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Location: Blue Nile Sailing Club, Khartoum, Sudan
Distance so far: 31,141 km
Dates: Sunday 11th to Sunday 18th February 2001
GPS Co-ords: 15d36.675'N, 32d32.070'E
Highlights: Wacky Racers - Wadi Halfa to Dongola, crossing the Nubian Desert to Karima and the Pyramids of Jebel Barkal, crossing the Bayuda Desert to Atbara, the 50 Pyramids of Meroe and on to Khartoum.

With all the paperwork finally completed at Wadi Halfa we started our journey South. Anthony, the French guy had been feeling off colour for a couple of days and as we awoke in the morning to start our journey he was in a pretty bad way. He had a fever, was a little delirious and generally feeling terrible. He and Natalie had less than 4 weeks to get down to Kenya and wanted to spend as much time as possible in Ethiopia so they didn't want to lose any more time. But Anthony was certainly in no fit state to drive and after a little discussion, it was decided that he should try to get some rest in the Unimog - with Mike and Arnd as very able nurses - whilst Natalie drove the Land Rover - a very gutsy lady. So off we set in convoy, Ben and his crowd had already left, but no doubt we would bump into them en route.



From left to right; local lady, Arnd, Natalie, Anton, me, Mike, Neil.

The road to Dongola is a fabulous route to take in terms of being picturesque. You pass through village after village of immaculately kept houses with beautiful ornate doors and some of the most beautiful women we had ever seen, all waving and smiling and beckoning us to stop and drink tea with them. All this set against a backdrop of the Nile with lush deep green grasses blowing in the wind. It was quite stunning. The Sudanese people have a reputation for being welcoming and generous but until you have experienced it for yourself, it is difficult to describe. Also, coming from Egypt where the women are often shrouded in black and out of the major cities are not overly visible keeping very much to the home, it was incredibly liberating to enter Sudan and see the women as a very visible part of the community. Their dresses are the most fabulous array of bright oranges, blues, yellows, greens and all with their beautiful faces shining through. A breath of fresh air!




Typical Nubian houses on the Dongola route.



Each doorway is uniquely painted.



Painted windows.


Some of the smiling inquisitive faces of the Nubian people.

The road from Wadi Halfa is corrugation personified. Mile after mile of endless corrugations as far as the eye can see. Not too good on the old suspension and after a few hours of driving, it is hard to imagine what a tarmac road feels like. It really is hard going both on the vehicle and on yourself. My thoughts kept going to poor old Anthony rattling around in the back of the Unimog. Mike and Arnd certainly have an original way of nursing someone back to health. If he didn't feel sick before, he certainly would now!

The next 3 days were like something out of the Wackie Races as all 4 vehicles jostled for position, weaving in and out of the villages trying to find any stretch of road which was not corrugated. Going straight into the lead was 'Mr Ben' and his overland crew, pulling away from the rest of the pack early on in his 26 ton Scania. But would it last? In second place were the 'Five Star Boys' in their Mercedes Unimog, alias Mike and Arnd and their patient 'Anton Le Handbag' ( he runs a handbag company OK ?). In third position was Penelope Pit-Stop in a 1980 Series 3 109 Land Rover, alias Natalie Le Sports Bra. After 2 hours of driving the Land Rover, Natalie had to pull over and discreetly change into a Sports Bra - who ever it was who said that for a woman to drive a Land Rover you need a Sports Bra and a good sense of humour was right! Finally, in 4th place were the Bumblers plus Mutley, alias Neil and myself and our faithful hound Chaka in our 1975 Land Rover 101. But where was Dick Dasterdly?



Three of the vehicles taking a rest from the race.



Ben's 26 Ton Scania edging its way forward.


By the end of the first day we had over-taken 'Mr Ben' who was making an early pit-stop and the 3 remaining vehicles carried on until the light faded. We camped in a quiet spot and Arnd set about his nursing and culinary duties. Anton Le Handbag was still feeling bad and despite wanting a crew change for the next day and to take the wheel himself, he was persuaded to rest until he was 100% better.

