We all have places like this in our lives, the places that leave a lasting, almost permanent impression. Very often it is difficult to define what exactly it is that appeals to us. Yet we find ourselves returning time and again. Here in Oman, as I hope this series of features has proved, there are many beautiful places. But only one of them is so unique that it defies comparison with anything else around the world. That place is the Empty Quarter, Rub al Khali in Arabic, the biggest sand desert on the earth.
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| Massive dune on the Empty Quarter |
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| Somewhere on the Empty Quarter |
The allure of the Empty Quarter is hard to define. It is a vast, dangerous emptiness. Yet it beguiles. A few weeks ago I led a group of adventurers deep into Ramlat Hashman, a part of the Empty Quarter. We had planned this trip many months ago. First I looked for some experienced drivers with a passion for lonely trips far from civilized places, ready to spend over a week driving around the Sultanate. As much as I love lonely trips into Oman’s interior, the Empty Quarter is too dangerous for solo driving. found a small group of off road fans as well as several Y magazine readers. Ramlat Hashman is a longway from Muscat, around 900 km. But I know this part of the well desert.
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| Out camping site on Ramlat Hashman |
The team met at the airport and after picking up our rental cars we set off in to the night. The first night we drove around 400km. Tired and exhausted from the long flight and the equally as long driving we stopped somewhere near Hayma for a few hours sleep and a quick breakfast before moving to a small town called Dawqa. The real adventure began there. In Dawqa the tarmac road ends. From there on in we would be off road for next few days. From Dawqa we passed a village called Shisr. This place has strategic importance. This is where you will find the last petrol pump before the ocean of sand. We stopped our vehicles and refueled all of them including the jerry cans. Shisr has another significant feature. There is small shop near the petrol pump that sells very cold Coke. From Shisr we continued directly to the high sand dunes of the Empty Quarter. It was the afternoon and only had two or three hours until sunset. The track from Shisr to Ramlat Hashman is sandy, so we had to drive carefully and slowly. Very often small sand heaps completely covered the road. We regularly checked our GPS locators just to make sure we were still on the right track. It is very easy to get lost or lose your bearings in the desert.
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| Pajero 3.0 V6 "crossing" the sand heap |
My plan was simple: to reach the first high dune during sunset and set up camp for the night there. Around 80km from Shisr we reached some spectacular, huge dunes and decided we had found our spot. From the top of the dune we saw a breathtaking view of a wide valley separating the two dunes. Soft, warm sunlight heightened the vivid effect. The night came quickly and after a big supper cooked on the bonfire we slept. The silence was incredible.
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| Night on Ramlat Hashman |
The next day we woke very early. I needed to take some photographs with my long 500mm lens. As is the way in the desert, it was bitterly cold. I brought a camera, tripod, my dog – a dachshund called Trop – and a small cup of strong coffee and moved on the top of the dune. From there we captured some amazing images: huge, red sand dunes far in the distance. After a photo session we prepared a small breakfast and then set off deeper into Ramlat Hashman.
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| Dachshund Trop. The only one with full time 4WD and reduction :-) |
All the time I was checking our progress on a GPS locator. In the middle of the day the temperature was a bit higher and the sun stronger. The driving was riskier especially when the track was covered totally by sand and we had to find an alternative route. During one of the dune crossings my Land Cruiser sunk in to the soft sand. It took us more than an hour to escape from the sandy ambush. In that moment we were more the one hundred kilometer from Shisr.
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| My Land Cruiser FZJ100 got stuck in the soft sand |
The next night we decided to camp somewhere where we could find huge dunes but was closer to the petrol pump before changing location to visit another part of the Empty Quarter called Ramlat Fasad. Fasad is very different. The sand dunes are small but clustered. From the biggest dune the landscape looks like symmetrical, abstract art. Most of the small dunes, created by the wind, look the same. It would turn out to be a day of adventures.
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| Basic version of the new Land Cruiser 200 works very well on the sandy deserts. |
Our cars were suitable for this trip but Land Cruisers are a little bit too heavy for driving on soft sands. We got stuck a few times but had a lot of fun digging out our vehicles. In the evening, happy and scorched by the sun, we reached the edge of the Empty Quarter in Ramlat Fasad. We made driven more than 350km on and off road and used around 100 litres of petrol each.
The dunes in front of us were spread over a distance of 1100km by 600km squared and cover four countries: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Yemen and Oman. It is one of the last environments on earth that has not been altered by human civilization.
The conditions there are inhospitable, especially in the summer where the temperatures easily pass 50 degrees Celsius. Never go there alone or without food, fuel and water. Be sure that your car is in good condition. Only 4x4 cars with reduction can drive there. Keep to the sandy tracks and do not go deeper than a few kilometers. But the nothingness will astound you and leave a mark that will last forever.
Jerzy Wierzbicki & Pawel "Pyrka" Jagodzinski
The article has been published in Y Magazine issue 245
