Cairo to Cape Town

Botswana

July 9th, 2009 | adam

Day 101, Friday 19 June: (Nicholas)

Crossing into Botswana, officials took one look at Oom Paul and sent him and the car into the cattle dip. After stopping briefly in Kasane for supplies, we went through into the Chobe National Parl. Elephant here are a joke, they are just everywhere. We saw so many of them it eventually got to the point where we stopped stopping for them! We camped at Ihaha campsite in the park, right on Chobe river banks. We hadn’t booked, which was a slight problem considering it was the start of some of the SA holidays. We were lucky to be given this sweet spot which was pretty cool.

Day 102, Saturday 20 June: (Nicholas)

We moved from Ihaha to Savuti Campsite on the edge of the delta. We spent the afternoon driving around the area to various lodges trying desperately to find a TV to watch the first lions test, but to no avail. In the afternoon we headed into the marsh area, where we were once again rewarded with some great game viewing. We had a rather quiet night in this newly built campsite, which was really enjoyable.

Day 103, Sunday 21 June: (Nicholas)

In the morning we decided to head back north to the Ihaha campsite, where the game viewing and river views were a bit more rewarding. On the way up through the park we nearly ran over some wild dogs, that must have smelt the rotting coming from Adam’s beard and were trying got stalk it. Adam wasn’t overly impressed with these dogs, and was convinced that his dog Boeta back home could take the whole pack if he wanted to.

Day 104, Monday 22 June: (Nicholas)

We headed for the Ngoma bridge, for our second last border crossing, into Namibia. Now that everything we stay in the same customs area these crossings are so quick and easy it is almost a joke. Nice to not be holed up in the border crossing for hours on end (not that this ever really happened, but it often felt like it).

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Zambia and Zimbabwe

July 9th, 2009 | adam

Day 90, Monday 8 June: (Nicholas)

Crossing the border into Zambia was the usual story, fighting with black-market money changers and waiting for customs officials. We also had to pay an exorbitant carbon tax which wasn’t cool. The first main town we came across was Chipata; where we stopped to fill up with fuel and beer. Not quite sure which is more important. The aim for the night was the South Luangwa national park. This was about 200km from Chipata along a severely corrugated road. We arrived late at a small lodge called Flat dogs.

This was a great spot right on the river, with a couple platforms for tents up in the trees. These were unfortunately all taken, so we got dealt a spot on the ground. Had an epic view of the sunset though. The hippos at Flatdogs are obviously pretty used to company, and one of them was pretty intent on joining us for supper. He eventually left us at peace, and retired to a bush next to our tent.

Day 91, Tuesday 9 June: (Nicholas)

The night before we had organised to go on a game drive at the crack of dawn. So by 6 we were on the road and into the park for a drive around. The reserve is really beautiful but unfortunately we didn’t see any of the big game although there were plenty of birds and other stuff to keep us interested. The rest of the day was spent lying around by the pool waiting for it to cool down and for our evening game drive. This game drive was about as uneventful as the morning one, but as usual, fun never the less.

Day 92, Wednesday 10 June: (Nicholas)

We left early to drive to Lusaka which was further than we thought it would be. Chatting to a couple of the rangers and local guys we discovered the road which we were going to take had been washed away in the floods, so it was back to Chipata then to Lusaka. This was a long and fairly uneventful drive. With the only highlight being taking a toilet stop in the land mine infested boarder of Mozambique.

Day 93 – 96, Thursday 11 June – Sunday 14 June: (Nicholas)

From Lusaka we headed north to the Kafue Reserve, staying at Hippo lodge. This area is a magical part of the world. The felling of remoteness and solitude is quite remarkable. We spent four nights here, fishing going on game drives and exploring the area. Was a fantastic couple of days. We were lucky enough to stock up on some good steak in Lusaka, so staying at Hippo involved copious amounts of braaiing.

Day 97, Monday 15 June: (Nicholas)

The drive through to Livingston was another massive drive, worsened by a raging hangover brought on by having a few with the lodge managers on our last evening. With massive amounts of water, the frequency of toilets stops slowed down the journey. One particular episode stands out, when driving through a forest Adam decided that it was a good stop for a break. Only to be attacked by tsetse flies which had an acquired a taste for eating all the unmentionables. We arrived in Livingstone and checked into Jolly boys backpackers. Was great being in a lively atmosphere again, so different to the bush.

Day 98, Tuesday 16 June: (Nicholas)

We awoke to another beautiful hot day, we decided to go and have a look at the falls from the Zimbabwe side. The water is so high at the moment that you get absolutely soaked from the spray. After a wander in the town we decided to treat ourselves and have gin and tonics and lunch in the Victoria Falls hotel. The whole of Victoria Falls is like a ghost down, the complete opposite of the Zimbabwean side. The level of desperation here was so clear, and really sad to see. We did manage to buy 2 of the 100 trillion dollar notes that were printed recently. These could buy two loaves of bread on the day they were printed, but nothing two days later. In the evening we met up with Steve and Laura from home and went out for supper with them.

Day 99, Wednesday 17 June: (Nicholas)

The rafting company was offering a special on white water rafting and a booze cruise, which we thought would be a good idea. The rafting in the morning was great fun, unfortunately we were only flipped once, which was on purpose. Guessing we are too talented. After a quick shower we were off to the cruise, for which Steve and Laura joined us. The company assured us that there would be lots of young people on the boat. We arrived to find a group of elderly professors from the US. So we decided to make the most of in and settled ourselves in at the bar. The rest of the evening will have to be censored, but I’m sure you can imagine.

Day 100, Thursday 18 June: (Nicholas)

For some unknown reason I was violently ill today. It must have been something I ate. We had planned to go Gorge swinging. I unfortunately was quarantined to my room / bathroom. Adam did say it was pretty cool. We relaxed at the backpackers for the evening, with an early night on the cards.

Day 101, Friday 19 June: (Nicholas)

Zambia was at an end, and it was time to head for yet another border. Today was a big day. Our iPod has seen some serious airtime and we pretty much know everything off by heart. But there was one song which we havdn’t managed to kill just yet. This song is too embarrassing to name but we have rationed the playing off it. So crossing over Vic Falls Bridge with the spectacular view and blasting out the beat was a must.

Zimbabwe:

We were in Zim for all of 2 hours, and some 150km, but they were a good couple of hours! We went through Zim to get to Botswana so that we wouldn’t have to wait for the ferry across the Zambezi from Zambia to Botswana. Not too much hassle, and we were soon through.

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Malawi

June 23rd, 2009 | adam

Day 81, Saturday 30 May: (Adam)

Once in Malawi, we stopped in Karonga to get some money and supplies, then made our way to Chitimba, one of the northern most lake villages. We booked into the Chitimba campsite, where we were only going to stay for one night. We were quite keen to head a bit further south, where the lake activities are slightly better. Spent some time browsing through the curio shop, where the bargaining skills we had been honing came into good use! Had some awesome fish for supper, and once again had a pretty early night. This is becoming a habit we are not too proud of!

Day 82, Sunday 31 May: (Adam)

Before heading of to Nkhata bay, we decided to visit a spot we had heard about called the mushroom farm, which was pretty nearby. This took quite a bit longer than planned, as it involved a 45min trek (in the car) up the mountain. We got there to be pleasantly surprised by one of the most awesome campsites we’d seen. Perched on the edge of the mountain, with a panaromic view over the lake below, is the mushroom farm. How somebody managed to build a campsite up here was unbeknownst to us, so stopped thinking about it and just enjoyed the view with a drink.

The roads in Malawi are great, so the drive to Nkhata bay was really smooth and enjoyable, passing more great scenery on the way. We arrived at Mayoka Village, a backpackers we had heard about in the early afternoon. Much to our relief, we found that it was not possible to camp here, so we had to book into a small room. The rooms were literally on the water, with the waves (the lake might as well be an ocean) lapping up against the chalets. What an incredible spot.

They fire up there pizza oven once a week, and we got there on the lucky night. We were ravenous, having not had any lunch. We eagerly awaited our pizzas, and devoured them as soon as they arrived. We will still hungry (we thought) so ambitiously ordered another one. When we finally managed to finish this, we were so full that going straight to bed was our only option!

Day 83, Monday 1 June: (Adam)

We woke up in our own time, before getting masks and snorkels for a morning of snorkeling along the shore. This was epic. In the afternoon, we joined a couple other backpackers on a boat trip to a nearby beach. On the way there, we watched the feeding of fish eagles, which was pretty cool. Not so sure if these birds do any of their own fishing anymore, the prospect of food being given to them must be way easier! We also did a nice jump of some rocks into the water. The height was a bit talked up and over-rated, but fun nevertheless! As evening came we made our way back to Mayoka, having had a sweet day!

Day 84, Tuesday 2 June: (Adam)

Today we drove a full 60km! So nice to not have another long one on the cards. We arrived at Kande beach, on the Chinteche strip. We set up camp, and then enjoyed an afternoon of reading, swimming, and just doing nothing… Awesome.

Day 85, Wednesday 3 June: (Adam)

Today we organized a dive at the Kande reef and Kande Island, just offshore from the campsite. We suited up, and made our way to the site. Swimming there might have been faster – the engine really struggled! Nick is more suited to diving in freshwater I think – no motion sickness this time! We saw some awesome fish on the dive, along with a couple sunken canoes as well. There was a jeep that they’d sunken as well, but we unfortunately couldn’t get to it due to lack of visibility.

We arrived back at camp to find a group of backpackers we had met at Mayoka Village. They offered to cook us dinner if they could use our cooking stuff – there was a restaurant there, but the prices were ridiculous! We readily agreed, and sat back as dinner was prepared. After supper, we all made our way to the bar, where some festivities went on into the early hours.

Day 86, Thursday 4 June: (Adam)

Washing up all the stuff they had used obviously handn’t crossed the minds of the other parties, so we woke up to a mountain of pots and dishes to wash. Not cool. Anyway, we were soon on our way again, heading quite a long way south to Cape Maclear. Nick had to be dragged away, as he had become quite fond of some of the company at Kande. Guess he is over it being just the two of us.

After a long drive, we arrived at Cape Maclear, driving into the most beautiful sunset. We booked into Fat Monkey’s, where we literally camped on the water, which was calm as a mirror, and reflecting the stars and moon back to the sky. This place was crazily awesome. Dugouts would silently glide past us as dusk approached. Had quite an epic braai tonight, cant get better than good meat.

Day 87, Friday 5 June: (Adam)

Today we organised another dive, just can’t get enough of it. We went this time to the Usipa wreck (a rather deep sunken ferry boat at 35m) and then the aquarium. The wreck was awesome, and had a couple sweet swim-throughs to go with it. I did a wannabe Titanic pose off the front, only problem was that I was all alone – no Kate Winslet for me unfortunately. The way Nick laughed at me resulting in him using most of his oxygen pretty quickly, so we had to unfortunately surface soon after. That evening, everyone at Fat Monkey’s joined together for a massive fish braai. This was definitely the nicest and freshest fish I think I’ve ever had.

