Black & White Desert Photo Tour
Unique 8 day desert safari into Egypt's Black & white desert led by acclaimed photographer, Gavin Gough. The itinerary include desert landscapes, oasis, village life and cultural opportunities
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Features & Info
Desert Landscapes
Our tour in Egypt's White and Black desert will provide the opportunity to shoot stunning sand dunes,desert landscapes and a mixture of amazing rock formations, crystal caves, fossilized whales bones and the remains of the oldest paved road in the world.
Cultural and People Photogrpahy
We will visit the Desert Oases and stay will local families, giving us unbridled opportunity to shoot some wonderful cultural images and portraits. This is incredibly unusual opportunity to really get immersed in local life and capture authentic un-posed images of rural Egyptian culture.
Our desert adventure includes several nights camping out under the stars. We have teamed up with Egypt leading off-road and desert safari specialist to provide the best possible experience. All vehicles are modern well maintained, the tents new and high quality verging on luxurious and the chef cooks amazing local food...
This is an extraordinary trip and itinerary. with unique opportunities to visit desert oasis, stay with local families and expereince desert life. As if that was not enough, it is led by Gavin Gough who work I have long admired
~ Glenn Carter
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Day 01: Baharyia Oasis
We drive in our specially adapted 4x4s the 360 Kms away from the pollution and noise of Cairo, to the serenity, quiet and purity of the Baharyia Oasis where our adventure begins. As we near Baharyia, we will stop to take some desert landscapes, before we continue onto Bahariya, where we will meet our host families. We will divide into smaller groups of 2-3, with each small group eating, living and sharing daily life in this desert oasis.
Day 02: Baharyia Oasis
Day 2 dawns with us still with our host families. After breakfast the men will go out to the farms, and the women will stay in the village and we will divide ourselves similarly, capturing unique images of daily life in this harsh environment, before returning for lunch with the family. In the mid afternoon we re-locate to a hotel in the same town, but there is time in the evening to be with people in streets and café shops, before returning back to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 03: White Desert Camp
After breakfast at the hotel we drive into white and black deserts, covering nearly 190 KMs off road in our 4x4s, over amazing sand dunes, extraordinary desert rocks and landscapes, before continuing to the Black Desert where volcanic stones cover the whole area. In the El Haiz valley there is the chance for q swim in some natural hot and lunch will be with one of the families in their house. THe afternoon we drive through to Crystal mountain where there is the crystal cave, as well as passing through the nature reserve of El Agabat. As the heat subsides we move through the Eastern white desert through an area known as the “mushroom area” to a wonderful spot where we camp out under the stars – and we promise you, you will never have seen a sky like it!
Day 04: Farafra Oasis
After sunrise and breakfast we have a short drive to Farafra Oasis (40 KMs), where again there is a chance to swim in the hot springs, before going to the guest house of local artists (Bader) to have our lunch. The rest of the day we explore the Oasis and the ruins of old houses, as well as meet some of the local villagers. Dinner and overnight at Guest house.
Day 05: Dakhla Oasis
After breakfast we get on the road for the drive to Dahkla, The first 160 KMs is on a good tarmac road, but the second half of the morning is all off road, over dunes to a 500 year old Islamic village, where some people including a blacksmith still carry on their traditional life. Lunch is a desert picnic amongst the dunes before driving to our simple hotel at one a villages called El Dohous, on the outskirts of Dahkla. THere we will do some street/village photography before having A BBQ dinner under the stars.
Day 06: Dakhla Camping
With pre dawn start, we drive the short distance to the Great Sand Sea, where we have organized for a camel train to pass through , down the ridges of fine sand, their long shadows caste by the early morning light.. Once we have finished there, we can then enjoy the dunes with some local sand boarding and sand surfing. No trip to this part of the desert would be complete without a refreshing plunge into the cold springs before back to our hotel for lunch and a rest. That evening our camels join us again at a small oasis for some sunset shots, and then we camp out under the stars.
Day 07: Assyout
After breakfast at our campsite, we have the chance to nip back to the hotel for a quick shower and change, before we head off through the desert to the Kharga oasis, where there is also a wonderful Coptic necropolis. Kharga oasis is different from the others i that it is more modern, and the bustling market and street life provides a great place for cultural photography and for lunch. After lunch we head to Assyout, and on this leg we leave the desert landscape and start to see the more fertile lush green of the Nile delta. Upper Egypt life – predominately farming – consists of a relaxed pace amongst the myriads of villages, before arriving at Assyout, where we will have time to change and head to into the local town or just relax at the hotel before dinner and overnight hotel.
Day 08: Cairo
The tour officially ends in Assyout after Breakfast. There is the option to do the Luxor/Aswan Extension or to drive back to Cairo, where the driver has agreed to stop on the way at some villages if people still want to take some photos.
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