Sudan to Egypt 7 The Passport Office

 The last thing that we were told was that we’d need to go to the passport office the following morning before we went to the docks.
By passport office, it turns out that they meant the police station. This was a lot easier to find, being located roughly in the middle of the main street of Wadi Halfa. Things weren’t particularly well signposted inside the compound, but we just wandered around until we found an officer who spoke some English.
(to be continued)

Sudan to Egypt 6

 Persistence paid off though, and I found out that it was supposed to be on the same street as a certain hotel. We took a walk and spotted a building hidden behind a gate with a ferry above the door. 

We’d been intended to try and get a couple of first-class tickets so that we could take one of the cabins, rather than the hard seats that second class get. These all turned out to be completely sold out though, and apparently had been for days already. So we picked up second-class tickets instead for the cost of 690 SDP each, or roughly 9 USD. This also comes with a voucher for a meal onboard the ferry.

(to be continued)

Getting Tickets for the Ferry from Sudan to Egypt 5

The biggest problem that we’d foreseen was trying to find out where to actually get tickets for the ferry. We’d asked at our hotel, and they weren’t sure of the exact office but suggested that it was far enough away that we’d need to take a tuk-tuk out near the port to look around there. 

We’d also heard that it should be possible to find them in Wadi Halfa though, which was our preferred choice. There was no obvious office marked on either Google or maps.me though.

(to be continued)

Ferry from Sudan to Egypt 4

 Coming back into the middle of town that evening though was a massive surprise. It was busy. And not just “actually people around”, which would have made it feel busy compared to Abri. It was genuinely crowded, with people filling the street.

And there were even open restaurants, which were packed. It took me a little while to recover from the surprise of it, much to someone’s amusement. We managed to find a spot to get a view of the end of the sunset, then grabbed some rotisserie chicken to fill up on.

(to be continued)

Egypt

 

Egypt

 

Egypt

 

Egypt

 

Ferry from Sudan to Egypt 3

 
Once we’d checked in, we went in search of breakfast and found what seemed to be the place to eat in town. There was a constant stream of people queueing up to get their ful, so naturally, we joined it. It was fine – I’d expected more with how popular it was, but as we found out after walking around, it seemed to be the only place that was actually open.

And that went for most of the town. In keeping with what we’d experienced in Abri, it seemed that this was a sleepy little border town with nothing much going on. Before we could explore too much, though, we had to track down tickets for the ferry from Sudan to Egypt .

(to be continued)

Ferry from Sudan to Egypt 2 Wadi Halfa

We arrived in Wadi Halfa mid-morning, having departed Abri nice and early. Magzoub had arranged for us to be picked up by one of the shared minivans from his place, which made finding it much simpler and cut down on the amount of time we had to wait for it to fill up, as it was already half full by the time it collected us. The couple-of-hour journey from Abri to Wadi Halfa cost us 200 SDP each – or about 2.5 USD.

Once we arrived, we tracked down a hotel to stay in. We’d been given a recommendation by some people we met in Abri, so went to check it out. The Kangan hotel is definitely a bit out of the way on the edge of town, but that meant it was free from the noise of traffic. Always a bonus.

(to be continued)

Taking the Ferry from Sudan to Egypt

To finish up our time in the country, all that was left to do was to head to Wadi Halfa to take the ferry from Sudan to Egypt, specifically Aswan. We’d had a lot of trouble finding accurate information about the schedules online, with conflicting information being given. All of which was wrong, as it turned out. Once we arrived in Abri (as our last stop), we found out the actual day it departed on and extended our stay there as a consequence.

If you’ve found this because you’re looking for the same info, I’ll save you from having to read any further: It heads north from Wadi Halfa on a Tuesday at 1700, arriving in Aswan the following afternoon.

(to be continued)

Somaliland 13 Moonlit Views Over The Terrain

 But at the same time… we were racing through the desert in Somaliland, with moonlit views over the terrain, stars shining everywhere, while listening to whatever music was coming through our headphones. That’s a pretty fantastic experience to have had.

Would I rush to do it again? Probably not. But I’m very glad that we chose to travel from Djibouti to Somaliland overland rather than flying, and I’d recommend that anyone crossing between the two countries does the same.

Indefinitedetour Matt (to be continued)

Mauretania

 

Mauretania

 

Mauretania

 

Mauretania

 

Somaliland 12 The Worst Journey We’ve Done?

 Right as the call to prayer started, and our driver went running off to the nearby mosque. By this point we were too tired to want to hang around, so we climbed onto the roof to retrieve our packs and set off to find a cheap hotel so we could crash out for a few hours.

