Around Oman in 7 days.

Population: 3,204,897
(Urban 77%, Rural 23%)

Ethnic groups: Omani Arab - 75%

Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangledeshi - 21%

Iranian, Egyptian, Somali, Other - 4%

Languages: Arabic, English, Baluchi, Urdu, Hindi, Other Indian dialects.

Religions: Ibadi Muslim - 75%, Other Muslim - 13%, Hindu - 6%, Christian - 5%, Other - 1%

Life expectancy: 73.6 Years
Literacy Rate: Male - 84.9%, Female - 70.5%

Government: Monarchy - Sultan Qaboos bin Said

Major export trade partners: Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand, Singapore Military personal: 45,000 (2007)
Monetary unit: 1 Omani Rial = 1000 baiza

However my favorite fact is that Oman is the only country begining with the letter O! Remember that for your next trivia night................

(n.b. Oslo is not a country, neither is Ohio.....you can stop trying now, you won't find one ;)

I was intending to have a visitor from Kuwait recently therefore I organised my second cycle of rec leave within a month. I was planning to show her around Oman, and see it myself, however due to passport problems she was unable to make it. I thought I may as well still get out there so I bought some cheap camping gear, loaded up on food and booze, serviced the Kia and then hit the road.

1. Muscat to Masirah Island - 480km's

I left home early for the long drive to Masirah. A fairly easy drive out of Muscat, through the Hajar Mountain Range, then along the Western edge of the Wahiba Sands to the coast and the Masirah car ferry (left). 90 minutes later I drove off the ferry then around to the East coast of the Island where I found a shelter to camp in. I set up the tent, cooked up some dinner and opened up a beer......ahhh this is the life!

2. Masirah Island

I woke with the sun and decided to stay another day, do a bit of swimming, walking and fishing. The swimming and walking went ok however the fishing was unsuccessful!

I have a feeling my choice of bait may have been the problem. I had forgotten to get any before leaving home and therefore did some improvising. I tried baby corn, potato, bread and then thought that a pickle might do the trick! It's the pickles that have been hooking McDonalds customers for years right? Unfortunately I didn't even get a nibble. All a bloke asks for is a nibble on his pickle every now and again!

During my walking I had seen several turtle tracks along the coast however when I went turtle spotting that night I didn't manage to see any. Much of Oman's coastline is a breeding ground for various types of turtles including loggerhead, hawksbill, green and the olive ridley.

3. Masirah to Ras Madrakah - 553 km's

After getting lost on southern Masirah and doing a loop I finally made it back to the ferry. The road signs and directions in Oman leave a lot to be desired and this wouldn't be the only time I would get lost.

After getting back on the mainland I hoped to go coastal as much as possible to Ras Madrakah (see map).

I took a 'coastal road' which turned into a deserted rocky gravel road over run with sand and some smaller sand dunes. I hadn't seen a car for about 20km's when I hit a very sandy stretch and wondered if I should backtrack in case the Kia got stuck and I got stranded. I decided to push on and slipped and slided through the sand for a while and eventually made it back onto firmer ground. A little nerve racking but good fun!

I stopped at a few of the coastal towns on my way down south and made it to Madrakah early evening and set up camp (above). Most of the coastline has a few shelters where you can get some shade and pitch a tent.

4. Ras Madrakah to Qanawt - 410 km's
Again I headed south along the coast until I reached Sawqrah where I stopped for lunch. It's a nice little coastal town sheltered in a bay by big cliffs. I wanted to keep going coastal however the road cut up through the mountains and was very rough and rocky. Although by my map it was over 100km's of this I decided I may as well go for it, engaged the 4wd, and took off. Fortunately the road smoothed out a bit and was not too bad. About halfway along they were doing extensive roadwork and will be asphalting the road at some stage. Everywhere I went they were doing lots of roadwork and opening up the country more and more.

I reached Shalim, a major crossing town, refueled then swung left again to the coast. I could go no further than Qanawt, about 200km's south from Sawqrah as the Dhofar mountain range cut off access further south to Salalah, Oman's second largest city.

I set up camp next to a concrete shelter at the end of the road, which was in a beautiful little inlet overlooked by the mountains. I had just finished cooking dinner, and my 2nd glass of red, when a couple of Omani guys from a workers camp up to my left arrived for a chat. They were part of a work team that is building a road through the mountains to connect the coast roads. They are blasting through with dynamite and are one of 3 teams on the multimillion dollar job. Another team is working from halfway in at Thumrait and the other at the Salalah end of the coast at Hasik, where I would end up 2 days later.

