The further we drove, the deeper into the desert we went. Barely a woman in sight, only men, in long white robes... playing cricket, or walking to meet their duties for the day as the sun rose along the flat, dry horizon. Stopping at a petrol station, every eye stared intently as we walked by. Our features being unfamiliar, blonde hair, blue eyes. Something that is not quite so familiar over there.
Finally we reach a sign 'Wadi Adventure Park'. It looks familiar from the masses of youtube clips we had been watching on repeat for months. Pro's such as Dion Agius and Chippa Wilson surfing this so called 'Wave Pool' in the desert.
Walking in, the first thing that caught my eye was the back drop of this pool. It looked as though someone had spent years painting it to perfection. These striking mountains of dirt, reflecting the orange of the sunrise, stared down over the entire adventure park. I never would have imagined dirt to be so spectacular.
Waiting for the first wave of the day, you have 90 seconds to sit in this glassy, clear, aqua blue pool before a mound of water comes rolling through. You position yourself on the '2 meter' mark of the pool, and hold yourself against the wall so the currents of water being sucked in and out of the cages don't take you with it. You then look up as you hear a sound and water goes flying out of the top of the pool from one end to another and as you refocus on what's happening in front of you, a wave is forming right beneath you. You paddle, you stand up and before you know its been an hour and you've had 40 waves.
Desert Affairs from Shannon Mackie on Vimeo.
Video Edit by Shannon Mackie
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