Egypt Sahara Desert - Camping

Article and Photos by Andie Byrnes ©2008-2009

Health and Safety
Obviously responsible tour companies take every precaution to ensure that there are no health and safety problems if they can possibly be avoided.

An additional vehicle is always provided in the rare event that one breaks down. A satellite phone should always be carried by the tour company. The military office who will accompany the tour will have the authority to call for military assistance. Fuel and water far in excess of that that will be required is always carried.

If you are in any way physically challenged then you should consider whether or not the tour to the area is right for you. The vehicles cross rough terrain and although they have excellent suspension you never stop bouncing around. Erecting and dismantling a tent every night for as many as nine nights can become exhausting after days of travel. Some of the sites are quite a steep climb, though mostly of short duration. Some tour members have decided not to venture, for example, to the famous Mestakawi-Foggini cave because it is very steep and quite exhausting to reach. It is the same with the Wadi Obeyed cave in Farafra’s Hidden Valley. Even though it is quite a short scramble it requires strong joints and half decent lungs. It is a wonderful experience and for the most part not physically demanding, but it is as well to be prepared for the fact that although this may be a holiday rather than an expedition it may be a challenge if you are already facing physical problems.

Serious illnesses, in the unlikely event of their occurring, are reported by satellite phone and emergency transportation should be available.

Scorpions inhabit the desert, and they rest under rocks. They aren’t vindictively aggressive, but they will defend themselves, so turn over prospective anchor stones with a sensibly cautious foot. Unless the victim has a medical condition then a scorpion sting in Egypt is only rarely fatal although it is extremely painful.

The same strategy should be applied to snakes - don’t provoke or follow them and you won’t get bitten, so just keep an eye open. Their tracks are again very distinctive, and although snake tracks are common it is very rare to see a snake. Steer clear if you see them. Snake bites can be fatally venomous.

If there are snake tracks or scorpion tracks around a particular camp you just keep your tent firmly zipped up so that they won’t be attracted by the warmth and the dark and curl up in a nice warm part of your clothing or sleeping bag. The answer is always be the same – be careful and sensible and you should be okay.

Animals are curious. Every morning you will wake to find new tracks around our tents - mostly from desert foxes, lizards and gerbil-like creatures. They are just investigating an alien presence in their domain and will be easily startled away.

Even if you become bored by the food or don’t have much of an appetite, it is important to eat - your body perspires and as well as fluid it leaches minerals which must be replaced.

If you have looked at one of the original 1940s maps of the desert areas you will see that certain areas are marked as having landmines. During the Second World War landmines were certainly laid down and in some areas still exist. However these areas are well known and are cordoned off. Obviously your tour leaders will avoid these areas.

Smugglers operate in the border areas but they are not interested in the tours. Nevertheless, we camp well away from their routes and we stop to let them pass if they are coming in our direction, in lorries usually heading south or east.

The 2008 abduction of a group of tourists in the Gilf Kebir area raised certain concerns with tour companies, but the episode ended badly for the Sudanese rebels that took the tour group, the tour members were released safely, and there have been few concerns either from the Egyptian government or travel companies that a repeat episode would occur. Terrorists have never targeted the area.

Tents
In a desert tour you will be erecting and packing away your own tent and its contents. You should receive assistance for the first day or so, but after that you will be on your own, so it is important to note how it is done if you are new to tents.

My biggest piece of advice is that the tent pegs should be the first things to be installed and the very last thing to be removed. I have a horrible memory of running valiantly after someone’s tent as it blew, fully upright, like a piece of tumbleweed across the desert floor. If it hadn’t been for our lovely chef, who moved like a cheetah, the tent would be in Libya by now.

Similarly, if you are using tent mattresses and it is a windy day, be very careful to anchor your mattress somewhere safe whilst you dismantle your tent, and beware of how you carry it back to the cars - if you pick up the wind it can act like a giant sail. Another far from dignified memory saw me taking a flying leap at someone’s flying mattress, fortunately landing face down upon it rather than missing and landing in the far less accommodating sand. Much laughter.

Tents supplied by travel companies are usually not special desert versions - they come with a mesh type interior and a fly sheet just like the one I lugged to Roman digs in the UK in the 80s, although they now tend to be dome shaped. Some travellers prefer to abandon the fly sheets, which gives a great view of the stars but raises the chance of getting cold.