The next day saw the teams re-assembled and ready for the race to continue.
Paul, a member of 'Mr Bens' overland crew arrived on foot shortly after breakfast, telling us that they had parked a few km's back down the road. Vital information if our lead was to be maintained. So off we set, keeping the same positions as yesterday. After a lunch-time pit-stop, there was a crew change but not one we had been expecting. Natalie Le Sports Bra had been joined by another driver, but it was not Anton Le Handbag, no, it was a 6ft 7'' blue eyed blonde German nurse - yes it was Arnd! Would this help their overall position? What would Anton Le Handbag make of another driver driving his car? Would Arnd have a different technique? We must wait and see. So off we went again and sure enough, after initially falling back behind the Bumblers and Mutley, they suddenly took an unexpected lead. What a surprise! The race was still anybody's.

The terrain was not getting any easier and all vehicles were being put through their paces. After falling back behind the Bumblers and Mutley, Arnd and Natalie Le Sports Bra unexpectedly came to an abrupt halt. We turned around to see what the problem was and discovered that they had run out of diesel! They suddenly noticed that the fuel gauge was reading empty, however the tank was nearly full! The Land Rover had 3 fuel tanks and a rather complicated system of levers and pullies and it transpired that the tank they had been running off had run dry and nobody knew how to change the tanks over. Arnd filled up the dry tank and started the engine, but nothing! Air had got into the diesel pump causing an air lock and the engine wouldn't fire. Where was Anton Le Handbag?

After a short while the Unimog appeared and Anthony leapt out to the rescue. But the engine still wouldn't start. Out came the Land Rover manuals and after deciding to bleed the fuel pump suddenly the 4th vehicle arrived - it was Mr Ben! After meeting Ben in Giza a couple of weeks earlier, we had come to realise that he had exceptional mechanical skills in the 'bodge it' department. He could fix just about anything, not perhaps following the text book method, but the end result was the same. So, within a few seconds he had cracked one of the injector pipe joints and had Anthony turning the engine over until it fired consistently, then revved the proverbial 'nuts' off it, until all the air was gone and it settled to an idle without stalling.

We all spent the night bush camping and first away in the morning was Mr Ben who had assembled his overland crew and was making a dash for it. He only made a few metres before getting bogged in the soft sand whilst the rest of us were still packing away - a very lengthy process and one that never fails to amaze me. No matter what time Neil and I get up in the morning or what time we plan to set off, we always seem to depart around the 9.30am mark even when we set the alarm for 7.00am. Anthony had made a very good recovery and was now in the driving seat with Natalie as his navigator and after driving in convoy for a short while, he was off, leaving just a trail of dust in his wake. The rest of the day was spent saying goodbye then meeting them 20km's or so further along the Dongola road, taking photo's, having lunch, you name it, then saying goodbye and then meeting them again.



Taking a pit-stop with the locals.

We finally reached Dongola around 4.30pm and I have to conclude it was a dead heat. After 3 days of heavy driving along at times horrendous corrugated roads, winding our way through village after village of smiling, waving Nubian people, there wasn't a single puncture between us. We were all hungry, filthy and tired. In short, in need of food, a shower and a good nights sleep. But first we had to cross the Nile by ferry to the town of Dongola which sits on the West side of the river.



The Unimog and Bumble reversed onto the ferry and were swiftly followed by a procession of military vehicles preventing Anthony and Natalie from getting on.

We crossed and waited whilst the ferry went back and collected them. Ferry costs are 700 SD for a vehicle our size and 1500 SD for a larger vehicle. However, we actually paid 500 SD and Mike and Arnd paid 700 SD after refusing to pay the higher price. We felt pretty bad about it afterwards as we were still in Egyptian mode, disputing prices and haggling. We later found out that 700 and 1500 SD are the official prices. We had actually underpaid.



Unloading on the West side of the Nile.

