5 OCTOBER 2015
STARGAZING SAFARI IN HURGHADA
This traditional Bedouin dinner is a desert feast which consisted of slow-cooked meats, rice, bread, and vegetables, and dates, the various meals were prepared using an underground fire pit and also a traditional over coals cooking method. The dinner also consisted of Arabic coffee, Bedouin tea, and a selection of traditional desserts. This safari experience, exceeded our expectations with cultural shows, opportunities for camel rides, shisha smoking, and finished with an unbelievable stargazing experience, we certainly sampled the full cultural immersion of the entire experience in a beautiful and unique desert setting.
THE MORNING
We started our day off with a quick early morning dash to get our towels placed to beat the Germans to the best sunbeds by the pool area, then we went for breakfast and then had a lazy hour at the Starbucks cafe at the beach, awesome coffee here.
A lovely relaxing morning, reading, sun bathing, and watching the entertainment team doing their thing, not to much beer and drink this morning as the excursion starts early in the afternoon, and early lunch in the beach restaurant, a quick shower and we were soon waiting in the reception area for our ride to arrive.
DESERT SAFARI
We were collected from our hotel at 2.00PM by a driver in a Toyota Landcruiser, we climbed in to the back and sat down on the uncomfortable self made bench seats which were covered in colourful camel blankets, no seat belts, we then proceeded to collect other people from the various nearby hotels.
They managed to cram eight of us in to the back of this Land Cruiser and two more up front so there are a total of eleven people with the driver.
Although very cramped, at first the ride was manageable, but that soon changed once we went off road and started on the desert safari, it was horrific and unbearable at some points, I likened it to being on the inside of a washing machine, the driver was also showing off and driving it as rough as he could to entertain the young female guests on board, but these were also sick of his driving, going by their facial expressions, his driving pissed me off big time, I had no intention of giving the driver a tip at the end of the night.
QUAD BIKING
The first part of the excursion was quad biking through the desert, this was amazing and I really wanted Amanda to experience this as I am always banging on about how good the quad adventure was in Sharm el Sheikh, which I did around 13 years ago.
We spent about an hour ripping across the sand in 40 degree heat, its very dusty but totally exhilarating, its a real thrill for all ages.
Once that was finished, we were swiftly herded back in to the Land Cruiser, more fun and games as we proceed through the desert at high speed, on our way to the Bedouin camp.
PREPARED AND READY TO GO
WE WERE GIFTED THIS POSTCARD, A LOCAL EGYPTIAN MAN WAS ADMIRING MY TATTOO’S AND LIKED THE ANUBIS GOD TATTOO ON MY LEG, HE SAID THAT IT SAYS AMANDA LOVES GARY
CAMEL RIDE
Once we arrive at the camp we are shown to the area where the camels are waiting, now mounting a camel can be tricky, as you hold on as the camel stands up, lean back as he first raises on to its back legs, then the front legs come up quite quickly, once the camel is standing and walking its reasonably comfortable, nice and steady. Amanda absolutely hated this experience and said she will never do it again, I loved it, don’t think getting off for Amanda went particularly smooth though, in fact it really didn’t, and I couldn’t help her as I was laughing so hard, and also trying to snap a few shots.
MY CAMEL SEEMED TO WALK WITH A WOBBLE, BUT WITH 19 STONE ON HIS BACK I'M NOT REALLY SURPRISED
LUCKY TO REMAIN SEATED, GOOD JOB THE CAMELEER WAS ON HAND TO HELP
GOING HOME AFTER A DAY OF CARRYING TOURISTS ABOUT
SUNSET IN THE MOUNTAINS
After a small but relatively steep climb into the mountains, we waited for the sun to set behind the mountains, and then we soaked up the atmosphere, as we witnessed the evening daylight turn into beautiful twilight.
ADMIRING THE SUN SETTING BEHIND THE MOUNTAIN RANGE
PRDFESSIONAL PHOTOSHOOT
We hired a professional photographer to shot the following images, it was a beautiful sunset, and was perfect light in a perfect setting, so we wanted to have some memories with both of us in the image, instead of the usual selfies, so glad we decided to do this.
With the photoshoot complete, we made our way back down to the Bedouin village in search of food and drink. We entered into the pharmacy shop where we were presented with a small selection of herbal remedies and skincare products to purchase, the bedouins rely on tips and purchases to help with their survival in the desert, We had no problem in making some small purchases, as already, the Bedouins hospitality was really warm and welcoming.
PORTRAIT OF THE BEDOUIN CHEMIST
BEDOUIN DINNER
This was a good experience, and to see how these people live is unbelievable, very primitive, amazing to be able to live off the land in the desert.
As the sun light faded, the whole camp was illuminated by candles, with some lights strategically placed in the surrounding hills above the camp. We watched as they entertained us with there songs and dance, for dinner we had a mixture of foods which filled a large dinner plate, all served buffet style, mixed vegetables, flat bread, rice, sauces, salads, and various types of meat and kebabs.
I waited for Amanda to finish eating her food, then I informed her she had eaten camel and she was utterly disgusted, but said that in tasted a little like chicken, and she enjoyed it, but she said she definitely won’t eat it again.
TWILIGHT AT THE BEDOUIN'S CAMP
THE SINGERS PROVIDING THE EVENINGS ENTERTAINMENT
THE GREAT DINNER BUFFET
STARGAZING
All the candles and lighting on the camp were switched off after dinner so we could clearly see the stars and constellations, we all took it in turns to look through the Huge telescopes which were setup for us, we were shown Saturn and you could clearly see the rings in great detail, the only downside was the moon was so full and really bright, which made the stars more difficult to see, usually there is no light pollution whatsoever, the sky is usually pitch black making the stars really stand out, but to the human eye the moon was causing considerable light polution.
FULL BRIGHT MOON AND SURROUNDING STARS IN A BLACK NIGHT SKY, THIS IS A CROP IMAGE THAT I SHOT HANDHELD WITH M43 - AT 200MM - F8, - 1/500S - ISO 200 - 3 STOPS UNDEREXPOSED
Thoughts on “Stargazing Safari in Hurghada"
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