The Desert Trilogy

The trilogy is composed of three expeditions through different deserts chosen on their relative diversity. The mission of each expedition is to explore the extent of climate change and its impact on cultures and communities in those areas.

In the spirit of adventure and discovery, each expedition will also seek to identify measures which are being taken towards a sustainable future and their efficacy.

Each expedition aims to support relevant charity/charities relevant to its host country.

Parts I and II of the Trilogy have already been successfully accomplished and their findings were well received by a broad audience, including at COP26.

THE DESERT TRILOGY Part I

THE ARAL KUM CROSSING

The Aral, once an inland sea, is the planet’s youngest desert, is now recognised as one of our planet’s worst man-made environmental disasters. In 2021, Rosie Stancer, accompanied by Pom Oliver undertook the first crossing of this desert, hauling desert carts over the grit, salt pans, sand drifts and mud in temperatures 50+ degrees centigrade.

Whilst observing the impact on the environment and its communities, they learnt what measures have, and are, being undertaken to redeem the situation. The expedition, supported by the Kazak government, served as a clarion call to the devastating effect of water drainage to nourish the thirsty needs of the cotton industry which, in turn, feeds our own appetite for fast fashion.

The expedition served to illustrate that such regional environmental disasters have a global impact, but that hope lies in action as demonstrated by the ongoing pro-active measures of the Kazak Government and The World Bank.

The Aral Kum Expedition

THE DESERT TRILOGY Part II

THE SINAI PENINSULA

Part II of the Trilogy was an expedition across the Sinai Peninsula in 2023, from the northwest to the southeast. The team travelled by foot with the Bedouin and their camels, over ancient landscape which has barely changed with time, crossing sand deserts, granite mountains, alluvial plains and along wadi systems.

This expedition sought to learn from communities how they are adapting to the impact of climate change.

THE DESERT TRILOGY Part III

THE INCENSE ROUTE 2025

The expedition will follow the ancient Incense Trading Route along the length of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A distance of some 2,000 km, this epic three month journey will start in the far southwest at Najran, a major trading junction. Progressing north, it will encompass two deserts (the Empty Quarter & the Nafud), a mountain range (the Sarawat mountains), cultural hubs and heritage sites that punctuate the western side of the Kingdom, (including Hima, Bisha, Medina, Khaybar, AlUla, Tabuk) , through NEOM to the coast, where the journey will conclude on the Gulf of Aqaba.

The team will be following the footsteps of the early traders, for whom this was the main artery for moving their precious commodities of frankincense and myrrh from Southern Arabia, Ethiopia and Somalia to the Mediterranean.

This C21st expedition will capture the timeless and magnificent cultural heritage of Saudi Arabia, offering the world a focused glimpse of the very real possibility of a sustainable future, as it unfolds, through the kingdom’s Vision 2030.