Hi there,
Just a quick post to say we are heading west tomorrow to some of the parks before we head into Uganda, Been a nice break here at Jungle Junctionand, best of camps for overland travellers.
Did a couple of small jobs on the van but generally stood up to the shocking roads pretty well.
All the best
Gary & Joan
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The Latest. 24th May
Hi there,
Now in Kenya where the connections are much faster.
Three posts and a couple of photos. We will be staying in Nairobi a couple more days and will post another before we leave.
Regards
Gary & Joan
Now in Kenya where the connections are much faster.
Three posts and a couple of photos. We will be staying in Nairobi a couple more days and will post another before we leave.
Regards
Gary & Joan
23rd May. Isiolo, Kenya
22nd May. Marsabit, Kenya
You might say, they’re travelling fast. Faster than we wanted or anticipated. When we headed south from Addis with our insurance organized we intended branching off and visiting the Omo Valley area. There are many tribes down there that are still animists and decorate their bodies in an array of tattoos and body paint. The women with the plates in their lips are also from this area.
However, as we headed south, massive storm clouds kept building up ahead of us and to the west and as this was the wet season for the south of the country we were apprehensive of what may follow. That night it poured for a couple of hours then eased off to steady rain all night. The road to the Omo Valley would be on clay for most of it but more importantly, once the road on the Kenyan side of the border has rain on it, it becomes impassable. With this in mind we kept driving to the border. A pity as that valley would have been one of the highlights of our trip I think. It s a good reason to come back to Ethiopia for 6 weeks, take in the Omo Valley as well as what we missed out in the north.
The 510 kilometre of road after crossing the Ethiopian/Kenyan border is reputed to be the worst road in Africa. At the moment we are at Marsabit which is a national park and village 250 kms along that road. Yesterday, for 8 hours, we suffered bone shattering corrugations, kilometres of sharp rock and deviations around strips of road that had been gouged out by trucks trying to get through during the rain of a couple of weeks ago. Being so low I had to try and ride on top of the high ridges between the vehicle tracks for kilometres at a time and when that wasn’t possible try and keep the right hand side of the vehicle hard up against the side of the ridge to protect the water tank on the left hand side of the van. It was draining stuff and very hard on the van. This stretch of road as well as the sand in Sudan are meant to be the hardest part of the journey. The journey south from Marsabit is just as bad we believe. Something to look forward to tomorrow. At least we won’t need an armed escort like we had yesterday: for 100 kms or so the road ran very close to the Ethiopian border and although we had been told attacks on travellers is rare these days, the police at the border insisted we have 2 armed soldiers in the back. We could’ve waited for the convoy which was to have left at 10am but that would have meant arriving in Marsabit in the dark and having to travel at the speed of the other vehicles which might have been to slow or worse, too fast.
So here we are at Henry the Swiss’s camp site. A haven after yesterday. Quite an enterprising bloke this Henry: apart from the camp he has a bakery on the land where he bakes 450 loaves of bread for the town each day as well as having a carpentry and joinery business running close by. The hot bread we had last night was heaven as were the muffins the also bake. We have hot showers, a tub to wash clothes and a good supply of Tusker beer in their fridge. What else could you ask for?
Well we made it. The 260kms today took longer than the other day, 9½ hours actually. Not so many sharp rocks today but endless corrugations that meant jolting along at 25kph the whole time. But even this will change in the near future as a Chinese contractor has started upgrading the road for half the distance to the border. Soon there will be asphalt from Cairo to Cape Town.
We had our distractions along the way that made it interesting: a family of Somali Ostriches with about 20 chicks running along the road, a group of baboons crossing our path, dik diks, the smallest antelope, hopping across the road, groups of Vulturine Guinea Fowl busy passing the time of day in the middle of the gravel, plus endless other birds flying off into the bush. Adam gave me a book on the birds of East Africa before we left, I was wondering if I would make use of it but it has proven invaluable. There are 1388 species of bird recorded n East Africa and when you look through the coloured illustrations you realize what a treasure trove there is here. To be able to name what you have just seen makes it that much more interesting.
We head to Nairobi tomorrow where I will be able to catch up with the blogs.
You might say, they’re travelling fast. Faster than we wanted or anticipated. When we headed south from Addis with our insurance organized we intended branching off and visiting the Omo Valley area. There are many tribes down there that are still animists and decorate their bodies in an array of tattoos and body paint. The women with the plates in their lips are also from this area.
However, as we headed south, massive storm clouds kept building up ahead of us and to the west and as this was the wet season for the south of the country we were apprehensive of what may follow. That night it poured for a couple of hours then eased off to steady rain all night. The road to the Omo Valley would be on clay for most of it but more importantly, once the road on the Kenyan side of the border has rain on it, it becomes impassable. With this in mind we kept driving to the border. A pity as that valley would have been one of the highlights of our trip I think. It s a good reason to come back to Ethiopia for 6 weeks, take in the Omo Valley as well as what we missed out in the north.
