Josh Tenge World Champion Sand Boarder visits Egypt's Great Sand Sea:
By: Teymour "Tim" Adham
Day 1: Pick Up Josh at Cairo airport at 23:45 unfortunately his flight was delayed 4 hours and he did not arrive till 4:00 am when he did arrive one of his bags seemed to have missed the flight, so a hour and a police report later we were out of the airport on our way to Adham compound. We cruised through Cairo it was beautiful around sun rise, we had already caught the Sahrawy and were 2hrs from the compound by 06:00am. Josh was super excited to be in Egypt he was not tired from his flight plus the bag that was lost was not super essential for the shoot with Discovery. we arrived at the compound at 8am and proceeded straight to packing the car and heading for Siwa.
Day2: Arrived in Siwa by sundown by way through Mersa Matroh, where we paid a visit to the Coast Guard Chief in the area to show him the ramps and get permission to set them up and leave them over night. He was cool and we even had tea with him in his office. When we got to Siwa we headed to a friend of mine's farm where he had prepared a Baby Camel BBQ. Josh is from Colorado where he hunts a lot he really enjoyed the camel saying it tasted a bit like Elk.
Day 3: We head out into the Great Sea of Sand just south of Siwa where we set up the ramp and had a few practice runs. josh was amazed by the Dunes he said they were among the best he had ever seen. Mohammad Basuini Ex Army Ranger and my most trusted desert guide and my partner since 1999 plus I must mention he is also Egypt's premier Toyota 4x4 mechanic helped josh tweak out the jump to get a bit more lift to do the back flips.
After setting up the jump we head out to Beer Wahed it was perfect. The Coast Guard Commander in the area knew we would be filming with discovery channel so they sent all the Siwan drivers to clean it up it was great I had not seen it that clean in years hopefully it will stay that way. After lunch we enjoyed a relaxing dip in the hot spring to wash the sand off.
The Rest of the Sahara Crew from right to left Gamal Nasr (Team Medic), Ahmad Shishtawy (Power Kites), Omar Ragab (Sand Boards), Tim Adham (Team Leader).
It is great to see Beer Wahed so clean we hope it stays this way. Remember when in the Desert Protected Areas "you can take only photos & leave only footprints."
As the sun Set the light was perfect and josh took some great photos of the cold lake and the dunes on the way back to Siwa.
That night when we got to Siwa we rendezvoused with the discovery camera team they were from a company called Impossible Pictures we met over dinner, got introduced and planned the next day.
Day 4: I had to go into the desert with the cam crew plus take them around Siwa to get some initial footage of the area. Josh got a free day to tour Siwa town where he visited all the sights including, Shali the old city, the temple of the Oracle (Jupiter & Zeus), plus he had a swim at Cleopatra's Bath. He thoroughly enjoyed all the history, magic, and myth of Siwa.
Then Josh spent the rest of the afternoon at Tanta Waa (next to Cleopatra's spring) hanging out smoking Hubbly Bubbly (Egyptian water pipe) with Gamal & Ahmad. They had a very chill time at this spot known only to hardcore back packers.
These waters were Pure enough for Cleopatra and the pool is just as clean and pure now 3000 years later Josh was Amazed.
Day 5: We left Siwa pre dawn it was still dark we got to the dune by dawn. As day broke Josh was absolute magic in the sand he was incredible pulling off 5 back flips and an assortment of tricks for the Cameras. The Camera crew were super pros they were in tune with us and got some great footage.
The picture below is amazing Josh looks like he is about to take a dip in the Great Sea but in actuality he had completed 3/4s of his back flip and landed this jump perfectly connected like I said he was magic in the sand, pure magic.
