Getting a stubborn Landy to Sudan!!

So again too much has happened in too little time, and in a hot internet cafe in Khartoum, I have to somehow remember the sequence of events. Our main logistical job in Aswan was to book our ferry tickets to Sudan, and this had to be done via the infamous Mr Saleh. This entire process is famed for being a little arduous at the best times, so when our car overheated on the way to the ticket office, it was untimely to say the least.

Luckily we managed to get the car to 'The Brooke' head office, and there we were introduced to Ahmed, a Sudanese guy, who is one of the sweetest, most genuinely lovely guys I have met. He quickly revealed that it was the head gasket, and after a short time had once again replaced it. After a quick test, however, all was still not well, and off came the cylinder head again. This time Ahmed noticed that the freeze plugs were leaking water, and thus had to come out and be replaced. Arno, one of a Dutch team of two, driving from Amsterdam, Holland to Amsterdam, South Africa, had kindly stuck around all day, and so Ahmed, Arno, and myself went on a mission to find freeze plugs.

After a good hour or so of looking, it soon became apparent that nobody had the correct size in stock, and thus we had to go to a garage to have them specially made. This process took one expert machinist approximately two hours, and at a cost of 4 british pounds. We headed back to the car, and Ahmed completed a twelve-hour day, by hammering in the new freeze plugs. This time, the test drive proved a success, and soon, and just in the nick of time, we were ready to load the car onto the ferry the following day.

Arno, Andrees, Phil, and myself drove down together towards the Traffic Police the following morning, to complete all of our necessary paperwork, and once again, before we arrived smoke begin pouring out of the front of our bonnet, and again it was a crawl to 'The Brooke', and Ahmed. THis time it was deemed to be faulty electrics, and all was fixed in a matter of hours. We had agreed with the man down at the port that we would load the car onto the barge the following morning, and then hop straight onto the ferry. This time the journey was a success, and soon the car was on the barge, and we were on the ferry, along with Arno, Andrees, Ferdy, Katherina, Pete and Jill, and this was a success within itself.

Egypt had been an incredible experience, extremely frustrating at times, but also incredibly positive at others. 'The Brooke' are not only doing fantastic work with animals, but also were so kind in helping us with our car, and it's many ailments. I will write up more about 'The Brooke' when things have calmed down a little.. inshallah!