18-Nov-2010 -- The original idea for this visit came from Rick Gelderblom, whose previous attempts to reach the point from the West had been unsuccessful. Unfortunately Rick and Ineke could not join us on this trip. Further preparations for the trip started in Cairo where Peter Gaballa sourced a couple of jerry cans for petrol and of course the necessary advice. The initial route plan had already been made, but we were still lacking a convenient route from the escarpment into the Farāfira depression. Peter contacted his friend Turbo (Mahmoud Ezzeldin) and he (Turbo) provided the coordinates of a new descent created for a recent rally. Thanks guys for your invaluable help.

The route to the point was surprisingly simple, following the Baḥariyya road from Cairo to about 80 km past the half-way station (on the road), then off the road south to southeast into the Abū Muḥarrik dunes. At about 170 km (camping in between), we crossed the dunes (east to west) and initially took a bee-line to the confluence point (relatively smooth terrain with small rocks – easy to navigate). After about 45 km we crossed the rally track and, following Peter's advice, followed the track for some 35 km (we camped near the beginning) – this allowed us to bypass a terrain with larger rocks without any difficulties. We left the track once we reached a low-lying area (possibly a lake-bed in earlier times) and followed a SSE direction straight to the confluence point (very easy terrain with some surprising vegetation). From the confluence point the route was almost straight west to reach the descent (spectacular view from the escarpment into the Farāfira depression). The route back to the road from there cannot be missed.

Coordinator's Note: The Degree Confluence Project strongly discourages the leaving of a permanent marker especially in wild areas.