A Desert Excursion: The Highlight of a Tunisia TripCategory: Travel & Holidays
Article added by: Paul Collins
A hot wind rolled in across the dunes, stirring the sand up briefly into a twisting, writhing swirl. Away from us the desert rolled away, like vast ochre waves, to the hazy horizon – and beyond. I was on a four day desert excursion, and it was absolutely magnificent.
We’d set off from Djerba the day before, and, heading south, stopped at Matmata. The troglodyte dwellings, hewn out of the bare rock to escape the infernal heat, were famously the film set for some of the early scenes in Star Wars.
Back in the 4x4 my Spanish companions were whispering about how, already, this was the absolute highlight of all their viajes Tunez. Even at this early stage it was hard to disagree with them.
On to Douz
From Matmata we made our way eastwards to Douz – the ‘Gateway to the Sahara’, where the real desert began. Here, the group was promised the singular pleasure of a camel ride through the Sahara. ‘Camel ride through the Sahara’ – there’s something in those words alone that make the hairs on any traveler’s neck stand up. And sure enough, it was a remarkable experience.
Camels are an unusual ride, to say the least. Known for their rolling motion, as ‘Ships of the Deserts’ by Tunisians, the sensation is very much akin to being on a little fishing boat on a swelling sea. Really and truly, though, jeeps are all well and good, but for the full mystery and romance of the desert, there’s no other way to do it.
Away from Douz, the ‘Grand Erg Oriental’ – or ‘Great Eastern Sand Sea’ – stretches. While earlier I’d described the sand dunes as ‘ochre’ in reality the colors are never the same. They change according to the time of day, and even from moment to moment. This shifting impermanence – in color as in everything else – is the desert’s defining characteristic, and what makes it such an incredible spectacle.
The Final Word on Desert Excursions…
It’s a bit of a wrench at first, leaving the raft of fabulous Tunisia hotels and beaches of the coast for the dust and heat inland. But it doesn’t take long to realize that, although lounging around on the beach is very pleasant and relaxing, a trip into the desert is a truly unique experience.
What makes it possible is Tunisia’s relatively diminutive stature (it’s only about the size of England); if the country were any bigger it would be impossible to fit such an excursion in. But Tunisia manages to be small and still, quite unusually, wild and empty. And it’s precisely those two qualities – wildness and, especially, sublime emptiness – that make a desert excursion the trip of a lifetime.
Posted By: Paul Collins
Contact: e-mail
| About the Author: |
| Paul Collins is an English travel writer who specializes in Tunisia, the Canary Islands and the Caribbean. From an early age, he’s been captivated by Tunisia, and several of his viajes Tunez have been defined by desert excursions. Of late, he has tended to fly to Tunisia from Spain, and then return on vuelos Madrid Londres (or Madrid to London flights). |
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