Again we continue to drive through km after km of barren desert. When we come to the hills they offer relief from the otherwise bland landscape. The hills cast interesting shadows and their colours are amazing. Occasionally we drive through yet another small green belt oasis. We stopped in Hami a reasonable sized town for lunch then headed to the markets to try some of the local cuisine “lamian” (Noodles with spicy vegetables and lamb or beef ) They served us green tea in bowls lined with plastic bags - we reckon it saved on the washing up! Lawrie enjoyed the meal so much he ordered another lot to take with us for dinner that night. Just as well we did as when we were getting ready to set up camp another dust storm came in with winds so strong that Li’s (our guide) tent almost ejected airborne. We faired ok in Ruefee, although we swayed a lot through the night.

We saw wild camels wandering along the desert so out came our cameras, a change from the normal donkey shots of recent weeks.

The road works have been continual so travel has been slow. With 30kms traveled in an hour (heading along a so called highway) we came to an abrupt halt. The powers to be had decided to put huge steel bar hoops across the road. We were leading the group and managed to fit through the narrow gap in the road. Paul and Jill got through as well, but John and Lynda’s vehicle was just too big. The alternative was to back track 100kms until a local offered to show him another road for 20 Yuan. John followed him about 2 kms through a back road and he was back on the highway ahead of the hoops. A good profit for the locals and worth every penny.

Oil wells are dotting the countryside. Vineyards and Mulberry trees are starting to appear as we near Turpan. We stopped off at Dadonghu to see the sand dunes, a welcome sight after the miles of desert. Another bonus in Dadonghu was was the plentiful supply of freshly baked naan bread - real bread not the sweet sickly sweet bread that we had been having up to now as it was all we were able to buy.

Our last stop before Turpan was The Ancient City of Gaochang. It was mid afternoon and the temperature was hot so we all decided to take a donkey cart ride around the city instead of walking on the dusty roads. They have rebuilt a small bit of the city but most of it is crumbling away. There’s not going to be much to see in years to come. A bonus was the view to Flaming Mountains. As the name suggests glowing red in the distance.

We arrive in Turpan on Sunday 29th May. Part of the Turpan basin is the lowest spot in China - 154mtrs below sea level. What a delightful oasis in the middle of the desert! Due to the Karaz system of underground irrigation which comprise of wells and around 5000 kms of channels carrying the water. Turpan is known as the City of Grapes - no guesses as to what we all will get up to tonight. The area is also the main supplier of sultanas for the rest of China so there is vineyards galore.


We choose a delightful camping spot in Grape Valley right under some grape vines at a local Uyghur restaurant that we had dined at. The meal that night consisted of a four quarter of mutton cooked to perfection with potatoes and spices a welcome change from rice. We sampled the local wine that night with our meal, thoroughly enjoying it. Imagine our horror the next day when we got Li to read the wine label only to discover that we had been drinking wine laced with pigeon blood and herbal medicine *Yuck*. Paul actually enjoyed it so much he bought an extra bottle to put in the bottom drawer. I suspect that’s where it might stay or he did mention giving it to his son or son inlaw.

The roads were too narrow for the motor homes so everyone jumped on Ruefees running boards and we did a Tiki Tour of Grape Valley. The people and the villages were different to what we had been seeing. Uyghurs comprise 70% of the population and Han the remainder. The Muslim Uyghurs influence is evident with their Mosques, dress and traditional food on offer (kebabs, plov, mutton, and bread). Along the way we stopped of to see a tight rope walking show which was really good. We finished the afternoon off sitting sipping drinks under the grape vines to cool down in the heat. We then visited the local markets to get a new kettle and look forward to our group “Show and Tell” and scrutinize the best bargain of the day. I do believe Lawrie’s skills are improving. A pair of shoes started off at Y 600 then when walking away he was chased by the sellers egar to negotiate a sale which he managed to get for Y 80 ($100NZ to $12NZ).

We were all pleased to arrive in Urumqi. Knowing that we were going to be in the area for 8 days meant it was going to be a welcome break from all the long days of driving we had been putting in. Urumqi is the farthest city from the ocean in the world.

