There must have been heavy rain and thunderstorms here over the last few days, because there is water everywhere on the roadsides and the sand looks damp. We are therefore a little hesitant as to whether we should go ahead with our desert tour or not. The sand itself is not the problem, but the clay plains that have to be crossed and we don’t want to get stuck in the mud.

We take the plunge and set off. A few kilometers after our overnight stop, we turn right into the sandy desert. We follow the route from “Pistenkuh.de“, which we have loaded onto our navigation tablet. We let off at least 50% of the air pressure at the front and rear to get through the sand. Of course, we are a little nervous as we haven’t driven in sand for a while.

Hizma Desert

We follow one of the sand tracks, which roughly corresponds to the direction on the navigation device. This leads us between rock formations to a first and a further incline in the sand. Four-wheel drive and the reduction gear are engaged.
“We are driving on the sand, not in the sand,” we hear our 4×4 trainer from South Africa say. This means that speed plays a major role when driving in sand.

A feel for the situation is required on the inclines. On the one hand, you need enough speed, but on the other hand you need enough torque, because driving on sand requires more power from the engine than on the road.

I back up as far as I can to get a running start, select fourth gear in the reduction and accelerate as much as the rev counter will allow. We’ve almost made it when the MAN starts to spin at the back and I have to press the gas pedal all the way down to prevent the engine from stalling. But luckily we make it up the incline .

We don’t follow a track, just tracks in the sand, which often branch off. Then the view opens up to the desert.
From now on, the route goes uphill, then downhill again, around rocks, into valleys that soon open up again and reveal new views.

The route we are taking, according to Pistenkuh, is called Cathedrals in the Sand. And that’s exactly what the desert looks like.
Driving in the sand is pleasant, often soft, as long as you don’t see into it. We enjoy the drive through this surreal and fascinating landscape. Our hearts are full of gratitude and joy that we can experience something like this at our age (68 and 73) . The smaller and larger ponds are also beautiful and refreshing, which we drive past and which have been fed by the recent rain.

A lone camel wheezes our way. Actually, there should be many camels “grazing” here, but we are stuck with this one. Perhaps we are not traveling at the right time.

Passing huge rock faces, we reach a gigantic rock sculpture and soon arrive at a hill with a fantastic view, where we set up camp for the night.

We experience a lonely and quiet night. This solitude and the experience of nature have become addictive. You can’t get enough of it.

Before sunrise, the bright reddish ring of Venus and the violet shadow of the Earth below it become clearly visible.
Afterwards, the morning sun bathes the whole landscape in a golden light. We can hardly get enough of it and marvel and marvel at this landscape .

This Beatles song “Here comes the Sun”, sung by “The Petersens”, goes well with this. (Nice girls and good music)

Al Shaq Gorge

Or “the Grand Canyon” of Saudi Arabia. Finding the way there is not so easy, so we zig-zag through the sand. But eventually we make it. The last few kilometers are littered with stones and the lane is a little too narrow for a truck. So we have to be careful not to damage our tires.

Al-Shaq means “torn”, which indicates that the canyon was not formed by erosion, but tectonic forces have created this huge chasm. The fact that the earth is still moving is evident from the frequent cracks along the edge of the canyon.
It stretches for about 70 km in the direction of the Red Sea with a depth of around 450m.

Drone video

Immerse yourself once again in this fascinating landscape and let it touch you. Full screen and sound on. Have fun.