AFRICA HIGH AND WILD
Whorl of Sand, Touch of Snow
by Beyond Productions

Our journey begins in the geographical centre of the Sahara; the largest desert on earth. We are surrounded by a veritable sea of sand - an "ocean without water". The Hoggar Mountains rise from this seemingly dead flat surface; a series of bizarre boulder piles, spires, twisted pillars and mounds. Wilby and Ciantar, together with three camels and a local guide, will climb over and between these monoliths, discovering ancient cave paintings, hidden craters, gullies, canyons, gorges, gueltas (oases) and, surprisingly, people.

The heart of this most inhospitable terrain is home to the traditionally nomadic Tuareg, the famous veiled "Blue Men of the Desert". They present a proud, impressive image of invulnerability and independence. In recent years, Arab influence and extended periods of drought have put much pressure on the Tuareg to change their ways, to become sedentary and less pastoral. But while urbanized Tuaregs zoom around the sleepy streets of Tamanrasset in 4WDs, their nomadic brothers still ride through the same streets on dromedaries. The town boasts a used car lot - but one can still find a line of camels "parked" in an adjacent vacant block. Town Tuaregs sip cappuccinos at kerb-side European-style cafes, but deep in the heart of the Sahara, the elaborate tea ceremony is still a daily ritual.

As our journey progresses - as Wilby and Ciantar move further away from the towns and settlements and thus the influence of 'progress' - they rediscover the traditional Tuareg; the tranquillity and mystique of the desert.

Suddenly, from the eerie silent world of the Sahara, we enter the crowded Medina of Morocco's Djemma el Fna - the "Assembly-place of the Nobodies". It's just gone 5pm and thousands of people are pouring through the narrow covered streets towards centre stage. Colours, smells and sounds collide like fragments in a multi-sensory kaleidoscope. Merchants, beggars, soothsayers and medicine men vie for our attention. Weaving through the chaos of snake charmers, acrobats, herbalists, hawkers, tooth-pullers, costumed water sellers, crazy men and musicians, Wilby and Ciantar meet their friend Kalhal. After a traditional Berber family feast inside the palatially decorated home of Kalhal's mentor, the three set off with two mules and their lively masters into the High Atlas Mountains.

They travel along an infrequently visited Berber valley; climb through a narrowing canyon into a virtual cathedral of stone. Massive waterfalls, yet to thaw from their wintering, hang like crystal chandeliers overhead. Negotiating a challenging rock, snow and ice route, they reach the base of Rebel Toubkal - the highest mountain in North Africa. After summitting, they venture to the more remote Tessout region. In this isolated, exquisite setting of the High Atlas, we come to know the peaceful, idyllic ways of Berber rural life.