Anton and Natalie stayed at a hotel in Dongola for the night and kindly offered us use of their shower, not something you ever turn down, so after sampling a traditional Sudanese dish of deep fried fish and fuul, we parked outside the hotel for the night.

The next day really was good-bye as Anthony needed to race on through Sudan, Ethiopia and on to Kenya. We also found out that Mr Ben and his crew had arrived in Dongola that morning and were also in a hurry to get to Kenya so it was now just Mike, Arnd, Neil and myself. It had been a fun few days since leaving Aswan, with Mr Ben's irrepressible humour. If he ever stops running overland trips he could earn a fortune as a stand-up comedian. Anthony's 2 days being thrown from pillar to post in the back of the Unimog in an effort to recover from his illness. He later said that he was going to create a web-site called 'Africa by Bed.com' So it was now just the 4 of us, plus Chaka and we decided that instead of driving the Nile route South to Korti and on to Karima, we would take the Nubian desert route, cutting across to the pyramids of Jebel Barkal, just South of Karima.

The route across the Nubian Desert is helped by kilometer markers however, they are not always visible and after approximately half way across we lost them altogether and were relying solely on GPS. We made the mistake of not sticking to the markers from the start of entering the desert, instead following South East co-ordinates and some well defined tracks. After 30 mins or so, the tracks were taking a positive South bearing and we stopped to check our position. We had actually strayed around 35km's South from the track and rather than taking a due East position and hoping to merge with the track further along, we cut our losses and headed due North back to the track. We eventually found one of the markers and picked up a few more before they seemed to disappear completely.



One of the markers.

There are tracks going in all directions, some you can discern as a main route but if there have been high winds and the sand has been blown around, the tracks very soon get covered and main tracks are less discernable. I would encourage anyone travelling to the Nubian Desert to stick to the markers from the start. With a GPS you are not going to get lost, but the markers make the route a lot easier and save a lot of criss-crossing over tracks to try to keep to your course. The pictures below typify the Nubian Desert.





Vast expanses of emptiness for miles around. For me it was a little disappointing having spent time in the White Desert of Egypt and the Eastern Sahara from Aswan to Halaib - albeit illegally. These showed the many remarkable faces of the desert, from the huge arid sun drenched expanses of sand with little or no vegetation of the Western Sahara to the fabulous chalk formations of the White Desert , to the more mountainous regions of the Eastern Sahara with dried wadi's and the subsequent vegetation coursing their way through the landscape.



Which way to Karima?

We spent one night in the Nubian Desert having started at around 12.00 noon. We were told that you can cross in 3 hours. This is impossible. Even at the speed the local Toyota's travel at, 3 hours would be unthinkable, unless they know something we don't.

The following day we finally reached Jebel Barkal (18d32.279'N, 31d49.316'E) which was once a sacred site for Egyptians. The pyramids at the foot of the mountain are quite a sight to behold as you approach them from the desert.



Jebel Barkal in the background.



After a brief stop in the town of Karima, we headed out to the ferry (18d28.959'N, 31d48.328'E) to cross the Nile again to the town of Merowe and on into the Bayuda desert. We arrived at the ferry at around 4.00pm and joined a short but very slow queue of vehicles. We eventually boarded the ferry at 9.00pm. We also had to reverse the vehicles on to the ferry in the pitch dark, down a very steep slope cut into the bank and without reversing lights! Not easy and not recommended. When we came to disembark the guys on the ferry would not accept the standard 700 SD, instead they wanted overtime money as they should have finished at sun-set. We argued that we wanted compensation money for being kept waiting for 5 hours but this concept passed them by. They had formed a human barrier in front of the vehicles and we eventually agreed on 1000 SD for our vehicle and 1500 SD for Mike's Unimog. We were tired and not in the mood for a long stint of haggling/arguing. We drove into Merowe and started the hunt for a place to park for the night, finding a large open piece of ground and tucking ourselves in by a wall. We would have to wait for the morning to see where we had parked. Always a bit of a lottery.

