SUDAN

Scorching Nubian Heat

We reached the Galabat border crossing just after midday and the temperature became noticeably hotter along the way. We had left the lovely cool climate of the Ethiopian highlands and it was now apparent that we would be in for a roasting in Sudan. From May to July are their hottest months and at this stage we were not aware of just how ferocious the heat would get.

The border itself was fairly quick on the Ethiopian side and we also exchanged our spare Birr for Sudanese Pounds, at a good rate of 6.25 Birr to 1 Sudan Pound. There are no ATM machines that accept international cards in the whole of Sudan because of the US led embargo, so we used the ATM machines in Ethiopia to get enough cash to see us through Sudan.

We were then told that at 1pm the border officials disappeared for lunch not to return until 3pm. We hastened our approach and hoped the Lizzybus would get here soon to avoid a two hour delay. The Sudanese side was slow to say the least, but all the paperwork was done thoroughly. There is no point trying to hurry them up, just stay cheerful and harp on about football. By the way, they all seem to be Barcelona fans. I joked with them about the upcoming final against Man Utd and eventually we were through. The other thing to remember is that you need to get registered in Sudan within three days of your arrival. If you don’t then you can be in a lot of trouble. The good thing is that you can get this done at the border, which saves a lot of hassle further on down the line. The cost though is US$50 per person, and this on top of the US$100 visa fee makes this one of the most expensive countries to visit in Africa. As we were leaving the Lizzybus pulled in and unfortunately got caught up in the lunch break.

We left the border at around 3.15pm and headed towards Gederef which lay about 200km away. The road was tarred all the way, although quite undulating in parts. I immediately noticed that there were nowhere near as many people on the roads and in the country as there are in Ethiopia. The roads were pleasantly quiet and we got to Gederef through a dry flat landscape by 5.30pm. We went to the Al Motawakhil Hotel which according to the Lonely Planet has a management style similar to Basil Fawlty. The price we were quoted was way above the price indicated in the lonely planet so we headed to the El Hawwad Hotel which turned out to be a good place to stay for the night. In Sudan you need to register with your passport in every hotel. We headed down to the local souk that evening and found a decent restaurant. We were welcomed enthusiastically at the entrance and ushered to a table. The genuine friendliness of the Sudanese people is very obvious and it was clear this would be a different experience than Ethiopia. We opted for the grilled chicken and were delighted by its quality, accompanied with lovely fresh bread and a lentil stew.

The following morning we left Gederef and headed north westward towards Khartoum. Along the way we stopped for fuel and again were surprised how cheap it was. The price per litre of diesel is about half of what it was in Ethiopia. We were stopped a couple of times by the police at road blocks, but after a quick chat, checking of our registration and handing over of a photocopy of our passport picture pages, we were let through. The day got hotter and hotter and by midday the heat, even with windows open was getting uncomfortable. It was like driving in the face of an industrial size air blower and the temperature was approaching 50 degrees. We thought abut camping but could not really imagine doing so in such heat. There was no escape from the heat as even at midnight it was still hot. We reached Khartoum and found a modern city brimming with business activity. Sudan is an oil rich country so even with the absence of the Europeans and North America there are clearly a lot of others more than happy to step into their place. We decided to give the much vaunted Blue Nile Sailing Club a miss as we had heard many bad reports about the place. Instead we decided to go to the Khartoum Youth Hostel which had been recommended to us by an English couple we had met in Gondor, Ethiopia. We were not disappointed and were impressed with the cleanliness and friendly manager called Abdullah. They also have free internet and off road parking. I sent a text to the Lizzybus and told them of this value alternative and an hour later, after visiting the Blue Nile Sailing Club and confirming the grim reports we had heard, they joined us at the hostel.

Over the next couple of days we relaxed in Khartoum and visited a number of great cafes and restaurants. I also managed to post my Ethiopia blog which was not an easy task without my trusted HP Mini Notebook. Eventually I managed to do so after a 4 hour marathon effort, so I hope the readers appreciate it.

