Day in Pictures - 145km's to a Windy Farka Camp

Find my first beer in Sudan - Pity its only the name of a dry riverbed.

► Our long day in the saddle (not the first, and not the last) from our first stop in Sudan to Farka Camp where the wind began to howl & where we had the worst night of [no] sleep, ever. 

All in all a good adventure nonetheless in Sudan this past Thursday. Enjoy some of  my snaps from the day's riding, below:

Good morning Sudan!

Breakfast time

Brad investigating the roadkill to see if there was anything left to use for dinner

Lunch time

Jointing heaven for those so who are inclined...

Gupaul & Judith at the Coke Stop

Leaving the Coke Stop

Artisan gold miners crushing ore

Welcome to Farka (See the note re: Crocs)

Local kids were very inquisitive of the Lycra wearing tourists 

Rob giving Judith some advice on where to set up the tent

Took a walk down to the Nile River...

Washing off some of today's dust & grime in the Nile

Local boatman out on the River

Briefing Session at the end of the day

Tomorrow's ride!

Check back soon!

Cheers, 

Mike T

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Day In Pictures - Crossing the Nile into Sudan

Our crossing of the Nile River on Day 13 - (Stage 11) from Egypt to Sudan. You can read my original post about the day's cycling, crossing the river, rider shenanigans, and border officials, here.

Early breakfast at the Hotel in Abu Simbel

Riders leaving for Ferry in convoy

Mandatory wait before boarding the Ferry

Riders boarding the Ferry

Kyle getting instructions from Anmei on how to repair a puncture

The female riders need to cover up in Sudan. Judith and Liz modeling their Sudan cycling kit (Judith could only find something in pink)

Mike T saying goodbye to our Egyptian Police Escorts prior to boarding the Ferry

The Egyptian Truck Drivers brewing us some tea

Egyptian trucks are usually very colorful.

Judith gives us her Captain Morgan pose aboard 'the ship'

Judith ensuring the Ferry Captain stays on course

The Ferry Captain maneuvering the Ferry into its berth before unloading gets underway...

After disembarking... we then cycled another 35 km after the Border Post, and arrived in the Town of Wadi Halfa. Exchanged some USD $ into Sudanese Pounds, and purchased our new data sim-cards, so that we could get onto the Sudanese Network. 

Well, that's ot for my Day 11's pictures.

I will try and keep in touch when possible, as we make our way across the Sudanese desert.

Cheers,

Mike T

Day 15 - Stage 13 - Farka to Nile Ferry Camp (145 km)

Friday: The wind is either your best friend or your enemy, there is no compromise.

Last night was the worst I have slept since the start of the tour, because of the wind sent from hell. 
It was a continuous flapping of tents right through the night. Even taking down the tent in the morning was a major mission.

Started cycling early with the same hellish wind, but now it was a glorious tailwind! Although there were times when it turned into a vicious side-wind with associated dust storm (thank goodness I had packed my buff).

Judith's cycling skills are improving in leaps and bounds, she joined the "Muzz Bus" Peloton as they caught us after breakfast,  even leading the peloton twice, unfortunately their overall speed was just too fast for us, so we had to drop off, but not before a good many kilometers were done - thanks to the guys for the assistance.

Lunch at 78 km mark, was a new experience, your plate just blew off the table if left untended, and the riders had to crouch on the down wind side of the truck to eat, it was most annoying.

Left lunch truck to cycle the second half, and turned into a major headwind, Judith decided discretion was the better part of valor, climbed into the lunch truck as it came past approximately 88 km into the ride, I continued and rode the better part of the remaining 58 km alone, caught no one, and no one caught me, not even the sweep rider (the loneliness of the long distance rider)

I passed many artisan gold diggings along the road; I stopped to check one of them out, but being Friday, everyone had gone to mosque. I also passed Abu Sari Gold Mine near the Abu Sari Village, owned by Delgo Mining Company Ltd. Tried to go in and see their operations,  but was blocked at the main gate by the Security Guard (maybe I wasn't wearing the right PPE?)

