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June 16th is a national holiday Youth Day or formerly Soweto day here in South Africa to remember the 69 school children shot dead in 1976 under apartheid rule for participating in a peaceful protest against being forced to be taught in Afrikaans. The official death toll was 23; others put it as high as 200. Many hun ...
Spot the only two people in Capetown not into soccer!
We would like to thank the following people in particular for their support in our trip: Jim Casson who introduced us. Paul and Julia at Footloose who supplied us the vehicle. Claudia Brackenborough (Hugo's PA and our command HQ) The team at www.ontheroad.to who put up with Hugo's continuous improvment com ...
We made it to Capetown in one piece and this morning delivered the vehicle to a shipping agent to arrange its return by sea. The voyage will take 16 days rather quicker than our journey.We now have 3 days in the city as real tourists,to enjoy the world cup atmosphere!
After 6 months we have accumulated a load of junk and rubbish which we have now chucked out before the truck is shipped home by sea. It is rather sad after 6 months on the road.
The Orange river marks the border between Namibia and South Africa
Beautful country with amazing scenery . Endless straight roads. The white population seemed very German , with some Afrikaans and a penchant for 'do it yourself' sculpture made out of scrap metal. German style towns with 1960's museums. Oryx steaks and extremely tender delicious beef. Sadly few if any visibly ...
South Africa is now in sight as we sit having lunch beside the Orange river.
Namibian (or perhaps German ?) efficiency for a speedy oil change and the car's first clean since Kenya. Now we have a sparkling car. Another geography lesson for a petrol pump attendant.
First visited by a Portugese explorer seafarer Bartholomew Diaz in 1500s,on his way to the Cape of Good Hope windy but beautiful. We thought it too windy to camp . It was the site of a whaling station in thee 1950s. A lot of blood spilt here. Lots of warning signs about the consequences of tresspassing into the d ...
Abandoned in the1950s but still tightly controlled by De Beers. Skittles in the bowling alley still lying there. Diamonds at that time could be found just lying on the ground sadly none were visible yesterday.
The famous ones, higher and larger than the other 5 deserts we have already seen!
Occupied for only two years....by its owner. Apart from the bricks all the raw materials and craftsmen were imported from Europe and then had a 200 mile very slow journey by Ox cart.
lots of diamonds still here..... logs being delivered by head. low rainfall figures
Great shopping here and Hugo was able to indulge in his great love rugs and carpets, in this case made from Namibian sheep's wool. We were able to visit the factory where 28 people are employed making them to order. Isabella's credit card was fully flexed as well! The car will be full of African products on the v ...
The ladies of the Herrero tribe still imitate the dresses of the German missionary's wives of the 19th Century. They sell very small fragments of minerals found in the desert and dolls made in the style of their own dresses. They are basically on the breadline making a living in very inhospitable areas. Their stalls ...
Today we learn that our hotel Signal hill hotel booked 7 months ago has gone into liquidation. So with the World Cup in Cape Town and our car en route home by sea it looks as though we maybe camping with soccer fans! A good friend has been able to find us another hotel so maybe Cape Town may not be as full as expect ...
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We are at the infamous Skeleton Atlantic coast. Hopefully we will not get wrecked! :) We have now crossed Africa almost twice. It is called theSkeleton coast as not only are there many whale bones found on the 400 km (250 miles) long shore but also human bones from survivors of numerous shipwrecks. Any survivor wou ...
We visited Twyfelfontein which is another Unesco World Heritage site where we saw 2000 year old Bushmen sandstone rock drawings of animals probably in order to instruct their younger tribe members on what to hunt. Despite is being some hundreds of miles from the sea there were drawings of penguins and seals. The bush ...
We stayed/camped at a very exclusive and somewhat snobby lodge Okonjima which has a charitable arm Africat.(Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were staying here recently) This rehabilitates cheetahs and leopards back into the wild. ITV the UK television company are making a series of ten programmes to be shown at 7pm in th ...