The following day we decided to get our permit for visiting the coast of Sudan via Port Sudan. After a couple of attempts to find the right office we were directed to the General Transport Office in the Soba district. Here we met a Major Hamed who informed us that we did not need a permit to travel as we were in a non commercial vehicle. I told him friends of ours had indeed had to get this permit but he insisted we didn’t, and then gave me his cell number to call if we were stopped on the way. By this stage the Lizzybus had decided not to go to the coast but to cut short their visit to Sudan and head straight away to Wadi Halfa to catch an early ferry to Egypt. We stayed for another day in Khartoum and looked in detail at the route to the coast. After some debate we decided that to drive over 100km to the coast for two days was really not practical, especially in this fierce heat. We only had another eleven days before our exit from Sudan and we figured it would be better to break the journey up into a number of shorter driving days. Hence our plan would be to follow the Nile River northwards to Atbara, visiting the Meroe pyramids and other archaeological sites along the way. From there we would cross the Bayouda desert to Karima and then wind our way along the Nile via Dongola and into Wadi Halfa.

The following day we said farewell to the hostel staff and headed northwards towards Atbara. After a slight wrong turn we made it out of the city by 10am and headed towards the Meroe pyramids. Along the way we saw many dead cows, victims of the extreme harsh conditions. I am not sure how any animals survive here as there is no greenery for them to eat and no obvious water. Even the people I figured have a hard time of it. The villages are unimpressive and I can only imagine that the rest of the year outside this incredible furnace must be really nice. If not, why live in this area. At 1pm we found the hidden dusty track to the pyramids and made our way to the site. We met two German motor cyclists who warned us of even hotter weather to the north. They even offered to trade some of their 4 week Sudan visa to us! We paid our entrance fee and walked to the Meroe sites. They are really impressive and date back to 592 BC. They were built by the Merotic Pharaohs and are decorated with all the same figures as you would see in Egypt. We had the place to ourselves and wondered around these ancient structures. An English archaeologist - cum tomb raider - had in the 20th century discovered the wealth of a Merotic Queen. It seems to me, from a purely amateur perspective that there must be a lot more to uncover in these sand swept hills and orange coloured dunes.

We continued our journey to Atbara and upon arrival in this dusty bustling town, we made our way to the Nile Hotel. With the heat building by the day we made sure we had rooms with air conditioning and or fans. We managed to plug our fridge into the hotel power to ensure the auxiliary battery that it runs off didn’t drain flat. The heat here means that the battery, which normally lasts three days, only last for a day. The more we experience of this heat the more we realized that camping is not an option in Sudan at this time of the year. It is a pity that we were not here in the cooler months as the desert and Nile River are totally suitable for wild camping. Again we found restaurants with very good quality food. We drink many litres of liquid a day to keep from dehydrating. In some ways it is fortunate that the humidity is very low as at least this ferocious heat is somewhat manageable. Later that day we received a text from the Lizzybus who were camped up in the desert between here and Karima. They said it was so hot that they were having trouble coping with the conditions, and couldn’t wait to get out of Sudan and into Egypt. Jane was already suffering from heat exhaustion and could neither eat nor drink a bottle of cold beer.

The following morning we made our way to an internet café that we found after a number of attempts behind a large souk. We had decided to use Mr. Magdi to assist us with our departure from Sudan to Egypt. He would, for US$500, provide first class tickets for us on the passenger ferry and one way for Proper Job on the cargo ferry. The price also includes all other fees, including his time. There are probably many others who would provide a similar service but his name seems to come up more often than others. You want to make sure there is no problems with your vehicle arriving on the barge a day or so after you arrive on the passenger ferry in Aswan, Egypt. I called Mr. Magdi and mentioned our friends the Lizzybus who were also using him. I stressed that we wanted the same service and price as them, which he agreed to. I then emailed him our passport details and Proper Job’s details. I attached PDF copies of our passports and the carnet so there would be no confusion. When we left the internet shop we quickly found ourselves lost in Atbara. A local had taken us there through a number of winding streets and now, at 1pm, in the blazing heat we were totally disorientated. We eventually found a tuk-tuk driver who knew the Nile Hotel. When we arrived I had a shower and cold drink before venturing out again. We headed back to our favorite local restaurant for a late lunch and relaxed for a couple of hours.

