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When in Sudan …
Sudan is as flat as
Ethiopia is mountainous and the people are more
hospitable than even the Irish. Tourists are not
seen by locals simply as a disguised Bank ATM or a
source of skin tax, the friendliness and hospitality
are genuine. Together with some amazing desert
scenes this makes Sudan a country really worth
visiting, contrary to most negative travel reports.
Overlanding
Camping
Accommodation
Sudan:
There are no places to stay along
the route. Not easily recognisable ones anyway.
Khartoum is about the only place where it’s not
convenient to bush camp. Everywhere else bush
camping is preferable since you need to register
with the police if you are staying in a town. If
you’re not bush camping in Sudan you’ve missed the
point. The desert is big and very beautiful.
There are three places to stay in Khartoum:
- Isaak’s camping (N15°30’45.0” E32°37’40.7”)
recognisable only by a sign at the gate “well come”.
$3.- pppn and $3.- for your vehicle per day. Quite
far out of town therefore quiet. The owner is quite
helpful and knowledgeable and can save you a
significant amount of time hunting down whatever you
need in Khartoum. For a fee he will also drive you
into town. Good drinking water from a borehole.
- National camping residence (N15°31’25.5”
E32°34’11.9”) – about 1 km off the main road into
Khartoum (turn left at the street market opposite
the Gapco garage), sign posted at the entrance to
the campsite. 250.- Dinar pppn (+-$1.-pppn).
Cheapest accommodation around with reasonable
facilities. Plenty of locals stay in the adjacent
bungalows or rent rooms in the complex. Closer to
town but not quite as quiet as Isaak’s, nor can you
just leave your vehicle open for the day. Within
walking distance of the local market. It appears to
be an old army base – camp on the parade ground
under the trees.
- Blue Nile Sailing Club - We didn’t stay here, so
no GPS co-ordinates. It’s on the river, close to the
centre of town. $3.- pppn, $5.- for your vehicle.
Better for cyclists and backpackers. Plagued by
mosquitoes.
Things to see
· Temples – Sudan has many temples in varying
degrees of dilapidation along the Nile River. You
require a permit (only obtainable in Khartoum) for
$10.- pp per site. You will have to choose your
sites carefully or negotiable a bulk-discount or try
to make a deal with the caretaker at each site. In
many cases you need to hire a boat to get to the
opposite shore as not all temples are on the same
side of the river as the road/track. The pyramids of
Meroe (Royal City) are probably the most worthwhile.
(Not to be confused with Nuri Merowe). Doing a tour
of all the sites can take you two weeks if you have
your own vehicle.
· Route from Khartoum to Wadi Helfa – there are two
routes from Khartoum to Wadi Helfa (or visa versa):
via Dongola or via Atbara.
- Dongola route – finding the way out of Khartoum (Omdurman)
can take several hours as there are no street signs
and you will probably be directed to a suburb called
Ongola instead. The first section (approx 240 km) is
good tar up to the Nile River. From there to Dongola
mostly never-ending villages if you follow the river
or thick sand and later gravel if you take the
outside road through the desert. Plenty of tracks to
follow either way. Once in a while a tar road
appears out of nowhere and disappears just as
suddenly. Ferry crossing at Dongola (N19º10’49.8”
E30º29’20.7”) costs 750 dinar. From Dongola to Wadi
Helfa (at least 400 km, more if you get lost often)
there is a very badly corrugated track. For most of
the distance you can choose one of several less
corrugated tracks alongside. This part of the route
is very scenic with plenty of places to stop for a
swim in the Nile and beautifully painted houses in
the villages. Petrol and diesel available up to
Argo. Food, water and cold drinks are obtainable in
every village. Budget four to six days in a car.
- Atbara route – from Wadi Helfa to Abu Hamed
(approx 370 km) follow the railway line and
telephone poles. This section consists almost
entirely of sand. In most places the surface is flat
and hard but there are some nasty areas where you
will sink in up to your chassis. These soft sections
are almost impossible to see until you are in them.
Nothing is available along this route except water
at station # 6 (N20º45’03.0” E32º32’45.4”). Petrol,
diesel, water and groceries are available in Abu
Hamed. The section from Abu Hamed to Atbara (approx
210 km) is the classic trans-Saharan piste
recognisable only by 2.5 m high poles every several
hundred meters. In true environmentally friendly
style the markers are painted white and yellow so
they blend into the environment perfectly especially
during a sand storm. Follow the poles rather than
the many tracks as some veer off into the wild blue
yonder. Make a point of finding the hole in the rock
(N18º41’31.6” E33º48’09.7”). From Berber to Khartoum
(approx 350 km): good tar road so be prepared to pay
road toll fees. Do not camp near the oil pipeline
(east of the tar road), the police get very jumpy.
This is the faster of the two routes – budget 3-4
days (unless you left your sand ladders at home).
- Dongola – Karima – Atbara: this route is an
entirely unmarked alternative through the desert. We
did not travel it so have no info regarding this. We
have met people who have travelled this without
undue hassle. Do not ask the villagers for route
information, ask the truck drivers. |
Overland Sudan Tips:
· Exchange rate: 1$ = 263 Sudanese Dinar.
· The Sudanese have an annoying habit of using Sudanese pounds (10 pounds =
1 dinar) when they talk to you. This confuses the issue about how much
things actually cost. Sometimes they also arbitrarily drop two or three
zeros off the end of the price, so something could cost “two” “twenty” or
“two hundred” or “two thousand” depending on Allah-knows-what. To deepen the
price mystery things either have no price tag or the tag is in Arabic
script. The best way around all of this is not to buy anything (your
cheapest option), or if you do have to buy something, always offer less by a
factor of at least ten than the quoted price – you’ll soon be told you’re
not paying enough but if you offer 1000 dinar when the price was actually
100 dinar (1000 pounds) you may never see your change. Most traders are
actually quite honest and will help lost souls such as western travellers
without ripping them off. In many cases traders actually lowered their
prices because we were foreigners – a unique phenomenon.
