Filim / Flamingo Lake, January 3, 2024 🇴🇲
Well, these Omani flamingos do look a little different… but it was still beautiful.
Filim / Off-Road
After the Flamingo Lake, we head out on an off-road tour. The scenery takes us through unique areas, and the driving isn’t too challenging. We deflate the tires a bit anyway and are glad we did, since there are some sections with deeper sand. A great experience, and because it was so wonderful, we’re going on another tour tomorrow… but a slightly more challenging one.
Al Khalouf / Ali Baba Cave January 3, 2024 🇴🇲
And yet another dreamy campsite by the sea. Before we gather for a fish and meat barbecue in the evening, we take a quick look inside Ali Baba’s cave. Yes, it really exists! We were so excited that we completely forgot our camera. A passage about 30 meters long—which you have to crawl through on your knees—leads us to a small cove. The atmosphere is one-of-a-kind, and we’d love to stay much longer, but the barbecue is calling, so we head back.
Off-road in the Sugar Dunes, January 3, 2024 🇴🇲
Off-road through the Sugar Dunes—a highlight! But it’s also hard work… Time and again, it’s time to break out the shovel and dig😎 Six members of our group take on the challenge—and of course, we’re right there with them👍 The trail is long, and we get shaken up quite a bit, but the reward comes in the form of a drive along the beach. We learn a lot about our vehicles—what works and what doesn’t—which will come in handy as we continue our journey. In the end, we’re all tired, but we’ve gained some great experiences.
Duqm, January 3, 2024 🇴🇲
At first, Duqm doesn’t mean much to us, but a massive Special Economic Zone (SEZD) is being developed here. The entire area is one huge construction site that will remain that way for many years to come. For anyone interested, there’s information on the topic at duqm.gov.om/en, for example.
Ras Madrakah, January 3, 2024 🇴🇲
On down to Ras Madrakah, where the beaches are even longer and the sunsets even more impressive. Once again, Oman offers us endless beauty—a world previously unknown to us that remains largely untouched. The photos give a glimpse of something that’s hard to put into words. We’re thrilled!!
Sharbithat Beach January 4, 2024 🇴🇲
Once again, our destination is a dreamlike beach. It’s hard for us to keep coming up with new ways to describe it—we’re simply thrilled. The route to today’s campsite is once again full of discoveries and surprises. One constant over the past few days has been the camels everywhere. Especially on the road, these “ships of the desert” move very leisurely and can only be persuaded to leave the roadway by honking repeatedly and driving very close to them. Many camels have their front legs tied together so they can’t run off too quickly. Once we arrive at our destination, it’s time to look for “Sand-Doller” (Google it if you’re interested). While doing so, we get to experience another beautiful sunset.
Shalim Wa Juzur Al Hallaniyat, January 6, 2024 🇴🇲
A quick stop along our route to today’s campsite turns out to offer a magnificent view over a vast wadi.
Wadi Shuwaimiyah January 6, 2024 🇴🇲
A trip to a wadi is always something special, especially when it’s said to be the most beautiful one in Oman. And we’re not disappointed! After a somewhat rocky and, at times, challenging drive, we reach a beautiful spot where we decide to stay. A short exploratory walk confirms that we’ve ended up in an extraordinarily beautiful spot. The massive walls of the wadi make a very special impression; combined with the vegetation and the rock formations, a magical atmosphere emerges as the sun sets. Here, too, it’s hard to do justice to what we’ve seen in words or pictures. If you can, you should see this for yourself.
Ash Shuwaymiyah, January 6, 2024 🇴🇲
In the morning, we set out once again on a longer exploration tour through Wadi Shuwaymiyah, enjoying the morning atmosphere. Afterward, it’s back to the village of Shuwaymiyah to buy food and drinks, fill up the water tank, and empty the toilet. Today we’re heading toward Mirbat, but decide to spend the night along the way. After crossing the mountain range, we’re back at the coast. This stretch of coastline is perfect for a campsite, and we soon find our spot. It doesn’t take long before we get our first visitors—we affectionately call them the “How are you”s. It’s always very exciting, and you learn a lot about the area. The Omanis are never pushy—a bit curious, but always very polite and reserved. We hear about a stranded turtle and set out to find it. Something seems wrong with the animal, and we find it lying on its back on the beach. We turn the turtle over and help it back into the water—not quite as easy as it sounds. We finally manage it, but the animal is struggling badly in the water. By now, the animal rescue team has arrived on the scene, and we walk back to our campsite.
Salalah, January 7, 2024 🇴🇲
We leave our campsite on the beach and head for Salalah. But there’s still plenty to see, so we set out early. On the way, we celebrate reaching 20,000 km on our Joey’s odometer—which means we’ve now been on the road for about 14,500 km. A quick lap around the car, and off we go. In Mirbat, it’s time to do some shopping. Some vegetables, fruit, and of course dates—which we’ll need as prizes when playing Skip Bo… very important! Next stop: the baobab trees in Wadi Hinna. The baobab trees are impressive, though we’re soon joined by camels and cows, and the trees take a back seat. After a break with a delicious lunch, we head back down the mountain and continue toward Salalah. We decide to spend a little more time at the beach instead of visiting the remaining wadis and find a great spot at Dahariz Beach next to a lagoon just outside Salalah. We’re rewarded with a unique view of a wide variety of birds… and we don’t mean the many people on the beach, but the flamingos, black ibises, seagulls, ducks, and many more.
Salalah, January 8, 2024 🇴🇲
After our delicious dinner at Restaurant Rosalie and a somewhat windy night, we decide today to head to the team’s official campsite. First, though, we head to the beach—and if you’ve ever wanted to see an “endless” sandy beach… Salalah is the place to be. Beach walks lined with palm trees are a bit reminiscent of the Maldives—just much bigger. We meet a nice couple from Germany traveling in their camper—they’ve just retired and are on a road trip through Iran and now Oman. We enjoy the refreshing exchange of experiences and wish each other continued fun on our journeys. Now it’s off to LuLu and Carrefour to do some shopping. These are large shopping centers found in Oman’s bigger cities—and…you usually end up buying too much. Afterward, we drive to the Samharam Hotel in the south of Salalah.
Salalah, January 10, 2024 🇴🇲
The beach at our official campsite is still a bit deserted, so we set out on a long walk along the beach. If we’d known at the time just how far we’d be walking, we might have taken a taxi instead. Our destination is the frankincense market in Salalah—a must-see! According to the map, it’s about 7–8 km, so no problem… if it weren’t for the stretch of beach where the sultan has his palace. In the end, it’s about 13 km; the frankincense market turns out to be more of a tourist trap, and we’re hungry, too. Once we arrive at our destination, we decide to take a taxi to the nearest restaurant—they serve Indian food! With our stomachs full, we take a taxi back to the campsite. Adriana practices her bargaining skills a bit with a taxi driver who’s charging too much for the ride, and then it’s time to relax… or is it? In the meantime, the “cavalry” has arrived, and the parking lot is filled with vehicles. Lino, our technical expert from the tour guide team, offers to help me install the new shock absorbers I ordered in Germany (a little plug for Marquart shock absorbers). A good two hours later, the four new shock absorbers are installed—great joy and a heartfelt thank you to Lino. In the evening, there’s a group buffet dinner at the hotel and a briefing from the tour guides on the rest of the itinerary.
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