Sudan
The Sudan is one of the most fascinating countries in the world, embracing a diversity of African landscapes, from absolute desert to lush savannah, from the arid uplands of the Red Sea Hills to the cataracts of the Nile Valley, from the green mountains of Darfur, to the fastness of the Nuba Mountains.
The Sudan is not only the meeting place of the Blue and White Niles, it is also the place where the Arab world meets Africa, with the variation of tribes, languages, and cultures that this encounter has made possible. Nature-based nomads still wander the great desert plains and arid savannahs with herds of camels and flocks of sheep, their way of life almost untouched by industrial civilization.
On this two week trip we cross the Bayuda Desert between Metemma and Korti, Travelling just as the Sudanese nomads have done for centuries, we follow in reverse the route used by the British Camel Corps during the Gordon Relief Expedition in 1885. Taking with almost no modern technology, we carry our entire world on camelback, with no prearranged camps, and no motor support. Moving at the steady pace of 4 to 5 km (2-3 miles) an hour, we pass through a region that seems to exist in a dimension separate from our modern world. We cover an average of 30 km (18 miles) a day, on foot or on our camels, experiencing a sense of remoteness now found only rarely – a sense of peace and harmony that comes of a closer connection with the Earth.
The Bayuda desert varies in texture from acacia forest, through verdant dry washes, rolling grassy savannahs, and mystical ochre-coloured sand-sheets scattered with rocky outcrops, chocolate-coloured ridges, dark volcanic mountains. With hot days and cool nights, under a brilliant canopy of stars, it is a region where tourists are little known, and where camel riding is still a way of life among local people.
ITINERARY
Day 1
Start Khartoum. Visit the National Museum, take a tour of Kitchener’s last gunboat, Malik, and visit the Libyan souk in Omdurman. BH (B,L,D)
Day 2
Depart Khartoum for Metemma, where we meet camels and camel-men. We set out north into the rolling sand-sheets and acacia forest of the Bayuda Desert. Today we cover about ten kilometres (6 miles), and make camp in the forest.
Day 3
We make an early start, heading for the wadi of Abu Tleih. In the afternoon, we cross a plain, sighting dark hills in the distance. We camp under trees in the wadi, near the wells. We water our camels and fill our water-vessels.
Day 4
We trek along the side of the wadi to a ridge. We climb up onto a stony plateau, entering a breath-taking desert landscape with mystical peaks hanging in the heat-haze. We camp in a tiny oasis of thorn-trees and grass clumps in the emptiness.
Day 5
We pass through glittering rocky plains scattered with seams of goat-grass. Slowly, the rocky ground changes to sand as we approach sand-dunes. Night on the edge of the sands.
Day 6
We descend through a warren of dunes, weaving a course through the sands, emerging into a great sand-sheet, from where we see dark cliffs concealing a water-pool. We follow a tortuous pass by night and camp by the pool.
Day 7
We emerge from the heart of the mountain, travelling parallel with the dark massif all day. We pass near camps of nomads, and traverse surreal forests of tangled thorn trees. In the afternoon we cross sandy plains in colours of grey, cream and gold. Night in the plains.
Day 8
We continue along the base of the mountain, passing across successive valleys and wadis.
Days 9
In the late morning we arrive at a deep well, set in a valley bordered by whaleback ridges. Here, we watch Hassaniyya tribesmen hauling leather buckets of water by donkey from fifty metres down. We water our camels, and eat lunch by the well. In the afternoon we ride between towering ridges and camp in acacia trees on the sandy plains.
Day 10
We traverse a wild, mountainous landscape, encountering Hassaniyya nomads and passing near their camps.
Day 11
Crossing rolling sand-sheets, we spot the dark line marking the Nile in the distance. At sunset we make camp about 5 km from the main road, and are met by our vehicle. PC (B,L,D)
Day 12
We say goodbye to our camels and camel-men and set off in our vehicle. travelling parallel with the Nile. We drive to Atbara where we traverse the Nile by bridge. We drive south to Bejrawiyya, site of the pyramids of Old Meroe. Camp in the desert near the pyramids.
Day 13
We tour the pyramids. In the afternoon we continue by vehicle to Musawwirat as-Sufra, where we see the ancient temples. In the evening we return to Khartoum, arriving in time for dinner at about 2000 hours.
Day 14
A free day in Khartoum and Omdurman for individual exploration.
Day 15
End Khartoum.
