Oh man Oman!

Camping

Since we've had the Tonka we've been picking up some camping stuff so we were ready to do a bit of touring. We had seven or so days over Eid so we hit the road into Oman.

Day One - Qiyut

By the time we did some shopping and some tidying up jobs we had a late start on Day One. We travelled around two hours down towards Nizwa, the old capital of Oman, then headed up into the Hajars, a mountain range running right through the country. They are massive bare rock mountains sliced by wadis (dry water courses) and canyons. We checked out the Hoota caves, with their big cafe and visitor centre but they were closed so we continued to the road to Qiyut. This was a one-way drive up a massive switchback road that goes up, up, up to Qiyut village, just below a peak called Blacktop. The road was all gravel and rock and just got steeper and gnarlier the further we went up. We climbed onto a plateau, then dropped through a gully with at tiny village tucked beside a dry wadi. There were kids playing soccer and people rounding up the goats, then we climbed again till we were perched on a plateau at about 2000 feet. The village of Qiyut wasn't what we expected, it was a walled compound of 9 houses that looked like they were about 3 months old. Anyway we pitched tents on a bit of flat land, lit the charcoal barbie and tried to keep warm. We'd gone from about 30 degrees to about 12 in the space of the climb and we were dressed in all the clothes we'd brought just trying to keep warm. I went for a walk to see the majestic views and couldn't believe how much I was puffing. When I went to sleep I had pins and needles in my hands and a bit of a headache - Ande attributed that to altitude sickness. Hard case. Matija had a tent of her own and we had one to ourselves. She was very brave and did well getting to sleep in her own tent.

Day Two - Wadi Bani Awf

After cereal and turkish coffee we broke camp and crawled most of the way back down the track. We turned off before the main road, cut through some back country and came out on the sealed road to Wadi Bani Awf. This is the only road in Oman that cuts right through the Hajars so we were keen to have a look. The sealed road climbed to about the same height as where we camped, then it turned to a thin gravel track and descended through the mountains in hundreds of switchbacks. There was very little room to pass anyone, the road was carved out of sheer cliffs in places and the gradient was very steep. We spend most of the trip in low range, using the gears to slow us down. At one point I was meandering along in 4WD low gear when I hit a steep up-slope and didn't have the momentum to get up - had to back up and have another go with a bit more oomph. Ande was a little concerned.

When we finally reached the wadi bed, both sides were lined with date palms and little falaj (watercourses) were concreted along the wadi edges to keep water up to the dates. A few small concrete houses made up the village and it must have been wash day because just about every house had a group of women sitting outside washing duvets and carpets or they were draped over the stones drying.

Day Three - Balad Seyt

We stopped at beautiful little grassy spot for a coffee and dates with friendly local goats, then climbed up a steep little path and through a narrow canyon for about twenty minutes to reach the village of Balad Seyt. It's a picture postcard view, you come out of the canyon into the garden area of the village, where little plots are terraced into the flat land. The village rises behind the gardens and date plantations sit off to the left with a few houses and the minaret of a mosque peeking above the palms. We had a wander around there, waved to a few friendly villagers and Ande got photos of the fabulous little doors that lead into the houses. You can also drive there, but it's much more spectacular coming from the canyon.

We continued on to Little Snake Canyon where you can swim in pools up the canyon (the name comes from it's twisty nature, not the slithery reptiles). It was a half hour walk up to the water and Matija was a bit walked out so we found a tiny little pool full of small fish and frogs just 2 minutes from the car. We needed to wash the dust off and Ande was amazed at the way the fish nibble your toes if you sit very quietly. Refreshed, we headed on to our camping spot, just down from another village. There was a French party at the main spot so we made camp near the local soccer pitch and quickly got the tents up as there were a few spots of rain, the first we've experienced since being in Al Ain. We cooked up some kofta (we'd bought a little fridge that runs off the cigarette lighter and keeps everything cool and fresh) and we were entertainment for three village boys that were bouncing on a tree limb and calling across to us. They were good fun and we ended up giving them some chocolate. They were all settled in to have tea with us till we said goodnight and masalama, at which point they ran back to their mates. As they were watching us the older boys were playing soccer on the rocky pitch. Every village has a pitch, no matter how dusty and these guys were extremely good, far fitter and more athletic than the town boys in Al Ain. We sat around the barbie for a while, smoked a bit of lemon/mint hubbly bubbly and had a good solid nights sleep, despite the 4wds rumbling past every few hours. It was the Eid break and many people were coming home to spend the break with their families.