We also visited a San "Bushman" village, inhabited by people of diminutive stature who live in the Kalahari desert. It was fascinating and now Hugo and Isabella should be able to demonstrate how to make fire without flints or matches
This country was formerly a German colony then was administered by South Africa on behalf of the British. English is very much the official language but local tribal languages , German and Afrikaans are widely spoken. The country gained its independence in 1990. We entered from Botswana via the Caprivi strip (a game ...
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This colonial hotel built in 1920 was amazing not least that it had everything one could ask for which is unusual in Zimbabwe today. The lawns of the hote run down to the edlge of the gorge. The views of the Falls were superb and we were drenched as hopefully you can see. We saw two elephants whilst taking the twen ...
We are now off to travel 63 km through Botswana to cross into the Caprivi strip of Namibia our penultimate country. I believe we will certainly come back to Zimbabwe the people are so friendly and kind wonderful craftsmen. Lets hope Blackberry works a little in Namibia so we can begin to plan the shipment home, ...
We camped in the gardens at Mazuma River Lodge where we were the only guests apart from a White Rhodesian big game hunter and his American clients. The purpose of the trip for his clients was for their twenty year old daughter to shoot the Big Five (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard) before she was twenty-o ...
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The dam between Zimbabwe and Zambia was opened in 1957. At that time, it was the largest dam in Africa until the second Aswan dam was built. It created an enormous lake surrounded by wildlife in national parks such as Matusadona to the south of the Lake. We drove from the town of Kariba (which lacked supplies of ...
Note the instrument used in southern Africa
We visited the Great Zimbabwe located in the South of the country which was at its peak around 1400 ad. In1906 soapstone carvings of a fish eagle were found on this site and they are now found on the ruling party’s Zanu PF logo and the national flag of Zimbabwe. Trade was conducted with the Swahili coastal city of Ki ...
We visited these amazing relatively unknown rock paintings only seen by white people since the 1950s. They were of elephant and rhino that must have once roamed this beautiful country. Zimbabwe is full of history with well over 200 sites of rock buildings. ( Zimbabwes)
Once this wonderful landlocked country was the breadbasket of Africa. Today on the surface the infrastructure seems good with great roads and campsites with hot water and even wheelie Refuse bins. We stayed with one of the 200 remaining white farming families, who now have one farm instead of the three their father a ...
We had to pass through Mozambique to enter Zimbabwe from Malawi. The people are different and Portugese is the common language not English. As a former Portugese colony it was a real contrast. The cusine (chicken) was different. We took the road into Zimbabwe and back through the legendary Tete Mozambique corridor ...
locals sell balls made from the raw rubber on the street.
Coffee bushes, national park officials, Harry and Isabella, fruit sellers by the road
not visited by Livingstonia but started by a Scotmsman called Laws. We ,managed again to get stuck here and 30 villagers lifted the 4 tonne car out of the drain by the spare wheel bracket which we then had to have repaired in Zimbabwe.....
The Gentleman on the right is a thief and is richer by $ 50 which he palmed... He claimed to be Zambian This was on the border where you are hassled by money changers who force money into your hands to confuse you and then take it back etc sometimes leaving one poorer. We have dealt with so many currencies en ...
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This former British colony Nyasaland is dominated by lake Malawi the third largest lake in Africa. There also equally impressive extensive plains and mountains. Here we were joined by Hugo's second cousin Harry Lyon Smith (carrying election Champagne) who gently travelled the length of the Lake on the MV ilala a 1950s ...
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As there was no where else to camp and the helicopter was not coming today the hotel did not mind! Pool was nice, real Africa....
Red warning hazard triangles are not used here but instead tree branches. This truck had been here for two days after the trailer snapped! The side of the road is a good place for drying produce as well such as rice.
