Every year we organise an off road expedition into the Omani interior. The deserts, the mountains and the shore line in Oman have a lot of locations reachable for good 4x4 cars and the experienced drivers. Last expedition started from Muscat on 20th of February. This year we have challenged ourselves with driving mostly on off road roads instead of black top ones. Our regular destination in Oman that is Ramlat Hashman has been replaced this time with a new idea of driving to different location but still located deep in the deserts. We focused on the closer destinations but as planned in the beginning we chose mostly off road roads, points in the desert and in the mountains avoiding additional kilometers on the asphalt roads.
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Quick break before Bidiyah in small wadi.
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Wahiba Sands from the North to the South.
First day as a warm up we spend on the road to Bidiyah on the edge of the Wahiba Desert. By this we got a chance to check out our cars. For some of the team members it was a great opportunity to try their off road driving skills before the great adventure that was hiding just round the corner.
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On the track in Wahiba Sands
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By early evening positively tired by extraordinary experience, views and burning sun we reached the wide valley dividing the long dunes on the Wahiba sands. The sun has gone down so we could rest in cooling weather conditions.
Our first night camping we arranged on the range of the long sand dunes. While taking a breath and enjoying our first meal together we could feel that our amazing expedition is happening for real.
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The camping site on The wahiba sands in the morning.
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Next day the great adventure began and there was more than 150 km ahead of us on the sand only. We set off on the journey in the morning after quick breakfast and strong coffee. The destination point was far away in the South between two small town called Mahoot and Hijj. Pawel “Pyrka”Jagodzinski was our driver on that day. He was leading our small column combined of four Land Cruisers ( 2xTRJ150, GRJ200 and FZJ100) and one Mitsubishi Pajero 3.0 V6 towards the southern part of the Wahiba sands. I was focused on the GPS locator. The desert ahead of us surprised us with its difference. After a several kilometers of long drive among red sand dunes suddenly the entire landscape has changed and we were surrounded by small and bright sand dunes with many small desert trees.
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Land Cruiser TRJ150 on the track to Mahoot.
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We were driving on the sandy track which is certainly used by the local bedouins and their indestructible land Cruisers 79. Temperature was high and it was around 34 'C. In the afternoon after 50 km we made a small brake under the trees next to white sand dune. Destination of the day was a small town called Hilf that is on the Masirah island. Around 2pm I realised that we are a bit behind the schedule and I knew that it is unreal to reach Masirah before sunset. It was sure that we will spend upcoming night somewhere between Wahiba sands and the ferry harbour. Last 25 kilometers on the Wahiba sands we drove very slowly as the terrain over there is very difficult and all signs of previously driving tracks suddenly disappeared. We relied on our GPS directions and finally, obviously with delay but enriched with new unexpected experience, we reached our destination. After that the only thing we could think of was food so we went directly to take a lavish lunch in the town called Hijj.
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Old Land rover’s wreck abandoned on the desert close to Hijj
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We took our time there and even did some small shopping in the local shops. We were done with all around 4 pm and i have decided to go on the Bar Al Hikman peninsula and make there a night camp.
During the sunset when the light was very soft we were somewhere in the middle of way between the black top road and the beach on Hikman. The desert there is very flat. The surface is sandy but without any irregularities. Driving there was very exciting specially that even fast speed was not dangerous.
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Fast driving on the flat surface on the Hikman Peninsula.
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Land Cruiser TRJ150 crossing the soft sands.
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Just a several minutes before the sunset we stopped our cars on the white beach. First day was very rich with the off road total distance as we drove around 180 km on such roads. A bonfire and a big supper was an excellent end of the day.
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Sunset on the Hikman Beach
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Dhow, traditional Omani fishing boat on the sea near to Hikman Beach.
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Masirah Island
In the morning we woke up around 7am and made small breakfast. Some of us went to the sea and took a sea bath. We got back on the track and drove towards North. After 50 km driving we got back to the asphalt and turned into ferry harbour.
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The ferry on the Masirah Island.
