Deep in the heart of Lac Iriki the dunes of Chegega sit waiting for us to arrive and then continue our adventure as we cross the high peaks and valleys within.

The night before we entered Chegega our group camped in a vicious sand storm close to the base of the dunes. Each car was driven close into the acacia trees to give some protection against the wind blown sand that finds its way into everything. You do not cook because if you do your meal becomes a variation of the infamous desert dish of “A la Sable”

By dawn all was still and silent, not a breath of wind stirred and there was not a hint of the maelstrom from the night before, the only sound that entered this desert of quiet, almost embarrassingly, was the beautiful song of a Hoopoe Lark that serenaded us while we enjoyed a breakfast free of sand. By the time the sun had begun to warm the air we had packed up camp and were heading into the dunes to continue the Impala adventure. We always finish off our dune journey with a long high climb where the blue sky fills your windscreen for seemingly minutes before (with a flash) the sky is replaced by the sight of sand as the car climbs over the top before sledging down the steep decent.

Cars often get stuck up here at the top, even an imperceptible lift off the throttle will stop the car even a distant thought of doing so at the back of your mind will result in your car resting itself on top of the dune. Any more power and the wheels will merrily throw sand high into the air making it even more difficult to extricate oneself.

This picture shows the Impala Support team of Neil, Manley and Rob moving sand away from underneath a P38 Range Rover that had the audacity to plant itself on top of the dune!! After a few minutes of moving sand by hand the wheels will once more have a firm contact with the sand so that a positive application of power will result in a victorious decent of the dune.