World Explorer

Friday, 12 March 2010

Category - Africa

I have to admit that trekking through the Sahara Desert on a camel was not on my list of holidays to take, writes Nicky Cox

An Adventure in the Desert

But we set off to do exactly that and it was the most awesome holiday I've ever had. There were 15 of us on the Families Worldwide trip seven adults and eight kids aged between five and 13  and we each had our own camel.

Forget all you've heard about camels being bad-tempered and spitting. We all fell in love with them. They are the most patient, peaceful and hard working creatures I've ever met. They carried all of us and all the stuff we would need for our stay in the Sahara, including tents, food, water and clothes.

When I first knew I was going on the trip, I must say I thought it might be a bit boring. Although we were going to have two nights at hotels in Morocco
and two nights in a Bedouin camp, we were going to be in the desert for four days.

Yet, we weren't bored for a second. It was just the most amazing experience, ambling on camels through the desert, led by Berber men. It
could have been 2,000 years ago. We'd even stopped at a shop on our drive down to the desert from the airport to buy Sheshes to wrap round our heads.

Sheshes protect you from the sun when it's hot during the day but keep you warm after sunset when the temperature drops quickly.Whenever we arrived somewhere where we were going to set up camp for the night, it was a race against time to get our tents up before the daylight went. Having said that, it wasn't as dark as I expected.

The stars were so unbelievable, both in number and brightness, that you could still see without a torch, if a little dimly. Lots of the kids slept on the sand every night and fell asleep to the sight of shooting stars streaking across the desert sky. I've never heard quiet like it (if you know what I mean!).

The silence was almost spooky. For four days we trekked the desert with just our friendly camels for
company. We didn't see another living soul  well maybe the odd lizard. I saw sights unmatched by anything I've seen before. Miles and miles of sand
dunes stretching out before us  the bright orange of the sand contrasting beautifully with the deep blue of the sky.

The kids enjoyed playing in the biggest sandpit in the world. First News games reviewer, Barney, came with me. He had planned ahead, removing the
wheels off his skateboard with great plans to try and surf down the sand dunes. It worked brilliantly. Then, everyone took turns. Even the Berbers
joined in so Barney left the board with Khalid, our 23-year-old Berber guide, to continue the sport after we'd left.

It was an unforgettable trip which I would recommend, totally, to everyone. Don't just think about doing this, just do it!