Manchester England to Perth Australia, Overland

Farewell doo at the Vasa club in Blackley, thoroughly tanked up, left Loraine at home, very hard to do but necessary I think. I hope I was right. Didn’t arrive home till 4 am, supposed to be getting up early for a early start but not much chance of that. Finally were ready to go. 2 years ago the same date when I left for Gibraltar. Land rover completed, spent nearly 3 months on and off preparing it, hope it runs well.

Front row, Sandra, Dad, me, back row, Ken, Mum, Tony holding Keith, Bev. only Susan missing, she didn’t like goodbyes.


Marj in front.

 

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France

Up 10.30 picked Syl and Bev after numerous farewells and tears, we arrived at home 2pm loaded up, couple of photos, Sandra’s upset and everyone else! Good run to Dover, LD seems to be running  well. Exhaust bracket snapped at Dover. Not used much oil, slight bump on right wheel. Took my name at customs ” face again”

Stopped for pint on way arrived  2am.

Mileage at 93000 in Dover

Back of LD wrapped up against the cold France

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Belgium

First night in LD comfy but cold in the morning, bit cramped for getting organised but think we’ll do ok. Boarded boat 10.45 to Bologna £16.10.00. LD average 25 mpg. 2 gallons engine oil 4 pints gear oil. Ready to go. Drove till 4.30, sensible. Sorted things out quite comfy now, most gear on top. Parked up in Mons, much to do about beer in bar, Bev 2 down! Feeling a bit sad when I think of Larraine but I still think were doing the best thing.

(Potatoes Cabbage Beef)

 

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Belgium

Left Mons 9.30 after good breakfast weather rough, mist and left over snow, a bit cold. Road fairly good. Down through Luxembourg on the same route Dave and I took 8 years ago, as far as Nancy. LD seems to be running well, tightened sump and manifold, fixed number plate to bumper. Stopped here 5 pm washed and cleaned up. Well organised now in LD. Drove round the town and bought 3 bottles of wine, then up to field near camp site. Sing-along to pass the time, bit tight on vino, bed 12pm after good meal.

(Rice Meat Onions Vino)

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France

Stopped in Field overlooking Nancy. Went to town to buy 3 bottles of wine, stayed!! Left at 11pm didn’t get up till 9.30.Did jobs on LD both back exhaust brackets, Good

Drive today as far as Luxeil. Throat getting sore. We changed £10 to get through France got 130francs, got about 16 left. Now for Switzerland. Stopped about 6pm had a good meal played monopoly all night, bed about 12 hope to be up early in the morning.

(Beans and Sausage)

Compact Living in the back of LD, France.

 

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Switzerland

On the road 9am, on to Poligny in the Culée de Vaux valley, then started climbing toward the Swiss border. It started to snow real hard and the roads became hard packed, good job we have a 4 wheel drive. The roadsides were solid walls of ice sometimes 15 foot high, Then as we started  dropping down into Geneva it thinned and became quite mild. Found Iranian Embassy from phone directory, Visa’s cost us 14f, 28 shilling. Passport photos from station, made hash of it!! LD running OK, cut-out sorted hope its ok, not using much water, about 4 pints oil.

(Rice and chicken oriental)

Bev washing smelly feet, somewhere near Swiss Alps.

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Italy

Good run today covered 300 miles. LD running ok, few drops of oil, tightened fan belt.

Climbed up out of Geneva onto the Mont Blanc tunnel road. Snow really high again at sides of road. Mont Blanc Tunnel 14 kilometres long 52/- dropped down into Italy. Good roads from then on, payed tolls to use motorway 1200 lira but it saved us time and diesel. Pulled up at little town Sirmione in the middle of Lake Garde like a small peninsular.

Tolls 600,750,950=2300=£1-10

( Beef Onions and Potatoes)

Lake Sirmione Italy

 

Sunrise Lake Sermione Italy

 

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Italy

Best nights sleep so far,  My cold is clearing  Up bright and early  7am on the road for 9.30. Good run through to Venice. Splendid city I would like to spend a week here. Looked round for a couple of hours but had to rush off?? Not sure if we can park were we have parked. Travelled down Grand Canal on Boat Bus, cost about 8 pence for a good run. The city itself buildings and everything was done by boat even building materials are carried by boat. We changed  £10 into Italian Lira have got 1000 left but tomorrow we’ll  be in Yugoslavia. Stopped for night just this side of Trieste.  LD running good.