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The ferry was empty and the bengali guy who is working there was very happy to see us. In only a minute he got 5 cars. After a while we were on the boarded the ferry and we were waiting on the other cars. There have to be minimum 10-12 cars on the boat before the ferry could take off. The sea conditions was very good for sailing. Not too rough. We were on the Masirah after around one and a half hour. Quick shopping and the lunch in the only one opened restaurant over there and we set off to the South. Our next destination was planned to be in the southern part of the Masirah called Ras Abu Rassas. It is a beautiful long white beach with black rocks and the turquoise water. It was just a perfect place for our next camping place and those who were interested in swimming and other sea activities.
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The rocky beach on the Masirah Island the place our first night.
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Our support team putted a shade tent. In the evening we sat all around a small bonfire and after supper and small glass of scotch we went to "bed". Next day we got back to the main town Hilf just for quick shopping.
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Northern part of Masirah Island is even more rocky.
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Our plan was to explore the northern part of the island and the shore line in the open ocean. Last day before we sat on the beach in the channel between the island and the main land. The island is a bit different there. More black and sharp rocks the sea surface is more rough and wavy. We drove between the rocks on the sand and stopped on the small break just next to the small fishermen harbour where we found old but still working Land Cruiser FJ40.
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Land Cruiser FJ40 still working on the Masirah Island.
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From that location we slowly moved into the South to Turtle Beach with an old shipwreck called Dhow, that was a traditional Omani fishing boat. We pulled over our cars there and stared taking photographs. Some of us could not resist to take another bath in the ocean.
fot 14 The shipwreck of the Dhow
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The shipwreck of the Dhow.
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Another shipwreck on the Masirah.
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Water was perfectly warm and the wind made all conditions fantastic. This part of the island was our next camping site. But my idea was to go somewhere in the middle on the island and make camping next to the small bay filled with warm water and white sand. We found perfect place around 1 pm in the middle of the day. It was a small white beach with many of black rocks and stones just next to the shallow bay. We could not imagine better place than that! The temperature was a bit high so most of us went to sleep in the shad or in the tents. We put again the shade tend between two toyotas and I went to sleep for an hour. Afternoon we prepared small snack and the coffee and I went to catch some fish. Jack who was another angler in out team went with me. My dog Trop, one of the most desert experienced dachshund on the planet Earth also accompanied us. We caught some small local sea bass called here hammur and took some pictures. In the evening most of us went to swim in the sea. Nowhere the sea is so perfect to swim like in the Masirah. In the evening as usual we sat next to the fire and we had a good chat. As we got afternoon sleep we stayed up late that evening having fun and interesting conversations.
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Sunset on our beach in the second day on Masirah Island.
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Al Huqf And the “Ducky Rock”
Next day in the morning we did not have much time. We packed all our stuff and moved quickly on the ferry harbour in Hilf. The plan for this day was simple. We were supposed to get back to the desert. Around 1 pm we were on the main land again after two days on the Masirah. In the small town called Mahoot we had some lunch and after refueling the cars we moved quickly to the West. Ducky Rock located in Al Hugf Escarpment was our next destination point. Al Huqf is one of the most interesting places in Oman. There you can find any kind of the desert surface. Sand dunes, salty basins called “Sabkah”, very old and shaped by the wind and sand rocks. I have visited this location many times earlier so I know where the best places for camping are. One of them is lonely rock called “Ducky rock" named after its fancy shape.
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Al Huqf is full of fancy shaped rocks.
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The “Ducky rock” is far from the asphalt road, around 27 km but the rail there is really difficult. Every kilometer is different there. Firstly we had to drive on the small sand dunes and the rocks very often taking over the soft sand and the small rocks on our way. Our track on the GPS locator looked very windy. After 4-5 km, the surface totally changed. We reached wide wadi filled with small shrubbery. Next few kilometers we drove more carefully as again the desert was changing unexpectedly. Flat surface of Sabkah spread ahead of us. The salty basin composed with soft sand and the salt. Driving on the Sabkah is very unpredictable and dangerous. Very often the surface is qiute soft, so big and heavy 4x4 cars fully loaded can easily sink. I stopped our cars for a while and had a closer look at the desert in order to choose the safest way through Sabkah.
