Sun City Camp, Wadi Rum, Jordan
It had been a long three hour drive from Jordan’s sprawling capital, Amman, to Wadi Rum. We started early to make the most of the empty ‘King’s Highway’, the only main road linking the capital to the desert . Our bodies weary but restless in the seats and our heads slanted against over-puffed hotel pillows. The air was filled with the lingering aroma of cardamom coffee and the sound of faint melodic wailing from the driver’s old car radio. We had seen no one for miles and the last hour of our journey had been spent driving on dust paths. But our faces perked up and pressed firmly against the glass windows as we passed a beautiful derelict steam train in the dust, abandoned from the magical days of Lawrence of Arabia. A solitary local man stood on the remains of a platform with a deep wrinkled smile and waved at us as we stared.
We reached Sun City Camp mid-morning and the sun was already scorching the fine sand under foot. The horizon was endless, there was nothing but red rock and blue skies. It was out of this world. I could now see why some people have indeed compared this desert to another planet. In fact, the local area had been used in many films such as The Martian and Star Wars and the camp lived up every bit to it’s sci-fi backdrop- a base of futuristic space bubbles clashed alongside ancient Bedouin style tents. We opted to stay in the latter, square black tents that are based on the life of local traveller people. Despite this, I was astonished to walk into mine and find a sturdy double bed, with air conditioning and a portable shower. There was even a set of complimentary toiletries on the sink. Not quite living like a local then…This was glamping at it’s best.
"The horizon was endless, there was nothing but red rock and blue skies. It was out of this world. "
I wasn’t there to sit in a tent all day and within minutes I threw my overnight rucksack onto the bed, zipped on my walking trousers and was already marching to the reception hut. It is amazing how much there is to see and do in the middle of nowhere. We were a small group of six and had travelled together from the UK, a place that felt more than just the 5,000km away that it actually was. Led by a local guide that I have used many times, Tareq, and some of the Jordanian locals we hiked out into the moonscape. It was a well trodden route by guests here and the guides took every opportunity to show off their film set. Of course we each sat and had the obligatory photos of us sitting where Matt Damon sat on a rock in The Martian, and jumping up together like something from a High School Musical poster in the sand. But when you stripped back the playful staging, you had the opportunity to actually take in the beauty of the natural theatre that we were now a part of. I could not make out any footsteps but our own and there was not one trace of civilisation as far as the eye could see.
Back at the camp the sun was slowly sinking and the sand was becoming turmeric coloured as golden hour drew closer. We took on some water and piled onto the rugged roof of a desert jeep, blasting off childishly in hope of finding the highest point we could see sunset. En-route, we found a group of Bedouins who had made camp at the base of a rock scrawled in ancient caveman engravings. They invited us into their dwelling for aromatic mint tea and swathed our heads in rich shemags to protect us from the abrasive wind. As tempting as it was to continue sharing stories with our new friends around the humble fire, we all knew our pursuit for sunset had to continue deeper into the desert. We stopped on the side of a large rocky mountain and the bronzed disk turned the sky into a shower of gold as it dipped below the horizon. The imposing rock formations around turned a blushful pink and then quickly became a deep blue as twilight drew in. Within minutes of the sun disappearing, we were already snuggled in large sheets of thick fur as we ploughed our way back through the darkness towards camp. It was only a 15min journey but we still pulled up to the camp entrance guided only by torchlight.
The evening’s entertainment begun with an endless feast. Prepared that morning, in what can only be described as a metal dustbin, meats and rice were lowered into a smouldering hole under the desert sand. The mix cooked in the bin all day, heated by coals and covered by layers of the insulating earth. It melted in the mouth as you took each bite. Dancing and music followed with non-alcoholic beers provided to quench the thirst. I could have stayed all night enjoying the entertainments put on by our generous hosts, but instead a few of us slipped away into the blackness, binoculars around necks and pillows in hand to experience a whole different sort of show happening above us . The sand was cold against our backs as we lay down and let our eyes adjust up to the darkest sky I had ever seen. You have no idea how much of the universe you are missing out on seeing until you have not one other single speckle of light around you to distract you. The sky danced like a full ballet at the Royal Albert Hall, stars shot across the whole sky in a blink, satellites passed through on a predicable yet purposeful orbit and galaxies dragged themselves along as we watched the sky rotating above us.
