This post had been planned as “H is for Herons” (plenty of Herons on the coastline of UAE and Oman) but this weekend turned it into “H for Help” instead…
A final weekend of camping before the summer heat kicks in. The trip planned for Barr al Hikman, Oman which is close to a wetland reserve; chances to photograph herons. For anyone who wants to know more about the peninsula, my post from my first visit in October 2015 gives a good idea…
It is totally and utterly remote. The coast is 50kms from the road, across sabkha flats (salt pans). There is small chance of a phone signal. Local fishermen moor boats off the coastal sand bar, so in case of trouble, just maybe some-one would pass by. It’s probably a 8-10 hour walk back to civilisation, not something we would want to attempt but as we have driven this peninsula before and sand driving holds no mystery and much care is taken in solitary places, off we went….
The sign that greets you as you leave the road…
At this stage we discovered our fisherman friend had been going to his boat on the coast and his pickup contained a load of ice he had been taking across to his boat to preserve his catch….. It was all ice, we reckoned it was 3 tons, he was running his tyres on 90 psi ( any petrol-head reading this will know that is SO high). Not surprising that our help attempts failed… the wily fisherman neglected to share that with us!
The water, by the way, was the result of a freak storm on the Wednesday night. As the area is all sand and salt pans and is naturally a waterlogged area from the tides, the flooding remained. Our camping plans abandoned, as access to the coastal sand bars was flooded, we changed our plans and headed off, little knowing what lay ahead….
Travels in the Middle East and beyond 
Oh my! What an adventure! Thanks for sharing.
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Wow Vicky! Heck,of an adventure…amazing landscapes!!!
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🙂 thanks, I have to say after-the-event, what an amazing experience..once I knew Mr Wily had actually got a phone signal and Big Brother was heading in so then I sort of relaxed and wandered around for photo opps but it truly is a wilderness,so not much to take bar the infinite horizon….A slight change to the plan, but in hindsight, what an experience!!! A total one-off, wonderful ….
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Sometimes the best plans are the ones that don’t go according to plans 😄😄😄
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That would have been a bit scary. It’s a bit like getting stuck (or bogged) in the outback of Australia where help could be days or weeks away. I’m glad you got out safely without too much drama.
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It’s the days like these, where things don’t go to plan, that make the best travel stories
Debbie
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What an adventure! So glad things worked out for everyone. The pictures are beautiful and the sky looks so…BLUE! I feel like I haven’t ever seen a sky that looks like that. Ours here in upstate NY seems so…dull, when it isn’t covered in gray clouds! Have fun on your travels and be safe!
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Thanks Kat for visiting, it was great fun, plans awry, but thats part of the fun in exploring…the day did get worse, I think it will be tomorrows post for J !!
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Wow!! This looks really exhausting but you did managed to captured some good from it too.
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It ended up being one of those days, much patience required, but lots of fun, a bit of a one-off, I’ll never forget it….
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