“The land was barren but picturesque, you had contrasting limestone mountains on one side and the blue and green ocean on the other side.  “ Musandam,  Oman

The excitement could be felt in the car – we were going away for the weekend. It was a last minute decision after hearing the words: Dolphins, Oman, Musandam, Snorkelling and more Dolphins. What had failed to compute into my mind was we were camping overnight on the beach until I ventured outside into an extremely hot and sticky day.

Now I don’t mind camping – it has been a few years since the last time and it does bring back fond memories and fun adventures that were had in off the beaten places. This was going to be another adventure to add to the memories and I remained excited along the road trip to Oman, spotting camels for most of the journey until we got into Oman where it changed to goats.

The boarder crossing was a little confusing so don’t forget to bring into the building your car insurance papers and present your passports together for the car you are travelling in to make it swifter. On the Oman side don’t forget to take a pen to fill in the immigration forms – there are no spares available.

The land was barren but picturesque, you had contrasting limestone mountains on one side and the blue and green ocean on the other side. It took about 2 and half hours to reach Khasab where we met up with the tour company to start the next part of our journey. Khasab is the Arabic word for fertility and the town is known for its large produce of dates and fresh water.

Having psyched myself up for the camping and beach barbeque, we were surprised to be offered an alternative. Apparently the beaches were getting rather warm and unpleasant and would we rather sleep on deck of the Rubba. The Rubba was a luxury dhow and it was a no brainer for us to not only accept the offer but we upgraded to the cabins that were available – luxury sailing with air conditioning here we come!

Our early evening and night on Rubba was very relaxing and comfortable. We got the first glimpse of the Musandam Peninsula – also known as the ‘Norway of Arabia’ from the water. The beautiful khors are fjordlike inlets with the most spectacular being 16km long – Khor Sham.

That evening you were given the opportunity to fish from the side of the dhow, admire the rugged coastline, watch the sunset and see our first glimpse of the dolphins. The barbeque dinner was cooked at the back of the boat and was really good especially the fresh calamari – straight from the sea.

In the morning we were transferred from the Rubba to a more traditional wooden fishing boat/dhow painted blue which was to take us along Khor Sham. The Khor had clear blue waters contrasting to the high rugged and arid mountains. There were a few small hamlets dotted about. It is quite isolated and the hamlets rely on freshwater to be delivered by boat. The children all commute to school in Khasab. Many of the inhabitants only spend 6 months of their time at these hamlets before also going to Khasab during the date harvesting season.

You could not visit the hamlets without a permit so we remained on the water. It was a day of relaxing, admiring the scenery and going snorkelling in the turquoise waters. We were also delighted by the Dolphins that came to surf alongside the dhow and we got to see both humpback and bottlenose dolphins.

Relaxed, hot and happy we go back in the car for our 2+ hour drive back to Dubai.

Tour company: Musandam Sea Adventure Travel and Tourism
Very professional and I would highly recommend using them.

 

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