Last leg in UK

Friday 5th October

We woke up and after booking our flight up to Scotland for tomorrow, we set off to visit Southwold where the Adnams Brewery is and some other seaside towns. Mike and Debbie both took the day off so that was great. The weather was clear and sunny and we had a lovely day seeing the countryside and having lunch at a lakeside restaurant in Thorpeness. After lunch we returned to Ipswich where we walked around the town centre and then bought meat and beers for a braai. Gaynor and Leanne, both of Debbie’s sisters joined us for the evening which was great as Dave grew up in the same neighbourhood as these girls.


Saturday 6th October

We had a leisurely start and then Mike and Debbie took us up to Norwich airport to catch our flight to Glasgow. Trevor met us at the airport and we went home to the farm where we met all the family.


Sunday 7th October

We relaxed around the farm – it was a glorious day – and in the afternoon we went and had tea with the Murdoch’s(Judy’s parents). In the evening we had a lovely family dinner where we met Phil, Barbara’s new boyfriend.


Monday 8th October

We went to Paisley to check up about train tickets down to Oxford and then we went swimming with Kimberley – she loves the water and has no fear, but is not quite swimming yet. She is an adorable little girl and is very friendly to everyone that she meets. In the evening Barbara cooked us dinner.


Tuesday 9th October

We relaxed at the farm and packed our bags ready to leave the next morning.


Wednesday 10th October

We caught a train down to Oxford where Duncan & Lin Black met us at the station. It was wonderful to see the Black’s and where they live and to catch up with their lives. Our purpose of going to the UK was simply to see family and friends and we are really enjoying all the socializing.


Thursday 11th October

Duncan went to work but Lin took Dave and me into Oxford where we did an open bus city tour and then had some lunch. It was an enjoyable day seeing Oxford University which is not a campus as such, but rather a whole lot of colleges interspersed throughout the town. Unfortunately, we did not think to look up Maria, one of the overlanders, who is now at Oxford – she only sent us an email once we were home and that reminded us that she was at Oxford University. We spent a pleasant evening at home.


Friday 12th October

Lin took us driving around the Cotswold area – seeing where she and Duncan had worked at various times in the past 5 years and just visiting all the quaint villages. England is really very beautiful and it is lovely to see elderly people walking around with shopping bags in their hands with absolutely no threat of being mugged and robbed! We have been removed from all the violent crime in South Africa for 7 months now and I am feeling quite apprehensive about returning!


Saturday 13th October

John and Norah Lewis came over for lunch – they are also ex South Africans now living in the UK. We chatted non stop and caught up with the last 8 years. All the people we have seen in the UK seem to be making a good living and although the weather is miserable, the thought of a safe and secure life is appealing.


Sunday 14th October

Duncan and Lin drove us down to Kingston where Kelvin(my nephew) and Taflin live with their baby, Jordan. Once again it was lovely to see family and where they are living in the UK.

Tomorrow we fly home. I am so excited that I have not even been able to think of it before now – or else I would not have got through these past 10 days!
It is very hard to believe that our ‘dream journey of a lifetime’ - 10 years in the planning is now over. We have seen and done the most incredible things and have seen beauty and the harshness of life alongside each other. From the stark barren deserts where at times there were no roads at all and we had to have blind faith following the railway line into the unknown, to the green lush mountains carpeted with delicate flowers and prowled by wolves and leopards. It has definitely been a journey of a life time. Dave and I have had to depend on each other and work together as a team through flat, hard, crusty salt pans to misty, winding mountainous paths. We have had to endure times of drizzle and rain and times of extreme heat when our bodies felt as if they were on fire and our thirst could just not be quenched. We have realized what a very small part we play in this huge universe that we all inhabit – but that with mutual respect and kindness, each and everyone of us can make a massive difference to the world we live in.
The past 7 months have been surreal in many ways as we have been completely removed from the normal day to day hassles of earning a living and keeping our home and family going. Carmen-Jo, our eldest daughter handled all these affairs for us and it was as if Dave and I had gone back a few hundred years in time – we were living in rural Africa and in fact we just had to survive each day in the basic sense, that is we had to make sure that we had food, kept clean and had a place to sleep each night! Back to complete basics. There was no TV, no fast pace of our modern lives, no socializing and no diary commitments to honour! A lot of problems and issues that had seemed so, so important back home faded into insignificance and we had time to think about what was really important to us in our lives. We are firmly entrenched in our mutual belief that life is the journey NOT the destination and we urge each and every one of you out there to not linger, but to go out and start living out your dreams right now. Life is a very fragile thread and we all need to seize the moment and enjoy our lives on a daily basis.
I thank you all for sharing these past months with us and we look forward to taking up the thread of our lives with all our very precious friends and family.


The End (Dave)
I suppose all good stories need an end, so why should this one be any different? Having got to the UK and met up with family and friends and discussing with them our trip, recalling different special moments, disgusting hotels we stayed in and the hot desert days etc sure brings back a flood of emotions and good memories.
We are often asked, so which was your best country? Well this question is hard to answer, because each country is so different. The dirtiest country, with litter flying everywhere, was without doubt Libya. The cleanest country for me is Rwanda; they have a half day a month where everyone cleans their city. But of course the genocide is enough to break any ones heart. The most surprising country was Ethiopia; I expected a hot dry country with starving people everywhere. Well how wrong can you be, it was cool (18-20deg) all year round as most of the country is 2500m above sea level and is green with plenty of water and crops. But their children were the worst, you could not stop anywhere for 5min without having 20 kids attacking you and shouting ‘you you you’- personal space did not exist. The other question that is always asked is did you ever feel threatened? Or did you have any problems? Well the answer in both case has to be no. We can, without doubt, say that South Africa is by far the least safe place. This was also often stated by other overseas and local people that we spoke to along the route. The statement being “What a lovely country but the violence” We have become complacent over the past months, leaving our car open and belongings out while away from the vehicle, we are going to have to once again get use to locking everything and be on a careful lookout all the time. What you also notice is the aggression of the SA drivers, other big cities that are busier than ours have drivers that are polite and even tempered. Why is South Africa like this? Will it ever come right?
We had a pleasant stay in the UK with Beryl’s brother in Scotland, Mike and Debbie Eldrow, Duncan and Lin Black , Kelvin & Taf Byres – all ex South Africans. It is so nice to see how everything works, trains run on time, everything is clean and well maintained. You can take a walk down to the corner shop or take a stroll in the park, knowing that there will be no problems. This has without doubt made us feel terribly un-settled.
Enough of my gripes. We are also asked, did we not have a problem living together 24/7? I can honestly say no, Beryl was an amazing navigator, especially in places like Cairo. I have to thank B for putting up with all the hardships that we had to face from time to time. For being a companion bar none for the duration of the trip, washing clothes, cooking and forever cleaning. There are very few women that would have handled what she had to. You are my star.

Europe 2nd Week

Saturday 29th September

We bade Spartacus Camp Site in Pompeii farewell along with ‘our doggies’ that we had acquired – Naughty, the puppy and Mommy. Italy has a lot of stray dogs roaming around and there were 3 strays in the campsite plus we saw about 20 strays in the Pompeii ruins. The owners of the campsite actually said that we could take Naughty home with us, but it would have been impossible to get him further than Scotland and we didn’t think my brother would appreciate another dog! My brother has actually phoned us and checked up on our safety right from Botswana through Africa, up until now, so thank you, Trevor.
We drove N along the autostrade towards Rome, stopping once to fill up with petrol – we have discovered that there are 2 prices, if you go to the bowser where there are attendants you pay 3 – 6c (in Euros) more a litre. So we make sure we go to the bowser marked ‘Self Service’ and that means we save about R25 – R50 a tank! Petrol here is now R13.15/l and it costs us around R1 100 to fill one tank!
We traveled about 260kms and reached the N side of Rome at lunchtime where we booked into Flaminio Village campsite N 41 57.575 E 12 28.851 The campsites are wonderful and this one is certainly the best so far, although it is about R260 per night whereas Spartacus was only R110 a night. The ablution here is spotless with piped classical music and a water feature as you walk in. It is all marble with pot-plants to add to the ambiance – there are private cubicles to sit and do your make-up with mirrors, extra lighting and hairdryers etc – very smart!
After making a quick sandwich we caught the bus into the Vatican City – we seem to negotiate Africa better than we do the bus systems of big cities and soon it became apparent that we had missed our bus stop! Anyway getting 3 busses instead of 2, we finally reached the Vatican, where we marveled at the enormity and grandeur of it and the area where the people gather to see the Pope on the balcony. There was a queue snaking in and out and around – maybe a km long - to enter the church, and Dave said ‘No way’. So we went on an open bus tour of the city of Rome which was really magical – the beauty and history within this capital city are just a marvel. Wherever you look, you can see a magnificent bronze statue or a beautiful fountain or an intricate detail on the cornice of a building. The light fittings that one sees on lamp posts etc are also amazing, so intricate and ornate. The bus tour ended at 6pm back at the Vatican and to our delight, we saw that the queue had disappeared, so we went in. I have been here about 25 years ago but it is Dave’s first visit, and I think I am older and more appreciative of the wonder of the structure of this church now, because we were both completely awestruck by the magnitude and magnificence! Visitation closed at 7pm and we spent the whole hour strolling around soaking in the beauty and tranquility. Traveling makes you humble, as you realize what a very tiny place you occupy in the whole wide world!
Next it was the challenge of the bus ride home! The biggest problem was getting started – because we had come via a different route, we were now not sure where to start the route home! Anyway, after walking up and down the same long street a couple of times, we asked some locals and were pointed in the right direction. There was a big soccer game on and so it was even more complicated to negotiate around this – finally we were on the final bus home – totally disorientated, so Dave got the GPS out of his pocket and sure enough, we were heading straight back for Flaminio! In fact we could have helped the bus driver out if he was lost! We got back to camp at 9pm, first a glass of wine and a beer, then we made delicious burgers with mushroom sauce – they really tasted good, I guess because we were so hungry, but they were a fitting end to a magical day.


