It's a Sunday and I leave early at 6.15am. There are already a lot of people around, all going to church, dressed in their Sunday best. The roads out of Gonder are bad, major road works
and it looks like they are putting in a sewage system. Eventually I'm out of town and on a good road heading north west for the Sudanese border. The terrain is still very hilly but not mountainous.. and near the border almost savannah. I had been told that the military is very active here.. and a mini taxi driver tells me the road is blocked.. but I push on. Numerous police and army road blocks.. at one I am asked to give a lift to a guy who wants to go to church in the next village, I agree and all of a sudden I have 4 in the car. But no English and no Amheric. So a silent trip.
I drop the 4 off at a village about 70 k's away and at the next army road block I give a soldier a lift to the border town of Melema.. We pass a vehicle convoy, fuel trucks and trucks carrying food, with fully armed army escorts front and back. Saw two more bad truck accidents.
I spend my remaining Bir on fuel and check the vehicle for any booze. But none .The Sudan is a dry country and no alcohol is allowed.
Leaving Ethiopia takes minutes ..but entering Sudan is slow and I have hit the lunch break.
The Sudanese are very thorough and check everything. About an hour and 30 minutes and I'm through.. The carnet is a great help.
I change money on the black market, with the border money changers, get about 12% better than the official rate.
The road in Sudan is initially good and after 12 days in the mountains in Ethiopia the land is flat. As I move on towards Gedaref the potholes get bad ..I drive on both the right and left of the road to miss the potholes..and so does the oncoming traffic .. A couple of close shaves.
At a cross roads near a town south of Gedaref I get stopped by the highway patrol.
Damn not again. I have already been caught 21 times for various offences (only paid 6 fines though...mainly speeding..) but this time the Highway Patrol Chief wants a lift into Gedaref.. He speaks 10 words of English and is a great help picking out the potholes.. We hit a good patch of road and he is not concerned when I get up to130k per hour. I drop him off at the by pass at Gederef and say goodbye.
I head into town to get a sim card and I'm starving. It's 3.30pm
I get a sim and this is Arab territory. I find a shop grilling chicken - with a squeeze of lime it tastes wonderful - and for desert, the Arab form of baklava.. Delicious!
The people in the Sudan are African, as in black, but totally islamic. No real Arab influences in the complexion. I decide to spend the night here.. Tripadvisor tells me the best hotel in town.
Not a very clean room and warm shower only because it's hot outside! There is a bed cover but no sheets and no pillow! But the air con. works. I'm asleep by 9.
Gederef to Khartoum.
I leave before sunrise after paying A$33 for the room.. It is dark and it is dangerous.
The first thing I just miss is a donkey cart, no lights, no nothing.. On the main road to Khartoum the trucks and buses don't turn their headlights on. Fortunately I have great head lights and keep them on with oncoming traffic .. this makes them turn their lights on.. but they turn them off when they pass me.
The land is great farm land and I see canals coming from the white Nile to the west of me.
The land is pretty dry where there is no irrigation ..real camel territory
At the canal I meet a couple of locals.
Water is life.
He speaks a few words o English.He points out that my rear right tyre is flatish.
I pump it up but notice a bulge in the side wall - damaged, I'm sure, when hitting potholes yesterday. I will slow down and change it in the next big town.
Notice in both cases African features.
There are some churches. the Main religion is Islam 97% and 1-2% Christian and the rest like me.
I go through towns and villages and eventually come to the White Nile at the city of Wad Medani. I call in at a tyre place and get the tyre changed. The guy asks for A$2.50 for his efforts. I give him $4 and he is very happy.
The White Nile is an impressive river.
I finish my chicken from yesterday and move on north to Khartoum.
The traffic is getting heavier.. As i leave a small village I feel a bump on the vehicle and
a Hyundai van speeds past me.. I follow him and after a couple of k's he pulls over and so do I...3 young Sudanese get out. I yell and scream at the driver. Tell them he should not be driving! He gets the message.. my car has minimal damage.. probably will polish out.. but the Hyundai front right mud guard is mangled. they have to bend it to keep it away from the tyre.
Life goes on and if this is the worst I'm going to have in 20000 k's I'll be happy.
I arrive in Khartoum at about three..
A traffic policeman stops me and asks where I'm going ..tell him my hotel ..He says I need a police stamp in my passport on arrival in Khartoum. I was told this at the border but that the hotel will get it.. He insists that we go now and hops in and takes me to the police station. It's chaos. The cashier is closed. So he asks for a tip and disappears. First impressions of Khartoum is that it is a sh.t hole. Rubbish everywhere.. Building rubble dropped at the side of the roads ..Man hole covers stolen and the holes made safe by pushing an old car tyre into the hole.. It's a mess.
I find my hotel - The Acropol Hotel. They have my reservation. This is a real hotel - clean, comfortable ,hot water,air con, tv, wifi and friendly staff. Three Greek brothers run it.. their parents started it and they took over. And they have beer.. non alcoholic.. I decline.
I have dinner at the hotel ..Good home food and plenty of it. It's been a long day.
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