We stored luggage that we would not need for two days and left our bus behind to board 4x4 rovers for our excursion into the White Desert. Three rovers, five to each headed south into the Black Desert.
After assaulting several high sand dunes and coming down the side of a REALLY high hill we reached the cliffs and volcano lava columns. We took a walk through one of the basalt canyons. It was breathtaking!
We next visited an oasis with a well. The water spilled into cement collecting pool where several of the group did a bit of skinny dipping-yes, we have photos! Lunch was served Bedouin style in a lather palm covered room through which ran a small steam from the pond. Delicious!
After lunch we drove through an ancient lakebed surrounded by a rim of plateaus. What we found was a new agricultural development fed by underground springs. Citrus and olive groves, barely a few years old were being cultivated in the Sahara desert.
We went off road and over sand dunes to the top of the rim for some rock hounding and views. Simply stunning!
Breaking once again from the pavement we entered the White Desert National Park. Within moments we were at the base of an alabaster mountain, the sandy sides coveted with crystals. We stopped for some time to gather a few souvenirs.
Brushing away a thin layer of sand revealed the gypsum below. Miles and miles of gypsum lay before us. We drove even further off road finding hundreds of mushroom shaped formations. Around every turn is another natural wonder!
And...then there was that sunset...OMG!
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