( Chicken Cabbage Potatoes)

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Yugoslavia

Up on the road at 8.15 on into Trieste. Beautiful sunny morning, climbed up above the town. Changed £8 into Dinar, should go a long way value 1/8. Roads dead straight place very thinly populated could easily fall asleep while driving.  Pulled of the main road headed down a dirt lane small houses made of wood with dovetailed corners. Very poor people, live off the land, use buckets made from hollow logs

(spaghetti)

Dovetail jointed houses in Yugoslavia.

Dovetail jointed houses in Yugoslavia.

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Yugoslavia (now Serbia)

The longest most monotonous road ever drove down, from Zagreb to Belgrade the roadside littered with crosses for drivers who went to sleep at the wheel. Some marked with wreaths. Belgrade itself is like somewhere in Russia very poor, not much in the way of products in the shops. The people look poor, never seen to many disabled people about. The city itself is dull with lots of slums. But the biggest and only city for miles. Left on the road to Niz. Been working out its going to be very tight just changed another £5 into dinar 130, bought some oil 3 litres £1-2-8. Oil lights been ok today.

( Bacon Beans Potatoes vino)

Lunch break in Yugoslavia.

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Yugoslavia

Parked up about 100 miles from Niz, changed the water then off to an early start. Niz was much better than Belgrade looked more prosperous and the people looked better too, getting to be less Ukraine looking and more Greek. Passed a hot creek on the way, also the first Flamingo since Morocco. Kept driving hard on through Skopje where the big earthquake was, not many signs of it though. The monotony has gone now and its good winding roads through mountains, Just about dusk we crossed the Greek frontier. Changed £2-13 into Drachma. Pitched up for the night, few k’s done. LD spurting a little oil from filter, think oils a bit thin came close to running out today.

(Mince Potatoes and Onions)

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Greece

Not done many miles today the road has been mainly un tarmacked through woods. Drove down from frontier into Thessalonica got lost Signs are all in Greek, eventually found our way to the lower road to Olympus over mountains a great run but bumpy. Water carrier flew off roof. Passing through the forest the wood cutters chopping wood and selling it to the peasants who carried it on donkeys. Put 1 hour onto our time today. Pulled in on quiet beach lit fire and had sing along, the moon coming up over the beach looks great. Hope to stay a day or two break from driving.

(Meat balls green beans and potatoes)

Crossing a ford in Olympus Greece

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Greece

I’m sat by a bowl of red hot embers in a deserted little cove, just eaten hot potatoes with butter on cooked in the embers and a cup of hot whiskey, perfect. After a day of cleaning and servicing LD adjusted tappets tightened nuts and bolts in general, cleaned everything LD looks like new, had a good wash down all in all it’s been a beautiful day. The frogs are in chorus behind us making a noise that fills the air. I miss Larraine at times like this but I think I’m not in love with her so I have to find out. Into bed early preparing for the road tomorrow so a full day…

(Stewed Steak onions Potatoes)

Wrote home M L

Thessalonica Greece

Pit Stop in Greece

Greece on beach, remains of a good meal

 

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Greece

Another day lazing about should be ready for a good run tomorrow towards Istanbul, Had a look round today for mussels but they were to young to eat. Tried panning for gold without success. Collected driftwood for fire, tried to make fire with 2 sticks, no good. The day has passed and it’s been a good one, wrote home again going to write regular every Thurs and post Friday. Relations between us are still ok  if there’s any disagreements I will have to be careful not to hold a grudge like I sometimes do.

(Stewed Steak and kidney potatoes bread)

Rows of (what look like bombs) Greece, Photography Prohibited signs everywhere.

 

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Turkey

Good start this morning LD started and is running well. Drove along the coast of Greece toward Turkey. Didn’t think we’d make it today but stopped only 110k’s from Istanbul. The change in people and places in such a short distance was remarkable. The Greek customs seemed keen to know what was being taken out! But Turkish customs didn’t seem interested in what was being taken in!. Stopped night at closed camp site had dinner on Patio with table and chairs (nice caretaker let us stay) till giant flying dung beetles started dive-bombing us . Total running costs from Manchester £44

(Fried Luncheon meat potatoes vino)

Crossing the Bosphorus (Istanbul Strait) Turkey

 

Crossing the Bosphorus, Blue Mosque in distance.

