'We didn't make it!'

'Picture of my Land Cruiser HJ47 in Australia. It was in the year 2000. The picture "SUB" was the crossing of the Leichhardt River (Gulf Savannah, North Queensland) the 2/4/00.'

'The picture was in proximity of the Hells Gate Roadhouse, NW of Doomadgee Aboriginal Reserve, during the "wet" (rain season), Gulf Savannah, North Queensland, April 2000.'

'The picture is at the crossing of the Pascoe River (Iron Range National Park, Cape York, North Queensland).'

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'This ford is in Malmedy, Beverce, Chemin des Sotes and is suitable for off roaders only. Typically 1-1.5 feet of water. Smooth in and smooth out for driving, at one site normal concrete road at the other site sand/ mud leading to a lumber area, so a lot of mud further on. There is a lot of off roading possible in the neighbourhood of this ford - mostly free tracks up and down the hills used by lumberjacks during the week, so go there at the weekend!'

'A great ford in Belgium, near the circuit of Francorschamps. The ford is on a dead end street called Roguez leading to a parking lot. The ford is located on the road to a parking lot where you can start a terrific walk along a 5 km long path meandering along a stream called the hoegne with wooden bridges crossing the river. The depth is 1 feet deep with a loose gravel bedding, easy also for normal saloon cars.'

Image 1: Sand Ridge Road in the rainy season, Chobe National Park.

'This site refers to "the Very Cool Tidal Road (at low tide you can cross the road to Minister's Island for a guided tour of the huge palace of van Horne, builder of the CP Railway). At high tide the road is gone. So check tide schedules.'

'A photo of the tidal causeway to Forster Island can be seen here'

'It is located on a well travelled country road, between Black Diamond and Calgary Alberta. The water was about 6 inches deep, and very fast moving, It hasnt rained up here for atleast a week, so I can only imagine that in spring and times of heavy rain fall the road is impassable.'

At Mandø, near Ribe (Jutland). This island (or peninsula?), with its village, is one of the northernmost of the Frisians. It can be reached only by tidal road; a photo can be seen here and if you have Acrobat Reader, by going to here and then opening successively (i) Lancewad Project Report (October 2001); (ii) Contents and Download (pdf); (iii) chap4.1_DK.pdf; then scrolling to Fig 4.23. The caption says that the tidal road is called the Ebbevej.

The Ebbevej is shown on the attached map of the island as the dotted black line, south of the isthmus. This would make sense if the tidal sea bed offers firmer going for wheeled traffic than the soft dry sand of the spit.

However, the local tourist website says: "Mandø is a marsh island surrounded by sands which are submerged at high tide. The distance from Vester Vedsted on the mainland to Mandø village is 11 km, of which some 6 km are actually in the Wadden Sea. All traffic to Mandø runs along Låningsvejen, a low dike in the Wadden Sea. The road is usually submerged twice a day by the tide. Under normal wind and weather conditions, Låningsvejen is passable some 15-18 hours a day during the summer. Tide tables are available from Mandø Brugs (the shop on the island)

'The image shows an ice bridge over the Kemijoki River near Rovaniemi on the Arctice Circle in Finland. That's me driving the JCB over it whilst doing some cold climate testing in 2003. The locals told me the water was about 5m deep at that point but the ice was 1m thick and the weight limit is variable (17tonnes at the time) depending on ice thickness. There's normally a ferry at that point which they winch up onto the bank as the river starts to freeze. Little nervous as I drove on for the first time seeing cracks in the ice and hearing creaking noises but after the first crossing I just had to have another go or four. It was probably 200 to 300m across. '

'I found this ford within a mile or so of the 'flowers' campsite at Aubigny-sur nere, at the time of the photographs it would have been ok for a 4x4, a challenge for an offroad motorcycle, and a 'brave'/foolish car driver!'

A tidal road, on the west coast of the Cotentin (Cherbourg) Peninsula, in Normandy. It crosses an estuary rather than linking to an island

'The ford in the link above is near the top of the Col du Petit St Bernard, France. Here is a link to it on Google maps.'

A French tidal road, 700m long, links Carantec, near Roscoff in north Brittany, with the Île Callot.

Until 1971 (when a majestic and expensive new bridge was built), the principal vehicular link from Ile de Noirmoutier in the Bay of Biscay to the mainland was by the grandaddy of proper tidal roads, the 4,150m Passage du Gois. This was built between 1922 and 1924 and remains in use today (now as the D948), partly as a popular tourist attraction in its own right, and partly because it is free whereas the bridge charges a hefty toll - being stingy, we naturally crossed by this route. The 80 year old road surface is large stone or concrete blocks or slabs, and a bit bumpy, but perfectly driveable. At low tide, there are places where you can drive off on to the sand. It is passable for three hours at low tide. There are refuge towers at regular intervals, as at Holy Island.