Tall travellers may find the square floor plan of the tent logistically challenging- it requires diagonal sleeping arrangements.
There are some basic common sense guidelines that you might want to follow re tent positioning.

First, you don’t want to be on a slope. To check if your tent is level place a bottle of water on its side and use it like a spirit-level. If the water levels out then your tent is level, if it heads to one end or another it isn’t.

Second, check that the surface is flat - I positioned my tent on a tyre track one night and very much regretted it. The sand looks soft but is quite immovable when you put a tent over it.

Third, if your tent is of the type held together with a set of wooden rods held together with elastic, and put together by inserting one end into a metal socket on the end of the next rod, make sure that ALL the sand is shaken out of ALL the links before you put them together. They can be a complete nightmare to pull apart if sand gets into the joints. If sand does jam the joints you will need to tap each joint firmly with the metal socket of another rod to loosen the sand and free the rods from each other. It can take rather a long time!

Finally, tent pegs are often at a premium due to losses along the way. The eastern Sahara can be very windy, so if you suspect your flysheet of having travel plans of its own, there are two ways of holding it down - cover the edges with sand, which is remarkably effective, and if you need extra ballast then gather some nearby rocks. This can also reduce the sound of flapping flysheets and improve the prospect of sleep. Regarding rocks - approach with sensible caution, particularly if you are intending to lift stones to use as ballast for your tent’s flysheet because of the possibility of scorpions.

Sleeping Bags and pillows
Your travel company may supply sleeping bags, or you may be asked to or prefer to take your own.

If you choose to take your own I would recommend a four-season sleeping bag, although many people take three-season ones which are generally much lighter weight. I get very cold at night in the desert, and really hate to be cold. If you don’t like the cold I would suggest you go for the safer option.

In either event, it is a good idea to take along a sleeping bag liner - they provide a hygienic layer between you and the former occupant of a second hand sleeping bag, they can replace the sleeping bag if it becomes too hot, and they can add extra warmth when it is too cold.

I am of the cold and shivery sort, and the desert may be balmy at night, but it can also be exceedingly chilly, so I take a long sleeved t-shirt and lightweight jogging bottoms as well as woolly socks to sleep in, and they are fabulous.

I have in the past forgotten to take anything to use as a pillow, and ended up using a rolled up fleece, but some excellent inflatable camping pillows are available and can make all the difference to your comfort.

Camp arrangements
Each night the drivers set up camp. This will usually consist of two cars parked parallel to each other with a large colourful awning hung between them to provide a roof and wind break. Within this three-sided area the kitchen is set up next to the dining/breakfast table, and fold-away stools are provided. It is a cosy arrangement, but be careful not to fall off your stool - they do tend to shift around in the soft sand! There will be a light bulb set up whilst everyone is awake, and this is turned off at night.

Food is simple, but you will not find yourself short of volume. Breakfasts generally consist of flat baladi bread, jams and processed cheese accompanied by teas or coffee. If you are lucky a huge omelette will be made for all to share. As the bread eases its way past its sell-by date bread sticks and biscuits are usually provided instead. Lunches may consist of white cheese, salad whilst it is still fresh, tinned sardines and tuna, and occasional treats - like foul and shakshuka - all accompanied by baladi bread. The dinners tend to be more exciting - soup, and various one-pot meals with fresh vegetables, that keep remarkably well in the cars, meat for the first few days, and rice and pasta.

Towards the end of the trip you will find that fresh vegetables are replaced by tinned items, and new components like tinned frankfurter sausages put in an appearance. If you like ratatouille, and tomato based dishes, you will find nothing to object to - lots of flavour and generous helpings.

The bread does become somewhat solid after the first five or so days, to the extent that it could be used as a fairly lethal weapon if you put your mind to it, and if you want something to spread your jams on, you may want to take cheese crackers, savoury biscuits, Ryvita or similar with you, as well as any other odds and ends that you might like to munch.

Drinks, unless you take them yourself, are restricted to water, water with powdered flavours (like orange), and teas and coffee. There is no milk so powdered milk substitute will usually be provided.

If you fancy something more exotic, you can pick up something in the duty free in the duty free lounge whilst waiting to board your flight. There’s nothing quite like drinking a small glass of Scotch or rum under the desert stars but remember that alcohol is dehydrating and the last thing you need in the desert is a hangover. If you are planning to enjoy a solo drink in your tent, you may want to take a glass or other drinking vessel with you if you. Plastic cups will be available if you remember to take one with you from the dining table, but if you forget you are reduced to drinking it out of the bottle! Although in the past there was beer available in the oases, we recently found that the last place where we could find a beer was in Bahariya. Farafra and Dakhleh were both “dry”, even in the main hotels.

