Two men from the Fens who are driving from Chatteris to Toyko in aid of Children in Need have arrived in Uzbekistan after a gruelling 11-hour trip along an “absolutely horrendous” road in Kazakhstan.
Dan Handley and Dave Brooks are driving a 16-year-old Toyota Yaris across 20 different countries as part of their 12,500 mile journey in aid of charity. They left Chatteris on Sunday, August 12.
On social media, they said: “Today we left Kazakhstan (for now) and entered Uzbekistan. It took us 11 hours to do 500km’s on the worst road we’ve ever driven on... so far!
“The conditions were absolutely horrendous! We thought we had a pothole problem in the UK... there were holes in the road today big enough to lose the car!
“Larry [the car] suffered a slightly bent wheel earlier on but other than that he handled the road like a hero.”
The duo, both employees at Fensport Performance, are updating their Instagram and Facebook pages everywhere they go. Documenting every step of the journey that should take them months.
They added: “We drove for hours at a time without seeing a soul and it was all fine and dandy until we found ourselves very quickly running out of fuel.
“As most cars in Uzbekistan run on propane, it’s very difficult to source petrol. In the Karakalpakstan district, which is where we are, there are no fuel stations at all and petrol can only be found on the black market.
“We’ve already seen a couple of people selling petrol from drinks bottles on the side of the road here in Nukus, so that will be our first point of call tomorrow morning. But for now, we’re hitting the sack. Our heads are still rattling!”
When travelling through Kazakhstan they stopped by a local Toyota garage to give their 52-plate car some TLC.
They said: “Within five minutes of being there the Yaris was on the ramp and every mechanic was on it! New brake pads all round, new driveshaft oil seal, transmission fluid top up and the car even got it’s first wash!!
“Meanwhile we were being treated like royalty with unlimited tea and biscuits and many photos. We have never felt more welcome, the Toyota family is truly amazing and we’re proud to be a part of it.
“The bill came to 61,000 KZT, around £130, but the boss insisted we didn’t pay. A huge, huge thank you to Toyota Kazakhstan for looking after us and Larry!
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