Sudan
I left the Eritrean border post at 17h30 and it was still about 17km to drive to get to the Sudan border and they close at 18h00 and to make things worst is that there was no road, just hundreds of tracks that all ran in hundreds of different directions. I was racing down one of these tracks in between some thorn trees when I suddenly got to a rope that is tide from tree to tree across the track. Just as I stopped to slowly lift it up and head on, a man come running towards me and shouted to stop, well, this was the Sudan border post. After he checked my passport very briefly, he ran to a tiny little hut and gave me the necessary stamps. I then heard from him that it is still a hour before they close and that Sudan is in a different time zone that Eritrea, so all my rushing wasnt necessary.
From the border I decided to drive in convoy with Obey and Giles because it was dark now, but after a while we lost each other in between the thorn trees and I was on my own. I heard that Kassala was close to a mountain so I started driving in the direction of a small mountain in the distance. After a few minutes I saw a long row of lights and thought it must be lights along the road, but it was Giles and 4 other vehicles that were all lost and they came from the front towards me, ha ha. Now all of us were lost, long story short, after about another 45 minutes driving around we eventually found the main road and then it was still about 20 km to Kassala. When we got to Kassala it was just after 20h00 and I was on the road since 3h30 that morning. Obeys and Giles invite me to stay with them in a small hotel, but before we were allowed in, we first had to go and register and get a permit at the local police and tell them were we going to stay for the night. I was lucky to be able to park my bike inside the reception hall at the hotel. We got a very big roof top room with lots of ventilation and 3 single beds. It was still very hot although it was already close to 22h00 in the evening. We showered, ate and then I hit my bed, I was dead tired by then.
That morning we still had to be checked in again at a immigration officer and only after 12h00 I could start driving. Just before Gedaref I stopped briefly for a rest and saw a big nail in my back tyre, when I pulled it out, the tyre deflated very quickly and I was forced to repair the tyre.
That afternoon late I got to Wad Medani. I went to ask at a hotel if I could camp in their garden, but they were not pleased with that but instead they offered me to stay in a room at a very low price. I was pleased but they told me the owner of the hotel first want to meet me and for the meeting I must put some neat clothes on, I didnt really had any clean clothes but washed my face and tide my hair together. It was one of these very rich Sheikes and he was very interested in my trip and could speak very well English. He told me I can pay them what I want for the nights stay, I felt bad but offered them 10 US dollars, it was a lot to me, but it was such a grand hotel I think it was still way cheaper than their normal price. I got an enormous big room, and they brought me a Coke on the house. I cooked some â?? mielie pap on my little stove and then went to sleep.
The next morning I quickly packed, went to thank them for their hospitality and then went to town to get petrol. In Sudan u can only buy petrol if u have a permit, otherwise u can buy it on the black market, still relative cheap, but then the seller can make his own price.
I drove on until Khartoum where I had to get another stamp in my passport. I bought some bananas, 3 long buns and some tomatoes. I watched how they were busy overloading this truck and they were still not near being finished loading it. Typical African style. Khartoum is built along the Nile and a few very big bridges link the city together. I am not a city person and I knew of some nice places to stay in Khartoum, but I decided to rather drive further and sleep somewhere in some smaller town or rather just in the desert.
I drove on until Shendi where I bought some more petrol on the street from a local that had some 5 liter containers in the back of his car. I bought a Coke at a small shop and here u pay more if u buy cold cold drinks, the other ones are just room temperature. I treat myself with a cold one!! Here at Shendi I could get to the Nile for the first time, it was impressive, very wide and fast flowing.
I asked a local that never used a camera before, to take a photo of myself swimming in the Nile.
I hit the road again and after a few kilometers I turned off the road, head about 1 km into the desert and pitched my tent behind a big bush. I cooked pasta inside my tent because a gale force wind were now blowing and outside a sand storm was on its way. I didnt sleep much that night, the strong wind and sand were hammering the tent.
