Roger Pearce finally made it to the Sudanese border with Egypt on Sunday, June 26 and is delighted that the worst of his AA Kyalami to Silverstone MG Expedition is finally behind him.
Getting lost in the Sudanese desert was nothing compared to the 60-degree temperatures he had to endure on Saturday as he completed the 200-kilometre journey from Dongola to Abri in Sudan in nine hours. He and the guide he had employed stopped at every community along the way for scented tea and bottled water in an effort to fend off dehydration.
“I have never endured such high temperatures on any of my past long distance rallies and was forced to close the roof vents on my trusty MGB GT because it was as if someone had connected a hairdryer operating at maximum temperature to the vents,” said Pearce. “My guide and I decided that it was better to drive with the vents closed and acclimatise to the cockpit temperature only.”
“When I reached the Nile in Abri I couldn’t wait to sit in the fast flowing water and cool myself down.”
On Sunday Pearce only had 150 kilometres of sand track to cover before he reached Wadi Halfa on the Sudanese border and just made it before the clutch on the MGB GT cried enough.
“I can’t believe my luck,” said Pearce. “I cannot start to imagine what it would have been like to be stranded in the desert.”
“In Wadi Halfa I persuaded the captain of the passenger ferry to load the MGB GT as it is small and he fortunately agreed, so I can look forward to 36 hours of rest before arriving in Aswan, Egypt where I will attend to the clutch problem in more civilised conditions.”
Pearce’s schedule has changed due to the Syrian government refusing him a visa so his next stop will be Cairo and then Alexandria where he plans to board a ferry to either Greece, Italy or France.