Sunday 30th September

We woke up at 7am to a crisp clear morning – the weather is really cooling down now, with night temperatures of around 10 deg and daytime of around 20 deg, I think we are getting through Europe just in time. Over this year, my reading glasses have become an essential appendage! I just cannot cope without them anymore – I guess because my arms couldn’t stretch any further! But whatever, I now have to have them on hand at all times to read maps, type on the computer or do my tapestry.
We left at 10am after catching up with computer work and chatting to fellow campers. There was 600kms before us but it was easy driving on the autostrade all day through rolling green hills, sometimes topped with majestic old castles. The lower fields were cultivated, often with tobacco. Later in the day we drove through flat fertile farmlands before reaching Venice near to 5pm, where we stayed at Rialto Campsite.
N 45 29.020 E 12 17.019

Monday 1st October

We woke up and did our last batch of laundry and hung it out to dry before heading off for St Marc’s Square in Venice. Once again, I was here 25 years ago, but it is lovely to be able to pay these beautiful places a second visit in one lifetime! Dave though Venice was ‘very pretty’, but he is a man of few words and quick visits, so soon we were on our way back to our campsite, and we were on the road N by lunch time. I think he is even keener than me to get home to SA!
We went through the most spectacular countryside in the N of Italy and we thoroughly enjoyed our ride. There were dramatic snow capped mountain peaks, picturesque towns – all with their own village church, vibrant colourful hanging flowers in the window boxes, an Olympic ski jump at Cortina, emerald green lakes and trees with all their autumn shades! It was an over exposure of beauty for us to imbibe.
Garfield has been sailing along these European roads like a dream, but today he gave a hiccup or two and Dave decided to change his fuel filter, which seems to have sorted out the problem.
We bade Italy farewell around 3pm after going through one last tunnel of 850m, although we had been through several during the trip – the longest one yet, was 2253m long! We then traveled through a corner of Austria for 1 ½ hours before entering Germany and we are now camped in a lovely German village called Flintsbach at Inntal Camping just 90kms from Munich.
N 47 41.990 E 12 09.494



Tuesday 2nd October

We left at 7.30am as we wanted to get as close as possible to Rotterdam. The autobahn is wonderful and best of all it is free – no tolls need to be paid in Germany. Only the toilets have to be paid for and ‘spending a penny’ takes on a new meaning as it costs us R10 a tinkle! The speed limit is 130km/hour most of the time and trucks are not allowed to overtake – they have to stay in the slow lane – this makes the traffic flow so easily. Germany is ‘perfect’ – there is no litter, no squatter camps and everything is neat, clean, straight and tidy! At the moment the fields are green and the trees are all the shades of autumn - green, yellow, gold and rust.
By 5.30pm we were about 80kms from Rotterdam and we decided to call it a day. We are camped just outside a small village called Veghel and as it is quite fresh, Dave put up all the sides on our awning. So we are really cozy and have been able to work in comfort and pack our lugboxes for the next 2 weeks as we are about to wave Garfield goodbye. I feel quite emotional about all this and do not cope with all this change very well – I feel as if I am leaving my ‘home’ behind and I am all in a dither about what to pack etc. Dave of course just can’t see the problem and has his box all packed and is ready to go! He is always very understanding when I get upset though, and is giving me extra hugs and making me a cup of coffee to cheer me up.



Wednesday 3rd October

We contacted Uda whom we had met at Tiwi Beach in Kenya and he invited us to spend the night with him. It was actually Uda who suggested to us , back in Kenya, that we ship Garfield from Netherlands instead of paying to get him over to UK only to ship him home from there.
Before we left the campsite I defrosted and emptied the fridge while Dave replaced one of the alternators in Garfield – see I spoke too soon about Garfield sailing along - yesterday there was this noise, and Dave identified it as a bearing in the alternator and seeing as he had a spare one, he decided to replace it. Luckily he is able to do all these repairs himself.
Uda lives between Rotterdam and Amsterdam, so he met us at an off-ramp off the highway and we were at his home by lunch time. We spent a lovely afternoon and evening at his home, meeting his wife and son, and we were able to catch up with email and make some phone calls about the shipping of Garfield. We hope to see Uda & Analies in SA one day.



Thursday 4th October

Everything has worked out so well, I just can’t believe it? We arrived at Hoegh Autoliners in Amsterdam at 9.30am to discover that a ship is leaving for South Africa tomorrow! Within one hour they had done the necessary paperwork and we had been escorted down to the terminal where we quickly rearranged the boxes on the roof, putting them inside. The ship was waiting on the dockside and we left Garfield in the front of a queue to be loaded later today. We did not need to pay one cent at this stage – all costs will be paid in Durban when we collect Garfield in 3 weeks time! By 10.30am we were getting out of a taxi (that they called for us) at the train station to catch a train to Hoek-van-Holland.
We reached Hoek-van-Holland at 12.45, bought our ferry ticket to Port Harwich in England, and left on the ferry at 14.45!! It was a really smooth journey and we landed in Harwich at 8.30pm where Mike and Debbie Elbrow (ex Tablers from Pmb) were waiting to meet us. It is wonderful to see old friends and we had a great evening, going out to dinner and then on to a pub where we drank ‘Adnams’ beers!

Into Europe

Friday 21st September

Last night was chaotic – still Africa at its best! Our ferry to Palermo was due to leave at 9pm and the one to Rome at midnight. We arrived at 5pm and joined the queue of vehicles in the orderly system of parking rows in place at the port. Well, 3 hours later we were all still waiting, but there was now a jumbled mass of cars crammed into every little space and corner – a tight knot of vehicles! We were then told to leave our cars and to go to the terminal to get boarding passes. The terminal was a seething mass of people, especially around the office, which did not open until 9.30pm! We think Ramadan had something to do with this, but could not be sure. By 11pm we had our boarding passes and were back in Garfield. Part of the chaos was that there were now 2 loads of vehicles and people trying to get through simultaneously – they separated Rome and Palermo into different lanes but 500m down the tarmac these joined again! Finally, by after midnight, Garfield was parked on deck and we were settled in a corner on the floor with our mattresses and crocheted blankets! We had not booked a cabin as it would have been another $100, so we joined the 100’s of other people on deck. We fell asleep around 1am but apparently the ferry only got going at 2am!
In the morning we were amused to see all the innovative ‘sleeping nooks’ – on window ledges, under tables in the restaurant – just huddles of bodies everywhere. We reached Palermo at about 11am (instead of 8am) and just sat and read our books until the crowds had cleared, then we disembarked. Our passports had to be stamped, but there was absolutely no paperwork for Garfield – we simply drove him off the ferry and into Sicily! What a pleasure.
We drove around the tip of Sicily to Isole d.Femnine to a campsite. After setting up we strolled into the little seaside resort to buy some sangria and beers. There was a local wedding in progress with all the guests very formal in black and white (I thought they looked like the Mafia) and on the sidewalks, tables of elderly men playing cards with plump ladies chatting in corners. We went to a little deli and made our purchases – everything is organized, labeled with the price and clean. Dave is delighted as he can’t stand the bargaining and haggling with prices – the best was in Tunis; we bought him a pair of sandals for 30 Dinars but the starting price had been 120 Dinars!
Even I felt a kind of ‘home coming’ feel when we heard the church bells tolling! After months of being in Islamic countries, it felt good to be back on Christian grounds. We bought a cone with delicious Italian ice-cream and wandered back to Garfield. Over a dinner of pasta we shared a bottle of sangria and became mellow and mushy!
N 38 11.790 E 13 14.705

Our costs in Tunisia were
Visas R 118
Accommodation R 644
Petrol R1 943 R6.79/l
Toll & parking R 35
Vehicle repairs R 92
Internet R 46
Food R 503
Purchases R 934
Tips R 38


Saturday 22nd September

After a leisurely start we drove back into Palermo where we went up a spiral staircase to a view point over the city and it gave us a good impression of the streets and buildings. Then we set off and got entangled in narrow little alleyways between tall buildings! Luckily, Garfield just fitted and eventually we were out in the open roads into the interior of Sicily.
We headed for Mussumeli – a quaint town with narrow paved streets and ancient churches dating from 1400. Just 2kms outside the town, perched on an imposing rock in absolute loneliness, is the Castle of Mussumeli, built in the 1400’s. In ancient times executions were carried out on a precipice just below the castle, and the castle has been the scene of many tragic events – legends of women buried alive and a daughter strangled by her father etc abound. Unfortunately, we could not enter the castle as it is under renovation, but it was still interesting to see it from the outside.
We then drove around in what appeared to be square circles to get out of the hilly interior and back onto the autostrade to the east coast of Sicily – actually we were a bit lost but it was very scenic all the same! We drove up the coast to a campsite at Acireale, perched on a granite cliff edge with a lift going down through the sheer rock to the seaside about 42 metres below us(according to Dave’s GPS). We befriended a German couple, Karl Wilke and his wife, and spent a very pleasant evening with them, drinking red wine and getting tips on our route through Europe. By the time we went to bed we needed to take a bottle of water with us(for the nadors) and I have to share with you, that even Dave has invested in a ‘bottle potty’ now – it is so much easier in the roof top tent!
N 37 37.209 E 15 10.456


Sunday 23rd September

Happy Birthday to our ‘Big Boy’ Donovan! We hope Rayanne spoilt you rotten and that you had a lovely day. Our thoughts were with you all day long.
We had a leisurely Sunday morning start and only left the camp at 10am. We set off to explore Mount Etna, which is the largest volcano in Europe and considered to be the most active volcano in the world. At its peak it is about 3 350m and unfortunately it was shrouded in cloud today, so although we drove around at about 1 800m and saw various stages of old lava flow, we did not spend the money to go up the cable car to a higher level as the visibility was too bad.
We then went back down onto the autostrada and drove up the coast and around the tip of Sicily to Milazzo Port. The scenery is spectacular and the Italians are great road engineers building quite some tunnels and bridges – we have taken some amazing photographs of their ‘autostrada’. The longest tunnel we went through was 1 624m and the longest bridge 2 250m.
We are now camped on the tip of a finger of land called Capo Milazzo in the Tyrrhenian Sea, in an avenue of olive trees with knarled and twisted trunks. Once again, we are at a height above the sea and you go down a whole lot of steps strewn with olives to reach the beach.
N 38 15.776 E 15 14.567


Monday 24th September

We woke up at 4.30am to go into town to catch the hydrofoil to Stromboli Island, some 65kms N of Sicily. Jeff, our overlander friend, had suggested that we go there to see an active volcano. The hydrofoil was fast(65kms/hour by our GPS) and within one hour we were at Stromboli. We booked to go on an official hike up to the top of the volcano in the evening and then found a room to stay in and just relaxed and enjoyed the day on Stromboli, having a delicious pizza for lunch.
At 4.30pm we started our hike. There were about 5 groups of 20 people separated by language, so we were the ‘yellow helmets’ that is English speaking! Stromboli is 2 400 metres in height but most of it is below sea level and the cone that protrudes is 946m high – this was what we had to climb! It took us 3 hours to do and the going was steep and rocky, but the views were magnificent. We had been instructed to take spare T-shirts and by the time we reached the summit we were soaking wet with perspiration so we changed and put on wind breakers as it was very fresh up there. The sun was just setting and we were completely awed to be up at a vantage point looking down 200m to the crater floor below us – this vast black heaving hole! There were 4 main points of activity – the first was like a huge black chimney and it kept puffing out high clouds of dust and gas, the smell of sulphur was very strong. The second was a small but potent blow hole that only shot up a jet stream of red flames twice during the 45 minutes we spent there. Between these two there was a bigger hole that every few minutes sent up a cascade of red hot stones into the air – much like a Roman candle fire cracker – and then there was a even bigger hole that seemed to be spewing out red molten lava like a bubbling pot of hot toffee – this only happened about 2 or 3 times. All this activity was accompanied by huffing, puffing and gurgling sounds at times interspersed with powerful explosive sounds! It was quite ominous but one of the most exciting nature shows that we have ever seen. Apparently a volcano is considered to be relatively safe when it is gurgling and erupting like this. It is when it goes quieter and lava begins to really flow out that the magna can get ‘blocked’ and then the volcano is considered dangerous. This happened to Stromboli in March this year and sure enough, a few days later she blew her top! We saw massive stones that had been thrown out during March, on our hike to the top. In fact she has only been open to tourists for the last 6 weeks again as she has now settled down again to her normal gurgling, puffing and blowing!
There was a storm brewing so we had to make a hasty descent – luckily it was not the rocky path but rather like walking down a massive black sand dune. It was pitch dark and we all had head lamps and helmets on as it is on this back slope that there is a danger of flying stones! We made it safely down although our legs were cramping and we just collapsed on our beds in exhaustion! Our lack of exercise over the past 6 months certainly shows at times like this.

