Into Sudan

Thursday 23rd August 2007, Nile sailing club again.
We sorted out the registration and photo permits at last. We have to have a permit to take photos, and if traveling off main roads or into Darfur or Southern Sudan, have to have a travel permit. We are not intending to go into those areas, and will travel only where it is safe.
We drove up the western bank of the Nile which is now full and overflowing its banks. The white Nile from Uganda and the Blue Nile from Ethiopia meet in the middle of Khartoum. Both are muddy brown at the moment but are said to run side by side for kilometers before mixing. Just outside the main city the desert starts. There is a huge military base which stretches into the distant desert.
This is an islamic country and we have to cover our shoulders and legs. Actually very useful for keeping away the flies, and the mozzies, but really hot. Apparently temps are cool for this time of the year, 34 instead of the usual over 40.
The price of diesel is 1Sudanese pound per litre, which is R3.50.

Wednesday 22nd August 2007 Nile River Sailing Club, Khartoum.
We left early and traveled towards Khartoum passing only one irrigation scheme that we could see, which seemed to be flood irrigation from huge canals.
All the land is flat, and with the Nile River so close, we were surprised there was no more irrigation. They have thick black rich cotton soils here which make the soil impossible to work when it is wet. The fertilizing and weed and pest control is done by air.
As we approached Khartoum the land got flatter and drier. 30Km from Khartoum it was already starting to be built up with brick houses on either side with flat roofs surrounded by brick walls. Not painted, very earthy. Khartoum is a huge first world city with modern buildings and humming with vibrant activity. The economy is obviously good.
We had to register at the ministry within 3 days after arrival. The red tape and bureaucracy is comparative to the size of the country, and things move very slowly. Everything has to be photocopied in duplicate, and stamped by a few people.
At the SA Embassy the lady couldn't believe that anyone would want to stay in Sudan voluntarily. She thinks it is too hot and foreign for her. She helped us a lot, and we set off to register, but got there too late.
We were chatting to a couple of local Sudanese, in the campsite and they insisted on taking us for dinner at a posh restaurant, and then bought us a whole container of Sudanese sweet pastries to eat afterwards, and would not hear of us paying. Sudanese hospitality is famous, as the two Swiss cyclists who are also at the campsite testify.
The traffic in Khartoum is very heavy and slow, but the economy is vibrant and first world compared with Ethiopia. 1USdollar is 2 Sudanese pounds, and the cost of stuff is very much like the cost in SA.
The people look at us with suspicion and curiosity, then break out in huge smiles with "Welcome to Sudan". We left the you, you, you and begging culture behind us in Ethiopia.

Tuesday 21st August 2007 Coronation Brick camp site on Nile between Wad Madani and Khartoum
We battled to remove ourselves from the silence and excellent camp site, having had little rain in the night. We are fascinated with the crops of sesame, cotton, maize and sorgham. There is lots of grass and the cattle are twice the size of those in Ethiopia, Bos Indicus type.
There are tractors and implements and combines and cultivation, and the lands stretch from horizon to horizon in a gentle slope. A lot of the lands are hoe-weeded.
We cannot believe the sizes of the lands which stretch to mirages in the distance, 20KmX10Km , EACH land.
504m above sea level, hot and humid. We have been stopped frequently for passports to be recorded. The police are very friendly and interested in us. South Africa is Yunubi Africa. On the road are old colourfully painted and unique Bedford trucks loaded to 3m above the rails, Landy trucks looking like peopled hedgehogs and huge articulated heavies, up to 42 wheelers, transport the goods around the country.
We found a campsite along the Nile in an old brick making field. The sun was setting behind us and the egrets were flying south just above the water. We relaxed and enjoyed the solitude.

Monday 20th August 2007 Quarry between Qalabat and Doka.
We left for the border passing through less mountainous area and more flat fertile areas, but less cultivated and less populated but poorly farmed. The towns we passed through were scrappy dirty and tawdry. We arrived at the border, got our passports stamped, went to customs and they didn't have a stamp, and we had to go back 37Km to the previous town, Shehedi to get the carnet stamped. Nev wasn't very pleased!! As we approached the border for the second time the church was howling, people were begging and the kids were yelling you you you. We were glad to leave Ethiopia, but a bit apprehensive about Sudan. It was with amazing relief that we got through the border.
Nev said the biggest industry in Ethiopia is US Aid, then transportation of said AID, then logistics of distribution and selling thereof!!
On the other side the Sudanese were surprisingly helpful, although slow, and we got through into Sudan with no problems, and with continual assurance of our safety.
What struck us immediately was the strikingly green grass, few cattle and goats and fewer people. We stopped at the first quarry and didn't want to leave in case we came across people as we rested our ears in the silence. However, we drove on for another 50Km and found another quarry off the road where we could not see a house nor near anyone. The silence was deafening. Flies, however might be a problem It was really hot and storms were threatening all over.
The road from the border was excellent tar. The Ethiopians and Sudanese agreed to fix their border roads under the trade agreement, and Sudan had done their half. Nev says the Ethiopians are still looking for a sponsor.