The 510 kilometre of road after crossing the Ethiopian/Kenyan border is reputed to be the worst road in Africa. At the moment we are at Marsabit which is a national park and village 250 kms along that road. Yesterday, for 8 hours, we suffered bone shattering corrugations, kilometres of sharp rock and deviations around strips of road that had been gouged out by trucks trying to get through during the rain of a couple of weeks ago. Being so low I had to try and ride on top of the high ridges between the vehicle tracks for kilometres at a time and when that wasn’t possible try and keep the right hand side of the vehicle hard up against the side of the ridge to protect the water tank on the left hand side of the van. It was draining stuff and very hard on the van. This stretch of road as well as the sand in Sudan are meant to be the hardest part of the journey. The journey south from Marsabit is just as bad we believe. Something to look forward to tomorrow. At least we won’t need an armed escort like we had yesterday: for 100 kms or so the road ran very close to the Ethiopian border and although we had been told attacks on travellers is rare these days, the police at the border insisted we have 2 armed soldiers in the back. We could’ve waited for the convoy which was to have left at 10am but that would have meant arriving in Marsabit in the dark and having to travel at the speed of the other vehicles which might have been to slow or worse, too fast.
So here we are at Henry the Swiss’s camp site. A haven after yesterday. Quite an enterprising bloke this Henry: apart from the camp he has a bakery on the land where he bakes 450 loaves of bread for the town each day as well as having a carpentry and joinery business running close by. The hot bread we had last night was heaven as were the muffins the also bake. We have hot showers, a tub to wash clothes and a good supply of Tusker beer in their fridge. What else could you ask for?
Well we made it. The 260kms today took longer than the other day, 9½ hours actually. Not so many sharp rocks today but endless corrugations that meant jolting along at 25kph the whole time. But even this will change in the near future as a Chinese contractor has started upgrading the road for half the distance to the border. Soon there will be asphalt from Cairo to Cape Town.
We had our distractions along the way that made it interesting: a family of Somali Ostriches with about 20 chicks running along the road, a group of baboons crossing our path, dik diks, the smallest antelope, hopping across the road, groups of Vulturine Guinea Fowl busy passing the time of day in the middle of the gravel, plus endless other birds flying off into the bush. Adam gave me a book on the birds of East Africa before we left, I was wondering if I would make use of it but it has proven invaluable. There are 1388 species of bird recorded n East Africa and when you look through the coloured illustrations you realize what a treasure trove there is here. To be able to name what you have just seen makes it that much more interesting.
We head to Nairobi tomorrow where I will be able to catch up with the blogs.
17th May, Addis Ababa
A change of plans. We intended to sweep north from Gondar to the Simien Mountains and Axum then on down to Addis stopping off at the churches at Lalibella on the way. With the rains starting and a bad road for half that distance we decided to head on down to Addis where we are ensconced in the small yard of the Wanza Hotel. On the way we spent a couple of nights at Lake Tana as mentioned in the earlier blog then went south stopping a night in a delightful complex in the process of being finished overlooking a branch of the Rift Valley. It would be at least 5,000 feet to the bottom of the valley. Tribes of monkeys were fighting on the cliffs while eagles and vultures floated above including the massive Lammergeyer with its 3 metre wing span. During the day we had dropped into the main Rift Valley where the Blue Nile wends its way. The road down took about 10 kms to get to the bottom and a further 10 getting up the other side. It is an amazing spectacle and when you realize this split in the earth’s surface runs all the way from the Dead Sea in Jordan down to Mozambique in southern Africa. With aid from Japan the road through the Valley was being improved and a new bridge is being built over the Nile.
Ethiopia is an amazing country; so mountainous yet most of it cultivated. At the moment the ground has been ploughed and sown, all ready for the rains to come. I hope they don’t fail like they do some years. Not many cars, mostly minibuses and trucks, the people seem to walk everywhere. It’s nothing for them to walk 20kms to the markets and driving through the towns one has to carefully weave a path through the people. Donkeys are used a lot, the sheep are intelligent keeping an eye on the traffic but you still have to keep an eye on the odd independent one that decides the grass is greener elsewhere.
Ethiopian food is very interesting and should be tried: the staple food is injeera, made from fermented yeast. It’s like a very flat pancake that overflows the plate and on which the other food is placed. You tear off a bit of injeera with your right hand then use it to scoop up the other food sitting on top. Difficult at first but quite easy after you get the hang of it. Beber is a potent paste like harissa that is added to many of the dishes bringing the eater out in a hot sweat after the first few mouth fulls. The Italians were here for a few years in the ‘30s and their legacy is the pasta dishes that are always on the menu and the coffee machines that can be found in the smallest of bars or cafes. The coffee grown in the country is reputed to be the best in the world and their macchiatos are to die for.
We will stay here until Monday when I have to organize the Yellow Card 3rd party insurance that covers most of Southern Africa. It saves having to take it out on each border.
