The first thing that comes to our mind when looking back to Sudan are the extreme temperatures. We experience temperatures between 44 and 48 degrees during daytime and around 35 degrees at night. We drive – with a few stops for sightseeing - during the day to escape the heat, and sleeping in the tent becomes a challenge, since the tent feels like a sauna. And it is getting worse if there is no wind. Our t-shirts are soaking wet within minutes. Water consumption is extreme so that we have to use every chance to refill our water tanks.
The landscape in Sudan is beautiful. The first hours we feel we are still in Egypt. Exactly the same desert, the same black mountains…and the same lovely River Nile…
Most of the time our journey even follows the River Nile.
We enjoy the many small nice and colorful Nubian villages which we pass.
The 3rd Nile cataract is a real highlight of our trip through Sudan and gives us the chance to go for a swim and a morning bath in the Nile and also to cool down.
Juan, our Spanish friend, is taking a morning shower in the Nile.
The roads in Sudan are amazingly good ….. … but we still have to do a lot of off-road driving.
We even have most of the time mobile phone coverage.
Driving through the Nubian Desert…
The desert along the Nile
There are almost no road signs in the remote areas so that careful trip planning is an absolute must.
Even with all the driving we take our time for lunch breaks …..
… and at night, even with temperatures beyond 35 degrees, we try to have a good meal and relax with a shisha.
Juan spoils us with delicious Spanish food.
And if we don’t cook ourselves we always find a Sudanese “shopping mall” with a nice coffee shop.
The campsites we find are always quiet and in beautiful surroundings.
Beside its beautiful landscape, Sudan has a lot of hidden secrets which need to be discovered, like the pyramids in Karima ...
We try to bring some life to these old ruins.
We feel very privileged to travel by car with air-condition if we look at the local transportation in Sudan.
After 3 days we arrive in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital. It offers some nice places like the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile, but after a short visit to this huge city, we quickly head for the desert. Unfortunately, we also have to say goodbye to Juan, since he has to organize some things in Khartoum…
Adiós Juan, we really hope to see you again in Ethiopia!
During the trip from Khartoum to the Ethiopian boarder, the landscape changes completely. We see the first round huts and feel to arrive in the real Africa..
Due to the high temperatures, travelling is quite exhausting in Sudan, but we enjoy every minute. Finally we have to say goodbye to Sudan and the river Nile. We enjoyed the beautiful countryside, as well as the nice and hospitable people.
On the 4th of May we are in Ethiopia and are writing our blog on a nice plateau overlooking the surrounding mountains and being watched by a group of local children.
We immediately
find out that being in Africa means always being surrounded by hundreds of children, no matter if you stop for a bite to eat, for taking a photo, for going to the toilet or if you want to write the blog… that’s why our blog is somehow shorter than usual, but it’s hard to concentrate with hundreds of eyes staring at you…
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