Offering some of the most extraordinary desert scenery Wadi Rym is a definite highlight. The dramatic colours of the desert sand change colour with the changing angle of the sun. We drove in through the village and after 100 yards the road ended and only tracks in the sand remained. At first we were a bit wary of becoming stuck in the sand and needing our sand ladders to get out but after a while Peter got the hang of it and when I had a go I really enjoyed driving around in the sand. Wadi Rum is actually a series of valleys about 2k wide stretching for 130k. Among the valleys is a desert landscape overshawdowed by towering rocks, it is possible to spend days in there and never see anyone.

We found a place to camp and sat in the pitch darkness (there was no moon) in total silence enjoying the galaxy of stars. It made a change to have no wailing mosques or barking dogs. In the morning we went exploring around our camp to see if we could see any animal tracks from the during the night. There were a few small paw prints but mostly trails from snakes!!

There are plenty of Bedouins still living in Wadi Rum and we watched the camel owners taking their camels down to the village ready for the arrival of the tourist coaches, it certainly seemed easier than going to work via the M60!!

The following morning we had to go back to Amman to see if our Sudan Visas had been issued. Unfortunately after waiting a week Khartoum had not issued them. We will now have to go through the whole process again in Cairo where it is said to be easier to obtain them. The journey of 600k round trip did mean we could get some other things done like get the truck washed (we left the camper at Wadi Rum) go to a huge Carrefour supermarket and get western foodstuff, buy a Daily Mail and as I write Peter is off somewhere in a taxi with our gas bottle trying to get it filled.