Travel Photography Blog by Nisa Maier and Ulli Maier. » Sand Dunes

A Dream Come True: Quad Biking In The Moroccan Desert.

Nisa — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 12:13:02 +0000

All my life have I listend to the amazing adventure stories of my parent’s month-long road trips through northern and central Africa. Those stories that struck me the most where the ones about their trips through the Sahara desert. They crossed the desert several times by themselves with an Unimog and a KTM motocross bike. For hundreds of kilometres there was nothing in site but sand dunes. Being hit by skyscraper high sand storms or 50 degrees Celsius was nothing out of the ordinary. I could listen for hours and imagined what it must feel like doing the same (although I was with them on their last great adventure, but I was just a toddler). Then when I turned 15, we took out Pinzgauer truck and drove down to Tunisia to experience just a little of what it was like back then. But I couldn’t drive yet (especially not with this kind of vehicle), so I knew, that someday I’d re-visit the African sand dunes and conquer them myself.

The Legend Of The Erg Chebbi Sand Dunes.

Morocco might not the the first destination that comes to mind when thinking about skyscraper high sand dunes, but think again! With Zagora and Merzouga you’ll find two great gateways for a true Sahara desert experience. Our road trip would lead us to Merzouga, a small village only approximately 20km from the Algerian border and on the edge of Erg Chebbi.

A Moroccan legend says that the Erg Chebbi sand dunes were sent by God as a punishment because a wealthy family refused to accommodate a poor woman with her son. Moroccans believe that the dunes piled up outside Merzouga and buried them underneath to teach them a lesson so that they would never refuse to help a tired traveller ever again.

The sand dunes here fulfill Morocco’s promise as a dream desert destination. But unlike in the old days when my parents travelled through Africa, Merzouga is now easily accessible due to the paved road. This has it’s prince: during high season convoys of 4WD’s race across the area and you won’t be able to get photos without people in them (like the ones below).

In winter, temperatures are only slightly above 10 degrees during the day, which keeps many tourists away. For us, it was perfect, because we had the dunes to ourselves. Driving into Merzouga, we immediately recognised the only open Quad shop: Sahara ATV Quad Adventure.

Off We Go: Sand Dunes, Here We Come!

We booked a two-hour ride and only a couple of minutes later, we were on our way. Mohammed was our guide and I’m sure that at first he though something like “here we go again with two chicks who probably don’t know how to drive…”. Well, he realised pretty quickly, that we were not your ordinary girls. Faster, higher is what we wanted. Mohammed took us to the very top of the sand dunes and we had the most spectacular view of the area! With only the sound of the wind, not a single person in site and the taste of sand in your mouth made the experience absolutely unforgettable!

The dunes of Erg Chebbi reach a height of up to 150 meters in places and altogether it spans an area of 50 kilometers from north to south and up to 5–10 kilometers from east to west.

The highest dunes are those near, or just south of, Merzouga itself, peaking with the aptly named Grand Dune de Merzouga, a golden mountain recognisable.

Erg Chebbi is one of Morocco’s two Saharan ergs near the small village of Merzouga. And erg is a large sea of dunes formed by wind-blown sand. The other is Erg Chigaga near M’hamid (south of Zagora).

On top of the highest sand dune of the Erg Chebbi. What a view?!

A berber walks along the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi.

When trying your luck with the Erg Chebbi sand dunes, be sure to know what you’re doing, or you’ll end up digging…

The view from up the top of the Erg Chebbi sand dunes was absolutely sunning. On one side, you see the Algerian border, on the other side the village of Merzouga and Hassilabied.

The Erg Chebbi sand dunes are spectacular at any time of day, but late afternoon was really the best time to view them.

Christmas In The Desert Of Tunisia, Africa.

Nisa — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:45:38 +0000

Growing up in Austria, our Christmas’ were always as kitschy as they could get: a (real) fir tree, a yummy Christmas goose and a snowed in house. It’s the kind of Christmas most people dream of. Of course, growing up with the parents I have, I did spend Christmas Eve all around the globe too, yet spending the Holidays under palm trees just isn’t the same … But, a few years ago, when December was really really miserable with lots of rain, we spontaneously decided to spend Christmas somewhere else … somewhere warm.