On to Muscat

The next day we cruised on through the remainder of the wadi. The rock walls climbed straight off the sides of the canyon, about 50m apart and it was still a spectacular, twisty drive along the river bed. You could see where floods had previously wiped out the road, but it looked like they ran a grader over it and life went on. We broke out onto a highway and after about 15km took another turn. This one took us past a village then up a wide gravel wadi bed. The tracks disappeared after a kilometre and the gravel was soft and deep in places, we were a little afraid of getting stuck but Ande kept her foot down and the Tonka powered through it. We eventually came to a little streambed with pools. After a 200m walk we came to a beautiful deep pool where we could swim, relax in the sun and let Matija have a swim. No-one else was around and we had the whole place to ourselves. The only shame was that day-trippers had left cans and rubbish here. That's the case at many of the beautiful spots close to town and it's just laziness really - no excuse.

After a few hours chillin' we hit the road for Muscat. We drove across a big plain (mostly barren) and there were gardens and roundabouts for about the last 50km of road heading in to Muscat. The whole road was lined with Omani flags for National day. They must have spent a fortune on it. We did come across an accident where a truck looked like it had smashed into a semi-trailer and had the whole cab sheared off it (unless they'd cut it off to get the driver out). Nasty. We carried on past the business district and came to the port area, with the Sheikhs luxury liner and his dhow parked in the harbour. Muscat is low-rise and quite beautiful, there are strict building codes around the old part of town and it has been preserved nicely. There was also a cool souk with antiques, clothes, etc etc. Ande bought a couple of richly decorated hangings while Matija and I kicked back with an ice-cream.

We'd heard there was camping at the Dive Center about 15mins south of the port. When we drove there we were told there hadn't been for 6 years. We drove a little further south and headed to the coast. There was a big area (acres) of fill, as though someone had started a property development and when we got up close we saw a breakwater and a little beach. We ended up camping there and found out that it was the Dubai Sheik's land, he was going to put a palace there, but the recession struck and it went on hold. It did give us a lovely camping spot. That night I read about Masirah Island, a desert island about 5 or 6 hours south. It sounded exciting so the next morning we headed out for that.

Day Four - Road to Nowhere

We took a wrong turn trying to get back to the highway and ended up going through a township tucked under some hills. It was the morning of Eid and there were sheep and goats being slaughtered left, right and centre. People were slitting throats, (as Muslims and Kiwi sheep farmers do) cutting up carcasses, washing away blood or carrying away plastic bags of meat (they keep a third, give a third to family and a third to the poor). There were hundreds of men standing around, drinking tea and chatting. It was a real local experience and well worth getting a little lost for.

We eventually got on the right road and did a big days driving. After a few hours driving we got to the road that runs between the coast and the Wahiba Sands (an area of desert about 200km long by 30km wide) the road had a funny sign saying "under construction" on it. Anyway the road was good initially, but none of the towns on the map matched the ones in real life (if they even had a sign), and they got progressively rougher, till there was absolutely no greenery, the houses were little concrete boxes with a bit of graffiti and boy racers were cruising up the roads in groups of 5 or 10. Certainly not the tourist zone! After every village there were fishing boats pulled up on the beaches. That's where people made their money and obviously there wasn't much else to do. The wind got up and sand was whipping across the road, visibility dropped and we were now coming across rough Bedouin camps with camels and goats and shacks of tin, tarpaulin and cardboard. There were 4WD's at many of the shelters and it was very hard to tell if people were actually living there or not. It was getting late and the road was now unmarked, we were wondering how soon it was going to run out or turn to a goat track. Anyway we struck the road construction crew just on dark. The road went from seal to gravel to rock to goat track within about 300m. Luckily our turnoff to the island was just at the end of the roadworks. If the boys had worked another couple of hours they would have finished the job before Eid! We took the turnoff, drove across massive salt flats then arrived at a tiny town with a jetty and very little else. We got talking to a bloke from the island. He got on his phone and found out that the ferries had stopped at 1pm that day due to the wind and the next ones were expected in the morning.

We blew up our air bed and hunkered down beside a building, trying to keep out of the wind for the night. I cooked some pasta on the gas cooker, but it was too windy to get any heat. Eventually I climbed deep into the breakwater, which was made of big concrete star shapes and found a little spot big enough to get the cooker going out of the wind. Some local bedouin lads came over to see what was going on and thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen. I had to pose for a few photos for them.

Day Five - Mayhem at Masirah

Anyway, the wind died a little overnight. We had some breakfast and had a wander along the jetty. People had been arriving through the night and there were about 60 cars and a few trucks waiting. We sat and had a chat with a friendly Emirati from Dubai and he explained that it was a bit of a rush for the ferry and you'd have to get in quick if you wanted a place.

