Day 99 to 102 - 6th to 9th February - el-Qahira (Cairo)

Point of departure : Luxor

Point of arrival : Cairo

Accommodation: Dusit Thani Lakeview Hotel (www.dusit.com)

Km travelled today: 767km Cum:18 222 km (gravel 0km cum 4 649km)

Countries so far: 9/16

Where to next? Sharm El Sheik

No of photos: 67 (cum 4 672)

Whatever you do, don't take the west bank road to el-Qahira!

What a nightmare! It took us 17 hours to drive 700km and then another hour from arrival in Cairo to our hotel. A long, long day - 07h00 departure and a 00h15 arrival. Dani and Sim waited up for us and were there to greet us on our arrival. With hindsight we should have taken the longer but probably faster road via Hurgada or the slightly slower east bank road.

While the west bank road was reasonably good (tar and no potholes) it was a succession of police checkpoints and barricades, short one way systems, speed humps, villages/towns, donkey carts, a couple of wrong turns, and, inevitably, people. At least the Egyptians don't conduct their business in the middle of the road like the Ethiopians, but one still has to drive very carefully. Then there were the police escorts…. at half a dozen of the checkpoints the police insisted on escorting us through their bit of turf. The first time we had to wait for about 15 minutes for their vehicle to arrive, and after that we wasted time as speed was not their priority. However, it's just possible that it was just for our own good.

Arrival in Cairo was obviously well after dark and dealing with Cairo traffic is stressful at the best of times but at night, exhausted and no gps waypoint for the hotel (fairly new hotel), it was a real challenge. However, with some idea of our direction and a bit of common sense we got within striking distance and then Dani came with a hotel car to escort us for the last few kilometres to the hotel. Thank you Dani!

Although exhausted, it was a good feeling to know that we had completed the iconic Cape to Cairo part of our trip… by the time we arrived we were into day 100! It's almost surreal being here.

Day 100 - today saw us complete the symbolic part of our Cape to Cairo trip. We had our photograph with the Beast taken in Cape Town overlooking Table Mountain, now for Cairo and the Pyramids. We spent the morning with Dani and Sim visiting the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, getting our photograph taken with the Beast, with the pyramids as a backdrop. Fantastic, and quite emotional in a way! While we had lived each day focussing on the "here and now" for the last 100 days, sitting on the Beast with the Pyramids in the background and thinking of the totality of the last 100 days was quite something… some wonderful experiences but some trying and testing times too, particularly in northern Kenya and Ethiopia. Still all worthwhile, and some indelible memories.

And now the pyramids… they are huge and steep and really do tower over you when you are standing beside them - Marina specifically really felt quite small. The lower blocks are larger than the ones above and were quite challenging to clamber up until we discovered that there were steps!

The pyramids were the Pharaohs' tombs during the first half of the Pharaonic period.After that they built tombs - Valley of the Kings in Luxor.Of the 98 pyramids discovered, the largest and best conserved ones are at Giza.

In ancient Egypt, the pyramid symbolised the rays of the sun leaving the solar disc and reaching the earth. Burying the Pharaoh inside assured his reunion with the sun god, Ra and so the Pharaoh would return to life just as the sun rises (hence burying on the west bank facing east).

Now for some statistics - the first pyramid of Cheops (The Great Pyramid and one of the seven wonders of the world) was built by King Khufu - 4th Dynasty. Not only is it the largest but it's the oldest as well. It took 20 Egyptian years or 5 in western years - (in Egyptian time - one year equalled 3 months. The Nile River flooded from June to August and no farming could take place so the Egyptians built pyramids.) This pyramid has approximately 2 350 000 sandstone blocks with an average weight of 2,5 tonnes.It's height 147m (having lost its shiny marble casing it's now 136m) and the base width 229m.Called the Great not because of size but for the accuracy of its four sides facing north, south, east and west. The second pyramid of Chephren is somewhat smaller although it appears larger because it was built on higher ground. It's the only one that has part of its smooth surface (polished stone) on the outside near the point. It reaches a height of 140m.This was built by King Khufu's son King Khafre.The smallest of the three is the pyramid of Mycerinus - 66 m high and belonged to King Khufu's wife, Queen Menkaure.

Then to the Sphinx, another one of those iconic images from the ancient past, and there we were standing about 50m from it with our guide's explanations and the photo opportunities that it represents.

The Sphinx (Abu :l-Hol" - the Father of Terror in Arabic). There are three types of sphinxes: one with a ramhead (found in Luxor and Karnak Temples), another one with a lion's body and mane and a human head (Egyptian museum in Cairo) and this one at Giza which has a lion's body and human head which symbolises the strength and wisdom of the Pharaohs.The Sphinx is of a considerable size - 57m long and 24m high. Legend has it that Chephren had this outcrop of limestone carved in his own image.

Day 101 - the Beast has taken a bit of a beating. In Nairobi it was the two front shocks and now it's the front brakes and the two rear shocks. The former having been fixed, the latter still work in progress at Toyota Cairo.

Whilst the Beast was at Toyota we took a taxi and visited the Egyptian museum in Cairo. The highlight being the Tutankhamun collection, discovered on 5 November 1922 by Professor Carter in Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, where his mummy still lies.It was the most intact and complete tomb discovered to date and belonged to Tutankhamun the boy king (age 9 and died at +/- 19).There are over 1 700 objects. The funerary equipment included: gold mask (weighing 11 kg); the inner gold coffin (solid gold and weighs 110kg); the outer two coffins made of gilded wood; the canopic shrines; his war chariots, beds, chairs, statues, jewellery, sandals, socks etc.

Crossing the streets in Cairo is an experience in itself… as with the wildebeest migration crossing the Mara River and not knowing where the next Nile crocodile might come from, so it is with Cairo traffic. They don't care about other cars and certainly not about pedestrians and even the little green man telling you to cross is no guarantee that you get to the other side alive. It really is like running the gauntlet.

Back to the haven of our hotel for dinner and relaxation. Our last dinner with Dani and Sim who fly back to South Africa tomorrow. We bade them farewell and are sorry to see them leave but it was great having them with us these past ten days. Thank you both for travelling to Egypt to be with us.

Day 102 - after a late start, spent the day sorting out scuba diving gear and repacking of bags for our flight to Sharm el Sheik tomorrow.