Oman 2011 - In the Desert

The trip to the Omani deserts led us first to Itzki, where we met Sam and Melina, and packed our cars with food and all the equipment we needed for camping and driving in the desert. We then headed to al-Mintirib, to enter the Wahibah Sands. After a night in the dunes, we traversed the Wahibah Sands from north to south. This day turned out to be a bit more adventurous than anticipated, as we got our cars stuck in soft sand several times, and some dauntless driving was needed at times. After making our way out of the sands, several hours behind our schedule, we headed towards al-Khaluf to set up the camp on the beach near the Sugar Dunes. After spending the next morning in the Sugar Dunes, we headed towards Hayma, driving on the main road across the barren, monotonous landscape for hours, and then further north, setting up the camp near tiny dunes. The next day led us further north, close to the Saudi Arabian border, into a landscape of beautiful, huge, red dunes, with an oil field every now and then. We set up the camp next to a dune near Abu al-Tabul. We then headed to al-Ghabah, leaving the dunes, and passing a number of oil fields on the way. After a long and exceedingly monotonous drive on the Muscat-Salalah main road, we reached the Jabal Salakh mountains, setting up our last camp. The next morning, we unloaded all our equipment in Itzki, and made our way to Muscat through the spectactular Wadi Bani Auf, while Sam and Melina headed towards Jabal al-Akhdar.