By 9am the ferry was chugging into view. There were about 15 cars on it, coming to unload, and no room for any more than that. Well, we joined the rush to get on. Cars tore up to the end of the ferry dock, jammed in tight and waited. When the ferry got there the cars were too close for it to dock, so they yelled and waved to get everyone to back up a bit. Eventually they moved a few metres and the ferry docked, but it took about an hour to force a gap so they could unload the cars already there. Then the ferry backed off again! It faked as if it was going halfway along the wharf and half the cars bolted that way. We waited with the rest. Unfortunately it pulled out a bit, faked back, then went in halfway along the wharf.

It was chaos. There were no tickets and no system. Everyone got in bumper to bumper, beeping, yelling and waving, one car lost a tail light and we had a car bump our wheel. Cars finally started going on, but they were turning them around on the ramp and other cars were nudging into the way preventing them turning around. There were about a dozen guys on the ramp, yelling waving and cursing. Ande was outside, trying to gain us some space and someone bumped into her leg. She pretended to be critically wounded, but they just honked and yelled for her to get out of the way. A bumper got torn off. Lots more yelling. The local we'd talked to the night before only turned up when half the boat was loaded, but miraculously he managed to be the last car on board. He knew the captain. Finally the ferry was loaded and we were about three cars back from it, still on the wharf.

Fortunately Ferry #2 arrived just as Ferry #1 departed. We'd maintained a good natured attitude at the first ferry docking and quite a few people knew we'd spent the night at the terminal, so we had a few friends now. Everyone else was facing the ferry, so when we were jostling for position I backed the Tonka in, so I didn't have to turn it around. Anyway, with a bit of help from our friends we got a space, hustled on board and finally steamed off towards the island. It was a 1 1/2 hour trip and still a bit choppy. It was standing room on the bridge and quite a bit of salt water splashed over the vehicles on the trip. Matija thought it was good fun.

We berthed at the main town, with a population of 6000 or so. There are a couple of hotels there, quite a number of little shops and a few fish processing factories. We picked up a bit of water and headed around the west coast of the island. It's a real desert island with sand, some bare mountains in the middle and very little else. There were a couple of run-down date plantations on the far side, but the west coast was basically empty apart from a few beaches of fishing boats and some rudimentary shelters.

There's a sealed loop road around the island and you head off on sandy tracks in your 4WD to get anywhere else. We drove for half an hour then headed to the coast and found our own deserted little beach. There was a fisherman laying a net and he said it was a good spot and that we were above the tideline, so we set up camp. It was a lovely relaxing afternoon, the sea was very shallow at this point but we snorkelled around a bit, played in the sand and went for a lovely walk in the late afternoon. There were literally thousands of crabs scuttling ahead of us and whenever we stopped walking we could hear them clicking and clattering over the rocks and sand.

Day Six - Crabs at sunset.

The next morning our fisherman friend was back checking the nets and he dropped us off a medium sized fish and three lovely big crabs with beautiful blue legs. We kicked back for a while, then headed around the island and stopped on the East Coast. The water was more choppy here and obviously deeper. Ande and I both went snorkelling and saw thousands of fish, from little schools of bait fish to big silver ones, some that looked like catfish, parrot fish, a groper and schools of a tasty looking blue fish. I also saw a sea snake tucked in some rocks. Fantastic. There was also a big turtle carcass up on the beach among crab holes. I'd been snorkelling for a while and started to get really itchy. I didn't think much of it till Ande came out scratching like anything. The water was a little murky with little jellyfish and they were upsetting her a great deal more than me. We chopped up some crab and chucked it on a hand line. We were getting it stripped in seconds but nothing hung about long enough to get hooked. Never mind.

We cruised around the rest of the island and found a deserted well by a half-dead date plantation. It had a bucket and everything so we hauled up some water and had a wash in fresh water - the first for a couple of days. It was far more satisfying to haul up your own bucket than to stand under a shower nozzle. Everyone should do it more often!

We continued up to the top of the island, to where turtles nest at night. The main turtle beach was pretty exposed and close to town. It was very windy so we agreed to camp a little further south. Heading off the main beach though we stopped for a couple of camels who were crossing the road. Ande leapt out and took some pictures while the camels came to say hello. Matija was a bit worried when one poked it's head in the window, but it was only being friendly.

We found a spot a little to the south and luckily didn't get too far off the hard sand as we saw some locals bogged up to the axles and two more 4WDs were needed to drag them out. It was blowing a gale by then but luckily Matija was happy to sleep in the car, we tied our tent to that and used chair and sleeping bag covers filled with sand to hold the tent down. We managed to get the charcoal bbq going, grilled the fish and boiled up the crabs. It was a bit of a feast really, along with some fresh bread we'd picked up in town and a salad (and a bit of sand).

