Salim picked us up as arranged. Nasser turned up
unexpectedly to make sure everything was OK as he had arranged Salim to take us out today. We were in for an adventure.
First stop was Wadi Bani Khalid.
The route took us up into the Hajar Mountains with beautiful views as we crossed the pass. Copper is mined in this area. You
can see the greenish tinge to the rocks. Marble is also quarried.
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| Just as patriotic here as anywhere. All decked out for National Day |
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| I love these mountains |
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| Now we are out of Muscat, rules on white housing are relaxed |
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| A massive herd of goats is a common sight |
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| Oh for some vision here on building highways with three lanes with no-one to use them! |
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| The green tinge - copper in them there hills |
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| Beautiful views from the passes across to the Hajar Mountains |
It being a holiday the wadi was busy. Salim took the first
parking spot on offer and we walked up to the wadi. There did not seem to be as
many people as cars suggested. There were many tour groups. They seemed to not
be swimming, to our surprise. They were having lunch!
The swimming was excellent. The water was not cold. Swimming
against the imperceptible flow was quite difficult. It was unexpectedly fast.
It made it easy to float back though. Getting out was tricky as the rocks underwater were very slippery.
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| Lush vegetation driving in to the wadi |
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| Very clean and clear |
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| Ubiquitous creatures |
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| Some tricky bits walking in. The channel is a diversion channel for irrigation |
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| Ready to take the plunge |
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| Easiest way to get in to avoid slippery rocks |
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| He managed to clamber out where we got in. I swam down to the shallow water further along. |
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| View from the bridge across a narrow part of the wadi |
We left the wadi to head for the sand dunes. Salim had some
fun ‘dune bashing’ and so did we.
Deep within the dunes we visited a Bedouin family. We sat on
the carpet and ate dates and drank coffee. The dates were lovely but the coffee
was not to our taste. We left the Bedouin family and continued our dune
bashing.
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| Lots of camels in this area which are used for racing and as pack animals |
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| The dunes - you can see the tracks close to the bottom edge |
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| Watch video below, which doesn't give a really accurate sense of how much fun it was |
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| Views back across the nearest town. Wouldn't want to be living there when the wind blows! |
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| Yep a live scorpion! |
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| Inside the Bedouin home |
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| Not many live in tents these days, they use a frame and palm leaves. They are no longer nomadic. They live here in the cooler months and move to a house in town when it's hot. |
After seeing someone who was getting help because they were
bogged, we crossed a blind ridge and got stuck ourselves. It happens. Just a very small adjustment and we would have been over, but we got caught instead.
Others came to our rescue and we were soon on our way. All part of the fun, but I think Salim was a little embarrassed.
After putting air back in the tyres, which had the pressure reduced
for dune bashing, we found a takeaway. Salim bought us the lovely Omani bread –
a pancake filled with goat’s cheese and honey – and some masala tea – black tea
sweetened with honey and mixed with cardamom, cinnamon and a pinch of saffron.
Delicious.
Then it was time to drive the 200km back to Muscat. What a
fun day!
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