Adventures with Kingsley Holgate - Africa Outside Edge 8

We'd felt stifled and over-watched in Gaddafi's Libya, so bustling Alexandria in Egypt felt wonderfully welcoming. Filled with some four million people, bustling Alexandria is Egypt's major port and one of the most historic cities on the entire outside edge of Africa. Established in 332 BCE by Alexander the Great, who's buried here, the city became a major trade centre and focal point of learning for the entire Mediterranean region. Its ancient library held some 500 000 volumes and the Pharos of Alexandria, a lighthouse that was amongst the tallest man-made structures on earth for many centuries, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Driving the battered Landies into Alexandria, well that's an adventure all on its own. It entails constant dodging of old black-and-yellow Fiat taxis, horse-drawn carriages and carts, donkeys and pedestrians. We've gotten used to driving on the 'wrong side' of the road by now, as we have been doing it since Angola. Our passengers, in an act of survival, have learnt to shout 'Go!' or 'No! No! No!' to avoid accidents. This practise comes in handy, yet again, as the driver of an old, dented Bedford, carrying live camels to the meat market, swerves out in front of us ó it's scary.

The only way forward is to drive like an Egyptian: hand on the horn and foot on the accelerator, hesitate and you are pushed out of the traffic flow. It all adds to the adventure. Most Egyptians are polite and friendly, and especially curious at the sight of three battered right-hand-drive, South African- registered Land Rovers with orange life rings still tied to their bull bars driving along the 20 kilometre-long gauntlet of Alexandria's crowded Mediterranean beachfront, known to all Alexandrians as the 'corniche'.

Five days later I add this scribble...

There is lots of chatter on the Landy radios ó everybody's chuffed. This, is a great turning point for the expedition, as for the first time we swing the Landies south and homewards down the east coast of Africa. It's a wonderful feeling. On our left is the 163-kilometre-long Suez Canal. Opened in 1869, it remains one of the greatest feats of modern engineering, linking the Mediterranean to the north of the Red Sea and severing Africa from Asia. We park the Landies next to the canal at Port Suez. It's a strange experience, as with the sun setting over the Red Sea Mountains, giant ocean-going ships pass us like camels in the desert. It's a special time.