We set off mid-morning for a journey from the east of the country across to the western side next to the desert border, to visit Tozeur and a few other sites we were excited about seeing. We picked up the main P1 highway, which took us up to Gabes, there we peeled off and headed west. We started the journey with the familiar olive trees neatly lined up either side, but the further west we drove, the olive trees were slowly replaced by huge swathes of date palms. The further we went the more the landscape changed, becoming more arid. I’m guessing that the desert winds had a lot to do with it.
At just over halfway into the journey we were joined by the wonderful Atlas Mountains that stretch across all of North Africa. The final 100km stretch linking Kebili to Tozeur took us along a thin strip of road through the middle of Chott el Djerid, a salt pan, which stretches some 250kms and is pretty stunning. After just over 400kms and nearly 5 hours in the car we arrived in Tozeur, an oasis, boasting over 400 thousand palms. We had tried to book a place to stay on route, but the 3G signal we had, we dedicated solely to google maps. So we decided over a late lunch that we would spend the night at the Dar Horchani, which sits on its own palm oasis, about a 20 minute drive out of town. When we arrived we were met by the owner, who warmly welcomed us proudly showing us around the place, emphasising that all of the materials used were local and ethically sourced. The lodges themselves were made from recycled palm trees. Despite there being 25 unique rooms, we were fortunate to be the only guests staying in our small, comfortable intimate suite that night. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of local dishes in an private setting and took a final stroll around the property before turning in for the night.
The following morning, after stretching and a quick breakfast, we hit the road again early. Our first stop was Chebika, Tunisia’s first oasis. It was formed by an earthquake that created a canyon with an extraordinary natural spring. We also found it intriguing to discover fossilized shells halfway up the gorge, suggesting the presence of a body of water in the past. The view across the mountains was awe-inspiring, reminding us of the beauty of our planet. Chebika provided a tranquil and serene atmosphere. Next stop was to the other side of Naftah, it’s about 100 kms from Chebika the gateway to the Sahara and next to the Algerian border. We sought to find “Lars Homestead,” the iconic building used as Luke Skywalker’s house in one of the very first scenes of the original “Star Wars” film, “A New Hope” (1977). As mentioned in an earlier post, although the film was shot extensively in southern Tunisia, most of the locations have long been abandoned, and directions to reach them are not readily available, which we agreed we were actually quite pleased about. The only recognizable landmark we had was a large ranch-style property, which we still managed to miss. After stopping by the road near the ranch, we learned that the homestead was 2.5 km off-road, across Chott el Djerid, and not visible from the road. With temperatures reaching around 35 degrees Celsius (regularly exceeding 50 degrees Celsius in the area), walking the distance would have meant a 5 km round trip, assuming we were heading in the right direction. There was no one else around, and the mobile signal was patchy at best, as I discovered on my way back from a quick scouting mission. However, I noticed some tire tracks that appeared to be dry and firm, indicating recent travel, but I had no idea of where and how far they went and stepping off it would have risked our car getting stuck in the greasy mud with no traction. Despite these challenges common sense had deserted us both, we decided to take the car along the track and see what fate had in store for us. Driving very slowly armed only with blind faith and some dogged determination we set off and after what seemed like ages, but was probably only 10 minutes or so, it began to appear in the distance like a mirage, we were like a couple of excited kids again seeking and touching this piece of iconic memorabilia. After taking some pics and gawping at it for a while longer, we carefully retraced our tracks and made it back to the road and the start of our 500km journey back to Zarzis. A fantastic trip!
Dream Chasers 