What you’ll need for desert camping

Well-serviced 4x4 vehicle with full tank of fuel plus a couple of full extra jerry cans

Good off-road tyres and a compressor to allow tyres to be reinflated after ‘airing down’ for sand driving

Tow rope, sand ladders, spare engine belts, inspection lamp and a set of tools

Ensure air-conditioning is in good condition

Stay with the vehicle if you breakdown or have an accident. This is much safer as locating you is easier. Plus, the vehicle will give you shade and you have sufficient water Compass and map. There are also good guidebooks written by ex-pats who have journeyed there before. Decent roads are rare and of hard-packed sand

Extensive first aid kit

Water: three to four litres per person, per day

Food: enough to last twice the time you intend to spend in the desert. A coolbox is essential

Cooking: Coleman’s (or similar) petrol stove is probably best as you already have petrol on board

It is naturally quite hard to find wood in the desert so, if you want a campfire, carry your own. Charcoal makes more sense. We used a collapsible bbq, but it’s quite easy to scoop a hole and use a metal grill. There’s little fire risk in the sand. However, ensure you extinguish before bedding as a wandering camel might stand on it. This happened to us. Let me tell you there is nothing more chilling at night in the desert than the sound of an injured camel

Lighting: depends how bright you want it to be. Rechargeable lamps, charged from the vehicle or small solar panel. Candles can suffice. We had a petrol lantern, but were accused of light pollution by some of our camping companions

Clothing: it can get amazingly cold at night; warm clothing is required. During the day, airy clothing with shorts.

Plenty of sunscreen on exposed flesh. Boots rather than sandals as, even in winter, the sand can get really hot

You will notice I have not mentioned a mobile phone. They may or may not work in the desert. A set of emergency flares, as used by boats, would be more useful