My hump, my lovely camel hump...check it out!

After meeting the Berber nomads, we kept driving. It was quite amazing how the sand dunes suddenly appeared out of nowhere. What started as a small dot on the horizon gradually grew to a massive expanse of red rolling sand dunes, stretching out before us as far as the eye could see.

We parked the car, gathered our things in preparation for our overnight stay, mounted our camels, and we were on our way.

The man leading our camels was a Berber nomad called Alzane (or something like that!), and he proudly proclaimed that he could speak Berber, Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Japanese and Italian...although we're fairly sure that the extent of his vocabulary was 'hello' and 'you okay?' 

Partway through the trek, he kicked his shoes off, left them lying in the sand and proceeded to keep walking, declaring ‘Massage!’. The next morning, we walked back past the same spot and he nonchalantly picked up his shoes from where he had left them and kept walking. Classic.

Seeing the sunset atop our camels was one of our all time favourite experiences. The ever-changing colours of the red sand against the rich blue sky were bright and vivid, and the sense of stillness, quiet and isolation was truly refreshing. 

Under a blanket of darkness, we arrived at the camp set amid a desert oasis and deposited our bags in the Berber tent where we would be spending the night.

For the rest of the evening we ate a classically Moroccan chicken tagine, and then sat around a campfire as our Berber guides played and sang some traditional folk songs. While obviously designed for tourists, it was still a magical experience.

The following morning, we woke up bright and early so that we could climb the giant sand dune behind our camp and watch the sunrise. Again, it was a really special moment watching as the sun gradually rose up into the sky, turning the dull and muted pre-dawn colours of the sand and sky into a bright and vibrant orange yellowy-brown with dark shadows accentuating the silky dunes across the landscape.

We made our way back down to the camp, at a quick breakfast, mounted our camels again, and trekked back to the base.

It was over all too soon, but it is a memory that will stay with us forever....and our bums and legs ached for quite a while too!