· Alien Registration – this is bureaucratic idiocy at its worst. For some
unknown reason foreigners (aliens) need to register in Khartoum at the
Ministry of Interior. The process is very confusing and even though we have
gone through it we still cannot say with certainty what happened. Things are
significantly speeded up if you have several photocopies of your passport
and visa as well as 2 photographs. We paid 2,000 Dinar per person but we
have met others who have paid significantly more or even less than this.
We’ve even met one traveller who has got away without registering at all. We
have heard that the registration process, travel and photographic permits
are no longer required but it appears that the message has not yet filtered
down to all the officials. Our travel permit was only checked on two
occasions, but at this stage travel permits can still save significant
amounts of hassle. I think we drove through most of the roadblocks where
travel permits would have been checked.
· Do not bring TCs. Only one bank will change US dollar TCs for the fee of
$25.- per transaction. Cash is the only medium that can reasonably get
changed to dinar. If you get stuck in a long holiday (and there seem to be
enough of those in the Muslim calendar) or the weekend catches you napping,
many fuel stations will take cash dollars for fuel. Currency declarations
seem to be a thing of the past.
· Fuel is quoted in pounds per gallon everywhere except in Khartoum where
it’s either pounds or dinar per litre. Figuring out what you pay is as easy
as converting fathoms per fortnight into km/h – you need a BIG calculator.
In and around Khartoum expect to pay 90 dinar/litre (405 dinar/gallon) for
petrol with the price increasing with distance from Khartoum. Wadi Halfa is
the most expensive: 700 dinar/gallon in the market or 650/gallon in the well
disguised wholesale fuel station (Nile Petroleum: N21°48’19.7”
E31°21’01.7”). Whichever way you look at the price, if you can convert it
correctly it’s cheaper than all other countries so far (I think).
· Toll gates – there are lots of tollgates, some very formal-looking while
others take the form of a roadblock. The going price is about 350 Dinar. We
only paid tolls once. In some cases we were waved on (not having to pay
because we were foreigners from Mandela-land), in others we simply drove
through either looking away from or waving back at the cops or sometimes
talking our way out of paying the fees. Many of the roads are good enough to
warrant paying a toll but we refused to pay toll for sand tracks.
· Land Rover spares are aplenty in Khartoum and there are old Landies
breezing about the countryside everywhere, so someone will be able to make a
plan if they don’t have the part you need. The Land Rover dealer in Khartoum
“Nefeide Motors Service Centre” (N15°39’44.9” E32°33’38.4”) is the first
Land Rover dealer in Africa not to pull up their nose at the sight of a
Series III vehicle. They also had a technician inspect the Landy and give us
an opinion “as a gift to foreigners”. For new or used parts for older
vehicles try Mohammed Awad Yacan (N15°37’49.9” E32°32’53.7”). He will save
you a heap of time by sourcing any part you require (if he doesn’t already
have it in his shop) rather than directing you to some other place. Mohammed
Yacan still has several oil filters for a 2.6 litre side-valve engine – get
there while stocks last. Expect to be served lots of tea and cold drinks
while you at wait (this is pretty standard hospitality anywhere in Sudan).
· There’s no beer in Sudan and that’s a great shame because you can work up
a real thirst in the heat and the desert. Our vehicle was not searched at
customs (in Kassala on a holiday) and it appears that other ports of entry
have also grown tired of thorough searches, so BRING BEER and a fridge.
· As in all Muslim countries, Friday is the weekend and Sunday is a normal
workday. Office hours are from 08:30 to 12:00 with breakfast from 09:00 to
10:00 and in the past work resumed from 17:00 until 19:00 but this has been
deemed inconvenient, so now lunch break now extends until the following
morning. Therefore do not expect to get too many things done in one day.
These working hours apply mainly to government institutions and banks. Small
businesses have vested interest in remaining open until 15:00 or even later.
· Internet – there are many e-cafes around Khartoum. Shop around for the
best price. The fastest we found was the Internet Garden “Speedest Internet”
on the main road into town (near the airport) more expensive but very quick.
· Sudan is best avoided in summer, it is already hot enough in winter. Bring
your own shade as there are few trees: you’ll have to travel far to find one
big enough to park under. Lots of sun block is required here.
· Food – take one of two approaches here, one eat the foods you would at
home and be prepared to fork out wads of dinar for that luxury (why bother
travelling north) or shop at the local souk for olives, feta, grapefruits,
watermelons, bread, fresh fruit juices and vegetables. In Khartoum you will
find reasonable pizza’s and burgers too but rather try the delicious
shawarmas. Products imported from Egypt are cheapest in Wadi Helfa (feta
cheese, olives, dates, Nity chocolate coated cakes etc – read the packages)
· Drinking water is available in every village. Many houses have clay jugs
in a shady place where you may help yourself to cool water. You may have to
socialise if caught in the act though. Other countries could learn from this
type of hospitality.
· Swimming in the Nile river is very refreshing in the heat of the day.
There are two creatures that may bite: one is the crocodile (not named after
this river for nothing) which the locals will tell you only occurs upstream,
downstream or on the opposite shore to where you are and the second is some
type of water insect that has a bite/sting that is more painful and itchy
than a mosquito sting. Either of these can make you swim rather unpleasant.
Information from
Riff Raff
Overland Expedition 2001 with Thomas and Bridgett |