The next morning just about another 2 kilometers further I got a big shock when the dirt road just opens into the desert and changed into 30 different tracks that all run in different directions. This was the end of the road..****...this was a shock to me !!!! Now it was hardcore navigating through the desert on my own and in the meantime the sand storm was still giving me and the bike a beating and didnt really make it much easier for me to see where to drive. I was always dreaming of driving alone in the Sahara Desert and now it became a reality to me and I had to use all my navigational skills to ride in the right direction and actually to stay alive. I tried to keep going north and some times saw the Nile far in the distance on my left side and that always assured me that I am more or less heading in the right direction. Some places the desert were hard pack and I could maintain a good speed and then just 20 km further it will change to soft sand with dunes and there were also patches of black rock sticking out of the ground. Theses pieces of rock looked like the points of swords and it was also as sharp as blades and I had to drive very cautious to prevent some more flat tyres.
I reached the little town of Atbara and bought some more petrol from locals. Now I made sure that at every possible opportunity I filled up with fuel, u never now how far the next fuel stop can be and u dont want to run out of fuel in the middle of the desert.
I drove on and just before the town of Berber I noticed the front tyre is losing air, so I drove the bike on top of a small canal wall so the wheel was hanging free. I was just finished repairing the tyre when my stomach was giving some real funny cramps and it just gave me enough time to pack all my tools away before it gave the final warning. I had just time to ran to a small dune about 30 meters away from the bike before my stomach let go. I was just relaxing, nearly finished with my veldtie when I truck came past, the dune were I was sitting behind was about 2 meters high and didnt gave me any privacy from the eyes from the people on the high truck, but well, they dont know me and it was their amusement for the day.
Some small town far away from the Nile. I tried to take a self portrait, but didnt succeed. It was very hot here and the wind on my arms were burning.
I was struggling to drive in the right direction and eventually turned towards the Nile and then found the railway line. I knew the railway line was going North so it gave me more hope. I now drove next to the railway line, but every now and then the Niles water will push deep into some small valleys and then I had to take long detours to drive around it. At each one of these places they built small short bridges for the railway line and after a while when I got to such a small bridge I decided to ride on the railway line over the bridge. It was just the sleepers and the two tracks and at a good speed I made it over with a lot of bumps but it saved me a long detour. I drove over about 5 of these short bridges and was getting a pro in this railway bridge driving, but then my luck turned. I got to a bridge and saw it was about 300 to 400 meters long and without stopping to check everything I started driving onto it. I came about halfway when the bike just couldnt take the bumps anymore and I ran out of revs and the bike finally got stuck with the front and back wheels both exactly in between some sleepers. The engine plate was lying flat on the sleeper in between. The bridge was about 15 meters above the water and I just managed to keep my balance. From the shock that the bike got to a standstill my left mirror broke out of the fitting and fell down into the water. Ok, now I was stuck halfway on this bridge, balancing me and my bike and any moment a train could come from either directionâ?.I couldnt even move the bike. I saw some people walking on the other side of the bridge and started shouting at them, I think they immediately saw my problem and came running to help, now it was me, the bike and 3 Sudanese that I couldnt understand, but we were working well to get the bike off this track, we had to first lift it, them push it forward, then it falls in between the next two sleepers and then the whole procedure starts over again. It took us about 20 minutes to reach the other side and I was very, very thankful to the 3 helpers. I couldnt really offer them anything and I think they understood my situation. I drove on but not 5 minutes later my clutch cable broke. I had a spare one and put it on, but after that it was getting dark and I just pitched my tent there, in between the railway line and the Nile.
The next morning I woke up at 4 , made some mielie pap, packed and start driving. Because of my misshap the previous day I decided to leave the bridge driving and was forced now to drive deep inland every now and then when the water pushes inland. At one of these places I wanted to take a short cut and the ground looked dry, but I misjudged myself and the bike sanked into the mud. Once again some locals, a mom and her kids came to my rescue. It took us a while to get the bike out of the mud and then it also took me some time to try and get all the mud off the chain and back sprocket.
The mom and kids were very happy when I took this photo of them and they stood proudly next to the bike.
I drove on and a railway worker then told me its not far anymore to Shereik, the next biggish town. I found a nice track and it became bigger and bigger and after a few minutes I saw Shereik in the distance, I was relieved. I just had to stop to take a picture of the road and Shereik in the distance.