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We spent the day here, where we were two of only four tourists in the park (as it was off-season due to the length of the grass making it difficult to see game) so we had it to ourselves. We knew we were going to see game when we saw elephant poo and tracks inthe sand.The park is full of elephant, giraffe, baboons, ...
We stayed at Kisolanza Farm campsite www.kisolanza.com , run by a Tanzanian ( half Swisss) Nicola Ghaui. It is far more than a campsite with Laundry ,huts,rooms lodges and a great restaurant This is close to a stone age archaeological site called Ismaili, where we saw many prehistoric tools uncovered by the flow of ...
It was well worth the two day drive and to cross the very wide Rufijii river by a new bridge despite the most upto date Michelin Map 2000 saying the river you can see in the photographs was only passable by Canoe between March and June. We have learnt to ignore such advice! We then took an unmade road (sand between l ...
This is a well known abandoned historic Swahili coastal city in the south of Tanzania. It is now almost deserted but the stone ruins are fascinating as they demonstrate that there was a Muslim city here till 1700. It was founded by Omani slave traders. Its peak was when gold was shipped from Mozambique and the Great Zi ...
.We visited Bagamoyo where most expeditions into the centre of Africa began under Livingstone, Speke and Burton. Livingstone’s body was brought here after his death near Lake Tanganyka.This port was the centre of the slave trade as it was closest to the island of Zanzibar The government are beginning to restore some o ...
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The East coast of Tanzania is wonderful and unspoilt. Beaches are deserted apart from the crabs and mosquitoes at night!. In the north near Tanga Sisal :(the pineapple looking things) are grown as the raw material for rope. Fishing is the main industry. Trucks are the main source of transport with many people on them ...
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We have met some wonderful creatures and people. The snakes and chameleons.... We stayed at Arusha and met the local police who took money off us for a fire certificate for our Fire extinguisher and also for speeding! The traffic police were most amused that we had been fined for a lack of a fire certificate, we gues ...
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Road works are the national industry of Africa. No road is or certainly will be untouched, the Chinese arrive and upgrade the poorly tarmacd roads. People say the road is good but often they are ignorant that the Chinese have begun to upgrade the stretch some 100 km on. Everywhere bananas are the sole standard pudding ...
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11th April: Suddenly cultivation and the Usambara mountains and life seems different. Not sure exactly in what way but with a snow capped Kilimanjaro and having stayed in a large country house outside Arusha and with new shock absorbers and some fresh oil in the Land Cruiser we are back on the road again with some "s ...
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The winch proved very useful but sadly we damaged it .....and were unable to reach the village Segoma that Hugo's grandfather visited in1935 and Hugo visited twice before. the villagers do not look after the road so vehicles no longer can pass there. Not even us !
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Hugo with 4 daughters Leo, Georgina, Annabel and Lottie and a friend Catherine spent 2 days in this mystical city before hitting the beach. It is a cross between a African town and an Arab city. It was the centre of the slave trade and Dr Livingstone (not Ken as some of us learnt!) lived here for a while. The girl’s ...
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Evidence.... We stayed at the Nanuyki sports club whoose buidlings were somewhat like a 1950s prep school . it is very popular with the Brtish army who have abase next door from whaich to prepare for Afghanistan. We then visited Earthoil's essential oil demonstration farm and out growers..
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Thanks to a introduction by Isabella I was able to stay with a very kind family just outside Mombasa who looked after me for my three days there. It is the most humid place I have ever been, or at least was this week of March. Mombasa is the port through which all Kenyan tea is exported and is the main port for central ...
At Isabella's suggestion whilst she was working Hugo took the train to Mombasa from Nairobi and back. This was against the advice of Kenyans who said drive or take the high speed bus for the 500 km journey. The train has awful reputation and is known for breaking down in the middle of nowhere and people have to be on l ...
Whilst looking round the railway museum I saw some old papers and there was publication called the guide for Kenyan settlers for 1945. The penultimate page had this advertisement for my grandfather's company, please note the UK agents! RCTreatt.... Previously the company managed the Sotik Tea company but Isabella's ...
