"A PASSAGE TO SUDAN" After a series of lengthy negotiations to contract a barge to take our Land Rover to Sudan on the ferry, we finally managed to secure a place on a barge through the Nile Ferry Company. The grand title of the Nile Ferry Company conjures up images of roll-on, roll-off ferrys, multiple sailing vessels, leather trunks and suitcases, and sea captains with white caps and gold lapels. The reality, however, is somewhat different. Basically there is only one passenger ferry to Sudan a week. (a tad strange when you consider the close ties between these two countries), and on most weeks only four cars are allowed to be pulled behind the passenger ferry on the luggage barge. Since our chosen week of travel was during Eid, the festival to celebrate the end of Ramadan (much like Christmas), we were briefed that a separate luggage ferry would not run to Sudan that week. As expected, we hadn't been told this during our persistent calls from Cairo and Luxor to check our ferry booking. We just settled into thinking that 'inshallah (god willing) the boat will leave Egypt - we would be lucky if the boat left at all!) Luckily (or so we thought) we found a solution: an overland truck company had 'chartered' a barge for their vehicle and we, another three vehicles and a truck would all go on the barge - with all of us onboard. This seemed a good solution and we were looking forward to a party atmosphere on board. However, it didn't quite go to plan when on the Monday, the day before the barge was due to leave, we went to sort out the paperwork were told that only one person could travel with each vehicle. As the passenger boat was leaving that afternoon it meant we had less than an hour to decide what to do. Camilla and two others wives, Sophie from Belgium and Caroline from Switzerland, gamely donned their rucksacks and boarded the passenger ferry in Aswan. The chaps and the cars would follow the next day and arrive in Wadi Halfa a few days later. It seemed simple enough - however, as with everything in Egypt, it wasn't as easy at all. Camilla, Sophie and Caroline all found their 'First Class' cabin - which was not at all how you would imagine first class to be...Camilla was kept up all night by three mice who nibbled her food and scuttled around her rucksack.. Arriving in Wadi Halfa on Tuesday morning, the girls checked in to the best hotel the town had to offer...with a dirt floor and no running water again it wasn't exactly luxury. Wadi Halfa is the northern most point of Sudan situated at the base of Lake Nasser and is described by the Lonely Planet as "the end of the world" and it is not recommended to spend more time there than you have to. The girls had three days until the barge was due to arrive so they spent the time reading, playing dominoes and walking around the dusty town - there really was nothing to do there. The barge trip for Rich and Biggles was another challenging experience. The cargo barge was a simple floating platform that could fit up to eight vehicles on it. There was no motor attached to it and it was powered by a clapped-out tug which bellowed white smoke in enormous quantities. The fact that the tug didn't blow up on its journey across was a minor miracle. On the first night the wind picked up and so the captain chose to lash the boat to some rocks for shelter. This meant that all the drivers sleeping in their roof tents were spun about like a washing machine that for most of the night as they were buffeted against the rocks. We all chipped in to pay the captain and crew backsheesh to drive through the second night so that we would arrive in Wadi Halfa on Thursday rather than the Friday...it seemed a good idea and we were looking forward to seeing the girls - however, perhaps with hindsight it wasn't necessary... "THE MAN WITH THE STAMP IS NOT HERE" When Richard and Biggles finally made it to Wadi Halfa three days later, the journey to cross the border seemed nearly finished. However, arriving on Thursday afternoon was not really the best timing - our passports were checked but the man with the customs stamp had taken an early weekend and wasn't to be seen at the port. This meant that all the cars would have to stay within a customs compound behind barbed wire for a further three days until the same man arrived on Saturday with the correct stamp. When we both met up again, Camilla couldn't believe she had to stay in Wadi Halfa for another three days! Camillla, Sophie and Caroline had by now spent 5 days in Wadi Halfa and were all getting cabin fever and were beginning to turn native. Now we were to be detained in Halfa for ever longer, courtesy of Sudan customs. Luckily we made the most of a funny situation. We strung up our hammocks, made a tennis court out of a rubber hose and played volley ball with the custom guards. To pass the time. Rich finally capitulated to Camilla's persistent demands to have his beard shaved off. Luckily for Camilla, Michael (from Switzerland) had some clippers and before Rich could change his mind most of his beard and hair had gone. Camilla nearly fainted with joy! Finally, on the Saturday afternoon the man to stamp the carnet arrived. The next excitement was he had to find the key to the cupboard which contained the stamp, and when he had found this the lights went out and it was too dark for him to see where to stamp the carnet....we were desperate to get on the road but the whole situation was so hilarious - a very typical introduction to Africa! With the correct stamp, and our car cleared from customs, we set off with Wim and Sofie (Belgian) and Michaeal and Caroline (Swiss). We had all become close friends so decided to set off together to drive down the Nile towards Khartoum, hopefully arriving in a few of days...