"The sky danced like a full ballet at the Royal Albert Hall..."
I woke up the next morning with the excitement of a girl on Christmas morning. The tent did not have windows, but even as I turned my lock and the door sprung slightly ajar, I saw a thick slice of the alien landscape piecing brightly into my dark grotto. I pushed it wide and filled my lungs with the arid but untainted air. Never in my life had I experienced anything like that view. It was an empty perfection ready to explore.
After breakfast, a buffet served in the dining room, we had one last activity at the campsite before we had to leave. This is where I met Dina, the sassiest diva you could possibly imagine, who certainly didn’t know the meaning of modesty. Well, why should she? She was a camel after all! She whirled me up onto her sizable humps and shimmied her way to the front of the group, naturally. We rode out for an hour on the beautiful beasts, laughing at times and mindfully silent at others as we took in the world around us. It was the perfect way to end the time we had been privileged enough to spend in this place.
Camels behind us, bags packed and people loaded back into the car, I returned my key to the camp reception. My mind drifted to the people that called this utopia home: the Bedouins who welcomed us like family, the hotel guides who couldn’t stop us smiling and my vivacious camel who just owned the land she walked on. They each had a certain sparkle to them that brought the barren landscape to life. While saying our fond farewells, I couldn’t help but feel that I was leaving a little part of me in that Martian world.
How To's
When in Jordan my ‘go to’ man is Tareq Shaqlos. He is a local tour guide with an immense knowledge of his country. Having been on many excursions with him before, it was an easy decision to get in touch to plan this adventure. He allowed me to create a rough plan for the 24 hours and then went about organising all the technical bits. He stayed with us the whole trip and drove both ways. He charged 270 JD (£270) for the whole group (6 people-but the price is for the trip not per person so not variable) for the two days. He also managed to book the hotel at a cheaper rate so worth discussing this with him if interested.
Sun City Camp is not cheap and is in addition to Tareq’s charge. It is worth it for a night if you want an extraordinary experience. Prices start online at £82 for a ‘Deluxe Double Tent’ per night (June 2020). The ‘Martian Tent’ bubbles start at £101 per night (June 2020). These prices can rocket up by almost three times if going in the winter season, when the desert temperature is less variable by night and day. We went in January which was perfect, but it may be worth checking out prices first. See https://www.suncitycamp.com.
Activities can be organised through the hotel. Some you need to pay for, such as the camel ride and the jeep, whilst the hiking was free. All the activities available can be found at https://www.suncitycamp.com/?page_id=1949. With any activity be sure to tip the locals, this is best via cash and normally a couple of JD (Jordanian Dinar) would be suitable per guide. Tip similar to the UK fpr larger excursions (10-15%) They will expect a small gratitude for hosting you and their effort if outstanding so well worth it.
Top Tips
The journey from Amman was 3 hours. We left Amman at 6am in order to make it to the campsite mid-morning and pack the most into our day. Take pillows with you and try and sleep in the car to preserve as much energy as you can.
We continued this journey down to Aqaba (about 1 ½ hours south) which is on the Red Sea. Here you can do glass bottomed boat rides, snorkel and experience the coast of Jordan. As a result the return journey was 4 ½ hours. If doing with children, make sure to take regular stops and take comfortable clothes/ entertainment en-route.
There are no shops and very few amenities outside the campsite so make sure to take enough food and water with you. The camp had water bottles and drinks but they will naturally be more expensive than just popping into the local supermarket. Note also that Jordan is a dry country, like much of the Middle East, so don’t expect to get a beer unless staying in a Western hotel.
Pack warm clothing. People often forget the desert gets very cold at night and some of the group suffered in the evening as they assumed it would be hot even at night. Lots of layers and socks will help. In the daytime, zip off trousers are brilliant if you have them as they protect your legs from the sun but you can turn them into shorts to keep cool as soon as you are in a vehicle/ inside.
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