Day 88, Saturday 6 June: (Adam)

Today we just relaxed to the max again, taking canoes out for the occasional paddle, reading over some maps, etc. Natalie unfortunately is showing some signs of strain again, so had to give her some attention. She got a leak in the other spare fuel tank which also needed to be patched up. Although Nick’s driving a still a main suspect for these damages, a design flaw in the spare tanks is starting to work its way into our minds – both leaks were in the exact same place!

We had a big meal with some fellow swiss travelers we had become aquainted with. These guys (Roman, Mark and another swiss guy Martin) were pretty cool, so was a really enjoyable evening. We decided to check out the town after a sweet stir fry and “pantoffel” (I think). We bar-hopped in search of activity, but did not find much. Still low season, so everything still very quiet.

Day 89, Sunday 7 June: (Adam)

We set off for Lilongwe, a sad moment to leave the lake. Packing up was emotional, but we got through it eventually. Our petrol didn’t last forever, so we had to fill up on the way at a ridiculous price – not cool. We didn’t really go into the city, and stayed rather at Kumbale lodge for the night. This was a really cool place just outside town, also on a farm. Nick knew the family running the place, so we all got along pretty well. Had a great meal for supper and then a proper shower which was quite needed by this stage!

Day 90, Monday 8 June: (Adam)

We once again were on the move, leaving for the border town into Zambia. The friendliness of the Malawian people was by far the most pleasing we had seen so far, and leaving was as is usually the case, not easy. Life along the lake is something that is easy to fall in love with, so its probably a good thing we didn’t stay too long! Arrived to find our good friends the money changers ready to harass us. Really don’t like these people…

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Tanzania (including Zanzibar)

June 15th, 2009 | adam

Day 62, Monday 11 May: (Nicholas)

Arriving at the Tanzania side of the border crossing we were greeted with big friendly smiles and a glint in the border customs eyes. The entire reason we had moved so fast through Uganda and Rwanda was to get into Tanzania before our visas expired. So arriving at the border with 5 days to spare, we were fairly confident that we would be able to enter with no hassles. Normally the case is that they see it’s expiring and they stamp you in for 1 or 3 months with no problem. But at this particular border they were having none of it. After taking the knock for the road tax, we were smacked with having to buy a second visa. We passed the 45 minutes it took to put a stamp in our passport by having a fantastic picnic in the middle of customs and immigration.

The drive from the border to Mwanza was a complete change from the rolling hills of Rwanda. From the green valley of a thousand hills to the vast open expanse of the Serengeti plains. This drastic change in vegetation started from literally the river which divides the different countries.

While at the border post we attempted to enquire about the best way to get to Mwanza. One of the larger cities in Tanzania right on the shores of Lake Victoria. We were told there were two ways. One was 300km along the lake, while the other was 900km inland and around. When two out of the three people we asked about the road said it was quicker to go the long way, we started to really wonder about this route we were planning. So for the first time in our trip we decided to do the reasonable thing and went the long way around. Mostly because of the huge rain storm that was building, and slightly because we needed a police escort for a section of the short route.

Roughly 600km into the trip we decided it was time to stop for the night. We stopped in a small mining community called Karama. We pulled into this poor excuse of a town to try find a hotel or campsite for the night, or basically any place where there was at least some uncertainty as to whether or not the vehicle would be stolen or broken into. Out of the corner of one eye we spotted the “Hilton” Hotel. This place was located in one of the dodgier parts of a seedy town. We managed to find a room in the little hotel, in one of the smallest rooms with a double bed, which made the single beds in the boarding house look luxurious. By the look of the room it had seen more action than the box office hit “one night in Paris”. On leaving the room to find of some food and a very deserved drink, we might need more than just one drink to make the room look pretty. Adam is quite fond of this habit. Entering the open air bar, we instantly made a friend who would not leave us alone. It turns out that this was his local turf and he was the local gem stone smuggler. He was a smooth and slimey as Migali and tried his level best to extract any thing he could from us.

Soon after dark the inevitable power failure happened. But this was not going to stop the “Hilton”, with a kickstart to the generator and a strange mixture of prayer and swearing, Koeberg started off with a noise of a jet engine. With the same efficiency as Koeberg and a noise a Ferrari formula one engineer would be proud off, powered the resident DJ and his possie of night ladies.

Day 63, Tuesday 12 May: (Nicholas)

At the crack of dawn we set out, only to be greeted by our jewel smuggling friend. Who to his credit was trying a new angle. Wearing the same clothes and the tell tale sign of a sleep where you pass out look about him. Eyes redder han the fiery pits of hell and a hangover that would kill your average hardened drinker. He managed to slur that his wife had just had a baby and he wanted money to buy nappies. We had to give the guy credit for trying.

The next leg of our drive to Mwanza was fairly uneventful. Arriving to an almighty rain storm we pulled into the first hotel on the GPS to have lunch and wait out the storm, which decided to continue all through the afternoon and into the evening. This firmly ruled out the campsite we had planned on spending a couple of days at, because of the warning that the site was unreachable in the wet. We ended up staying at another dodgy hotel. At least this one had air con!

Day 64, Wednesday 13 May: (Nicholas)

I have been told by Adam that I am writing too much, and that no one will read it, seeing we are quite far behind in our blog I will listen to him for once.

Sitting in the rain the night before we decided to throw in the towel of spending some time on Lake Victoria, if it was raining there was not much point. So we decided to run away from the rain and head inland towards the Serengeti. As we got to our campsite the prospect of camping in the plains was soon ruled out by the rain again! It seems to be chasing us. So with our tails between our legs we phoned Sasakwa, where we were meant to be spending a few nights, to see if we could arrive early.

On arrival we were blown away with the lodge and the view from the reception. The lodge is perched right on top of a hill, looking over the open plains. We were just in time for sunset, which worked out very nicely.

Day 65 – 67, Thursday 14 – Saturday 16 May: (Nicholas)

The four nights we spent at Sasakwa were the most incredible and relaxing we have had thus far. The travel over the last few weeks was starting to take its toll, so it was great to be stationary, and have nothing to worry about. We took R&R to the next level here, and even managed to watch some rugby while we were here!

Day 68, Sunday 17 May: (Nicholas)

Leaving Sasakwa was a sad day, we had grown quite accustomed to being pampered. Hauling ourselves out of the most comfortable bed, was one of the most challenging moments of our trip. The trip down through the Serengeti was amazing. About half way through the trip to Seronera, which is in the center of the reserve, we caught up with the migration. This was truly an amazing experience. Just switching off the landy, you get surrounded by millions of wildebeest as far as you can see. Driving over the plains you see these huge massive black snakes stretching for miles and miles on the horizon.

Arriving at the campsite all excited to get back into camping. As fate would have it upon arrival the heavens opened and decided to provide us with a torrential storm with massive lighting and thunder thrown in to make things more interesting. The tent was abandoned and we took refuge under a tiny thatched hut, which is where we ended up sleeping. During the night, as soon as the thunder stopped the lions started to roar in the car park. A great sound to fall asleep to!

Day 69, Monday 18 May: (Nicholas)

In the morning the campsite was surrounded by the migration. The noise they make is unreal. We packed up our dingy campsite, and hit the road south. Driving through the plains a war was waged on “Natalie” our Landy (Adam’s idea, don’t ask). The Tsetse flies attacked and sent in a Troygen horse. This was the beginning of Adams winging, which at time of writing a month later he was still complaining. We left the Serengeti on the stroke our permit ran out and entered into the Ngorongro Crater conservation area. Driving through the Masai lands seeing lots of cows and there little Herd boys.

Arriving at the campsite on the rim, we were greeted by the most spectacular view. The crater was surrounded by cloud with a clear view of the crater. Camping on the rim was quite cold. But after some heavy negations with some local Masai we got some wood and a couple swords, after a serious game of miming. With a massive camp fire, we attracted a bit of a groupie following. Adam thinks it was his Geo Cronje beard but we all know better. Sitting around the camp fire a pride of lions came strolling through the campsite. Two nights in a row! I think they can smell the rotting from the beard.

Day 70, Tuesday 19 May: (Nicholas)

Our guide for the decent into the crater was Eve. I was quite concerned that we wouldn’t be able to remove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, as it is known locally. The descent was quite eerie, descending into the crater before the sun is up and through very thick mist. Natalie was the first vehicle down on to the crater floor. The concentration of game is unbelievable. Everywhere you look there is something. We saw lions, cheetah, rhino, you name it, it was there.

After hauling Adam and Eve apart, we drove to Arusha and were stayed at the local backpackers called Masai camp. Arriving there we were greeted by the sweet sight of two overland trucks. Only to find we had been sold a dummy and one was being repaired and the other one was waiting for people to arrive.

Day 71, Wednesday 20 May: (Nicholas)

Waking early we decided to go exploring, but the bad weather was following us through Tanzania. After a couple of hours exploring town and being offered every thing from drugs (they always offer Adam for some reason) to Tanzanite gems. While driving through, we spotted the local land rover dealership and Adam had to just pop in, even though there was no problem (yet).

Day 72, Thursday 21 May: (Adam)

We left pretty early for a mammoth drive to Dar Es Salaam. The road down to Dar was rife with radar speed guns – these didn’t pose too much of a problem to us, as we couldn’t reach the speed that would cause us a fine! The drive was humored by a particular bus, which would repeatedly race past us, only to be stopped almost every roadblock. By the time we reached Dar, the count was well into the double digits. Once in Dar, we made our way through the rush hour traffic, to one of the residential peninsulas, where we were very kindly put up for a night or two. Being in a home was a great change, and a feeling we had almost forgotten!

Day 73, Friday 22 May: (Adam)

With no plans for the day, we went for a drive around the city. We passed the docks, where the many fishing boats had just come in after a nights fishing, and were chaotically trying to sell their catch. We got back to the house, where we gave Natalie some love and car after a long hard section on the move. She unfortunately sprung a leak in her one spare petrol tank, most probably due to Nick’s terrible driving over the rough terrain rather than a manufacturing fault. Nothing a bit of epoxy cant sort out though, so luckily not too serious. Got to love land rovers… We spent the rest of the day being absolutely useless, and barely moved off the couch – was awesome!

Day 74, Saturday 23 May: (Adam)

We were up bright and early once again, not by choice, but more as a habit we can’t shake off. We made our way to the docks, from where we caught the first ferry to Zanzibar, the “Spice Island”. After a seemingly pointless immigration control (to enter a country you are already in when you haven’t left it), we were making our way around Stonetown to find a spot for lunch. This town was rife with history and culture, with countless alleyways and streets suitable for nothing wider than a mini cooper. After seeing the town we were keen to head to the beaches, so caught a lift up to Nungwi, a beach village on the northern tip of the island.

We arrived with a tropical shower (once again), so took the easy option and followed a bunch of British backpackers to wherever they had taken the initiative to book at. The skies opened for a sweet afternoon, which we spent lounging on the beach or at the various beach bars. The high season was about to start, so we were lucky enough to be there while it was still quiet, but everywhere was obviously gearing up for another whopper of a season.

