Day 8 - A Day and Night in the Sahara Desert

Much of today was spent in transportation into the Sahara Desert, first by our guide, then 4wd, then on Camel through the dunes. What an amazing place, outside the Sahara is a barren wasteland of dirt, gravel and tussock as far as you can see. Then before you know it, you're in the dunes, and they are massive! Many are over 150m high and some over 500m.

Travelling on Camel back was a unique experience, what odd animals, able to survive for up to a month without water or food and able to carry huge weight over shifting sands, they are certainly useful in the Sahara. They are weird to ride, much higher than a horse and much wider, and you have no stirrups. It's also quite a rough ride as they take their long loping strides through the sands.

Our group of 5 arrived at the Berber bivouack(?) on dusk and settled in for the night sleeping under the stars in the Sahara Desert, a truly memorable experience. It was surprisingly windy and cold, so sleep was hard to come by. Soon enough however, it began to get lighter, signalling the time to begin our ascent of the 150m dune near the camp, a challenge set by our guide. After what seemed an eternity (maybe 45min) we finally crested the top of the dune and took in an amazing sunrise over the sand.