Mauritania Part 2 - The desert coast to Nouakchott

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While the cities in Mauritania are anything but special, the drive from Nouadhibou to Nouakchott was far and away the highlight of the trip on the Dover to Dakar section. There is a brand new tarmac'd highway linking the two cities, but if we took that it would entirely defeat the purpose of travelling overland. A little sandmatting was certainly worth the effort in order to experience the real Sahara. Part 2 of this drive took us along the beach through a bird sanctuary and national park. When we arrived at the beach we had to wait around for several hours to allow the tide to go out so that there would be a large enough strip of firm sand to drive on. Once the tide was out far enough we were only about 10 to 15 meters of sand matting away from our beach drive. It's really tough to beat the views from the top of the vehicle with the sun setting on sand dunes that crawl into the ocean. Everyone had an amazing time except for poor Daphne who was treated to a mix of sand and salt water as we crashed through the waves, and even more sand as we bogged our way into camp. She got a well deserved top-down scrub when we arrived in Nouakchott. Certainly one of the most memorable experiences of the trip so far!

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Photos

Desert 5
A boy named Sid that we met while we waited for the tide to go out so that we could drive down the beach. He hung around observing us and chatted a little, although he was fairly quiet.

Desert 6
Jordan and co-driver Ben riding Daphne. It's a nice view from up there!

Comments

[Ann]

great pictures
enjoying the pictures Thanks bunches