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This was a Railway enthusiasts dream.... Engines similiar to these beasts are expected to take to the line in a year or two... More on Nairobi Mombasa line follows.....
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guaU4Yu_l7c
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We are now in the southern hemisphere having just crossed the equator on the first tarmac road we have seen for 10 days .
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At last we are now safely in Kenya and mobile email contact after 3 days on and off the road and we saw only one missionary's car and one overlander truck and no tribesmen. We now know how to use a kinetic tow rope and a winch. We also know what a beeking tow rope can do. Luckily nobody hurt.
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We took the Lake Turkana route after some debate.... Moyale To Marsabit; or Lake Turkana via Banya Fort and Ileret? Moyale is a dangerous route populated by bandits and can have very deep ruts caused by lorries in the rain , but it does have a customs post and can be quicker..... The Foreign Office advises that ...
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Nothing to buy here in down town Omorate apart from beer,onions and tomatoes. The departure stamp from Ethiopian immigration was free and we were able to camp in their compound . They were very helpful stamping our passports at 7 pm on a Sunday night.
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If the tribal woman was a virgin, she was easy to spot as she had a beaded tail attached to the back of her beaded skin dress! If the man was looking for a wife, he had white-painted legs! In the tribal culture, virginity is not highly prized on marriage and so there is a “de-flowering” ceremony before the wedding ...
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We met our guide Gheich’s boss Nick, who charmed us into having him act as our guide during our trip into the Omo Valley for the next four days . This was a sadly a mistake as he was rather arrogant and did not have much of a sense of boundaries. We realised this when he took us shopping for provisions, and added t ...
We were not sure whether to camp or to move undercover - we tried to stay in the upmarket Paradise resort (solely in order to get our laundry done of course) but it too was full so we moved to the Bekele Mola. This hotel is one of a chain of almost 10 hotels throughout Ethiopia started by a man of the same name duri ...
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We were relieved to leave the city with our Tanzanian visa which (in normal Hugo-Isabella fashion) we did not need for over a month could have got in Nairobi later on. We headed for Lake Logano the sole lake in Ethiopia to be declared free of Bilharzia ( a disease caught from bathing in still water where people ...
in Ethiopia the churches are round with one notable exception the 1920 Addis cathedral built for Emperor Haile Selassie. Mrs Pankhurst was a notable Sufragette who was a very strong socialist and of couse a leader in the movement for women's rights and votes in the United Kingdom.She was disgusted by the League of Na ...
A tale of daily life in Africa We have travelled the last 7,000 miles with no third party insurance as it cannot be easily bought locally but there is a scheme covering many of the southern African countries. COMESSA. We found an Ethiopian insurance company called “The Ethiopian insurance company and telephoned them. W ...
Good italian Dinners at Castelli's , good value but the south African or itallian wine prices shock Isabella ! Whiskas now gone......for the moment.
Isabella having her ten year old boot economically repaired for less than 50 p.
We think it would be water colour artists dream. Agriculture is so basic but we did see one tractor on a large farm of say 20 acres so it may not last. The very rolling countryside just north of Addis is populated with lots of Eucalypts was somewhat reminscent of Tasmania on a very hot dry day!
At one kilometer deep ....it was quite some thing . Till the Japanese kindly built and paid for a new bridge and road onthe South side it would take 3 hours to drive up from the bridge on a gravel road. Luckily it took us only 30 minutes. There were lots of warning signs but even isabella had to over take on double ...
they spent a few days in a garage in Addis and felt we should be gratteful we were in a Toyota and not a Landrover ...... We will follow them South to Cape Town or overtake them.
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We crossed the largest canyon in Africa ..pictures will follow. We are now here in the Ghion Hotel , we have internet access in Hugos' room and so Skype (Hugobovill)but no mobile phone signals it seems!