We were met and taken out to lunch by Wayne Zhang from XINJIANG COMFORT NATURE TRAVEL CO LTD. PH 0086-991-8733863 EMAIL: wayne@xj.cninfo.net

Wayne’s company was contracted by Steve Larson to organize our trip and provide a guide for our travels. Li lives in Urumqi so we were all happy for him to spend time with his family while we did our own thing.

Top priority was the vehicles. Ruefee had some minor repairs as the back door wouldn’t open and my window had finally given up opening, making it very difficult at the toll gates especially after the “Bee Swarm” at the last border. It was also difficult to spontanelously snap photo’s on the run which was abit annoying. After a grease and oil change, minor repairs completed and a once over from Lawrie Ruefee was in tip top shape once again. Next on the list was “Global Roamer” - John and Lynda’s vehicle. A simple job of changing his tyres around turned into a major as it was discovered that 2 studs had been over tightened and had broken. This had been done in Thailand so it was fortunate that it was discovered then rather then in the middle of nowhere. John and Lynda ended up camping the night at the garage with their job finally completed at 2am.

The bonus of being in the city of course is the shopping and Urumqi has its fair share of good markets. With the downtown area during the day and Wuyi Lu night markets which started at 9pm. Coming home after one of our shopathons, the guys tried to temp us to see yet another market but by this time it was 11pm and surprisingly enough the gilrs were all shopped out. I was certainly a case of shop till we dropped!. Needless to say a visit to China Post was the result of the shopping expedition and Ruefee is now 30kgs lighter!!.

Wednesday 8th June saw us continuing along the Silk Route heading west towards Korgas some 700 kms away till we reached the border of Kazakhstan. Yurts dotted the landscape with cotton, corn and wheat crops. The roads started to deteriorate and after a smart maneuver from Ruefee and a bribe to an official we were allowed to drive down the new road. It was due to open in October and was 99% completed. Yipee - no more pot holes so we could pick up the speed again.

We camped beside Lake Sayram amongst the yurts, herdsmen, their stock of sheep and goats and the wild flowers. We had a magic sunset over the Lake. It felt like we were at the Zoo as we were surrounded by lots of animals (sheep, goats, dogs, donkeys, horses, camels and cows). The herdsmen were persistent and it wasn’t long before we were having a ride on their horses. It was hard to leave such a great camping spot the provided a crystal clear Lake with a back drop of snow covered mountains.

We left Paul and Jill there to enjoy another night as Paul had to change his tyres around, ( their 2nd puncture in a week) and arranged to meet them at the border the following day. We headed off to spend our last night in China at Yining. Lynda and I honed in on the markets *AGAIN* knowing it was going to be our last chance to shop’till’we’dropped” in China. The market had different things for sale. Lots of Muslim scarves and clothing.

We had a timely reminder of how our holiday could easier be disrupted when Lynda noticed her back pack had been tampered with. Fortunately she carried her purse separately from her pack and nothing had been stolen. It was a sober reminder to us all to be more careful and vigilant. The four of us had dinner at a nice hotel to wind up our final night in China. We found another great camping spot amongst the apricot farmers in a courtyard near their homes. They showered us with gifts: sticky rice and apricots. In the morning it was nice to wake up to the birds singing which was a first since entering China.

The border crossing went smoothly. Li provided the officials with the all the vehicles documentation with customs verifying our engine and chassis numbers. After the paperwork red tape we were free to go. Handing over our Chinese number plates & Chinese Licenses to Li it was a quick goodbye before heading off into no mans land where Kazakhstan awaited us.

A Few stats at the end of our China leg

Road Tolls in China: 1333 Yuan Approx NZ$222
Total fuel bill to date: NZ$1286
Total kms to date: 20,000kms
Gas Stations visited: 54
Daily Average cost of diesel: NZ$10.65

The highlights of our visit to China would have to be: the people, the scenery and the shopping.

The negatives of our visit to China would have to be: The roads, toilets and people spitting.

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