Deserts have called out across the ages to explorers and adventurers, from Lawrence of Arabia to Levison Wood. There’s something about the vastness; the idea of great oceans of sand without an end in sight. Often far from signs of civilisation, these are immense places where it can feel like time is standing still, even as the sand shifts around us, transforming the landscape grain by grain. We go to the desert to find ourselves, the saying goes, to take a deep breath and contemplate existence. Or you can just zip around on a quadbike if you prefer.
Deserts cover more than a fifth of the earth’s land area and are found on each of the seven continents. Sahara, Kalahari, Atacama… these are names that evoke reverence, inspire awe. But there’s more to deserts than bone-dry sand and scorching sun. Defined as a place that receives less than 25cm of rain per year, a desert can range in nature from semi-arid scrubland to giant lakes of sparkling salt, from craggy canyons to the ice and snow of Antarctica. In fact, only around 20% of the world’s deserts are actually comprised of sandy plains.
Also contrary to popular perception, deserts aren’t lifeless, empty spaces. More than a billion people live in and around deserts, adapting to the sometimes challenging conditions, just as numerous animals – lions, meerkats, snakes – have done.
And from camel rides to horseback adventures, from 4WD expeditions to hot air balloon flights, from visiting ancient cities to gazing at the stars, the experiences available in deserts are as endless as their horizons.
1 NAMIB
Meaning ‘vast place’, the Namib runs for 2,000km along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. It is the world’s oldest desert – at least 55 million years old, although some think it could be as old as 80 million – and contains some of the largest, most impressive sand dunes on the planet. The Namib is also one of the world’s driest deserts. But