The following morning we packed up and went to a local fuel station to refill for our final destination at Wadi Halfi. Next stop though was Karima, which lies 200km across the Bayouda desert and is located along the banks of the Nile River. The road was good but we saw very little traffic. The heat again was probably a major factor and apart from a few camels along the way we did not see any sign of life. As we approached Karima we came to a road block and were approached by three men, one on uniform and the others in civilian clothes. They requested the usual, passports and your destination. I had read ht many of the security personnel in Sudan are not in uniform so you have to go along with the process. One of the civilian clothed men went towards the other side of the car and I whispered to John to lock all doors. He was not quick enough and the man had he front door opened and was peering inside. He spotted my mascot parrot called Crystal (obtained at a friend of mine Ian Bruce’s Christmas party before I left on my African adventure) mascot on the front dash and removed it. John closed the door and started explaining how this parrot had been with us around Africa and was part of the journey. He grudgingly put it back and we drove into Karima.

Karima is a dusty town that has been made a UNESCO archaeological site because of the Temple of Mut and surrounding pyramids. We managed to find a tuk-tuk driver to show us a coupe of hotels and eventually settled on the Al Nasser, which had a ceiling fan. The cost was only 25 SDG per night and I also negotiated a power ‘plug in’ fee for Proper Job, which cost a further 25 SDG. The hotel is situated next to the main square that has an array of shops and basic restaurants. We found a decent restaurant and enjoyed a fine chicken meal that evening. That night was hot though and even with our room door fully opened the temperature did not abate enough to fall asleep until 4am. A ceiling fan only moves the hot air around, and the walls of the room are heated up so much during the day that they take a long time to loose their heat during the dark hours.

The following morning we headed back to the square and had breakfast. The wind had picked up during the night and the area was engulfed in a dust cloud. This cut out the worst of the heat from the sun but also ensured a good amount of dust was breathed in whilst outside. We found a good internet café and managed to send off some important emails. I found out from my friend in Cornwall Ian Heyworth had booked and confirmed our tickets for the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand later this year. With the success of a potash project in Brazil that we had invested in and that I had helped create over the past four years we had decided to splash out and go to New Zealand in lavish style via Hong Kong. It also gives me the chance to visit a country again that I really like and also to catch up with some Kiwi friends.

That afternoon we jumped in a tuk-tuk and went to visit the Temple of Mut which lies at the base of the Jebel Barkal Mountain. This was sacred ground for the Egyptians during the 18th dynasty and the structures are 2500 years old. We walked across sandy ground towards the remains of the temple and peered up at the towering Jebel Barkal. As we approached the first set of ruins it felt very much like a set on a Harrison Ford movie. It was hot and sweaty and the eerie silence made it even more authentic. When we reached the entrance to the temple I was surprised at how large the complex was. The entrance was flanked by four impressive granite statues of rams. Unfortunately they were quite badly damaged and even more shocking was that some of the damage was very recent. There was lots of pottery fragments sticking out of the sand as well as carved rocks with Egyptian writing inscribed. We went into another temple constructed in the mountain and were amazed by the wonderful inscriptions and paintings of familiar Pharaohs’ and their gods. A fire had caused much smoke damage but it was still all visible. We trudged around the mountain and visited the pyramid tombs of a king and his wife. The temperature was again soaring and we slowly made our way back across the sands to the entrance gate where our tuk-tuk awaited. We headed back to town and had cold showers to cool down to a more normal temperature. Next we headed back to the market and drank some cold drinks and a bite to eat.

