From Chad to Sudan
 

Some weeks ago I contributed to a thread on this forum started by Schenkel. Now it is gone. I heard something went wroing when one of the moderators tried to estabish a link. So now I propose to start it again, because I would like to make this trip. First question: Schenkel how can I best contact you? Are you in Sudan the coming months?

Hello gvdaa
I will be in Sudan in the next few months.You can send me a pm if you require any assistance .
regards
schenkel

I hear gvdaa is on his way from Al Junaynah to Nyala.
Will be the first non-local to do that in a while.

Ch

Let's wish him a good journey. Darfur may be opening up a little, but it is far from safe

Hi all, I am interested to the reverse route from Kenia to Chad, to drive back to Europe, so if you get any good info please post it.

I made it from Chad to Sudan. In Geneina I took armed convoy to Nyala, together with about 300 trucks. Trucks pay about 100 US. I paid 300 US (after haggling). Especially the area abetween Zalingei and Nyala is dangerous, they say. Kidnappings by janjaweed, normal bandits.

From Nyala I went alone to Nahud, through Eddaien. Was stopped by security many times, but in the end they always let me go. No payments along this part of the trip. The route through Fasher to Khartoum is better (mostly tarred), but more dangerous.

Life goes on rather normal in the cities and villages along the route. I did not feel danger, never heard gunshots. Farmers are harvesting, kids go to school, buses are transporting people. Big refugee camps around the bigger places slowly change in normal neighbourhoods.

Now in Medani, along the Nile.

If you can get a permit I do not see a problem why not doing the route the other way. But I suppose you don't get a permit! If you get in from Chad they do not have a real choice but to give you a permit. Nobody at the border was thinking about sending me back. Most in Darfur, even authorities, were rather happy to have a tourist visiting.

Hi Gerbert,

Good to hear you made it!

Cheers,

Gee

Thank you Chris Scott for deleting the original post!!!:thumbdown::thumbdown::thumbdown:

Hi gvdaa,

Great to hear someone successfully entered Sudan from Chad (schenkel, I see that you have also made this trip). Did you have the impression that the border was generally open? Did you enter with a regular Sudanese visa from your home country? Where did you stay along the way?

I mostly camped at policestations. But in the bigger places you can also stay in a hotel. Visa not easy. As you may know. I got mine in Egypt. Lots of traffic across the border. Many shops in the east of Chad sell goods from Khartoum, like soft drinks. Also refugees travel between the camps in Chad and Darfur.

Hi gvdaa,

Thanks for your reply. Do you think there is any way to travel in the region without your own transport?

No problem. Lots of public transport

Oh, also: How did you circumvent the registration rule? Were there any problems regarding ýour entry through Darfur when you exited Sudan?

You can register in Geneina. No issues

Right, here is some of what was deleted in the original post: Chad to Sudan.
The route I took on bike (Fazer6 S2) was from UK to Al Junaynah in western Sudan in January 2014.

Border crossing:
Entering Chad from Cameroon was easy, immigration and stamps was quick, but they asked about the bike carnet, which I didn't have. I said the UK government stopped issuing them. They seemed as they didn't know how to deal with me having no Carnet and the officer who had my passport and other documents went into different offices and talked to other officials over and over. I knew that they can't do much about it and the worst case scenario is to pay a fee as I did in Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin. They took me into an office and sat me under a ceiling fan and offered me a cold drink. I speak Arabic and some of them also did , so we started chatting about my trip, route and the bike and soon the mood changed and there were laughs and jokes and I then knew that everything was going to be fine. Not long after that they produced this totally free temporary import document with details of my bike and a stamp and told me to show it at the point of exit.
I was told that it was quite a long time since the last traveller on a motorbike crossed their border post. Everyone was nice and courteous. They came out and waved goodbye as I rode on.
I was also asked about carnet in Cameroon, I said I lost it and they allowed me to proceed without one, just like that. Nigerian and Cameroon officers at entry and exit were extremely helpful.

Road quality:
Starting from Nigeria/ Cameroon border crossing:

Ekok-Mamfe- about 67km of a horrendous piste. It took me 9 hours to do it. I fell many times I can't count. Lucky it was dry, otherwise it would have taken days to cross that piste.

Mamfe-Bamenda: OK piste, tarmac as you get closer to Bamenda.

Mamenda-Mbouda-Bafossam-Yaounde: Good Tarmac all the way.

Yaounde-Bertoua-Ngaoundere: Fantastic quality tarmac. Fazer was happy.


Cameroon-Chad border crossing:

Ngaoundere-Touboro-Moundou: Good tarmac.

Moundou-Bongor: Well I wouldn't call this tarmac road with potholes, it is rather potholes with tarmac. It was that bad. Just never take your eyes of the road!!. there isn't much to see anyway.

Bongor-NDjamena: Just as bad as the latter but gets better near to NDjamena.