This road closes soon after the 1st November and reopens on 1 June. As you can see, the ford is quite small with some stepping stones. Passable for most cars, the only possible difficulty is that there is a brow from the road to the unpaved track which might be difficult for low slung cars, but there is ample parking on the road. This is high mountain grazing, hence the electric fences.

'A couple of greek fords. The ford in Image 1 was encountered when we drove from Limenaria towards Kastro, it can be found on the junction of the roads which go to Thassos town and Kastro and is basically dry for most of the year I would presume until heavy rain or snowfall, it was on the junction of a fairly busy road with no signs or depth gauge (as if!!) in fact i drove through it before i realised what it was. Length of the ford is a couple of car lengths and depth is probably anything up to 3 feet.

Ford 2 is on the same road and also it has a concrete base and is about two car lengths long. I would imagine any of these fords to be impassible after heavy rain with their strong currents and depth (Image 2).'

'The Lithou causeway on Guernsey cannot be used by motors but is worthy of a mention on wetroads. The pictures would look better from a helicopter and you would appreciate the twisty nature and ever changing surfaces. This causeway connects Lihou island with Guernsey mainland. It is unusual because it is quite twisty and the surface changes from cobbles to rocky to stoney beach at the far end. Permission must be sought beforehand and in any case access is limited because of the large tides in that part of the world. Having said that, we enjoyed the walk across and most vehicles would have no difficulty iif a lttle care is excercised but the exit at Lihou is up a steep beach and would be difficult without 4 x 4. It is supposed to have been built in the 12th century by monks.'

A selection of Icelandic fords from the 100's of pictures sent to me by Paul!

'Nice ford on Himalaya back road.'

'The adjacent big bridge had collapsed under the weight of monsoon water, so everyone had to ford the Chakkri River'

'The bridge went down and then public transport (blue minibuses) had to go through the river (dry at the moment...). October 2007.'

'These appear to be the only significant wet roads in Jersey, looking at the 1:50000 map, and offer access to two offshore forts and a lighthouse. However, with a large tidal range (up to 12 m), firm gritty sand and plenty of slipways, quite a number of vehicles, from tractors to 4x4s, can be seen on the beach getting access to moorings, collecting the morning's fishing or just parking. The large tidal range does mean that care needs to be exercised - tides quite commonly approach from side gullies at 10km/hr.

Image 1) Elizabeth Castle, St Helier (WV 635475). About 1.5 km offshore adjacent to the Harbour at St Helier. Firm grit and coarse sand next to a concrete path laid for pedestrians. Dry for about 6 hours each tide, but under several metres of water at high water. Regularly traversed by amphibious vehicles taking visitors to the castle - four-wheel drive at low tide and screw propellor at high tide. (While we were in Jersey, one of these vehicles broke down and the other going to its rescue got the tow rope tangled round its own propellor. Both then had to be rescued by the inshore lifeboat as they drifted towards the rocks!)

Image 2) St Aubin's Fort, St Brelade (WV 610483). About 700m. offshore at the opposite end of the bay to the above. Only seen at high tide so quality of surface not known. A rather poor picture on a dull day, but some idea of the scale is given by the fact that at one stage 100 men were garrisoned there.

Image 3) La Corbiere Lighthouse (WV 547477). About 400m. offshore on the SW tip of Jersey. This is a supply road and the end of it can be seen rising to a storehouse left of the lighthouse. Paved, but to be viewed with extreme caution - at the time the photo was taken, there was a tidal race across the causeway running at some 12-15 km/hr!'

'Even the bus has to use this ford, on the main road to the Vietnam border (Image 1).

Image 2 shows a ford a few km further on. It has a traditional bypass for motor bikes, which are the most popular means of rural transport for both people (up to four or more) and goods (including livestock).'

'These are some slected images of a series of fords across a minor classified highway in the state of Baja California Sur, Mexico, between Loreto and Ciudad Insurgentes, via the lovely mission village of San Javier. All but the one are where the road criss-crosses the same river about eight times. The torrential rainstorms that occur in the rainy season wash down a great burden of heavy round rocks, which have to be bulldozed aside to create a rough way through motorable by trucks and 4x4s. This is something like the Mexican equivalent of the Strata Florida road in Powys.'

Image 1: Road out on to the bed of Etosha Pan salt lake.
Image 2: Sculpted bedrock of dry riverbed, Damaraland.
Image 3: Petrified waterfall, Damaraland.
Image 4: Watersplash on back road near Keetmanshoop.
Image 5: Between Keetmanshoop and Fish River Canyon.

'On the bridleway near de the river Mark you will find this shallow ford, only 2 inches deep at the time. After rain it wil be as deep as 50 cm but there is a bridge nearby. A beautiful and easy walk, ride or bikingtour near the the river an trough woods.'