Ethiopia is an amazing country; so mountainous yet most of it cultivated. At the moment the ground has been ploughed and sown, all ready for the rains to come. I hope they don’t fail like they do some years. Not many cars, mostly minibuses and trucks, the people seem to walk everywhere. It’s nothing for them to walk 20kms to the markets and driving through the towns one has to carefully weave a path through the people. Donkeys are used a lot, the sheep are intelligent keeping an eye on the traffic but you still have to keep an eye on the odd independent one that decides the grass is greener elsewhere.
Ethiopian food is very interesting and should be tried: the staple food is injeera, made from fermented yeast. It’s like a very flat pancake that overflows the plate and on which the other food is placed. You tear off a bit of injeera with your right hand then use it to scoop up the other food sitting on top. Difficult at first but quite easy after you get the hang of it. Beber is a potent paste like harissa that is added to many of the dishes bringing the eater out in a hot sweat after the first few mouth fulls. The Italians were here for a few years in the ‘30s and their legacy is the pasta dishes that are always on the menu and the coffee machines that can be found in the smallest of bars or cafes. The coffee grown in the country is reputed to be the best in the world and their macchiatos are to die for.
We will stay here until Monday when I have to organize the Yellow Card 3rd party insurance that covers most of Southern Africa. It saves having to take it out on each border.
13th May. Gondar, Ethiopia
Oh blessed cool. At 2200 metres we are putting our jerseys on of an evening. Last night the water in the tank was so hot it was almost impossible using it to brush our teeth. We camped on the Ethiopian side of the border last night, crossing over from Sudan late of an evening. The authorities were very quick and courteous. The Ethiopian side displayed the worst amount of litter and plastic I think we have ever seen. This morning we travelled the 230kms on to Gondar climbing all the time. A new road is being pushed through from Gondar to the border, once this is finished and the road from Wadi Halfa to Dongola in Sudan is completed, say in 5 years time, the adventure will be taken out of the trans African Odyssey. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, the locals deserve it, but this section is one of the most difficult when heading to Cape Town
As we climbed the landscape changed from parched plains to lush hills carrying vast herds of cattle. The locals walk a lot here. Cars are few and the buses infrequent. No matter how isolated you are there will be people walking along the road.
Time is unique here: Ethiopia has a 13 month calendar and the time is 6 hours ahead of the surrounding countries. At the bank, Joan’s watch said 1.45pm (Sudan time), the clock on the wall showed 7.45pm. We are going to bed now at 2 o’clock n the morning.
We saw Mark fleetingly as he headed south to Addis. He was camped near the river in Khartoum and had a wonderful view of the tanks flying past and explosions on the other side of the river when the Darfur crowd attacked. He was quite scared, we don’t blame him. Reider and Ellen caught up with us here in Gondar. They are also heading south tomorrow, we will then be on our own. Been good with them. We haven’t always travelled together but knowing someone is following give a sense of security. We hope they visit us in AU.
No broadband here, I will post this tomorrow but images take too long.
14th. Bahir Dar, Lake Tana.
When planning this trip our time frame was dependent on the rainy season in Ethiopia. They have a long wet season though not always falling for the full duration. When we came up to the plateau yesterday large rain clouds built ominously in the west and before we reached Gondar had a few spits. Reider who was a few hours behind us said the last few kilometres up to the plateau was wet from the rain and vehicles were slipping and sliding all over the place. Once the rain hits most traffic off the asphalt comes to a standstill.
Our plan was to head north from Gondar to visit the Simian Mountains and Axum before heading south to Addis but today the whole western sky was black which didn’t help our chances of getting to Axum without running into problems. The road north is quite rough I believe. At the moment we are camped on the shores of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. We headed south to visit the lake and the Blue Nile Falls before going north but will find out tomorrow if the ran will affect our plans. Our option is to keep going to Addis and use that time in maybe visiting Zanzibar instead.
15th May
Spent the morning on the lake visiting monasteries on some of the islands. Very interesting. The Coptic religion is very strong in the country. On the lake we passed a few raft oats made out of papyrus. They were being paddled from one side of the lake to the town on the other laden down with a pile of wood. The boats themselves were almost under water
As we climbed the landscape changed from parched plains to lush hills carrying vast herds of cattle. The locals walk a lot here. Cars are few and the buses infrequent. No matter how isolated you are there will be people walking along the road.
Time is unique here: Ethiopia has a 13 month calendar and the time is 6 hours ahead of the surrounding countries. At the bank, Joan’s watch said 1.45pm (Sudan time), the clock on the wall showed 7.45pm. We are going to bed now at 2 o’clock n the morning.
We saw Mark fleetingly as he headed south to Addis. He was camped near the river in Khartoum and had a wonderful view of the tanks flying past and explosions on the other side of the river when the Darfur crowd attacked. He was quite scared, we don’t blame him. Reider and Ellen caught up with us here in Gondar. They are also heading south tomorrow, we will then be on our own. Been good with them. We haven’t always travelled together but knowing someone is following give a sense of security. We hope they visit us in AU.
