I was travelling in the car with ‘Cookie’ my little dog, so had the driving to get on with and no spare hand for a camera. Fortunately there are copious amounts of pictures and video footage https://www.landcruiserclub.net/community/threads/tabernas-desert-trip-2016-the-good-bad-ugly-tour-2016.146588/ taken by others, all of which would put my offerings to shame. Many will have already seen those posted up by Steve and Dawn, along with Mark and Mel, great stuff, no doubt there are more to come. And of course there were people in the team that are way more experienced and articulate about writing trip reports than myself. Hence my report here is more about personal experience than the actual trails, I hope some will see the trip from a different perspective.
The Tabernas trip nearly did not happen for me, when Steve invited me I thought getting prepared would be easy, but workload got in the way, this and with various other obstacles thrown in my path, everything from the solar panel not fitting with my replacement roof rack, to the dog having some kind of fit/seizure and attacking the terrace floor, grinding her nails and pads down to bleeding, her face swollen disfigured perhaps by a bite of some kind, jury is still out on this? The pictures are quite horrific so I will spare you them, the vet patched her up and did a great job. This along with other interruptions it seemed I was destined not to make it to Tabernas.
Despite not having a dashboard in the car and other wiring to do at 23.00 the night before, some extra candles were burnt and I eventually started out on the Sunday morning, the drive to the camp site just a couple of hours away. I was about halfway there and I realised that in the chaos I had not packed two of my camp boxes, so with no solar, no cooking gear and God knows what else missing I carried on. Fortunately the camp site which I think was chosen by Steve and Dawn was great, along with the decent shower block there was power. Of course I never had a camping adaptor for the ‘luz’ it mattered not. Between Steve and Mark they got power to my car, the fridge being an important piece of kit. And between the rest of the happy campers I got hot water and my food cooked, so thanks to all concerned I did manage to get out a day or so later and find a Chinese shop which allowed me to purchase most of the essentials cups/plates, fighting irons and other stuff which included a saucepan….more of that later.
Monday morning came and we were off, the abundance of trails in Spain meant we had many to choose from. Thanks to Rodger and Mark they sorted out some good trails, some were easy, some tough, and some damn right impassable, even with a tank you were just not getting through! GPS maps not showing that the trail has been washed away by torrential rain, or rock falls, on occasion’s we found we were literally ‘on the edge’. Of course you do not know this until you get there, then find out it is going to be a turnaround, I think we were fortunate to find the space to turn on some trails, the altitudes, the terrain would have made it dangerous to try and reverse.
During planning later in the week, there was concern that my new AT tyres were not going to be up to the job, and that concern it seems was justified. Coming out of a dry river bed a twig punctured an inner side wall! I was not too concerned about the puncture, I had a repair kit plus two spares, my concern was more for holding up our group for something that should simply not have happened. Again they came to the rescue, yes I had the gear but more hands make light work and all was sorted and we were on our way, an email to the tyre manufacturer has thus far gone unanswered, that will get a follow up. Tuesday was no different, get out go as far as we could and then get back to base camp. Our final day curtailed by a potential ‘Gota Fria’ (Spain's own version of a 'proper' thunderstorm), these can be quite serious in the lower trail areas…….where we were, IMO the decision to abandon the trails early on Wednesday was the right one. I had some good times out there before the weather called a halt to proceedings.
The fun did not stop on the trails, sitting around the table discussing vehicle mods and ideas was great, like minded people talking like minded car stuff, although there was one particular exception to car talk. One evening I was parading my high quality (Chinese) cooking gear, and Pete pointed out that his saucepan was of a much higher quality than mine. To be fair he was absolutely right, the brand name on mine is ‘Quid’ so you get the idea, there was some banter as he rapped on his and being rewarded with a quality clunk, mine returning a clunk more akin to a cheap door bell, we continued with our meal with no more said. Pete left early on the last day for the long journey North................and in his haste had forgotten his treasured saucepan!
I took immediate possession, I got his breakfast bowl as well, and perhaps the most important article, his washing up sponge. His sponge? I hear you say, well yes as when I turned it over I found this:
Now come on Pete how pretentious is this?
I normally travel alone exploring and camping out on the Spanish trails whenever work allows, and this means I can pick and choose my routes, taking my own time but it is not always easy. Extricating yourself from difficult situations takes longer and the element of risk is a lot higher. So, for me the trip was about change, doing some trails with others, meeting like minded people, and the team building that came with it. It mattered not if you needed a kettle of hot water, or some very good spotting through tight areas it was there. If not taking pictures the girls were lugging boulders to pack under wheels…….I mean come on, how good were they! The camaraderie was there, the team effort was there, it seemed as if you went from forum acquaintance to friends in seconds such was the welcome. If you have ever thought about signing up for one of these trips, then go for it! I thoroughly enjoyed myself with these guys and girls, and if they will have me, will definitely be up for invites to other trips in the future.