Boiled sweets, whether or not you usually eat them, become something that everyone shares on a tour of this type. They are thirst quenching, particularly when travelling in the vehicles, and help to clear sandy teeth and dry sandy mouths. I now take a couple of large packs of Fox’s fruit flavoured boiled sweets when I go into the desert, but everyone has their preferences.

Hygiene
Toilet facilities don’t exist. Convenient topography tends to be allocated to Ladies and Gents usage. Failing that, the front of the car will have to do, with members of the opposite gender asked to turn discretely away. There is little dignity about desert travel, and if this is a concern it is something to bear in mind before booking the trip - this may not be your cup of tea. Having said that, it is amazing how quickly you can adapt. Someone bought one of my tour members a seaside-type shovel as a joke, but it turned out to be a very good idea. Matches or a cigarette lighter can come in handy for burning any used toilet paper, which is far more pleasant than leaving it behind. If you take a cigarette lighter make sure that it doesn’t sit in the luggage on top of the car during the day because the heat may cause it to explode.

If, like me, the thought of not washing your hair for nine days does strange things to your psyche, there are a number of options. Dry shampoo is available – some travellers find it better than nothing. But beware if you are thinking of bringing dry shampoo in an aerosol – one of my tour members noticed that as with a cigarette lighter hers contained a maximum temperature notice. If an aerosol is on top of the car in your luggage, it may exceed the heat tolerance of the container. My own approach is to decant any water that I don’t drink out of my water allowance into a second bottle and wash my hair when there is enough to do so - every three days. But get hold of organic shampoo - like everything else in the desert, the chemicals in standard shampoos can have a detrimental impact on the fragile wildlife that will be attracted to the water left behind.
For everything else wet-wipes are pretty much the entire solution.

Team work
Camping is very much a matter of tolerating your fellow travellers and expecting them to tolerate you. Camping for several nights on end and sharing cars for several days on end throws everyone into very close proximity and not everyone who goes on a tour was custom-made to become best friends with everyone else. Personality conflicts may well occur, and a considerable amount of patience and compromise may need to be exercised. If you experience particular difficulties with another tour member speak to your tour leader. It may be possible to rearrange or rotate seating arrangements in vehicles, or for your tour leader to speak to the individual concerned depending on the issue.

More usually the fact that you are all there in this rather unusual part of the world indicates that you share some very important similarities and interests and that you may well forge friendships for life, as I have done. It is an odd place to find friends but I would be surprised if you didn’t come away with a huge feeling of warmth and friendship towards several of your travelling companions.

Many individuals bring their own particular expertise which they are happy to share. I have travelled with an astronomer, a volcanologist, a stone tool analyst, several photographers, and the owner of a long-distance travel company. The things I learned! And I am in touch with so many of the tour members. On most tours I can remember my face aching from laughter on many evenings – not due to silly antics or jokes, just as a result of great conversation and shared experiences.

As well as being on a tour you will be part of a professional working team. The drivers, guide and cook are the essential people who know what is going on and how to operate in the extreme conditions that you find in the desert. They have years of experience and can be relied upon to make your trip both easy and enjoyable, and their excellent companionship is part of the experience. Part of being in the team is to recognize where their job ends and yours starts. It may be acceptable to offer to help load and unload vehicles some days into the tour when everyone gets to know each other (although your offers may be turned down) but it is not acceptable to offer to peel vegetables or wash dishes - it causes embarrassment. My experience of travelling in the desert is that the drivers, guides and cooks are all super people with whom one has a great time and a lot of laughter.

You will also find yourself taking a soldier with you - it is one of the conditions of desert travel. The soldier is not a conscript but a career officer, although he will be in plain clothes. Sometimes they fit in really well with the team and help out and sometimes they remain aloof. You will just have to wait and see.

Egypt Sahara Desert - Driving and Sightseeing

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Egypt Sahara Desert - Planning your Trip

Egypt Sahara Desert - What to bring on your trip

Andie Byrnes trained as an archaeologist and is presently carrying out post-graduate studies in Egyptian Archaeology (prehistory) at UCL, London. She writes and manages Egyptology News, the most comprehensive news blog about Ancient Egypt and related topics.

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