Tunisia:Day 6

As the temperature dropped just before our lovely planet rotated to allow the sun to crest the horizon, my natural alarm clock woke me up. Shuffling about, I finally noticed there was enough light so I could see. Time to get up.

Packing the Landy has become habitual already. I stuffed snacks down my neck and drank a luke warm coffee before looking at the maps to sort out my route and plans for the day. 

More piste, then tarmac through some small towns to Douz for food, money and fuel. I passed three more empty fuel 4x4 with a wave and a quick chat. 

The salt pan is huge. It's not officially Sahara, but it is a good intro. Its kinda like the foothills to a mountain range. You get rough ground, mini sand dunes and isolation. My nights sleep was totally undisturbed and the stars were awesome before I crawled into my sleeping bag.

Once on tarmac, my speed picked up and by 12, I was in Douz. It's a hub for Sahara trips and a busy place. It has Carrefour, banks and cafes. In a cafe, I was accosted by another guide selling me 4x4 trips into the desert which I declined. Once sorted, I headed east on a piste out of town. 

The crops have now become farmed date palm. All lined up like soldiers and surrounded by a reed fence. It's a lot of work,but as Abdullah stated yesterday, dates are Saharan gold and worth a lot of money. 

This piste turned out to take me to a large water source. Clearly a well used meeting place for people and animals, judging by the tracks in the sand. I took the opportunity of a moments solitude to have a strip down wash, do some laundry, some lunch and sort out a loose bolt of the passenger door of the Landy. 

After an hour, several folk turned up. The sound of kids laughing and giggling always brightens anyone's day. 

I set off again, realising I'd made a navigation error. Last winter I'd made several GPX files of possible routes and the one I wanted to follow left Douz heading almost due south into the dune sea. It then headed east on the next GPX to get me just south of Ksar Ghilane. The one I was following went east first, then south. It was the back up file if needed. First it followed a rough piste, then tarmac to Ksar Ghilane. By the time I realised, I was too far to turn around. So Ksar Ghilane was my finish point for the night just after sunset. Hey ho, I did see camels and was shepherded by a dog protecting it flocks.

I also found the butchers for camels today in Douz. So that don't all get to retire to an easy life it seems!

I'll have a look at the dunes tomorrow.