Desert expedition

Desert expedition - Peru

Real Gap's comprehensive Peru Expedition programme contains two excellent desert expeditions. The first desert expedition in Peru is a visit to the desert oasis town of Huacachina. The town is located in a lush oasis surrounded by towering sand dunes and a desert expedition there is a unique experience. If you venture out in to the Huacachina sand dunes on a desert expedition in Peru you can get stuck in to some serious adrenaline-inducing activities on you desert expedition - including sand-boarding and off-roading in specially customised 4x4 vehicles. If you're after more sedate activities on a desert expedition, Huacachina is also a great place in which to simply relax, enjoy the desert landscapes and take photos during the changing light of the day.

In Peru you will also experience a desert expedition to the mysterious Nazca Lines. This desert expedition takes you 450 kilometres south of Lima to the deserts of western Peru to explore the incredible images cut in to the desert over two thousand or so years ago by an ancient civilisation. The huge mystical images you see on the desert expedition include monkeys, spiders and humming birds and are an awesome sight. You can even organise a small plane to take you up in to the air on the desert expedition in order to get a bird's eye view of the amazing images.

Desert expedition - Namibia

One of Real Gap's most unique desert expeditions is The Real Desert Elephant Project. This desert expedition is based in the northwest of the Namib Desert in the southern African country of Namibia. Travellers on this desert expedition help out in numerous different ways on a project dedicated to conserving the beautiful and endangered desert elephants. Much of the desert expedition is spent monitoring the elephants and tracking their herds in the wild. The base camp for the desert expedition is extremely rustic and travellers sleep in tents and cook meals over a camp fire. Other than elephants you'll see plenty of other incredible wildlife on this desert expedition - including rhino, lion and giraffe. A ‘real' back to basics African experience.

Desert expedition - Australia

A completely different desert expedition to the above two examples is a desert expedition to Australia. Australia is a vast country and although the major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne are extremely modern and cosmopolitan much of the country's interior is essentially uninhabited desert. On a desert expedition to Australia you can explore the ‘red desert' centre, which is a barren but often incredibly beautiful place (think ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert')! On a desert expedition to Australia you'll see some unique wildlife - including the ubiquitous kangaroo and, if you are lucky, weird and wonderful creatures such as frill-necked lizards and thorny-devils. No desert expedition to Australia would be complete without a visit to Uluru (or Ayers Rock to give it its old colonial name), which is one of the world's most stunning natural wonders and a real experience for a desert expedition.

One of the most rewarding ways to go on a desert expedition to Australia is by travelling on Real Gap's ‘Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA)' programme. Working as a CVA is an opportunity to ‘give something back' Down Under by caring for the environment and, if you want to combine it with a desert expedition, it's possible to apply for a project in a remote region of the Aussie Outback.


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