Day 24 – Darobestja to Orshhamomo
High point: The remoteness of the route. Bumping along down a dirt track that looks like she was made only for Martha. This is what she was made for and boy does it show. Boooo motorways, rejoice dirt tracks.
Day 23 – Kostanai to Darobestja
High point: After several hours on the open road the boys were probing the land for the real Kazakhstan. Captain Steve took the wheel and also the initiative and randomly pulled a left at the only village we’d seen in the last 50 clicks. It turned out to be a beautiful decision. I think he’d had a few too many coffees and the chat and enthusiasm was coming on thick so the crew were quickly motioned into action. The locals, I think, were scared having never seen a European before, ever. We were greeted with trepidation but the cricket set was pulled from the back of Martha and quickly set up to include the village kids (Adults were coming back from a day’s farming to ensure we weren’t going to steal them). For the cricket, It’s safe to say it wasn’t your classic field setting, but I’m pretty sure the next Kazakhstan version of Brian Lara has been scouted. Hand eye co-ordination was incredible! By this stage the most incredible thing had happened. We found a young lad who had spoken English. There were seriously less than 100 people in this village. After explaining our story we were given a personal tour to the lake that was about 2km off the main trucking route. It was the most amazing campsite yet there were no other campers. The sun set on one side of the lake and rose the next morning on the other. Complete unobstructed by any building or man-made structure. Incredible.
Day 21 – Chelyabinsk (Russia) to Kazakhstan
High Point – Can I have 3? Hearing the first stamp on our Carnet from the Russians, finally realising that the Kazak customs official didn’t want an actual souvenir from me and, of course, our first sunset drive in Kazakhstan!! Read more →
Day 20 – Ufa to Chelyabinsk
High point: By far the highlight of today was the drive into the foothills of the Urals. The Ural mountains are traditionally seen as the division between Europe and Asia; they stretch nearly 200km from the Arctic in the North to Kazakhstan in the South. Although this was quite a long section with roughly 420km to cover and each of us doing two lots of one hour stints at the wheel, the scenery more than made up for the long drive. Long gone were the barren featureless landscapes of central western Russia and we welcomed the beautiful birch and pine forests of the Urals, punctuated with inviting lakes and rocky outcrops. Oh fresh air finally, I think we all took a huge gulp and it surprised me how long the conversation about our surroundings lasted; I think twenty days without a little TLC from our girlfriends and our feminine sides are blossoming. Read more →
Day 19 – Chelny to Ufa.
High point: Today was exactly what the doctor ordered. After 18 days the agony was increasing exponentially. The constant view of gravestones and freshly crashed trucks by the side of the road, and near fatal accidents every 5 minutes was beginning to weigh heavy. Then today, out of nowhere, the roads stopped looking bombed, the skies cleared of smoke, and our fellow truck drivers almost started behaving themselves. Don’t get me wrong, we still have 40 tonne trucks coming at us head on, it just doesn’t happen as often. Awesome views, sweeping roads and big chat. Now this is what we signed up for. Love it !!!!
Day 18 – Kazan to Naberezhnye Chelny
High point: Lots. It was an incredible day. We set off early and arrived in Kazan before lunchtime at the Mercedes garage. They were massively welcoming and loved what we were doing. Using a lot of body language and finger pointing we eventually manage to explain the problem. The chief then rallied the troops within 10 minutes and they started work. In the meantime he let us know, if we wanted, the lovely Veronica would show us around Kazan. Wow! She was a definite 10 for her knowledge of the town, friendliness and her legs. Beautiful. The guys at Kazan Mercedes garage were amazing throughout. We all can’t thank them enough for helping us in our time of need and if they’re ever in London and need a helping hand we’ll happily oblige (we’re good with guided tours of tower bridge, trading strategies, bean counting or golf lessons)
Day 17: Nizhini Novgorod to Cheboksary
High point: Proper singalong to some real gems. Cab was bouncing today.
Low Point: We woz robbed. iPhone theft. Naughty naughty.
No point: The funny little waiter who suddenly lost his ability to speak English. Or deliver food. He had no point. Read more →
Day 16: Vladimir to Nizhini Novgorod
Distance covered on Road : 150 Miles
Highlight of the day : The Russian Firefighters Acrobatic display Team … (Sleeping in a dorm with 100 Russian Girls… James and Dave Orders Highlights only of course!)
Low Point of the Day : The traffic in Rush Hour in Nizhini Novgorod and getting lost in town for 2 hours in 40 degree heat…. Sweaty Sweaty boys!! Read more →
Proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance.
Day 10. Like kids in a sweetshop, the Stage 1 crew, now fully up and running and functioning like the high performing team I knew was always there, were looking forward to Wednesday with schoolboy excitement as it meant only one thing. No driving and a rest. Or so we thought.
So far we have raised GBP £120,000
