You’re lost in the desert, miles from civilisation, your car’s conked out and your phone’s just died. Would you know what to do next?
Venomous snakes, sandstorms, extreme temperatures and intense sunlight mean a trip to the desert is no walk in the park. The good news is, with a little preparation, key skills and the right mindset, you can survive nearly any situation. Howard Middleton-Jones, a desert survival expert and former member of the Royal Naval Reserve, says, ‘Preparation is key. If you’re not experienced in driving off-road in the desert, then hire a local guide. If you’re driving, tell someone where you’re going and bear in mind you may not always have a GPS signal, so study the area before you go and take a compass and maps.’
If you usually head into the desert with just your mates, some Coke and a packet of biscuits, you might feel differently once you read our crash course in desert survival. You can no longer bury your head in the sand – it’s time to learn how to cope with whatever the Empty Quarter throws at you.
Lesson 1: Before you go
1. Charge your mobile
2. Check the weather forecast
3. Stop using aircon to acclimatise
4. Tell someone your route and the time you expect to be back
Lesson 2: What to pack
1. A mirror
2. Maps, a compass
3. Matches and/or a lighter
4. A whistle and binoculars
5. A torch with new batteries
6. A sleeping bag and blankets
7. 50spf suncream and a dust mask
8. First-aid kit and medication you need
9. Water purification tablets and a litre of water per hour
10. Salt sachets and nutritious snacks such as dried fruit, nuts or granola bars
11. A windproof jacket, fleece, light-coloured clothing to reflect the heat, reflective clothing so you can be seen at night, loose tops with long sleeves, baggy trousers, a wide-brimmed sunhat, sunglasses and a bandana
Lesson 3: If you’re driving…
1. Fill your tank, and take extra fuel
2. Learn how to change a tyre
3. Carry a spare tyre and the tools to change it
4. If your car breaks down near a road, stay with it
5. Take advantage of any shade your car gives you
6. If your car is stuck in sand, don’t spin the tyres or you’ll sink deeper. Partially deflate them – but not so much that you can’t drive once you get unstuck. Apply even, slow pressure on the accelerator and turn the wheel slightly and slowly
Lesson 4: Desert dangers Dehydration
Exposure to the sun during the day and to the cold during the night is a major danger. So is dehydration. You can live eight weeks without food depending on your physical fitness, body fat and metabolism, but in certain circumstances you can die from dehydration in hours. ‘Anything you eat will increase your need for water, so eat little and often,’ says Howard.
Bites and stings
Snakes only bite when surprised, so don’t go frightening the sandy-coloured horned viper – which has fangs. Give the Sindh saw-scaled viper, characterised by brown scales and a pear-shaped head, a wide berth, too – it’s the UAE’s deadliest snake. Scorpions come out at night, but the odds are if you see one it won’t be venomous. But the smaller the scorpion, the more venom it’ll have. And you might want to avoid cornering a spiny-tailed lizard: it can be as long as a dog, inflict a painful blow with its spiny tail and give a nasty bite with its strong jaws. Camels can be violent, too.
Damien Egan, the reptile supervisor at Al Ain Zoo, says, ‘The UAE desert has four species of snake that give potentially lethal bites. As well as the Sindh saw-scale viper and Arabian horned viper, there’s the Oman carpet viper and rare Persian horned viper – all of which have stout bodies, thin necks and broad, triangular heads. While local scorpion stings are not considered lethal if you’re healthy, people with immune problems or hypersensitivity to venom may experience life-threatening symptoms. Scorpions with narrow claws have more powerful venom than those with thick ones.’
So how can you avoid being bitten? Damien says, ‘Wear shoes, not sandals, ideally with long socks. Shake them before putting them on and take care when lifting rocks or digging a shelter – rake the ground first with a stick to scare off insects. If you’re scrambling in wadis [ravines], never place your hand on a surface you can’t see, and don’t put your hands down holes. Attempting to kill or catch any animal will give it reason to act defensively and increase the risk of a bite or sting.’
If you are bitten or stung, try not to panic. ‘Instead, sit in the shade, rinse the wound, apply a cool compress and elevate the area above heart level,’ says Damien. ‘Don’t bind off the afflicted arm with a tourniquet, or waste time collecting the animal for identification. Try not to run or exert yourself and get to a doctor as soon as you can. Treat snake bites by firmly wrapping an elasticated bandage up and down the entire bitten limb. This should not be too tightly applied – it needs the same tension as a sprained ankle bandage. Don’t attempt to suck out the venom; this only works in films.’