That evening, it seemed that it was even hotter than the night before. We had a lot of trouble sleeping that night and only when it started cooling down at 5am did we manage to fall asleep for a couple of hours. The next day we planned to drive around the Nile River along the old road to Dongola. The scenic route along a dirt road would be more interesting than the drive across the Nubian Desert, but with the lack of sleep the previous two nights and reports that this road was quite rough it seemed a better choice was to take the tar road across the desert. We decided to leave around midday so as to arrive in Dongola at a reasonable time in the afternoon. I hoped we could find a hotel in Dongola with a precious air conditioner as that is the only way to ensure a decent rest. The drive across the Nubian Desert was a stark reminder of the harshness of desert life. As I drove I stared in wonderment at how anyone could travel through here with camels. The desert is bleak and god forsaken. I don’t think a human on foot could last more than a day if lost in this fearful landscape. After a few hours we started to see the first signs of life as palm trees began appearing on the horizon. We were once again nearing the Nile River. We made our way into green Dongola across a new bridge that spans the river. I followed the GPS to the recommended Lord Hotel. On arrival, I was not surprised to be told there were only fans in the rooms. I enquired if there was a hotel with air conditioning and was told there was one. I enlisted a local to show us to the Al Muallem hotel and we were delighted to find that it was true. The rooms only cost 69 SDG per night which was a bargain. The inner courtyard could be reached via a passage way but there was some construction materials stored there. I figured it wouldn’t take much moving to squeeze Proper Job into this shaded area so after explaining to the hotel manager what I wanted to do we went into action. Proper Job just made it through the gap and I found a socket that I could plug the fridge into. We heard later that day from the Lizzybus that they were on the ferry from Wadi but had not got First Class cabins like promised and were forced to sleep on the crowded deck. As they had changed their departure date by one week Magdi could not get them a cabin booking. However, David confirmed that we had now got their original cabin for the following weeks sailing. Also the cargo ferry had not arrived so they had to leave the Lizzybus on the dock to be loaded up after their departure. Oh well, we will see what the Wadi Halfa experience has in store for us next week.

That evening, with the air conditioning, we had no problems sleeping. We enjoyed a couple of cold cans of beer in the room and disposed the empties carefully. Don’t wan to get caught and given 40 lashes. In the morning the receptionist, in excellent English told us we had to move the car as it was in a theater show area. I said that the manager had said we could park it there, but agreed to move it to a different part of the courtyard. Unfortunately, the socket in that area was dead so I unloaded the contents from the fridge and put it in the room fridge. The receptionist, who had one glass eye, had lived in many countries. He explained that he had lost his eye as punishment from God for all the bad things – mainly booze and woman - he had dome whilst living in Canada, Europe, Libya and Egypt. Furthermore, he said he deserved his punishment! We managed to get him to write down in Arabic the names of places we anted to visit that day, including somewhere that we could watch the Man Utd versus Barcelona in the Championship League final at Wembly the following evening. Barcelona are the clear favorites but you never know, remember the Bayern Munich final a decade ago when two goals by Teddy Sheridan and the ‘baby faced assassin’ Ole Gunnar Scholskear in the last 5 minutes saw Man Utd to a famous 2-1 victory.

The following morning the power went of at 7am. When I enquired at the reception what had happened I was told that there were repair works underway and power is scheduled to be turned on at 7pm that evening. This would prove to be a long hot ay as the air con provides a needed respite from the heat. A few hours wandering around the town in the hot sun is doable as long as you have a cool climate to recover in. We went to the internet café and caught up with some emails and world news. Dongola has a nice feel to it and the people were very welcoming. Buying a cool drink at a local shop often ended with the gift of a free banana. Whereas in most African countries you get shortchanged one way or the other, here in Sudan it is different. Later that afternoon we drank mint tea and I enjoyed a plate of local honey cake sweets. Everyone was talking about the upcoming football match and once enough people had requested the hotel manager to provide the channel with the match, he agreed to do it. 7pm came and went and we hoped that the power would return soon. We sat at a tea stall and waited and drank more tea. In Africa you do have to accept that time lines will probably not be adhered to so patience is required in large dollops. At 8.30pm the lights came on and there was a loud cheer from the streets. We headed back to the hotel room and bathed in the cool air. At 9.45pm the football match started and we joined a number of Sudanese fans around the TV. After a bright start by Man Utd, Barcelona put on a stunning display of passing football. Man Utd fans everywhere must have known what was coming and it soon did. Dominating possession by a wide margin Barcelona won the game 3-1 and no one can deny that they deserved the win. Rarely have Man Utd been so comprehensively outplayed.

The following morning we decided to stay for another day as we had got to like the town and its friendliness. We were in a routine and could mingle in with the locals and observe life as they lived it. When you are constantly on the move you can not have this level of observance, so it was different for us to wile away the hours this way. When we returned to the hotel the one-eyed manager said that the police intelligence division, or whatever they call themselves, had rang him to enquire why we had not left town yet. When you arrive in Sudanese towns you have to report to the police and be registered. Hotels will only let you stay once you have done this. We had said we would stay for three nights and, as we had not left, the police told the manager that we should check out. He told them we were guests and he could not do so. This seemed to do the trick but he said we should either go back and re-register (which is a laborious process) or leave in the morning. Fair enough, he had done us a favor by standing the police down. This registration system is a strange one and must be a hangover from the past.