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We arrived here after eight hours [un]-restful drive on a very good road, apart from the fact that it was being re-surfaced by the Chinese and so it was often reduced to a single track wending across precipitous ravines where we were caught between piles of gravel on one side and a bottomless drop on the other. Hugo ...
At 11,000 feet of altitude, this small village perched on top of a hill hides the unofficial eighth wonder of the world, and is referred to as one of the holiest places in Christendom. Every Ethiopian Christian is meant to come on pilgrimage here at least once in his lifetime. The worship is focussed on eleven church ...
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Once we had reached Africa the main hazard was not only goats of all shapes and sizes , but also sheep that looked like goats but the test was to drive at them and see who would move. Goats do, sheep don’t! As we progressed we found donkeys to be more hazardous - including those who jumped when hit by the herders ( ...
From12,000 ft we took the road to Aksum....we were aware it would be a long trip but ....and were told after the first twenty kilometres ( 15 miles )the road would improve....Isabella ( not keen on heights) said she would take over as Hugo had driven for 4 hours. She had a terrifying two hours of hairpin bends and f ...
From12,000 ft we took the road to Aksum....we were aware it would be a long trip but ....and were told after the first twenty kilometres ( 15 miles )the road would improve....Isabella ( not keen on heights) said she would take over as Hugo had driven for 4 hours. She had a terrifying two hours of hairpin bend ...
It is such a contrast after the Sudan (why The?)for one it is more than 75 % Christian. The country is a contrast to Sudan, with rolling hills rather than flat plains and even the people look quite different! It certainly has changed since I was last here: the food is slightly more varied and the children beg less ...
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· Do not post postcards in letter boxes without asking if they are the correct one! Hugo posted a handful in a post box marked overseas mail outside Kharthoum main post office. He was then told it had not been used for 5 years. So if you were anticipating a card, now you know where it might be. · A ...
We were sad to leave, it might have been quicker by train(!) but the last one left 50 years ago but we followed it for two days. In some places the track had been stripped but surprising not all. We had to use the railway bridges as road bridges and Yes Isabella drove across them. There were large fields of Sunflower ...
Probably international due to the numerous UN flights.
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Noite the life rafts inthe 4th picture.
Wednesday 52 Tarmac all the way to El Obeeid (250 miles in 3 hours!) Passing the International airport ( see photo), probably “international” due to a large UN logistic base at El Obeeeid. We had our normal delicious lunch of goat chunks, bread, peppers tomatoes and spring onions with rocket. We found our way t ...
Tuesday day 51 Heading South we would try to avoid going through dusty villages, which either have mud houses or straw huts if near agriculture. The village roads are not roads but rough and normally very dry tracks. Hugo was driving in high ratio (new words for him) and he decided to cut between two houses only ...
Wednesday 52 Tarmac all the way to El Obeeid (250 miles in 3 hours!) Passing the International airport ( see photo), probably “international” due to a large UN logistic base at El Obeeeid. We had our normal delicious lunch of goat chunks, bread, peppers tomatoes and spring onions with rocket. We found our way to th ...
Monday day 51 Hugo read in our guide book that the dustiest place in the Sudan was El Obeid (Michelin spelling) or Al Ubayyid in our Garmin GPS. It also said to have the prettiest Catholic Church and is the city where the headquarters of the Gum Arabic company are located. Sudan is one of the world’s biggest exporte ...
We are now in Gondar, Ethiopia,Isabella will not be accessing email for over 3 weeks as Blackberries do not work here. Hugo will visit Internet cafes etc and fight 1980s internet speeds. lots of news to update and photos. Sudan was great! 18 days there. best wishes to all
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A cool 41 degrees on the car temperature gauge at 16.30 this afternoon.
Our last night before Kharthoum was spent camping in the sand dunes near these pyramids at Meroe. No sound and light show here as at Giza in Egypt!