Stromboli N 38 48.037 E 15 13.922


Tuesday 25th September

We went down to the port at 9am to catch the hydrofoil back to Sicily but the weather had turned foul and the sea was too rough – no hydrofoils today! Perhaps a ferry at 12.30pm? So we waited – books come in handy at times like this. The ferry arrived and managed to dock but only for a few minutes – it was quite chaotic as they were all stressed and shouting in Italian but we got the message that we had to run on board! Now it was a heaving sea we had to contend with and soon Dave and I were both ‘man down’ on the floor trying to fight off sea sickness. I am glad to say we succeeded and after a couple of hours the sea settled and we were able to enjoy the scenic route, as this ferry took 8 hours to get back to Milazzo, only doing 17kms/hour and stopping at 3 of the other Aeolian Isles.
We arrived back in Milazzo at 8pm, exhausted but elated with ourselves on our accomplishment of seeing an active volcano.



Wednesday 26th September

We made an early start and went to Messina to catch the ferry across to Italy mainland. It was a day of traveling (500kms) but all on amazing highways, once again one tunnel after the other interspersed with bridges and suspended roads around cliff faces. The roads themselves are entertainment for us. We passed fields of olive trees and fruit orchards before moving into more mountainous areas covered with pine plantations. We arrived at Pompei at about 3.30pm and tackled our mountain load of laundry!
Pompei N 40 44.789 E 14 29.057



Thursday 27th September

We spent the morning chatting to other campers and waiting for our laundry to dry. Then we visited the ancient city of Pompeii which was buried under 6 to 7 metres of ash and rock on the 24th August 79AD when the volcano Vesuvius suddenly erupted. Since 1748 excavations have been in progress and are still ongoing with only about ¾‘s of the city having been unearthed so far. Walking through Pompeii was like a journey into the past and you really capture the feeling of life in ancient times. The luxurious homes and the opulent way of life of the ancient people is quite amazing to see and imagine!
We spent a pleasant cocktail hour or two with some fellow American campers in a big campervan, chatting about their and our countries and then we hit the sack.



Friday 28th September

We caught a train to Sorrento, walked to the middle square of Sorrento and then down 130 steps (Dave counted!) to the harbour where we got a jet boat out to the Isle of Capri, one of the most famous islands on earth. Capri has enchanted writers, poets, musicians and painters over the centuries and it is not hard to see why. We caught a bus up the winding narrow road to the town of Capri which is centred around the Piazzetta or town square. No vehicles are allowed in Capri town itself – in fact they wouldn’t fit! The town is really quaint and so beautiful with all the flowering plants and cobbled alleys. We walked to the gardens of Augustus from where we had breathtaking views back down to the sea and the Faraglioni – three famous rock-cliffs protruding from the sea. Unfortunately the Blue Grotto was closed so we were unable to visit it.
By the time we had retraced our steps including the 130 steps up in Sorrento and got back to the campsite it was 4.30pm so it was a full day of activity. We paid another visit to the supermarket as we are leaving Pompeii tomorrow.

Tunisia

Saturday 15th September

We woke up and bade Jeff, Brendan and Han farewell – it will be strange to not have the ‘yellow truck’ with us anymore. They are heading straight for Tunis and we are exploring Tunisia a little bit. We have really enjoyed our time with the Oasis overlanders and their leaders and drivers all seem great as we heard from Ingrid and Will that they also met some Oasis guys in Kenya and they were also lovely people! Their address is www.oasisoverland.com
We traveled NW towards Medenine and then Toujene where we saw ‘ksour’ dwellings – mud and stone houses built around a courtyard used for grain storage. Then on to Matmata to see the ‘troglodyte’ houses that were featured in the opening sequence of the original Star Wars movie – these are 4th century cave dwellings with a storage room above and the living accommodation below.
We then headed W into the interior of Tunisia through flat desert until we reached the oasis area where we drove through 1 000’s of date palm groves. These oasis are scattered all around Chott El Jerid which is a large salt lake – we drove on the edge of Chott El Jerid through a massive salt pan until we reached Tozeur, an oasis town watered by 200 springs, in the north. Here we found a pleasant campsite and have stopped to catch up with laundry etc.
N 33 54.833 E 8 07.464


Sunday 16th September

After visiting the old town district of Tozeur where we saw the buildings with distinctive pale yellow geometric brickwork designs, we headed N towards Tunis. We drove through 100’s of kilometres of olive trees, prickly pears, chillis and fruit orchards – the cultivated land stretched as far as the eye could see. We stopped in Gafsa to draw money at the ATM and that was a unique experience as the only language options were French or Arabic! Luckily it is 6 months down the line with me drawing money at ATM’s and so I know the prompts! Here in Tunisia they speak French and the written word is French but written in Arabic letters – so that is backwards!
Petrol in Tunisia is R6.82 per litre so our money is once more going mainly on petrol. It also explains why we have seen so many petrol vendors on the side of the road selling petrol out of containers – they go to Libya and bring it over the border to sell here in Tunisia.
The last 100kms into Tunis was on a double highway – a luxury we had all but forgotten about. We drove into Tunis at about 5pm and headed straight for a hotel on the GPS and then tried to find something for dinner.
At home, although there are lots of Muslims, we are hardly aware of Ramadan, but here and in Libya, it is a different story. Basically, during the day when everyone is fasting, there is little to no activity and business going on, most shops are closed. If you manage to buy something to eat or drink (especially later in the day when everyone else is very hungry and thirsty), you have to be discreet when drinking it or else you get shouted at! Then at about 5pm there is a frenzy of activity when all the locals go out to buy fresh bread. As the sun sets at around 7pm, everything halts (even border posts close), for the locals to break their fast – literally ‘breakfast’ – they eat dates and milk and then go to mosque. Between 8 and 9pm all the shops, patisseries and restaurants open up and the general festivities begin – men visit the Sheesha Cafes where they smoke and drink tea and lots of people are out and about, shopping, playing soccer in parks, doing business etc. This carries on until midnight or after – we are in bed so are not sure what time but in Tripoli it was after 2am!
Also, since Sudan, we have had Muslim working days, that is, Sunday till Thursday, and then Friday and Saturday are the weekend. It is quite weird to have a Sunday as the first working day of the week.


Monday 17th September

We spent the morning in the city centre of Tunis looking around and booking out ferry ticket to Palermo in Sicily. Then we headed NW to enjoy our last few days in Tunisia. We drove as far as Bizerte and then set up a ‘bush camp’ just off a beach on the outskirts of town. It is amazing how relaxed we have become being in countries where crime is not a major problem. No one bothers you and it seems quite acceptable to just camp out wherever you want to.
N 37 19.894 E 9 50.763



Tuesday 18th September

We carried on our relaxed meandering of the NW corner of Tunisia. The people are all happy and wave at us as we go along our way. We kept to the coastal road and went all the way to Tabarka which is a town right on the Algerian border. This corner of Tunisia is very green with lots of pine forests and cork oak trees. We then turned S to go inland and from a view point, we could actually look into Algeria. We are now camped in a cork oak and pine forest near a picturesque red-roofed village called Ain Draham.
N 36 46.566 E 8 42.072



Wednesday 19th September

We headed back towards Tunis. Tunisia is definitely more Mediterranean than African – the people are olive skinned and live in flat roofed houses, the women wear colourful head scarves and the men wide brimmed straw hats. They are all very friendly and we have really enjoyed our stay. The only problem has been Ramadan! Tunisia is normally very liberal, but because it is Ramadan, there is no alcohol available and all the street cafes are closed during the day. I think the whole atmosphere would be really festive and social if it were not Ramadan.
We parked Garfield and then went to wander around the Medina of Tunis – a colourful labyrinth of narrow alleys and dead ends filled with stalls and shops ranging from perfumes, nut & fruit, jewelry, lingerie, silverware, curios, leather goods etc and of course heaps of sweet patisseries! None of the restaurants were open due to Ramadan, but we still had fun wandering around the souk and taking in all the sights and smells around us.
By evening we were exhausted and headed back to Garfield and drove out to near the hotel we had stayed in the first night in Tunis a few days ago. But this time we had decided to just camp out on the beach front.



Thursday 20th September

This morning we had a complete clean out of Garfield and did laundry and car maintenance. The rest of the day we relaxed on the beach and had our last swim off the top of Africa.
Tonight we bid Africa farewell after a journey of 6 ½ months along the eastern coastal regions and over the top of our fair continent. It was a dream of ours and we feel elated that we have managed to live out our dream. Triumphant and yet sad, that a big goal that we worked towards for 10 years, is now over. It has not always been easy, but for the most part we have really enjoyed our journey. We feel perhaps like a Comrades runner feels on completing the marathon – we had doubts about whether Garfield, and in fact us would manage the long journey - physically, emotionally and politically with visas etc – but we have done it! For Dave and me, it has been a very special 6 months – we have been together 24 / 7 – I don’t think we will ever have such an intense time together again in our lives. Luckily, working together as a team, we have come through it, and at the end of our journey we love each other more than ever before.
Tonight we catch the ferry to Palermo in Sicily, where we continue on the last leg of our journey through Europe and then back home to South Africa and our precious family.

Into Libya

Thursday 6th September

We drove up to Alexandria, a distance of 225kms, along the Desert Highway which was verdant and green most of the way! It’s amazing what water can achieve in a desert. There were fruit orchards, banana plantations, fields of vegetables and acres of olive trees to name but a few. Alexandria is a sprawling city over about 20kms of sea frontage. We headed for the Eastern Harbour and the Union Hotel which had been recommended to us. It was on the Corniche on the 5th floor, and had spectacular views over the harbour. A local man invited us for a juice at a café on the Corniche while we waited for the hotel staff to find us parking for Garfield in the side street next to the hotel. So we spent a pleasant hour chatting to him.
Once we were settled, we made our way to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina which was completed in 2002 at a cost of $355 million, and resembles a giant discus embedded in the ground at an angle like a second sun rising beside the Mediterranean. Pictograms, hieroglyphs and letters from every known alphabet are carved on its exterior to illustrate the diversity of knowledge embodied in this library. It is a new form of the Ancient Library which was founded by Ptolemy I – from ancient times; it was law that all ships docking in Alexandria were obliged to allow any scrolls on board to be copied, if they were of interest. It was a fascinating visit as there were several exhibitions to see and we saw one of two computers in the world, which can print and bind an entire book in 20 minutes!