Lesson 5: Staying hydrated
Remember, if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. The first signs of dehydration are lack of saliva, little need to urinate and passing water that smells and is a deep colour. If you can’t access water, you’ll produce even less urine, have a dry mouth and sunken eyes and a rapid heartbeat. Symptoms of severe dehydration include no need to urinate, feeling lethargic and irritable, vomiting and diarrhoea. The final stage of dehydration is shock, characterised by skin that looks blue and feels cold, caused by a severe drop in blood pressure.
Howard warns, ‘People have died of dehydration with water in their flasks, so don’t save supplies too much. Drink little and often. If you run out of water, look for birds in the morning, as they often circle over water, while bees and wasps fly vertically when near water – look for an oasis or a leak in the desert system. If you find water, chances are it’s safe to drink as there are few sources of contamination in the desert. Look for animal tracks, which suggest it’s not infected.
‘If you can’t find water you can make some, as sunshine is a natural purifier. Dig 60x60cm holes and place containers in them. Cover with a plastic bag or similar and put a pebble in the middle. Condensation will drip into the containers over several hours.
Lesson 6: Building a shelter
You’ll need to shelter yourself from daytime heat and the cold at night. The desert floor can be 30C hotter than the air, so stay off the ground during the day – sleep in your car, on a blanket or anything else you have to insulate you from ground heat.
If you’ve abandoned your car and need shelter, avoid constructing one at midday. If you find two trees close to one another and have rope, tie it between the trees and drape a blanket over it to create a basic V-shaped tent. Alternatively, create a tripod with long branches and drape material over them to make a tepee. If all else fails, seek shelter in depressions between dunes which you can cover with clothes, or use a dune as one side of your shelter.
Lesson 7: Making fire
Fire provides warmth, purifies water, provides flames to cook animals, gives you light and a sense of security at night, helps ward off desert insects and creates smoke for a signal.
1. Choose a spot protected from the wind – dig a hole, fashion a windbreaker from clothes tied to branches or use the sand dunes as protection
2. Collect thick and thin branches
3. You need a mirror, magnifying glass or a lens disassembled from your camera or binoculars. Using sand, you can also polish the bottom of a drink can until it shines. Angle the lens or mirror so the sun concentrates a hot spot near your twigs
4. When the twigs smoulder, blow on them to ignite a flame. Add extra, thicker branches until the fire is stable
Lesson 8: Survival psychology
Too much stress leads to distress. Symptoms of distress include difficulty in making decisions, forgetfulness, carelessness and low energy levels – none of which you want when you’re trying to survive. If you’re stranded alone in the desert, you’ll also have to cope with loneliness, boredom, depression, anxiety, fear and frustration.
A key survival tool is your mind. Keep it occupied and make plans. See circumstances as they are, not as you want them to be. Keep your expectations realistic and stay positive to boost morale. Above all, don’t give up
Lesson 9: Getting rescued
1. Blast your car horn in three short bursts if you think someone is nearby
2. Consider burning your spare tyre to create dense, black smoke as a signal
3. Spell SOS in branches so passing planes can see it, – or HELP, which is understood in Arabic
Lesson 10: Reuniting with civilisation
1. Mark your original location and direction of travel using camel bones or rubbish
2. If possible, leave a message for anyone who might stumble across it
3. Before moving, take note of landmarks you can see in the direction you’re travelling to keep you on track
4. Remember the sun sets in the west and rises in the east
5. In spring, a wind blows east from Egypt to the UAE. The ripples in the sand will show the direction of the wind, so you can work out which way is east
6. Stick a branch upright in the sand and mark the end of its shadow with a pebble. Wait 20 minutes and mark the shadow again. This will show the direction the sun is moving, helping you work out compass points
7. Work out which way is north by finding the North Star. First, locate the Big Dipper, or Plough, which looks like four stars in a wonky horizontal line with a rectangle on the end to the right. The North Star is in a straight line above the rectangle’s top right star
8. Breathe through your nose to slow the rate of dehydration from breathing, and avoid talking or singing
9. Mark your route with rocks at intervals so you can backtrack if necessary, or so anyone who comes across your tracks can look for you
10. Travel at night when it’s cooler
11. Take a 10-minute break every hour
12. Take a long break at midday
13. If you’re in a group, stick together and base your walking pace on the slowest member
14. Elevate your feet when you rest to reduce swelling
15. When you finally reach civilisation, congratulate yourself on surviving the desert!
