Rough riding

Should I try this, or should I try to the left? I have little time to decide: I’m moving at about 50kph and I need to keep my momentum up because if I slow I’ll start sinking. Stopping is not an option. Straight ahead looks like about 20 meters of lake, with only the highest points of the grooves carved into the soft mud showing, made by the 20 tonne truck that passed on this ‘road’ when it was last ‘passable’. After those 20 meters the tracks curve to the right out of sight and God knows what lies beyond. I am tense and anxious and the pace and frequency with which such obstacles keep appearing in front of me is relentless.

So should I try it, or try to the left? I have no idea how deep that water is and my steering wheel will be of little use. The car will plunge a couple of feet as I enter the water. I’ll probably be bucked and bounced as the tires alternate between finding something to grip and sinking sharply into the soft mud under the surface. If I’m wearing my seatbelt, the force with which I’m thrown forward when I hit the water and upward with every bump will cause the belt to tighten again and again, stopping me from reaching the steering wheel quickly enough to at least try to avoid any solid object I might be careening towards. If I’m not wearing my seatbelt I’ll be bucked out of my seat and hit my head on the ceiling of the cabin so hard, I’ll see stars. Dashboard warning lights will flash (oil, battery, air intake) and belts will start to slip and squeal as the car tries to suggest that I really shouldn’t be doing this to it.

So should I try it or try to the left? I’m not even convinced this is the road. I’ve driven this 2 hour stretch in both directions for the last 3 days, but each time it’s a different combination of time of day and proximity to the last rain to make it look like a completely different path. And they are all just paths through the bush. There are few clues as to exactly where I am. I passed couple of mud huts a few kilometers ago and also a cattle camp, but there is little else to remark.

So should I try it or go to the left? Left looks like marshland the other side of that tree and I’ve no idea if it’s passable or if it will bring me back to the direction I’m wanting to go. I can’t go to the right: there’s a dense cluster of young tress that are not old enough to have grown a sufficient root system to support me and not small enough for me knock over with the front bumper. And I really want to try to avoid killing more trees: I’ve scraped past so many as I’ve tried to edge my way around crater-like holes, under a few as I foraged for a semi-dry path around a lake like the one I’m currently facing, and knocked a couple flat as the arse end of the vehicle has slid sideways and the steering mechanism served only to change the direction in which the mud is flying.
So should I try it, or try to the left? If I get stuck I’ll be humiliated, and will have to wait for another vehicle to pull me out. It’ll be a good few hours before another passes, if at all. I need to get to the day’s distribution point and start moving these radios so that I can start back in good time. I don’t want to be out here at night again. I’ve gotten considerably better at driving in these conditions so I’m not as terrified as I was a week ago. It was a hellish journey to get here: 11 hours and at night following a heavy rain when the world shrunk to only what was illuminated by my one working headlight and none of those 10m were in any way inviting. I got stuck twice (lack of skill) and my colleague got stuck once (lack of traction). I felt real fear at the prospect of being stranded out here with no help and only the local wildlife of snakes, scorpions, mosquitoes and lions for company. We arrived at the catholic mission around 11:30pm, exhausted and very, very muddy. Neither my camera nor my mobile phone survived the journey.

So this has been my last two weeks: a lot of driving. I would wake up early each day, tighten the front shock absorber that keeps smashing it’s busing to smithereens, siphon some diesel from the Father’s store, top up the windscreen washer fluid, fill the back of the car with radio boxes and head out as early as I could to distribute as many radios as possible and get back by sunset. I‘m impressed at the extent to which my morning routine has changed and proud to have added new skills to my CV (and some new vocab).

We’ve been staying with Father Sergio – a priest with the Camboni mission. Similar to the priests we stayed with in Leer, he’s been here a few years, but it young – about 35-40. These men are amazing – they have learnt the local language, the customs, are mechanics, medics, chefs, butchers, bakers, engineers, carpenters, masons and barbers all in one. The catholic diocese keeps them well stocked with tinned vegetables and other such necessities, but generally they stay put and get on with work. Sergio’s hospitality and expertise in vehicle maintenance is a welcome gift in an environment that is in every other way hostile. He also shared with me a tin of fruit salad last night. What luxury.

But back to the task at hand: should I try this? Despite my anxiety, I am also optimistic and have faith in Toyota. I’ve been praying regularly. I get the revs up to about 3000, shift into second, grip the steering wheel tightly and pop the clutch…