Friday 7th September

After breakfast, we cleaned out Garfield and then waited for Jeff – he was catching the train up from Cairo. Jeff arrived at 10.30am and we left Alexandria to drive W along the North Beach road towards Libya. We stopped at El Alamein to look at the cemetery and museum. El Alamein means ‘Two Worlds’ and is an apt name for a place where the 2 sides in the Second World War met and fought fierce battles in the North African Campaign. From 1940 to 1943 more than 100 000 lives were claimed but in the 4 month battle at El Alamein alone, some 11 000 were killed and 70 000 wounded! The Allied War Cemetery was a tranquil place planted with trees and flowers in the middle of the desert, and had over 7 000 graves and almost 12 000 names in the memorial cloisters. Further along the road we passed the German and Italian cemeteries but we did not stop at these.
It is not safe to wander off the roads in this Western Desert area as a staggering 17 million landmines from the Second World War are estimated to still be in place.
We continued W along the Beach Road towards Mersa Matrouh which is a major ‘Summer holiday’ town for Egyptians and Libyans – their summer holidays are drawing to an end so there was a mass exodus in progress, and subsequently Brendan had managed to find a beach cottage right on the Mediterranean for us to stay in for 2 days. We met up with Brendan, Lisa, Han and the yellow truck at the cottage in the evening.

N 31 24.499 E 27 01.066


Saturday 8th September

We spent the morning relaxing and swimming in the crystal clear aquamarine and turquoise waters of the Mediterranean. There were actually quite big waves and I really enjoyed it. The sand is almost pure white and is a fine powdery texture, although there is not a shell in sight, just a lot of litter.
At 2pm we drove back into the town, a distance of about 25kms, to chat to our children on skype at an internet café. I am managing my homesickness now although I cannot explain how much I miss my children. I don’t know how I would feel if I was separated from Dave, but being separated from my children feels as if a chunk has been ripped out of me – there is a huge gaping hole inside of me and I think I am only coping now, as I can see the end in sight! We are having a wonderful time and I am still glad that we have done this trip, but I don’t think I ever want to be separated from all my children for such a long time ever again in my life. The thought of me lying in the bath with my kids sitting on the closed toilet, chatting to me for hours on end is one of the motivational thoughts that keep me heading north!


Sunday 9th September

A leisurely walk along the beach started our Sunday morning followed by a swim in the warm waves. The beach was not crowded so luckily I did not feel intimidated in my bikini – the local ladies swim fully clad here, head scarves and all. We then relaxed for the rest of the day and bade Lisa farewell as she was returning to Cairo to fly home to Canada. We left the beach cottage at 3.30pm and headed W towards the Libyan border, reaching Sollum just before sunset. We tried unsuccessfully to camp on the beach as the military kept chasing us, so eventually we ended up sleeping in the road outside the police station – they were very hospitable and gave us the use of a toilet inside. The local children were very intrigued with us and even after we all went to bed they were hanging around – they must have gone to bed at some point as they were all gone in the morning.

Our costs for Egypt were

Garfield customs and landing R1 261
Accommodation R1 305
Petrol R1 201
Sight seeing R1 706
Food R1 754
Drinks R 661
Transport/Taxi R 489
Internet R 79
Purchases R3 471



Monday 10th September

We were at the border before 8am but it took a full hour and a half to exit Egypt. As we crossed the border Zwam, our Libyan guide was waiting to meet us, which was a great relief for me as I had organized it for all 5 of us and I was stressed that there would be a hitch. With Zwam’s help we were through the border in about 1 ½ hours which even included Dave and him going off in a taxi to do the necessary paper work to register Garfield – once again with new number plates. The procedure was similar to Egypt (according to Dave) but just a lot quicker and easier to accomplish. But it still cost about R675 to get Garfield into Libya. The only way that travelers to Libya are granted visas is if it is done through a travel agency here in Libya, and it is mandatory to be accompanied by a Libyan escort all the time.
The countryside in Libya was much the same as Egypt – flat – but with a little more green growth around. Tobruk is a big city and we stopped to visit the Tobruk War Cemetery just 4kms S of Tobruk where there were 2 500 graves, and the Acroma War Cemetery which was 20kms W of Tobruk with 3 500 graves. A lot of the men killed were only boys and I am very glad that I have not had to send my son off to war – what a waste of life it is! The cemeteries are very well laid out and beautifully maintained – if only the human race could learn from these past wars and cease with greediness and fighting.

We traveled till after 8pm – everyone was tired and it was pitch dark! Dave seemed particularly grumpy and it is the wrong time of the month for me and I am one girl amongst 5 men so it is not easy – I had asked Dave to set up the shower as this will be the second night that we would not be able to shower. He was being otherwise and kept saying that we must just sleep in the truck with all the men as it was too windy for our tent – never giving a thought that I need the privacy of my tent to use my potty and to do my necessary ablutions! It was definitely not one of my easiest evenings in Africa.

N 32 36.270 E 23 07.608



Tuesday 11th September

We got going early at 7am and headed W along the coastal road. The roads in Libya are great and we have almost forgotten what potholes look like! The vehicles are really overloaded with the loads being taller than the height of the vehicle itself. There are lots of extremely old vehicles and we have taken a few photos of Peugeot trucks like Dad had years ago and Mazda like CJ’s old car, but these ones are really battered and bent – panel beaters don’t seem to exist in Libya and the cars just ‘nudge’ their way into spaces – Garfield has been bumped a few times by other cars trying to park behind or in front of us, but luckily we have strong bumpers and bull bars! The vehicles do not even look road worthy – sometimes all the back lights are missing! But we no longer see donkeys and bicycles; this is definitely a land of oil and petrol. Petrol is now only 87c a litre for us and in their money it is only 16c!!! It is really strange to watch the litre counter going faster than the money counter on the petrol bowser.
We drove past the Green Mountains alongside the Mediterranean until we reached Apollonia. N 32 54 054 E 21 57 914 Apollonia was a port city during Roman times in the 6th century AD. The Eastern Basilica was the most impressive with huge marble columns and fine mosaics on the floor.
After that we went to Cyrene which is the most important city of Greek origin in North Africa and is thought to have been founded in 631BC. It stands on a hill at 600m altitude with a magnificent view over the Mediterranean. The wealth of Cyrene is thought to have been due mainly to a native plant called silphium which had medicinal properties, in particular as an early form of birth control, and was exported all over the Greek Empire. Sadly it was harvested to extinction. We looked at the northern necropolis where the dead were entombed from the earliest times. There were 1 000’s of tombs cut into the rock and 100’s of carved stone sarcophagi spread across the hillside.
The third site we visited was Qasr Libya N 32 37 818 E 21 23 775 which is a 6th century Byzantine fort and church. In 1957 a floor of 50 stunning mosaic panels were discovered in almost perfect condition and are now housed in a museum. They are a unique collection showing the date the church was built (AD 539-40), Pharos lighthouse in Alexandria, Nile scenes, animals, birds and fish. They were similar to a tapestry – that is best viewed from a distance when their magnificence and detail came to life
Dave and I bought some lamb and couscous and once we found a beach camp for the evening, Zwam helped me to prepare a typical Libyan spicy lamb soup to be served with couscous. We are also eating a lot of local fruit – loads of melons and prickly pears.


Wednesday 12th September

We had a long day of traveling from 8 in the morning right through till 7pm when the sun set, covering a distance of 686kms. We only stopped once in the town of Banghazi to go to the Tunisia Consulate to check that we would be able to get our Tunisian visas at the border – luckily this info I had was correct and we can get them at the border.
Libya was granted independence from Italy in 1951 under King Idris but it was a poor country until oil was discovered in 1959. In September 1969 there was a coup in Banghazi and the charismatic 27 year old Gaddafi became the leader. He was deeply religious and wanted to establish a true Arab nation with Islam as the state religion so one of the things he did was ban alcohol. In 1976 Gaddafi shared his vision of equality of all people by publishing his ‘Green Book’. Because he supported radical armed groups around the world and Libya was implicated in the PanAm Lockerbie bombing in 1988, sanctions were imposed by the UN in 1992 and only lifted in 2003. This long period of isolation gave Gaddafi the opportunity to rethink the direction of Libya, and recently private enterprise has replaced state socialism with a new emphasis on Libya becoming the leading state in Africa. Libya has just celebrated National Day on the 1st Sept and everywhere we go there are green flags flying and billboards advertising the 38 years under Gaddafi’s dictatorship.
One of the largest civil engineering projects in the world today was started here in 1984, when water trapped deep under the Sahara (undisturbed for 15 000 years) was pumped up and piped thousands of kilometres to the N where it is most needed. The total amount of water in this reservoir under the Sahara is estimated to equal the discharge of the Nile for 200 years; however there are still some who criticize this project.
We once again just camped out on the beach and the first thing we all did after the long drive, was to dive into the refreshing waves. Then after a fresh water shower we sat and chatted while Zwam made us a Libyan spaghetti dish with camel meat in it! The meal was very tasty despite our initial reservations.



Thursday 13th September

We left at 7.15am and traveled till lunch time when we had to stop at a customs office to get our passports stamped, similar to the ‘registration’ in Sudan.
We then visited the Roman city of Leptis Magna N 32 38.102 E 14 17.204 Only about a third of this ancient city has been uncovered but what has been, is absolutely magnificent and our visit was a highlight in Libya – especially as it was so uncrowded. Phoenician traders from the eastern Mediterranean first developed Leptis Magna in the 6th century BC as a coastal trading post. It had fertile soil and the city increased in importance through grain and olive production and also because of the expanding trans-Saharan desert trade. During the 2nd century AD the city reached its peak of prosperity when the Libyan Septimius Severus became emperor and the city was home to 80 000 people. The first thing we saw was the recently restored Triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus – it is massive with carved marble panels. Then we walked down the 20m wide streets towards the Hadrianic Baths which was a vast complex of linked bathing rooms – the natatio (cool swimming pool), frigidarium (cold chamber), tepidarium (warm chamber), caldarium (hot bath) and finally the laconia (sweat room). After that we went into the Severan Forum which is an open courtyard (100 x 60m) edged with arches and columns topped with charismatic Medusa heads – this was apparently the social centre of the city. We also saw the market, the 8 000 seat theatre and the 16 000 seat Amphitheatre which stands majestically overlooking the sea and was the site of mighty gladiatorial contests to the death between man and beast! These Romans certainly had everything they needed and also enjoyed life. The devastating earthquake in AD365 started the decline of Roman power and in the 5th century the Byzantines were attacked by local tribes so that when the Arabs arrived in 643 the city was already in ruins.
We left Leptis Magna at 5pm and made our way to Tripoli, the capital of Libya. What a lovely city – clean, well lit and friendly. The litter in Libya is a real problem and it seems that they do not have an effective system of garbage disposal in place – the towns are clean but it seems that all the collected litter is then just scattered out all over the countryside and beaches! We have been absolutely shocked to see litter lying everywhere and Libya is definitely the dirtiest country in Africa, although their toilets are spotless and they are clean and tidy in their daily living.
Libya is not set up for tourists at all and we have ‘bush camped’ each night – even here in Tripoli, Zwam took us to the park on the beachfront and said that we could just camp out! So here we are camped in a parking lot with 100’s of locals all around, playing soccer, walking and just generally enjoying the evening out. It is Ramadan now so all the people are fasting and basically resting in the day, and then they come out at night.
We went out to dinner and then walked around the souk stopping for a cappuccino and the boys smoked a sheesha. Before we knew it, it was midnight and we headed for bed.


