A huge city with the airport in the middle (just visible in background).
Agriculture became prominent as I headed towards Khartoum (Sudan)
Centre pivot irrigated cropped areas fed by the Nile
Saying goodbye to a friendly, helpful GROUND CREW at Merowe airport
Thank you !
Nubian Pyramids, Karima (Sudan)
On my last night in Karima I took the 20 minute walk from the guest house over the sand dunes to watch the sun setting behind the Nubian pyramids, which are only 20-30 metres in height, built by the rulers of the ancient Kushite kingdoms thousands of years ago. As I walked back over the dunes in the twilight I noticed a couple of wild dogs running ahead of me, stopping, barking then moving on a bit further. A great experience and fascinating country. Thank you Brigitte, Abu and your team for your hospitality at the Nubian guest house (Karima).
The most amazing local coffee in Karima
Enjoying a local coffee + ginger, celebrating the release of my passport !
Passport confiscated and told I had illegally entered Sudan
The morning after I arrived in Sudan I was asked to report back to Merowe airport. After a meeting with five others I was told I had entered Sudan illegally. I was then asked to report to the passport office in Karima the local town. There was an issue with where I had initially landed and that I had no visa. I was transiting aircrew in the country for less than 72 hours so technically didn’t need one but had not presented the relevant documentation. The airport of entry was a registered entry/exit airport. Several meetings were had over the course of the day including a phone conversation with a rather upset official. By the afternoon with the help of an agent in Khartoum things were resolved, my passport returned and I was allowed to leave.
Refueling in Merowe (Sudan)
Avgas is unavailable in many parts of Sudan so a 200 litre drum was bought in by truck from Khartoum. Among my kit I had a siphon hose so we were able to gravity feed from the drum into the two 80 litre fuel tanks of G-GAST. Everyone was very helpful and wanted to be involved with 11 of us at one point all helping in the process.
Merowe 02 (HSMN) Sudan
Cutting it fine, runway lights on !!
Sun setting as I joined finals 02 Merowe (HSMN) Sudan
An amazing sunset over the desert
Arrival in Dongola (HSDN) Sudan
I arrived in Dongola (which seemed a very remote airfield) later than expected and still had to fly to Merowe before sunset. I noticed in the flight log I signed the last GA aircraft that visited was 16th Feb 2017 so unsure they were used to visitors ! Having said that they were all very friendly ! A quick turnaround and I was back in the air.