While sitting on the beach, we approached with the option of going to a beach party in the town of Kwenda, just to the south. Apparently everyone from the entire island was inbound for this bash to signal the start of the high season. Naturally we were as keen as mustard. We gave his extortive price for a boat trip there a miss, and decided to accompany two Canadian girls to the hotspot. This sometimes treacherous walk was attempted with the comfort of a potent loopdop, clutched with eager anticipation in our hands.

We arrived at the Zanzibar version of the Thailand full moon party, and quickly joined in the festivities. To cut a long story short, the walk back home wasn’t an option, so we opted for the bus with the rest of the locals, who somehow managed to continue the break dancing on the seats of the bus.

Day 75, Sunday 24 May: (Adam)

The scuba dive that we had erroneously booked for today and not tomorrow, was luckily only in the afternoon, due to the tides. We geared up, before making our way to Mnemba island with a full boat of eager adventurists, where we were to dive the Kachwomi and Wattabomi sites. During the boat trip there, things took a turn for the worst on Nick’s part, and motion sickness got the better of him. He somewhat amusingly spent the entire hour between the two dives hanging onto to the side of the boat whilst in the water. Stories in small villages spread quickly, and for the rest of our time at the beach village, Nick was getting flack form every Tom, Dick and Harry! When we got back to the village, we had a lovely quiet evening out with some other backpackers for pizza and cocktails.

Day 76, Monday 25 May: (Adam)

A full day of chilling to the max was on the cards. We pottered around the various curio shops along the beach, but otherwise did absolutely nothing all day other than relax and swim. This is the life! Along with the Canadians we had met, we spent our last night sipping away at our drinks on the beach under the stars, with the occasional dhow gliding past us. Really an awesome place!

Day 77, Tuesday 26 May: (Adam)

We woke up leisurely to find out that the lift we had arranged was no longer happening – bummer. We haggled away with this other dude until he eventually agreed to take us back to Stonetown at our original price. There is surprisingly a lot of Italian influence in the island, so there are Italian ice cream shops all over the place. This day was a scorcher, so after a snack for lunch we demolished some great ice cream. We then went for a quick drink at “Mercury’s” before catching our ferry back – there are so many places here that claim Freddie Mercury always went there, or did this, or that, etc. but nothing consistent, so even though this place probably had nothing to do with him in actual fact, it was pretty cool nevertheless.

We hopped onto the ferry in the late afternoon - no border control this time, very strange. The ferry trip back was interesting – a gale force wind was blowing. (We found out later that the overnight ferry that left just after us actually sank!) We were fortunate to have some seats upstairs in the open, a not in the cabin downstairs. The amount of sick bags that were being passed around down there was something else! We got back to Dar, where we were to spend two more nights – again not doing much at al!

Day 78, Wednesday 27 May: (Adam)

We managed to get hold of a part we needed to reinforce our roofrack -it’s a bit heavy, and wasn’t really cutting it. So Natalie once again got some great TLC, where we also tried to sort out dome of the rattles that just weren’t going away! Also gave her a good wash and clean inside. She was once again looking really good, and ready to hit the road!

Day 79, Thursday 28 May: (Adam)

We woke up early to get a good start to the day, but were held back by rush hour traffic – took us an hour and a half to get out the city! We made our way to Iringha, a small town rather close to the Malawi border. We stayed at a spot called Old Farmhouse. This is one of those places that has just been around for ever, and is simple but epic. We met a bunch of South Africans there as well, which was really nice. Always good to have a reminder about home!

Day 80, Friday 29 May: (Adam)

We had such a cool night at Old Farmhouse, so we decided to spend another there. We spent the day just reading, writing, and planning our time in Malawi. Really looking forward to getting to the lake!

Day 81, Saturday 30 May:

The drive to the border was pretty close, which was a relief. We have had enough of money changers trying to take us for rides, so before we got to the border, we put every last Tanzanian Shilling into diesel, so that we could arrive at the border and not even be tempted by the supposed good rates on offer. This worked out well, because diesel in Malawi is a whole lot more expensive in any case! The border wasn’t much hassle, and after a great time in the area we were unfortunately soon out of the East Africa community!

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Part 6, Rwanda

May 22nd, 2009 | adam

Day 59, Friday 8 May: (Adam)

On the Rwandan side of the border, things became a bit slower. Unfortunately the language here is French, which is a bit of a disaster. Nick’s distant high school memory of French was about as helpful as most of his other knowledge, i.e. useless. We anyhow got on the road quite quickly, and set off for Ruhengeru. To get there on main roads we would have had to go all the way to Kigali, and then pretty much all the way back to the northern border on a different road. So we decided to take a back road that stayed next to the border the whole time.

While probably adding quite substantially to our journey time due to the quality of the road, this turned out to be very pleasant. Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills, and we saw first hand just why. The rolling hills, with scattered villages, awesome views, green pastures, and cultivated land were an incredible experience to drive through. The looks of astonishment we got from the locals we passed made it clear that this was definitely the road less travelled.

We got to Ruhengeru in the late afternoon, and made our way to the tourism office to enquire about tracking the gorillas. We were slightly concerned about the fact that we hadn’t booked, but were relieved to find out that there were still spare tickets! At least the low season is good for something! It is obvious that this town makes it living from the gorillas, and everything in the town is unfortunately geared for tourists. We eventually located the cheapest of the gorilla inflated accommodation options, and settled in with great excitement. We met and befriended a young Australian couple who were backpacking up Africa, and decided to trek the gorillas together with them the next morning.

Day 60, Saturday 9 May : (Adam)

It was an early start, as we had to be at the park office at 06h00. Upon arriving there, the four of us were grouped with four Swedish doctors working in Kigali on an exchange program. The 8 of us were fortunate enough to be the ones to see the Sosa group of gorillas. This group of 40 is the largest of the Rwandan groups, and the fact that they are the longest hike away and harder to find makes them quite exciting. We began the 3 hour trek up into the mountains, with the guides sometimes having to hack out the path through the dense jungle.

We eventually arrived to find the group in an open clearing – another bit of luck on hour side. The allotted hour to be with the group began, with the sound of rapid camera clicks kicking it off! The group was fascinating to see, with the babies rolling around and playing with each other, the young adults trying to be impressive to the ladies until they got shut down by the silver-back, and the mothers just watching their babies and eating. The human-like nature of the gorillas was unimaginable and their social skills better than a couple people I know! I watched the gorillas in awe, interrupted only by the sudden sub-conscious realizations of so much that I had previously pondered . There were moments of clarity, where so many of Nick’s previously unexplained or accounted for habits became instantly clear in origin.

The hour was over far too quickly, and we slowly made our way back down to the car. Upon arriving back at Ruhengeru, we decided to move on to Kigali rather for the night. The gorillas were absolutely incredible to see, and worth every penny (there were a lot of them), but after you’ve seen them, there is nothing else to stay in Ruhengeru for! The roads were among the best we’ve driven (after the first 20km or so), but our progress wasn’t too fast, thanks to either global warming or the Il Nino, but probably both. The delayed wet season sucks, and the torrential afternoon downpours made travelling slow and painful.

We arrived in Kigali with high expectations, as we’d heard a lot about the turn-around that the city had made after the 1994 tragedy. Things looked great to start with, but driving around whilst trying to find a place to stay wasn’t so fun. The only decently priced place to stay was (from word of mouth) a convent, for which we searched for over an hour. We eventually gave up, and headed for the outskirts of town to “One Love Club”. If a backpacker guide ever got a review deadly wrong, it was the review we read for this “great place”. We gave the in-house restaurant a skip, and headed to the Replublika Lounge for dinner and a drink. This was a great place to relax for a bit, especially after the interesting motorbike ride we took to get there. These motorbike taxis give their passengers helmets, which at first is a sign that the city is very concerned about safety. Big up. Well we realized after our short ride that they only have these helmets because nobody would be stupid enough to get on the back of one of the bikes without one!

Day 61, Sunday 10 May: (Adam)

We tried to sleep in but this was not an option right next to the highway. So we hastily left our humble domain, and made our way back into the city. We went to the Genocide Memorial, where we spent most of the morning. This tragic record of the run-up to, the account of, and the aftereffects of the genocide had us spending the rest of the day in silent thought and questioning. Visiting the memorial was a deeply touching experience, and one that I am really glad we did.

We ended up at a pleasant spot for lunch – the Bourbon Café – with a tranquil setting in the centre of the city. We hung around a bit, before heading to a new place to stay. This was a much better option, and we spent the rest of the day lazing around and reading. We had supper in a local pub, which had a great feel to it. The power-cut during supper didn’t even create a break in the conversations around us – people here are obviously more tolerant of power cuts than back at home!

Day 62, Monday 11 May: (Adam)

After filling up in the morning, we were on the road again, on our way to the Tanzanian border. Today the afternoon thundershowers that we had become accustomed to were exchanged for a torrential morning thunderstorm. All the villages we drove through almost stopped functioning, with everyone just waiting under shelter for the rains to stop.

We got to the border, to find a large notice warning all travelers about the Swine flu. Was very surprising to see the notice at this end of the world! We made our way through customs and immigration, before crossing the bridge over an intensely flooding river, into Tanzania. While our stay in Rwanda had been short, it was a very pleasant one nevertheless. We didn’t manage to get to Lake Kivu, and another reserve we were quite keen on going to which was unfortunate. Kigali was a great city, and definitely a front runner for best African city (except Cape Town of course).

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Part 5, Uganda

May 10th, 2009 | adam

Day 53, Saturday 2 May: (Nicholas)

Crossing the boarder from Kenya into Uganda was an absolute pleasure. Leaving the chaos of the Kenyan side and crossing the bridge into an order, manicured and clean Uganda. The money changers aren’t even trying to rip us off for a change. A very new experience! Driving from the border to Jinja, the adventure capital of east Africa, is literally driving through one continuous forest punctuated by sugar cane fields and the odd village. Driving through the different villages is like stepping back to the colonial period, or at least my imagination of it. Each village is smart clean, with typical English colonial architecture that you see in all the big old African cities, all the little girls in smart dresses, men in suits and ties. Even driving past a sport shop with cricket bats and balls!

We arrived at our campsite, Nile River Explores Campsite. This is a backpacker’s spot that is frequented by travelers and Aid workers from the region. It is right on the banks of the Nile with fantastic view over one of the first set of rapids. We arrived at around lunch time only to find out that a.) it was a Saturday. b.) there was super 14 on TV all afternoon and c) there was a bar within shouting distance of the TV. So we settled in for the long haul. By the time the bus arrived back from the day’s white water rafting, Adam and I were well ahead of the rest of the party. Not going into the events of the evening although I’m sure they were pretty amusing, but neither Adam nor I are an authority on the night.

Day 54, Sunday 3 May: (Nicholas)

We were awoken with a very harsh ringing of Adam’s cell phone alarm, with a hangover that would knock an elephant out. But being as hard as we are we manned up and went white water rafting. We jumped on the truck and headed to the source of the Nile. The rafting starts where Lake Victoria runs into the Nile. The day was amazing, going though a series of grade 5 rapids and occasionally being flipped over. Although I think the guide was doing it on purpose to try cure not only ours but all 6 of us on the boats hangovers.

