A decent stretch of road in Ethiopia, no rivers, sand, mud or donkey herds getting in our way - the only problem being - "Are we on the right road?" As there is also a lack of road signs.

Exploring the sand dunes of the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa.

Once we had adjusted to riding the gravel tracks we loved the open spaces of Namibia.

One of the most stunning sunsets of the journey- deep in the Sahara lies the White Desert, in the western half of Egypt. We had managed to not only sneak away from the compulsory foreigners' convoy but also trick our way past the army roadblocks to reach this amazing location. Weird and wonderful rock formations had been created by sandstorms and desert winds over the centuries including this pinnacle. Maggie had scrambled to the top of it, completey unaware of her helmet in hand which she then placed by her feet as she watched the spectacular sunset.

In remote northen Kenya we came across this guy urgently flagging us down to request some much needed water- he was the only person we saw all day.

Cursing the endless amounts of mud, we take it in turns - the pillion rider gets off and wades though the mud on foot first to find the best route through while the rider just tries to gun the engine and get through without falling over.

Maggie in a typical thoughtful moment. Originally from Galway in Ireland, Maggie has ridden across Africa and into the Middle East with me, followed by Central America, Spain and Norway. She is particularly good in her role as the one- woman mobile Diplomatic Corps and her favourite moment...she rode Thelma across Botswana in one day.