IN THIS FEATURE Keeping a seven-year promise Scavenging for lightning Tackling the dunes Navigating the desert Babbling brooks All for four perfect minutes

With minutes to spare, the light starts to dim and it gets noticeably fresher. However, only in the last few seconds does it really become dark before Baily's Beads, the Diamond Ring and totality.

Too much excitement for some

As the sunglasses come off each one of us reacts with individual expressions of amazement. It is truly as magnificent a sight as you could ever wish to see once in your lifetime. The black moon surrounded by a halo of the sun's spinning atmosphere surrounded by a night sky full of stars and everything around bathed in murky dusk. We've crossed the Sahara for it and it feels like the perfect four minutes.

Back on the road we now face a pounding two days of hard driving and dune-hopping, with all the attendant dangers and delays, to catch our flight home.

The only sight on the way is the Arbre du Ténéré, a sorry tourist attraction - and not even a real tree any more. However, these final days take us back into the sands that are so restful, clean and pure, as Mohammed steers us all into the 'corridor' straight to Agadez.