Both Ande and I woke at different times during the night and went walking to look for nesting turtles. We didn't find any, but talking to the guys at the ferry the next day it didn't sound like there were any turtles around while we were there.

Day Seven - Homeward bound

We broke camp and arrived at the ferry just in time to be the last car on. After the crossing we crossed the salt flats again and when I saw some Indian guys shovelling salt into sacks I had to go back and take a photo for cousin Matt (who sells salt). Unfortunately I thought I had space to do a U turn, but the side of the road dropped off very steeply. The oncoming traffic was doing about 140, flashing their lights and tooting as I completed the 3 point turn. Ande told me she thought I was taking it a little casually!

We got the shot, then continued up the more inhabited side of the sands. We were making good time so decided to complete the haul back home that night. We arrived in Nizwa about four and had a poke around their awesome souq. Ande found some silver items and we came across a big National Day parade where the locals were singing and marching. They circled a big square waving their swords then tossing them into the air. The people we saw were very much Omani's rather than imports from India or Sri Lanka or Pakistan, which is the norm for the UAE and Qatar. It was all very cool, but we were prepared to run at the first hint of 'death to the Christians' (kidding). Had a shwarma or two in Nizwa then we did the last couple of hours at night. No-one really likes to dip their lights out there, the speed limit is 120 and drivers don't mind tailgating. We were glad when we got to the border crossing, got our entry and exit visas and made it back to our own beds for the night.

All in all a fantastic holiday in awesome Oman.

Desert Driving

We were keen to get out into the sand, since there is quite a bit of it out there and we had a brand new second hand Tonka toy to play with. We joined UAE Offroaders, a club that takes trips out into the dunes where you can have a go, make friends, see some great desert scenery and know someone will help tow/dig you out when the sand wins. They're also well structured for teaching the basics of desert driving.

Trip One - Family Day

We met up with the group at Al Faha gas station, 45 minutes towards Abu Dhabi at around 1pm. The group was a mix with Arabs, Indians and Europeans all present with many kids. After the organisers failed to turn up on time we formed a convoy and made our way to the deflation area, ten minutes away. We'd done a bit in the sand in Doha so we were geared up to let the tyres down to 15 PSI, increasing the surface area on the sand and giving more traction. We also raised the flag - we'd read the SHOULD HAVE list on the website and purchased a two cup suction plate, a telescopic fishing rod and a princess pillow case (Matija's choice). Attach the rod to the suction plate, stick the flag on top, erect the flag and suction it onto the side of your Tonka Toy. Instant desert flag - useful when you get bogged at the bottom of a drop - the next guy can see you before he parks on your roof!

We gathered for a quick briefing - follow the car in front, stop if the car behind you stops and leave room for the car in front to tackle obstacles without driving into them. A few radios were handed around and we were into it!

We set of down a rutty road in convoy then branched into the desert, following the other 4WD's. After 5 minutes of relatively easy driving on firm sand we started to get into some decent slopes. It was a lot of fun to sit around and watch vehicles attempt the slope first, applauding when they made it and chuckling when they didn't. There was a lot of radio chatter early on, then a female English voice piped up. "It's really hard to understand you on the radio!"

"That's because we're talking Arabic," was the instant reply. We all cracked up.

Quite a number of vehicles got stuck on the first few obstacles, but the XTonka performed admirably and with plenty of throttle it steamed up the dunes, no worries. We continued through the desert and a couple of times some of the newbies had to be towed out by the Marshals, experienced off-roaders with good vehicles and all the gear. The Jeep Wranglers were popular and capable in the desert, Nissan Patrols were going hard and a few Toyota F1 Cruisers. The Jeep Cherokees were about the smallest vehicles out there with a Jeep Grand Cherokee, a few Toyota Prado's, a Chevy Trailblazer and a few other anonymous American 4WD's.

Had a few stops as it was a family trip. On one of them some Arabic kids pulled out their pet snake, a bit over a metre long, and it was passed around. Just before we left one of the guys picked it up and dropped it on the lap of another guy in a car. Apparently he has a phobia about snakes. He screamed very loud and ran from the vehicle very quickly. The Arabic kids just cracked up!

We followed quite a few cool snaky tracks through some low dunes, tackling them reasonably quickly, which was fun. Matija and Ande had a difference of opinion, Matija was yelling "Go faster Daddy," while Ande was crying, "Be careful, slow down!".