No broadband here, I will post this tomorrow but images take too long.
14th. Bahir Dar, Lake Tana.
When planning this trip our time frame was dependent on the rainy season in Ethiopia. They have a long wet season though not always falling for the full duration. When we came up to the plateau yesterday large rain clouds built ominously in the west and before we reached Gondar had a few spits. Reider who was a few hours behind us said the last few kilometres up to the plateau was wet from the rain and vehicles were slipping and sliding all over the place. Once the rain hits most traffic off the asphalt comes to a standstill.
Our plan was to head north from Gondar to visit the Simian Mountains and Axum before heading south to Addis but today the whole western sky was black which didn’t help our chances of getting to Axum without running into problems. The road north is quite rough I believe. At the moment we are camped on the shores of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. We headed south to visit the lake and the Blue Nile Falls before going north but will find out tomorrow if the ran will affect our plans. Our option is to keep going to Addis and use that time in maybe visiting Zanzibar instead.
15th May
Spent the morning on the lake visiting monasteries on some of the islands. Very interesting. The Coptic religion is very strong in the country. On the lake we passed a few raft oats made out of papyrus. They were being paddled from one side of the lake to the town on the other laden down with a pile of wood. The boats themselves were almost under water
Friday, May 16, 2008
Quick update
This is Joan and Gary's eldest son Adam, posting a quick update for them as their current part of the world seems to have lagged behind in the internet revolution. They sent me a text message to say that they're now in Ethiopia and all is well, they're just having trouble getting online to update the blog.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
The Natives are Restless
Hi there,
For those who have heard about the unrest in Khartoum a quick note to say the curfew has been partially lifted and we hope to head off tomorrow for Ethiopia. We were able to get the visas today which surprised us as the city is completely closed down with police and army on most intersections. The fighting was on the western side of the river, we are on the eastern.
On the bright side, the hotel we have stayed in the last couple of days has an Indian restaurant that served the best Indian food we have tasted in many a year.
We have also caught up with Reidar and Ellen and are travelling together tomorrow.
All the best
Gary & Joan
For those who have heard about the unrest in Khartoum a quick note to say the curfew has been partially lifted and we hope to head off tomorrow for Ethiopia. We were able to get the visas today which surprised us as the city is completely closed down with police and army on most intersections. The fighting was on the western side of the river, we are on the eastern.
On the bright side, the hotel we have stayed in the last couple of days has an Indian restaurant that served the best Indian food we have tasted in many a year.
We have also caught up with Reidar and Ellen and are travelling together tomorrow.
All the best
Gary & Joan
All OK
Hi there,
three posts and many photos following.
Everything ok here, in a nice hotel away from violence. Hope to get Ethiopian visas today but the embassy might be closed. Will get ouit of Khartoum as soon as we have the visas.
Gary
three posts and many photos following.
Everything ok here, in a nice hotel away from violence. Hope to get Ethiopian visas today but the embassy might be closed. Will get ouit of Khartoum as soon as we have the visas.
Gary
10th May Khartoum
Welcome to Khartoum. We have just had a notice slipped under our door alerting us there is a 24 hour curfew in Khartoum due to the imminent arrival of a military rebel force from Darfur.
After 12 days in our van in the heat or sleeping in unsavoury alternatives we had decided to appreciate A/C for a couple of days. Now this happens.
Yesterday was another eventful day. We broke camp early as we wanted to at least get to Karima before nightfall. The track led across a small desert the surface of which was fairly firm. The problem was that it was very difficult knowing which way we should be heading, there were so many tracks. We passed a couple of women who signalled us for a lift, I though that would be a good way of staying on the right track. That proved the case as Mark, who had gone on, got lost even with a GPS that gave his position pretty well. He had to go cross country to get out. After the desert he missed the new road being built and reached Dongola, where we were to meet, after us. He had travelled along the old road that passed through all the villages and was thick sand in places. He had one nasty spill and was trapped under his bike until a group of women helped lift the bike.
From Dongola there is a new asphalt road across the Nubian Desert to Karima. We though of spending the night there but temps were still in the 50s, a good excuse to travel on to Atbara, a further 280kms on. Atbara is on the eastern side of the Nile, there are no bridges across at that point, just 2 ferries. I don’t know what the problem was but they refused to take us across. We decided to camp there the night and go across in the morning. After a 2 hour wait we got the gist that there may not be a ferry for quite some time, two of the trucks that were waiting took off, beckoning us to follow. I knew there was another ferry some 20kms upstream from where we were and guessed that that was where they were heading. But boy what a drive. They went cross country along dry river beds, around irrigation canals, through sections of bull dust. I would never have found our way there on our own.
This ferry was working and we were able to cross on the second crossing along with donkey carts, a couple of trucks and many locals. After a further ½ hour trying to find the asphalt road we finally made it and had an uneventful drive to Khartoum. On the way we passed a group of funerary pyramids built a few kilometres from the Nile. Very impressive.
