Plymouth to Bajul Challenge 2006

The story so Far...

With a LHD BMW 324tdi packed with all the essentials needed for 18 days driving, Simon and Emma were finally ready for the off!!

With Christmas day over, all thoughts turned to the Banjul Challenge. The weather has been getting gradually worse for a few days so the decision had to be made whether to leave early or not! With the snow getting worse over the east coast Simon and Emma left on Dec 26th and headed for Dover. After spending a day or 2 in Dover it was time to catch the ferry and for the trip to begin.

Dec 28th
Firstly, France then! 7 hours driving through snow and ice got them too Bordeaux. Only one small problem along the way, a snapped alternator belt!! No problems, there just happened to be one in Simon's box of spares. Quick repair job and they were back on their way. All seems well!

Dec 29th
Still driving through France in snow and ice and temps of -7°C and next into rain and then sun in Spain. Still all going well!

Dec 30th
Driving through Spain heading south towards Gibraltar, their stop for New Years Eve! By the end of the day Simon and Emma have traveled the best part of 2000miles through all sorts of weather and are still going strong. They will now spend 2 nights, including New Years Eve in Gibraltar. On January 1st 2006 they leave Gibraltar and head off towards Morocco.

Jan 1st
Finished the partying and it’s on to Morocco. It took 2 hours to get through the border!!
They're in a group of 4 and are staying in a small village called Chefchouan.

Jan 3rd
Simon and Emma were in a place called Fez last night and had met up with a couple more teams. 3 of the 6 teams didn't want to stay overnight there so they left and stopped in a campsite outside Rabat. They are very chilled out by all account and most of the teams are there now on the site so it should be fun. Making good progress!!

Jan 4th
Stayed outside Marrakech last night in a campsite, and are driving to Agadir to get some fuel and food, then they are heading on to Tan Tan where they are hope to meet the Paris Dakar guys, which would be cool. The car is going well and Emma and Simon are fine.

Jan 6th
They have just driven from Tan Tan to just outside Laayoune today, and are staying in an excellent campsite (better than Woolacombe) where you had to drive of road to get to it which pleased Simon. There was hot showers and food, and had some camel for tea. They are staying there tomorrow for a rest day, then back to it.

Jan 8th
Simon and Emma are in Dahkla in a campsite with all the other teams and having a rest today. They are heading of into the desert early Monday morning and will be out of contact for a few days so we'll have to wait for the next update!! Good luck to them!!

Jan 13th
Well Simon and Emma emerge having managed to survive the Sahara desert and the beach. It was very, very hot but it was an awesome drive, the worst thing for Emma was the smell of Simon because they hadn't had a shower for 4 days so he was happy (he, he). The car is going well even though we lost the complete exhaust system but who needs one of them anyway. They are stopping in Nouakchott tonight and then onto Senegal tomorrow.

Jan 15th
Hello! Emma and Simon managed to find an internet cafe at last so a longer message for you all.
They are now in Senegal after 4 wicked days in the desert, Simon loved the desert driving and they didn't get stuck, some of the sand is so soft you couldn't even stand up. The beach driving was fantastic and Emma loved it. Other teams have had a few hassles as in money stolen (Spain) cameras etc and cars are slowly breaking, apart from the trusty BMW not even so much as a flat but let's not speak to soon. At the moment 38°C in the shade!!!!! hee hee! They are both looking really healthy (apparently) which has never happened in winter before. Neither can believe the trip is nearly over, less than 10 days to go now. They are hoping to be in Banjul on the 19th to try and get the car into group 2's auction on the 21st. They're staying at a lovely campsite called Zebrabar which is 10kms from St. Louis and in a national park. Dinner, breakfast, bungalow, showers all for less than £15.

Jan 17th
Simon and Emma have reached GAMBIA!! They have driven for 10 hours today and arrived safely. Now they are just waiting to see if they can catch a ferry to Banjul where they'll drive on to the Safari Garden Hotel. They've nearly done it!! It’s a very exciting moment for both of them.

Simon Clark and Emma Kerby