This picture is one of my favourites because of where it is and the story that it tells.

It is very difficult to portray the absolute enormity, beauty and perceived emptiness of the Sahara Desert. I believe that this picture portrays these aspects of this wild landscape.

If you look towards the top right of the picture you will see a gap in the mountain range in the distance, we drove through this with two Land Rover’s (Michael Nelki’s 90 and Michael Rymers 110) and the blue Impala Range Rover. Our journey across the valley to the pass where this picture was taken, wound its way at the whim of the leading car’s driver across sand rivers, up and down steep rock climbs and across areas of small grey stones. In fact the night before we arrived at the picture spot we camped near some acacia trees in a stream bed of grey sand that was full of wildlife: Gerbils, Scorpions, Scarab Beetles and a desert Hawk to name but a few. In fact over breakfast an iridescent blue dragonfly “quartered” by.

A sand dune marked the route out off this valley and into the next, you always get the feeling that these valleys and passes go on until the end of time or the Red Sea. We stopped in the mouth of the pass, just to brew up a coffee and to take in the enormity of the landscape.  While Louise, Michael Rymer and Michael Nelki relaxed beside our vehicles I decided to walk up to the top of the mountain and that is where I took this picture.

On the way up I was reminded of the distant past as a part of the mountain contained a fossilised stream bed, the ripples in the sand set for ever in this rock. There was also a lot of wildlife living in amongst the weathered jumble of rocks: snakes, lizards, beetles and spiders to name a few.