After this short break we moved very quickly to the next big rock on the way to our destination located around 2 km away from us. In that place we pulled over the vehicles for short recon and research of the location. This rock is important point on the way to “Ducky rock”. We could safely park our cars there and caught a breath before the next trip. Me and my cousin Dzieli went onto the rock because we spotted a small track there. The northern part of this rock is less steep and there is a big crack filled with sand. It was our way to the top of that rock. The view from there was really fantastic. We could observe diversity of Al Huqf desert spreading over kilometers in front of us. After a short break we changed the direction and bravely moved into the small crack between the two big sand dunes our “only one chance” to cross the line of the dunes and get the access to the flat sandy plateau where "Ducky rock" is located.
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The “Ducky rock” in Al Huqf Escarpment.
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This last stage of our trip was really interesting. The sandy surface was very soft and our cars got bogged into the sands. We used low range in our cars and third gear and still the engines worked on the high revolutions per minutes. Luckily after 20 minutes we saw "Ducky rock" only a few kilometers away. Rocky phenomenon located exactly between the long lime stone wall and the sand dunes which we crossed before. One of the most magnificent place in the whole Oman.
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The stony face watching the Al Huqf desert.
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All rocks formations near “Ducky Rock”.
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We reached our destination of the day just one hour before sunset. The camping site we established on the eastern part of the rock in the huge shade of this majestic rocky formation. Me and Dzieli moved quickly to the small wadi located just a few kilometers from the rock. We found a lot of dried wood there for a night fire. At the same time Pawel “Pyrka” was a master of ceremony and put a camping stuff in the camping site. When we got back everything was ready for a night “party”.
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The “Ducky rock” in the night.
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That night was not very dark. There was a full moon on the sky so the entire desert was illuminated by the moon. I got my Nikon F6 loaded of Fuji Velvia slide film and went to take some photographs. We were really lucky to be there at that particular moment where nature showed us its magnificent beauty. That night was really pretty long...
The “Cinnamon Desert”
Next day we moved as usual in the morning after breakfast. As a start of the day we decided to check some so far unknown for us parts of the Al Huqf. We drove directly to the sand dunes...
After the small research in Al Huqf we got back on the track leading for the asphalt road. Later on we were heading for the majestic “Cinnamon Desert”, our next point of the expedition. Only me and Pawel "Pyrka" know where this place is located. It is our private and very secret place in Oman. From The Al Huqf to The “Cinnamon Desert” is less then 150 km. So we reached this majestic place quite early. We choose different way back to black road through the small sand dunes. On the asphalt road we moved quickly to the South. One hour later we set off for a small research to the desert. Just a few kilometers from us there was a small geological phenomenon like black rock, only one in this particular region.
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The Black rock on the “Cinnamon Desert”.
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Trop watching the sand dunes.
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From the black rock which looks like a fake volcano we moved to a small wadi filled with stones and then we drove towards a rock that looked like a long wall. I found there a small “oasis” with quite many palm trees and other plants. This place can exist there only because there is a some undersurface source of water. There is also a big crack in the rock with many greens and a small beautiful sand dune. We planned to stay there just for a while but one of our cars got stuck in the small sand heap.
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The rescue team in action.
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From that location to our final point of the day there was only 30 km. We reached the biggest dune on the “Cinnamon Desert” early afternoon. I quickly moved out from the car and went to check potential way in to the small sandy plateau between two long and high dunes. This plateau is absolutely extraordinary! Very clean, filled with many small desert trees and small sand dunes. But the most impressive thing there is the silence! Nowadays we are living in the modern towns, always surround by artificial lights and noise of different technical devices. On the Cinnamon
Desert you will only hear weakly blowing wind in the night and delicate noise of the trees.
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The overview on the “Cinnamon Desert”.
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Nothing more. We found our tree under which we spent a night two years ago during one of our first big expedition into the Omani desert. Two years later during the last trip the place looked the same impressive. Most of us went on foot between the soft sands. Some of us drove into the peak of the big sand dune and got some “adventures” there because the way back was much more difficult. In the evening a bit scorched by the sun and bitten by the heat we went to sleep. The night was very bright the fool moon made the great visibility on the whole desert surface. Keeping in mind that these weather conditions are rather rare me and Pyrka started taking some night photographs in spite of the fact that it was already late night.
