You see, I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain
Horse with no name. America.

Ancient irrigation systems are common in the Arab and Persian worlds, where they are known as Alfaj, Qanat, or Kariz. They feed the date palms in old towns like Misfat Al Abriyeen, Oman.

Travelling north from the Wahiba Sands, you enter the Empty Quarter, of shiftings sand dunes and Bedouin camps.

Wahiba Sands, on the Arabian Sea coast of Oman, is the edge of one of the harshest deserts in the world.

A beach on the southern coast of Oman, where the harsh Arabian desert and rugged mountains meet the Arabian Sea.

My first glimpse of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. I next saw it about 5 years later on the east of the continent, in Egypt.

Rocky desert, spotted with tough, shrub vegetaion supports a variety of wildlife, from elephants to big cats, in Pamwag, north-west Namibia.

Between the forebidding Skeleton Coast, and the unforgiving deserts of Damaraland, a range of hills demarcates ecosystems in Namibia.

Yellow-brown vegatation struggles through the southern African drought, on the roads near Solitaire, Namibia.

The diamond mining company moved away from Kolmanskop in 1956. Houses, hospitals and even a bowling alley remain stranded in the dunes.

The big skies are one of my lingering memories of Africa. This is Grootfontein, north-central Namibia.

A long driver from town along good dirt roads take you to Namibia's stunning Epupa Falls, but the arid scenery on the way is also pretty good.

When explorers came to this part of Namibia, the ground was shimmerring. Diamonds sat on the surface, waiting to be picked up.

Entry to the Sperrgebeit (lit "Forbidden Zone") was and still is strictly controlled. This is the southern most point the tour will take you.

In some areas, the surface soils and sands were completely removed, right down to the rock base, in search for the prized stones.

Namibia's Skeleton Coast runs along the Atlantic from Angola to Swakopmund, with next to no human settlement, multi-coloured sand dunes, patchy vegetation, sandy roads, shipwrecks and great fishing.

Sand dunes knock on Swakopmund's door step. Rare Damara Terns breed in the dunes a short stroll from town.

We took a tour from Swakopmund, Namibia, to see the fascinating plant life which clings to life in the Namib desert, where annual rainfall is around 2cm.

In the centre of South Australia, Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, is big, diverse and dry most of the time. A number of mountain ranges burst from the brown flat landscape.