Picnic in the sands with exotic friends

Having been in the UAE for the past 30 years now, I've learnt I share a love-hate relationship with the desert. I love to watch the dunes pass by through the window of a car, especially on a full-moon night. I love dune bashing and standing atop one to watch the sunset. But I hate feeling like a tonne of bricks each time I step on the sand. I hate the sand flying into my face and hair, creeping into my clothes.

Yet, there's something endearing about it that keeps pulling me back. So, last weekend saw me and two colleagues at the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve in Margham area for a nature trail organised by Arabian Adventures.
 

As I leafed through a brochure about wildlife at the reserve that our safari guide, Vinod Kumar, handed me, I found that except for maybe the Arabian oryx, the Arabian and sand gazelles, and desert fox, the majority belonged to the reptile species. I've never really been a fan of anybody with their belly too close to the ground. One consolation was that most of these species are nocturnal and it was mid-morning when we arrived. The heat would keep them away, I thought.

Bustling haven

My first encounter that day was with colonies of spider-like flying insects in the camp toilet. We had seen different tracks in the sand made by lizards, dung beetles, agamas, gerbils and desert hare on our way in. Kumar informed us there were over 40 wildlife species, 120 bird species and 55 identified plant species in the reserve. As he pointed out the foliage, the only ones I could identify were the ubiquitous acacia and ghaf trees, and Sodom's apples.

Most animals were shying away from the heat. One flighty gazelle had teased us as we began our journey into the reserve but it was only after driving a good way in that we saw it again with a companion — gracefully at play. The oryx came in much later — first a loner, then, a little ahead, a small herd. In the meantime, the gazelles kept us amused, jumping into view often. It was almost noon before we came upon a large herd of oryx. Close to them, Kumar set out a little picnic breakfast under a ghaf tree.

All this time in the car, Kumar told us to keep our eyes to the ground. At one point he braked hard pointing to the right. We only caught the sand shifting like molten lava as a sandfish raced across. Just as we pulled away I spotted an Arabian toad-headed agama on my side of the path. But before Kumar could stop the car, it disappeared, leaving the tell-tale parallel lines in the sand.

It wasn't long before our trail ended. We saw a few other herds of oryx on our way out. Kumar informed us that the reserve is spreading them out.

— For information visit www.arabian-adventures.com