The regiment remained in reserve while Allenby secured his right flank with the occupation of the Jordan valley in early 1918, and when not on duty the men entertained themselves with fox hunts, a steeplechase, and periods of leave in Jaffa and Jerusalem. At the end of April, the regiment travelled a biblical route through Jerusalem, Calvary, the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, Jericho, Mount Nebo, the alleged site of the inn of the Good Samaritan and across the Jordan valley. It fought dismounted in the Second Action of Es Salt at the beginning of May, and when that operation ended in defeat, it retired with the British Empire forces back into the valley. The regiment remained until August in the "valley of death", where temperatures peaked above and malaria was a constant problem, with only brief periods of relief. It suffered more from sickness in the inhospitable environment than from enemy action; in May alone the regiment suffered 16 casualties in battle, while 116 men were hospitalised due to illness.