SUDAN

Day 183 : 1 Dec 2004 : Gallabat (Sudan border) to bush camp next to road 33 km
Day 184 : 2 Dec 2004 : Bush camp before Al Gedarif to bush camp before
Wad Mehani 268 km
Day 185 : 3 Dec 2004 : Bush camp before Wad Mehani to Khartoum 281 km
Day 186 : 4 Dec 2004 : Khartoum -
Day 187 : 5 Dec 2004 : Khartoum -
Day 188 : 6 Dec 2004 : Khartoum -
Day 189 : 7 Dec 2004 : Khartoum -
Day 190 : 8 Dec 2004 : Khartoum -
Day 191 : 9 Dec 2004 : Khartoum to Nagaa 176 km
Day 192 : 10 Dec 2004 : Nagaa to Musawwarat to Meroe Pyramids 131 km
Day 193 : 11 Dec 2004 : Meroe Pyramids to Khartoum 234 km
Day 194 : 12 Dec 2004 : Khartoum -
Day 195 : 13 Dec 2004 : Khartoum -
Day 196 : 14 Dec 2004 : Khartoum -
Day 197 : 15 Dec 2004 : Khartoum -
Day 198 : 16 Dec 2004 : Khartoum to bush camp before Al Gedarif 379 km
Day 199 : 17 Dec 2004 : Bush camp before Al Gedarif to bush camp before
Kasala 355 km
Day 200 : 18 Dec 2004 : Bush camp before Kasala to bush camp before
Suakin 376 km
Day 201 : 19 Dec 2004 : Bush camp before Suakin to Suakin to Port Sudan 74 km
Day 202 : 20 Dec 2004 : Port Sudan -
Day 203 : 21 Dec 2004 : Port Sudan to Marsa Fijab 60 km
Day 204 : 22 Dec 2004 : Marsa Fijab -
Day 205 : 23 Dec 2004 : Marsa Fijab -
Day 206 : 24 Dec 2004 : Marsa Fijab to Port Sudan 60 km
Day 207 : 25 Dec 2004 : Port Sudan (yacht trip to snorkel on Winget reef) -
Day 208 : 26 Dec 2004 : Port Sudan to bush camp before Kasala 324 km
Day 209 : 27 Dec 2004 : Bush camp before Kasala to bush camp past
Al Gedarif 439 km
Day 210 : 28 Dec 2004 : Bush camp outside Al Gedarif to Galabat (Sudan/
Ethiopia border) 124 km

Total nights – 27
Total kilometers – 3 314 km

Currency : Sudanese Dinar (SD)
Exchange rate : 1 US$ = 255 SD
Fuel cost per litre : 80 SD
Total cost for country : 1 236.84 US$
Country cost per day : 45.81 US$
Overall average cost per day : 54.02 US$
Highlight : Camping next to and snorkeling in the Red Sea Low point : Not being able to continue from Sudan to West or North Africa

The Sudanese environment is totally different to any country in Africa that we have visited to date. The topography in the regions that we visited is generally flat with scattered barren rocky outcrops and/or mountains, especially along the coast. The vegetation changes from savanna in the south to semi desert in the area of Khartoum and eventually to desert north and east of Khartoum. A green belt of natural vegetation and cultivated fields are present along the Nile Rivers (Blue & White) which are in stark contrast with the general desert like environment. We could not visit the southern and western areas of Sudan due to security problems that restricted travel in these areas.

In Sudan there are numerous archeological sites; recent excavations have indicated that these ancient civilizations pre-date those found in Egypt. We visited some of these sites north-east of Khartoum (Naga, Musawarat &Meroe). We found it interesting as well as frustrating due to the fact that we could only obtain very little verbal and/or written information regarding these ancient sites.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the coastal region. We explored the coral ruins of Suakin, previously Sudan’s main port, just south of the new harbour at Port Sudan. We were also fortunate to be able to camp on a coral reef peninsula at Marsa Fijab, an old fishing port north of Port Sudan. We snorkeled at Marsa Fijab, as well as at Winget Reef in the Red Sea near Port Sudan; the marine life on these undisturbed coral reefs was fabulous and colourful.

The roads we traveled were in good condition, except for the gravel road from the Ethiopian border until Al Gedarif. A new road from Port Sudan to the north until the Egyptian border is presently under construction. This may provide an alternative route to Egypt in the future.

The Sudanese people are very friendly and helpful. We experienced no security problems; bush camping along the roads was easy as virtually no official camping areas exists. Due to the civil unrest ongoing for the last 18 years in the far south and the more recent political problems in the west in the Darfur region, very few tourists/travelers venture off the main route passing from Egypt to Ethiopia or vice versa, thus the need for tourist facilities have not been very great.

The general lack of written information in English regarding Sudan was a frustration to us. Even the biggest bookshops in Khartoum have no books or maps in English. Apparently the current Sudanese government enforces the use of the Arabic language only in the schools, resulting in a total lack of any other written information.

All travel and movements of people in Sudan are controlled and monitored. One has to apply for a “Travel Permit” in Khartoum. On this permit you have to list all the places that you intend to visit; this permit gets monitored and verified on a regular basis along the route. One must also register with the “Aliens Registration Office” upon arrival in Khartoum. Without the proof of this registration it is very difficult to travel anywhere since your movements are monitored almost at every town by immigration officials stationed along the road.

It became clear upon our arrival in Khartoum that it will not be possible to obtain “Travel Permits” to continue our journey as planned into Chad through the troubled Darfur region in western Sudan. It would also not be wise to try to cross through the desert to Libya with one vehicle only. Crossing the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia and then via Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Greece and Italy to Tunisia was also not possible due to the virtual impossibility for South Africans to obtain visas for Syria, as well as not being possible to get a “Carnet De Passage” from the Automobile Association of South Africa for Syria. Since the Automobile Association of South Africa also does not issue “Carnets De Passage” for South African registered vehicles that are valid for crossing Egypt, we had no other option than to turn around and return to Ethiopia. It was a great frustration to meet other travelers from Europe that followed one of these last two routes to and from Sudan, while we as “Africans” could not do it due to our “African” Automobile Association’s rules. We were greatly disappointed, but again realized that Africa is and will remain highly unpredictable; and that it is this unpredictability that makes it such an attractive and special place.