Thursday 12th March, Jebel Bani to Iriki Salt Pan

The winds died down during yesterday afternoon and we enjoyed a nice sunset and sunrise over our camp. The route today was a long one over the salt pans of what was Lake Iriki. It was our longest walking day, 22km, and it also turned out to be the hottest with temperatures reaching 40 C during the day.

The local crew had put up a tent in the middle of the salt pans so we could get some shelter from the sun during lunch and for some clients to have their midday naps. An enterprising local spotted the tent and appeared with a case of Coca Cola and managed to sell his total stock to the group.

During the afternoon walk we saw countless mirages before emerging from the salt pans onto part of the Paris Dakar rally route. We finally reached a small mound and behind this was the finish line for our 100km walk in the Sahara and camp for night. A large banner marked the finish and the local crew cheered and sung as the group arrived.

The whole group had succeeded in completing their challenge and we enjoyed an evening of celebrations and sharing experiences on a very enjoyable trip. Most of the group choose to sleep under the stars on our final night in the desert.