Richard and I made a summer trip to Dakhla to finalise camel buying details for the expedition. In Egypt you either take male camels for high load carrying strength or females for less difficult management. There are no geldings, unlike in the western parts of the Sahara, though geldings offer a good compromise. After all such talk we headed back to Cairo and…ran out of fuel, or rather the Oasis had. It was then that I remembered why I prefered camels. 370 km from Cairo in Bahariya we had hit town just when both gas stations had run out of petrol. they had diesel but no gas. Waiting around for a few days wasn’t a pleasant option as Richard had a flight. While we dithered a man came up and asked if I lived in Cairo on road 177. I was surprised, but said yes. He was a neighbour, also on a desert trip, and recognised my car. ‘Anything else you want?’ he asked when leaving. Gas! He got out his phone and said, “I know a man who stockpiles gas for such occasions, he lives 8 km away.” The man arrived ten minutes later with 100 litres of petrol and would not even take a tip…Such stories are common in Egypt, a land where frustration can occur alongside miracles almost daily! It is now less than two months until we set off. We have one or possibly two places left on the expedition. If interested get in touch asap.