Following the Nile Bend

Between Wadi Halfa and Khartoum, Sudan's capital, the Nile makes a giant S bend through the desert. I decided to travel from village to village by bus and visit some archeological sites along the way. This often required taking a ferry to the opposite bank of the Nile, which was always quite an experience. The ferry was invariably overloaded with cars, trucks and people and completely at the mercy of the current when out in the middle of the river.

I stopped in the towns of Kerma, Dongola and Karima. Jebel Barkal (Arabic for Holy Mountain) near Karima together with its pyramids was particularly impressive (see below). I also enjoyed clambering around on the abandoned old Nile steamers tied up on the river bank on the outskirts of Karima. They are fading memories of a bygone era. But the best thing was meeting the local people, many of whom could speak quite good English, and enjoying their hospitality. It is currently Ramadan and I have often been spontaneously invited to dinner, or just had a nice conversation. The kids in the photo below seemed to think I was famous...





Another highlight was bumping into Gareth Morgan and his team of overland motorcyclists from New Zealand. Their website is here. Dongola out in the Nubian Desert is a funny place to run into anyone from New Zealand, let alone six people!

The heat is quite oppressive and it put me off staying out in the desert for longer. I decided to take a bus to Khartoum and start organising a visa for Ethiopia, my next destination. I arrived in Khartoum this morning, October 1.