Days 71 & 72: Ethiopia

Day 71

Yet again we were hoping the tank would be ready after lunch, but it was a very optimistic hope if anything. By the late afternoon we had received another phone call wanting us to come to the factory and check that the tank looks good before the final welds were made.

The tank measured well and so we gave the order to weld it whilst we went for a drink around the corner to wait. One hour later and we returned to the factory to see the final welds being made before testing the tank for leaks.

It was too late to fix it back into the Landrover as the sun by this time was low in the sky, and so we went for a bite to eat and a few more drinks vowing to wake up early the next morning to finally get our Landrover up and running.

Day 72

We had drunk far too much the night before and woke up feeling still slightly drunk, but the tank needed fixing before we could get the Landrover back on the road and to the garage.

The fit still wasn’t perfect as the holes for the bolt fixings to the chassis we slightly wrong, but after two hours of toiling underneath the Landrover and bleeding the fuel system, the engine was ticking over again and we were on route to the garage.

The waiting game had resumed again, and we were again hoping for the steering, exhaust and CV joints to be fixed as quickly as possible so that we could resume our travelling. It wasn’t going to be ready at earliest until the morning though, and so a few beers at night once again quelled the frustration.