Not a lot to do on a Friday afternoon in Kharthoum
the temple saved and moved when the Aswan dam was built otherwise it would be under water.
We are now staying or should i say camping here....it is not grand but Sudan is very expensive and safe in the North. Just becuase the government is unfriendly please do not assume the people are! in fact quite the opposite, all very kind and help ful and it is a very low crime country. there is an election in Apri ...
Sudan : Out of Wadi Halfa: Day 43 January 25th We are delighted to have got out of Wadi Halfa after five days which was caused not by administration but by delay in unloading the totally impractical barge used for carrying four vehicles perched precariously, and one motorbike. The discharge of these proved somewhat d ...
typical Nubian buidling, Wadi Halfa police training run, the group eating are the crew of the ferry whilst we passed Abu Simbel temple. The man in Whilte is the learned Sudanese we met. More pyramids in Sudan than Egypt but smaller. Ginger has a new family. Isabella on a camel! More temples with Victorian Graffiti , ...
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Camels, 1st night in Sudan camping beside the Nile with Mosquitoes, another temples, yes Hugo Car maintenance,
Aswan Ferry. It was as expected basic, we were the only non locals to have a cabin having called Mr Saleh (pictured with Spanish girl) a few times in the weeks before to remind him of our “ reservation”. We thought as we passed Abu ...
This northern most town of Sudan is the only border post open with Egypt . The only way to enter is via the ferry from Aswan on Lake Nasser. The town has four cafes, numerous tea stops run by Sudanese ladies , a government immigration centre and of course a mosque. There are two weekly events that make this town tic ...
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On our last night here there was an incredible storm and thanks goodness we were not in the hotel lift as there was a power failure for a few hours.No generators in our type of hotel. The lightning display was superb over the Nile but sadly the photographs do not really show it. Camping could have been fun.
A wonderfully peaceful island in the middle of the Nile occupied by Nubian people who depend on tourism and were very friendly. Boat building and small scale farming with these wonderfully woolly Nubian goats (cashmere type) whoose wool is used to make souvenirs. The North End of the Island has been spoilt by a lar ...
Hugo waiting patiently (!), Hugo and our 15 year old Nubian friend Mohammed, Hotel has easy parking for some,but at least we avoided the pothole that this truck found in front of our eyes. The Nubian people are descended from those who were displaced by the building of the new Aswan dam creating Lake Nasser, they ...
When hoping to leave Egypt for Sudan on the ferry, which is the only way currently the following waypoints and advice should prove useful: The Nile Valley Corp. for River transportation. Mr Saleh's office. N 24.05.951 E 032.53.977 You will need to visit the following : The court office to receive a document to show n ...
Getting our ferry tickets was an interesting exercise in demographics! Having met few other independent travellers over the last month, suddenly a group of us congregated at the Nile Valley Corporation for River Transportation office and sense of unity in the face of overwhelming bureaucratic odds developed. The grou ...
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We will not be updating our blog site so often or at all and nor will our position be automatically updated on the map as there is not a full GPRS or EDGE mobile phone system service in Sudan. So if it looks as though we are in Scotland or have sunk in Lake Nasser on the night of Monday January 18th fear not! We wil ...
Tomorrow we have our first meeting with the legendary Mr Saleh of the Nile Ferry company. His Sudanese colleague Mohammed Idries whose telephone no is 010 684 5201 and works at the Aswan docks end said we were to call him if we had any problems. He is very popular it seems with Overlanders as he is so helpful, he can ...
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Another Watch strap mender as the repair to Hugo's Swatch strap done in Alexandria did not last the distance. We hope the Toyota garage's work in Alexandria will last till Kenya.....
As the notorious Adam Camp on the West bank was closed we chose to stay at the best value 3 star hotel wwww.nilehotel-aswan.com in Aswan $ 45 per person per night with baths, AC and Cable TV ,(CNN with very depressing news from Haiti). The views of the Nile are fantastic, with so many Feluccas sailing boats between ...
