduced himself as Yunis. He offered to put the van on the back of his truck and take us to the border town of Moyale which is where the bitumen starts again. It was too good to pass up but we didn't get going until 2pm. As there is no public transport along this road, Yunis picked up about thirty local people who jumped onto the back of the truck
around the van. He suggest one of us jump into the back as some of these people cannot be trusted so Damien did the first stint.

Yunis was a mild, calm and softly spoken man. Many beggars and other types came to him asking him for things but he treated them respectfully. The road was rough but his truck handled it well as we passed
huge volcanic craters and saw many camels and some nomads. Yunis said he had been held up by bandits on this road three times and the bullet holes in the windscreen made it hard to disbelieve. He said they
shoot at you until you stop and then rob you.

As another beautiful African sun started to set on the desert plain Yunis said he needed to stop for about six Muslims he had on the back of the truck, to pray. While they were praying in a group next to the track we helped change a damaged front tyre. By the time we got going again it had become dark very quickly.

I started thinking about being told not to drive this road at night but I felt security in numbers. After not seeing anything or anybody for thirty minutes we see a guy walking towards us on the edge of the track. He was wearing a white lab coat which is a strange bit of apparel for any place outside a lab but especially
here, carrying a long stick or shotgun over his shoulder. It was a stick thankfully but Yunis then said he was the guy he saw when he got robbed here last time. He said he was bogged here for two days and on
the second evening he got robbed not long after he saw this guy.

There obviously shouldn't be too many guys with white lab coats around here so I started preparing. The big money went down the jocks, the sim card came out of the phone and I had a certain place in the cabin to head for when the bullets start flying. I had thoughts of a UN peace worker who not too far away from here was shot in the face while riding in a vehicle by a stray bullet. It was reported as just being an accident, so I considered the situation
mathematically to try and make myself feel better.

We stopped at a small village some time later and felt a bit strange about the people around. Apart from the Muslim preachers I felt suspicious of others. Yunis was calm so my suspicion dissipated. About 30kms down the track we stopped because Yunis felt it would be safer to do the last 80kms in a convoy. So we slept at another small village in the back of the truck.

Two other trucks turned up through the night and we got going again at dawn. Yunis said there would be no more bandits from here as we turned a bend for the last 15km climb to Moyale. Both Damien and I have been in many situations where fear is over projected. The bandit zone is a harsh
place where there doesn't appear to be a big gap between living and not living. With the laws of tribalism and one of the toughest roads to navigate its good to have this part of the road behind us. A big thank you to our good friend Yunis.

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tom@stuckintoafrica.com.au | damien@stuckintoafrica.com.au