Day 6: We Again left Siwa pre dawn this time on our way to Shiatta stopping at some amazing dunes to film some epic free riding. The crew from Impossible Pictures was outstanding once again always listening and taking our points of view in consideration. Plus we tried our best to accommodate them with all there special requests; for instance we had Josh put a wireless mike in his boot to pick up all the action sounds but what we did not realize was that Nick Walker the sound guy could also here all our conversations and asked if he could join us for the bonfire Party we were planning that night it was cool!!! We did not say anything illegal, "I think." Working with the crane and the blue screen was also cool we got a taste of what it takes to work on a large production it was a great experience for the entire Sahara crew.
The Pictures below: left to right Srik Rajan (Director) very mellow dude kept and maintained a great vibe throughout the shoot, Josh (director/producer/cameraman/rider in future sand boarding movies) almost got away with a camera but Romany was right behind him. Next to Josh is Steve Gray (Cameraman) with years of experience and apparently no concept of fear; he was filming on the edge (I mean on the edge 6 to 10 inches of a cliff) on the temple of the Oracle 100meters up, like he was standing in his living room he did not even flinch. Plus the 3 guys part of Romany Helmy's Crew on the 35mm camera. Imagine a camera worth over half a million Egyptian pounds and these guys bring it out in the middle of the great sea of sand and these guys think Sahara team is crazy talk about the pot calling the kettle black. All the way on the right Turbo Charged Camera Technician Simon DeGlanville
Below a Photo Of Romany Helmy's cars at the bottom of Shiatta dune Working with Romany was a great experience he has a lot of knowledge and I can see why he is the #1 fixer in Egypt please visit his web site for all your production needs in Egypt. www.egyptfixer.com
Day 6: We drove from Siwa early morning racing against the setting sun to get Josh to the pyramids before sunset. We got to Cairo by 5pm just in time, then we walked around the bazaars and caught the sound and light show at the pyramids. I dropped josh off at the hotel and headed back to Alex. Gamal and Ahmad picked josh up that night and took him to the Azhar and the old souk at Khan el Khalili. his flight was at 6 am the following day.
Chair lift services in the dunes; Sahara Adventure Company Trucks: FJ 75-1HZ Turbo Charged 240+HP Troopy & 80Series VXR-3F Super Charged 220+hp both rigs Have a 3 inch lift with heavy duty springs, front and rear Diff locks, free wheeling Hubs, 80gallon 400litre gas tanks, 33x12.50 Pirelli Scorpions with 2 spares each. The Troopy is fitted with an air compressor via the ac system while the VXR is equipped with a 12000lb warn winch plus some tweaks like our ring and pinion, axle & gearbox ratios we like to keep to ourselves These 2 "Yodas" as Josh liked to call them, were completely rebuilt and prepped by Mohammad Basuini www.landcruiser-egypt.com With over 35 years experience with land cruisers in the Egyptian desert.
Josh sent me a email when he got back home thanking me and the crew for a great trip honestly we want to thank him for coming, and express that Josh from day 1 was a outstanding member of the Sahara team it was as if we have been friends for years and will remain friends for years. The international Tribe of board riders transcends all global issues. Boarders are a global community who understand the true meaning of One Love & ZoeYistence, the world is becoming a village we are the true ambassadors of peace. I also have to thank Lon Bolle of Venomous Sand boards and Dune Riders international, who was it not for his great insight and foresight this trip would never have happened. www.sandboard.com Big thanks from the entire Crew at Sahara and Big thanks from the entire Egyptian board riding committee.
I also want to send a big thanks to the crew at Impossible Pictures including the Production team Rebecca Kelly, Vicki Horton, Claudia Morris, Leah Cooper, Kate Fernie For there detailed emails and numerous phone calls I hope they enjoy the footage. With special thanks to Kate and Claudia it was great to meet you and work together.
Plus I have to give a special shout out to Simon De Glanville who made me tired just watching him he is probably one the hardest working people I ever met
Look for Natural Wonders this summer on discovery channel to see the final product or visit www.impossiblepictures.co.uk for more information.
Sahara Team Courtesy of www.saharaadventurecompany.com
www.egypt-board-riding.com The Egyptian Board Riding Committee.
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