After Shereik the hardpack desert changed again to very soft sand and dunes but by now I was use to riding in the sand like a duck to water and I actually started to enjoy it. I reached the small town of Abu Hammid at 11h30 and went straight to the station to hear when the next train to Wadi Halfa is leaving, but the station master was unsure and said it could be any time in the next 3 days. I decided to then rather drive the final 500 km to the Egyptian border through the desert than to wait for a train that might never arrive. The station master offered me some coffee, he prepared it just there on his desk on a little burner. I drank it without sugar or milk as we know it and it was extremely strong, but something to remember.
My luggage got much less by now and I decided to take my panniers off and I eventually sold it to a Sudanese for about the same money it cost me to build it. Now the bike was much lighter and easier to drive in the sand. I fixed another flat front tyre just there on the station platform and had constantly about 15 to 20 locals that were watching me.
That evening after sunset the locals start their market, they put carpets outside on the sand and then they put their goods thats for sale on these carpets and the whole market area is lighted with some lanterns.
The next day I packed everything and went to the station master again, but he then confirmed that the train will only come in 2 days time, so I decided to then drive through the desert to Wadi Halfa. It took a lot of paperwork before I could buy some more petrol there in Abu Hammid, but eventually I started driving at 11. Just after about 5 km of driving I met up with 3 Land Rovers with Dutch travelers and they told me that there is trouble at the border at Sudan and Egypt and that the normal ferries that take u from Wadi Halfa in Sudan to Aswan in Egypt is not operating and thats why they turned around. They then told me that there will definitely be some smaller boats that can take me and the bike over to Aswan. I was a bit concerned but I continued in the direction of Wadi Halfa. There is now road and just open desert landscape and some places some really thick sand. I drove next to the railway line but later took a big short cut and just went straight according to my compass, that eventually saved me about 20km on a 500km stretch of road. I stopped a few times to take a break and also put some more fuel from a Coke bottle into my tank. This became my favorite part of the whole Africa trip, just open desert landscape with some dunes in the back ground..what more do u want.
That evening just after sunset I drove into Wadi Halfa. The Dutch with the Landys told me I could camp at the Total garage, the locals are busy building some camping facilities there but for now one can camp for free. I couldnt miss the 1.5 meter tall TOTAL sign and drove straight to the garage. I pitched my tent underneath a thorn tree and ate some tuna and dates and went to sleep. The next morning I had to patch the front tyre again and then went to the harbor to find out about the ferries.
I went to the immigration office and also to the shipping companys office and both told me that they doubt if any ships will be operating in the next few days. I was concerned and just then a boy came to me with a small letter written in English. It was from Muhamid Sali, he is one of the riches people in Wadi Halfa and he invited me to his house for lunch at 2 the afternoon. The boy immediately went to show me Muhamids house and I also met him then. A very nice man that speaks good English, he told me his one daughter is studying in Germany and he will help me with a permit to travel by land to Egypt. At 2 oclock I went to his house again and there were eventually 15 men together, all of them had some influence in the community and were some of the richer families in Wadi Halfa. I had some braaid fish and Anjera just like in Ethiopia.
I thanked Muhamid for the lunch and he then told me that he will organize everything for me the next day so that I can go per land over the border to Egypt, I was relieved and went back to my tent.
The next day not much happened, I went to the harbor again to ask about any ships, but with no luck. I went to Muhamids house and gave him a lift to the immigration office and then we went to the military head in Wadi Halfa. After a lot of paperwork Muhamid got the go ahead and my passport were stamped and Muhamid and the immigration officer wrote a letter in Arabic to the Egyptian authorities, explaining my situation about the ships not operating and that the Sudanese government gave my permission to travel per land to Egypt. We then went to a small military camp outside the town and he ask them to show me the next day where to ride to get to the first military post in Egypt. I was happy, everything was sorted out and he then wanted his pay off for his organizing and he wasnt cheap and wanted 50 US dollars from me. I went back to my tent and started packing.
Egypt with its corruption is following next.