The Worst Journey We’ve Done?

Honestly, no. There’s no denying it was bumpy. It was uncomfortable. The lack of a few hours to nap made it tiring.

Indefinitedetour Matt (to be continued)

Somaliland 11

 
We saw a few animals along the way, too. Some form of a jackal (we think – the Russian guy insisted it was a hyena, but it definitely wasn’t big enough), a couple of antelopes… nothing too exciting, but still pretty cool to come across them in the middle of the Somaliland desert.

Our 4×4 arrived in Hargeisa at around 5 am the following morning.

Indefinitedetour Matt (to be continued)

Somaliland 10 Checkpoints

 
There were a few stops along the way, too. The first had options for food and drinks if people wanted, though only our driver got anything at this stop. There were then toilet breaks along the way – a couple seemed the be scheduled stops, and others were just whenever one of us asked for a stop.

Numerous checkpoints were encountered, too. Usually, there would have been a stop overnight to camp for a few hours and sleep, but we had a very impatient Russian group in our car who were… well, rushing… to get to Hargeisa for some reason. So that rest break got skipped.

Indefinitedetour Matt (to be continued)

Somaliland 9 Banging Our Heads

The journey itself was then pretty much just ten and a half hours of the same thing. Bumping along through the desert under a starry sky, listening to music for the majority of the journey.

And yes, we were definitely being bounced around a lot and banging our heads off the roof of the car a few times. But after changing how we were sitting – slouching down, wedging our knees against the row of seats in front – we could avoid that on all but the biggest bumps.

Indefinitedetour Matt (to be continued)

Somaliland 8 The Back Seats

 
A little after 18.30, it was time to leave. Chris & I ended up drawing the short straws and taking the very back seats. The worst ones, except perhaps the half-seat right next to the driver.

The back seats are always the bumpiest, and with a journey where you know there aren’t going to be any roads… we weren’t looking forward to that part. The back seats are also the highest, giving very little clearance above our heads. But hey, someone had to take them.

Indefinitedetour Matt

Djibouti to Somaliland Overland 7 Getting Rid of DJF

 And it was quick – I’d barely even unlocked and opened it when they said it was fine. We took our packs to the 4×4 that we were directed to, where they were once again secured to the roof.

We changed a little money, getting rid of the last few DJF and changing a small number of dollars over, just to have some cash on hand. The rate at the border was 8000 Somaliland Shillings to 1 USD, which was close enough to the actual rate. There’s no official one, but generally, anywhere between 8000 and 8500 is common.

Djibouti to Somaliland Overland 6 A Quick Look

 Getting stamped out was straightforward enough. Every passport was collected at one desk, where the guy checked through them all and updated the computer system. We were then handed them back to take to a second desk, where we received our exit stamp.

 From here it was just a short walk to immigration for Somaliland, where it was even simpler. A quick glance at the photo page and the visa, and we had our stamps. We headed out of the office and spotted our minivan driver calling us over; customs wanted to have a quick look in our bags.

Indefinitedetour Matt

Djibouti to Somaliland Overland 5 He Was Just Curious

 
At the border, we were offloaded from the minivan and directed towards the immigration building. We asked about our bags, and the driver told us that they’d just be transferred straight to our 4×4 on the other side so we didn’t need to carry them through ourselves. Worked for us.

On the approach to immigration, we were asked for passports. We were 90% sure by the time that they’d been checked that the guy wasn’t actually an official, he was just curious to see the passports of the westerners coming through the border.

Indefinitedetour Matt

Djibouti to Somaliland Overland 4

 We turned up here and agreed on a price, then paid a 1000 DJF deposit each to secure our space. We were told to come back just before 1600 and the minivan would be waiting for us. 

Shortly before 16.00, we headed back to Avenue 26. Here the guys were rushing us, telling us that we had to go, get in the minivan, it’s waiting for you… and so on.

 We tossed our bags onto the roof and claimed some seats inside. Where we proceeded to sit there for about 20 minutes while they were selling off the other seats. Hurry up and wait, essentially. But at roughly 16.15, we set off for the drive to the border. This took around 45 minutes.

Indefinitedetour Matt

Djibouti to Somaliland Overland 3

This probably isn’t the cheapest way to do the journey, though it’s the most convenient. The other option would be to take any minibus heading to the Loyada border, cross, and then negotiate directly with one of the 4×4 drivers. I believe that you can get the seat for between 25 and 30 USD if you do it that way. But honestly, the ease of getting it all organised before leaving was worth the extra 10 USD for us.

