In March 2018, a bold Secret Compass team of 12 will leave life's responsibilities and excesses at the desert's edge, to undertake a tough traverse of Sudan's Bayuda desert by foot and camel. Bound on three sides by a giant 600km bend in the meandering River Nile, the Bayuda Desert route has been crossed by desert nomads for centuries, connecting the north and south of the ancient Kingdom of Kush.

A new venture for 2018, this 280km journey will follow a route steeped in history, a shortcut between Nile communities and the route taken by the Gordon Relief Expedition – a desperate military march across Egypt and Sudan to relieve General Gordon and the siege of Khartoum. The historic significance of this lifeline route combined with the parched landscape of sand sheets, acacia forests and yellow, ochre and brown rocky outcrops provides a grand sense of perspective to complement a back-to-basics desert adventure; top and tailed by the mesmerising ruins of the Meroë and Nuri pyramids and temples still standing at each end.

“Secret Compass is no stranger to this remote eastern region of the Sahara,” explains Tom McShane, Operations Director at Secret Compass. “We led the first commercial expedition across the Bayuda in 2013, before planning and leading the Sudan phase of Levison Wood's trademark adventure; Walking the Nile.”

On his epic journey, Levison walked over 4,000 miles from the source of the Nile in Rwanda to the Nile delta in Egypt where it flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Part of this journey saw him make a testing crossing of the Bayuda Desert in blistering summer heat. Making the crossing in March rather than July, this Secret Compass team can expect much cooler temperatures than those experienced by Levison.

However, the team mates will undoubtedly face the harsh realities of desert life on this testing expedition, connecting wadis and wells to water their camels and preparing for the possibility of sandstorms on the way. But with great challenges come even greater rewards, and Project Manager, Amy Bibby, explains that this is no regularly-trodden tourist trail: “To our knowledge, no other commercial teams have made this crossing, which will put the individuals in this 2018 team in the select company of a few privileged explorers to have ever made this journey.”

Expedition Highlights:

• Journey through diverse Saharan desert scenery.
• Follow in the footsteps of ancient Meroitic civilisations.
• Interact with nomadic tribes-people as you visit desert wells.
• Learn camel riding skills from the local camel-men supporting the expedition.
• Explore the pyramids and tombs of the ancient Meroitic civilisation.
• Camp under the stars of the desert night sky.
• Experience the hospitality of a country rarely visited by western tourists.

The Bare Bones

Expedition Name: Sudan: Traverse the Bayuda Desert

What: A journey across the Bayuda by foot and camel

Dates: 04 MAR – 18 MAR 2018

Cost: TBC

Secret Compass Expeditions

With its military background, expedition company Secret Compass is renowned for offering expeditions and adventure travel to countries eschewed by most operators due to their remoteness, post-conflict reputations or inaccessibility.

Expedition styles range from mixed-terrain trekking and minimalist desert traverses to mountain-biking, rafting and horseback expeditions. Secret Compass welcomes applications from anyone with a good level of fitness who's keen to achieve the extraordinary in the world's wildest places.

Apply to join the Sudan team

Find out more about the Sudan expedition online, including links to our no-obligation Application Form.

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Notes for editors

Secret Compass

Secret Compass redefines what is possible by creating pioneering projects in the world's wildest places. Secret Compass is built around a team of trusted experts who combine a passion for exploration with industry-leading professionalism. Secret Compass reignites your primal need for adventure, providing the catalyst for you to come alive and achieve the extraordinary. Upcoming destinations include Afghanistan, Armenia, Bhutan, Burma, Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan, Madagascar, North Korea, Panama, Siberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Chad and the southern Sinai.

Secret Compass for TV, film and brand projects

Secret Compass is trusted by production companies and brands to create and capture the extraordinary in remote and wild regions thanks to its unrivalled location and risk-management expertise. Credits include location-managing Channel 4's Walking the Nile and Walking the Himalayas series, alongside projects for the BBC, National Geographic, Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel. Brand clients to date include Mitsubishi, Sony, Nespresso, Giro, Xbox and Jagermeister.

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