Coming into this adventure, Sudan was always that country that we had to pass through to get from Ethiopia to Egypt. We didn’t really want to go there, it was hard to get a visa and all you see of Sudan is what you see in the news regarding the war and the fighting in the south of the country. The north is nothing like we expected and has proven to be possibly the best country that we have travelled through so far.

We had heard that the best chance of getting into Sudan was on a 14-day transit visa from Addis. We had heard al the stories about people waiting for several weeks for a visa (usually a 1 month tourist visa), but we had ours in a few days. The process is essentially arrive Addis, Monday morning apply for your Egyptian visa (available in 24 hours) and then get the paperwork from the Sudan embassy (they are only open Monday, Wednesday and sometimes Friday morning).

We got to the Sudan embassy on Wednesday morning (armed with copies of passport, Ethiopian visa, Egyptian visa, carnet and letter of recommendation from our embassy – which was free for us in Nairobi, although we have heard other travellers paying a fair bit for theirs). We applied, had to come back that afternoon to pay, then we picked up the Visa Thursday afternoon. If you get the paperwork on the Monday, you can actually apply Tuesday morning and have the visa a day early.

The boarder crossing was very straightforward. You have the option of registering at the boarder or in Khartoum within three days. When we questioned the official at the boarder over the price of registering there (Sp133 per person) he spat the dummy and said "You now pay in Khartoum, go, go, go". He was obviously looking for some overtime by inflating the price somewhat and when found out shut up shop.

We crossed into Sudan and then drove for a few hours before finding a nice spot to camp in the bush. We have ended up camping in the wilds for our entire trip through Sudan except for while we stayed in Khartoum. The next day we packed up and made it to Khartoum to try to pick up our shocks from the airport, but they were late on arrival and would take a few days to reach us (the story of our trip maybe).

We were treated to very good roads; extremely friendly people (which would be the story of Sudan) and Khartoum would be one of the nicest African cities we have seen to date. It is very modern, very clean (maybe our standards have fallen a bit having been in Africa now for 8 months) and extremely safe to walk around.

We stayed at the Blue Nile Sailing Club on the banks of the Nile River. At first it does not look like much, but the breeze coming off the river, and a relaxed atmosphere made it a very enjoyable place to spend a few days. The only downside is the cost (US$5 pppn plus US$5 for Truckasaurus). However well worth it though; sitting by the river at night, cool breeze blowing and smoking a Shisha pipe is pretty hard to beat.

Leaving Sudan we headed north for Wadi Halfa via Shendi, Attbara, Karima and Dongola. Our route took us past pyramids and temples (a taste of Egypt) along the Nile River and through some extremely beautiful desert. There is a lot of dust, very little vegetation bar a small strip cut by the Nile, and the climate for the end of what is supposed to be winter is very hot. The mercury soared past 50oC (most of the day was in the 40’s) and even early evening was low 30’s.

There are two things that would make Sudan perfect; the concept of swimming pools (the Nile is not that inviting – water quality and a few crocs) and cold beer – in fact any beer. Drinking is prohibited here and carries a hefty prison sentence. The climate and the dry dusty desert makes you see mirages of cold beer on the road, rocks become cold bottles of beer, the fly’s on the rocks are cold drops of condensation, the wind whistling over the barren hills the pshhhh of a beer being opened. First thing in Egypt will be to find a cold beer I think.

The more we travelled through Sudan, the more it amazes you. The landscapes are beautiful, the people do not hassle you like they do in Malawi or Ethiopia, they are genuinely friendly and love to smile, they will help you with anything, even if we don’t speak a work of Arabic or they English (it is amazing how well charades and hand signs go towards being able to communicate).

A few examples spring to mind. We had dozens of trucks and buses that would wave at us when they saw we were tourists. We would wave back and they would return with the biggest smile possible.

We needed to find a bridge of the Nile. We had stopped by the side of the road ready to ask the police (they are good to ask things of) when a mini bus driver pulled up. Through sign language and pointing he realised we were looking for the bridge, motioned for us to follow him and he drove some distance out of his way to lead us to the bridge road. He waved us on our way and gave us a huge Sudanese smile.

We needed to cross the Nile again and the ferry wasn’t running that day. We managed to speak to the captain of a commercial barge and he agreed to take us across. When I asked him how much he insisted that we pay nothing, as we were tourists/guests in Sudan. I insisted on paying but he held firm on demanding that we not pay a cent. That would not happen anywhere else in Africa.

Organising the ferry to Egypt we used Mahir. He is very professional, very honest and upfront and for the few days before the ferry arrived let us camp outside his house, use his house as our own and even continually fed us some of the best food we have ever eaten. There was a wedding in the family (the day after we left) so we were invited to experience all the lead up celebrations and festivities.

For all our 14 days in Sudan, we have been amazed at the hospitality, friendliness and generosity of the Sudanese people. We have welcomed the relaxed nature of the country, the lack of persistent hassle that tourists get in other African countries, and the solitude of the desert. The only drama that we have had in Sudan was being chased by a snake.

We had stopped to wander around a few small pyramids by the side of the highway. Near the base of the pyramid Jacinda spotted a snake sunning itself. "Quick take a photo of it," she says handing me the camera, stepping back a safe distance and looking at me in silence as if to say "go on get closer and take a photo".

I took the photo and as we were walking away I saw the snake whip around in our direction and head straight for me. I froze, motionless with Ninja reflexes and watch it pass between my feet. Suddenly I realised that it was heading straight for Jacinda. "Freeze, don’t move," I shouted at Jacinda. She looks around, sees the snake, ignores what I said, panics and begins to do the dance to see the Mexican do in the wester movies when the outlaw is shooting at their feet. The snake panics, slides straight down a huge rock filled hole. Jacinda, while doing the Mexican dance and screaming "F&^%ing snake, go away, go away, go away" falls in the hole, almost landing on the snake, which would have lead to her getting bitten.

She grazed both her legs on the rocks, almost cracked her head open on another rock and bruised her foot. The good thing was that is she had gotten bitten; I had a picture of the snake for identification. The only problem was the nearest decent hospital was a days drive away.

An interesting note on the Cape Town to Cairo. Yes it is an adventure, but within a year or so it will be possible to complete the Journey (Except for Northern Kenya) in a Toyota Corolla as it will all be tar road. While that might be good, the adventure will be somewhat diminished. It is good that we have done this adventure now as soon it wont be the same (in truth its probably less of an adventurer than even a few years ago).

Total kilometres travelled to date: 27,148km

Price of fuel in Sudan: AUD $0.54/L

Sudan Visa: US$61pp

Car tax at boarder: SP14 (US$7)

Registration in Khartoum: SP82.25pp (US$ 41)

Cost of ferry from Wadi Halfa to Aswan

Car: 925SP

Harbour Fees: 30SP

Customs: 16SP

Agent Fees: 30SP

Total: 1001SP

1^{st class ticket 140SP}

Passport Fee: 26SP

Agent Fee: 50SP

Total per person: 216SP

Total 2 people: 432SP

Total Cost: 1433SP (US$712.93)

Note: This does not include all the costs to get the vehicle into Egypt Refer to the Egypt page for more info on that as it comes to light.