After 12 days in our van in the heat or sleeping in unsavoury alternatives we had decided to appreciate A/C for a couple of days. Now this happens.
Yesterday was another eventful day. We broke camp early as we wanted to at least get to Karima before nightfall. The track led across a small desert the surface of which was fairly firm. The problem was that it was very difficult knowing which way we should be heading, there were so many tracks. We passed a couple of women who signalled us for a lift, I though that would be a good way of staying on the right track. That proved the case as Mark, who had gone on, got lost even with a GPS that gave his position pretty well. He had to go cross country to get out. After the desert he missed the new road being built and reached Dongola, where we were to meet, after us. He had travelled along the old road that passed through all the villages and was thick sand in places. He had one nasty spill and was trapped under his bike until a group of women helped lift the bike.
From Dongola there is a new asphalt road across the Nubian Desert to Karima. We though of spending the night there but temps were still in the 50s, a good excuse to travel on to Atbara, a further 280kms on. Atbara is on the eastern side of the Nile, there are no bridges across at that point, just 2 ferries. I don’t know what the problem was but they refused to take us across. We decided to camp there the night and go across in the morning. After a 2 hour wait we got the gist that there may not be a ferry for quite some time, two of the trucks that were waiting took off, beckoning us to follow. I knew there was another ferry some 20kms upstream from where we were and guessed that that was where they were heading. But boy what a drive. They went cross country along dry river beds, around irrigation canals, through sections of bull dust. I would never have found our way there on our own.
This ferry was working and we were able to cross on the second crossing along with donkey carts, a couple of trucks and many locals. After a further ½ hour trying to find the asphalt road we finally made it and had an uneventful drive to Khartoum. On the way we passed a group of funerary pyramids built a few kilometres from the Nile. Very impressive.
9th May Atbara, Sudan
We had our share of adventure the last few days. The vehicles arrived safely the day after us and had them off the boat without too much trouble. Our helper got us through customs quickly and we were on the road by 1 pm. The decision was to push on and just camp out along the road for the night. We were lucky as on asking a villager of there was a track to the Nile we could get pur vehicles to a local hopped in with us and took us down to a spot metres from the river. It was great. In the morning we had a fisherman loading his nets on to a tin boat, two children leading their donkey down to fill up their water containers and women bundling up feed for the cattle and taking them back on their heads.
The next day was to be the worst day as far as sand was concerned. Unfortunately things didn’t work out as planned. Mark and us wanted to get away early but The Norwegians, Ella and Raider said they wanted to take their time and meet us in the next town, some 50 kms on. We picked up some supplies, Mark refuelled then we waited. Two hours later they still hadn’t turned up. We got to thinking perhaps they misunderstood and had gone on. We waited a bit longer then headed off expecting to see them on the road. It was very hot; Mark’s thermometer read 53C in the shade. The wind was blowing swirling dust around. All went well, I managed the sand pretty well until, at about 4.30 we reached an impenetrable sea of deep sand. Mark went through what he thought would be the best for us, I had a go but should’ve had a bigger run at it. About 15 metres from the end of the sand I came to a alt. Stuck high and dry. We tried digging, it was excruciating in the heat, then I said to Mark could he duck back to the village we had just passed and see if he can get a 4x4 to tow me out. He turned up with a 2wd and 7 keen blokes who reckoned they could push me out. I couldn’t get through to them the principle of the stretch tow ropes and wouldn’t bring their ute near the sand. We were getting nowhere then saw a Toyota Hilux 4x4 coming along. No sweat the driver said (in Arabic). He pulled in, hooked the rope on and had us out in a few seconds. We were stuck only a matter of about 80 minutes but we were exhausted, the van was covered in dust inside and out and the dust and sweat had formed a brown mass on our arms and faces. This was why we wanted to go in convoy. Without Mark it would’ve been worse but if Raider’s Land cruiser been there we would have been out in minutes.
After that we travelled along for a further ½ hour or so then, with the aid of some great kids, found a wonderful camp again a short distance from the Nile. Mark and I stripped off and plunged in to get the grime off us. Bugger the crocs and Bilharzia, it was what we needed. We had smuggled a couple of cans of beer into Sudan, a dry country, they went down very well that night.
