‘Four go wild in Oman’ & As Sifah – February 2013

During the February half term we decide to head back to Oman to explore the start of the East coast just 45 minutes south of Muscat. The car is laden with camping gear, food and water – we are planning to spend several days on the beach and have no idea what supplies we will be able to get locally so it is imperative that we have enough water. Setting off reasonably early on a Friday morning the roads are relatively empty, although crossing the border into Oman takes longer than we had hoped – having been through one check point we then need to get out of the car to fill in the relevant paperwork and then queue to get passports stamped and pay for a tourist visa. This particular Friday appears to be the day that many people are doing ‘visa runs’ before getting their UAE residency visas so, despite being early there are still queues. Once through, the coastal road runs straight to Muscat. However, there is a roundabout every 10km making the journey rather slower than it should be. But the scenery is so very different to the UAE that it does feel like the beginning of a new adventure.

Dramatic scenery on the way to As Sifah
Dramatic scenery on the way to As Sifah

A few hours later the scenery changes dramatically as we leave the city of Muscat behind and the road begins to cut through and around the mountains. The landscape is harsh and unforgiving but beautiful in its starkness. The driving is incredible. As we go around one bend, we see a pack of cyclists peddling hard in the opposite direction. It is Bradley Wiggins and the rest of the Sky team competing in the Tour of Oman! You really don’t know what’s around the corner in this region.

The amazing tidal creeks on the way to As Sifah
The amazing tidal creeks on the way to As Sifah

Coming back down towards sea level we come across Bandar Al Khayran. It is an area of tidal creeks and sheltered bays fringed by black mangroves. The contrast to the mountains is so marked that the sudden appearance of turquoise water and green trees almost takes your breath away. The Al Khayran mangrove is one of the largest in the area; there are about 20 of these forests still growing along Oman’s coast – the mangrove is one of the few trees that can live in salty conditions. There are 3 types of rock making up the mountains in this region. Limestone is around 50 million years old; old Permian mudstone and silty limestone bedded with black limestone is 250 million years old and Permian limestone covered by 240 million year old Triassic dolomite. The rocks originally formed during different periods as part of the ocean floor. Since then the rocks have been buried by the sea either due to movement of the land over millions of years or by the rise and fall of sea levels over the last few hundred thousand years.

Beached dhow (no sign of the missing flip flop)
Beached dhow (no sign of the missing flip flop)

On our way through this rocky land there is a beached derelict dhow on the sand of one of the inlets. We stop to look around and the Tribe ‘paddle’ in the narrow strip of water that remains. Before long there is much screaming and shouting as they start sinking in the sand. 3 flipflops are lost to the murky depths and 4 very wet children return to the car. Later the one ‘rescued’ flipflop is covered in grey hardened clay.

The road finally ends at the village of As Sifah where we hope to find our ‘perfect’ pitch on the beach. There are quite a few people but none have tents – obviously day trippers from Muscat! Within an hour, we are alone and have set up our camp. There is still a little rubbish around (a depressing reoccurrence in our camping forays) but with a huge bin close by we clear up what’s been left by the day’s visitors. The beach is several kilometres long.

Perfect pitch
Perfect pitch

We are at one end with the Eastern Hajar mountains just behind us and the Sea of Oman right in front of us; at the other end there is a new boutique hotel, marina and villas. Construction is still underway but we are far enough away to feel totally isolated and the village of As Sifah is between us. Living in the hectic metropolis that is Dubai, these camping adventures are quite magical. With the mountains so close it is easy to see the many different layers of rocks and we are also surprised to even see veins of quartz and mica that make the rocks sparkle in the sunlight.

We soon have a fire going and the Tribe are toasting marshmallows before going to bed. Father of the Tribe and I are left sitting under the stars listening to the gentle ebb and flow of the sea. On this occasion we have something special to watch – as the waves break on the shore they light up a green fluorescent colour and out to sea we can see the green fluorescent wake left by the local fishermen’s boats as they cut through the water. This is called marine bioluminescence that occurs when phytoplankton have high densities of excess nutrients. The glow appears when the algae is disturbed – such as surf on the shore or a boat moving in the sea. I have never seen it before and when a couple of the Tribe come out of their tent saying they can’t sleep, I’m delighted to be able to share with them this extraordinary phenomenon.

