sudan: journal

ferry to sudan (wadi halfa) - 30th/31st august

shut in our cabin the 18 hour journey passed surprisingly quickly, emerging only to present, handover and then re-find our passports. we were both looking forward to seeing the land rover again after its solo adventure across lake nasser. an unfortunate incident (a man overboard) meant that there was a delay in disembarking and as we waited on the bow we could see no sign of the pontoon or its load. dismayed, we made our way to customs where we were assured that this wasn't a problem and our car would be with us by 1.00pm the next day. there was nothing we could do but wait so we headed for the town and found a bed for the night.

at 10.00pm the generator slowed theatrically and spluttered to a halt. now the silence was only broken by the buzz of orbiting mosquitoes. the fan had stopped with the generator. the heat was thick in the air, almost heavy in the darkness. the mosquitoes were shooed with only a token wave of the hand; it was too hot for anything more. on metal framed beds in a concrete room, we lay on our backs, posed like gingerbread men, sweating. no sheets were provided or required.

 
we waved goodbye to the land rover

wadi halfa - 1st september

awaking at first light we refreshed ourselves with a bucket shower, and whilst enjoying our first cup of sweet sudanese tea we were hurried along by mr kamal (general organiser for all western tourists) who assured us that our car was ready for collection. excited, we jumped in a pick-up truck and headed for the port where mr kamal instructed us to collect the car and then promptly left us to sort some more pressing business. now wadi halfa port is not a big place but there is some serious distance to cross by foot. still we could not see the car at either of the docks. after walking to the wrong dock we crossed to another and were rewarded with the sight of the land rover safely moored to the side of the passenger ferry.  now we just had to get it off.

 
4 feet down, wadi halfa

from hand gestures we gathered that the pontoon was to be taken to the dock that we had just come from. in the heat of the sudanese sun this back and forth was becoming tiresome, especially as we had already assessed that it would not be possible to get the car off due to the water level being somewhat lower than the dock. the pontoon moored and we saw that we were right. there was no chance of driving it off. we were also becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of concern as to our predicament. one (not so) helpful official explained that the water would rise 1 cm a day - so one month. 

it transpired that the pontoon would indeed have to be unloaded from the other dock. although that wasn't possible either, as they were still searching for the body of the unfortunate drownee. by 2.00pm we were tired of waiting so returned to the officer in charge who finally gave the order and it was back to the other dock. carefully, andy reversed the car onto a second ferry - to a round of applause - that then deposited man and vehicle on to the dock.  feeling elated we left the port for the last time and spent what was left of the day trying out the chinese hand pump purchased in aswan. it appeared to work.

wadi halfa to delgo - 2nd september

 
the nicest sunrise yet, wadi halfa

we were up at first light to start our adventure across the nubian desert. equipped with our gps waypoints, maps and good fortune we headed south down the nile. the drive was beautiful. the road wound over low hills. rows of jagged slates pierced the sand beside the track. here and there the nile slinked alongside us, on the far bank dunes piled against dark rocks, the sand glowing with an apricot sheen.

just south of wadi halfa we passed a japanese guy attempting the route by bicycle - it seemed difficult enough with a turbo diesel.  we drove the whole day stopping only to share smiles with some local school children and then again to take advantage of some spartan shade for a couple of hours.

here the road was easy to follow, nth of koshai

curious children, nile village

the road started well and was easy to follow, we relaxed into the driving. the first 100kms or so it was just us and the desert but as we headed further south villages began to appear. at first few and far between - high-walled straw and mud compounds hiding the daily routine of the villagers inside - but as we went on one village merged into another, a continuous line of life along the nile. 

unusual architecture, nile village

we had planned to stop near abri for the night but soon changed our minds. after five hours of hot, dusty driving we were ready for a cold drink. we pulled the land rover over, darted into a shop, bought two cokes and in that time two security officers had spied us and were attempting to get us to go to their office. not knowing if they were fraudsters we drove to the police station first, before being reluctantly escorted back to the security office, where, as the officer laboured over the details of our passports, we were made to feel as if we were trespassing in his country. it wasn't the infamous sudanese hospitality we had been hearing about, so we jumped in the land rover and sped away.

we stopped driving as the light of the day faded and found ourselves in a small village outside of delgo. we sought permission to camp and set-up the roof-top tent. a tray of tea was brought to us, introductions were made and then it was early to bed. 

these locals wanted their photo taken, sth of abri

delgo to dongola - 3rd september

another early start and we were on our way. this time we took the shortcut across the desert, driving away from the nile and its villages. there were many tracks to choose from but they all led to the same destination. the sun was barely visible, a glowing white disc in the dusty haze. the ground, horizon and sky merged into one under the obscured light. we sped quickly on the sandy tracks to kurma-en-nuzi, where we were invited to share breakfast with a pharmacy owner and his colleagues. we politely refused, waving our fresh bread rolls out of the window and continued the drive, finding our way through a maze of backstreets. somehow this village felt less arabic and more african. it could have been the vegetation, the dirt streets, the multitude of kiosks, or maybe all of these things and more but suddenly we were asking ourselves 'how did we get here?'.