The next day was to be the worst day as far as sand was concerned. Unfortunately things didn’t work out as planned. Mark and us wanted to get away early but The Norwegians, Ella and Raider said they wanted to take their time and meet us in the next town, some 50 kms on. We picked up some supplies, Mark refuelled then we waited. Two hours later they still hadn’t turned up. We got to thinking perhaps they misunderstood and had gone on. We waited a bit longer then headed off expecting to see them on the road. It was very hot; Mark’s thermometer read 53C in the shade. The wind was blowing swirling dust around. All went well, I managed the sand pretty well until, at about 4.30 we reached an impenetrable sea of deep sand. Mark went through what he thought would be the best for us, I had a go but should’ve had a bigger run at it. About 15 metres from the end of the sand I came to a alt. Stuck high and dry. We tried digging, it was excruciating in the heat, then I said to Mark could he duck back to the village we had just passed and see if he can get a 4x4 to tow me out. He turned up with a 2wd and 7 keen blokes who reckoned they could push me out. I couldn’t get through to them the principle of the stretch tow ropes and wouldn’t bring their ute near the sand. We were getting nowhere then saw a Toyota Hilux 4x4 coming along. No sweat the driver said (in Arabic). He pulled in, hooked the rope on and had us out in a few seconds. We were stuck only a matter of about 80 minutes but we were exhausted, the van was covered in dust inside and out and the dust and sweat had formed a brown mass on our arms and faces. This was why we wanted to go in convoy. Without Mark it would’ve been worse but if Raider’s Land cruiser been there we would have been out in minutes.
After that we travelled along for a further ½ hour or so then, with the aid of some great kids, found a wonderful camp again a short distance from the Nile. Mark and I stripped off and plunged in to get the grime off us. Bugger the crocs and Bilharzia, it was what we needed. We had smuggled a couple of cans of beer into Sudan, a dry country, they went down very well that night.
6th May Wadi Halfa Sudan
M/V Saad Naam was a new boat. A word that needs to be in context: I guess when one remembers just how old the civilizations are that have risen and fallen in this area it is new and replaced an older boat some years ago.
We turned up at the port at about 10am to be greeted by a horde of passengers each with a vast supply of goods. Things must be cheaper in Egypt. Mt Eezah helped us through the formalities quite quickly with little baksheesh needing to change hands. Then it was down to the motorised barge in which the vehicles were to travel. I wasn’t sure what to expect. It seemed that as there were only 2 vehicles less than 5 metres in length the smaller barge would be used. The bigger one is used for larger vehicles like the overland trucks. I thought there would be a roll on arrangement and there was of sorts: a ramp was put in place along the side of the barge and I had to drive the van up the ramp and fit it between the superstructure and a hold cover. I wasn’t aware exactly what they wanted me to do and had the back left wheel caught horribly on the corner of the hold cover. A lot of manoeuvring later I was still caught high and dry. Once I got out and looked for myself then realized the problem which eventually was easily solved. Hope I didn’t damage the tyre.
Raider had no trouble with his Landcruiser. His is higher and a winch to hold it in place.
The boat itself wasn’t too bad. We had booked a first class cabin. This consisted of 2 bunks, a chair and a large air conditioner. There were no sheets, the door wouldn’t lock, but at least we had a port hole. The grime in the cabin gave us the impression the last time it had been cleaned was when it was commissioned. It was pretty bad. After lying on the top bunk for a while looking at the foot prints on the end wall and the layers of dirt on the ceiling I said ‘Enough!’ I grabbed the flannel we had brought with us, filled up an empty beer can with water from the communal basins then got to work. Thirty minutes later I was able to lie back and relax a little.
Non first class passengers had a choice: either in a communal sauna in chairs or up on deck. The latter very hot when the sun was up but lovely after dark I believe.
The highlight of the voyage was sailing past the great temple of Abbu Simbel in the early morning. We were about 500 metres from the statues. They were magnificent.
Wadi Halfa is hot, dusty and a bit of a dive. We are staying at the Deffintoad Hotel. The room has three beds in it, no sheets but stained covers. No fan or A/C of course but there is a plug with which we can heat up a cup of tea. It is very basic. All going well we will have the vehicles early tomorrow and be able to hit the road. Mark, a South African, was waiting at the High Dam ready to load his motor bike, he is going to join us on the next leg of the trip.
igh DamH
We turned up at the port at about 10am to be greeted by a horde of passengers each with a vast supply of goods. Things must be cheaper in Egypt. Mt Eezah helped us through the formalities quite quickly with little baksheesh needing to change hands. Then it was down to the motorised barge in which the vehicles were to travel. I wasn’t sure what to expect. It seemed that as there were only 2 vehicles less than 5 metres in length the smaller barge would be used. The bigger one is used for larger vehicles like the overland trucks. I thought there would be a roll on arrangement and there was of sorts: a ramp was put in place along the side of the barge and I had to drive the van up the ramp and fit it between the superstructure and a hold cover. I wasn’t aware exactly what they wanted me to do and had the back left wheel caught horribly on the corner of the hold cover. A lot of manoeuvring later I was still caught high and dry. Once I got out and looked for myself then realized the problem which eventually was easily solved. Hope I didn’t damage the tyre.
Raider had no trouble with his Landcruiser. His is higher and a winch to hold it in place.
