Goodbye Sudan; Greetings Ethiopia

Leaving late on Thursday night we had the town of Gadarif, near the Ethiopian border in our sights, and with the car seemingly having overcome at least some of its previous ailments, the ride was smooth and easy. We had become firm fans of the roadside truck stops as places to spend the night, and with our sat nav indicating that we were just 20 miles short of our target, and our clocks reading 3am, we decided to once more sleep outside on the beautifully crafted string beds.

Again woken by the sun rising early in the sky, we were up and active at 7am, and back on the road by 8. We only had a relatively short distance to reach the border town of Gallabat, and from there we had a further 200 km to reach Gonder, and our partner charity 'Kindu Trust'. The drive to the border was straight forward, and before too long we approached what was the least formal looking border post thus far. The scenery had begun to change slightly along the way, with some trees appearing out of the baron desert, and round Ethiopian huts, replacing the square Sudanese architecture, but nothing could prepare us for the transformation once we entered Ethiopia.

The border was relatively straight forward, although time consuming, and we were there for a good three hours before eventually managing to pass through into Ethiopia. The fact that we had arrived on a Friday (Islamic Sunday) didn't help on the Sudanese side, and then hitting the lunch break on the Ethiopian side delayed proceedings further. Once through, however, we were immediately struck by the sheer beauty of Ethiopia, and the journey that was to follow will sit in our memories for years to come. From the hot, baron desert of Sudan, we had entered into the lush, green, mountainous regions of Ethiopia. The drive was complicated by a lack of Petrol at gas stations, and twice we were saved from the brink of an empty fuel tank at the very last minute. Firstly we managed to find a man who had seven litres in a jerry can, and then finally, and just when we were running out of hope, we found someone else who had 30 litres - enough to get us to Gondar. With lightening in the sky, and cries of 'you, you, you' coming from children everywhere, it was like driving through a disney film.

We eventually arrived in Gondar late, and after speaking with Kassahun, our contact at the 'Kindu Trust', decided it was better we find a cheap hotel for the night, and meet the team in the morning. It didn't take us long to find a suitable place, and after a quick bite to eat, we were more than ready for bed. We would be meeting Kassahun and the team early doors, so again our sleep would be too short. In the morning, still half asleep, I was taken aback to discover that our hotel was guarded by a vulture named Franco. Ethiopia had already given us enough of a sensory overload, and it was set to continue.