Desert Queen – Journey of a lifetime!

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By Darryl Egnal

Ever imagined yourself on a 4x4 journey in the desert with 50 other women, driving over rough terrain up steep inclines and over rocks and stones, climbing up high mountains using rope ladders, or going for candle-lit walks in the hills overlooking Jordan and sleeping under the stars? Can’t say I ever did, but that’s exactly what I was doing last month.

I discovered the Desert Queen adventure experience by chance. I don’t remember exactly where I saw it advertised – could’ve been the Internet or an email I received – but I knew as soon as I read about it that I wanted to participate. Although using the outdoors as a toilet and not having showers for a few days were not very appealing ideas, I was excited about the adventure.

And Desert Queen is an expedition for women who want adventure and excitement. It’s about women’s empowerment and learning survival skills. It’s about women bonding and testing their limits, doing things they’ve never done before while developing lifelong friendships, and it’s about taking a break from our daily routines, our lives, our families, our work.

One of the Israeli participants, Amit Zehavi, put it very succinctly: “It’s a week away from everything, our traditional roles, our watches, our minds; a week instead with strong vibes from nature, ourselves, our hearts and companionship; a chance to shuffle your cards. The rules that apply at home don't apply here and vice versa. It’s a chance to let go…”

This incredible 4x4 journey – and it’s called a journey, not a trip because of the process everyone went through during the experience – attracted women from all walks of life, from bankers to artists, from young to old, religious to secular, American to Israeli, new immigrants to old. Seven days of having no control over where we went or what we did, giving ourselves up to others, and making new friends.

A common thread that came out in many of the answers to my questions was how hard it was to “give up control”. Women, traditionally, have to be in control – of their lives, their work, their time, how they organize their children (and sometimes their husbands). Not knowing what was happening from one hour to the next or when they’d be at their next destinations – or even where they were going – was a new experience for most and quite a challenging one.

Sharon Goldfarb-Albak, who made Aliyah from the US more than 20 years ago, joined Desert Queen to challenge herself, have new experiences and see Israel in a different way. She had no expectations of the trip. 

“I wanted to have expectations, but everything was kept so secretive that I could not form any. Ultimately, this was one of my greatest challenges – no expectations, no control, a complete relinquishing of power – my Desert Queen journey was in the hands of others,” she says. “It was the freeing of my mind, dropping everything and simply enjoying life that was most difficult to me – to slow down to the point where I didn’t feel the need to do 26 things simultaneously.  I have tried to hold on to that, but…”

Asked how she would describe the journey to other potential participants, Goldfarb-Albak says: “A life changing experience that is a complete surprise from start to finish, from expectation to experience – nothing can be taken for granted or foreseen.”

Desert Queen took us through the Arava and Negev deserts in southern Israel. We visited places like Mitzpe Ramon, Makhtesh Ramon (the largest crater in the Negev), Mamshit National Park, Nahal Barak (Barak Canyon), Moa, an old city built by the Nabateans and a key stopping point on the Spice Route, Hatzeva Field School, Hai Bar Animal and Nature Reserve in Yotvata, and finally Eilat.

We pitched tents, went on hikes, experienced challenging drives, cycled bikes at the crack of dawn, had early morning exercise sessions, abseiled (rappelled) down cliff faces, painted camel cutouts, made pieces of art and learned about each other’s lives, loves and fears. Women have a remarkable ability to adjust to every – and any – situation, while dancing, singing and having fun – and this was no exception.

A history spanning continents

Desert Queen is pretty well-known in Israel among women – and even among men. It’s an adventure in which many Israeli women dream of participating at least once in their lives and around 600 women a year get to achieve their goal. Each year, a different international venue is chosen and Desert Queen has taken place in some of the most exotic and challenging landscapes in the world including Lapland, South Africa, Thailand, Morocco, Turkey, the Balkans, Ethiopia and more. 

The first expedition took place in 1999 in Jordan with 45 participants and the aim of bringing a message of peace. “Peace with Jordan had been established a few years before,” says Yifat Yeger, director of Desert Queen, “and Geographical Tours, the owners of Desert Queen, decided to run a 4x4 expedition in Jordan for women. The directors thought they’d plan a Jeep tour on land where tanks had rolled previously and it would be a symbol of peace between the two countries.” 

The success of the first journey enabled Geographical Tours to continue the experience to other countries and, in subsequent years, the number of applicants grew. “It became difficult to accommodate them all on one trip,” she says, “and in 2005, Desert Queen was adapted to meet the great demand of the hundreds of Israeli women who wanted to participate in the project. We increased the number of trips to 12 expeditions spread over 12 weeks, and 600 went to the Carpathian Mountains in Romania that year.

The journey has become so popular that today, although still owned by Geographical Tours, Desert Queen functions as a separate entity and Yeger, a psychotherapist by profession, spends a large proportion of her time planning the annual expeditions with her staff and going on ‘scouting’ trips to source the most challenging and exciting destinations..

Becoming partners

In 2008, in honor of the 60th celebration of Israel’s independence, the Jewish Agency was invited by Desert Queen to become partners. This partnership – which fell within the Jewish Agency’s Partnership 2000 project – brought the 4x4 expedition into Israel and opened it up to both Israelis and Jewish women from the Diaspora. Desert Queen took on a new dimension. It was no longer only about Israeli women getting together and discovering themselves and each other in overseas countries. It was now about enabling women from other countries to experience Desert Queen in Israel and bond with Israeli women and vice versa. 