The boat itself wasn’t too bad. We had booked a first class cabin. This consisted of 2 bunks, a chair and a large air conditioner. There were no sheets, the door wouldn’t lock, but at least we had a port hole. The grime in the cabin gave us the impression the last time it had been cleaned was when it was commissioned. It was pretty bad. After lying on the top bunk for a while looking at the foot prints on the end wall and the layers of dirt on the ceiling I said ‘Enough!’ I grabbed the flannel we had brought with us, filled up an empty beer can with water from the communal basins then got to work. Thirty minutes later I was able to lie back and relax a little.
Non first class passengers had a choice: either in a communal sauna in chairs or up on deck. The latter very hot when the sun was up but lovely after dark I believe.
The highlight of the voyage was sailing past the great temple of Abbu Simbel in the early morning. We were about 500 metres from the statues. They were magnificent.
Wadi Halfa is hot, dusty and a bit of a dive. We are staying at the Deffintoad Hotel. The room has three beds in it, no sheets but stained covers. No fan or A/C of course but there is a plug with which we can heat up a cup of tea. It is very basic. All going well we will have the vehicles early tomorrow and be able to hit the road. Mark, a South African, was waiting at the High Dam ready to load his motor bike, he is going to join us on the next leg of the trip.
igh DamH
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
3rd May Aswan.
We had a problem tonight: the last of our Egyptian wine was finished last night, three days to go before we hit a dry country, Sudan, and the only remaining bottle of red was for the minister of a parish in Uganda who has ties with Joan’s church in Bellingen. It was bought in the Holy Land of Jordan.
Reasons for opening it:
1/ The rough roads between here & Uganda might turn it into vinegar
2/ It might be corked
3/ the minister might be a teetotaller
4/ We are overweight, every little lessening helps
5/ The Sudanese Customs might confiscate it
Reasons for keeping it.
1/ The minister would appreciate it
2/ It might be able to be used as sacred wine (not sure of the requirements for that)
The former won out. It helped a pleasant meal at Adam’s Home, a desert camp 150 metres from the Nile. We ate while feluccas and cruise boats made their way along the river. When the sun had lost some its intensity we wandered down to the Nile and spent a half hour relaxing at the water’s edge watching and listening to the many birds playing in amongst the papyrus reeds.
The Nile down here at Aswan is idyllic. Clear water, palm trees on the edge, the feluccas slowly catching the wind. Not so many tourists help as well. We visited the Nubian Museum this morning. Excellent displays of the Nubian culture and life style and a wonderful photographic wing showing the effort to preserve the Nubian history that was to be destroyed by the rising waters of Lake Nasser and the Aswan Dam in the early 60s. Abu Simbel is the most famous with the effort to raise these massive statues above the final dam level but may other sites were to be covered as well. Scores of archaeologists worked on the project from all over the world. A massive undertaking.
The convoy from Luxor went without a hitch this morning but on arriving realized that today was Friday, the Muslim holiday and the office of the Nile River Transportation Coy was closed. We will have to catch Mr Salah tomorrow.
3r May
The staff in the Nile River Transportation Office were as helpful as all the blogs and web sites said. Mr Salah and Mr Eezah went out of the way to help us. Mr Eezah accompanied us to the courthouse to make sure we hadn’t had any accidents or convictions against us while in the country, then off to the Traffic Police to hand in our Egyptian number plates and licence. Pity as I would have enjoyed giving an Australian cop my Egyptian licence if they happened to pull us up.
Tomorrow we catch the ferry. Not sure when it leaves, last week it didn’t leave until midnight, we have to report at 9.30am. It appears the van goes on a slower boat and we will have to spend a night at Wadi Halfa waiting for it. Raider and Ellen the Norwegian couple are happy to travel together until we reach Dongola, from where the road is asphalt to Khartoum. We are pleased as I feel a little unprepared for what may eventuate. They have a Landcruiser with all the bells and whistles; winches, sand mats, raised suspension, the works. They are a nice couple about our age and intend leaving their vehicle in South Africa then flying back later to look around the national parks of Southern Africa.
This will be the last blog until perhaps Dongola but more than likely Khartoum. It will be an interesting drive but at least the weather is holding, still fairly cool.
Take care
Gar & Joan
Reasons for opening it:
1/ The rough roads between here & Uganda might turn it into vinegar
2/ It might be corked
3/ the minister might be a teetotaller
4/ We are overweight, every little lessening helps
5/ The Sudanese Customs might confiscate it
Reasons for keeping it.
1/ The minister would appreciate it
2/ It might be able to be used as sacred wine (not sure of the requirements for that)
The former won out. It helped a pleasant meal at Adam’s Home, a desert camp 150 metres from the Nile. We ate while feluccas and cruise boats made their way along the river. When the sun had lost some its intensity we wandered down to the Nile and spent a half hour relaxing at the water’s edge watching and listening to the many birds playing in amongst the papyrus reeds.