NDjamena Traffic Police:
I was riding in the capital NDjamena trying to find a hotel and went on a flyover and didn't see the tiny sign hidden behind a lamp-post saying no motorbikes allowed. I was stopped, bike keys taken away from me, waited half an hour until someone in civilian clothes came and every one saluted him, he took my passport and gave it to a policeman and told me to go with him. Two on their bike and I'm on mine they got me to follow them to the central police station. Once there they parked my bike and took the keys from me.
An anxious wait, and I thought that was it, I was never going to get out of this one, but people and policemen gathered around my bike assured me that everything will be alright.
About an hour later they took me to meet a higher ranking officer who told me to be careful and obey traffic rules, then gave me my passport and wished me luck and was allowed to go!!!! I think they just didn't see a foreign bike in a while.

Ndjamena-Ati: Fantastic brand new tarmac, but only to half the way, after that deep deep sand and no tarmac, just pure deep flour like sand and road blocks every couple of miles at every culvert they are building for the seasonal streams. Terrible road, came off the bike and got stuck many times, road workers said it was like this all the way to Ati so I turned around and decided to take the other route.

The other route:
NDjamena-Bitkine: Very good tarmac. Virtually no traffic.

Bitkine-Mongo: Very good tarmac. Again no traffic.

Mongo-Mangalme: Good piste. Working on tarmac

Mangalme- Oum Hadjer: Good piste. Working on tarmac

Oum Hadjer-Abeche: good piste and very good tarmac.

Abeche-Adre: Very bad piste, pointy horibble rocks all the way. Some very deep sand, a couple of shallow water crossings, many dead animals.

Chadian Generosity:
I spent Thursday 16th January 2014 night in a complete stranger's house. Someone I just met half an hour ago in the main road in a very tiny village. It was getting late and I realised I was not going to make it to Adre before dark. I asked some people in the street about a place to stay and one of them said I could spend the night in his house. Him on his bike and I on mine we rode to his house where his wife swept this mud-hut, laid a large rug, put all my luggage inside, and shortly it was dark and they brought me dinner and tea. Then they chatted to me until midnight. In the morning he gave me tea and guided me out of the village away from the deep sand. He owned very little yet didn't accept money when I offered him. Fantastic Experience.

Arrested in Adre:
Friday 17th January 2014 morning, now so close to Sudan, I stopped at a well to fill up with drinking water. I asked some people at the well how many km to Adre? to my surprise, they said: you are in Adre!!!. Just then two guys on a motorbike turned up and asked me where I was heading, I said Al Junaynah in western Sudan. They said OK follow us and we will show you the way.
Hmmm I don't like to follow anyone, it is just not safe, so I told them no thanks I will take some rest just here and proceed later.
Only then they revealed who they were. They were secret police. And shortly they were joined by six or seven armed guys on a 4x4 and I was ordered to get on the bike and follow the two guys on their bike, which I did.
It was a short ride for about one mile to the army head quarters where they parked my bike, took the keys, passport and other documents.
They said I wasn't under arrest but it was just they want to find out who and what I was doing in Chad. They then took me to an office and started a lengthy interrogation and asked me about everything, even my mother's, wife's and kid's names and their ages! and they wrote everything down. Another hour later I was taken to another office and was asked same questions again and everything was noted...again!.
Two hours later a soldier told me that the governor wanted to see this foreigner on the strange looking bike. On the 4x4, me and two policemen on open back and driver and passenger at the front, they drove to the governors house.
It was a Friday morning and the governor was sitting under some trees with some people. I was told to sit and they offered me some tea. I didn't understand a word they were saying, but when it was my turn to deal with me they spoke Arabic just like they do in Sudan.
The governor asked me all the questions I was asked before and said to me that they will take me back to the army point where they will take care of me until an information comes from NDjamena, and as soon as that happens they will let me go.
So we went back. Once there the mood has changed and everyone was chatting to me about my trip and I even met some Sudanese soldiers on the joint army coalition. At night time I was allowed to go to the market to have dinner. When I came back I found my bike chained up. I slept beside my bike while some soldiers slept a few meters away.
In the morning a soldier told me the only reason they were keeping me was because they haven't seen a foreigner on a big bike before and they had to report it to higher ranking officers and wait for orders.
I wasn't until three o'clock on Saturday 18th of January when the let me go and by the time I crossed the border the sun was setting, so I had to spend the night at an army post just inside Sudanese territory.
The next morning I set out early and reached Al Junaynah with plenty of time to go through immigration. Adre to Al Junaynah piste is good.
I was advised by many people including army officers in Al Junaynah not to ride to the next town because of the security issues. There was an option to go with the army convoy, which I didn't like doing, being on a bike in the middle of trucks and lorries. The safe option was to fly to Khartoum. I bought a ticket for myself (SDG 1,100) and shipped the bike by air cargo (SDG 450).