After a couple of hours of horse play on the river we returned to camp for a post rafting braai. This was a rather quiet affair. Adam and I managed to sneak out early with our tails between our legs back to our room to nurse our wounds from the night before.

Day 55, Monday 4 May: (Nicholas)

Today we had booked a fishing trip along the Nile. We woke up at the crack of dawn and headed to the river. The boat we used was a white water raft. The fishing trip started at the place where the white water rafting ended yesterday. We jumped into the boat and went down the rapid and fished the rapid from below. With the guide keeping us in position we managed to fish a series of rapids throughout the day. After about 30 minutes on the river, day two of Adam’s hangover kicked in. In my professional opinion I haven’t seen a two day hangover with such aggression. The rest of Adam’s day was spent dangling from a line or asleep in tiny patches of shade amongst the rocks. Finished the day at a great camp site called the Hairy Lemon. It’s a very chilled spot on the river away from the main drag.

Day 56, Tuesday 5 May: (Nicholas)

After a slow start, we didn’t need to go very far, only to Kampala, some 90 minutes away. Driving along the roads in Uganda in an experience in itself. Trucks, mini buses and buses all over take at anytime they feel like it, no matter how tight the bend is or how many cars are coming in the other direction. Amazingly being the slowest car on the road, we got pulled over for speeding, even though at the time we were been taken over by a truck. But hay this is Africa (TIA)!

Arriving in Kampala, we stopped at the local shopping center to fill up with petrol and some supplies. I was even forced into a Shoprite. It’s hard here in Africa.

We spent the night at the Red Chili back packers in the Kampala suburbs. Spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on reading and journals etc. followed with a quite night in the bar chatting to some of the other travelers.

Day 57, Wednesday 6 May: (Adam)

We thought we got off to a pretty decent start on our way to Fort Portal, but didn’t take into account the fact that it would take us an hour and a half to just get out of the city! When we eventually got out, it was pleasing to note how the country became more and more slow and detached as one moves further away from the capital. From Fort Portal we made our way to Lake Nkuruba, which was quite nearby. This is one of the crater lakes from the many old volcanoes along the Congo border. With the mountains of the moon as a backdrop, this small circular lake in the deep crater gave us one of our best campsites yet. Was great swimming in the lake, and we even managed to do some laps for some exercise. The camp was pretty empty, except for a German lady and one or two other tourists. We spent some time chatting to them before hitting the sack.

Day 58, Thursday 7 May: (Adam)

This was the type of spot where it would have been awesome to stay for a couple days, but unfortunately we needed to get a move on, before our visa for Tanzania expires. So we set off for Lake Bunyonyi, quite near to the border crossing into Rwanda. We stayed at the Bunyonyi Overland Camp, which was another one of those great spots, except maybe for its gross under-use. It was surprising here that whenever we ordered a beer or cool drink, the barman would ask us if we wanted it warm or cold. That was just weird. The weather wasn’t suited for swimming or taken the dug-outs for a paddle, so we ended just having a relaxing afternoon at the bar.

Day 59, Friday 8 May: (Nicholas)

We woke up on the lake to see a dozen or so laden dugout canoes heading towards a nearby beach. Friday is market day in most African countries, so the villagers and traders come from all over for the event. The rather lousy weather of the last few days had cleared up today, and we had a great breakfast in the sun next to the lake. We left for the border, passing through Kabale on the way, our last town of Uganda. Not much going on there! The border town of Katuna was pretty simple, and the border crossings once again a formality. While I was busy sorting out the car and customs stuff, Nick met two English girls passing through the border as well. He decided to pose as a regular backpacker, and tagged along with the girls. Even though this required Nick to walk the two kilometers between the two border posts, he showed no restraint in abandoning me for the walk. More surprising to me however was when as I was waiting for him in the car on the other side he jumped in shouting “Just drive, they are crazy!”

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Part 4, Kenya

May 10th, 2009 | adam

Day 43, Tuesday 21 April: (Nick)

We crossed the border into Kenya as soon as the border opened. Didn’t want to hang around the hotel to sample the breakfast, which couldn’t in any case be cooked because there was no electricity. Crossing was a breeze. On the Ethiopian side we were surprised to find one of the modern passport scanners. It did however take half an hour for the guy to work out a.) how to turn it on. B.) how to work it. But we got through. Crossing over the bridge we had to change from the right side of the road to the left side. Driving into Kenya we were greeted by signboards (something we had not seen since Egypt) and in English (since we left South Africa). A quick stamp and a broad smile and we were through.

The Northern section of Kenya is home to the infamous Shifta or bandits that come attack unsuspecting travelers – these we think are glorified cattle thieves. Chatting to a couple of the locals we gathered that we needed to travel in convoy for this section of the road between Moyale and Marsabit. With our luck there was no convoy going that route. So after some negotiation with the Military captain we managed to get one of his soldiers to accompany us along the dangerous part. Half way long the road we came to a blockage in the road. Someone had placed thorn trees right across the road block our path. This sent the sleeping guard into panic mode. He jumped out and switched his AK to automatic and told us to back away. After much observation and stalking, he concluded some considerate soul used the road as a cattle pen and had blocked off a square to keep the cattle from moving at night.

Driving through the northern Kenyan villages it feels like you have stepped back a 100 years. All the people are in traditional dress, in the traditional kraals protecting the cattle. Adam’s eyes were nearly jumping out of his head with the number of “Numbis” (boobs) that he was seeing. We had decided that we were going to stay in the Marsabit natural reserve and camp in the campsite. Driving through the reserve we came across an elephant that had been killed and his tusks chopped out. The ranger who came after we had arrived there said that it had died naturally but I’m not so sure. The camp site was an incredible spot, right in the center of an old volcano crater which had turned into a lake. The camp was on the edge overlooking the lake which was frequently visited by elephant and buffalo and even a lion in the night.

Day 43, Wednesday 22 April: (Adam)

Leaving our campsite we carried on through the reserve. The driving was pretty easy going for reserve standards, but put Nick’s meager skills to the test. I counted ourselves lucky to get through unscathed! The park was pretty small, so we were on the main road again quite soon. Here the road became terrible once again, and our usually excellent choice of music was overpowered by the drumming of the corrugated road, and the rattle of the stuff in the boot (and some squeaks and moans from the car). After about 5 hours, and only 200km of distance made, we gave up and pulled into another reserve, the Shaba reserve. We stayed at this little place which had a pool, so spent the rest of the day unwinding after the bumpy ride.

Day 44, Thursday 23 April: (Adam)

Today we hoped to get to Nairobi, but after the roads we had experience thus far, weren’t overly confident. We were however pleasantly surprised, and the road improved drastically! The journey was quick and enjoyable, with brief pauses every time we went through the numerous road blocks at each town. We passed through the equator which was sweet, makes you feel closer to home! On the way into Nairobi, we even caught the BBC world service on the radio! Was pretty cool to hear how the election back home were going (unfortunately we couldn’t vote) and also some other current affairs. Driving in Nairobi was quite chaotic, and there is something about the city that makes it feel very much like one from South Africa. Perhaps it is just because we are now in the Southern hemisphere that things seem more like home though, who knows. We made our way to a small but pleasant place, where we were waiting to meet up with Nick’s mom.

Day 45, Friday 24 April: (Adam)

Today was the first time that Nick and I split ways for more than an hour or so. He was a bit worried about the fact that I wasn’t going to be around, but luckily his mom was there to assume my responsibilities. They went off shopping for sarongs at the Nairobi market, and I went to the Land Rover dealership to do some maintenance work on our beautiful engine. For the Land Rover cynics, I must say that the engine was still going like a streamlined butterfly, it just needed some cleaner filters. (And a new vacuum pump which was leaking oil at quite a rate). I Had lots of fun here in the workshop, before meeting up with Nick later for an incredible G&T at the Norfolk. That night we went to the Carnivore restaurant. Our meat diet had been quite limited, actually pretty non-existent, so we were really looking forward to this! I really think the buffet made a loss that night after the way we tackled it!

Day 46 – 49, Saturday 25 – Tuesday 28 April: (Adam)

Today the three of us headed off to the Masai Mara. It was sad but at the same time a bit of a relief to leave the car for a few days. The Masai was incredible, and very different to what we expected. The open plains of the Serengeti are so different to the reserves back in South Africa. We saw the most amazing game and wildlife here, and it was all in all a real treat! We managed to see the marsh pride of lions as well, the pride from big cat diary’s of the BBC which was pretty cool. The rest of the big 5, cheetah, birds, everything was just there to be seen. The lodge really looked after us as well, and we had an awesome dinner in the bush on the Monday night. Had some tribal dancing as well, those guys really can jump! Some of the tribal leaders wanted us to stay longer so that Nick could join the teenagers in the initiation ceremony into manhood, but we unfortunately had to leave the next morning.

Back in Nairobi, we were to spend our last night in the Norfolk, before the two of us hit the road again. This is a very old colonial hotel, which has bee around for ever. Its amazing how they manage to keep that special touch even afer so many years! The 4 days in the Masai had been exhausting – early starts, long days, and just so much excitement, so we ended up heading to bed quite early.

Day 50, Wednesday 29 April: (Adam)

We had a good breakfast this morning, before leaving for Lake Nakuru. We went back north of the equator, which was a heavy psychological blow. We’ll get over it though. Getting to Lake Nakuru wasn’t too painful or longwinded, and we were soon in the park (again at a ridiculous price). Lake Nakuru is a Sodium lake, which almost gives off a tropical impression. This deteriorated quickly when we drove through the mud to the edge of the lake to get a closer look at the flamingoes – the salt lake has a serious stench! We drove around the park for a while and saw a lot of buffalo, white and black rhino, the reticulated giraffe (quite a rare one) and over a million flamingoes! Missed the tree climbing lions which was a pity, but we might see these in South western Uganda, so will keep our hopes up! We set up camp quite near the lake in a quiet little spot. Setting up camp is one of those things that you just do without thinking about it too much, and it is generally quite fun. Setting up camp in the dark however is not so fun. Setting up camp in the dark when it is raining is really not fun. And setting up camp in the dark, wile it is raining, and without knowing that you are trying to put a tent up on a safari ant nest really really sucks! By the time the first one bites, these things are everywhere (and I mean everywhere). Our moods improved though while we making our fire, as a herd of buffalo strode by right next to the fire! We also had bought some good steaks from Nairobi, so were really looking forward to this, and rightly so – they were epic!

Day 51, Thursday 30 April: (Adam)

Today we were off to the Kakamega forest, the last equatorial forest of Kenya. This is supposed to be an incredible spot for birding, with over 60 species of birds that are only found there. The drive here was on one of the worst roads imaginable. All the trucks to Uganda go on this road, so it is seriously worse for wear. This smooth tar road actually has a middel-mannetjie from being worn down by trucks, and then the tracks for the wheels have two clear indentations from the double back tyres of trucks. Driving along here it almost feels like you are on railway tracks so you can’t deviate from the direction of travel at all! We were also catching the rainy season of Kenya, so the cloud burst didn’t help matters much! Stormwater drains are unheard of, so the torrential downpour made driving a lot slower and sometimes quite scary. We drove past trucks that had skidded off the road, had head-on collisions (luckily very slowly), and some other interesting sights.