The Nile down here at Aswan is idyllic. Clear water, palm trees on the edge, the feluccas slowly catching the wind. Not so many tourists help as well. We visited the Nubian Museum this morning. Excellent displays of the Nubian culture and life style and a wonderful photographic wing showing the effort to preserve the Nubian history that was to be destroyed by the rising waters of Lake Nasser and the Aswan Dam in the early 60s. Abu Simbel is the most famous with the effort to raise these massive statues above the final dam level but may other sites were to be covered as well. Scores of archaeologists worked on the project from all over the world. A massive undertaking.
The convoy from Luxor went without a hitch this morning but on arriving realized that today was Friday, the Muslim holiday and the office of the Nile River Transportation Coy was closed. We will have to catch Mr Salah tomorrow.
3r May
The staff in the Nile River Transportation Office were as helpful as all the blogs and web sites said. Mr Salah and Mr Eezah went out of the way to help us. Mr Eezah accompanied us to the courthouse to make sure we hadn’t had any accidents or convictions against us while in the country, then off to the Traffic Police to hand in our Egyptian number plates and licence. Pity as I would have enjoyed giving an Australian cop my Egyptian licence if they happened to pull us up.
Tomorrow we catch the ferry. Not sure when it leaves, last week it didn’t leave until midnight, we have to report at 9.30am. It appears the van goes on a slower boat and we will have to spend a night at Wadi Halfa waiting for it. Raider and Ellen the Norwegian couple are happy to travel together until we reach Dongola, from where the road is asphalt to Khartoum. We are pleased as I feel a little unprepared for what may eventuate. They have a Landcruiser with all the bells and whistles; winches, sand mats, raised suspension, the works. They are a nice couple about our age and intend leaving their vehicle in South Africa then flying back later to look around the national parks of Southern Africa.
This will be the last blog until perhaps Dongola but more than likely Khartoum. It will be an interesting drive but at least the weather is holding, still fairly cool.
Take care
Gar & Joan
Thursday, May 1, 2008
1st May Luxor
1st May Luxor.
Warming up here now. Last week they had 52C up at Aswan with 49C here in Luxor. A cool change came in as we arrived which has been great. We are at Camp Rizeiki here at Luxor. A place that has seen better days but still an oasis in the city around us. They even have a clean swimming pool.
We have spent the last 2 days sight seeing: the first day at the Temple of Karnak and that of Luxor on the Eastern bank of the Nile then today we crossed over to the West Bank and visited the Valley of Kings and Hatsheput’s Temple. We were a little disappointed in the Valley of Kings as our ticket only allowed us into 3 tombs, Tutenkhamen’s was an extra fee. Joan went to that as I had seen it on my last trip. Still, it was a pleasant morning. The wal paintings and carvings are fantastic when you imagine they are over 3500 years old.
Tomorrow we head down to Aswan in convoy. Finally dawned on us why these convoys are needed. Not so much to protect us as a convoy to me seems an easy target for anyone who wants to create havoc, but it’s mainly a quick way to get the tourists from one area to another. Down the south here there are police checkpoints every 3-5 kms at which we would have to show passports etc. In convoy we are waved through, other traffic has to wait for us, we get to where we wanted to in half the time.
A Norwegian couple have pulled into the camp site and are hoping to get on the Lake Nasser ferry the same time as us. I hope that works out as it could mean we have company travelling through what could be the most diciest part of the trip. From Wadi Halfa where we get off the ferry there is about 400kms of sand with no road across. A case of making your own track. Although our van is AWD it is low to the ground and could have problems. I have bought a good shovel and am trying to pick up some sand mats to take with us as insurance.
Warming up here now. Last week they had 52C up at Aswan with 49C here in Luxor. A cool change came in as we arrived which has been great. We are at Camp Rizeiki here at Luxor. A place that has seen better days but still an oasis in the city around us. They even have a clean swimming pool.
We have spent the last 2 days sight seeing: the first day at the Temple of Karnak and that of Luxor on the Eastern bank of the Nile then today we crossed over to the West Bank and visited the Valley of Kings and Hatsheput’s Temple. We were a little disappointed in the Valley of Kings as our ticket only allowed us into 3 tombs, Tutenkhamen’s was an extra fee. Joan went to that as I had seen it on my last trip. Still, it was a pleasant morning. The wal paintings and carvings are fantastic when you imagine they are over 3500 years old.
Tomorrow we head down to Aswan in convoy. Finally dawned on us why these convoys are needed. Not so much to protect us as a convoy to me seems an easy target for anyone who wants to create havoc, but it’s mainly a quick way to get the tourists from one area to another. Down the south here there are police checkpoints every 3-5 kms at which we would have to show passports etc. In convoy we are waved through, other traffic has to wait for us, we get to where we wanted to in half the time.
A Norwegian couple have pulled into the camp site and are hoping to get on the Lake Nasser ferry the same time as us. I hope that works out as it could mean we have company travelling through what could be the most diciest part of the trip. From Wadi Halfa where we get off the ferry there is about 400kms of sand with no road across. A case of making your own track. Although our van is AWD it is low to the ground and could have problems. I have bought a good shovel and am trying to pick up some sand mats to take with us as insurance.
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