 

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Istanbul

What a day we’ve had today Looked round the Blue Mosque, stayed during prayer time very quiet and peaceful. Visited Museum from 6AD and some from the Byzantine  Empire. The church has been both Muslim and Christian over time. Brass doors inside weighing 8 ton, and marble floor worn away where sentry’s have stood.

Black market exchange for a pound is 30lira. Bought leather jacket for £7, camel skin bag for £2 reckon about £40 at home. Had good look round the Bazaars. Met Pakistani bloke on his way to Manchester wanted to know the best way! Like Morocco, people all round bartering. Bought piece of hash for 10 lira 8/-. Had smoke of water pipe, good. Posted insurance home.

(Fried Spam Onions Bread)

Blue Mosque Istanbul Turkey

Turkish Bazzar

Turkish Bazzar

 

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Istanbul

A very uneasy night went to bed expecting trouble. Left on our clothes and shoes and moved everything away from windows. half asleep about 3am, 3 faces prowling round, pushed his head through the window and flashed a card saying he was the police. When I went to get the card he moved it again, and then asked me to open the door to look for hashish when I asked to see his card again they left. Went over to another GB over the way, we later learned they had pulled a knife on him, he had to go to hospital with a badly gashed hand, so we were very lucky. Didn’t sleep much after that, when it was daylight we found some of our clothes by the roadside, they must have pulled them out of the window before I woke up. Morning came and we boarded the ferry across the Bosphorus cost 9/3 with LD, took the main route to Ankara as far as Merizfon and then took the back un-tarmacked road over the mountains. What a ride there’s nearly 200 miles of track before we pick up the road to Samsun. Bev took over driving, went over a 2 foot drop in the road I shot up in the air and right down onto the bunk bed bent it double, what a shock. Road passed through many fjords and rough stretches pulled up at roadside and had a good nights sleep.

( Roast beef Beans and potatoes)

LD almost at the top of a mountain pass Turkey.

LD taken from the top of a mountain pass Turkey

 

LD on the moutains outside Turkey

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Turkey

Pretty calm day after the hectic weekend drove most of the day just stopping for bread, changed another £5 in Samsun the first major port on the Black Sea. Pitched up on the edge of the sea for the night its cold and bleak, the seas choppy and its throwing it down. As cold as home and were nearly in Iran. Had a go at smoking a piece of Hash Bev bought 10 lira. He felt sick and me too and it did nothing,. So that’s me finished with that and smoking. Few dead animals by the roadside Dogs and Cows a fella skinning a horse.

(Corned Beef Beans Potatoes)

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Turkey

Stormy night, seas blowing strong, rain lashing all night, Syl and Bev soaking wet, spent the day drying out bedding. From Samsun we followed the road to Trabzon before turning inland, then we climbed for 3 hours up and up thought we’d never reach the top into clouds then snow 6,600 ft Zigana Pass. Lots of people living on the lower slopes but as we climbed it became less and less populated. Schools at different levels on the pass and women carrying terrific loads on their backs. The land is worked the same as generations past, some working with wooden ploughs pulled by an Ox. Dropped down now on the way to Erzurum, 120 miles.

(Farmhouse stew and rice)

Mount Ararat in the distance, in the 50’s it was claimed a piece of wood from Noahs Ark was found there

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Turkey

Splendid, early start, no bother during the night, LD blowing black smoke, heavy.

Good run from Bayburt all the way to the Iranian border. Snow, rain, blazing  sun.

Had Half hour sun bathe by the roadside after nearly getting LD stuck. Fantastic scenery through thawing snow covered mountains, few eagles soaring, 2 Storks fighting on schoolhouse chimney. Decided to drive all the way to frontier, good sunset on film. And on out of Turkey. Been reasonably cheap diesel 3/- a gallon, had no bother since Istanbul.. Met 6  in a Bedford van at Iranian boarder, students, been all round India. Gave them a pack of bacon, very happy. On tomorrow into Iran.

(Sausage potato and beans)

Sunset across a desert with village in front Turkey

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