Thanks to all.
Regards
Dave
The Tabernas trip nearly did not happen for me, when Steve invited me I thought getting prepared would be easy, but workload got in the way, this and with various other obstacles thrown in my path, everything from the solar panel not fitting with my replacement roof rack, to the dog having some kind of fit/seizure and attacking the terrace floor, grinding her nails and pads down to bleeding, her face swollen disfigured perhaps by a bite of some kind, jury is still out on this? The pictures are quite horrific so I will spare you them, the vet patched her up and did a great job. This along with other interruptions it seemed I was destined not to make it to Tabernas.
Despite not having a dashboard in the car and other wiring to do at 23.00 the night before, some extra candles were burnt and I eventually started out on the Sunday morning, the drive to the camp site just a couple of hours away. I was about halfway there and I realised that in the chaos I had not packed two of my camp boxes, so with no solar, no cooking gear and God knows what else missing I carried on. Fortunately the camp site which I think was chosen by Steve and Dawn was great, along with the decent shower block there was power. Of course I never had a camping adaptor for the ‘luz’ it mattered not. Between Steve and Mark they got power to my car, the fridge being an important piece of kit. And between the rest of the happy campers I got hot water and my food cooked, so thanks to all concerned I did manage to get out a day or so later and find a Chinese shop which allowed me to purchase most of the essentials cups/plates, fighting irons and other stuff which included a saucepan….more of that later.
Monday morning came and we were off, the abundance of trails in Spain meant we had many to choose from. Thanks to Rodger and Mark they sorted out some good trails, some were easy, some tough, and some damn right impassable, even with a tank you were just not getting through! GPS maps not showing that the trail has been washed away by torrential rain, or rock falls, on occasion’s we found we were literally ‘on the edge’. Of course you do not know this until you get there, then find out it is going to be a turnaround, I think we were fortunate to find the space to turn on some trails, the altitudes, the terrain would have made it dangerous to try and reverse.
During planning later in the week, there was concern that my new AT tyres were not going to be up to the job, and that concern it seems was justified. Coming out of a dry river bed a twig punctured an inner side wall! I was not too concerned about the puncture, I had a repair kit plus two spares, my concern was more for holding up our group for something that should simply not have happened. Again they came to the rescue, yes I had the gear but more hands make light work and all was sorted and we were on our way, an email to the tyre manufacturer has thus far gone unanswered, that will get a follow up. Tuesday was no different, get out go as far as we could and then get back to base camp. Our final day curtailed by a potential ‘Gota Fria’ (Spain's own version of a 'proper' thunderstorm), these can be quite serious in the lower trail areas…….where we were, IMO the decision to abandon the trails early on Wednesday was the right one. I had some good times out there before the weather called a halt to proceedings.
The fun did not stop on the trails, sitting around the table discussing vehicle mods and ideas was great, like minded people talking like minded car stuff, although there was one particular exception to car talk. One evening I was parading my high quality (Chinese) cooking gear, and Pete pointed out that his saucepan was of a much higher quality than mine. To be fair he was absolutely right, the brand name on mine is ‘Quid’ so you get the idea, there was some banter as he rapped on his and being rewarded with a quality clunk, mine returning a clunk more akin to a cheap door bell, we continued with our meal with no more said. Pete left early on the last day for the long journey North................and in his haste had forgotten his treasured saucepan!
I took immediate possession, I got his breakfast bowl as well, and perhaps the most important article, his washing up sponge. His sponge? I hear you say, well yes as when I turned it over I found this:Now come on Pete how pretentious is this?
I normally travel alone exploring and camping out on the Spanish trails whenever work allows, and this means I can pick and choose my routes, taking my own time but it is not always easy. Extricating yourself from difficult situations takes longer and the element of risk is a lot higher. So, for me the trip was about change, doing some trails with others, meeting like minded people, and the team building that came with it. It mattered not if you needed a kettle of hot water, or some very good spotting through tight areas it was there. If not taking pictures the girls were lugging boulders to pack under wheels…….I mean come on, how good were they! The camaraderie was there, the team effort was there, it seemed as if you went from forum acquaintance to friends in seconds such was the welcome. If you have ever thought about signing up for one of these trips, then go for it! I thoroughly enjoyed myself with these guys and girls, and if they will have me, will definitely be up for invites to other trips in the future.
Thanks to all.
Regards
Dave
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Great team work and always a smile 