The next day we drove into Merowe to buy some bread and fruit and then headed off to the Bayuda Desert. We entered the desert from Merowe at the wrong position and spent the next 10km's or so not knowing whether we were on the right track. On the Michelin map it is designated as a yellow road but there was certainly more than one major track being used and the one we took was definitely not the one on the map. We were consistently North of the correct track. With the GPS we plotted our route regardless and settled down to a very enjoyable journey through the desert.



The Unimog on the desert piste.



Kicking up a storm.



Sitting in the desert having tea and biscuits. Later after supper, we sat in the warm night air, looking at the stars and enjoying the unique solitude of the desert.



Our camp in the early morning.



No commentary needed!

We reached Atbara (17d41.360'N, 33d57.660'E) the following day and made for the ferry to cross the Nile yet again to travel to the Royal City of Meroe which sits on the East side of the Nile.



The ferry arriving.



Local people arriving on the ferry.

As we sailed across the crew were more interested in Chaka, deserting their posts!





This time we make it across before dark.

The price for the ferry was 700 SD for our vehicle and 1000 SD for the Unimog after a little discussion - 1500 SD for a vehicle the size of the Unimog is quite an uplift in price from 700 SD.

After crossing the Nile, we saw a spectacular sight:



A Tarmac road! We hadn't seen tarmac since Aswan in Egypt, just mile after mile of corrugations, so it was a great feeling. We spent the night parked off the main road by a small water pump and a clump of trees - a necessity for those midnight dashes to the loo!

And evening public hair washes.






Our camping spot near Atbara.

From Atbara we swiftly made our way South to the 50 pyramids at Meroe. It is free to visit the site but you are supposed to get permission from the antiquities department in Meroe - a short distance from the site. We knew nothing of this and they very kindly let us in without this permission. A very nice elderly gentleman will show you around and then let you into the small room by the entrance to show you the history of the site and you can sign the visitors book. As it is free to get in it is customary to tip this gentleman.



The climb to the pyramids.



The entrances to the pyramids which housed the temples.





More pyramids in the distance.

It is a very interesting site to visit and one which you can walk around unhindered by touts or tourists en mass. It is in fact a very peaceful place and if like us you couldn't face the heavily touristic 3 pyramids of Giza, you will find Meroe a very rewarding place to visit. One of the things we noticed on entering Sudan was the crowd we would attract wherever we parked. Meroe was no exception and within a very short space of time, a large group of local people selling their hand-crafted wares had assembled. Also, the strange phenomena of relentlessly staring at you was not as disconcerting as I had imagined, well in Sudan at least. The fact that you feel like a gold-fish in a fish bowl I guess is part of the course, particularly if you happen to be in a conspicuous vehicle. There is nothing you can do about it, just accept it and go about your business as normal. A friendly smile and a wave also goes a long way. Tourism in Sudan is still in its infancy and I think they are handling it with a great deal of dignity. The majority of Sudanese people have little themselves, but they would rarely ask you for money or indeed anything at all. Yes, they will stare at you and form a crowd around you but it is out of genuine curiosity and a desire to make you welcome in their country. They have a great deal of dignity and self respect which is immediately evident from entering the country from the way they keep and maintain their houses. Everywhere is pristine and ordered and you rarely see rubbish strewn on the ground unlike Egypt which is one big refuse site. Sudan is a joy to travel through and as you travel from town to town, it is hard to imagine that there is a civil war raging in the South.



A local lady in vibrant Sudanese dress.



Beautiful smiling face.

Mike and Arnd had arranged to meet up with a couple of Archaeologists they had met at the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo who were working at an archaeological site in Negaro, South of Meroe. There is apparently a whole city to be uncovered. We arranged to meet them in a couple of days time in Khartoum. We drove straight to Khartoum and headed for the Blue Nile Sailing Club and a hot shower.

Sue - enableafrica.net expedition team

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