Watching the sunrise together
Watching the sunrise together

During our camping we wake early enough to sit on the beach and watch the sunrise. It happens very quickly – the clear sky gradually lightens before the sun’s fiery ball pops up above the sea in front of us. Worth the early rising. In the

Animal prints
Animal prints

light we are able to see a number of tracks around the tent and along the beach. It is always exciting to see what has been around us during the night. There are lots of what we assume to be reptile tracks but this time we also have prints left by quite a large mammal.

Looking for animal prints, early morning
Looking for animal prints, early morning

They are definitely not cat prints – I am pretty sure that they belong to the dog family as the claw marks are quite obvious. Since returning to Dubai, I have researched local mammal prints but have not found a definite answer. I want to say that the prints belong to an Arabian wolf, but I haven’t read about any sightings in the region that we are in (they are generally found in southern Oman) and I am pretty sure that they are far too big for an Arabian fox (that we have seen before in Khor Kalba). I have photographs of the tracks and will keep looking.

The Tribe finding caves, crabs and carpets!!
The Tribe finding caves, crabs and carpets!!

The sea turns and goes out some distance enabling the Tribe to do some fabulous beach combing. It also allows them to walk around some rocks to another small beach that is revealed by the outgoing tide.

Beautiful As Sifah
Beautiful As Sifah

They find a cave that they squeeze into and discover a rope hanging from the ‘ceiling’; further along some rugs have been rolled and dumped, but the way in which they are now lying, next to a roundish rock, it looks as though a body has been washed up on the beach! Their imaginations are going wild and I feel that they are playing out Enid Blyton’s Famous Five adventures – our own 21st century ‘Four go Wild in Oman!’

One day we walk along the beach towards the local village while the tide is out. We find an impressive, huge (although damaged) white shell, lots of large pieces of white coral, pieces of quartz and a variety of different shells. We collect several small sundial shells.

Family walk on the beach
Family walk on the beach

They are about an inch in diameter, flat and round with a white, pale brown and dark brown spiral pattern. They are molluscs that create a single shell and live in warm water. It is the first time that we have found these shells and they are delicate and pretty. Other finds include a large cuttlefish washed up on the beach and more bizarrely, a rather bloated dead goat with its legs tied together. This is quite odd as I imagine that it would have belonged to a farmer and as such, would be an important part of the farmer’s livelihood. More fuel for the imagination. There are a couple of fishermen napping in the shade of their boats further up the beach at the edge of the village and they are friendly and wave at all the Tribe – they are particularly taken with the littlest who is absolutely insistent on walking almost the entire way.

Slow leaking airbed providing entertainment for the Tribe on a perfect calm morning
Slow leaking airbed providing entertainment for the Tribe on a perfect calm morning

On the day that we break camp, as one of the airbeds has a slow leak, the Tribe decide that it will become their raft for the morning and they have an hour or so of hysterical fun playing in a dead calm sea. The littlest member of the Tribe meanwhile is intent on making a splendid castle.

Back to civilisation at the other end of the beach (we still prefer the camping!)
Back to civilisation at the other end of the beach (we still prefer the camping!)
A bit too much civilisation at the other end of As Sifah?
A bit too much civilisation at the other end of As Sifah?

It has been a magical few days and when we find ourselves in the hotel at the other end of the beach (having an 8 hour drive back to Dubai after packing up is not an option!), although it is very smart and quiet, with a beautiful pool and bar, we miss the tranquility of being on our own and the Tribe having the freedom to play make believe.

The Tribe dune jumping!
The Tribe dune jumping!
Outside the fabulous true beach restaurant, Sambak, at the other end of the beach
Outside the fabulous true beach restaurant, Sambak, at the other end of the beach

It is therefore not surprising that Father of the Tribe and I, on the last morning before our return to Dubai, find ourselves bustling the Tribe out of the room in semi darkness to make our way down to the beach where we can sit and watch the sunrise together. Despite being away for just short of a week, we feel as though we’ve been away forever and we know that we

Our Boy outside Sambak restaurant
Our Boy outside Sambak restaurant

will definitely return to this serene part of Oman where there is so much more to explore.

Mother of the Tribe


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/ikqkciv0c1iq/public_html/wp-content/themes/gridwp-pro/inc/functions/share-buttons.php on line 36
Share:

Author: Mother of the Tribe

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.