We choose the cheapest skipper , but his sail needed some repairs
In the right hand picture the large building on the side of the cliff is the Old Cataract Hotel which was closed a couple of years ago for much needed considerable repairs and restoration for three years. It has a marvellous position and Hugo's grandmother probably stayed here for a month in the 1930s whilst wating ...
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Hugo's thoughts: Entering Egypt from the North West introduced us gently to this land with its thousands of amazingly complex 'jigsaw puzzles'. The pieces are made from raw materials from all over this wonderfully friendly country threaded together by the Nile. The jigsaws (tombs,temples and pyramids)were roughly ta ...
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For those people interested in essential oil bearing plants,it should be noted the bedding plants between our rooms on the Red Sea was a very strong smelling Geranium variety( latin name unknown). Given Isabella grows and distills Geranium in Kenya we were somewhat amused.
After a few days among the hieroglyphs and touristique pharaohnic splendour of Luxor, we retired to the Red Sea for some rest and recuperation. This entailed a dramatic drive through craggy red mountains where the road rises from sea level to 1900 feet, to two days by the pool in the Radisson Red Sea Resort commuting ...
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Live animals are not allowed in the majority of places but an exception was made here for Ginger.
The Valley is full of Tombs. No photographs can be taken in the Tombs. Tutankhamun's was very small but it gave one a perspective on his postion considering his very short reign.The other tombs were far larger and many deeper into the rock. Especially the first tomb Howard Carter found before Tuts. The Valley is a ...
wonderful hieroglyphics.....(spelling by Isabella)
This is the entrance to our 5 star Camp Rezeiky with dirty showers. We tooka ride in a horse drawn carriage as it was cheaper than a taxi, the driverwas pretty fast.The city is empty at this time of year between Christmas and February.A goodtime to visit it seems and not too hot at 25 deg Centigrade.
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Waiting room also his consultation pool, the water is naturally brown as it is fresh from the hot spring.Also a picture of Isabella in front of his brother Abou Mohammed's wonderful restaurant . Nasser wanted Hugo back for another session but now the back is making very good progress thanks to his efforts and Hug ...
We still do not seem to have worked out the GPS!
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Happy Coptic Christmas from Luxor!
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First soccer now spiritual healing. After 5 days of unpleasant back pain Hugo may have found an Egyptian to rival his English osteopath. Thanks to the "Rough guide" he found someone rather alternative to sort his back out as he had trapped a nerve. Turban wearing Nasser who operates from Sheik Walli near Al Qasr wa ...
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After 22 days of travelling we are back in a hotel. (Only the 8th night not under canvas for those who thought we might be in hotels the whole way) Hugo is missing the desert, call him Indiana or Lawrence but somehow it appeals despite the strong wind and basic conditions. Isabella's Scottishness has been overcome by t ...
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We are about 200 kilometres south of Cairo having spent a good hour at that genuinely wonderful French chain store Carrefour in Cairo stocking up on western essential luxuries. Perhaps someone could tell the good store that vehicle height restrictions should be signed as one enters the car park. Backing a fully laden ...
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We had a wonderful guide today called Nihal telephone (010) 521-6477. We would strongly recommend She is based in Cairo but will travel anywhere in Egypt.
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The Pyramids and Sphinx were far more impressive and larger than expected.Seeing them gives one a real sense of proportion.
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Cairo is less crowded and dirty than expected. It was somewhat exciting driving in the traffic and then suddenly seeing a Pyramid through the buildings. Locating our dusty campsite, (the only one near Cairo) even with GPS coordinates proved difficult, which is located on a smelly canal with dodgy loos and rusty show ...
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We left Alexandria this morning for the first time truly heading South. Hugo certainly weighed more when he arrived thanks to a local tummy bug. We sampled a museum and the new amazing library.Hugo saw a fight with a gun with 20 people outside an alcohol store called Drinkies! He was just passing :) or perhaps stockin ...