As you all know, ticket prices go through the roof this time of the year, therefore a fly-away holiday was out of question (especially last minute). So after scanning the atlas for hours and thinking about our past travels through Africa by truck, we soon came to the conclusion that it was time for one of these adventures again. We checked out some shipping lines and managed to get a ticket on one of the many ferries that ply the Italian-Tunisian routes. Yes, Tunisia was our desired destination; orient, hookah, herbs, culture, nomads, camels & desert here we come!

A few days before Christmas Eve we were on our way to Genoa, where the ferry set off. The distance is around 1.000 km from Vienna and it took us 10 hours to get there – sounds pretty long but since we were travelling with our Pinzgauer truck, we couldn’t go faster than 100km/h.

After arriving at the port, we immediately got our truck in line with the others. These ferries are huge and up to 300 cars fit into the giant belly. Every centimetre counts and depending on the size and height of the car, you’re assigned your space on the ferry. The entire embarkation process took a few hours, so we had lot’s of time to spare. While waiting, we came across some nice little local tavernas in the port area, where pizza, pasta and the followed cappuccino just tastes a lot better than at home. The Italian atmosphere is simply magical :)

The ferry trip.

The ferry took about 25 hours from Genoa to Tunis, therefore a cabin is advisable. Unfortunately in our case, all cabins were booked already when we bought our ticket, so we took our hammocks and sleeping bags from the truck and started exploring the ship. You’ll find restaurants and bars, as well as enough entertainment, where travellers from all over Europe meet. Most of the tourists travelling by ferry are “off-roaders” because Tunisia by car or truck usually contains heavy off-road driving.

Anyway, after a quiet night on the ship, a bright and sunny morning greeted us. Customs was very easy, without the slightest hassle. After all, with so many cars disembarking, customs has to speed up as well. Soon after arrival, we were on our way down South.

Our route.

We wanted to get out of Tunis asap, since driving through the sand dunes was the most fun. Be patient though … if you expect sand dunes right after Tunis, you’ll be disappointed; it takes an entire day of driving until you reach them. We actually planned to drive to Tozeur (an oasis in the South-West of Tunisia) and further on to Douz by crossing the salt lake Chott El Jeridh. Douz itself is known as the “gateway to the Sahara” and an important starting point for desert explorers. Our desired destination was Ksar Ghilane because you have to cross high sand dunes about 150 km from Douz to get there.

Needed Gear.

When deciding to cross the Sahara, be sure to have a good compass, a GPS device and a fine map. There’s basically no road, only tracks (that can lead nowhere) and this can get confusing at times. It’s advisable to travel with a second vehicle if you’re not an experienced desert fox (like us haha). As said, some tracks lead to nowhere, so it’s good to check your position every few kilometres to make sure you’re on the right track.

We managed to arrive in Ksar Ghilane without any problems (no flat tyre, no sand digging and no unnecessary kilometres) after around 7 hours, just right in time to spend Christmas Eve with some other travellers at the camp ground. A nearby restaurant served delicious Tunisian food and after a few glasses of champagne we set up the hammocks between the cars and slept under the stars.

Some Impressions:

Camels are the lifeline in any desert.

Camping in the desert of Tunisia, Africa.

At a market in Tunis, Tunisia.

Sand dunes in the desert of Tunisia, Africa.

A public toilet in the desert of Tunisia, Africa.

A nomad near Douz in the desert of Tunisia, Africa.

Arriving at the oasis Douz in Tunisia, Africa.

The Landscape Of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park In Brazil.

Ulli — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:29:10 +0000

The area of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park looks like out of space; dunes just like in Sahara desert, halted by some freshwater ponds. Some of them don’t dry out, even if temperatures are really high for a few month. Here are a couple of photos of this unreal landscape in the north of Brazil:

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is an area of low, flat, occasionally flooded land, overlaid with large, discrete sand dunes. It encompasses roughly 1.500 km2, and despite abundant rain, supports almost no vegetation.

Composed of large, white, sweeping dunes, at first glance Lençóis Maranhenses looks like an archetypal desert, but in fact it is not an actual desert. Lying just outside the Amazon Basin, the region is subject to a regular rain season during the beginning of the year.

The rains cause a peculiar phenomenon: fresh water collects in the valleys between sand dunes and is prevented from percolating down by a laeyer of impermeable rock which lies underneath the sand. The resulting blue, green and black “lagoons” are surrounded by the desert-like sand, and reach their fullest between July and September.

The national park status serves only as a means of protecting the area’s ecology; consequently many people reside in the park, as is also the case with nearby Jericoacoara. The inhabitants work primarily as fishermen.