DAY 92. SUN 06/05. Cairo to Ras Shukheir. 426 kms. Total 21225 kms. Free-camping: Overnight Parking near Ras Shukheir on Route 24. N28 08.976 E33 14.069

Left Camping Salma and Cairo after saying our goodbyes to Chris, Katja and Wolfgang with the vague intention of heading down somewhere near to Hurghada and possibly meeting up with an ex work colleague of Rob's, Owen, who is now working in Egypt near there. He had previously been in contact via sms saying that he was "getting out" of compound to go to el-Gouna, a massive luxury golf and hotel resort north of Hurghada. But we weren't quite sure exactly when as we had not had replies back to our texts. (In hindsight we should have made more of an effort to phone Owen before we left Cairo as he probably was not receiving our texts) However, before leaving Cairo proper we made a half hearted attempt to track down the Land Rover workshop (looking for a part and some gear oil) somewhere near the airport but with no GPS co-ord and only vague directions to go by we soon gave up. Wasn't that urgent anyway and didn't want to spend the whole day looking for it and not getting close to Hurghada. Was stinking hot again driving down the Red Sea/Gulf of Suez coastline, with no vegetation in sight - just gravel, sand and rocky hills/mountains. Did stop for lunch at a KFC which was worth it just for the air-conditioning alone. After that stopped for a lovely swim too in the Red Sea to cool off. 1st part of the journey down the coastline was OK as the scenery was quite nice, blue sea with lots of resorts and hotels but after that became quite monotonous - nothing except the oil and gas plants, pipelines and refineries. Just before sunset stopped at a parking lay-by on route 24 near Ras Shukheir to see if we could text Owen again as this is where he is based. No joy in contacting him (little did we know he was in el-Gouna already) So we decided just to sleep there where we were in the back and continue tomorrow as it was now getting dark. Only problem was the heat - really hot inside still from the long drive in the heat and so didn't get a very good nights sleep but at least we were not disturbed and left alone.

 

DAY 93. MON 07/05. Ras Shukheir to Hurghada. 180 kms. Total 21405 kms. Free-camping along the beachfront, Hurghada.

Had a quick breakfast, tea and coffee in the parking area with a few truckers looking on in interest before heading off to Hurghada. Stopped in at el-Gouna to marvel at the luxury houses, apartments, marina's, hotels and golf courses. We must have looked slightly out of place so didn't stick around too long - except for that we were foreigners, which was probably the only thing that got us past the security boom in the 1st place. Also no sign of Mr Nunnery (Owen) either. We were half hoping to bump into him by coincidence (but by this time he was probably back at work) Very disappointed with Hurghada when we arrived as it's too much of a big city with too many big ugly buildings - very little undeveloped coast line left! Drove around ages looking 1st for a supermarket and then unsuccessfully for a campsite. Again, now around mid-day, it was a scorcher. Spied a nice looking outdoor restaurant near the beach so sat down for a burger and chips and a couple of large cold Stella's for Rob & Cokes for Inga to help cool off. After that on about our 3rd or 4th trip around the town we stopped on a cleared plot of land right on the waters edge (obviously soon to be the next ugly building) near all the big hotels which was down a steep embankment made for construction vehicles. Luckily with 4x4 we had no problem but soon after a local tried following us down and couldn't get up again - needed to be pushed. Main reason we stopped there was just for a swim but soon after when no-one chased us away we decided to stay there for the night and out came the camping chairs. So we sat watching the hundreds of tourist diving boats coming and going. Surprisingly we were left alone and not chased away but we did sleep in the back again just to make sure. Again it was uncomfortably hot in the back still at 10pm so we put the electric fan on in the back which helped a bit. Earlier Rob had spoken to Owen on the phone - he would now be "in-compound" for the next 10-14 days so it was not possible to meet up. But he had been in el-Gouna the night before staying in a posh hotel, drinking beer with the boys and watching the Arsenal vs Chelsea game (big Gunners fan) so looks like we missed out on that one. Should have been a day earlier and we could maybe even have scored one of those hotel rooms? Had been planning on spending 2 days in Hurghada but after getting the news from Owen and with our dislike of the place we decided to leave the next day for Luxor. (Ps. We have since given the GPS co-ords of "our camp-spot" in Hurghada to Rolf and Heike to use on their way up from Luxor and they were chased away twice, which just goes to show you we must have just been lucky?)

