Kartoem
Pack Dog
After lurking in the far reaches of this forum for many years, but finding great inspiration from the many fantastic Ride Reports over the years, it is time to make a contribution. I am not much of a writer, but hope that this first report may also inspire other wannabee adventure travelers to go and seek adventure on this amazing continent once this Virus has passed. Just do it! It will leave you with a lifetime of memories.Here goes:
WADI HALFA
It was early April 08 when I arrived on the weekly ferry from Aswan. Wadi Halfa was a dusty, desperate, wind torn, frontier town, trying to live up to it more prosperous past. However, after all the anxious moments in obtaining a Sudanese visa in time for my departure from South Africa weeks earlier, it was great to know that I was now in Sudan!
As the barge transporting my motorcycle would only be arriving the following day, a “hotel” stay over in Wadi Halfa was a given. The Deffintoad Hotel, like all the other hotels in Wadi Halfa, provided dormitory style accommodation consisting of nothing more than four mud walls, a floor and a basic zinc roof atop. I did not mind, as I was not expecting anything more and after Egypt, this was where my adventure would start.
All foreigners entering Sudan are required to register with the Alien Registration office before proceeding with their journey. A fair part of the afternoon was spent on chasing the required paper work and the all very important signatures; which was eventually only issued the next morning. No rush!
Desperately hungry after the ferry ride, it was now time to try some of the local Sudanese fare. A couple of open air “restaurants” under the blazing sun were given a miss in lieu of an “up market” establishment with a roof and a couple of paddle fans. A meal with a choice between chicken, goat meat, fish and cabbage with a couple of ubiquitous flies worked into a sauce, were soon enough hungrily gulped down.
Image 1 - All Aboard! Arriving in Wadi Halfa
Image 2 - Wind swept Wadi Halfa
Image 3 - Deffintoad Hotel
Image 4 - First sand - The Nubian Desert
WADI HALFA
It was early April 08 when I arrived on the weekly ferry from Aswan. Wadi Halfa was a dusty, desperate, wind torn, frontier town, trying to live up to it more prosperous past. However, after all the anxious moments in obtaining a Sudanese visa in time for my departure from South Africa weeks earlier, it was great to know that I was now in Sudan!
As the barge transporting my motorcycle would only be arriving the following day, a “hotel” stay over in Wadi Halfa was a given. The Deffintoad Hotel, like all the other hotels in Wadi Halfa, provided dormitory style accommodation consisting of nothing more than four mud walls, a floor and a basic zinc roof atop. I did not mind, as I was not expecting anything more and after Egypt, this was where my adventure would start.
All foreigners entering Sudan are required to register with the Alien Registration office before proceeding with their journey. A fair part of the afternoon was spent on chasing the required paper work and the all very important signatures; which was eventually only issued the next morning. No rush!
Desperately hungry after the ferry ride, it was now time to try some of the local Sudanese fare. A couple of open air “restaurants” under the blazing sun were given a miss in lieu of an “up market” establishment with a roof and a couple of paddle fans. A meal with a choice between chicken, goat meat, fish and cabbage with a couple of ubiquitous flies worked into a sauce, were soon enough hungrily gulped down.
Image 1 - All Aboard! Arriving in Wadi Halfa
Image 2 - Wind swept Wadi Halfa
Image 3 - Deffintoad Hotel
Image 4 - First sand - The Nubian Desert
