Overlanding

Afrika is ‘n warm land, nie net in temperatuur nie, maar in die harte van mense. Maar hulle is arm. Ons is orals met die grootste vriendelikheid ontvang, hulle gaan uit hul pad om jou te help. In SA praat ons van Ubuntu – human kindness – , maar dis net praat. Ons het gesien wat omgee vir mekaar beteken. Dit is baie veilig, ons kamp tussen die plaaslike bevolking sonder drade of alarms, niks word gesteel nie en jy voel nooit bedreig nie. Jy kan maar ry en gaan kuier, dis veiliger as wildtuin toe. Maar dan moet jou houding reg wees. Hulle het nog morele en godsdienstige waardes wat hulle uitleef, miskien is dit wat kort in SA. Maar Suid Afrika is nog die benchmark in Afrika. Ons is die meeste ontwikkeld, orde, stelsels, vaardighede, boere wat die land voed. Ons moet net saamwerk om dit wat ons het, verder uit te bou .

Nou ja, fluit, fluit, my storie is uit.

Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika

Africa is a very warm place, not only in temperature, but in the hearts of its people. But they are poor. Wherever we went we were received with the greatest amount of friendliness and warmth and they go out of their way to help you.

In South Africa we talk about ubuntu – human kindness, but it is just lip service. In Africa we experienced what it means to care for one another. It is very safe. We camped amongst the locals without fences or alarms, nothing is taken and you never feel threatened. You can go and travel there, it is safer than going to the wildtuin. But you must have the right attitude.
The people in Africa still have moral and religious values and they live by these; maybe that is what is lacking in SA.
South Africa is seen as the benchmark in Africa; we are the most highly developed, we have order systems, skills and farmers feeding the country.
We just need to take what we have and work together to develop it even further.
Well, that is the end of my story.
Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika.

Dis nag en ons vlieg teen amper 900 km per uur met Turkish Airline TK40 op ‘n hoogte van 11000m tussen Istanbul en Kaapstad. Onder ons in die donker nag le die kontinent Afrika wat ons die afgelope 80 dae teen 50 km per uur deurkruis het. ‘n Mens dink wat daar onder le, die Nyl wat sy pad deur die woestyn kronkel vir 6000 km tot by die Victoria en Tana meer, die mense met wie ons soos ‘ ships passing in the dark ‘ n oomblik gedeel het en mekaar se lewens geraak het. Captain Shaker in Alexandria wat se ons is ‘n gas in sy land en hy sal vir ons sorg, Ahmed in Luxor wat ons elke aand in Egipte gebel het om te hoor of ons ok is, Friday die Nubier in Aswan wat ons groet met ‘ I will miss you‘ , Mazar en sy vrou in die stofstrate van Sudan, die kerke in Ethiopie, die gorillas in the Volcanoes gebergtes, Happy in Dar, eksotiese Zanzibar en Zambia met sy groen vleilande.

Ons is veilig terug , niemand het siek geword nie, behalwe ‘n maag of twee, geen probleme met die Toyotas, grensposte of Polisie nie.

In die ‘About’ gedeelte van die blog het ons afgesluit en gese dan vlieg ons Kaap toe in ‘n dag en afgesluit met ‘n afkorting, DV wat beteken Deo Volente – as die Here wil. Ons dank aan die Here wat ons beskerm en gelei het die afgelope 80 dae, 19000 km en deur 10 lande .

Dan daal die vliegtuig en ons land in die beste plekke in die wereld, Kaapstad en Suid Afrika.

It is night and we are flying at almost 900 km/h on Turkish Airline TK40 at an altitude of 11000 m from Istanbul to Cape Town. Below us in the dark lies the continent of Africa which we traversed at 50 km/h over the past 80 days.

Your mind goes to what lies down there: the Nile winding its way for 6000 km from Lake Victoria and Lake Tana to the sea, the people with whom we shared a moment like ships passing in the dark and whose lives touched ours: Captain Shaker in Alexandria who said that we are guests in his country and he will take care of us, Ahmed in Luxor who phoned us every evening to find out if everything was in order, Friday the Nubian in Aswan, who greeted us with I will miss you, Mazar and his wife in the dusty streets of Sudan, the churches in Ethiopia, the gorillas in the Volcanoes mountains, Happy in Dar, exotic Zanzibar, and Zambia with its green swamplands.
We are home safely, no illnesses, except for a tummy or two, there were no problems with the Toyotas, border posts or police.
In the About section of the blog we ended and said then we fly to Cape Town in a day and closed off with the abbreviation DV, which means Deo Volente – God willing. We thank the Lord who protected us and guided us for the past 80 days on our journey of more than 19000 km through 10 countries.
Then the plane descends and we land in the best places on Earth: Cape Town and South Africa.