We stayed in a very picturesque campsite, next to a research station. We were both quite tired once again, so after a few beers and some aewsome spaghetti bolognaise, had another early night and a sleep in the next day.

Day 52, Friday 1 May: (Adam)

We woke up a bit late, before going on a guided tour through the forest. Because we were late we did not see much (hardly any) of the supposed birds, but did see the black and white colobus monkey, and some epic trees. These trees here get strangled and killed by these other trees, quite cool to see. They also have the weeping tree, which continuously oozes this stuff that smells seriously strong! Today was a public holiday in Kenya, so a group of locals ended up coming to the campsite for a picnic. Tried some of the local stuff (they were actually Indian) which was really good, and had a friendly chat with them as well.

Day 53, Saturday 2 May: (Adam)

Today was the day for another border crossing, and these are usually filled with excitement. This border (Malaba) was absolute chaos, and our first impressions were that we would be there for a while. There was a queue almost a kilometer long of all the trucks passing through! We skipped this queue and managed to get served by the customs and immigration people, which was a relief. The paperwork didn’t take long, and were soon on the Uganda side, much to our relief! It was once again startling to see just how different two countries can be, separated only by two immigration posts!

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Part 3, Ethiopia

May 10th, 2009 | adam

Day 21, Monday 30 March: (Nick)

Not sure where Adam left off, so I will start at the boarder crossing into Ethiopia. Arriving at Gallabat we were met by a deluge of “fixers”, “tour guides” and “black market money exchangers”. This circus all seemed to provide the same services none of which we actually needed. After some lengthy discussions, Adam was in customs getting the carnet stamped, we decided we needed some Ethiopian birr. As there is neither tax nor commission from the banks here the rates are pretty good. So to get a good deal on the black-market is quite rare. After making my intentions clear that we needed to change some dollars, the on going game of getting the best rate was due to start. However seeing we were the only tourist in sight, we are quite an attraction in Ethiopia, thinks it’s my good looks and charm, a literal fight broke out between the money exchangers on who could give us the best rate. Eventually we settled on an extra one and a half birr per dollar than the original rate. It makes you wonder what rate they get on the black market for their dollars. Crossing the border was simply a case of driving over a bridge. Very little control and if we really wanted to I’m sure we could have crossed without anyone blinking an eye.

From Gallabat / Metema depending on which side of the bridge you’re on we headed off to Gondar. Ethiopia is a country of 75 million people and very few of them live in the cities. As one drives through the different villages the cultural differences are stark in comparison to that of Sudan. The Christian way of life is very apparent. Shebeens and brothels on every corner. The mosques have been replaced with churches and crosses everywhere. Camels have turned into donkeys and cows, while the goats seem to have taken over everything. Driving through one can’t help but notice that there is no natural vegetation around, but all baron cultivated land. Not sure if this is because it’s the end of the dry season or not. But there doesn’t seem to be much productivity on this land.

Gondar is referred to as Africa’s Camelot. On arrival, it is blaringly evident why this is so. There is a massive area walled off, called the Royal Enclosure. This enclosure dates back to the 1500’s with many links to the queen of Sheba and King Solomon. However our priorities lay in a more liquid form, seeing that the appeal of drinking in a dry country was too great to have restraint and our supply was proved dismally short. This could also be blamed on certain family member’s genes being passed down. After a few bottles of different beer, a favorite was quickly formed. St George was the unanimous decision. Once our thirst had been quenched we set off to find our “hotel”, the Belegez Pension. By the standards we had become accustomed to this was pretty good. With a safe place to park our car, a hot shower, and an actual working toilet with a seat!!!

Day 22, Tuesday 31 April: (Nick)

Driving from the border we had just thought the children were very friendly. This perception changed quite a lot once leaving the hotels compound. A dramatic exit that feels like you have been released from prison, through massive corrugated iron gates, we were swamped by children. Who knew where they came from but more just kept on arriving. It felt like they were on a school outing and we were the museum. After a couple of hellos and how yous are, came the 1 birr, 1 pen, and 1 sweet. This has been our experience the entire way through Ethiopia so far. Ethiopia seems to me to be a country of contradictions. Vast poverty and high literacy. Educated youth and illiterate adults. Begging children, respectful proud adults. In my opinion, this has been caused by the varies NGO’s, although they do unbelievable good in a country like this, they have bred a generation who expects hand out. If they see a white face, a handout is almost demanded. However the youth of Ethiopia are all educated and bright. Pretty much all of them which we have encountered our proud to be in school, speak fantastic English and are generally interested in where you from and your country. I think the World Cup organizing committee should be paying us a commission on the amount of publicity we are giving it.

Walking through the streets of Gondar Adam seemed to be approached by every drug dealer and pimp. Not sure if it’s the violently developing red beard of his, or he just looks dodgy. I think it’s the latter, but the rooi-baard is not helping.

After a day of visiting the sights in Gondar we headed back to the hotel to find that another South African couple had arrived up from Kenya. Nick and Nicole were very informative, and fortunately did the same route that we had planned. So after some serious brain picking we had come out with some good ideas for our route down. Hopefully we will meet up with them on their way back down.

Day 23, Wednesday 1 April: (Nick)

Bright and early the next morning we headed off to the Simian Mountains, the highest range in the Ethiopian highlands. Our plan was to climb the highest peak in the range, some 4500 meters above sea level. We entered the park with the obligatory scout. He was meant to protect us, but I am still not sure from what. We stopped for lunch at the highest hotel and bar in Africa. But I am pretty sure Sani Pass is higher. Our destination was Chennek Camp, at an altitude of around 3800 meters. We set up camp and prepared for our hike up the summit early the next morning. While sitting around the camp fire, there was a sudden raucous shouting and our scout went whiter than an Englishman’s body. After some shouting and screaming from both sides, the intruders came into the fire light sporting AK’s. Seeing they spoke no English and we no Amharic, we were getting no where. After passing along a beer and acting out sitting at the fire with us, they became very friendly, and were very happy to drink some beer with us. We still not sure who they were or what they were doing. We like to think they were a scouting party for some rebel faction. But most probably some over zealous locals who were trying there luck. The rebel army, as they shall hence be called, slept by our camp fire while we retired to our tents to get some shut eye before the hike.

Day 24, Thursday 2 April: (Nick)

In the morning our scout still hadn’t recovered, something could be read into that. But for the sake of the neurotic parents and grandparents we won’t go into that. One of the guys from the night before decided he will show us the way up the peak we were intent on climbing. The summit was not quite how we imagined. But still a great laugh. The rebel solider showed us where Gabriel Selasie grew up. Or at least we think that is what he was saying. After a nice tip the rebel solider vanished as if he were a ghost. We were back at the bottom and out of the park by 2 o’clock no harm done.

Our original plan was to spend the night in Debark, but having a look at the map it was only 180km to Shire, about 2/3 of the way to Aksum. Little did we know that this was the most spectacular road, I think in the world. This road descends off the highland escarpment. Slowly meandering down the road (I hesitate to call it a road, but for lack of a better word) the views as we descend and ascend over the varies ridges. We must have ascended to above 3000 meters and back down to 800 three or four time. The scenery is impossible for me to do justice in words. The 180km took us 5 and a half hours to complete, eventually arriving in Shire, which has very little going for it apart for a couple of refugee camps. We stayed the night in the only hotel, which aimed at UN personnel so wasn’t too bad.

Day 25, Friday 3 April: (Nick)

Seeing we got most of the long slog out the way we had planned for a nice relaxing day, by driving the 60km to Aksum and relaxing in the camp sight and finishing our books. How wrong could we be? As leaving Shire, we stopped at a very smart looking Shell petrol station and pulled up at the diesel pump. After many diesel diesel diesel’s??? and many replies diesel diesel diesel. We let the lady full our tank. Happy at the thought of a fill tank of clean fuel we made our merry way along. 2 km from the petrol station, we lost all power in the engine. The realisation that the lady had filled the car with something other than diesel, came with such severe profanities that I am embarrassed to repeat them.

We flagged down a passing truck and got towed back to the petrol station. Where the wrath of hell would have paled in insignificance to the wrath that was let lose on the proprietor, who by the way could speak no English. But at least we left better about ourselves. The problem occurred when they had filled the underground tanks with the wrong fuel. After 5 hours of sweat, oil, dust, blood and mouths full of benzene, as it turned out to be, we managed to drain the tank. We then filled up our tank with diesel which was in a tank marked gas oil. Said a little prayer, and worship all the idols, and started our engine. After much gurgling and spluttering, with enough smoke to make a hole in the ozone layer our landy started. Not sure why we doubted it. In this process, I tried to call a land rover mechanic just to get the worst case scenario, and someone managed to swipe my cell phone. Just to add a cherry on top. So if you don’t get any messages from me, that’s the reason, I don’t have your number anymore.

Arriving in Aksum, tired, hungry and in foul moods the owner of the camp site gave us a good rate without the mandatory negotiation, followed very quickly by a lot of beer and eventually a shower. Quite possibly the best shower either of us have had. Especially seeing as its Adam’s first of the trip.

Day 26, Saturday 4 April: (Adam)

The night in Axum was a pleasant one, and we spent a while talking to a German couple (Germans are everywhere) who were also travelling South (with their dog!). Was good fun swapping some stories and hearing plans for their own trip compared to ours. The Axumite Kingdom was a powerful one, dating back to times before Christ, reigning for quite some time until the war with the Muslims resulted in its destruction. Like Gondor, Axum is also rich with history, and supposedly home to the original Ark of the Covenant, which was stolen from Jerusalem by Menelik while he was visiting his father, King Solomon. There is field after field of stellae (obelisks) varying in size and stature, which sybolised the might of the Axumite Kingdom. These stellae are ancient, and the fact that they are still standing is incredible. The largest of them all (33m) collapsed during its construction, crashing onto the roof of an important tomb. This is sometimes referred to as the pagan Tower of Babel, and put and end to the construction of the stellae.

We wondered through the museum, which apart from 4 history students, was completely empty. After this we had a cheapened version of a traditional coffee ceremony – I say cheapened because we only had one cup, when three is supposed to be the amount. The coffee was prepared in the same special way required by the ceremony, but it didn’t really feel like the real deal. Might have to try that again sometime. We then headed of to the St Mary of Zion church. The original church on this sight was the first church built in Ethiopia, and home to the Ark of the Covenant. During the war with the Muslims, this church was destroyed, but luckily the Ark was hidden during this time. The church was then rebuilt in the 17th century, and recently one was built right next to it where women were also allowed to enter. There were once again no other tourists in this compound, so we were shown around by the keyholder and a priest, which was quite cool. The building where the Ark is supposedly kept was s bit anti-climatic, and makes it hard to believe that it is actually there. A Hungarian tourist was however put in prison for running and trying to jump over the fence to see it. He never made it into the building – one of the many guardians got to him in time! After a full morning of monument bashing, we opted for a more relaxed afternoon, which was spent at a restaurant with our great friend St George.

