We have spent the last two days on 'Cairo to Cairo', our hosts' improvised version of 'Paris - Daccar' (the ultimate in rallies). Ours might only have been a round trip from Cairo, but driving over 100 km in the desert, off-road, up and down sandy escarpments with a height difference of 200 metres, was quite challenging.There were 11 of us, in 5 cars, and we saw just one other group of people all weekend. The smog and 20 million people of Cairo were soon left behind. The camp site we chose in the middle of the desert was idyllic, with a magnificent sunset (pictured above), followed by fine dining and a '60s classics night of music and revelry.
Tricky, this desert driving, especially for women drivers!
'Bunny hopping' down some of the dunes was great fun, if a little scary
But we all made it to this idyllic camp site in the middle of nowhere.
Today, Bill's scrambled eggs and John's sausages set us up for a second 6 hour drive in the desert. The sand was deep at times and all 4 Pajeros had their difficulties, with the Land Cruiser performing impeccably. Periods of driving flat out at 30 mph just to (not always) avoid being stuck were interspersed with speedier sections through a desert full of hidden dips, ridges, rocks and dunes. The absence of a safety net for the luggage in our Pajero did make life interesting for the rear passenger when the car took off - but for the driver it was great fun!
There was a 'girlies' car for Alison, Sue and Ruth
Bill, David and I hammered a rented Pajero in between stopping to collect a few sharks' teeth and rummage through whale bones and coral from the ancient sea bed from which the is desert formed.
Sharks teeth (above)
The hunt for whale bones (below), with Tina admiring her cache
Thanks go to Bill and Alison and their ex-pat friends for organising this trip, inviting us along, and giving us loads of driving opportunity.
It was brilliant.
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