Die terugreis begin. Ons vetrek na Cairo International Airport. Vlieg eers Istanbul toe en vandaar na Kaapstad.

The journey home begins. We depart for the Cairo International Airport. We first fly to Istanbul and from there to Cape Town.

Besoek die museum met al die skatte wat in die Faraos en Konings se grafkelders gekry is. Die belangrikste is seker Tutankhamun se goue gesigmasker. Gaan kyk die mummies van konings en koninginne wat duisende jare gelede gelewe het en magtige heersers was – en hier le hulle ook nou maar. Ons spandeer 3 ure in die musuem, dis ontmoontlik om al die skatte te sien, daar is duisende. Langs die museum is die Tahrir plein waar in 2011 opstande was met die Arabiese lente. Gaan eet in die down town tradisionele kos saam met die locals, dis rys, lensies, erjies, spagetti stukkies saam met brandsous, tamatiesous en speserye, alles in een bord. Dan besoek ons ou Cairo of Islamic Cairo met sy duisende moskees, die belangrikste seker Muhammed Ali wat duisende jare BC gebou is, loop deur nou straatjies waar die locals lewe en koop. Dis kameelvleis, lewendige kalkoene en hoenders, vis, garnale, vrugte, olywe, alles wat jy wil he, lyk maar rof, lyk my jy het ‘n keuse, vlieg of kaas, of beide met een stuk.

We visit the museum with all its treasures which were found in the tombs of the pharaoes and kings. The most important of these must surely be the golden face mask of Tutankhamun. We visit the mummies of the kings and queens who were mighty rulers and who lived thousands of years ago they are also only lying here. We spend 3 hours here, it is impossible to see all the thousands of treasures and artifacts.

The museum is next to the Tahrir Square where the uprising of the Arabian Spring occurred in 2011.
We eat traditional food down-town with the locals. It is rice, lentils, peas, pieces of spaghetti with a chilly sauce, tomato sauce and spices all on the same plate. Afterwards we visit Old Cairo or Islamic Cairo, with its thousands of mosques of which the most important is the Muhammed Ali Mosque, which was built thousands of years BC.
We stroll through the narrow alleys where the locals live and shop. Here you find camel meat, live turkeys and chickens, fish, prawns, fruit, olives, whatever your heart desires; It looks a bit rough, you seem to have a choice of three: a bite of fly, a bite of cheese or a bite of fly-and-cheese in one.

Captain Shaker doen vir ons moeite en kom haal ons by die Hotel en gaan wys ons die Citadel, ou Alexandria met die visserbote en die biblioteek. Dan gaan laai hy ons by die bus af en ry nie voor hy sien ons is op pad nie. Hy is een van vele mense op ons reis wat uit hul pad gegaan het om ons te help. Regdeur Afrika was hulle daar.

Die bakkies is in die boothouer en ons ry bus Kairo toe. Kairo het 30 miljoen mense en die verkeer is berug. Hulle toet sonder ophou en die plek is maar vuil. Regdeur Egipte sit net die mans en suig aan die bubblypype en drink Turkse koffie in die kuierplekke. Dit is lekker koffie, so klein sterk enetjie. Die arme vrouens is maar in die agtergrond.

Besoek die Giza piramides, 4500 jaar oud. Ry perdekar en kameel tussen die piramides. Jammer ‘n mens kan nie meer tot bo klim nie, sal nogal lekker gewees het om soos Jack Nicholsen en Morgan Freeman in ‘The Bucket list’ bo-op die top te sit met ons vier en die wapperende SA vlag.

Captain Shaker picks us up from the hotel and takes us to the Citadel, old Alexandria with its fishing boats and the library. Afterwards he drops us at the hotel and does not leave until we are on our way.
He was one of the many people on our journey who went out of his way to assist us. We encountered them all the way through Africa.
The bakkies are in the container and we take the bus to Cairo. Cairo is home to 30 million people and the place is notorious for its traffic. The cars hoot non-stop and the place is dirty. All over Egypt the men sit and drag on their hubbly-bubbly pipes and drink Turkish coffee in little cafes. It is aromatic, strong coffee and the poor women remain in the background.
We visit the Giza pyramids, 4500 years old. Ride on a horse cart and on camels amongst the pyramids. It is a pity we cannot climb to the top any longer; it would have been quite an experience to sit at the top with an SA flag flapping in the wind ala Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in The Bucket List.