Friday 14th September

Being a Friday and Ramadan there was basically nothing open or happening in Tripoli. Luckily, there was a Friday market (much like our Sunday markets) that we all went to. Tripoli is a beautiful city – well laid out and with a lovely beach front area.
We left at lunch time for the border to Tunisia, stopping on the way to see Sabratha, another ancient city dating back from Phoenician times. N 32 48.181 E 12 29.105 A lot of the city has not been restored and is still just ruins, but the theatre was restored by Italian archeologists in the 1930’s and has a towering 3 storey stage wall with 108 columns and gives the theatre a real presence.
We reached the border at 6.30pm and had left Libya and Zwam within the hour, but then it took another 2 hours to get the visas to enter Tunisia. So by 9.30pm – which is actually 8.30pm here in Tunisia – we were heading the 32kms towards the first town and a hotel with a shower!

Our costs in Libya were

Libyan visas R 557
Libyan guide R1 331
Garfield border fees R 675
Petrol R 328
Vehicle repairs R 55
Sight seeing R 219
Food R 342
Purchases R 71

Egypt 2nd week

Thursday 30th August

Dave and I woke up early and walked to visit the Temple complex of Karnak which was built over a period of 1 300 years and covers over 100 acres which is big enough to house 10 great Cathedrals! At the height of it’s supremacy Karnak’s wealth was staggering and a list of it’s assets during the reign of RamsesIII included 65 villages, 421 662 cattle, 83 ships and 81 322 workers and slaves to mention just a few of the assets! Ordinary folk were barred from entering Karnak and only priests, the pharaoh and his representatives were allowed entry. We only looked at the beginning part of the Precinct of Amun which is the grandest of 3 separate temple enclosures within Karnak, as it was hot and we are a bit ‘templed out’ as the overlanders say. However, you can’t help but marvel at the magnitude of these ancient monuments and we feel very privileged to be able to see these wonders for ourselves.
We then walked back through the back streets of Luxor towards our camp and were amused to see sheep and chickens right there in the city streets.

Luxor N 25 42.682 E 32 38.920

The overlanders were busy doing a major truck clean, so we joined them and cleaned out Garfield, even washing down our awning and tent. Then we all left at 1.30pm to join the convoy to Hurghada on the Red Sea. There were about 30 tourist vehicles in the convoy and it took us about 4 hours to reach Hurghada. As soon as we turned E and left the Nile, we were reminded that Egypt is actually not a green paradise, but rather a huge land of desert! Just inland from Hurghada, the barren desert plains erupted into the Red Sea Mountains which were stark and dramatic against the blue, blue sky. These are the highest mountains in Egypt, bar the ones in Sinai.
Hurghada itself stretches over about 20kms along the beach front which is just wall-to-wall hotels – a lot still under construction. We arrived at our hotel at 7pm and after booking in and making arrangements for tomorrow, we all went out to dinner. Jeff, has been a real help to us and has basically ‘adopted’ Dave and I – he books us in at their preferential rates and so we are only paying R25 each for bed & breakfast at a very decent hotel.

Johan has been the only ‘bad’ part of my day today as he notified me that he won’t be making it through Libya and so I have had to contact the agent and cancel his applications! And that is, after he asked me to add 2 extra people (passengers he had planned on picking up), only a few days ago. So I feel a real idiot and can’t imagine what the Libyan agent is thinking. The problem Johan has, is that he never had a carnet and now is unable to orgainise one, so Toyota (who sponsored his vehicle) have instructed him to make a U-turn and return to South Africa. Anybody planning to drive to Egypt must have a carnet for their vehicle and the carnet needs to be in the drivers name and not for example a company’s name.

Hurghada N 27 15.564 E 33 49.142



Friday 31st August


After breakfast all 10 of us went on a day snorkeling trip out to Giftun Island. I had vowed not to go on a sea cruise again, after my terrible sea-sickness in Shimoni Kenya, however the Red Sea looked so calm that I decided to chance it. The day was really enjoyable and the sea colours and clarity were amazing. We stopped at 2 different reefs to snorkel and we snorkeled off of Giftun Island itself. There was good coral on the one reef and at all the sites we saw plenty of colourful parrotfish, clownfish, etc. They served us a very tasty lunch of fish, rice and vegetable ratatouille, so all in all it was a very relaxing day and we all returned with better tans. Jeff is trying to compete with Dave – with no success! The tourist trade is certainly flourishing here in Egypt and we counted 50+ boats in the Red Sea on similar trips to ours, and our boat had between 30 and 40 people aboard.
We got back at 4pm and then our work began, as we had promised to cook for the crowd! We went and bought some beef – the butcher just hacks off a chunk from the carcass, selling from the top down, so we got meat from near the bottom of the carcass as it was near the end of the day! We cooked them a good ‘Durban’ curry with rice, a veggie casserole, sliced bananas and papadams. They were all very impressed and a pleasant evening was enjoyed by all, with some of them smoking the sheesha after dinner.

Things are quite cheap in Egypt, although nothing is marked with a price and they always try to ‘add it on’ for tourists. Teachers only earn LE 250 a month which is about R330! And one of our guides told us that her husband, after 35 years in the government was only earning LE 750 so the people are relatively poor.
We have suddenly become aware that the people are no longer ‘black’ but have lighter complexions. This change seems to happen around the Sudanese border with the Nubians being the last of the darker complexions.


Saturday 1st September

We had a leisurely start as the convoy for Suez only left at 11am. We had been told that the ‘tourist convoy system’ peters out N of Hurghada and sure enough, I don’t even think we would have been made to wait until 11, as we got to the check point at 10.30am and were just waved through with no register etc being written down. The overlanders are staying in Hurghada till Monday and we will meet them again in Cairo on Wednesday. We traveled N through flat desert with the Gulf of Suez on our right – at times it was lapping (no waves as such) within 10 metres of the road. There were fields of wind turbines along the way and the temperature was around 35 degrees which is manageable. Along the way there was loads of construction – 100’s of hotels and holiday apartment blocks – one wonders who is going to occupy all of them?
Since we left home we have now done a total of 25 800 kms.
We reached Suez Port at about 3pm and saw all the ships waiting to enter the Canal. Twelve kms further N we went through the Almed Handi Tunnel (for a toll fee of R3) under the Suez Canal and then we were in Sinai and traveling South! We traveled for a while and then stopped and set up camp on the beach, overlooking the Gulf of Suez and back towards Egypt. Soon we were seated with our sun-downers and there in front of us were a whole lot of dolphins! They say it is good luck to see dolphins in the Red Sea so we were very pleased. The sunset was beautiful over the sea with just Garfield, Dave and I all alone on the beach.

N 29 17.297 E 32 52.191



Sunday 2nd September

We didn’t have the best nights sleep as it was very windy and the tent flapped a lot. Anyway, we were on the road by 7am and carried on down the coast for a while before turning to travel E across Sinai. Inland there were stark, ragged mountains and it was quite beautiful. We stopped for breakfast at about 10am and within minutes 2 Bedouin men had joined us – we offered them tea and bread and then they took their leave. The Bedouin are the local people who live in the Sinai. We continued and reached Dahab on the Gulf of Aqaba at about noon. What a beautiful town – colourful streets lined with bougainvilleas and palms led down to the sea front, where on crystal clear turquoise water, there were 100’s of windsurfers, all at different levels of expertise. And all this is set against a backdrop of jagged, golden mountains. There are hotels with palm lined frontage on the water’s edge, but we can only take photographs of these – we have to then hike down the road until we find more affordable accommodation – like backpackers!! We actually found a very nice place also on the beachfront with a helpful manager and he pointed us to the first dive site, before we set up camp at Alaska Camp.

The site is called The Canyon Coral Garden and is honestly the most amazing snorkeling that Dave and I have ever done. The coral was spectacular and the fish amazing – we were both enthralled. We thought of Andrew & Dee and how much they would enjoy being here. Of course, I wished we could share this beauty with our kids, and I truly hope that they will all get here one day to see such underwater beauty. The coral ranges from bright iridescent green to pinks, purples, blues and then the more subtle creams and pale yellows. It comes in all shapes and sizes – big succulent looking ‘carpets’ that cover whole rocks, clam-like shaped ones, little upright bonsai type corals and then huge delicate lacey ones, to name but a few. The fish are a rainbow of colours and sizes – bright yellow anemone fish, blue and yellow angelfish, ornate brown and cream lion fish, turquoise and pink parrotfish and so on.
After we had set up camp, we took a stroll along the beach walkway which is paved and lined with cafes and restaurants. Right in the hub of things there is another dive site called Lighthouse. We thought it would be completely destroyed with all the 100’s of people diving and snorkeling, but we were wrong – it too was wonderful with sheer 20 metre drop offs, covered in every type of coral you can imagine with 1 000’s of fish. Dave and I are completely blown away with this snorkeling and can’t wait for tomorrow.
Back at our backpackers we have met several other travelers, a South African from Hilton, Pietermaritzburg and even a young Russian couple, who have invited us to contact them in Russia!
We made dinner at the campsite and then took a stroll along the beach walkway which had come alive at night! After a long walk we stopped at one restaurant and had ice-cream for dessert.

N 28 29.830 E 34 30.960


Monday 3rd September

We woke up and after early morning coffee, packed up as we were going to drive to ‘the Blue Hole’ to snorkel. This is a 80m deep hole in the reef and the sheer sides are covered in coral and of course fish. As Dave says, if you took every type of coral you could imagine, and then added 1000’s of tropical fish of every colour and shape and size; you could not create a wonder as good as we are seeing! The Red Sea basin was created by the same tectonic stresses that formed the Rift Valley and the Dead Sea. It is cut off from the Indian Ocean by an underwater ‘sill’ where it is only 100m deep. The Gulf of Aqaba is cut off from the Red Sea by the 200m deep Tiran Strait. Neither the Red Sea nor the Gulf of Aqaba are fed by rivers and the rate of evaporation exceeds the rainfall, so they are exceptionally warm and salty which makes them the ideal environment for tropical fish and coral reefs, the warmth in particular is responsible for the brilliance of colours of the coral.
We then drove back a bit to snorkel the Canyon again and then came back to camp for breakfast. After breakfast we went to snorkel Eel Garden. We really just can’t get enough – even Dave is loving it, as the water is warm and the sights so amazing – a kaleidoscope of colours and shapes. Eel Garden was as wonderful as the other sites but on the sandy sea bed there were 100’s of snake-like eels all waving in the water. All these sites are right on the shore and you just wade in ankle deep, before snorkeling over the coral reefs.

We relaxed at camp over lunch time and then went for another snorkel at Lighthouse just before sunset!


Tuesday 4th September

We woke up and went for one last snorkel before heading back into the interior of Sinai to visit Saint Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai. This is where Moses heard the Lord speaking from a burning bush and where Moses received the Ten Commandments. The St Catherine’s Church within the monastery was very ornate with lavish chandeliers and a superb mosaic depicting Jesus on the cross. Outside we saw a thorny evergreen bush which is said to be a transplanted descendant of the Burning Bush. All attempts to grow cuttings from this bush in other locations, have apparently failed. The monastery’s Bell Tower was impressive against the blue sky and the backdrop of Mount Sinai.
Mount Sinai is also venerated in the Islamic faith and the prophet Mohammed is said to have visited the monastery in 625AD and in the 11th century a mosque was added to the monastery. This Christian outpost has thus always been protected in an otherwise Muslim country throughout the ages.
There was a very well laid out and informative Visitor’s Centre which we spent a while at and then we were back on the road. We made quite good time and decided to push through to Cairo. We reached Cairo just as the sun was setting at 7pm and then started negotiating the traffic! Even if I say so myself – we did really well! Dave drove like an absolute star in the chaotic traffic and I managed to navigate and keep us on the right road – what a team! We went over the Nile to the West Bank of Cairo and a bit S towards Giza, where we knew there was a campsite. It took us 2 hours but we didn’t have to make one U-turn so we were pretty chuffed with ourselves!