'Difficult to photograph well to try and express the grandeur and remoteness of the place. Anyway it should be up there among the very best if not the very best!

There are tough restrictions on hire cars being used off road in NZ so you need to be in your own vehicle. The vehicle we used was a lorry with a coach body (Image 1) and we went from the Bay of Islands via the Gumdiggers park to Cape Reinga (Northernmost point in North Island) and back via Ninety Mile beach. The 90 miles quoted is in fact 50-60 miles. The beach drive on its own makes it supreme among wet roads for its distance but for us and other wet road fans, the approach from Cape Reinga should also be highly rated. The coach follows a tarmac road past high sand dunes and then drops down on to a sandy surface with a very shallow stream which vehicles follow for approx two miles to the actual beach, this section being a wetroad on its own (Image 2).

At this point you are on the beach with the ocean on the right and low deserted sand dunes on the left (Image 3). The coach follows the beach (Images 4 and 5) for the next hour and simply turns left and bumps up from the beach onto the tarmac road.

There is no rescue service so if your vehicle stops, then you will be on your own. Other vehicles may or may not stop. The first section following the sandy stream would be marginal in an ordinary car and I believe it is very tricky going North and even worse after a wet spell when the water would be deeper. Please ensure people take proper advice and heed it before attempting this. Vehicles can sink in the sand so best keep going (Image 6). There is no habitation between entry and exit so you have minimum of 25miles to walk!'

'Cape Kidnappers is South of Napier in North Island, NZ. We went on a tractor and trailer trip along the shore and through the surf to Cape Kdnappers where we climbed up the cliffs to see a superb gannet colony. The journey is about 6 miles along the shore and a big challenge even in a big 4x4. The point is that the same trip is listed in a 4X4 Trip guide book that we bought for my son in law for use with his Toyota Surf 4x4!

The trip is legal and a proper road! Entry is OK but it is a dead end and exit needs care. It is absolutely 4X4 only with a skillful driver'

Image 1: Irish bridge in Kruger National Park.
Image 2: In Baviaanskloof, a remote valley of Eastern Cape province.
Image 3: Swollen ford in Eastern Cape province.
Image 4: Watersplash near Lady Frere, Eastern Cape province.
Image 5: Watersplash in Drakensberg.
Image 6: Near Wupperthal.
Image 7: In the Cederberg mountains.

Image 1: Dry crossing of the River Limpopo and in spate (mouseover).
Image 2: Irish bridge over River Limpopo, Platjan.

'This Land Rover made an unsuccessful attempt to cross the main road running through southern Tanzania. The vehicle was not fitted with a snorkel and had to be pulled back out to the bank of the river.' In the second picture, 'this 'International' oil field truck is just a few feet away from a ten foot hollow in the river bed. The water is over four feet deep.'

All along the Spanish Costas, yopu can find features such as this. They are effectively storm drains taking the winter run-off straight to the sea, but they can make for some pretty good fording action! Image 1 shows the feature on the beach at La Cala de Mijas.

'Located in the village of Espinama just off the CA185, google maps location 43.128097,-4.786288 where the River Nevandi flows through the village'

'An unusual entry for wetroads - an ice road across a frozen lake near Östersund, Sweden, which operates every year from late October to late March. The ice is kept clear of snow, which means that it freezes to a greater thickness (about two metres). The road is needless to say very slippery, but most locals have winter tyres fitted with metal studs which give much better grip than pure rubber. Wisely, they create a dual carriageway, each side about 50 metres wise and separated by a reservation of roughly the same width from which the snow is not cleared. As one of the photos shows, there is also a speed limit of only 30 km/h, and vehicles must run 50m apart.'

'Herewith some fords on HERO's Great Tour of China - none very challenging, I'm afraid. This event took 35 crews from all over the world, in their own 4x4s shipped in for the occasion, on a 9,000 km month long adventure drive around some of China's remotest regions - in many cases to places where westerners are seldom seen. This was the first time an event of this kind had been permitted by the Chinese authorities. All but the last of the fords are in Tibet. The first one shows a local taxi blithely wading across a river, the others are of various 4x4s on the-event tackling some easy but spectacular watersplashes. The last pic (559) was taken in the Tiger Leaping Gorge on the upper Yangtse. More abour the event on our website'

'here is a picture of the TRC crossing Old Hernandez. The picture was taken on the Iron Bottom rally through central California. It takes place in April so we never quite know what the water level will be . We did have to push one car out of the creek on old Hernadez road as the air intake was below the bumper.'

'Near Sonora - Ford on Red Hills Road. It is a short county road that connects state route J59 to Hwy 49, the state hwy that links many of the Gold Rush towns . Hwy 49 is at least 250 miles long , linking old mining towns, ghost towns , mines, and sites of old towns. The road crosses the stream about 4 times in 3-4. Hwy 49 is called the Gold Chain Hwy because of linking the mines and towns.'