18-Jul-2002 -- Having finally decided to tackle our very first confluence point in Saudi Arabia, we subsequently decided to start our quest in the midst of the hot season (mid July, temperature averaging 46°C during the day), when our friends of the other teams are on holidays.

23N 46E is situated around 292 km south of Riyāḍ, direction Wādī Dawasir. After 2 hours time heading south, we turned westward, direction Wādī Birk (still on a tar road), and then again slightly southward.

On the outskirts of a little "village" (a few houses circumventing a farm and a mosque) located on 23rd parallel north, we went off the road westward into the dunes (low height), and eventually reached our day goal (alt. 662 m), after some 10 km of sand dunes’ driving that entailed no major difficulties for those who did not forget to deflate... The environment was constituted of sand ridges and a little vegetation, fairly dry, while the engulfing silence was really striking, once on the site.