The following morning we went to our local café and had a final cup of mint tea before packing our things. When we went to pay the manager changed us 60SDG per night instead of 69SDG, as long as we didn’t want a receipt. I made up some cheese and onion sandwiches for the road and filled our bottles with cold drinking water from the hotel. Wadi Halfa lay 400km away along the Nile and across the Nubian Desert. We did not expect comfortable accommodation in Wadi Halfa as the Lonely Planet had a poor write up. The road was fairly new and replaced the sand road where a few people died each year from getting lost in the desert. As we drove through the barren burnt landscape you could see how it would have been so easy to loose the road. After a couple of hours the tar road swung back towards the Nile River and we caught a few glimpses of the shimmering water between the date palm groves. Again I regretted not travelling through Sudan in the cooler months as the camping opportunities along the river and in the desert were endless. As lunch approached I looked for a route to take us to the river bank. I eventually found a small sand track and followed it through some low dunes. Luckily it was a good choice and we parked up on the river bank and had lunch and a well needed rest. The river is magnificent and you can easily picture the Pharaohs travelling this way from Upper to Lower Egypt. In fact, if you took away the power lines and the tar road then I doubt this place has changed much since those ancient times.

We pushed on towards Wadi Halfa and again the road headed back into the desert. The scenery suddenly changed into one that evoked an area of major ancient volcanism. We drove through landscapes that reminded me a lot of northern Namibia. Sharded black volcanic rocks stuck vertically out of the sand and I remember seeing this very same geological feature near to Sossusflei, Namibia. I was told at the time that this feature signaled that you were very near to the hot core. The difference here was that the sharded structures were massive and numerous. I must do a search on Google to find out more about the ‘Nubian’ volcanic. Funny enough it was in a lodge at Sossusflei that I actually met and dined with Sergei Brin (co-founder of Google) and his lovely wife Anne. I thought that Sudan was mostly just one big flat desert and had little interesting geology. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some significant metallic deposits to be discovered here somewhere. Exploration work would be seasonal as no one in their right minds would explore this furnace at this time of the year.

After six hours of driving we arrived at Wadi Halfa. I had GPS coordinates for our fixer Mr. Magdi so we proceeded to that point. When we arrived I went into the Kilopatra Hotel to enquire and was told that we were booked here at 30SDG per night. We then noticed the hotel had a couple of rooms with air con so asked if they were available. They were, but were more than double the price. We took half a second to take the air con room and at 80 SDG (UK£16) per night was well worth it to ensure we could sleep. A while later Mr. Magdi turned up and we had a brief chat with him. He told us that the Lizzybus had left on Saturday as there had been some problems with the car ferry. He said that the car ferry would be here late Wednesday of Thursday and we should not have any delays. Don’t hold your breath for that one. Mr. Magdi clearly knows his stuff and we were soon delving into the paperwork required to depart. Once completed, he took our passports and Carnet and said he would start to process them the following day meet us later that day around midday. His cost is US$500 for two persons First Class cabin, car passage, customs and ‘other’ associated charges. Basically he makes around US$50 for ‘fixing’, which at this stage of the journey is fine. He also mentioned there were three overland cars coming in on the ferry. This was good news as it indicated the Alexandria to Venice ferry was still in operation. There are a few ‘fixers’ in Wadi and in Aswan and details for the ones I have heard positive things about are; Wadi Halfa - Mr. Magdi (nubatia51@yahoo.com, mobile 0121730885), Mr. Mazar Mahir (mahirmashansharti@gmail.com, mobile +249 122380740) – Aswan, Mr. Mohammed Abouda (Aboudanilfeluka@hotmail.com, mobile +20 125111968), Mr. Kamal who teams up with Mr. Magdi (mobile 201 05322669)
We enjoyed a couple of cans of cold beer in the room and cooled off. Later we headed to the restaurant area which is next to a prominent hill. The desert sunset was a good one and the evening was relatively cool because of a pleasant breeze.

