Day 18 Nouakchott

We are all safe and well in Nouakchott after spending four days travelling off road through the dunes. We left Dahkla and met up with nine other cars most heading for Bamako and we all spent the night either sleeping in the cars or in the rooms at the cafe in the queue border. The next day we didn't clear Moroccan customs until twelveish then after a detour past the locals all trying to change money and guide you through the minefield we ended up by-passing the Mauritanian side and being picked up on the road and taken back for a bollocking and a passport stamp. After splitting from the arranged guide after the border with three of the other teams we drove off the tarmac on the first track and headed west for the coast. We got to the piste we were looking for with the aid of the gps and after getting stuck a few times in the soft sand we camped for the first night in the dunes. The next day we made it to the northern boundary of the National Park by lunch time and drove on towards the town Ten Alloul. Not far from the town we came across a recent abandoned accident where an offroad Spanish camper van had hit soft ground and overturned. Tom and Duncan had a look round and collected the possessions from inside to try and locate the owners before it was looted. Just in time for the Park Rangers to come and sort it out. From there we drove in the last of the light to Iwik camp ground for a nice night peaceful night staying in one of their tents. In the camp we met a local guide to the park Sidi Ely who told us about the wildlife in the park. Later on after food we had coffee with Chris from Switzerland who was staying in his Toyota Hilux mini camper. Later we went with Sidi out in his Land Cruiser for what started as a hunt round the plains and village for Jackals but ended up in me having a good driving lesson about how to get out when stuck in the soft sand! The next day we got up and split the group in to two twos. Emmanuelle and Yike in there old Renault 4 and Anna and Clare in their Fiesta would take the guide round the dunes in a days time and Nora and I would head across the dunes with Tom and Duncan in their Isuzu trooper. We set off and after crossing the first dune driving too fast and with too much revs each one got easier with our fast first lessons in driving in dunes. Once we cleared the dunes we started getting brave driving up the dunes and back down off them. We looked over to see Tom and Duncan disappear at speed of the steep side to find them crashed on the other side with the roof rack ripped off and the chassis of their jeep bent far enough for the doors not to open and the clutch to start destroying itself. After an hour or so bending what we could back into shape we headed back on the road south. Towards the end of the park we still had a lot of daylight left so rather than camp early we decided to take an different piste on the map back up to Iwik. After a few more deeper dunes the Izuzus clutch was now much worse with them struggling to change gear. We had a choice of finding the route south or cutting across what was the worst dune yet. Half way the Isuzu got beached with the clutch still getting worse we dug her out and Duncan just kept driving non stop to the coast. With no space in our car Tom sat up on the roof of our car until we caught up with Duncan on the beach at the other side. From there the route was straightforward back up to Iwik and another night at the campsite reunited with the other two cars. Yesterday morning we decided to go with Chris in his Hilux over the dunes again while the other three would go a longer route with Sidi the guide and all meet up in Nougmar. After another fun run through the dunes we stopped in Nougmar to wait for the others. We told the Park Ranger when they seen the others to let them know we were went out to the point to watch the Pelicans and Flamingos and would be back for the tide so we could all do the fifty mile run down the beach together. After the walk we headed back to the beach and waited for another hour with no sign having a swim to pass the time we headed ten miles down driving between the dunes to our left and the tide going out on our right. Chris found a spot to pull off the beach into the soft dune to camp and after an hour or so we were pitched up with a belly full of food and a little brandy inside. After a long night listening to the Jackal outside the tent eating what was left of our dinner we started packing ready for the tide again we spotted the roof of Emmanuelle and the fiesta whizz by. I rushed in the Jeep and tore off after them down the beach hitting seventy at one point hitting my head off the roof. On catching them we headed into the first fishing town and now we are sub Sahara it has changed into black Africa. We were surround by all the children of the village all asking for 'Cadeux' a gift in French. From there we were back on tarmac and police and army checkpoints for the first time in three days all the way down to Nouckchott. We are now plotted up in an Auberge ready to do the border to Senegal tomorrow. The past few days I will remember for the rest of my life for sure! We both have no phone signal but have wifi for email. *satisfied grin*
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