• Meroe (2nd campsite somewhere between Atbara and Wadi Halfa)
August 31, 2004
DAY 1
So the team got through the first day of the expedition without too much hassle. The weather got a little hotter but as Lee Kaw, a veteran of 5 PAT expeditions said, “I think we have already acclimatised to the conditions. I personally need a couple more days and then I will be okay.”
We left Khartoum at 2 p.m. after a long wait for permits due to route changes. The roads were good, getting less busy as we got further away from Khartoum. We arrived at the sixth cataract of the Nile late in the afternoon for a rest and photo stop. A short drive later we arrived at Meroe. Although it was dark by the time we arrived, we could still see the famous black pyramids of the Meroe kings.
It was still uncomfortably hot at night but the slight breeze was a welcomed bonus as the team set up their first camp of the expedition. Bingo Bingo (Baharom Hamzah) was quite happy today, “This is the best meal I have had in Sudan, thanks to Ujang (Malek Hasim) and Kaseem (Azmi Abdul Jamal).”
At night, Expedition Leader Halim Abdul Rahman went around for a quick check on everyone. “I am quite pleased with our progress on the first day; everyone is well and the cars are okay,” he reported. “We have a long way to go. We have to conserve our energy and drive our cars conservatively.”
DAY 2
On the second morning at 5 a.m., a 2-minute shower woke us up. Rain in the desert? It was as if someone was giving us a wakeup call. GI5 (Karim Abdul Jalil) is sure the expedition leader had something to do with this but just can’t prove it.
During breakfast we were treated to a beautiful sunrise in the shadow of the Black Pyramids of Meroe. After a short briefing and doa we headed for the main gate to enter the pyramids’ compound. A short while later, we started driving again, this time for refueling in Atbara and then on to the next campsite.
The team arrived in Atbara on schedule and started looking for a fuel station straight away. A green bar marked the local PETRONAS station, but it had only one pump and an almost empty tank. Luckily the owner was on hand to show the way to the fuel depot where the team filled their vehicles to the brim for the long drive ahead.
Having lunch on the run is quite normal for the team as they headed into the desert. The tarmac road ended just after Atbara; from there onwards it’s sandy tracks all the way to Wadi Halfa.
By 6 p.m., the team had reached their designated campsite but after some consultation, Halim decided to press on ahead. The decision was made mainly because the team anticipated a long wait at the border in Wadi Halfa and more time for loading the cars onto barges headed for Aswan, Egypt.
Driving into the night, the team covered another 100km. It was quite a challenge driving in dusty conditions at night but the team drove carefully, bearing in mind that this was only the second day. At 9.30 p.m. the convoy leader, Faruk Abdul Rahman announced on the radio that we are stopping to set up camp. We drove about kilometer from the track to avoid any accidents with lorries or buses plying the route to Wadi Halfa at night. The wind is quite strong but the temperature is quite comfortable compared to the 42 degrees this afternoon. As I write the team is setting up camp and cooking their supper behind windbreakers.
Tomorrow the team hopes to reach Wadi Halfa in time for the ferry to Aswan and the next chapter of the PETRONAS Trans-Sahara 2004 Expedition.
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Welcome to Atbara
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