Yesterday's and today's artisan workings, reminded me of the time I spent in the DRC. On that note... I just want to let all those friends I have at the Kibali Gold Project, who are following the blog, know that we appreciate their support and miss them stacks, while Madame Judith sends her best regards.

Back on the bike, I stopped approx. 8km from the finish and had tea at a local Tea/Coffee shop with the locals, who were very friendly and super inquisitive about why a "Mazungu" is cycling through the hot Sudanese desert? 

"Where are you going, where did you come from, what is your name?" 

These being the most typical questions you are asked.

Arrived at Camp, and Judith had pitched the tent - bless her kind heart.

Another day done and dusted, tomorrow one more ride before our next rest day in the metropolis of Dongola (Next to the Nile)

Cheers, 

Mike T

PS: Made an elementary mistake today, forgot to charge my Garmin and cell phone, both died on me after lunch. Couldn't take any photos and didn't know how many kilometers to go to the finish! Lesson learned the hard way.

30 Jan - PSS: Here are the photos!

Aerial View of the Abu Sari Gold-mining area.  As you can see, we're definitely in the desert!

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Day 14 - Stage 12 - Wadi Halfa to Farka (145 km)

Thursday: Another long day of riding.

After breakfast we were one of the first to leave camp at Wadi Halfa, as we knew we would be in for some quality time on our bikes.

We reached Lunch at the 79 km mark escorted by Brad the sweep rider, who patiently listened to some of our "remember when" stories (they certainly help pass the time and make the kilometers fly-by)

Appearance of the Sudan country side has changed from desert sand to sand & rocks; to just rocks (occasional tree now and then) definitely different to what we were used to in Egypt. Unfortunately, just like yesterday, I'm still having trouble uploading pictures, so they will have to be posted on the blog in installments at a later stage.

First and only Coke Stop of the day was after lunch at some small village, where artisan miners were digging for gold. We stopped there for quite a while while I investigated some of the mining and crushing facilities.

Judith and I had a good days ride, and although we arrived at Farka Camp last, with second half sweep rider Leo, we nevertheless thought we did quite a good time, taking all things into consideration. 

We had to pitch the tent in a seriously strong wind, but our tent pitching skills have improved to such an extent that it didn't take us long, and "the house" was up without any hassle.

From Camp, we walked down to the Nile River for my first wash in the Nile, there are no washing or ablution facilities at the Farka Camp site.

After the briefing session, it was supper time followed by bed time ("early to bed and early to rise, makes Jack a dull boy"). Its going to be a very interesting  night trying to sleep in the howling wind...

Cheers,

Mike T

#ThrowbackThursday in Sudan:  - Stage 5 (Egypt)



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Day 13 - Stage 11 - Abu Simbel to Wadi Halfa

Wednesday: Last day in Egypt, up early, pack bags, load them on the big truck, breakfast at 5.15am, ready to ride 2km to Ferry Landing by 6am.

Rode in convoy to the Ferry Landing and after a mandatory wait, boarded the Military Ferry with our bikes, accompanied by the TDA Vehicles, our Police escort and other Egyptian Long-haul Trucks traveling to Sudan.

Pleasant trip across Lake Nasser to the western side, we even got to drink tea with some of the Egyptian Truck Drivers, had a pleasant discussion with a Professor Ali and his guys, who were crossing over to do some ground water prospecting. Generally a very jovial trip and all the riders were in great spirits and there was much excitement in the air for our first Border crossing.

Once we had arrived on the other bank of the Lake, the TDA Cyclists waited for all the trucks and vehicles to drive off the Ferry before we disembarked. However we were still in Egypt, we needed to cycle 35 km to the Egypt-Sudan Border Crossing.

Cycled to the Egypt/Sudan Border Post, but not before both Kyle (RSA) and Andy (RSA) had to repair punctures on their respective bikes. Kyle had two for the day (one before the ferry and one after).

Surprisingly, we cleared  Egyptian Immigration with relative ease, then had lunch on the Egyptian side, bid our Egyptian Police escort a fond farewell (they had been a permanent fixture throughout our cycle in Egypt) before crossing no-man's-land into Sudan.

