country to gather feed for animals
kept at lower altitudes, narrow tracks
with creek crossings and mountains
all around us.
From & including the Fann Moun-
tains we really were in adventure
land. We were to ride varying types of
roadways in isolated areas in both Ta-
jikistan & Kyrgyzstan where we would
witness simple farming methods
including harvesting hay with reap
hooks whilst other areas were highly
mechanised.
We rode areas where animal herd-
ers had taken livestock to mountain
grasses during summer months while
living in yurts. Huge herds of horses,
goats and cattle attended by herders
on horses or donkeys with not a fence
in sight.
We were to be alongside a very long
fence separating China from Kyrgyz-
stan and having only a river to sepa-
rate us from Afghanistan where the
Afghans have built small settlements
in rocky areas beside the river and
somehow managing to grow gardens
with lots of trees.
We got to ride incredible mountain
passes through snow-capped moun-
tains with the roads twisting and
turning to ascend and descend. These
passes must surely be equal to any-
thing in the European Alps. We were
continually either in or surrounded
by mountains. Using the phrase “A
picture tells a thousand words” I trust
that through included photos readers
will grasp the true wild beauty of ar-
eas ridden.
Coming down from Fann Moun-
tains I had to give up riding the trail
as I was feeling week and nauseous
after a bout of diarrhoea so I handed
TRAVERSE 76
the bike over to Andre. At this age my
pride takes a back seat over realisation
so I ate humble pie for a while. It tast-
ed Ok. Then it was on to Dushanbe the
capital of Tajikistan.
At our Dushanbe hostel we met a
team doing the Mongol Rally in their
1 litre Suzuki Wagon R. More Kiwis
(New Zealanders) out there being ad-
venturous and having a great time.
These guys and a team we had met
earlier at the last border crossing had
some interesting tales to tell from
their journey.
The Pamir Highway runs for
1,252km between Osh and Dushanbe
with most of that alongside Afghan-
istan. Near the start of the Pamir we
passed a memorial set up to recognise
a sad event of cyclists being run down
and killed a few weeks earlier. It was
certainly a sombre moment. This area