Day 27, Sunday 5 April: (Adam)

The only problem with coming as far north as we were now, is that we have to go all the way south once again. We struggled to get out of town, as the one road through town was closed for a very important cycle race. This involved lap after lap of cyclers racing up and down the main road, with the whole town there to watch. We decided to rather settle for coffee and a pastry before things quietened down. Before we began the journey south, we were to stop at the Debre Damo monastery, one that is perched on top of a mountain, and can only be reached by scaling a 15m cliff face on a very tired looking rope (No ladies allowed here as well, think this might be too much of a distraction for the 350 odd monks that live self-sufficiently on top). This was a special place to visit, and definitely worth the not so short detour we had to take to get to it. Garmin played us once again, and getting there was not as simple as we had imagined.

We drove into the town of Adigrat for lunch, and it honestly looked like our car had an intentional mud-colored finish to its paint job. We were looking for a specific cultural restaurant, which thanks to Nick’s rather useless navigating, we took a while to find. While driving up and down town looking for it, there were 4 kids chasing our car. We had become quite accustomed to it, so didn’t take much notice. When we got out at the restaurant, they asked if they could clean our car. We didn’t want to spend money on this if it wasn’t done properly, so politely told them no thanks. An hour and half later, we left the restaurant to find the car was absolutely spotless, with the 4 kids smiling next to it. I have no idea how they managed to clean it – especially considering the rags they were using! We were quite touched by their willingless and persistence to work rather than beg, so sorted them out nicely for a job well done! We were in Mekelle for the night, a place which really has nothing to offer. We wondered through the town, ending up at a park where we stayed to watch the Manchester United, Aston Villa game. The prostitutes in the bar made their intentions clear straight away, so for a change we went cautiously slow with the beers.

Day 28, Monday 6 April: (Adam)

It seems we cannot escape the Highlands, and we left for Lalibela after a terrible breakfast. We once again yoyo’d over some of the most spectacular mountains, with the road ranging from bad to worse. Lalibela, with its rock-hewn churches is perched pretty much on top of one of these mountains, so it was a while before we reached our destination. We did however have a great meal with some other tourists at a traditional restaurant. The two ladies in the group got a bit more attention from the two of us than they would otherwise have normally received – an effect of us being on the move for the last month through countries that are not only dry with alcohol.

Day 29, Tuesday 7 April: (Adam)

We met up with a guide rather early, and began a tour of the churches after buying a ticket at an extortative price. These churches are incredible, and have been carved out of solid volcanic rock, some of them to the extent that they are even free standing. For the biggest church, this took 23 years, and for that time was still an amazing feat. Around one of the churches, are graves of pilgrims, who 1000 or so years ago, travelled great distances with the wish of being buried near the church. This wasn’t a particular pleasant thing to see – they could have at least covered the bones with something and said there were bones underneath! After a full morning of sight-seeing, we were churched out, and decided to just chill for the rest of the afternoon. Went out for some western food which was great for a change, with a guy from the UK and a Russian couple. Awesome to have some normal food again! Tomorrow we head for Bahir Dar, a not so small hotspot of Ethiopia.

Day 38, Thursday 16 April: (Nick)

This morning we had a lazy start after a good sleep in and a nice hot breakfast at the Hotel Ghion, which was our first night in a proper bed for a while. We decided to do the tourist thing and go explore the island monasteries. These are only accessible by boat over lake Tania. So we board the boat hearts filled with excitement and doing some more culture! The boat was a little more than an iron bath tub with a outboard motor stuck on the back. This 45 minute trip was punctuated by the odd canoe overtaking us. Arriving on the island, we had a short walk through a coffee plantation to the monastery. The monastery itself is a magnificent 12th century building, the surrounding area housed 80 monks. The inside of the church is magnificently painted by different artists during the period between 12th and 14th century. Each painting was depicting a different scene from the bible along with local legends about the different saints. Unfortunately for Captain Red Beard (adam) we had seen one to many churches and the levels of enthusiasm diminished faster than a Ethiopian Olympic runner finishes his final lap. I must admit we were a little churched out after the historical route. So we called it a day and went back to our “raft” and headed back to the main land 15km away. After a time that Natalie Du Toit would be upset about we landed ashore and back to the hotel Ghion for supper and bed. Early start to get to Addis in the morning

Day 39, Friday 17 April: (Nick)

Left Bah Dair at 5 in the morning to get a good start on the road to Addis. Addis being 800km away and not on very good roads, takes its time. Arriving at the highway we were greeted by a massive queue to get onto the highway. Being foreigners we stopped to ask a police man what was going on with our widest smiles on. He pointed us straight to the front and through the road block. This was a massive score as we managed to gain an hour on all the Easter traffic heading for Addis Abba.

Driving that road was an amazing experience, gazing at the buses and mini buses filled with everything from people to cows. In Ethiopia they follow a different calendar to that of the western world Gregorian calendar, no one could tell me what was the name of the calendar that they are following. But all I know is that we steped back in time to 2001. They still recovering from the millennium bug! Driving down the road it never ceased to amaze us how many people they got into a taxi, and how many goats they got on the roofs! At one stage we counted 6 goats on a roof, and in the back of a bakkie, 2 cows and 2 goats along with countless chickens. Every village along the way was catering for some aspect of the Ethiopian Easter celebrations. We would drive through one village which would sells the booze on the side of the street then the next could be selling the live chickens, then Ethiopian crosses. This continued all the way to Addis.

On Arrival in Addis at about 5 in the afternoon, we had made a collective decision we needed some comfort, a clean bed, a hot shower and a toilet with a toilet seat! We checked into the Sheraton in Addis, which is a beautiful building filled with marble. The room was amazing two big soft beds, a great shower and a big tv with dstv. Can predict a Saturday filled with super 14!

Day 40 – 41, Saturday 18 – Sunday 19 April: (Nick)

Awoke on Saturday to the Stomers losing again. The Landy had been through some times so we decided to treat her too. We went down to the local dealership, to have our oil changed and air filters replaced. This is where she decided to spring a oil leak. For those of you in the know, this is normal for a landy and considered obligatory. But it was her first so we had a look to see what was going on. The oil pump had sprung a high pressure leak and we were recommended to get a new one, which of course they didn’t have in stock. So we order one in Nairobi and headed back to the hotel for an afternoon of chilling, gin and swimming at the hotel pool. After a day of doing nothing we were so exhausted we decided to call it an early night.

Sunday morning woke up to the Easter breakfast buffet, that put us straight back to lethargic mode and didn’t leave it for the rest of the day.

Day 42, Monday 20 April: (Nick)

After a long had weekend of nothing we struggled out of bed and out of the hotel. After much discussion we decided to head straight to the border at Moyale, some 800km away. This as it turned out to be a gargantuan of a trip. First heading down off the highlands and on to the plateau. Then through the omo valley. The difference in the two regions is vast. The people have become darker, and all carry spears and sticks to protect there cattle. At around half way is Shashamene, this is the home of Rastafarianism. So while driving through you see lots of dreadlocks and Bob Marley blaring out of every taxi. South of Shasamene Ethiopia turns seriously more primitive (hard to believe). Villages become tiny, and by the looks of it tribal law stands. During the afternoon a shower broke which drove everyone inside, resulting on us seeing very little of local life of the southerners. As dusk broke so did the rain, bringing the people back onto the streets and giving us a glimpse of what life is like. Driving through one village at about nine at night (we seriously overestimated the distance to the border) we saw the start of some sort of riot or disturbance. People were running in from all around with spears and AK’s. We decided it was probably best not to hang around to long to find what was going on, so we hurried on to the border. We found supposedly the best hotel in Moyale. Could be one of the worst we had stayed at so far, and we have seen our fair share.

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Part 2, Sudan

May 10th, 2009 | adam

Day 15, Tuesday 24 March: (Adam)

We arrived in Sudan with no idea what to expect. There is not very much information available, and the news reports on the country are all pretty bad. We woke up on the ferry to find out that there were serious winds during the night, and the barge carrying the car probably had to pull over into shallow waters to wait the storm out - not good news. The immigration process on the boat was relatively quick, where we were interviewed by a Sudanese official who could hardly speak English. It was here we also met Magdhy, the fixer who was going to facilitate getting the car through customs.

Passing through immigration in the port our bags were searched for alcohol, a bit of a concern considering what we had in the car. Wadi Halfa was at first very unimpressive. The town was only built so that the ferry from Egypt had a place to stop, so we weren’t too excited about spending much time there. We made our way to our “hotel”, the Deffintoads. This was as basic as is possible to get anywhere, and a prison cell would probably have been cleaner and more comfortable. However, this was the only option, and also improved by the friendliness and helpfulness of the manager/concierge/owner/everything guy who couldn’t speak a word of English.

After an afternoon in the town, the place began to grow on us. It had a character of its own that was hard to dislike. That evening we had a drink (tea) with 5 backpackers (aging from 25 to about 60 plus). It was great to chat to some other people about their expeditions and experiences. The centre of the town also came alive at night, with communal televisions around the square. These consist of shop owners having a TV on their patio, and then the town community all congregating there.

Day 16, Wednesday 25th March: (Adam)

We woke up very early to the lovely sounds of children shouting at the crack of dawn. The ferry departs back to Egypt today, so families also overnighting in the Deffintoads were obviously making ready for the journey. We spent most of the morning wondering around the town, visiting especially the local market. It was here we were approached by a retired army general, who wanted medical advice concerning a rather embarrassing problem of his. After him telling us that Viagra wasn’t working for him, Nick prescribed him onto a course of lots of garlic, and very few oranges / lemons. Good luck to him!

We received news that the barge carrying the car was arriving early, so excitedly made our way back to the port. The barge unfortunately parked at the wrong jetty, so our car couldn’t be offloaded until all the other stuff was taken off. This took a couple hours, where the workers exhibited the epitome of inefficiency, laziness, uselessness, boredom, etc. Frustrated, we waited until they were eventually done so that the barge could be moved. The formalities that followed were quick, and we were soon all done. We made a quick top at the market to get some supplies, and then headed off.

We ambitiously set are target destination for the town of Agri, about 300km away. With our delayed departure, this would be a push. We had no idea what was in store for us, and after continually losing the road, backtracking, and making our own track, we cut our losses and realised that we would have to make another plan. Earlier in the day, we also passed the broken down bus, where the backpackers we had met were unhappily stranded, and very jealous of the fact that we had a great braai in store for us! Finding a suitable campsite in the dark was not easy, yet with one of Nick’s increasingly rare moments of brilliance, he said completely by chance “What about here?” at the perfect time. We ended up staying at a lovely sheltered and perfect spot on the bank of the Nile.

