The Eid and school holidays are upon us and everybody is asking, “What can we do?” So the appearance at local bookshops of a new publication about desert excursions is well timed. “Desert Treks from Alkhobar,” by Jon Carter is the third handbook in Stacey International’s series on off-road driving in Saudi Arabia. Publication of the book was sponsored by the Shell Companies in the Kingdom.
Carter, who hails from the UK, has spent two decades working in the Middle East. He arrived in the Kingdom in 1989 and Saudi Arabia soon became home, as his family found that they enjoyed the challenging but rewarding lifestyle here.
“The original focus for my wife Sandy and I to come and work in the Middle East was to be able to put our three children through school in the UK,” explained Carter. “The three of them, James, 23, Ben, 21, and our daughter Abi, now 19, have lived with us in Qatar, Bahrain and here in Saudi Arabia, and are all now at universities in UK. But they love the desert and they are already excitedly planning the treks we’ll be taking on their next holiday in the Kingdom.”
Carter recommends desert trekking as an excellent family activity. He said that his children have enthusiastically gone out on every trip possible. They have always found the desert interesting because there is so much to see, including amazing wildlife and incredible natural beauty.
“It’s been wonderful that whenever we’ve met with Bedouin or other travelers in the desert, people have been very hospitable to us and treated us with the utmost generosity,” Carter said. “Perhaps it’s not so romantic out at the encampments now that there are water tankers and pickups, not just camels and tents, but the basic culture and values are as strong as ever. There are hundreds of thousands of people living in small communities in the desert and it has been important for my children to see that there are other lifestyles that are just as worthy as their own.”
It’s not only tankers and off-road vehicles that have brought changes to desert life. The development of the global positioning system (GPS) made navigation through shifting sands safer and easier. With GPS, every square meter on the earth has essentially a different address. GPS devices became commonly available in the Kingdom about five years ago. According to Carter, the two brands of GPS devices generally found in Saudi Arabia, Garmin and Trimble, are both reliable. However, he advised that people should use them around town first before they attempt to rely on them for direction in the middle of nowhere.
“Take out a new GPS device and use it while driving back and forth to work and on shopping trips. The devices function in a very straight forward manner, so operation is usually quite easy,” he said. “I use GPS for all navigation on our trips and directions in the book are given in such a manner that the target locations can be keyed into a GPS device. This helps ensure that a novice trekker will arrive at the correct location even if he isn’t expert at navigating with maps and mileage. GPS is an excellent tool but trekkers should always carry a compass for backup. It’s part of the philosophy of desert trekking — to always have spares and backup.”
Carter emphasized that desert trekking is a safe activity, as long as certain rules are always followed. At the beginning of his book, he gives a list of “Trekkers’ Tips” and the requirements for a “Trekkers’ First Aid Kit.” He also mentioned that taking along a “sense of humor” is essential because trips don’t always go exactly as planned.
The handbook gives directions for 20 different trips. A number of the treks can easily be done in a single day with an ordinary vehicle. More challenging adventures are broken into three or four days and require four-wheel drive transport.
Asked about his favorite trek, Carter thought for a moment and then opened his book to the trip titled, “Hanidh and Barney’s Sinkholes.” This was a weekend trip done with a four-wheel drive vehicle. The course of the trek was through various wadis and across plateaus, to end up at an area of sink holes and caves. While exploring the caves, the family came upon a tiny abandoned puppy. The little creature was cold and near death, but with some love and care he thrived, and has turned into a handsome dog named Barney. Now, he is an alert and active guard on all their desert adventures. Why did the Carters name the dog Barney? You’ll have to read the book to find out!
“Desert Treks from Alkhobar” was truly a labor of love for Carter and eventually became a family affair. His oldest son, James, contributed cartoons and sketches as illustrations in the book. Sandy, Carter’s wife, added beautiful touches with her delicate watercolors. Carter reconstructed the trips from notes taken in the field and consulted with other trekkers to ensure that the best advice is given. Hand-drawn maps and photographs make the book an interesting read even for avowed couch potatoes.
Carter himself is a walking encyclopedia of strange desert trivia. For example, did you know that the meat of the desert lizard known as the “dhub,” is higher in cholesterol than any other animal’s flesh? From now on you can feel almost health conscious when eating your scrambled eggs in the morning.
Carter encourages everyone to go desert trekking. This is the prime season for it — October to April. Unfortunately there’s no way to learn trekking from your recliner. It’s something that must be tried, hands-on.
“The only book I know on desert driving techniques published here is ‘The Desert Driving Safety Handbook,’ written by A.P. Hart,” said Carter. “My view is that you cannot learn desert driving techniques from a book; there is no substitute for the real thing. My advice to people starting out is to find a competent and experienced desert driver and ask him to take them out and gradually increase the difficulty of each trip.”
What four-wheel drive does he recommend? Carter just laughed and said he hadn’t investigated the possibility of doing vehicle endorsements, but that it isn’t hard to see that most of the Bedouin drive Land Cruisers. He did point out that 4X4s and sport utility vehicles are becoming much more sophisticated and this isn’t necessarily a good thing for off-road driving.
“If a vehicle with very complicated mechanics and systems breaks down 500 kilometers from the nearest road, it can be almost impossible to repair,” he commented. “For off-road vehicles, simple and sturdy are two vital qualities. Other than preparing well before you go out, it’s important to remember that neither you nor your vehicle are infallible. Know your limitations and your vehicle’s limitations, and concentrate on your driving. I can assure you that you’ll enjoy the experience.” — [email protected]
Arab News Features 29 November 2002