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Night on the “Cinnamon Desert”.
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Next morning I was harshly woken up by my dag, Trop who all of a sudden started barking like crazy. I looked over the window and discovered that there was a group of camels passing by our camping site. Some people from our team were already up and took this unusual opportunity to take some photographs. Later on we had some quick breakfast and decided to set off because the wind got stronger and seemed like the small sand storm is coming. The temperature was also higher then we noticed a day before. Most of that day we spent behind a steering wheel.
There was the longest drive of the whole trip and we were heading for our next location, Empty Quarter.
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Pyrka and Land Cruiser FZJ100L on the “Cinnamon Desert”.
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The Empty Quarter
From “Cinnamon Desert” we got back on the black top road. After around hundred kilometers we stopped the cars in a very quickly developed town called Duqm for shopping. From Duqm we went to Hayma which is around 170 km away. In Hayma after lunch and refueled the cars and we drove forward to the North. After next several dozen kilometers we turned again into the sandy surface and were driving to the first dunes on Empty Quarter, the biggest sand desert of the World. During all our expeditions to Oman The Empty Quarter ( Rub Al Khali in Arabic) was a main destination. The desert spreads on the massive area that is 1100x650 km and mostly is located in southern part of Saudi Arabia. Here in Oman is southern edge of Empty quarter but still there are hundreds kilometers of the sand dunes. Previously we drove around 1000 km from Muscat to place called Ramlat Hashman but this time we decided to explore another part of this desert much closer to capital town and without long and tiring way on the asphalt roads. The first dune, not high but very long one, we reached after 20 kilometers driving on the hard and flat sandy surface. As usual we pulled over the cars next to the dunes and went to find the best way through the sand. After short research we found the way and all convoy carefully continued the trip.
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The convoy reaches the first dune on Empty Quarter.
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The tires track on the hard surface between the dunes on Empty Quarter.
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We reached the first higher dune maybe two hours before the sun went done. We easily found perfect location for the camping on the bottom of the high dune. The had a problem with finding some dried wood was for a bonfire so it looked like the dinner will be very small. Pyrka traditionally organised the camping and me and Dzieli moved quickly to find something what we could use for our camp-fire. Two years ago, when I visited this part of Empty Quarter with my friend Andy we found some small trees and bushes so I was sure there is something we could use, just we had to find it. I was sitting on the passenger seat with my small blue scope and observed the desert surface. Dzieli was driving. It did not take much time and we found some dried on the sun shrubbery and a dead tree. With such incredible trophy we got back to our camping. While we were searching for the wood other expedition participants went on the top of the dune to capture some images.
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The big dune on Empty Quarter.
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Night on the dune.
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This night was much cooler then the previous ones. The temperature difference between the day and the night on the huge deserts are significantly big! I was sleeping in the car with my clothes on and in the sleeping bag. My dog Trop also found a warm place under his blanket. Next morning was very sunny and clean. Some guys went again on the sand dune. We woke up a bit later than usual. So I rushed to make coffee and snacks for all of us. It was our last day on the desert. All column of the cars moved around 9.30 am and we slowly drove ahead to the black top road. The sand dunes on the edge of Empty Quarter spreads on the huge area but in this particular place we noticed that the average distance between the dunes was much bigger then we could see on the Ramlat Hashman. Around 11 am we were on the road. We were driving towards the North. The last night we had planned to spend in the completely different environment, The Green Mountains “Al Jabal Al Akhdar".
Jabal Al Akhdar Mountains
From the Empty Quarter to the bottom of the mountains there was approximately 300 km. We moved quickly to the northern direction and stopped for refueling car and pumping the tires in the small village called Ghaba. During our way to the Mountains we passed a few oil exploration. This region is well known due to its oil rich explorations sites. Afternoon we stopped in the town called Adam for last lunch in the small restaurant. We reached the bottom of the mountains around 4 pm. Everything changed. This part of Oman is full of greens like a palm and banana trees and many of other plants. There are more farming sites also. The mountains afternoon looked like huge dark brown pieces of chocolate divided by the greens and trees. The temperature was perceptible lower then we could experience earlier on the sands. Visibility also was much better then on the deserts.
