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23 February 1999
The Kingsmill's Trans-Africa Overland Trip, Part 11: Ethiopia and Sudan
Geoff Kingsmill2006-04-25 21:21:46
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impassable in the wet season, as shown by the picture opposite. The Savannah like countryside gave way to flat open country. The closer we got to Gedaref the wider the road became however the going was slow due to the corrugations. We arrived in Gedaref just before dark and stayed at the only hotel we could find which had secure parking. Apart from Zanzibar Island this was the first night where we stayed in a hotel room and not in our rooftop tent.
The next day while we were having breakfast, a policeman arrived to escort us to customs, the bank and the police station to get our travel permit. He must have got a tip-off that Aliens were in town! Again, everyone from the General to Police were very friendly. However, it still took five hours to complete the necessary paperwork although we had to allow for the fact that there were two vehicles and five people to process. Finally we left for Khartoum on one of the best bitumen roads we have seen in a long time. The countryside was perfectly flat and monotonous, similar to the countryside around Hay in NSW. The black soil was fertile and the land was extensively broad acre farmed. Just before dark we crossed the Blue Nile River and camped on the edge of a town next to a Women's Hospital. We had an audience for a short time but eventually we were left to sleep in peace.
We left early and reached Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, around 9am and are staying at the German Club. Khartoum is situated on the confluence of the Blue and White Nile and has one of the best I-Cafe's (Internet Garden near the Airport) we've seen in Africa. As you have seen Sudan is very bureaucratic and we spent most of today seeing the inside of more government offices. We were unable to complete the formalities for Alien Registration today but hopefully should finish tomorrow morning.
After a few days rest in Khartoum we will continue to follow the Nile River into Egypt.
We have been keeping very well and have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Ethiopia and Sudan. Ethiopian and Sudanese are very friendly, hospitable people and are probably two of the best countries we have visited. What we see and hear on the TV portrays a very biased view of two great countries. Khartoum would have to be one of the safest cities we have visited in Africa. People on the streets are very friendly and welcoming, especially towards Su-lin. The food in Sudan is great, easily the best we've had in Africa. This is also borne out in the fact that there are many well-built people in Sudan. We have been enjoying typical Middle Eastern food such as Sheesh Kebab, Falafel and Yiros. There is also plenty of good fresh fruit and vegetables grown locally along the Nile River.
Catch up with you in Egypt.
Cheers,
Geoff, Kienny and Su-lin Kingsmill
See photographs from:
Sudan Gallery
,
Ethiopia Gallery
dizainseo, 2010-01-01 21:56:02