Day 17, Thursday 26 March: (Adam)

Nick woke up early and tried his luck for some Nile perch in the river. His luck from the night before had run out, so we had breakfast, and then left empty handed. We continued our journey along the Nile, with Dongola as our new destination. We passed through river village after village, with the land on the Nile obviously in high demand. These were all about as rural as they come - mud walls, wooden roofs, and suprising colours marking the entrance. Education in these parts seems not to exist, yet everybody seems very comfortable with their way of life. While awesome to see at first, this trekking along a “track” through these villages became increasingly slow going, worsened by the fact that we kept losing the road as well. We came to the realization that the reason there is so little written on Sudan, was probably because there was so little to see. The villages along the river are all special in their own way, yet more than 200m away from the river begins the arid wasteland which never ends. We were now on a much better road, so decided rather to carry on moving, for the town of Karima.

We got to Karima with some time to spare, so tried to go to a viewpoint where the falls of the 4th cataract could be seen. We once again took the wrong road (I don’t think the road we were looking for existed) and soon passed what looked like a 50mm anti-aircraft gun, manned by some friendly soldiers. Just further on though,we stopped by an official who once again had no idea what we were trying to say. He said we had to go to the police, so we agreed and then turned back for the town much to our relief.

We passed the world heritage sight of the pyramids at Jebel Barkal. This was about as disappointing as they get, and it was obvious that the word preservation meant nothing to the Sudanese government. We were now quite a bit south, and the areas alongside the river were increasingly densely populated. Because of this we could not find a suitable campsite, so just headed out into the desert. We ended up in the middle of a massive irrigation project that was being built, where we found a tree next to which we set up camp. Even as desolate as Sudan seems, it is great to see how there is some progression. The roads, bar a few, have all been terrible, but all under construction. in a couple years the journey we made will probably be one you can do in a sports car. The irrigation projects also showed that there was an attempt to make more land arable and productive. All the people we met had been ever so friendly, making the time much more pleasant for us.

Day 18, Friday 27 March: (Adam)

Today was the rest of the journey to Khartoum. The travelling had been pretty hard going, since we boarded the ferry, so we were looking forward to getting to a place to chill. We made good time to Khartoum, and were there early in the afternoon. There are only two places to camp in Khartoum, one of them being the Blue Nile Sailing Club. We set up camp here, and enjoyed a swim in the river followed by a trickle of water they calla shower. All in all this day was rather uneventful, yet just what we needed to slow things down a bit.

Day 19, Saturday 28 March: (Adam)

Today we planned to see the sights of Khartoum. We first went to the Omdurman Market (just across the river from Khartoum). This place is massive, and offers everything you could possibly imagine. It puts the size of our biggest shopping malls to shame, with fractional prices as well. Nick’s proposed 3 hours to wonder the stresses of the market, along with my half hour ended up at a healthy compromise of 1 hour. The bustling market was an experience in itself, and it is astonishing to imagine how a place like that can keep going. Prices are bottom end, and the vast array of available stuff must mean that most vendors never get to sell anything.

We then went to Al Morgran Family Park - the best place to witness the confluence of the Blue and White Nile. I think this is the Sudanese version of Cape Point back home. All the tourists in Khartoum have to see it, but if you live in Khartoum it is something that you would only do as part of a standard 3 geography outing. The slightly different colours of the rivers, which blend into one further downstream was a bit of an anti-climax, yet something that we were glad we did. After this we had a touch of home, at Steers. There is something about those burgers that is the same everywhere you go, and made up for the terrible meat we had been eating thus far.

Day 20, Sunday 29 March: (Adam)

We woke up rather early and set off for the border. Our Sudan experience thus far had been a very pleasant one, yet the lack of sights and things to do meant we might as well move out and have more time to spend in other places. Khartoum, even with very little to see and do, was still a great city to visit. It is fairly modernised in places, maintains its historic and cultural feel, and the people are just all so helpful and friendly. The drive from here was easy going, hampered only by the numerous roadblocks and trucks to overtake. We always knew we could not make it to the border by the end of that day, but our goal was to get relatively close and then just set up camp.

We found what we thought would be a good place, and made ready for our last braai for a while. We finished the last of our beers (this rationing really isn’t cool), and had a good whiskey night cap before hitting the sack. At about 12, the gentle breeze that had been blowing for the last couple days suddenly became a howling wind / gale. We hadn’t set up a tent, so had to deal with it through the night. We hit cocoon mode in the sleeping bags and attempted to sleep it out.

Day 21, Monday 30 March: (Adam)

We woke up pretty early as one could expect, and left without even having breakfast. Moods weren’t great, and we now really wanted to get out of Sudan as quick as possible. Our departure was also quickened by the sound of semi automatic rifle fire in the distance, which began soon after we woke up. This was far off, and of little concern, yet reason to believe that we were obviously camped near to a military camp / training ground. We hastily set off to complete out last 70km of Sudan.

Sudan seems to be quite concerned about an invasion from Ethiopia, as the road to the border became increasingly more protected. Towards the end, there were outposts every kilometre or so, with massive 30mm guns trained on the road. The soldiers here still exhibited the usual Sudan friendliness, and happily waved us through.

The border town of Qallabat is really not much. The proceedings did not take long at all, and before long we were crossing the bridge to Ethiopia. Dollars here are obviously in high demand, and we fond rates ranging from 8 to 12 Ethiopian birre per dollar. We were happy to have the vastness and emptiness of Sudan behind us, and felt like we had seen and done what we ought to. All in all it is a great country (in the north, can’t speak for the south). Travelling through here without the sanity received from the good taste of a beer or whiskey is a challenge that I am glad we did not attempt!

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Part 1, Egypt

May 10th, 2009 | adam

Day 1, Tuesday 10 March: (Adam)

We arrived in Cairo with what one could call great anticipation. Nick and I both understood from the start that getting the car through customs wouldn’t be a breeze, but had no idea what we were in store for! I don’t want to go into details, but feel that I have to just to explain why we got on the road so late. If you don’t want to get bogged down reading this just skip to day 7.

Upon arriving in Cairo we went straight to Alexandria to get the paperwork started. This involved going to the clearing agent, MTS logistics. From here we went to the offices of the shippers, Mediterannean Shipping Co. Here we had to get the release papers so that the car could begin its customs saga. After this I had to get a letter from the government saying that I authorise the clearing agent to act on my behalf to release the car. This was supposed to take half an hour, but took 2, and governmant buildings are another league compared to back home. Also, I couldn’t do this without becoming a temporary Egyptian resident, so off to their equivalent of home affairs. Anyway, 2 hours later, I had the letter, and we thought we were good to go. We gave MSC the letter, and headed back to Cairo, confident that things were now well on their way. All in all, not your average “tourist day”. Did however have Khorshari for dinner, which is a local meal - very cheap and very good.

Day 2, Wednesday 11 March: (Adam)

In thinking that everything was well on the way, we headed off to Giza to see the pyramids and sphinx. This was pretty awesome. Amazing how they built those things so long ago. Once you’ve seen it you’ve seen it though. After this we treated ourselves to a drink at a rather larny place, which was rather overrated, so we decided to head to the area Zamelec, where we found some cool bars and pubs.

Day 3, Thursday 12 March: (Adam)

Today is the day for visas. We headed off to the Sudanese embassy (our next country) just before they opened at 9.30 to get things started. Even with our regular protests, nothing got going until 10. They also wouldn’t give us the visa unless we got our letter from the South African Embassy (other side of town) stating that they were aware of our travels and didn’t have a problem with it. This is due to the safety concern in the country (Interior affairs is worried that foreigners will be spies attempting to abduct El Bashir). After some persuasion, we got them to agree to give us the visa on condition that we would get the letter and bring it to them. We managed to get our visas fast-tracked, so 2 hours later, we had them! Off to the SA embassy. After an hour or so in Cairo traffic we finally got here. The embassy was already closed, but luckily the Ambassador, Mrs Kudjoe, bumped into us at the door. She immediately said we looked like South Africans, and gave us great service and hospitality. An hour later, we on our way back to the Sudanese embassy with the letter. Once we got there, the shift had changed, and nobody could understand why we were bringing a letter if we already had our visas. So after hanging around there a while hoping to glimpse the man we dealt with earlier, we headed back to the hotel. For dinner we headed back to Zamelec, finding a very cool pub and authentic Egyptian restaurant where we had Molokheya with various other side plates. Was a good evening, and we headed back to the hotel relatively happy with our productive day.

Day 4, Friday 13 March: (Adam)

Friday is a holiday day for most Islamic countries. It was remarkable to see how the usually chaotic city was all of a sudden dead quiet. We made our way down to the Egyptian Museum, which was supposed to be pretty epic. There are all sorts of mummies and stuff here, and a whole lot of artifacts. Museums aren’t really my scene, so ended up leaving after an hour or so and just chilling in the sun. An hour or so later we headed back to Zamelec, finding a nice pizza reastaurant. The only problem with the restaurant was that they didn’t sell alcohol - the case with most restaurants! Wondered around the island of Zamelec until we found a very nice coffee shop, where we sat in the sun on the bank of the Nile having iced coffees and sheisha (hubbly). For dinner, we went to the restaurant version of the cheap take-away place from Tuesday. Had a great dish of Fatta with chicken (think Nick had meatballs).

Day 5, Saturday 14 March: (Adam)

Today we actually thought we were going to get the car. We first had to get our Carnet de Passage (temporary import/export permit for each country) approved in Cairo. This in our opinion was an absolute waste of time, and completely unnecessary. Nothing in Egypt is quick, so 3 hours later, after meeting the “General”, who also wanted to make a penny, we had the approval. We headed back to Alexandria with great excitement. When we got there at 15h00we found out that the customs people stop working at 14h00, so the big rush to Alexandria was another unnecessary waste of time. We found a hotel which was somehow worse (but more friendly) than the one in Cairo. Luckily we had a good stash of whiskey to lift our spirits.

Day 6, Sunday 15 March: (Adam)

We decided to just sit in the MTS offices to try and speed things up. This didn’t seem like it was working, so we eventually asked if there was anyway we could speed up the process. Our agent then told us that they were already bribing government officials over the table, under the table, around the table, and straight in their faces to try fast-track things (for which they would bill us). At about midday we went to the port to get the car! 4 hours later, it finally got let out. The battle was not over though, the car still had to get a temporary registration, and these offices were already closed for the day! The only positive thing about this day was a walk through downtown that evening. We walked through a real street market, selling every type of fruit or animal that I could imagine! Also all sorts of local stores, traders, carpenters, tailors, etc working flat out at 11 at night!

Day 7, Monday 16 March: (Adam)

Once again, nothing was simple. After being repeatedly told by our agents that the government and customs department was completely useless, and there was nothing they could do, we played the waiting game with minimal patience. At 1600 we were finally ready to go. The plan was originally to detour from Cairo to Luxor, driving through the normal, white and black desert, and visit the many oases along the way. We had to be in Aswan by Friday night in order to catch the ferry into Sudan, so this detour was becoming a bit of a tight fit. We anyway decided to do it, so left Alexandria intending to get to the town of Bawiti, in the Bahariya oasis. After a couple drastic errors in Nick’s navigating, we only got to Bawiti at about 2300, and somehow managed to find a “campsite”. We hastily set up camp, and climbed into bed. After the nightmare of getting the car cleared, to finally be out in the open under the stars was very rewarding.

