"why you go!?"

We leave Juba on Wednesday the 5th not knowing really what to expect on the road ahead despite several people offering advice on security and road conditions. as we leave the city limits we encounter the first road block.
As with all roadblocks in Sudan so far and probably all still to come, it takes us some time to explain that we're not here on any official business, nor NGO, nor private. our names and vehicle details are recorded and despite us having a fistful of papers and permits, another fee is levied. this time its some "registration fee" for leaving Juba. there is a receipt for this payment, it says 20 Sudanese pounds (S£) on it. the deal is, you pay the money and if you want a receipt, you will have to pay another S£20. after a lengthy discussion marked by little coherent logic, we pay the S£20 only, myself and Stephanie refusing to go with the bribe and move on to our car only after we managed to get out of another S£10 "fee" for immigration registration. we wait another +-15 minutes while Joel takes a stab at trying to encourage common sense. He walks up to the car and flicks a receipt at us, calling it a souvenir.

the first 300km of the 460km drive from Juba to Rumbek goes fine with fairly decent roads although our standards have dropped significantly since arriving in Sudan. we make good progress travelling up to 60km/h with some security stops along the way waving us through. god only knows why. mid-afternoon disaster strikes as Joel loses another rear shock-absorber, this time the right (the left had already snapped in western Uganda and was re-welded successfully). After removing it we move on. not long after that the Landcruiser snaps a stabilizer-rod washer which we manage to fix again in no-time. Strike 3 occurs when Joel smells burning rubber and stops to investigate, the fire-exstinguisher already riding shotgun by then. after some prodding around we realise that his rear suspension coil had become dislodged as a result of the missing shock absorber (assisted by deep-watered ruts in the 'road') and was stuck between the chassis and the wheel. by the time we had popped it back into position we had about 2 hours of daylight left and still 80km to go to Rumbek, averaging about 20km/h for this last 100km. this is exactly the position we did not (ever) want to be in, deciding which cardinal rule to break: driving at night on this road (or any other in Africa) or spending the night on this road (which we were strongly advised against in southern Sudan) We show mercy on the vehicles and decide to pitch camp on the side of the road (as anywhere off the road might be landmine-country) well before dark. rain clouds gather and we install the tarp between our vehicles, roof rack to roof rack. Joel will sleep in his car and we will pitch our small tent in-between to make for a hasty departure if we have the time. we eat and go to bed. the rain starts. one truck drives past. we don't fall asleep until early morning.

up early the next morning (as usual) we depart just after sunrise and coffee. the road gets worse but our cars manage to resist (further) disintegration (although a small crack in the front roof column in the Landcruiser is steadily growing and squeeking) Another 30km crawls past and we reach the frontier of the Lakes County (we came from Equitoria) marked by a rope across the road and a tree with various officials sitting underneath it, some armed with AK's (this is the way they roll here). a guy in a military uniform (which is clearly that of a slightly larger man) waves us down, checks our papers and informs us that he will now commence to search both vehicles. everything is taken out, opened and explained (like our air compressor and why we have a solar panel, ie not for communication purposes) with much entertainment value to the local people milling around, watching us sweat under a cloudless sky. to our surprise nothing 'illegal' is found and we're on a way without any solicitation for anything, aside from Joel collecting a passenger wanting a ride to Rumbek, something else we were warned about as if anything, (car accident, sunburn, etc) happens to this man whilst with us we are completely and utterly responsible, something which could account for tens of thousands of dollars. by the way, this extends to all animals and property and there are apparently plenty cases where people deliberately cause accidents in order to solicit money from foreigners. however our drive continues without flaw (apart from the condition of the road) until we reach Rumbek, the site for our second (the same day!) all-out vehicle search complete with no-receipt taxes. after some friendly discussion and worldcup soccer chat we manage to only drop S£10 but are forced to be escorted to the SPLA security compound for further scrutiny. here we wait under a mango tree for an 'ex-american policeman' (Sudanese) who was asked to return to Sudan to help train the local police. he is friendly and likes the fact that Joel is from Canada. he says no problem but after he disappears we have to go see an official in his office. in a small office we find two guys, one with sunglasses on and a tiger print on his shirt, sitting at two empty desks checking their phone messages and looking bored. one man asks us our purpose and papers and so everything starts over again. after 30 min the man asks us to go wait under the mango tree until further notice. chairs are offered. after some time we go back to the office where the man tells us everything seems to be ok, they just have to search through everything, again. so off we go and unpack the whole car again, including the rooftop tent, toilet bags, toolbox, handbag, you name it. every now and then i hear Stephanie urging the heavy-handed searcher to take it easy as he tries to pry the fixed auxiliary battery box from the inside of the car. nothing found. back to the office we are informed that we will now be escorted to immigration offices at the Rumbek airport, a dusty strip of open land with 2 UN aircraft parked on it. everything starts over again but within about 20min we're on our way with stamps etc and with our money in hand . now to find a place to stay. most of the accommodation on offer are designed for UN and NGO personnel and consequently out of our budget, in fact, the UN and NGO's are really good for local businesses where you may pay over $100 per person per night to receive nothing more than a tent to sleep in. eventually we find "suffer in style: Safari Style", a compound set up for lodging (most clients are NGO's) but also offering camping, so here we are, sitting at the pool with wireless internet preparing for tomorrow's departure to Wau, a busy town north-west from here, about 200km (a 6 hour drive) from here. We are to expect similar road conditions than before and the security situation is unknown although bureaucracies is meant to be less in Wau as it is under some northern Sudan influence, whatever that means. in the meanwhile Joel had his shock-absorber welded and reinstalled and even picked-up a discarded spare for next breakdown...