Luxor and Hurgarda

Well as you can see from this rather large photo, I have made it to Luxor, home of the Valley of the Kings, Luxor and Karnak Temples to name a few and the giant collosses of Memmon you can see in the picture. It was interesting to return to the Valley of the Kings and I saw many tombs and temples I had not previously visited. We spent 3 full days in Luxor at a local campsite, however I did cheat and upgrade to a room - I figured it may be my last chance to sleep in a real bed for quite a while. Luxor is having unseasonly hot wather at the moment (great) it has been in the high 30's instead of the mid 30's. This has made exploring difficult in the day.I have taken to getting up at 6am - voluntarily, in order to see the sites before I roast.

Mel our tour leader at a little surprise for us when we reached Luxor. We were supposed to be spending 5 days here but she had arranged for us to leave early so we could take a detour via the Red Sea. We drove across to Hurgarda on the coast and got to spend a full day out on a luxury boat, snorkelling and diving. It was wonderful and we felt like proper holiday makers. It was also my tent buddy, Harriet's birthday, so that evening we had a bad hair day party, complete with cake, drinking and dancing. It was a great day and as far removed from bush camping as you can get!

Sleeping under the Stars.

As well as visiting the famous Pyramids of Giza whilst in Cairo, I also visited a couple of other pyramid complexes including this step pyramid. This was the first pyramid ever built and was built by King Zoser who simply could not stand the idea of having to be bried near the commoners! Cairo was hot, dirty and very congested so it was good to finally set off on the truck last friday. All 24 of us piled onto the truck, the sides were rolled up and we set off to drive into the desert. Because the truck has soft roll up windows at both sides, it means a strong cross breeze is ever present when we are driving. This is wonderful in the 40 plus degree heat we are currently in.

We drove west from Cairo into the Western desert. Our very first bush camp was made that first night. We pulled behind a sand dune and set up shop. The camping equipment came out and tea for me was a spicy veg stew. We ate round the camp fire and then uncurled the sleeping bags and slept under the stars. The night sky here, away from all the light pollution, is magical. You can see thousand upon thousands of stars and even the wispy trails of the milky way. Its beautiful. In the morning we packed away and continued driving.

The next day saw us drive through the black desert (so called becuase it consists of black rock) and into the white desert. As well as having lots of little crystals in the sand making it glisten ,the white desert is home to fascinating rock formatioms. This place used to be a sea a few million years ago and fossils of fish are still being found. Local guides took us into the heart of the desert which is a national park and also cooked up a feast for us as well as providing entertainment around the fire. From here we passed through the little oasis towns of farafel and Bahayriya. Looking slighty grubby by now we pulled up into the town of Dahkla where a local restaurant owner let us sleep on his rooftop. He also showed us where one of the 650 desert hot springs were located, so in the morning we all went for a dip. No cooling off was involved as the water was as hot as bath water and alas no cleaning occurred as the water had a high sulphur content and turned us all orange. But being immersed in any water in the middle of the desert feels wonderful.

By now every one is filthy and definately not smelling their best. Another night in the desert occurs, followed by an early start and by Tuesday lunchtime we finally see signs of life and civilazation as we head towards Luxor. After 5 days and 4 nights we have crossed the desert and made it to the Luxor campsite. In all this time we have not been able to shower or wash properly and as the temperature has never been below the high 30's, you can only imagine what we all looked like. The campsite has showers and a pool, guess what the first thing we all did was. I am now based here in Luxor for a couple of days, no more sleeping under the stars but I do have access to running water. The first few days of this trip have been amazing, can't wait for the rest.

Arrival in Cairo

After an uneventful flight I touched down in Cairo on Sunday afternoon. The hotel I am staying in is on the outskirts of Cairo and only took an hour and a half in the taxi to reach. I have spent the last couple of days sorting out paperwork and acquiring visa's for both Ethiopia and Sudan. I've met quite alot of the people I will be travelling with on the truck and so far (touch wood) they seem a good mix of people. Found a great little take away place near the hotel that does amazing falafel wraps and a deli with great baba ghounoush (aubergine dip) so I am very happy.
The truck trip starts on friday so the next couple of days I will be acting like a tourist and exploring Cairo and the pyramids. Next blog will be far more exciting!

Cairo to Cape Town: The New Adventure

My itchy feet have become almost unbearable of late, so it is time for another grand adventure. This time I will be starting off in Cairo, Egypt and travelling down through Africa, taking in Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zibabwe, Botswana, Namibia before ending up in South Africa and finally Cape Town.
As with my South America trip I will be travelling overland style with Oasis Overland. For those that don't know the concept, myself along with twenty five or so others (that I have yet to meet) will board a big yellow converted truck that will drive us about. The truck also carries camping equipment, cooking equipment alot of food and gallons of water as well as enough spare parts to practically build the truck over. This will be vital as the truck will often be going off the beaten track and digging the truck out of mud ruts, sand ruts etc will become a far too familiar occurrance I suspect.
I will be staying in some basic hostels and hotels but for half the time I will be camping. Alot of these camps will be bush camps, ie just in a random spot, so there will be no facilities at all, not even toilets. These trips are not for those who like luxuries!
I will be flying into Cairo on 11th Oct and will spend a couple of days sorting out visas for Sudan and Ethiopia, the trip proper will start on the 16th Oct and I hope to have made it to Cape Town by the 10th Feb. If all goes to plan I should be spending Christmas on Zanzibar Island (birthplace of Freddie Mercury) hopefully swimming and scuba diving with the dolphins.
Highlights will include seeing the Mountain Gorillas in Uganda, being on safari in Kenya, in the Masi Mara, getting to visit places few have seen such as the rock churches at Lalibelia, Ethiopia and the pyramids in Sudan, Lake Victoria, the jaw dropping Victoria Falls, sand duning in Namibia and visiting the wineries of South Africa.
There will be the chance for me to go white water rafting, canoeing, canyoning, horse riding, sky diving, scuba diving, quad biking, shark diving in cages, sunbathing, oh yes and the biggest bungee jump in the world (I think not). As well as all that, there will be of course all the animals inc black and white rhino's, elephants, lions, cheetahs, giraffes, hippos, zebras and wildebeasts.
Only a week to go now, I'm getting quite excited...