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note the Engine flushing, and the laundry service .
Alexandria is a city of contrasts faded colonial grandeur mixed with the squalor of an African city. The smog over the sea is thick. There are some immense benefits: where else could one book a car in for an oil change at very short notice (unknown price but was assured by a Dell Boy like Egyptian that we had come to ...
some new Friends and the Synagogue in Alexandria.
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We met our first fellow Overlanders here http://www.oasisoverland.co.uk on Christmas Day. We were intrigued by their enourmous bus/ truck and they certainly seemed to eat well as they were preparing their tucker. They were also visiting the cemetery and so called Museum. Rather different from Tobruk but also very ...
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Day 10 December 24th We left Libya and thank goodness our guide Suleiman ready for what we had been would be a trial of endurance for our shared lack of patience: Egyptian land border immigration & customs. The British certainly left a legacy of bureaucracy. Countless handwritten forms and with chassis and engine num ...
Day 9th December 23rd Isabella and I reached Tobruk this morning after 3 days crossing Libya through the immense Western deserts. We both now have a far better idea of the conditions soldiers would have experienced in the Second World War. Whilst camping last night the temperature was down to almost 2 degrees centi ...
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We have had four "Dry" days in Libya and one truly very wet one ( good for the wells)with our Tuareg guide and we have camped for 3 nights in both desert and town. Distances are much longer than we had anticipated so many long days driving including some after dark. The weather has been mixed: wet, warm and sub zero ...
We are now in Kerouan, Tunisia after driving for hour or tow inthe dark against all or preset rules.Tunisian driving was fine but coming up behind forklift trucks on the highway was a little ddifferent from Northern Way, Bury St Edmunds. Tonight should be the last in Tunisia but first under canvas on the African c ...
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From the passport queue (one hour long, after which we have to join another almost-as-long queue for the vehicle papers!) with Islamic music on the vessel CV Carthage en route Tunis. Marseilles port was like going from one continent to another - French efficiency as far as immigration, and then the Africa we know - c ...
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Good bye Europe ; with a new windscreen and welded exhaust we are off to Tunisia today by ferry.
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Day 1 Everyone from Dover onwards was so friendly and we spent our first night near a village called Bouville! Day 2 In France reality kicked in and the issues begun: Some off road driving with a wheel or two in a ditch.....a very loose rattling exhaust and a large round crack in our windscreen but at least we look ...
Ginger will be travelling with us to see in hope of meeting some relations..luckily he is a seasoned traveller.
Obtaining Insurance from Amlin for the car in deepest Africa through brokers Campbell Irvine, personal travel insurance from Trailfinders ,a Carnet from the RAC required to avoid import duties in each country ( 800% in Egypt!), ferry bookings in particular the Aswan Ferry (takourny@hotmail.com) , the amount of pape ...
We both have a fascination for Africa and this seemed like a real challenge, well at least for us ! We will be raising money for a couple of charities but first and foremost we are doing it for ourselves. <http://www.justgiving.com/Hugo-BovillEach> or <http://www.justgiving.com/Hugo-Bovill-aqualungtru ...
The training has begun ,with 4 glorious days on the North West Scottish coast learning how to drive the tank cruiser,put up the tents and light the storm kettle.We have both undertaken specific medical training with www.wildernessmedicaltraining.co.uk and now should know what not to do if we have cholera or are bitte ...
Toyota Land CruiserYear 1997Engine 6 cyl. Diesel600 miles on the clockAs supplied by Paul of Footloose4x4 in Peterborough http://www.footloose4x4.com/It is currently being converted ready for the 16,000 km journey
>We decided to make this trip as we both have a fascination for Africa and it seemed like a challenge.
We will be raising money for a couple of charities but first and foremost we are doing it for ourselves.
http://www.justgiving.com/hugo-BovillEach
or
http://www.justgiving.com/Hugo-Bovill-aqualungtrust