Away

10. Safari in the sand

After driving for a while with only desert on either side of the road, they approached a convoy of similar 4x4 vehicles parked on the side of the road.  The driver parked and hopped out with a small device in his hand.  He walked from wheel to wheel and let the air out with the device which had a little meter on it.  After finishing he got back in the car and started talking on his hands free. Slowly they start moving off the road into the sand.  The front vehicle moves ahead, leaving a gap, then the next one starts, leaving a gap, and so on.  Together they form a long train of 4x4 vehicles.  Snaking their way through the sand and up and down some small dunes.

"This is nice", Brett says.  "I expected bigger dunes, but this is fine".  The driver glances briefly at him in the rear view mirror as they pass slowly over one more small dune.  Suddenly in front of them it looked like a different planet.  Huge dunes and deep valleys as far as they could see.  And then the real safari begins. 

The driver speeds up, approaching the first dune at an angle and high speed.  At the crescent he turns the steering wheel, and the vehicle slides down the other side sideways, dangerously close to rolling over.  They are sliding down on the side Brett is sitting on.  He screams and grabs for something to hold on to, which happened to be Eddy's leg.  Near the bottom of the dune, the driver turns the steering again and the car leans over to the other side, sand flying over the car like a curtain.

"I can't do this, we are going to die" Brett yells. He closes his eyes and grips the handle near the roof with both hands to steady himself. Eddy on the other hand enjoyed every moment. He laughed and cheered and occasionally urged the driver to go faster. After what seemed like forever to Brett, the vehicle slows down. He slowly opens his eyes. He can see all the other vehicles parked haphazardly all around. "We stop here a bit", the driver says. "Sun going down, you take photos".

Brett almost falls out of the 4x4. His knees are wobbly after the scary ordeal. He takes one step forward and his foot sinks into the sand up to his knee. He sits down to take his shoes off. They are now filled with sand anyway. He shakes out his shoes and socks, tucks the socks inside one shoe and tries to get up. No luck. The sand is so smooth that he can't get any grip. "Here", Eddy says, as he holds out a hand to help Brett up. Brett is still not stable on his feet, but he manages to shake all the sand off his bum before trying to walk to the edge of the dune they parked on.

Eddy is sure he has never seen anything so amazing in his life. As far as he could see the dunes lay like waves in front of them. The setting sun colored them gold and pink and blue. He takes a few photos, and then he notices Brett disappeared. As he looks around, he sees Brett leaning against their 4x4 with his head against the car and his hands hanging by his sides. His shoes lying in the sand nearby.

"Brett, are you OK?", he asked when he reaches the vehicle. "I don't feel so good. My head is spinning. And I'm very nauseous". Eddy rummages through the cooler box the driver opened and left near the back of the vehicle, and finds ice cold water. He hands a bottle to Brett. He puts his hands around Brett's shoulders and guides him to sit down. "Drink some cold water, then put your head between your knees. "