He Says – Sun Sand and sizzling Tams.

2-3 October 09

We left Nouádhibou at about 0900h, unfortunately Kanti was not around and were where supposed to get some photos of him and I promised him a ride on the bike. (Sorry Kanti). I knew the road to Nouakchott was a good sealed road that could be anywhere from 439k to 599k long depending on the book or map that you looked at. I also knew that there were none to many petrol stations on the way. One fact I had was that fully loaded in that kinda heat Anubis safe range was only 430k. To dry more but this is not something I am even willing to consider. So not having enough info to make the correct decision, I MacGuyvered a couple jerry cans out of old oil jugs and strapped them to the panniers we are now carrying 46lt of fuel. That is a good safe number to be hitting the desert with.

We were stopped at the guard station that 3 days earlier told us as we are Australians we can go on with out a check, but this time we were checked and asked for a bribe. Some how when I went back, with some money and the intention of asking for a signed and badge numbered recept for our “gift”, I was told no gift just go. Not sure what happened if it was the fact that Tam and I were talking about a recept or what but we paid nothing.

By the time we left the peninsula, that Nouádhibou is situated on, the temperature was rising and it was already bloody hot. Hot enough that when I looked down at the jerry cans, they were expanding to twice their normal size. 50k later and you could not look directly at the road due to the waves of heat that was coming off of it. Visors had to stay down; (except for the few second when you brought the camelbak to your mouth) as the wind was like opening a kiln (not just an oven). We could not really talk as the moisture was sucked from your mouth. It was made worse by the cross wind that made the black road have a constant layer of sand being blown across it. It was so constant that when you did look at the road you could see it was polished shinny. Anubis was running hot and I was unable to get him off of a 45° lean. All in all it was a hellish ride. The road continued on, as there were no turns. The landscape however was the only saving grace. We road though every kind of desert that there is. It would change from a coastal rocky hamas desert to full blown Sahara dunes that covered the entire horizon, to rocky inland, to a Aussie red centre like, and then back to the Sahara dunes. It was awesome in both the literal and slang meanings.

The road continued, I don’t know the actual temperature as that is one gadget that I did not bring, but I can say that it was hot enough that you could not touch any part of Anubis with out feeling like you were being burnt. The road continued. The water in our camelbaks was hot. The road continued, but it was not as good as was reported but all in all it was okay. The road continued. About a quarter of the way though we saw a petrol station and I was slowing to stop, when I realised that not only was it 3 feet deep in sand but the bowsers were covered. It was closed. I was happy that I had the jerry cans even if they were now three times their normal size. The road continued for kilometre after kilometre.

The road continued, the scenery was still stunning but after 2 hours of it we were both hot, tired and tired of it. We wanted to stop. The road continued. We talked about where to stop, but all the cars on the side of the road were dead and sand was pelting them. The road continued, the heat was getting worse. The road continued. We decided that stoping here in the worsening wind and sand storm (which it was now) was a bad idea. The road continued but there was a sign “Total Essence 30km”. If that is true I am stopping. The road continued for 35k more and no “Total Essence”. The road continued. At 40k I see the “Total Essence” sign again but no distance to go this time, over the next dune and there it was! Shimmering like a mythical oasis, a building, a fuel station, shade, and maybe something cold to drink. Our camelbaks were now as hot as tea. I pulled in. Not two seconds later a man we met at the Auberge du’Sahara walks up, he had hitched a ride with a pair of French guys and they had had some issues. Their 4x4 kept hydroplaning (but on sand so Sandoplaning?) on the sand drifts and smooth surfaces. We shared a cold drink and waved them off. Tam and I talked and decided that it was only 2.5 hours left and neither of us were hungry so we would not have lunch till we got to Nouakchott.

We pulled out on to the road, sometime during the break the wind had died and the sandstorm was over. It was hotter then ever; we later learned it peaked at 58°C that day. The first 30minutes were a pleasure.

By the end of the first hour the road was mind numbingly dull again. Kilometre after kilometre, the road continued. The aches and pains were back. Quickly the rest was forgotten and the road continued straight, boring, hot, and tiresome. The scenery was turning from true deserts to an ugly scrubland. I realised, then, that I really miss trees, though southern Spain, Portugal and Morocco trees have been at a premium. I miss em. The road continued, I was getting sore but we had less then 150k to go. The road continued and we passed the first traffic in several hours.

The road continued it was featureless landscape. I was getting very achy, Tam said she was starting to fade. I tell her to sleep (yes she can sleep on the bike). The road continued, now we only have 50k to go but the temperature was climbing with every inch road. Tam tells me to pullover; I do so, thinking that she has had enough and just needed a stretch. We pull over and Tam oozes off the bike in to a heap. I asked her what is wrong and in a pained voice. “Hypoglycaemic….. too hot….. going crazy”. I cannot tell what is joke and what is not. She yells “give me food”, so I hand the puddle of Tam some bread as I dig out the rest of the lunch, she eats pathetically. I ask again what is wrong and I get only a whispered “need food”. I tell her to eat the donut thing if she needs sugar so badly. She ignores me and nibbles on the bread. She alternated between lying down and sitting up, she then walks into the road and sits in the shade of Anubis. I tell her to move as that is not safe. She ignores me. I yell at her and she listened. I make her a sugary drink and tell her to keep drinking it. I shad her with my body and pour (warm) water all over her to cool her down.

45minutes later under the scorching heat. She tells me that she is not getting any better. I decide we have two choices pitch the tent and hope that helps or get her on the bike and move to safety.

I opt for the more risky but guaranteed to work. I picked her up and put her on the bike. I wondered if I needed to strap her on too.

40km to go, the road continued but I did not notice, I only kept talking to Tam so that she would keep talking with me.

30km to go Tam tells me that she is feeling better and I can hear it in her voice.

20km to go Tam tells me that she now feels ok.

15km to go Military check point. I cant concentrate on what the guy is talking about, I am thinking too much about Tam. Tam deals with him fine. She reports to me that she feels better but tired.

10km to go Police check point. My barely French has barely returned but Tam is feeling fine and together we answer all his questions, most of which seemed like just idle chat. Not surprising really as there is nothing else to do 15k outside Nouakchott.

We arrive in Nouakchott, Tam is back to normal. We find an auberge and it is my turn to be too hungry and want food. We head into town to find that most places close between 15-1900h. I was starving. Tam was fine. Eventually we found a pizza place (called “Pizza Hot”….hut/hot...get it..ha! oh dear!!) that was open and ordered a couple of pizzas. As we sat there waiting for the food to be cooked , Tam saw a flying fox and was over the moon. It took us 35minutes to walk the 1k back, to hotel where we could eat, because we now we had to take the long way and Tam was walking looking only up.

The pizzas were actually very good. That night we entered our sauna, I mean room, to discover that the lights did not work but the fan did. We set the fan up to blow the night air in and tried to sleep. I eventually nodded off but Tam (one that has a hard time with heat) did not get much sleep at all.