Wilderness Awards 2007

Alistair Carley-Smith

A recent graduate from Exeter University, Alistair has always craved adventure. Perhaps the most significant of his early family holidays were those spent in the Sultanate of Oman: Christmas Eve beneath the stars in the Wahiba Sands, surrounded by dunes hundreds of feet high, a plastic Christmas tree and camel spiders. These early experiences of Arabia's deserts, mountains and bustling souqs never faded and led to further trips to Oman, the Emirates, Egypt, Turkey and Morocco. Eventually Alistair studied Arabic for 4 years at University and lived in Egypt for a while. Always looking for the next adventure, it seemed appropriate to undertake an extended journey through the whole of the Middle East, and after a lot of planning, 'The Great March' was realised.