Cairo to Cape Blog
This is Overlanding...
2 years ago, over a few bottles of wine, the decision was made...offer a Cairo to Cape self drive adventure. The idea was a great one, and as experienced overlanders having done this route several times on custom built safari trucks it seemed silly to not give it a go. 2 years in the planning and finally we are on the road with 5 Land Rover Discos, 4 Kiwis, 3 Aussies and 2 Germans traveling from the Middle East to the southern tip of Africa, Cape Town.
Of course it would not be overlanding without a few little last minute challenges and if it was that easy everyone would do it on their own and would not need us! Between the last minute stress of the ship with the vehicles being 10 days late, the varying opening and closing times of essential offices to clear the vehicles, the mountains of paperwork and of course the vicious rumor that some of the containers had been damaged in transit (of course was only a rumor) the vehicles arrived safe and sound albeit a little later than expected.
Just to make sure we don't run into any major mechanical problems we had a lot of work done to the vehicles in the UK before shipping to Jordan, like new brake discs, timing belts and other bits and bobs. Does anyone know the English equivalent of WAWA (when Africa wins again)? It would appear the mechanic in the UK was in a hurry to get to the pub and failed to tighten the tensioner on one of the timing belts! The vehicle made a whole 5kms before the timing belt came off!!! At least we are prepared with comprehensive spare parts including timing belts. A small delay (new push rods, timing belt and a lot of grumbling from Thiemo) and all was fixed and off on the road once again.
Nonetheless this is overlanding and everyone in the industry or who has ever overlanded knows that the only reason we have a plan is so you have something to change!
The real adventure
So the real adventure began on the 1st of November. 9 of us and 5 Land Rover Discoveries became one family for the next 4 months. The first challenge was to pack the vehicles, the second challenge to drive right hand drives on the right hand side of the road and the final challenge to deal with any last minute mechanical issues.
While Thiemo worked on the vehicles the rest of us headed to Wadi Musa and the Lost City of Petra. Petra is definitely the number 1 tourist attraction in Jordan and after a few hours of exploring it became apparent why. An ancient city lost for centuries tells us many stories of bygone years; a labyrinth of tombs, temples and ancient places of sacrifice with sweeping views over the valley. Sam our local guide and walking history book explained in detail the beliefs and life of the Nabataean people; the once inhabitants of the region.
From Petra we continued to Wadi Rum; one of the most stunning desert regions I have ever been to (and Thiemo and myself have been to plenty around the World). The sandy base interrupted with enormous rocky outcrops with dramatic markings carved by centuries of wind erosion. It is easy to understand why Lawrence of Arabia fell in love with the place. We spent the afternoon touring the desert stopping along the way to explore historic or interesting sites such as the original home of Lawrence. We spent the night in a traditional Bedouin camp; enjoyed a traditional meal, gazed at the stars before retiring to our tents.
We returned to Aqaba to rejoin Thiemo and the Landies. We were now ready to head to Egypt.
 Poor Sue and Russ - 5km and the timing belt fell off! |
 Dahab |
On the Road...
Driving in this part of the World is one of the Must Dos of all time, the locals drive fast and furious weaving in and out of traffic; accelerator, brake, accelerator, brake. The golden rule is to drive defensive; expect the unexpected and you will get through. And we did!
Off to Egypt
There are 2 ways to cross into Egypt from Jordan. The first is to drive a short 50 or so kms through Israel and enter Egypt at the town of Taba; the other way is to take a ferry from Aqaba to Nuweiba in Egypt - a 4 hour ferry crossing. The latter was our mode of crossing.
The ferry port is chaotic to say the least. The area is scattered with hundreds of Jordanians and Egyptians scrambling to get through immigration to ensure the best position on the ferry for the journey. There are no real signs where to go or how to get through the process; having been through this process many times Thiemo and I new what we were in for. The rest of the group seemed a little bewildered but followed suit and it was not long before the formalities were done and we were waved through to the loading dock. We sat for a further 3 hours while semi-trailers were loaded onto the ferry in reverse; finally it was our turn and at 1:30am we were loaded onto the ferry and shortly after asleep in our cabins.
The journey took 4 hours; which was rather impressive for this ferry; in the past it has taken much longer. We arrived in Egypt at first light; drove the vehicles a few hundred meters to the customs compound. Entering Egypt with vehicles is nothing short of a maze; paperwork, hundreds of photocopies, a bit of backsheesh (bribes), customs, immigration, local license plates, local licenses for all the drivers...all in all a little under 5 hours to complete. A few more stamps and final clearance at the gate and we were on our way through Sinai, Egypt to the coastal town of Dahab.
A little beach time
Dahab is our first stop in Egypt. A small quaint friendly seaside village offering some of the best diving and snorkeling in the World or for those after a little more adventure can take one of the many camel safaris on offer, or hike up to Mt Sinai the place God gave Moses the 10 Commandments; or take a short stroll along the beach stopping along the way to drink freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice and snack on local falafel in pita bread. A couple of days to relax and explore the area before a couple of long driving days to Luxor.
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