 

DAY 94. TUES 08/05. Hurghada to Luxor. 282 kms. Total 21686 kms. Rezeiky Camp. N25 42.681 E32 38.919

Had another swim after breakfast - better than a shower any day (?) - before leaving the Red Sea behind and heading inland towards the Nile and Luxor. It was already very hot in the morning and we had already stopped for ice-cream and coke on the way out of Hurghada. Became even hotter towards lunch time, probably our hottest day of the trip so far - at its worst about mid way between the coast and the Nile, still in the middle of barren, desert like country side. Our mood was not improved by the many police check-points/road-blocks we encountered approaching Luxor. All asking the same questions?."What is your Nationality", "Where you come from?", "Where you go" etc? each time we were stationary the temperature inside the Land Rover would skyrocket as you loose ventilation form the vents and windows (oh, for aircon!) Eventually we became quite pissed off with the whole thing and became very short in our replies especially with the more aggressive sounding (as Arabic language usually comes out sounding) ones. A bit unfortunate as they are just doing their jobs but we couldn't help it. Arrived in Luxor at the wonderful Rezeiky camp - order of ceremonies was: 1) park Cathey, 2) welcome drink - tea/cola, 3) swim in the pool, 4) cold beer. Moods rapidly improved! Another couple had arrived a bit before us and were already having their welcoming drink when we arrived: An Austrian (ski-instructor) who had traveled through Australia, Asia and now north up through Africa and his Spanish girlfriend who works in Phuket, Thailand, teaching (nice jobs hey?) driving a VW Syncro van and later a German couple, Heike and Rolf, in a Land Cruiser, arrived and parked next to us, who we were to get to know over the following few days! A few more dips in the pool during the afternoon, one even right before bedtime to try and cool off but still a pretty bad nights sleep in the tent as even with all the windows wide open you are still constantly sweating!   

 

DAY 95 & DAY 96. WED 09/05 & THURS 10/05. 0 kms. Total 21686 kms. Rezeiky Camp. N25 42.681 E32 38.919

Met Heike & Rolf properly soon after waking up and shared coffee and breakfast with them. They have been traveling in Africa for 9 months and have already been down the west coast to South Africa and back north up the east to Egypt. Both great characters and we got on really well, especially after discovering that Inga was German, as the conversation really flowed with Rob's beginners German not being able to keep up with much of it. Spent the rest of the day chatting in the shade, drinking beer (camp has wonderfully well stocked fridges that you can help yourself from and just write down what you take - big mistake with Rob & Rolf's beer consumption today) and the odd swim in the pool to cool off! A bit too hot to do anything else really. Eventually when we thought it had cooled off enough, around 4 pm, we left to do some sightseeing. 1st went to Karnak temple which Rob never visited previously when in Luxor. Managed to both get in on one ticket - Rob went in 1st then came out and gave his ticket to Inga as they weren't checking tickets - so saved some money as it's quite expensive: 50 EP again! (same as the pyramids) Still stiflingly hot though so didn't hang around too long. Headed back down along the river to Luxor temple where Inga went in and Rob waited outside, having visited it before. This time tickets were 40 EP and Inga managed to blag her way in for 20 or 30 EP by pleading poverty. Headed back to camp before sunset and picked up some steaks on the way as we had earlier planned to have a braai with Heike and Rolf. There was a nice half drum in the camp which we got going with a mixture of the last of our UK briquettes, some more of our Algerian wood which is still going strong and some west African coal from Heike and Rolf. A real combined effort. Good braai, with potatoes done in foil and salad. Plus quite a few more beers. Went to bed quite satisfied but still did not sleep any better due to the heat despite pre-bedtime swims. The following day Inga left bright and early, while Rob stayed behind in the camp still fast asleep in the tent, to visit the west bank attractions - Valley of the Kings etc? Again Rob had visited these before and with the heat didn't fancy going again either. Luckily it turned out not to be that bad as there was a bit of a sandstorm which made the sky very hazy and it was somewhat cooler than the previous few days. All in all Inga visited Colossi of Memnon; Temple of Hatshepsut (25 EP); Valley of the Kings (70 EP - includes 3 tomb entrances); Habu Temple and Ramesseum Temple (must buy tickets for these 2 together = 50 EP but ever frugal Inga managed to get in on her rock climbing card as a "student of sports" and only paid 30 EP for both) Rob on the other hand had not got up to much, again having breakfast with Rolf and Heike and was still sitting around chatting and reading when Inga got back from her excursion just after lunch time. No beers this morning for Rob and Rolf - drinking too many beers in this heat is not such a good idea - makes you even more dehydrated?. But had had icecreams instead. Rest of the afternoon was spent doing some GPS info and internet. Managed to connect the laptop to an adsl cable in the internet office at the camp which was nice for a change. Later 3 Dutch vehicles arrived, all heading south; 2 Land Cruisers and a 110 LR. 2 of them we had seen before in Dahab, but not met the owners. The Land Rover (Markus and Belinda: www.2xperience.nl) had pulled in to Auski Camp on our last night there but we left the following morning without having time to say hi. One of the Land Cruisers (Klaas: www.klaas2sa.waarbenjij.nu) was camping at Nessima Resort on our 1st day in Dahab but gone the next before we had chance to meet. The 2nd Land Cruiser was Laura and Vegter: www.stapvoetsdoorafrika.nl Quite strange but nice for us to have so many other overlanders around for a change after so long alone in North and West Africa - just shows how popular the east coast trans Africa route is!!!! So we all sat down together for a lovely Egyptian meal that the camp had prepared for us - 9 of us - and only a couple of beers this time. Good company and good conversations and we all really enjoyed the evening.