|
|
8 Apr 2006 - Idhan Murzuq - Takarpibah
| (click to enlarge)
 |  | (click to enlarge)
 | | (click to enlarge)
 | | (click to enlarge)
 | Our camp at the foot of the dune
| | Morning prayers
| | Another desert charge. Idhan Murzuq in the background
| | Camels and a few of the melon-like fruits that occur in patches, untouched for they are highly poisonous
| (click to enlarge)
 | | (click to enlarge)
 | | (click to enlarge)
 | | (click to enlarge)
 | Stony desert near Wadi Matkhendush, indistinguishable from the surface of Mars!
| | Guenther and an ostrich
| | Giraffe and the circular motif that occurs quite commonly
| | Lizard
| (click to enlarge)
 | | (click to enlarge)
 | | (click to enlarge)
 | | (click to enlarge)
 | The high tide mark of sticks caught in the tree indicates that Wadi Matkhendush occasionally floods, severely
| | Beautiful but spiny - acacia blossoms
| | Convoy - passing an expedition coming the other away, hard to see in the dust kicked up
| | Dancing in the rain. The continual spray from the arm slowly rotates over a great green circle of barley once every 24 hours.
| (click to enlarge)
 | | (click to enlarge)
 | | (click to enlarge)
 | | (click to enlarge)
 | Greening the desert - Barley
| | What better to replace the broken leg of a chair than a piece of fossil wood
| | Entering Idhan Awbari, the Ubari Sand Sea
| | Camp for the night. The cliffs of Masak Mastafat beyond were hidden from the camp, so we felt more isolated than it looks.
|
|
Again woke early,
but with the air colder than last time and with the telescope
not immediately ready for use, I was not tempted to get up but
remained content to watch the lightening dawn and doze in the
comfort of the blanket. After breakfast we broke camp and headed
north to Wadi Matkhendush to see a menagerie of ancient rock
carvings. The last 4km was over a rough surface of angular black
stones on a light sand, which must have done our tyres no good
at all. For the most part there was no organised track as such,
and we merely followed the route that somebody else had taken
previously.
Bumping over the stones we realised we were not alone as we
could see other Landcruisers converging on the same target.
They turned out to be a Dutch group that we had periodically
encountered both in the desert and on our earlier travels in
Libya. It was so often the way that we had the road or desert
to ourselves but on stopping at a point of interest, a group
would appear out of nowhere, much like the flies did as soon
as we stopped anywhere in the desert.
Wadi Matkhendush is home to some 12km of low cliffs littered
with carvings of animals long since disappeared from the region,
including giraffes, elephants, crocodiles - as well as the occasional
person. The representations are bold but simple, hammered out
as light lines in the dark weathering rocks. They are said to
be the oldest in Libya at around 12,000 years old. They are
certainly robust enough to survive weathering without much sign
of degradation, although some of the rocks they are on are now
cracked, and the lower ones have to endure periodic flash floods
too.
The obligatory Tuareg jewellery sellers had set up their pitches
between the valley and the lunch area, but we had seen too many
now to give them the time of day. Lunch itself as taken under
palm shelters designed for the purpose. Apart from a nearby
low building, looking out you feel you could have been on the
surface of Mars - the jagged black stones on brown orange sand,
with no sign of life (unless you looked very carefully), looks
just like some of the pictures returned from Mars landers!
We left the wadi by the same bumpy route as we had come in,
then turned north east and skirted Idhan Murzuq for the next
several hours, keeping the golden dunes to our right at all
times. We kept up a good pace across the flat dusty plain, and
about 200km from Murzuq picked up a road, or rather a set of
markers counting down the number of kilometres to civilisation,
set in a straight line in the sand. There was no danger of getting
lost for we also ran parallel to a set of electricity pylons
for a good deal of the way.
Towards Murzuq a splash of green intruded on the otherwise barren
desert. On closer inspection this turned out to be great circles
of barley, each being continuously watered by a long wheeled
arm that slowly rotates around the field in 24 hours (see also
the view
from space). Refreshing for us to get splashed by, but I
wonder how sustainable this agriculture really is.
Moving on, we finally reached a sealed road and turned north
to reach the Sebha to Ghat road, along which we had passed 4
days earlier. Turning left (west) we presently reached Takarpibah,
where we turned right onto a dusty track between half built
houses. After unpromising start the track opened out onto the
edge of the dunes of Idehan Awbari (the Ubari Sand Sea), where
two permanent camps were situated. However, we were not to stay
here, for tonight at least. So, after a much welcome shower
and freshen up, the first since Sebha - facilities pretty much
all working and plenty of hot water - we got back into the cars
for a journey north of maybe just a kilometre to find a spot
for the night amongst the dunes.
A completely enclosed bowl amongst the dunes was quickly located.
It seemed to be the ideal sheltered location, and I put aside
the slightly uneasy feeling caused by the realisation that this
was the first time we had camped completely away from any solid
ground. No stones, rocks, mountains or any living thing, apart
from ourselves and a small scrawny thorn bush, broke the spell
of sand and sky.
Our attempt to see the sunset failed because we were unable
to secure a high enough vantage point - climbing to the top
of one dune simply revealed another higher one beyond. With
the sun going down rapidly, and the way darkness descends quickly
in the tropics, it was pointless to go further. As usual we
dined under the moon, and everyone apart from Guenther and Matthias
decided to sleep out, or in one of the cars. Ali, Abdul and
I shared the rug as usual. |
| |
| |
