The black and the white

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We practically sprang out of bed at the crack of dawn, filled with the joy of leaving Cairo. The driver was only 5 minutes late and I was already gripped with panic that we wouldn’t be going. But all was well and we were on our way, through the miles and miles of non-descript apartments, slowly replaced by apparent attempts to create a ‘new’ area on the outskirts of the city with water parks and resorts. And then the flat nothingness.

After about 4 forgettable hours, we arrived in Bawiti, a town in Bahariya oasis, with, honestly not much to note about it. We were fed a hearty lunch, bade a fond farewell to bathrooms and were on our way into the Black Desert. Our guide attempted to get us to climb a big hill to get a better view but we decided halfway up was just as good - hills covered in little black rocks as far as the eye could see!

Then we headed off road to the ‘real’ desert. We made several stops on the way to check out some interesting geological phenomena - perfectly circular rocks, some interesting colours and some cool fossils. Then some dune bashing before a stop for some dune bashing of our own on a sand board - the journey down was fast…the journey back up was not!

We pulled up for the day at our camp in the Agapat Valley. Our guides set everything up and we hung out by the fire while they got everything ready for a delicious dinner. We sat in front of the fire and marvelled at the peace and the massive amount of stars we could see before we climbed under our camel hair blankets and went to bed.

A nice relaxed morning and a tasty breakfast with a bit of time to explore the area while our guides packed up our camp. Some more stops along the way to see some really interesting fossils, magic spring, some petrified wood and mangrove trees before we arrived in the White Desert. Lunch at our camp gave us some time to nap in the sun and explore the area before a spectacular sunset. And it was time to sit by the fire and eat again! All that exploring takes it out of you….so we hit the (camel) hair and went to bed.

A bit more exploring the desert this morning to see the crazy shapes the rocks make before a quick stop at crystal mountain and the springs for a cleansing swim. Back to town for lunch, a shower and we were on our way back to the madness to catch our flight to Kenya. What a peaceful and unique way to end our time in Egypt.

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