Wednesday 5th September

We got going early and traveled 20kms S to see the pyramids at Dashur. There were 2 Old Kingdom pyramids we wanted to see – the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid. These were both built by Snofru (2613-2588BC) who was the father of Cheops who built the Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza. The Red Pyramid is the second biggest pyramid and is open to the public. There were only a few tourists at this site and in fact Dave and I were alone in the burial chambers, which added to the eerie feeling down there in the middle of such a gigantic stone structure! You have to bend in half to creep down the tunnel right into the middle and it is really hot, so by the time we came out we were sweating profusely. We then visited the Bent Pyramid, a km away, where Snofru was buried. This pyramid is very well preserved and has most of its limestone cladding still intact, so you get a feel of how the pyramids used to look – all smooth and white. This pyramid is peculiar as it is steeper for ¾’s of its height and then tapers off to a gentler slope, thus giving its sides a ‘bent’ appearance.
Dashur Pyramids N 29 48.331 E 31 12.289
We then drove back up into Cairo to meet the overlanders at the Havana Hotel.

Egypt

Thursday 23rd August

Well, we had a cool night and slept fairly well in our air conditioned cabins. The breakfast was not too great – a bowl of sloppy beans which is called ‘ful’ but we had some biscuits with us so we ate those instead. We came into the harbour at 11am and were delighted thinking that we would be in Aswan in a short while. Well, if we thought it had been a long procedure to board, then, this was even more drawn out and completely chaotic! We spent the next 4 hours pushing between the 500 passengers to get our passports stamped by the officials in the dining room, waiting in our cabins, and then finally, all squashed into the stairwell, while they called passengers out name by name to disembark!! You can imagine the chaos with every Mohammed, Abdulla etc squeezing from the back, complete with cardboard boxes, suitcases etc. Finally, at 3pm we were off the boat and through the customs – except for the drivers of the vehicles – they were held up another 2 hours trying to clear the vehicles through customs. The overlanders had a big problem as their carnet was in the company’s name and not the driver’s personal name, and Johan had a problem as he never had a carnet – both have had to sort this out. However, customs is just one part of the procedures, the next is the traffic police who have to give the vehicles Arabic number plates and check the vehicles engine number, and there was no time yesterday for that, and tomorrow is Friday(everything is closed) so Garfield has to stay at the harbour until Saturday at least!
In between all this, I received disturbing sms’s to say that my mother had been admitted to ICU as she had a cardiac block! She was raced into theatre at St Anne’s where they fitted a pace maker – luckily all went well and she should be out of hospital on Saturday. I certainly felt helpless right up here in Egypt!
We booked into the hotel in Aswan with the overlanders and we were all like kids at Christmas because we had showers with water coming out the shower rose and shower curtains, toilets with seats and double beds with air con!!

Our costs in Sudan were

Visas R 854
Registration R1 099
Taxis R 377
Cooldrinks R 319
Groceries R1 074
Internet R 40
Accomodation R 401
Sight seeing R 14
Petrol R1 435
Departure tax for us R 280
Departure tax Garfield R 350

Dave & my ferry tickets to Aswan were R 980 and Garfield’s Barge ticket was R3 237.
We are in our element here in Egypt as petrol is R1.71 a litre!!!! Cheaper than bottled water which is R2.20 a litre!
The average price we have paid for petrol in each country is as follows
Botswana R5.56
Zambia R11.71
Malawi R8.50
Tanzania R7.13
Kenya R8.63
Uganda R9.47
Rwanda R8.02
Ethiopia R6.29
Sudan R5.48



Friday 24th August

We woke up at 3am!! Yes you are reading correctly – we were going on a bus back down to Abu Simbel (275kms) and all the vehicles go in convoy. About 50 buses and mini buses all travel down together. We arrived at 7am and had 1 ½ hours to marvel at the enormity of this monument that Ramses II had carved out of the mountain side – and then the magnitude of the task of moving this gigantic rock structure with scientific precision so that it would not be drowned. Then it was the 3 hour journey back to Aswan. We arrived in time for lunch at the hotel and after that we had an afternoon nap – it is so hot anyway and all the shops close from about midday until 5pm.
At 6pm we went to the Nubian Museum which was really well laid out and gave a very good perspective of the Nubian history & culture, as well as an overview of the whole Nile valley with all the temples along it’s banks and the flooding of it when the Aswan High Dam was built in the 1960’s. UNESCO actually rescued 22 temples from the rising waters and relocated them – 4 were given to countries that helped with the mammoth project and we met a lady from USA who said she had seen the one temple in a museum in New York!
We came back to our room, watched a movie and then went out to buy some ‘street food’ at about 9pm. Aswan is so ‘1st world’ compared to Sudan, but I must say nobody can compete with the Sudanese on friendliness and hospitality – they are the best we have come across.
Aswan has the lovliest setting right on the Nile River with the Corniche(riverfront promenade) running just in front of our hotel.


Saturday 25th August

Dave, Harry and Harun have gone back to the port with Mohammed (our local agent that we have via Jeff and the overlanders) to try and sort out number plates etc with the traffic police. Johan and Jeff cannot proceed with this step until their carnets are sorted out.
I just spent the morning catching up on the computer work – blog and photos. Then I went up to the rooftop pool and relaxed with the overlanders, 44 degrees is certainly more manageable when you have air conditioning and a swimming pool at your disposal!
Dave finally came back at 3pm with a folder full of documents in Arabic! The Egyptians are bureaucrats at their best – Dave says there are several ‘windows’ you have to go to with no signage at all and absolutely no queuing system in place at the licensing department in Aswan town. They then had to go to the testing grounds, also in town, to collect an officer to take to the port 25kms away to check the vehicles engine and chassis numbers – this process took 4 hours (3 waiting for the officer to be found)! Then it was back to the traffic department back in Aswan to get documents signed and by then the working day was over. So tomorrow he will have to continue with vehicle insurance and number plates and payment of levies due. Dave says this would have all been completely impossible to achieve without Mohammed.
We relaxed until 6.30pm when we set off with Haan in a taxi and then a boat to Philae to see the sound and light show at 8pm. The main temple, the Temple of Isis was constructed over some 800 years by Ptolemaic and Roman rulers from 200BC till 600AD. After the construction of the first Aswan Dam which started in 1898, rising waters lapped and surged about the temple, submerging it for 6 months a year. With the building of the new High Dam in the 1960’s, the temple would have been drowned forever. So UNESCO relocated it and the rest of the Philae temples to Aglika Island from 1972 till 1980. Of all the cults in ancient Egypt, the worship of the goddess of Isis was one of the strongest and Isis-worship eventually spread throughout the Roman Empire. The nurturing, forgiving, loving Isis was Christianity’s chief rival between the 3rd and 5th centuries. Early Coptic art identifies Virgin Mary with Isis and Jesus with Horus(the son of Isis) - perhaps Christianity’s attempt to wean people away from Isis?
The light and sound show was really spectacular and the lights especially, seemed to bring the rock engravings to life!
At 9pm, when the show was over we went to the bazaar, where we had roast chicken for dinner and then we wandered around amongst all the colourful clothing, spice and jewelry stores. On our return to near our hotel, we paid a visit to a shopkeeper whom we had promised to visit yesterday. Well, we entered his very small shop, only to be led up and into an ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ filled with everything you can imagine. Before we knew it, it was after midnight and we had bought more than we intended!! So we bade him goodnight and hit the sack.


Sunday 26th August

Dave set off at 9am to try and finally retrieve Garfield. He got back at 2pm – exhausted and irritated but finally triumphant! Garfield is now parked in the street with an Egyptian number plate – apparently ‘20’! The temperature in Garfield had gone up to 55 degrees being all closed up, and our batteries had gone flat over the week, so the fridge had stopped working and the meat was rotten! Luckily we only had 4 or so packets, but still it was a stinky mess to sort out. Dave had thrown the meat out yesterday, but we still had to clean out the fridge.
We then went to the internet to ‘skype’ CJ and Daryl – unfortunately Rayanne could not get internet access so we missed her in our conference call. Then it was dinner before going off to the Tourist Police to sign up for the convoy to Luxor in the morning. We had to pay LE20 (about R25) each and I had to be ‘mauled’ by some official who put his arms around me to shake Dave’s hand and kissed my cheek in the process! These Egyptian men are something else and a few of the overlander girls have been propositioned with offers of ‘hour long sex as their British boyfriends can only manage 10 minutes!’ Luke, one of the British boyfriends, was not amused!
Driving at night is a little scarey as most vehicles do not use their headlights, so there are just ‘shadows’ coming towards you out of the dark – occasionally the driver will give you a flash of lights just to let you know he is coming!



Monday 27th August

We left at 7am to meet the convoy – all tourists in private vehicles or taxis or buses have to travel in convoy with a police escort. We traveled N to Kom Ombo where we stopped to look at the Temple of Haroeris and Sobek – this one is quite ruined so we didn’t pay to go in but just looked from the outside. Then about another 70kms N at the town of Edfu, the convoy stopped again for an hour for us to go into the Temple of Horus. This was very impressive and we enjoyed our visit although it was extremely hot.
The road continued N with the road, rail and river snaking together through the desert. The Egyptians certainly utilize the Nile water and there are cultivated fields all the way along – unlike the Sudanese who don’t seem to realize the potential of the ‘life blood’ that is flowing through their country.
We reached Luxor at 2pm and found Rezeiky Camp (www.luxorcamp.com) where the overlanders are going to meet up with us later – they have to catch a bus up as their truck is still at the port awaiting clearance! We are camping here but we do have the luxury of a lovely swimming pool.


Tuesday 28th August

We woke up at 7am and after a cup of coffee set off for a walk along the Corniche towards Luxor Temple. Most of Luxor Temple was built by 2 rulers, Amenophis III(1417-1379BC) and Ramses II(1304-1237BC). It was Ramses II that added the pylon and the pair of obelisks at the entrance. The temples along the Nile were generally built by successive kings and dynasties, some of whom added major sections and others merely decorated a wall. Each temple was envisaged as a progression from this world into the realm of divine mysteries and so halls get darker and doors lower and narrower as you approach the inner sanctuary. Generally, the inner sanctuary is the oldest section and the pylons are the newest. The temples were enclosed by lofty mud-brick walls and commoners were seldom allowed entry. The remains that we see are huge and very impressive and as we gain a better understanding of them, we enjoy them more and more.
After our visit, we then got a horse and carriage, Agmud the driver with his horse Cindarella. Agmud was a real gem and we had a good laugh as he took us into the labyrinth of alleyways that make up the souk.- at times people and produce had to be moved out the way to just fit our carriage through! Agmud bought us vegetables and fruit as well as sugar, matches etc and we even braved buying some beef! It was a very relaxing way to shop – the 2 of us reclined in the carriage with Agmud jumping up and down to do all the bargaining.
Then we came back to the camp site and just relaxed during the heat of the day – mainly in the swimming pool. Dave spends ages in the pool – can you believe it kids? Dad lolling in cold water! But it is just so hot that he says the cold water is wonderful.