One of the heavily loaded trucks seen at the border crossing from Egypt to Sudan.
- Photo taken by one of our fellow TDA riders, Alex.

Our passage through the Sudan Immigration was not as painless as our Egyptian experience, but the riders were determined to stay as relaxed as possible. It always pays to remember T.I.A (This Is Africa). After much waiting, we were finally processed, only to be told that they wanted to search our bike bags/hydration packs.

This developed into quite a hilarious pantomime, as each rider got to describe to the overzealous custom official's, what was in his/her bag, and what its function was. I think Liz's rendition of how to use a set of plastic tire levers to change a flat tire, deserves an Oscar!

After we had all shown the officials the contents of our bags, and been given our little red stickers, the Head Customs Honcho, then demanded that they check our Daily/Permanent bags on the truck.

The TDA Management are to be congratulated on how they solved this new development. Our capable Tour Leader Tallis, just gave The Main Man an emphatic,

"No!! - If you needed to search the luggage, you should have told us that two hours ago". 

The best form of defense is attack, and this did the trick. 

The Official rescinded, and waved us all through. We were officially in Sudan - T.I.A !!

We cycled another 35 km after the Border Post, and arrived in the Town of Wadi Halfa. Pitched tent and found the Currency "Guy" to exchange USD $ into Sudanese Pounds, so that we could then go to the Sim Card "Guy" to purchase data sim-cards, so that we could get onto the Sudanese Network. 

Unfortunately, while the signal here in Wadi Halfa is good enough to send through these words you're reading... it's not great when sending or posting pictures. So those will have to be sent through in a future post (sorry everyone!). I will just have to keep you in suspense I suppose. [They're up! You can now see the photos form today's adventure - here.]

Supper was prepared by a local Sudanese family, and was very tasty indeed, this was followed by a cold shower and then off to bed after a very busy day.

Cheers,

Mike T

PS - So started my 17 day beer free diet, should loose a couple of kilo's over this time period.

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Day 12 - Rest Day - Abu Simbel

Tuesday: Staying over at the Eskaleh Nubian Ecolodge, we tried sleeping late, but still woke up at 4am, I suppose the intention was there, but we had no such luck, it seems we are already in the groove....

Sunrise at Abu Simbel over Lake Nasser

The Eskaleh Nubian Eco-lodge

This, our second Rest Day in Egypt, was spent visiting the Great Temple Complex of Ramesses &  Nefertari in the morning, lunch at the Hotel and supper at Toya. We tried to keep it as simple and as relaxed as possible.

The visit to the Temple Complex, was definitely worth the walk. It is simply mind boggling that these two temples were relocated in their entirety to their present position, due to the rising waters of the Nasser Lake which  was being formed on completion of the High Aswan Dam. This was done to prevent them from being submerged by the rising waters and lost forever.

Walking through town on the way to the Temples

Abu Simbel - Spot the mistake...

Watching the video concerning the relocation of the two Temples

The Temple of Ramesses II

The second figure of Ramesses II was dislocated by an earthquake

Lake Nasser from the Temple Site

Some old graffiti from 1897 (Sapper nogal)

Figure of Ramesses in the Temple

Four figures at the back of the Temple, which get lit up by sunlight on the 22 February and 22 October

Temple of Nefertari (Rameses II favourite wife)

Liz inside the Nefertari Temple

Riders Briefing Meeting

Lunch was at the Hotel, where the both of us had a Chicken Tagine which was super tasty. I  must admit, the food in Egypt has been great; much better than what we expected.

Supper was at Toya Restaurant. Thanks go out to Philip who organised the booking, the menu was relatively easy - either Beef, Chicken or Fish - and the food was divine.

Early to bed, tomorrow we ride to the Ferry Landing, catch a ferry across Lake Nasser (goodbye Egypt) pass through Egyptian then Sudanese Border Posts, then cycle to our first camp in the Sudan.

Cheers,
Mike T


PS - Horror of Horror's, the Sudan is alcohol free, no beer available for the next 17 days, what shall we do?

Tomorrows Cycling Route (most time will be spent clearing the Borders of both countries)

The Schedule for the next 4 days of riding...

Today's Information Board

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