April 6, 2002
Near Ksar Ghilane - Ksar Ghilane - "Eye
of a needle" - Douz
We wake up to a wonderful morning.
We find many tracks in the sand ..... what might that
have been? And this? This one is known however.
Hmm.... a scorpion? This one has no beginning and
no end ....
For breakfast the much praised bread that was baked
on the fire the previous evening is made available.
It is gone much to fast ....
Today is going to be excitingly.
On the way to Douz at Ksar Ghilane we will have to
cross the "eye of the needle"... or consider
taking a 180 km-detour.
In front of us the oasis Ksar Ghilane.
Horses are found rather rarely in the desert.
Antiquity and modern world side by side.
A bath always feels great.
The flowing water was wonderfully warm, like at home
in the bath tub.
We saw3 storks stilting around.
Nobody was pregnant in our party - word of honor!
The track becomes sandier and sandier .... THE
EYE OF THE NEEDLE!!
Prior to crossing the approx. 400m wide dunes belt
each of us was in a blue funk.
Adding to the hardship was an difference in elevation
of approx. 30 m in the first half that had to be overcome.
We seriously discussed the absurdness of the crossing
but Martin Krauer just laughed.
The instructions were quite clear:
During the whole crossing of approx. 2 minutes the
car must be driven in second gear at the edge of
the red of the speed control range.
Do not change gears and do not take the foot off the
accelerator.
Unfortunately we had to tackle the dunes from the steep
and soft side.
Since we had the heaviest car, we were first to cross.
The more difficult part has been accomplished!
Gilles had young Noah in the car, who enthusiastically
cheered on his daddy.
Surprisingly the jeep did not have any problems either.
Afterwards Rüedel's self-esteem rose noticeably,
as his "bomb"
had constantly dug itself into the
sand.
The Opel Frontera also came through with flying banners.
It is evident how it entrenched itself in sand because
of the too soft suspension.
A small driving error and one is suddenly located
dangerously diagonally in the landscape.
Had Peter driven on the car would have rolled over.
Since he stopped early enough, it was easy getting
the car unstuck.
2nd approach ... much "sand" for nothing.
The boss giving instructions.
On this spot on previous tours two drivers had turned
their cars to scrap iron.
They had flown too far and had landed too hard.
Rally driver Gilles with copilot Noah.
The engine in Bruno's Nissan is too weak for such
a strain. Andreas's Defender had no trouble at all.
The "goat", Ueli's VW which actually is
a Toyota HiLux, managed easily.
The vehicle has an Australian "Old man Emu"
suspension and is set higher.
It is a joy to watch him driving it.
Yeah!! All done. That was pure adventure. We will
never forget this place.
This was a hard earned lunch.
In the middle of nowhere we find this "cafe".
Everybody somehow makes a living out here.
The locals travel with absolutely inadequate vehicles.
They obviously intended to cross the "eye of the
needle" in reverse direction.
The poor devils did not even have water to to drink
and it was quite warm.
We gave them a few bottles of water.
Different worlds .... Still life.
To brake the migration of the dunes palm leafs are
inserted on the dune combs.
Campground at Douz.
Surely some qualified tyre dealer could be found in
the city....
Bruno also had to replace the front shock absorbers
on his Nissan. |
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