Kangaroo Court

Everyone apart from Justin that is, who was mysteriously absent during the compulsory cleaning session. Later that night we held a "trial" with Judge Pete Walters presiding an Lu and me as prosectuion and defence lawyers respectively. The verdict: guilty. The sentance, sole toilet cleaning duties throughout India. Harsh, but fair.

Olimpos

Backpacker bliss, this increasingly popular destination is the perfect place to chill out in a hammock with a cold beer. Unfortunately for us though we were scheduled to do a one month truck clean so everybody was required to muck in. Photos by Gaz Lindop.

Oludinez: Paragliding

Finally an opportunity to put my feet up. We're in Oludinez on the south Turkish coast. Sun sea and sand, hurrah. A lot of us decided to go tandem paragliding, which turned out to be the highlight of the trip so far. Unbelievably good fun, and the scenary take your breath away.

Bush Camping

We do most of our cooking on an open fire, stocking up with wood as and when we can. Theres a strict rule: we never pay for it! Its all hands to the deck when a nice stash is found.

Pammukale

The idea of seeing yet more Roman ruins didn't impress the gang much, but Pammakule is different. Natural springs have left these beautiful white terraces and warm pools of water, perfect for bathing in.

Mental motorbike, and another breakdown

What was this guy thinking when he modded his bike??? It looks desperately uncomfortable to ride. So absorbed was I in the nutty moterbike I didn't notice that my truck was running very low on compressed air. After a couple of hours headscrathing and spanner wielding I discovered a blown head gasket on the air compressor, and guess what we didn't have a spare gasket for? The following day I made my way into Izmir to the Scania workshop, only to be told that they didn't have one either. Luckily though, I eventually found a replacement part in a tiny little shed in the shady part of town and we were soon up and running again.

Gallipoli, and the ferryboat to Asia

After Istanbul it was back on the road once more to Gallipoli, followed by a 40 minute ferry boat ride across the Dardanelles, a strectch of water that divides Europe and Asia.

Istanbul!!!

A big milestone for us on our epic journey was reaching Istanbul, where East meets West. We stopped for three days here to recharge our batteries at the famous Orient Hostel, where there are no curfews and anything goes (and theres a fabulous view of the Ayasofya from the roof top bar!) Sadly for me however its was all work and no play because by now I had a "to do" list as long as my arm. Istanbul is known as Kamyonistan amongst international truck drivers and it was the ideal spot to get everything up and running for the next 5000 clicks. The only tricky part was getting back to the hostel once I'd found a place to park the truck - I don't think I'll ever forget standing on the hard shoulder of an 8 lane highway trying to hail a minibus! Heres Pete, Pam and Samuel sitting in Europe, with Asia in the background.

Bulgaria

We almost didn't get into Bulgaria after I upset a border guard by failing to stop the truck in front of the little white line painted on the ground. The day didn't get any better from then on and after encountering two unmarked low bridges and getting completley lost in a very depressing town I can't even remeber the name of, I'd pretty much had enough. Heres Justin, our resident musician posing in one of the more scenic areas.

Bucharest: Wheel trouble

Theres not much about Bucharest

worth writing about, so I won't bother. On our way out a particularly vicious pothole cracked one of the wheel rims and we had to stop to change it. With 4 spare wheels and an army of volunteers it wasn't long before we were back on track and heading for the Bulgarian border.

Dave, Megan, Gaz, Sam and Joost enjoy a cold one at the end of a long day driving

On-board bar

This is John, our resident Landlord who has taken it upon himself to stock the truck bar and keep and eye on those that don't pay their tabs!

Great roads!

Or can it???? This is Transylvania and after seeing Draculas Castle in Bran, we took the 1A from Brasov to Ploitsie across the mountains. Steep, winding hairpin bends and spectacular views, some of the most exciting driving I've ever encountered.

Crap Roads

Its hard to believe we're still in the EU when we find ourselves driving on roads this bad whilst trying to avoid horse and carts. The driving standard is terrible as well, and the signage is appalling at best. It can only get worse from now on.....

Romania, and a very strange Bush Camp

Crossing into Romania was a piece of cake compared to what I was expecting. After a bit of confusion over the vignette (is it a bus or a truck or a camper?) we were on our way to find somewhere to camp. It's a case of pot luck sometimes and as I turned off the highway in search of somewhere quiet, I found the road i was on was getting narrower and narrower. It soon turned into a tiny gladed track and terminated at a large looking house, whose owner was happy to let us camp in his "garden". After a small amount of exploration we discovered that the "house" was in fact a railway station!

Lucinda

This is Lucinda, the tour leader. Lucindas role is crucial in the smooth running of this trip, and she works extremely hard to make sure that things go to plan (which they do most of the time!)

Night after...

John has found that his tent is a good 6 inches shorter than he is, so we've provided him with the integral sleeping quarters.

Campsite in Vienna

Finally I get to relax and have a beer! Sadly the German bloke unfortunate enough to have a 2o tonne truck filled with 30 revellers next to his tent wasn't the party type.

Tescos dominates the world (Czech republic)

Scania workshop to bush camp.

Fortunately we located a Scania dealer about 30km from the campsite, who were completely amazed by our truck. After a few hours we were back on the road and heading for the first Bush camp in Germany (farmers field, he didn't seem to mind!)

Trouble already!

Only 200 miles into the journey we sprung a leak on the water pump! No spare! Manged to limp to the first campsite in Belgium refilling the radiator along the way, not a good start to a the trip.

UKTOOZ leaves for Sydney!

Finally the big off. Heres my motley lot bound for Sydney on the Big Orange Truck at the ferry terminal in Dover.