“We believe it’s important to connect Jewish communities from overseas with Israeli communities,” says Andrea Arbel, director of the Division of Partnerships in the Jewish Agency. “And Israel has a major role to play in strengthening overseas Jewry. The Partnership 2000 project is about nurturing and growing future leaders and entrepreneurs as well as encouraging Jews all over the world to be part of something bigger than their own communities.”

Partnership 2000, commonly known as P2K, is part of the Jewish Agency for Israel’s effort to foster connections between Israelis and world-wide Jewry. The aim is to inspire Jews throughout the world and in Israel to connect with their people, heritage and land, and empower them to build a thriving Jewish future and a strong Israel.

“When the opportunity arose to run the Desert Queen 4x4 journey in Israel, we jumped at the chance,” says Arbel. “The organizers approached us because they wanted to bring the experience to Israel and invite women from other countries. We thought it was a great idea and decided to market the idea through P2K to bring participants from overseas. I took part in the first Israel journey to make sure it was an appropriate partnership for the Jewish Agency and was really blown away by the experience. It was meaningful, deep, empowering… And we’d never had this type of engagement with Israelis.

“I was surprised to learn that it was the first time in Israel for some of the women and I wanted to know why. I discovered that many of them had never had any real interest in visiting the country until they heard about Desert Queen. This made me realize that we had to find new and relevant ways to engage people. With MASA, the mid-to-long-term program for young adults, there are nearly 200 different choices to encourage them to come to Israel, but not as many for Jews over 30 – or even over 50. We needed to come up with something for them and this was an experience like no other,” she says.

“Women have many balls to juggle in their lives and they have to be like superwomen all the time,” Arbel continues. “They often lose themselves in their daily lives, and this is an ideal opportunity for them to put things on hold for a short while, to reconnect with themselves, which is so important. This is the core of why Desert Queen is so meaningful and successful. And they get to do it with other women in the same boat – women from their own communities and women with whom they’ve never interacted before.”

This is the ultimate woman-to-woman experience, according to Arbel, and she doesn’t believe any woman can go back to her community apathetic. “Desert Queen pushes us to our limits, takes us out of our comfort zones, and as a result, Israeli women will never see non-Israeli women in the same way ever again – and vice versa. This is what we are trying to achieve with P2K,” she stresses.

Growth experience

Having experienced this amazing journey, I can safely say I agree with Andrea Arbel and I’m not alone. There really is nothing quite like it. This is an exciting and unique way to bring together women from Israel and from across the world in what has proven to be an experience of empowerment, self-fulfillment and friendship.

“I have visited Israel several times and was looking for a different kind of adventure,” says Meryl Ainsman from Pittsburgh, US, “and that is exactly what I found with Desert Queen. Yes, most days, there were no toilets, some nights no showers, but it’s amazing how quickly we lost our inhibitions and lived ‘naturally in nature’. Desert Queen far exceeded my expectations in many different ways. I did not expect the “jeeping” to be so challenging, the desert to be so mystical, or the ease in which I was able to adapt to the lack of comforts. 

“What a way to see the beautiful Negev desert – driving ‘off-road’ in Jeeps (every 4x4 in Israel is referred to as a Jeep) for seven days with women from Israel and around the world. We sang and danced and laughed together, while exploring the magnificent wilderness as well as testing our own physical and emotional limits. This was truly a trip that I will never forget!” she says.

Esther Bloch (71), who hails from Eilat, was the oldest participant on Desert Queen Israel. When she heard about Desert Queen, she liked the idea immediately. “I thought it would be completely different from anything I’ve ever experienced. I’m not a desert person and this really isn’t my thing, but the journey excited me.”

Bloch learned many things about herself on this journey. “I was pampered and picky and disgusted by everything before. I didn’t like dirt or sand or dust and had to wash vegetables for half an hour before I thought they were clean enough. This experience taught me to be more tolerant, and although I couldn’t do many of the physical activities, I tried to do as much as I could.” 

She believes that coming on Desert Queen has turned her into a totally new woman and she knew her husband of 50 years would be surprised to see the transformation. But Bloch didn’t focus only on herself. Being with other women was a learning curve in itself. “I’ve always worked with communities and with other women, but usually they were my age or older,” she says. “Suddenly, I found myself in a group of younger women and I loved that. The most exciting part of the journey has been meeting so many different women, many of them from abroad. The love they’ve all shown towards me, the support they all gave me throughout the trip, was wonderful and I enjoyed every moment.”

Zehavi, who lives on a kibbutz near Beit Shemesh not far from Jerusalem, found herself “floating 20cm above ground for at least a week after we returned. It was a bit like being in love,” she says. “Not only did I stretch my limits physically and emotionally, but Desert Queen increased my faith in myself. I realized that I have a lot to offer if I access it and share it with others. I underestimate that strength at times and it was great to be put in that kind of situation where my strengths were readily accessible. It's nice to be given a chance ‘to shine’,” she says.

These stories are just some of nearly 40 different, but similar stories. Each woman experienced her own personal journey, but the results remain the same – we are all Desert Queens who left the expedition having grown in ways we never expected! It’s a journey every woman should experience at least once in her lifetime! 

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