Hetta verjaar! Wat ‘n voorreg om haar van ‘n jong meisie met kamp uit n Mazda 323 se bak, tot ‘n jong moeder met ons eerste 4×4 Hilux bakkie met die kinders in Botswana tot vandag se Cape to Cairo aan jou sy te he.

Spandeer die heel dag om die bakkies te verskeep. Ons sit van 9:30 tot 16:30 in die hawe. Capt. Shaker van Trust Shipping hanteer alles en gaan uit sy pad om ons te help. Dan is die bakkies in die skeepshouer, hoop ons sien hulle weer oor ‘n maand in die Kaap. Alexandria is gebou deur Alexander, die Groote 300 jaar BC. Almal wat die stad besoek het, moes ‘n boek skenk vir die biblioteek.

Die aand vier ons Hetta se verjaarsdag met ‘n Arabiese aand en musiek op die dak van die hotel. Ons kyk uit op die meditereense see, die liggies van Alexandria en die Citadel (fort) in die verte. Sing vir my ‘n lied, my beminde, sing vir my ‘n lied van verre lande….

It is Hettas birthday! What a privilege to have her by my side – since her days of as a young woman camping out of the back of a Mazda 323, to a young mother with our first Toyota Hilux bakkie with the kids – to todays Cape to Cairo.
We spend the whole day shipping the bakkies. We are in the harbor from 9:30 to 16:30. Captain Shaker of the Trust Shipping Company deals with everything and goes out of his way to help us.
Then the bakkies are in the shipping container, we hope to see them again in a months time in Cape Town.
Alexandria was built by Alexander the Great, in 300 B.C. All visitors to the city had to donate a book to the library.

Cape to Cairo – Paarl2Pyramids – amper 19000 km en 10 lande, ons het dit gemaak! nearly 19000 km and 10 countries, we did it!

Ry al langs die Rooi see en Suez kanaal. Moses se Sinai berge le aan die oorkant in die verte. Hulle verkoop die wondelikste vars vis en garnale langs die pad. Hulle bou hotelle vir kilometers langs die see en verniel die woestyn. Iemand het te veel geld, mens kan nie glo wat jy sien nie. Lee geboue en nuwe ontwikkelings wat leeg staan- Dis jammer om so ‘n gemors te sien.

Ons ry deur Cairo na Alexandria. As jy in Cairo kan bestuur, kan jy enige plek in die wereld ry – dis mal, almal toet en ry soos hulle wil.

We drive next to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Moses Mount Sinai lies in the distance on the opposite bank. They sell the most amazing fresh fish and prawns on the side of the road.
They are building hotels for miles next to the sea and destroy the desert. Somebody has too much money; it is difficult to comprehend what you see: Empty buildings and unutilized new developments standing vacant.
It breaks your heart to see such a waste.
We drive through Cairo to Alexandria. If you can drive in Cairo, then you are able to drive anywhere in the world. It is insane, everybody hoots and drive as they want to.

Ons is hier in Hurghada, ons en honderde Russe ding mee om die kospotte van Egipte. Alle kos is ingesluit in die hotel pakket en etes is iets om te aanskou. Ons voel soos beeste in ‘n voerkraal, maar geniet dit om net ‘n dag net niks te doen nie. Swem in die Rooi see tussen die Russiese bikinis. Toer is nie vir sissies nie.

We are in Hurghada and we have to compete with hundreds of Russians for access to the flesh-pots of Egypt. All the food is included in the hotel package and the sumptuous luncheons are something to behold. We feel like live-stock in a feeding kraal, but enjoy not having to do anything.
We swim in the Red Sea surrounded by Russian bikinis.
It takes guts to tour.

Ry weer langs die Nyl af met sy en swaai dan Rooi see toe deur die woestyn. Dit is nogal ‘n belewenis om die Rooi see te sien as mens dink aan al die geskiedenis daaroor. Hurghada is Sun City in die woestyn. Dis net hotelle en Russe waar jy kyk. Dit is glad nie ons scene nie – kos is darem alles ingesluit, so ons sal maar opmaak daarvoor. Die Rooi see se kleur is fantasties, dit het die beste duikspots in die wereld.

We drive along the Nile again and then turn off through the desert in the direction of the Red Sea. It is an experience to see the Red Sea while thinking about its history.
Hurghada is Sun City in the desert. It is hotels and Russians as far as the eye can see. This is not our scene, but the food is included in the price. That will have to satisfy us. The colour of the Red Sea is amazing it has the some of the best scuba-diving spots