Stuck in the mud

Traveling in Africa is always a challenge. The roads are so-so at best and bridges are optional, which is okay most of the time. We were on our way to visit a Hamar village, in Ethiopia's Omo Valley, and had to cross a river bed to get there. Recent rains made things a tad more challenging.

We were traveling in the black Land Cruiser (having a 4x4 helps) and our driver, Tomas, managed to get us out after lightening the load (i.e. we had to get out and cross on foot).

The white vehicle behind us was not so lucky. In theory it was a 4x4 as well, but the transmission was broken and the 4x4 mode would not engage. Pressing the gas pedal harder just dug the vehicle even deeper into the mud. Our driver tried to help by towing the other car out, and this eventually worked. The real risk was flash flooding and we could see that it was raining quite hard upstream from where we were.

Although we got out, we never made it to the village. There was too big a risk of getting stuck in the mud again on the way back to where we were camping.



Image 1

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/571/2...d8f23485_h.jpg



Image 2

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/773/2...095289ed_h.jpg

Very nice images...tells the story with the mood of tension :)

Lovely storyboard

Nice set.

On the other hand, sometimes there's lots of water in the rivers....

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5728/...96bf1032_h.jpg

You'll note that this is the same vehicle as in Image 1. above.

Great story in the shots. So African.
By the way I can instantly see the problem.
The first 4x4 is a Toyota the second one's a Nissan. At the end of the day the Nissan is missin' (with apologies to all those happpy Nissan owners out there:D)
My own experiences in Africa have taught me that when something breaks it never gets fixed. I was told the Zulu language doesn't have a word for maintenance.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GBO25

Great story in the shots. So African.
By the way I can instantly see the problem.
The first 4x4 is a Toyota the second one's a Nissan. At the end of the day the Nissan is missin' (with apologies to all those happpy Nissan owners out there:D)
My own experiences in Africa have taught me that when something breaks it never gets fixed. I was told the Zulu language doesn't have a word for maintenance.

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So true. Whenever something went wrong (and it usually did), for instance, the local bank running out of cash, the explanation usually was "TIA" ("This Is Africa").

TIA...... Isn't that one of the reasons we go?? It looks like you had a wonderful trip.

Good images Manfred, very nice subtle PP as well :)

I am glad you had the foresight not to continue across...I like the story of your shots here.