The following morning we sauntered down to the square and drank some tea. At 10am Mr. Magdi turned up on his way to the port and we caught up briefly with the days proceedings. Basically we would not see much of him that day. The hours drifted by and at least there was a fair breeze blowing through so it was nowhere near as hot as the towns in the Nubian or Bayouda deserts. Later that afternoon I called Mr. Magdi and he came around to the hotel to go through proceedings the following day and also to assist us with contacting Mr. Kamal in Aswan. I discussed prices with Mr. Magdi and showed him amounts that other overlanders had paid in Aswan. He called Mr. Kamal and said that he agreed to do the same for us. Basically the cost of clearing customs in Aswan, obtaining a number plate and buying insurance is around E£880 (US$145). The paperwork is apparently tedious on the Egypt side so I was happy to agree to Mr. Kamal’s service. Mr. Magdi also said that the big cargo ferry still had not left Aswan and he was trying to get the smaller cargo ferry here for Wednesday or Thursday. We would have to leave Proper Job with Mr. Magdi to drive onto the cargo ferry whenever it arrives. This is no big deal as he has done this numerous times for his customers.

Later that afternoon I decided to get my spare keys out of the safe to give to Mr. Magdi the following day. I had had a spare main key cut in Fez, Morocco and I decided this would be the one I would leave with Mr. Magdi. I casually tried the key in the door locks and it worked fine. Something then urged me to try the ignition with it. I did, and it did not work. I could only imagine the inconvenience and utter despair that I would feel if I had arrived in Aswan after an 18 hour ferry journey only to be told that Mr. Magdi could not put Proper Job on the ferry as he could open the doors but couldn’t start the engine. It would have meant a mind numbing trip back to Wadi Halfa with all the associated visa problems etc etc. Whatever or whoever urged me to try the key in the ignition, thanks. I packed up Proper Job and put any valuables that we would not carry on the ferry into the safe. That evening we had a few cold Tusker beers in the room. All our Kilimanjaro beers from Tanzania had now gone so we were into our last two crates of Kenyan beer. At this rate, with the soon-to-be abundance of Sukara beer in Egypt, we may well have a crate of Tusker left to give to our travel buddy Jane when we get back to Cornwall.

The following day Mr. Magdi turned up at 11am and returned our passports sating he would come to the hotel at 1pm to take us to the port where the rest of the paperwork would quickly be completed. We packed a six pack into our carry on luggage to drink whilst sailing across Lake Nasser. Mr. Magdi turned up on time and we drove to the customs. He explained that he feared that with the regular car ferry being so delayed that we should try and get Proper Job a berth on one of the other cargo boats. The problem was that the captains all had letters from the Nile River Shipping Company stating that only the official car ferry was to take vehicles. If we could convince the captain of a boat (that was the old car ferry) then it would save us a few days in Aswan. However, a small fee needed to be paid to the captain. We drove down to the cargo dock and met the captain. After a brief discussion he said he would do it. Our first offer price, on Mr. Magdi’s guess, was not accepted. We then upped the price to UK20 and the deal was done. We headed back to immigration and were whisked through all formalities very quickly. When we got to the customs we were not carrying any bags as they were already through the gate in Proper Job. Our beers were safe. By 2.30pm we were on the passenger ferry. The boat is dirty, to say the least, and they don’t seem to clean it between changeovers. We got to our cabin, which was not much better. At least we had our own space and an air con that we could cool our beers on. We said farewell to Mr. Magdi, who had done a good job for us and is clearly well connected in Wadi Halfa.

The boat departed at 5pm and we cruised up the Nile for a while before entering Lake Nasser. It was a strange feeling leaving Proper Job alone and in the hands of s stranger. This was the first time during the entire trip around Africa that we had been parted. It would be good to see Proper Job safely on the Egyptian side in a four days time. Our passports were taken from us as soon as we entered the boat and then are returned later that evening to be cleared by Egyptian immigration during the boat trip. The hours went by and we drank our beers looking across Lake Nasser. At 9pm we sailed by the Abu Simbel tomb complex, which looked spectacular lit up. Although the first class cabin was an eyesore, we got a good nights’ sleep. The following morning we skipped breakfast as the restaurant looked like a chimp’s tea party. At 11pm the ferry docked in Aswan.