Wednesday 29th August

We left at 7am with the overlanders in a minibus to visit the Valley of the Kings. The Valley of the Kings is on the west bank of the Nile as the sun sets in the west so the west bank signifies the end of life. First we stopped at the Colossi of Memnon which is a pair of 18m high statues originally from the front of the Temple of Amenophis III which later pharaohs plundered and destroyed. Then we went to Deir el-Bahri –Arabic name for the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut – Hatshepsut was the only woman to reign over Egypt as a pharaoh(1503 – 1482 BC) that is for a period of nearly 22 years. Unfortunately her successor, Tuthmosis, defaced most of her images – she was portrayed as a male wearing a pharaoh’s kilt and sporting a beard!
Then we went around the bone-dry Theban Hills to the Valley of the Kings where we went into 3 of the 63 tombs so far un earthed – they descend at an angle into the ground, as the ancient Egyptians believed that the after life was in the middle of the Earth and not in Heaven as we believe. These tombs were secretive and most of the labourers only worked for 6 months at time to try and keep the secret safe. Sadly, they failed the test and the tombs were robbed mainly by past labourers. However, the dramatic shafts leading down into the ground and the carvings and decorations have remained for us to see and are truly amazing.
We did not go to see the Valley of the Queens, but instead went to Deir el-Medina, the Workers Village where the masons, sculptors and painters lived who created the royal tombs. In their time off, the chief labourers, who stayed for longer than 6 months, actually carved out their own tombs and built pyramids over these tombs. These tombs were so vividly painted that it looked like the paintings had been done a few months ago, not 3 000+ years ago!
We relaxed and swam in the afternoon and then had dinner with Jeff and the others at their truck. Jeff had gone into the markets and bought an assortment of local food and sauces plus some grilled chicken, so we had a real banquet. After dinner we all took a walk into town to the souk where we had fun bartering with the vendors. We bought an electric fan to hang up in our rooftop tent and we really slept well with our ‘air conditioning!’

Into Sudan we go

Wednesday 8th August

We left at 7.30am and were back in Gonder by 10am where we met up with the overlanders again at Terara Hotel where we are all camping tonight. We made ourselves bacon and egg rolls as we had not eaten yet and then we set off for a walk to town. We saw the Fasil Ghebbi( Royal Enclosure) which is surrounded by high stone walls and contains six castles. These castles date back to around 1640 when Gonder was the capital city of Ethiopia for about 250 years, while it is now the 4th largest city in Ethiopia. We walked through the town, going to the internet and then having a fresh juice – Ethiopia is famous for these and we had a mix which was layers of mango, pawpaw and avocado juice – attractive to look at in the glass and delicious! We then bought a few groceries before heading back to our camp at the hotel. I worked on the figures for Ethiopia, while Dave pottered around with Garfield – fixing a small leak in our shower water tank and can you believe it??? Sourcing and fixing a leak around our radiator cap!!! It seems we are to be dogged by radiator problems!


Thursday 9th August

We left at 6.30am after a cup of coffee as we knew we had a long day ahead of us. In Ethiopia we had 200kms to do until the Sudanese border and of course it was up and down dale. Unfortunately, it was misty and rainy, so we missed most of the last beautiful scenery of Ethiopia. It took us 4 hours to get to the border and Garfield was once again covered in mud! The Ethiopian official was really slow and our exit took a little while but then we drove across to Sudan. It is always exciting to move on to another country. The Sudanese officials were really friendly and chatted to us non stop – the one really wanted to keep the photo of my children but I said it was the only one we had!
We had read in the travel guide that there was 150kms of bad dirt road to cover before we got to tar. What a pleasant surprise awaited us – beautiful tar roads right from the border! And of course, our outgoing text messaging on our cellphone was working once again – I am SO delighted. Sudan, itself was a total surprise – flat and green as far as the eye could see! Admittedly, it is their rainy season, and it did get drier as we went further N. The villages were neat with groups of 3-6 huts enclosed by reed/grass fences. There were open spaces where we didn’t see people!!! In Ethiopia, we couldn’t travel 100m without seeing paedestrians and huts. Also, all the screaming children had disappeared! Really, Ethiopia is one of the most picturesque countries in Africa, but there were just SO many people and they were so in ‘your face.’ Ethiopia has a population of 70+ million and Sudan(the biggest country in Africa) has 38 million, and we could immediately see the difference. The temperature was hotting up – we were now about 600m altitude and 30 degrees! In Ethiopia we had nearly always been over 2 000m altitude and between 15 and 20 degrees. The two countries are quite different.
We were making 100km an hour and it felt like we were sailing along! We had only hoped to get a little way into Sudan, but the going was so good, that we decided to push through to Khartoum – not one of our best decisions – as the last 150kms, the traffic congestion became unbearable and our average speed went down to about 40km/hour! The sun began to set and half the vehicles had no lights, the road itself had no ‘cats eyes’ and no road markings at all. There were huge trucks that we had to try and overtake and because Dave is on the right he can’t see and I have to try and look for him, so it is very stressful! By 8.30pm we were on the outskirts of Khartoum, the traffic was chaotic, there were no street lights and no street names! Luckily, the Nile River is a good landmark and we actually found the Blue Nile Yatch Club fairly easily, only having to do one U-turn! But, it was 9.30pm – we had been on the road 15 hours and were both exhausted. We really should not have pushed through in one day, but you are always wise in hindsight! As we drove in to the camp ground, we spotted Johan & Betsy, fellow SA travelers that we had met in Bahir Dar and who are also coming on the ferry to Egypt with the overlanders. After a quick supper we were not long out of bed!


Friday 10th August

Well, it is hot! We are only 400m altitude and the temperature is 36 degrees! We had a day of spring cleaning – Garfield was washed, the laundry was done including our tracksuits, jackets and sheets! Then we just relaxed as we couldn’t do anything else – this is Muslim country for real and Friday is the holy day – nothing opens, not even the internet cafes! Anyway, we have really caught up and I have even done the mending.

In the afternoon, the 4 of us caught a taxi to the Hilton Hotel, in the hope of finding an ATM. No such luck! However, it was a pleasant outing. Alcohol is completely illegal here in Sudan, so Dave had a ‘non alcoholic’ Becks – he said it tasted good and it was ice cold. And so it should have been, as it cost R45!!! Hilton prices are definitely out of our league.

Our costs for Ethiopia were:

Visas R 420
Vehicle repairs R12 314
Accommodation R 1 730
Eating out R 1 469
Groceries R 177
Drinks R 249
Internet R 156
Sight seeing R 1 550
Taxi R 116
Tips R 31
Firewood R 19
Purchases R 658
Headphones & Cell charger R 189
Laundry R 42
Umbrella R 40
Bank charges R 80
Petrol R 6 652


Saturday 11th August

Today is apparently a public holiday – our timing is really bad! We are totally confused about the money, as, as yet, we have been unable to find an ATM to draw and the banks are all closed, to do an official money change. The guide book informed us that the Sudanese pound was the old currency, and that the new currency is the Dinar. However, everyone is using pounds! We have now discovered that this is the ‘new’ pound which was only introduced one month ago when the dinar was abolished! We think 1 Sudanese pound is about R3.50 but we are not 100% certain.
Most people do not speak English, but now we have managed to work around that one. When we find someone who speaks English, we get him to write (in Arabic) where we want to go – it looks like complete gibberish to us! But we glibly show this to the taxi driver and hey presto, we get to where we want to go!
This morning we went to a hotel, the Meridian, that has internet, and we managed to catch up with correspondence. Our Libyan visas are on track and a Libyan guide is meeting us at the Egypt/Libya border on the 10th Sept – I had set this in motion from SA in February but we just had to finalize the exact date. Johan and Betsy are going to join in with us, so we will travel together through Sudan, Egypt and Libya, and then they continue round and down the west coast of Africa, while we go over to Italy.
Afterwards, we went to see the confluence of the Nile. From the south, the White Nile comes, wide and lazy from Lake Victoria in Jinga Uganda. And from the east, the Blue Nile comes, a torrent flow of muddy water from Lake Tana in Ethiopia. The two streams meet and the 2 distinct colour waters merge to form the mighty Nile that flows through Egypt.
We are now back at the campsite and I think I am going to colour my hair! I have had enough of being grey! Tomorrow everything will hopefully be open, as Sunday is a full trading day, and we can get the rest of our shopping, archaeological permits and ferry tickets bought, as we hope to travel N into the desert on Monday.


Sunday 12th August

The 4 of us set off at 9am with Abdulla, our taxi man, for the bank. There are no ATM’s that can take international visa cards but the bank manager can phone for authorization, charge you R175 admin and then you can draw cash! We did that and we now know for certain that 1 Sudanese pound is equivalent to R3.69. Today is a fully operational business day and in fact it is the first day of the new school year here in Sudan, so all the children are back at school! The traffic in Khartoum is absolutely crazy with virtually no traffic lights, just 3 or 4 traffic police at each intersection! We certainly would have battled to drive around as there are no English signs or street names and a lot of streets are one way or else completely blocked with traffic- Abdulla then shoots down a side street. With 5 of us in an ancient Toyota corolla, we were really hot, and it took the entire day to drive around to a supermarket after the bank and then looking for the office to buy the archeological permits. After 3 attempts at finding this office, we gave up. If they are needed to see the pyramids it will just be tough luck as nobody seems to know where to get them in Khartoum. Eventually, we got back to camp at 6pm – totally exhausted!
At about 8pm, Harry, another traveler we have met on the road, pulled in. He is an Irishman who has been living in JHB for quite a few years and is now traveling with his son up to Ireland to join his wife and daughters. We introduced him to Jeff in Bahir Dar and he is also joining the overlanders on the ferry, so we are now quite a group.


