The Desert Trilogy

The trilogy is composed of three expeditions through contrasting deserts chosen for their relative diversity. The mission of each expedition is to explore the extent of climate change and its impact on cultures and communities in those areas.

In the spirit of adventure and discovery, each expedition seeks to identify the measures being taken towards a sustainable future and to assess their efficacy.

Each expedition aims to support a charity or charities relevant to their host country.

Parts I and II of the Trilogy have already been successfully accomplished and their findings were well received by a broad audience, including the participants at COP26.

THE DESERT TRILOGY Part I

THE ARAL KUM CROSSING

The Aral, once an inland sea, is the planet’s youngest desert, is now recognised as one of our planet’s worst man-made environmental disasters. In 2021, Rosie Stancer, accompanied by Pom Oliver undertook the first crossing of this desert, hauling desert carts over the grit, salt pans, sand drifts and mud in temperatures 50+ degrees centigrade.

Whilst observing the impact on the environment and its communities, they learnt what measures have, and are, being undertaken to redeem the situation. The expedition, supported by the Kazak government, served as a clarion call to the devastating effect of water drainage to nourish the thirsty needs of the cotton industry which, in turn, feeds our own appetite for fast fashion.

The expedition served to illustrate that such regional environmental disasters have a global impact, but that hope lies in action as demonstrated by the ongoing pro-active measures of the Kazak Government and The World Bank.

The Aral Kum Expedition

THE DESERT TRILOGY Part II

THE SINAI PENINSULA

Part II of the Trilogy was an expedition across the Sinai Peninsula in 2023, from the northwest to the southeast. The team travelled by foot with the Bedouin and their camels, over ancient landscape which has barely changed with time, crossing sand deserts, granite mountains, alluvial plains and along wadi systems.

This expedition sought to learn from communities how they are adapting to the impact of climate change.

THE DESERT TRILOGY Part III

THE INCENSE ROUTE 2025

The expedition will follow the ancient Incense Trading Route, along the length of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, approximately 2,000 kilometers over three months. Beginning in Najran—a historic trading crossroads in the far southwest—the journey will progress northward through diverse terrain including two vast deserts (the Empty Quarter and the Nafud) and the Sarawat mountain range. Along the way, the route will pass through significant cultural centres and heritage sites punctuating the Kingdom's western flank, such as Hima, Bisha, Medina, Khaybar, AlUla, and Tabuk. The expedition will continue through NEOM before reaching its final destination on the Gulf of Aqaba's coastline.

The team will be following the footsteps of the early traders, for whom this was the main artery for moving their precious commodities of frankincense and myrrh from Southern Arabia, Ethiopia and Somalia to the Mediterranean merchants.

This 21st-century journey will showcase Saudi Arabia's rich cultural legacy while revealing how Vision 2030 is transforming possibilities into reality—offering the world a living example of sustainable progress in action.