Plymouth Dakar Rally - photo gallery

• The teams leave, er..Portsmouth - the last time we'd see rain for a month

• well apart from the torrential downpour in the Pyrenees

• The Hunter blows its load in Morocco

• The salad cart - Marrakesh style

• Not everything is what is seems...

• Fortunately for the UN the £100 spending limit doesn't apply...

• We do not condone this childish behaviour in any way. hahahahahahahahahahaha!

• The teams gather for lunch to the bemusement of the sheep herder

• With the stifling heat car bonnets could food very nicely

• Although its slightly off-putting when you're next to a rotting carcass

• Oz finds the Imodium hasn't quite kicked in yet...

• Camels - more reliable transport than the things we were driving

• Except they have no regard for their own safety...

• Ferg fails in his attempt to buy his own camel in return for a grubby mag

• The old iron ore railway leads the way to the desert

• By now dehydration and cabin fever starts to take its toll

• Yet another 3 hour "border" crossing - as usual backhanders pave the way

• Having seen the state of our cars the locals decide it would be rude to hustle for money

• The Sahara desert - the world's biggest sand pit

• This "road" claimed many exhausts, tyres and fuel pumps

• The golden turd gets stuck in yet another sand pit...

• Swiftly followed by "TheTortoise"...

• Having done 26 miles in four hours the guide starts to lose the will to live

• On average we are stopping every 15 minutes due to breakdowns/overheating

• Team Noweiser stay off the drugs long enough to take the lead

• Not to be outdone the other teams deploy dirty tactics

• It's like being able to drive down the bus lane and jump every red light - freedom!!

• A Saharan sunset marks the end of another day

• Setting camp at Tal Ha Ga - the birthplace of the "Extreme Trifle"

• Round 3 of the Saharan Olympics - Lada bonnet Vs Ironing board in the Downhill

• In such hot and dusty conditions regular housework is a must

• Hoo pulls in at the services...

• We reach "No Man's Land" - discussion about the landmines gets intense

• Having seen the 3rd blown up car in as many miles we start to crap it

• And decide paying 50 Euros for a guide is a better option than flying body parts

• Meanwhile Greg slopes off for a wafty crank on the basis it might be his last

• And Hoo turns himself in to Jesus in a bid to save us all

• And if you're gonna depart this world at least do it in a well pressed shirt

• Oz takes no chances and decides to stay as far off the ground as possible

• Being Brits abroad we keep a stiff upper lip - pass the ketchup...

• Team Boy Racer looks for a McDonalds car park to do some handbraking

• Meanwhile our Latvian friends take a break from their Olympic vodka drinking

• Meanwhile yet another car goes bang...

• But don't fear the Reaper - he drinks, smokes and drives a Granada...

• Safely through the mines we finally reach the coast of Mauretania

• Which means it's time to play on the beach

• Meanwhile a local fisherman clutches his large wood

• The calm before the storm - crossing the border to Rosso

• The locals provide a "welcoming" committee

• After being held for six hours and extorted for money left right and centre we finally decide the only option is to smash our way out of the compound - a small riot ensued...with smashed headlights and windows we decide to carry on through the night to escape the pursuing mob...

• "When they said come to Africa and get stoned that's not what I had in mind" Ferg sports a black eye and the stone that came through the side window...

• The excitement was all too much for some

• The final push to Zebrabar is now taken at a leisurely pace

• It's a relief to be greeted by some friendly faces

• Although not everyone got the same treatment

• The fact we were 300 miles off course didn't stop a glorious reception in "Dakar"

• The locals pour out in their tens to greet us...

• At last we reach the oasis that is Zebrabar campsite - battered but there!

• Oz and Greg take the Golden Spanner award for best car in their 1974 Hunter

• Time to say farewell - but we'll be back, someday, in something...