Image copyright © Joanna PinneoArita Baaijens grew up in the bible belt of the Netherlands, close to farms and wood lands. She escaped her native town Ede to study biology at the Free University in Amsterdam.

In 1990 she gave up her job as a consultant in environmental affairs, bought camels and ever since has explored the desert of Egypt and Sudan during the winter months with her small camel caravan.

Baaijens feels most at home in the desert; the silence, the peace, the endless plains, the sobriety, the hardship, the scarce human contact - all far preferable to the noisy chaos of the West.

In Egypt she mostly travelled solo. The solitude had a significant impact and changed her outlook on life. In the barren landscape of sand and rocks one cannot fill the time with economic and cultural activities. The confrontation with ‘nothingness' can be quite scary. But it can also be a blessing: when there is nobody to rely on you discover your true strength. Arita Baaijens transformed fear for the unknown into a positive force.

After years of travelling in the empty desert of Egypt, Baaijens went to Sudan, a land of nomads. She made spectacular treks through the inhospitable northern Sudan, which borders on Chad, Libya and Egypt. Curious about the backgrounds of famine and ethnic conflict, Baaijens made several journeys in Darfur. Her travel companions were all men - her guide and armed protectors lead her in her voyage of discovery to virtually unrecorded ruins, hidden springs and lost cities.

The contrast between the ‘rich' westerner who can afford the luxury of travelling through the desert for pleasure along with the Arabs she employs is a rich source of lively anecdotes. Suspicion becomes trust, hostile eyes turn kind and full of admiration and friendship.

After the war broke out in Darfur Baaijens returned twice to find out what had become of her former travel companions. Some had joined the janjaweed; one of her former guards refused to kill his own people and had left the area. That guide was still working in the desert, bringing camels to Egypt. After listening to all the stories Baaijens came to the conclusion that a man always has a choice, even in wartime.

After two decades of sand, camels and Arabs, Arita Baaijens has broadened her horizon. She found a new challenge in southwest Siberia where she will buy horses and explore the remote Altai mountains in Russia, Kazachstan, China and Mongolia. This new project is called Search4Paradise.

To book Arita Baaijens as a speaker, contact the Speakers Academy.