We decided to spend the night somewhere in the high mountains. Late afternoon driving on a winding road took us to the top of the hills. The temperature on the top was only 16C and the wind just enhanced the feeling of cold so first of all we had to put some warmer clothes on.
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Night camping in the mountains.
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After short break on the top we engaged the low range in our cars and moved slowly into the deep andbig valley called Wadi Bani Awf. Myself, Pyrka and Dzieli drove in the front and after several kilometers we found a small turn leading to the rock with nice place for camping. It was during the sunset so we just pulled over the cars and most of us looked for a place to put the tent. It was much more difficult due to the hard and stony surface.
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Our convoy in the Wadi Bani Awf.
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We, Team Discover Oman, moved quickly to grab some wood for a bonfire. In the meantime dachshund Trop found some small group of goats and moved speedily towards them. I had to jumped on the rocks like a goat too just to bring him back. The air was much clear and the lower temperature caused that all expedition members were sitting much closer to the fire then before on the deserts. Following morning we woke up early. We drunk a big cup of coffee and had some locally made bread with tahina and olives oil. It was our last breakfast of the winter expedition 2013. Once we were done with breakfast we drove into the Wadi Bani Awf.
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Land cruiser 79 passed on the track in Wadi Bani Awf.
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Driving there needs special attention. Very steep and narrow route leads between the massive mountains short and stony wadi sometimes filled with water. On the steep rocks we saw the local village located exactly inside the hills what makes this place very well protected. Wadi Bani Awf connected two different sides of the mountains. More then 35 km constantly on the gravel track located on the mountain range. We got to the asphalt road between Barka and Rustaq around 12 noon. Ahead of as was the last location during our winter expedition. Wadi Abyad, the mountain valley with lots of fresh water.
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Jabal Al Akhdar overview from Wadio Bani Awf .
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There are many of deep and long valleys in the Jabal Al Akhdar mountains, some of them are full of fresh water from the rain. It was a very dry winter this year so we decided to go to Wadi Abyad to check how much water there is. Wadi Abyad is located just several kilometers from the end of Wadi BaniAwf. We were there quickly and back to the off road. The track to the Wadi Abyad is filled with many rocks. In the end of the few kilometers track we stopped our cars.
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Wadi Abyad the place where we pulled over the cars.
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The water in the wadi was to deep for continuing the trip. Most of us immediately jumped to the warm and fresh water. It appeared that there are man puddles with clean water even in dry season in Wadi Abyad. Around 1,5 kilometers from the point where we pulled over the cars in Wadi Abyad there is the deepest place in the area gathering water.
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The water stream at Wadi Abyad.
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The fish in the pool in Wadi Abyad.
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When I was there around four years ago there was around 5m of water. Now the size of this "small lake” was very limited and there was no more then 1m of water. Wadi Abyad is very photogenic place. The rocks are very dark and the water stream and the puddles are colorful due to many of minerals from the mountains. All these elements create abstractive forms and make this place very special and unusual. After quick bath in the water we moved into the Mutrah Bazar in Muscat for the last shopping before going back home.
In the Afternoon we ate a small lunch in a cafeteria in the Mutrah bazar and went to the airport with our German friends as they flew back home the same day. Rest of the participants stayed over one more night in Muscat and took their flights the following day.
The winter expedition was our fourth long trip around gorges location in the Omani interior. Taking our previous experience into concern we decided to cut out driving on black road many obligatory kilometers in order to see far away located parts of Empty Quarter and instead focus on off road trips to the closer locations. This time we made around 2500 km, that is 1000 km less then during the trip in the autumn 2012 but we definitely spent much more time on the off road driving, so we have fulfilled our goal.The next expedition in the autumn of the currant year we are going to prepare in the same way. More off road but many of the location for the camping site will be completely different than we have visited before during the last four expeditions :)
Jerzy Wierzbicki
Team Discover Oman
