Tibesti Expedition
My upcoming expedition is by camel into the forbidden Tibesti mountains, deep in the Sahara, to document the elusive tribe that lives there and the prehistoric rock art that lies hidden in the mountains.

Aim Of The Expedition
A journey to the ends of the Earth sounds like an exaggeration doesn’t it? Well, in this case it’s not. This is an expedition into one of the few, little explored areas of Africa, the remote Tibesti Mountains, to document the Teda tribe that lives there and the prehistoric rock art that exists in these mountains.

Where And What Are The Tibesti Mountains?
The Tibesti Mountains in northern Chad are a range of volcanoes, lava fields and peaks right in the heart of the Sahara desert. They are completely surrounded by sand in every direction. Remote, inhospitable, desolate. They are the home of the Teda people and ancient cave art, the most complete record of African prehistoric culture anywhere on the Earth.

Why Go There?
It is so important to document through photographs and film the Teda people that live there and their precious rock art. The world is changing, and these unique cultures will change with it. This ancient people and their way of life should be documented and their story told before it is too late. The Teda have lived in this mountain range, that they call the Mountains of Hunger, for millenia. They traded with the Romans. They have fought the Touareg to preserve their identity in the sweltering desert. And all from their Saharan citadel: the Tibesti

The Tibesti Mountains are special. It is an open air museum of prehistoric rock art that is up to ten thousand years old. The paintings depict hunter gatherers, giraffe, antelope, elephant and even fish: a fantastic record of prehistoric man. We all came from Africa. This is our story too, these paintings depict how humans lived in Africa so many years ago and provide a priceless record of one of the earliest periods in mankind’s history. My findings will be handed to the Bradshaw Foundation who work to safeguard prehistoric rock art around the world. It may be an expedition to the ends of the Earth, but it’s also an expedition to the start of the human story, the story of us.

There have only been a handful of expeditions to the Tibesti in the last hundred years because it is so remote and inaccessible. It’s time for a new one.

I have explored some the wildest and most remote tribal areas of Africa and I’m going to make the journey to the Tibesti by the best way I know how: walking with camels. This allows me to get close to the Teda and to navigate my way through the difficult mountain terrain. It will mean crossing 600 miles of the Sahara, suffering thirst and hardship and exploring the mountain range will be as demanding as it is remote.

Challenges And Risks
The setbacks are potentially numerous. That is part of undergoing expeditions in extremely difficult parts of the world. The Tibesti mountains are very remote, thus making any evacuation due to illness or accident nearly impossible. The area is also dangerous, with banditry and political turmoil an ever present reality.

Travelling with a 4×4 vehicle in the Tibesti presents many problems as you immediately distance yourself from the people you are going to visit and the terrain is not suited to using a car. The area is also heavily landmined. So I will travel to the Tibesti, across the Sahara, by camel. Using camels is also fraught with problems: I will have to take all my supplies, food and water with me. The journey will be long and hard. There are bandits in the desert and the land in northern Chad can be violent and lawless. I will have to use my experience of desert travel to the full if I am to be successful.