goat in transit, argo river crossing 

somehow we found our way to the river crossing at argo and took a short ride across the murky, swirling waters of the nile to the western bank. by this stage we were filthy - we had not showered properly since aswan - and the dust from the roads was everywhere. the sky was still glowing curiously.

 
visibility was not at its best, west bank of the nile

our destination was dongola, where we hoped to find a room and a much needed shower. the road was not as bad as we had feared but in the strange light the drive became more and more surreal. at one point we found ourselves driving over dykes between dusty fields - clay ramps steep enough to test even the land rover's clearance. this confirmed our suspicions that we were not on the main road. a quick right turn took us away from the cultivated plots of land. tiny villages loomed out of the nothingness. a lone motorcyclist appeared and then disappeared. finally, a stretch of tarmac signalled our safe arrival in dongola where we checked into a hotel, reported to the police, then tucked in to what seemed to be the only food available; a plate of fried liver - the tastiest we've ever had (sorry mum).

dongola to khartoum - 4th september

  
where's the nile? 

the hardest stretch of the journey to khartoum lay ahead of us. we knew that there was tarmac out of dongola and then again from abu dom but somewhere in-between the road disappears altogether. we found ourselves driving through open desert, chasing tyre tracks. close to el khandaq we powered through deep sand before hitting the worst corrugations imaginable. corrugations so deep on a road so wide that there was no comfortable travelling speed. we endured this for an hour or so before meeting with the tarmac again and a truck stop where we stopped for falafel. setting off again we were faced with a hazard of a different sort - a sand storm blew in, limiting visibility on a fast and busy road. finally, we passed through the chaotic market streets of omdurman before crossing the nile again to khartoum.

we made our way to the blue nile sailing club where we stayed for three nights. the 'club' is an institution in khartoum and in the evenings there is a steady stream of 4x4s that park up, the owners sitting by the river, sharing conversation over a coffee or fruit juice. for us it provided somewhere safe to camp for the night and by day to sort the inside of the land rover after its wearing journey across the desert - nothing had escaped the dust. khartoum itself seemed pleasant enough but after getting caught out by the one-way systems and getting stuck in the rush hour traffic we limited our excursions; our stomachs determining when we left the sailing club.

gallabat - 7th september

after two days of repairs and repacking, we were ready to move onto ethiopia. the sudanese heat was proving to be just too much - a paralysing 42 degrees in the shade, no breeze and no detectable relief, even when the sun set. we were keen to reach the milder and potentially wetter climate of ethiopia.

travelling south from khartoum, organised, arabic sudan begins to slowly disintegrate. as the landscape opens out into savanna, the solid walls and defensive islam architecture gives way to scattered collections of circular straw huts. and eventually the road too degenerates, bumping us over pot-holes and though muddy ruts. the other traffic having disappeared, we made our way past the slow moving oil tankers into a countryside becoming greener by the mile.

 
typical village on the way to the border

we were not too keen on the idea of bush camping on the way to the border, so we drove flat out to reach gallabat before dusk. this we did, however, upon our arrival we quickly assessed that gallabat had all the charm that you would expect of a remote border post. we were undecided as to whether we should cross the border, hide in the bush or stay put and sleep in the front of the land rover for the night. staying put seemed the safest option but we would need the toilet at some point so we drove out the way we had come in.

 
our first rain since switzerland

as dusk fell, lightning lit the horizon below dark clouds, erupting above a suddenly very african landscape. we watched the storm for a short while but the quickening darkness made us uneasy, so we headed back to gallabat. we parked up next to the truck drivers who were sleeping under their vehicles - if it was safe for them it should be safe for us too, though we were certainly more of an attraction. it wasn't long before a crowd had gathered around the front windows and for the next hour or so a steady stream of people peered in and spoke what little english they knew, intrigued by the game of scrabble we were trying to continue. our last visitor was a policeman who suggested that perhaps it would be better for us to sleep outside the customs house. this we did and from that point we were not disturbed at all.

 
border town of gallabat

sudan: accomodation

sudan: other info

entry checks: a visa is required and we sorted this in cairo. you need to pay $100 for the privilege, plus the application needs to be supported by a letter of recommendation* from the british embassy in cairo (costs £12 and one copy is sufficient for both). the visa is issued within 24 hours.  a carnet is required.

costs: we took the car on the pontoon that leaves with the passenger ferry and this set us back a further £217. we opted for a cabin on the boat at  £23 each (the alternative is the deck for £15). on arrival in wadi halfa we handed over £20 to customs and then £14 each to register as aliens! living costs were kept low by our inability to find any restaurants open in the evening in khartoum and outside of the city we did not have too much success in ordering any food other than falafel! diesel was c.15 pence a litre.

must sees: the nubian desert and villages that line the eastern bank of the nile north of argo. we missed the ancient sites of 'jebel barkal' and the 'pyramids of meroe city' and having seen them on tv the other night would definitely recommend them if you can face the drive - we couldn't!

*the letter basically says: as we told you before, a letter is not required! but they seemed happy with it.