I’m about an hour or so away from some of the biggest dunes in the world, south of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I’ve pretty much avoided them since I arrived however, with one or two exceptions, because I was spoiled by the deserts of Egypt – for me the open desert is a quiet place,… Read More Dunes

So my rebuild and refit of various Land Rovers is moving along. Ben Stowe of Black Paw 4×4 in York is masterminding the whole thing with his usual expert and perfectionist eye. (www.blackpaw4x4.co.uk) The plan now regarding the Defenders I have in the UK is to have one as a potter about/daily drive/weekend camper on… Read More Car developments

Lebanon is a country of surprises. I first visited four years ago, and was wowed by the people, the landscape and the diversity of the place. I loved it, and vowed to return as soon as I could. Life got in the way a bit, but I was able to zip back there last week… Read More Lebanon

Living in Middle Eastern countries is, for me, all about getting out into open spaces. Desert, for preference. In the Egyptian desert I had three or four favoured boltholes out in the Sahara that I used to go to most weekends, with names like Dew Camp, First Drop Camp and Three Rocks Camp. The view… Read More Midnight at the Oasis – almost

As a kid, like many of us, I often had my imagination fired by the Greek myths – in particular the adventures of Jason and his ship the Argo. One myth in particular stuck in my head – the tale of the Golden Fleece. Jason and his Argonauts sailed to Colchis, a land of dragons,… Read More Georgia

I’d always heard wonderful things about Sri Lanka – since childhood. Tales of beautiful hill country wrapped in mists, long beaches overhung by palm trees, fantastic markets full of the scent of spices and unusual fruits – and it is all of these things, and more besides. I visited for a few weeks in August,… Read More Sri Lanka

Morocco is beautiful. It’s split between four distinct landscapes – the Mediterranean north – undulating growing land punctuated by crops of various types, ancient towns  and small farming villages, the mountainous centre – predominantly Berber rather than Arab with a sprawling mass of mountain ranges, the eastern coast – scattered with fortified Portuguese settlements, and… Read More Morocco

One of the most humbling and memorable experiences of my life was in the summer of 2015 when I was last in Kenya. I was lucky enough to spend time with the Born Free Foundation, a charity that I’ve supported for a long time, and take part in their Lion Census in Meru National Park,… Read More Kenya with Born Free, and then….

Apologies, once again, for the lack of entries! Life and lack of connectivity gets in the way. As ever, its been busy here. A week in Cairo, catching up with old friends and visiting old haunts was refreshing and reviving. It’s just over two years since I moved from Egypt to the UAE but I… Read More Cairo, Britain and a new Defender (kinda)

Spring can be a wet time in the UAE, with March being statistically the wettest month here in Fujairah. The country has a varied geography with some remarkably pretty and majestic landscapes. I was prepared for the open deserts but not for the rugged mountains which ring the Emirate where I live, and it’s those… Read More Spring in the UAE