5. Qanawt to Salalah - 485 km's

From Qanawt I returned back to Shalim and then on to Marmul, past multiple oil fields, making sure I stayed alert at all times!

It is actually very difficult to stay alert on the Oman roads as the countryside is very barren and there is not much to keep you awake.

I made it to Salalah, on the Southern coast, early afternoon and went for a quick tour around. I found the youth hostel and booked in for a night so I could have a warm shower and scrape off the dirt from the previous 4 days camping. A fairly quiet night in Salalah with a couple of drinks at the Crown Plaza hotel.

*Sultan Qaboos 'Grand Mosque' under construction (Salalah)

6. Salalah to Hasik - 282 km's
After a decent sleep in I headed East and back to the coast. First stop at Taqah, a fortified coastal town, then the stone ruins of the ancient city of Khour Rouri. On the way into the site I ran into fellow air traffic controller Jonathon and his wife Jennifer who had just visited the site. They told me to have a quick look round the ruins and then go down to the bay where there were a herd of camels grazing and loads of birds. I checked out the 1st century BC stone city then set up camp by the bay for lunch.
I had only just poured my baked beans into the pan when I got a visit by one of the curious camels. Next thing I knew there were 6 or 7 of them sniffing around, 1 into my saucepan! (n.b. he turned his nose up at my beans and went back to munching on the grass)

They hung around checking me out for a good 20 minutes while I cooked up and ate lunch. They are magnificent creatures, even if they do look a little goofy!

After Khour Rouri I went coastal another couple of hundred km's to Hasik via the very picturesque coastal road. I wanted to see how far up the coast I could make it, and when I was stopped by machine gun totting military men just past Hasik i figured I wasn't going any further! They were part of the road gang on this side of the mountain range, and were very friendly once they realised I was just out for a Sunday drive. I turned around and found a nice little inlet to camp in a few km's away.

7. Hasik to Muscat - 1571 km's!!
Again I woke and rose with the sun as it is far too hot in the tent once the sun hits it. I made breakfast and was on the road by 0700 intending to drive the length of the South coast as far as the Yemen border.

I got back to Salalah in a few hours then an hour later stopped for lunch in a tourist type spot along the coast in Mughsayl. Mughsayl has a blowhole and semi-cave which are impressive, however like most 'tourist' sites in Oman it is a bit haphazard. The staff are generally not interested in you, there is little signage or direction, and there is normally rubbish everywhere. Oman is just starting to recognise that they could be quite a popoluar tourist destination however they have a long way to go to lift their standards. In some ways this is not such a bad thing, however the lack of decent organisation can be very frustrating at times.

After Mugshayl it was only a couple of hundred km's to the Yemen border so I pushed on with a good half tank of fuel. Little did I know I was about to hit some serious mountains that would continue all the way to the border. At the top of one of them I was stopped at an army checkpoint and given a thorough going over. They asked me if I was going into Yemen and I finally assured them I wasn't. At the second checkpoint I was now getting low on fuel and wondering if I should turn back. The army man told me I could get fuel from the supermarket in Kharfut so I continued on. After the biggest mountains of the whole country I made it up and down to the small coastal town only to find no-one home! The streets were empty, a ghost town. I drove to the beach and ate some lunch then went back. Just as I arrived back the mosque doors opened and the locals poured out like ants.

I went to the market and asked for fuel while the arabic speaking locals looked at me dumbfounded. Finally I met an English speaking man who worked for the Sultans special forces and was holidaying in town. He took me to the 'service station' where fuel was siphoned out of several small containers into the Kia.

Now full of food and fuel I hit the road again aiming for Salalah to spend the night. Halfway back I decided to branch off left and go through the interior and head towards home. The road was asphalt for about 5 km's then turned into rough gravel. I looked at my map and saw another 100+ km's of this to get to Thumrait and thought why not! After a few km's I came across a huge military base not marked on any of my maps. Complete with all sorts of vehicles, helicopters, training areas and barracks it was quite impressive. On the other side of the base was a huge artillery range with multiple warning signs plastered around, my favorite being - 'DANGER Military Range KEEP OUT. Do not pick anything up, it may explode and so will you'!

Heeding this advice I continued on and made Thumrait. I was now on the main Salalah to Muscat road and was feeling good so decided to see how far I could get. Turns out I made it another 900+ km's and made it home at 0200 to my own comfortable bed.

A friend suggested that on my headstone it should read: Here lies Craig, he once drove the length and breadth of Oman in one day! My 7 days, 3500+ km's and 700+ ipod songs throughout Oman were very enjoyable and a big eye opener. I'm glad I did it but I won't be doing it again in a hurry.