Monday 13th August

Harry, Dave and I went back to the Meridian to check on email and then at about 11am, Johan and us left to travel N. Abdulla led us out of Khartoum, helping us to negotiate the hectic traffic! Once on the outskirts, we stopped to fill up petrol and bade Abdulla farewell.
We were now traveling through real desert – the temperature was 42 degrees and we were sweltering! About 30kms N of a town Shendi, on the righ hand side of the road, we stopped to see the pyramids of the Royal Cemetery of Meroe. These pyramids date from 800BC until the fall of Kushite rule in 400AD and were the burial sites of kings and queens. These pyramids are smaller but steeper in pitch than the Egyptian pyramids at Giza. Unfortunately, most of them have been decapitated, largely by a treasure hunter, Guiseppe Ferlini in 1834, and all for no good, as apart from some jewelry in one of the pyramids, he found nothing!
We continued N and then found a ‘bush camp’ in the desert, just off the road next to a green irrigated patch. Within minutes the owner had come to introduce himself and to tell us that we were very welcome. He hacked off a whole branch of dates and gave them to us. What delicious dates they were and we now have a whole packet of them as ‘padkos’
N 17 55.951 E 034 00.000


Tuesday 14th August

We woke up at 6.30am and it was still 28 degrees! But it felt cool in comparison to 42degrees. We had cereal and fruit for breakfast and then set off. This is real hard and hot – don’t get any romantic ideas about driving through a desert – it is not really fun! But it is an accomplishment and when we get to Egypt we will feel great. We drove till midday and then decided to stop as the road N was going to veer away from the Nile, and we were concerned that we would be unable to find any shade to camp under. We have found a spot under a huge thorn tree about 100m from the Nile and we have stopped here. We haven’t set up camp yet as it is TOO hot. So we are just sitting under the tree and spraying ourselves with cold water every now and then!
We sat the day out, drinking about 4 litres each, not doing one wee, even before we went to bed! Once again, the owner of the land came and welcomed us and later on he brought us a bowl of washed dates- he actually said that he had cleaned and prepared his home for us to sleep there! We politely declined, showing them our roof top tents. They are SO hospitable and polite, it is unbelievable?
The sunset over the Nile was beautiful and we were relieved to see the sun go down – it was 7pm and still 43 degrees! Slowly the temperature began to drop and by 10pm it was 36 degrees. With dark, all the bugs came out! There were beetles, bugs, spiders and flying insects that stung you really sore! One saving grace, was that there were no mosquitos. We went to bed at 10.30pm still really hot and unfortunately, the wind had dropped, but we chanced opening our tent windows to get what little breath of wind there was!
N 19 07.218 E 33 35.116


Wednesday 15th August

We woke up at 6.30am to a cool breeze and the temperature gauge said 29 degrees – it felt like heaven! Within a few minutes, we saw our hosts coming across the sand with a tray of tea. They are wonderful people and so humble and not in your face like the Ethiopians. They (3 men and 2 boys) sat with us while we had tea, and then Dave got out the printer to print them the photographs we had taken of them. They were absolutely astounded and showered us with thanks and blessings, and then they bade us farewell and left us to have breakfast.
We set off to tackle the Nubian Desert! At Abu Hamed the Nile River veered S in a big loop away from our road and we continued N towards Wadi Halfa. Soon the tar disappeared and we were literally in the middle of the Nubian Desert. Our only beacons were the disused telephone poles next to the train track and we followed these religiously. The train track was laid in 1897 and was the key to Kitchener’s Anglo-Egyptian Conquest of Sudan. The track was laid across 360kms of unsurveyed and waterless desert, from Wadi Halfa towards Khartoum and into enemy territory. Survey teams went ahead, followed by teams of workers that laid the plates, then the sleepers, then the rails and finally the team that leveled the line. Apparently the line advanced by between 2 and 5 kms a day – under the blazing desert sun! Stations were built every 30kms or so and we passed these along the way. It was the train line that won the war in 1898 as it brought in men and munitions in an unstoppable advance. On our journey, it was the train line that led us to Wadi Halfa!

At times there were 100’s of various tracks through the sand and at others a single well-worn track, while at times there was no track at all! We have no air conditioner and so we had the windows wide open – but with an outside temperature of around 43 degrees, the wind was hot. Occasionally, we went through huge dust storms and one time, I am not sure how Dave managed to keep his eyes open? We were continually thirsty, and I had to regulate our drinking – 250mls each every 30 minutes – and we still didn’t wee the entire day! It was a grueling 9 hours! But we made it! Dave really hit a ‘low’ in the evening – I think the day had just been too much for him – his skin was irritated and his eyes were totally blood shot – he had had enough! I have been there a few times, so he certainly was entitled to one ‘black evening!’
We found a bush camp behind a koppie on the outskirts of Wadi Halfa – set up camp, had a cold dinner, a shower and then tried to sleep in the stifling heat.


Thursday 16th August

We woke up at 6.30am and decided to try and look for a better place to camp as we have a weeks wait here in Wadi Halfa! Wadi Halfa is a dry, dusty, sorry looking town with not one tree in it!!! The best hotel we could find was the Nile Hotel – a mud brick structure with sand floors and rope beds. The beds are all out in a courtyard as the rooms are too hot and miserable. There are various bodies lying around in this communal area, waiting for the ferry. And to top this, there is no running water so only bucket showers for all and sundry to use and smelly long drop toilets! Apparently, the original Wadi Halfa, used to be shady and tree lined with old houses built in the traditional Nubian style but all this was sent to a watery grave in 1963 when the High Dam was built in Aswan in Egypt and Lake Nubia(in Sudan) and Lake Nasser(in Egypt) were formed.
We drove around the Lake Nubia shoreline a little way and bingo, we came across the water works with a couple of trees in their grounds. We drove in and chatted to the locals, who informed us to wait for the boss. He duly arrived and we have been given permission to camp here, under a tree. Best of all, there is a hosepipe and a continual water supply so we are in our element. Every hour or so, we stand under the cold hosepipe and wet ourselves, clothes and all! Can you all imagine Dave (who hates cold water) enjoying this?? Well he does – it is actually the only way we can get through the day, and today is the first day that we actually feel hungry – I think because we have been a bit cooler with our regular ‘showers’. We can also plug into their electricity so our fridge can work at full capacity without flattening our batteries.
There is no internet here in Wadi Halfa, so I am afraid we will only be able to update all this Sudanese news once we reach Egypt.
It is going to be a long, hot, dry, thirsty week ahead of us.


Friday 17th August

What a night! Dave and I feel as if we are on the brink of Hell’s gates. The heat is ongoing and we sleep completely naked with the tent windows wide open, but we are bathed in sweat – the mattress is soaked by morning, as are our pillows. Dave got up twice in the night – when his tongue felt twice the size it should be – and got us cold water to drink. We will make it through these days, but it is a real endurance.
We got a sms from Harry to say that him and the overlanders are on their way here, today.


Saturday 18th August

Happy Birthday Rayanne!! How I miss my family on days like this. We phoned her this morning, but there was a terrible time delay on the phone and it was not easy to chat normally. The weather in Cape Town is apparently lovely today and her and her friends are going for a picnic up the mountain. We hope you have a wonderful day, my Babsie Boo.
We are still sweltering and today there is a sand storm all around us. Visibility is quite obscured and we cannot see the lake as we could on other days. Last night we hosed our entire car and tent down before we went to bed, and we took our spray bottle up to bed with us so that we could keep spraying each other! It helped marginally but we still battle to sleep at just below 40 degrees.


Sunday 19th August

Well this morning it is 27 degrees and we had the most wonderful nights sleep! We feel so refreshed as we didn’t toss and turn all night in a bed of sweat. The dust storm has cleared and there is a marginally cool breeze coming off the lake. It is now 9.30am and the temperature has crept up to 32 degrees. But we can cope with that. I even feel that I have enough energy to do a bit of tapestry. We have packed bags to take with us on the ferry, as we may load our vehicles onto the barge tomorrow morning. Jeff and the overlanders are expected today.
The overlanders arrived at 11.30am and we had a joyous reunion. There are only 8 of them left but still it made life a lot more interesting. We all sat around in the shade and chatted in between hosepipe showers! They have now gathered 4 vehicles (us, Johan, Harry and an Austrian couple) to join their truck on the barge. The other 2 vehicles were in town at the hotel.


Monday 20th August

We were up bright and early to pack up our campsite and finish packing our bags for the week ahead. We left at 8.30am and went into town to meet Mazar, the agent helping Jeff. Then we booked into the Nile Hotel – we have no choice and we have had a few days to get our heads around this idea, so it doesn’t seem so bad now. The drivers then set off to the lake to load the vehicles onto the barge – it is quite a thing saying farewell to Garfield for a few days!
We moved into our rooms – sand floors, mud walls with a plaited reed roof (I don’t think it ever rains here) and plastic strung beds! Within minutes we had moved our beds out into the courtyard, where we get shade and a bit of a breeze. Then we just sat the heat of the day out. The men returned 2 ½ hours later, having loaded the vehicles and joined us. Luke, has taught us to wrap our water bottles in a wet towel and it is amazing how cool this keeps your water! At about 4pm we ventured out into the sunny streets as Haan said he had found a pastry shop with ice cold yogurt! We all converged on the shop and enjoyed an afternoon snack with some cold drinks. Life is certainly more interesting with the company of the overlanders and we enjoy all the banter and jokes that go on – also Dave has extra people to play cards with and cause trouble with!
At 7pm when the sun set, we all had a cold bucket shower and then took a stroll up the road to the restaurant where we had roasted goat meat with omlettes and fresh bread. Then it was back to our string beds and the thick syrupy air to try and get some sleep.


Tuesday 21st August

We woke up and took a walk across the street to the tea lady who sits in the shade opposite the hotel. Here we all sat around enjoying her doughnuts and a selection of teas and coffee – the Sudanese really enjoy their tea and add all sorts of herbs, for example mint, cloves and even hibiscus. Dave and I were just delighted to be able to get coffee with milk. Jeff is Maltese and his mother tongue is similar to Arabic so he can make himself understood which is a great help. After that we crept back under cover away from the vicious sun rays. At about midday the ferry arrived from Aswan – the lake is about 3kms from Wadi Halfa, but the ferry’s arrival is heralded by the cloud of dust as every tuk-tuk, taxi and donkey cart races down to meet it! More people arrived at the hotel and we got some first hand news about the ferry that we are hopefully going to be on tomorrow – if the train from Khartoum which is expected this afternoon, does not arrive on time, the ferry waits for it!
Mazar is busy doing all the paper work for our group, that is customs etc and on top of that he is assisting Dave and I and Johan and Betsy, to get registered – we were supposed to register in Sudan. We knew about this and we had gone to an office at the border where we thought we had registered as they took our finger prints and a photograph from us. However, this was apparently just a security check and not the required registration! Anyway, it should all be sorted out this morning; we will just have to pay a penalty on top of the $45 registration fee!!
At 7pm the train arrived – hooray! More beds were hauled out from who knows where? And the hotel now really looks like a second world war field hospital – wall to wall beds with bodies lying everywhere! The town itself is alive and doing tons of business. Bottled water is already sold out! Every Tuesday is Christmas trading here in Wadi Halfa.


Wednesday 22nd August

It was a very noisy night with lots of snoring, snorting etc and it seemed to be a lot hotter with not a breath of wind. Anyway, it’s our last and tonight we will be on the ferry.
Mazar was back and forth to the hotel with various forms that we had to fill in. He has been an absolute gem, and anyone needing to cross this border would be wise to contact Mazar Mahir at mashansharti@yahoo.com Finally at 1.30pm we all bordered a minibus taxi and traveled the 3kms to the departure hall – here it was another long wait and then just before 5pm we boarded the ferry and were shown to our air conditioned cabins!!! What a pleasure. We set sail at 5pm and at about 7pm we actually crossed over into Egyptian waters.
At 9pm we passed Abu Simbel on the left hand side – this is a monument consisting of 4 gigantic statues of Ramses II (1304 – 1237 BC) which he had hewn from the mountainside to confront all travelers from Africa coming into Egypt. This amazing monument would have been drowned with the building of Lake Nasser in the 1960’s, but UNESCO stabilized the brittle sandstone with injections of synthetic resin and then cut the monument into 1041 blocks weighing up to 30 tons each! It took 4 years from start to finish but Abu Simbel was reassembled 210m behind and 61m above its original setting and out of the waters way, at a cost of $40 million. We passed within about 200m of it and had quite a good view of it as it is floodlit at night. Then we went to bed in our air conditioned cabins – Bliss!


Thursday 23rd August