The spot on Avenue 26 isn’t marked in any way, it’s just a handful of guys sitting/lying around on the side of the street. If you ask around, someone will point you in the right direction. But just for reference, here’s a pin showing the exact spot where you need to go to book this journey.

Indefinitedetour Matt

Djibouti to Somaliland Overland 2 Booking the journey

 So we were pretty sure that there was a good chance it’d also be one of the worst journeys we’d have experienced, too. With such a glowing recommendation for it, how could we not be excited about it? We went off to explore the rest of Djibouti, then came back to the city to start figuring out getting the transport booked.

 As it turns out, this was actually pretty simple. There’s a specific spot on Avenue 26 where you can book a place. This gets you a seat on a minivan that will take you to the border, and then also a seat in one of the many, many 4x4s that are waiting on the opposite side. For this, we were charged 40 USD per person. Although we paid in francs instead (7000 DJF) so it was slightly cheaper with the exchange rate.

Indefinitedetour Matt

Djibouti to Somaliland Overland

 “It was the worst journey I’ve ever taken,” Ruth warned us. We were hanging out in Djibouti city discussing our upcoming travel plans, specifically how we were planning to cross from Djibouti to Somaliland overland. This involves an overnight 4×4 trip through the desert, with no roads to be found. Ruth had just done the journey in the other direction. 

I’m not sure if it’s just us, but whenever someone makes a claim like that, the first thing I want to know is where else they’ve travelled, and what kind of journeys they’ve done. You need some basis for comparison, at least. And in this case, we’d all been travelling in Africa for a long time, and we’d definitely all had some pretty terrible journeys. 

Indefinitedetour Matt

South Africa 8 Soweto, Johannesburg

 Tomorrow we're off to the black township of Soweto, Johannesburg, which is reputedly home to somewhere between 2-5 million of the city's less fortunate. The rough slum was born out of the days of apartheid as a place for the unwanted, and it now shares an extremely strong community bind. As we will have an opportunity to stay overnight at someone's house within the township, we expect to learn first-hand how the community and people have adapted

to their situation. The nightfall outside suggests its time to walk back to our guest-house for a much-needed respite.

South Africa 7 Crowding Around Yelling And Arguing

 The filtered sun sets through thick trees with leaves like ferns, draping the rusted and worn playgrounds in embers of warmth. The children seen earlier have gone, replaced by a group of a dozen men crowding around yelling and arguing. The elementary school, with its chain-link barbed-wired fencing retaining the children in its humble grounds, is now quiet, and all that remains is the squawky sound of some unknown birds flying overhead. As I walk through the side-streets I'm nearly jumped by two guard dogs leaping half-way through an absent owner's fence, flashing their teeth at me and growling incessantly. As if the barbed-wire and sharp spike fence weren't enough, I'm also reminded by a sign that the single-story deteriorating bungalow also employs an armed security response.

 Calvin (to be continued) 

South Africa 6 Bead-And-Wire Hawkers

 This last flight has been the most difficult of all. Unfortunately, it seems that the luxurious 5 degrees of seat reclination weren't enough to convince my body that it was time to sleep. Instead, I'm left testing out all 20 possible sleeping positions from the middle seat. Another well-rested arrival awaits...

 Making our way through the intense Johannesburg airport, full of porters, tour guides and taxi drivers, we find our way to Melville, a pretty suburb 30 minutes from Johannesburg. Looking past the security fences and gates enclosing every business and residence in the area, it feels surprisingly safe. Ignoring the sidewalk bead-and-wire hawkers, people are very friendly and will speak with smiles and genuine interest. Nearly everyone is dressed in black or brown toques, seemingly implying that the 20 degree weather is cold for the region.

 Calvin (to be continued) 

Namibia 5 Sponsored By AK-47s And X-Ray

 Waking up in a sweat, I open my eyes to catch the deep orange glow of the 6AM sun flooding the aircraft. The horizon is burning with color, and the sparse trees below cast lengthy shadows dripping across the yellow-brown landscape. South Africa.

 The journey here has been trying... Four hours spent at the leaking Bole International in Ethiopia (not from the roof, but from pipes, assumed to be carrying water) punctuated with its strongly visible culture. The airport is marked by fantastic security, sponsored by AK-47s and X-ray guards who were kind enough to let the guy in front of me take his butane torch with him on the plane, for smoking purposes only, he says.

 Calvin (to be continued)