After Muscat was when the real outdoor adventure that Oman is famous for started, we picked up our Toyota Prado rental, the first time I had driven a true four wheel drive, this was going to be fun, I thought.
After stopping to pick up some supplies from the supermarket, plenty of water and non-perishable food items, we drove east towards Sur. After one hour we reached the tiny town of Yiti, this was where we realised we had driven in the wrong direction, so we backtracked back to Muscat and went south instead.
Wadi Shab
There wasn’t too much to see until we reached the first of the Wadi’s in the afternoon, Wadi Shab. The entrance to the Wadi is marked by the main dual carriageway slung across the entrance, we parked the car and headed into the Wadi. Throughout the Wadi is lush vegetation and turquoise pools of water, at some points shoes need to be removed to cross small streams. After about one hour we reached a large pool of water, continuing past, mostly by swimming we reached the final pool, there was a tiny crack in the rocks with which only our heads could past while remaining above water. Inside the enclosed cave was a beautiful water fall.
This would have been all the more enjoyable if I wasn’t holding the camera and passports in plastic garbage bag all this time.
From there we made our way back to the entrance of Wadi Shab walking in dusklight, we were surprised by the now risen water which we had to wade through.
At nightfall we drove to Wadi Tiwi where after driving a little into the Wadi in pitch black, decided it would be much safer to either turn around or camp for the night. That night we slept in the roomy four wheel drive.
Wadi Tiwi
Roosters woke us up in the morning, and we found ourselves in quite a nice spot, a bit of water and dense palm trees. Also, the first of the hikers passed us by foot, who must have parked at the main road.
We continued following the road into the Wadi, not as beautiful as Wadi Shab, I thought, but it may have been the driving into the Wadi was not the same as walking. We left Wadi Tiwi for Sur.
Sur
Sur was a really nice little town, plenty of small historic forts and castles and a great location on the port with many dhows (Arabic boat). Our arrival that day also corresponded with the start of the Islamic holiday Eid, and many families were slaughtering goats, not just to enjoy the meat during the three day holiday, but also as a tradition where the sacrifice of an animal commemorates the sacrifice of son Ishmael by his father Abraham.
A few of the places we visited in Sur were;
- Ayjah Lighthouse
- Al Hamoodah Fort
- Alayah Watchtowers
- Al Sunaysilah Castle
- Bilad Sur Castle
From Sur we travelled further east along the coast, past Ras al Hadd (marking the joining of Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea) to our next destination, a camp located somewhere in the vast Wahiba Sands Desert.