Day 8, Tuesday 17 March: (Adam)

After waking up and having a great breakfast in the campsite, we packed up and began a hunt for diesel. The two petrol stations in the oasis were both sold out, but we luckily found a dealer on the edge of town with stock. From his garage he pulled some dodgy drums, from which we luckily filled up the two spare tanks. We were still keen to head into the real desert, but couldn’t do this unless we took a guide to go straight across (not allowed to do it without a guide). We found a local who was willing to take us, so after a brief stop at his house for wood for a braai, we headed off. We told him about our time constraints, as we wanted to see Luxor before going to Aswan. He took this quite seriously, and after leaving the road he took off at such a pace that we actually lost him for a while. We didn’t have time to really go off into the Black Desert, which was a pity, but not too tragic. We did however have an awesome view of the black mountains that just rise out of the sand. In the afternoon, we headed into the white desert, which was amazing - all these crystal white rock formations just rising out of the ground. Seems like it is white sand, but actually chalk that has been exposed to weird weather. Once through this maze of mushroom rock formations, we hit cruising speed across the open desert. The never ending sand dunes are incredible, and impossible to explain. While Nick was driving, he was so taken by the view that his loss of concentration caused us to almost get stuck once or twice. As the sun set, we made campe at the base of a dune, hungry as ever. It was so enjoyable to sit by the fire with the bedouin guide, and just to hear about their lifestyle, and the desert.

Day 9, Wednesday 18 March: (Adam)

After a perfect evening and still night, we woke up at sunrise (well Nick did at least) to get us going for a long day’s driving. The plan was to get the Luxor so that we would have enough time there before leaving for Aswan. The drive went by quickly until we hit the edge of the escarpment of the desert. This involvled going very slowly on what is supposed to be a road. Plenty of places where the road is completely wiped out by a massive sand dune, and when it isn’t wiped out, it was only a couple of rocks marking the way. It could well be due to our lack of experience, but the photos we took did not come close to capturing the true look of the area we were driving through. Whilst in this rocky terrain, Rahab (our guide) had some problems with his car (a cruiser). This could have posed quite a problem, as we were still far from the oasis of Dakhla. Using some duct tape and cable ties from our spares box, we managed to fix a snapped plate and stopper that his steering cable attached to. Once in Dakhla, we hit a good rood all the way to Luxor. This trip was only hampered by the many road blocks we went through. I’m not lying if I say we went through at least 15 of them. After a couple we realised that the less they understand us (or us them), the quicker the procedure is (usually involves them just waving us through). Eventually it got to the point where Nick only said Afrique repeatedly, resulting in a smile on their faces, and a torrent of Arabic between them. This didn’t work so well when we got to a military check point (road goes through military zone). We tried the usual, but the soldier spoke very good English, and wouldn’t let us through without seeing our passports, and knowing our business. We once again got to our destination (Luxor) after dark, at about 2000. From first impressions this place seems much better than Cairo and Alexandria, so the sightseeing here should be much more enjoyable!

Day 10, Thursday 19 March: (Adam)

This was the first day on the road where we could just take our time and do our thing. We first went to the Karnak temple, which was the religious centre during the Egyptian rule. The massive columns and obelisks of the temple were seriously impressive, while the “sacred lake” which the priests thought gave them a direct connection with the God of the Sea, Noun, was slightly less impressive. After this we headed to the Valley of the Kings. I always thought this to be a rather boring site, but was completely wrong. In these mountains, tomb after tomb lies deep in the ground, with amazing hieroglyphics and paintings. Was a very pleasant surprise, and one which I thoroughly enjoyed! After a drink on the Nile at the Winter Palace, we found a great English Pub that made some great burgers! Here we got into a long and interesting chat with a (in my opinion) rather lost and confused young lady. Ended up having rather heated debates about a vast array of topics!

Day 11, Friday 20 March: (Adam)

We woke up in our own time, before packing the car and getting ready for the drive to Aswan. We would take this rather short drive (280km) rather leisurely, as we had time to spare. We were only arriving in Aswan on the Friday night, as we had a meeting with Mr. Saleh early on Saturday morning. He is the main dude in charge of the ferry, an area of concern from an organizing aspect. The reasons for this were the fact that we have no idea what to expect, and a few of the travelers’ we had heard. On the way down to Aswan, we found a great spot on the Nile where we stopped for a sandwich. The water seemed so clean (as far as we could tell) that a swim to escape the heat was almost on the cards. We however decided to rather head into town so as to know what to expect from the next morning. We tried to find a campsite we’d read about - called Adam’s Home. This is a small Nubian village just outside of town on the west bank of the Nile. We eventually found the little spot, but unfortunately could not stay there, as the owner had lost his license to have campers. Camping seems to be quite a serious think in Egypt, and just setting up anywhere is not allowed. This is not ideal for us, as camping is usually a whole lot nicer and more comfortable than the types of places we book into! It appears that only once we are in Sudan can we just set up camp wherever we please. Looking forward to that! So we booked into a place called the Hathor, nothing spectacular once again, and made away to a supposedly renowned fish restaurant on the river. The fish was excellent, but this was about all that was excellent about the place (can’t remember the name). At this restaurant we met a fixer, Abdul. After chatting to him for a while it became apparent that he could organize some good prices for hotels and things to do in Aswan. We took his number, and were to meet him the next afternoon for a Felucca sunset cruise.

Day 12, Saturday 21 March: (Adam)

With our meeting with Mr. Saleh scheduled for 09h00, we woke up slightly nervous. After the nightmare getting the car into Egypt, we had no idea what it was going to be like trying to get it out of Egypt. We met Mr. Saleh, who was only 10 minutes late, and he gave us a great idea (and map) of what needed to be done. First it as off to a traffic court. Here we had to get a slip of paper saying that we had not been in any accidents. This took about an hour, after which we were asked rather rudely for baksheesh (tip / bribe) which everyone thinks they are entitled to. We met a Japanese lady called Yuki, who had been on the road for 8 months already, travelling alone from Japan to Cape Town on a motorcycle. Very interesting and brave lady, who we will probably see on the ferry on Monday. After the traffic court, we made our way to the Traffic Police, where we had to give back our temporary number plates. Here we were fast-tracked by a very nice guy, and were out of there in 10mins. Unfortunately there were no refunds (as we thought there were) for the plates or the 2 massive fire extinguishers (one of which would be large enough to handle an industrial factory) we were forced to buy. After handing the plates in, we got another slip of paper saying that we had completed all obligations and were leaving the country. Back to Mr. Saleh to buy the tickets. As we got to his office though, he told us to come back in half an hour, as he had to go pray. Nevertheless, an hour later we were all done, and happy with the achievements of the day. After chilling for a bit we met Abdul, to go on the Felucca cruise. This was great, and we had some good beers in the sunset. The river is very active, with many feluccas and sunset cruises underway. I had a brief swim in the Nile, where after we made our way back to the hotel.

Day 13, Sunday 21 March: (Nick)

My first entry into the blog, time to get back at Adam. We had anticipated the paperwork to get out of Egypt to take much longer. So it was nice to have an extra day of unexpected relaxation. Woke up late and had a lazy start to the day. Breakfast in the Nile Hotel, supposedly a three star institution left a lot to be desired. After breakfast we weren’t really sure what to do with ourselves. I had already done the sights while Adam was doing the paperwork yesterday. He is a bit of a bohemian anyway and not interested, to quote “once you have seen one old sight you have seen them all”
In the end we decided to do some tidying of the car. This was just basically an excuse to find hiding spots for us to smuggle our beer and whiskey into Sudan. We have had plenty of practice at this during our school days. So soon the case we had bought had vanished in the catechism of our vehicle. This was followed by Adams insistence that the car needed a wash. So following in a good old Bishops tradition we went to find someone to do it for us. Heavens alone knows why the car needed a wash, because the moment we drove out of the petrol station we were on dirt roads returned to the state it was in before hand.

The afternoon was whiled away sipping beer and having an afternoon power nap. Our “fixer” in Aswan suggested we have dinner in the Nubian village, he said he would get a local family to have us and provide a meal. We quickly jumped at the offer, thinking this was the perfect opportunity to get out of the Egyptian tourist traps and experience what “Real” Nubian life was like. The Guide chartered a boat for us and we headed up stream for what we thought would be our first real African experience. The 45 minute trip up the Nile River was incredible. The stark contrast between the banks, vast stretches of desert on the one bank while on the other this lush vegetation teaming with birds.

We arrived in the “Nubian Village” and were lead to the home. Every second person along the way was lighting up a joint. It’s no wonder why everything goes so slowly. On route to the home, we were lead through a “local” market which only sold tourist souvenirs. This was the first warning bell. Entering the house we realized we had been “had” again. Dinner was a very put on event, with some types of local food following by some dancing. The music for this dance was blasted out of a cell phone. The dancing itself was a bit of a let down. Was anticipating awesome moves like the horny hound dog but none of it came. Headed back to the hotel with a feeling of disappointment. The nerves for customs tomorrow is starting to build

Day 14, Monday 23 March: (Nicholas)

The day Adam (the pessimist) has been fearing, talking and obsessing about has finally arrived, the dreaded ferry crossing.

After another “5 Star breakfast” at the Nile Hotel we set of for the port. Mr. Saleh told us we needed to be there at 9 o’clock to get every thing through customs and on to the ferry. We arrived promptly at 9, only to find that they hadn’t started work yet. We were told to come back at 10. Not a great start. Outside the gates to the port, it was absolute chaos. People running in every direction (for an Egyptian running is a slow walk) carrying mountains of luggage. The quantity of luggage would even put my grandmother to shame. At 10, we were let into the port. Our first stop a customs check of the vehicles. The customs official, quite a young chap walks up to us and say, “Check! Baksheesh!” to which I reply Baksheesh, no check. He just smiles and shakes my hand, with a crisp 20 pound note in it. The signing of the carnet and stamping of the passports went very smoothly and we were out and finished within 20 minutes, a new record for us in Egypt. Driving down to the ferry we realized there wasn’t much action going on. The ships captain told us that they will only be able to load our car at 4. So hurry up and wait!

We decided to make the most of it and made a little picnic camp right in the middle of the port. Setting up our canopy and table, to endure the heat and mundane boredom of the port. After a couple of sarmies and cold beers, with many games of “Fokkit” and Black Bitch under our belt along with a good dent in our books we loaded our car onto the barge. A barge is not really a good description of this hardly floating piece of scrap metal. Perched precariously on top of the rust bucked we said good bye to the car. After the presentation of 100 pounds to the captain, he told us everything will be fine.

We sailed away on the passenger ferry the Sini. Adam and I having seen the number of people on board treated ourselves to a first class cabin. On the luxury scale a rat’s hole will receive a better rating. I will not even go into the state of the first class ablutions. It’s better left to the imagination. Only 18 hours to go till Wadi Halfa and the vast unknown that is Sudan.

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