The Sahara!

I am slowly edging closer and closer to the start of my training, I thought this might be a good opportunity to look at actually where I'm heading - the Sahara!

The Sahara is derived from a dialectal Arabic word for desert and is the largest hot desert in the world, the third largest. It covers an area of 9 million square kilometres! So glad I will only be walking 100km of it as that's far enough. The Sahara is mainly made up of rocky plateaus and sand dunes only form a small part of it. I've written out roughly the itinerary below and you will see it is not all about the sand. Thank goodness as I hate sand! I will get to see a lot of what the Sahara has to offer as well as seeing those who live in such a harsh environment. I'm hoping to see a bit of the flora and fauna too, but hopefully no snakes, spiders or scorpions - as I know they lurk in such areas.

Mostly we will be camping and we will have limited water which will largely be used for drinking. So no showers! I am already looking forward to that shower when I get back to a hotel, I'll be fighting my fellow trekkers for it :)

The planned itinerary is as follows:

Day 1 - Flying to Morocco

Day 2 - Ouarzazate to M'Harech Dunes (A 4x4 to the door of the desert! Along Draa valley, a volcanic massif, another 4x4 - off roading is going to make me sick! and hiking to the first desert camp)

Day 3 - M'Harech Dunes, Rhris Riverbed to O'Hare Gorge (Undulating sand dunes - Yay! Dry riverbeds, nomadic communities and camping beneath O'Hare Gorge)

Day 4 - Climb Jebel El Mrakib (A dramatic gorge, flat bottom valleys, multi-coloured rock of Jebel El Mrakib to climb, followed by dunes, plateaus and palm groves)

Day 5 - Rhris River (longest day - 27km along dry riverbed, dunes and rocky terrain, followed by camping at the bottom of Bouzaine Dunes - home of some of the largest dunes in the region!)

Day 6 - Bouziane Dunes to Announ Baadi (high sand dunes, trees, palm groves and nomadic villages. Final camp)

Day 7 - Returning to Ouarzazate (via 4x4)

Day 8 - HOME!

My trek will take place in February, but please spend the time to sponsor me - just visit my just giving page.