One of the highlights of the afternoon was the drop-offs. The Marshalls led us to some very steep downhills, one guy lines you up at the top and you basically tip over the things and try to keep it nice and slow going down. You need a little momentum so you don't get bellied on the top, but you don't want to get out of control going down either. The scary part is that you can't see over the bonnet until you're actually going down them. Had a bit of fun on one, when we got a bit quick and had a bump over a tuft of grasses at the bottom when we couldn't steer around it.

Later in the evening we got onto a road then branched off for a few drops before a BBQ tea. We had moved closer to the front by then and hit very soft sand coming out of a hollow. Full power, but we bogged down. Luckily there was a slope beside us and with a bit of a push we managed to get the car onto it and drove out of trouble.

There was a bit of a mishap behind us. One vehicle stopped at the bottom of a drop as the car in front was stuck. Another vehicle stopped on the top of a slope looking down on them. Unfortunately it went too far, had to keep going and when it turned on the slope it rolled over and parked on top of the other vehicle. Everyone was belted in, but it made a bit of a mess of the car that rolled and damaged the other vehicle.

We had a bit of dinner while everyone tried to sort it out - lots of talking, gesturing, shouting in Arabic and eventually some action. By the time we had tea and headed home they had both vehicles running and later drove them out. There were supposed to be games and things for the kids but these were cancelled as everyone tried to sort out the wee accident.

We followed a convoy out to the gas station to re-inflate the tyres. Had to wait 45 minutes as we were the last in line. Have since brought an air compressor.

Checked our insurance again and we are definitely covered off-road. Praise Allah!

Trip Two - Sunny afternoon in Al Ain.

This was another family event, starting at the airport, just ten minutes from our door. We deflated and headed out with about 7 other vehicles. Marina was the boss, in a Short Wheel Base 2 door Nissan Patrol. Followed a rutted dirt road where they were installing a gas pipeline and after 14km we diverted onto the dunes. Had a good blast then hit one uphill where heaps of people got stuck and a few needed towing. We were last in line and the sand was completely ploughed up when we got to have a go. Unfortunately we got stuck, backed out, got stuck again, backed down, pioneered another route, nearly made it, then got bellied on top of the dune. We had one wheel in the air and had to be towed back off. Had another crack on virgin sand and make it without a problem. (A tip for sand driving is to wiggle the steering wheel left and right when you're getting bogged, it can save you getting completely stuck).

One of the Marshalls had a big Toyota Tundra ute and while playing at one of the stops he managed to pop a wheel off it's rim (reasonably common problem). He had to jack it up and use a compressor to pop it back on. He had a big high-lift jack but the vehicle slipped sideways in the sand as he jacked it and left a big dent in the side of the vehicle. He also had to visit a tyre shop later and get them to pull the tyre off and empty the sand out.

We had some lovely little snaky dunes, then one of the guys got a rattly CV joint and another had some overheating problems on his week-old second had 4WD (he wasn't impressed). They headed back with a couple of others then the five remaining vehicles (including us) had a go at some pretty big dunes in a fast convoy. It was exhilarating to power around the side of a dune with the tail end stepping out a bit, then burst onto level sand and tackle another slope. We had some great uphills followed by long steep dowhills where you had to get on the gas at the bottom to be able to climb up the next slope. The XTonka is an automatic and as I drive around town I've been manually changing down to 1st or 2nd at lights and speed humps so that I can quickly slip it up a cog or two as we drive off- practice for getting out of the bottom of sand dunes. Great fun and Matija loves to hear the growl of the big V6 as we head off.

Anyway, we finished off and got to the road just as it was getting dark. Missed the All Black Scotland game, but I think it was better to be having some fun ourselves than watching someone else doing it.

PS.

Got stuck in the sand today. I picked up some scrap wood off the side of the road for a bonfire and thought the sand looked okay beside the house and it would be quicker to drop it around the back with the Tonka. It wasn't. A little stony mound was actually a little sandy mound covered in a few stones. I got the Tonka bogged up to the diff and underside and spent the next hour digging sand and deflating tyres. Self-rescued before Ande got home or I had to pick up Matija from school. Hmmm. Silly old me.

Wadis and Mosques

Hey boys and girls,

What have the Fabulous Flying Fords been up to?

Camel market

Visited the camel/livestock market and plant souq over the far side of town behind the Bawadi Mall. There are pens with thousands of goats, sheep, cattle and camels. They're all under cover and tended by a real mix of guys, mostly in robes. When we pulled up to have a look all the guys called out and waved for us to come over for a photo with their camels. It was only later that they asked for money for the privilege of doing so. One of the blokes took my hand (as Arab men do) and walked me back to the car (before asking for some cash for the privilege). Worth it for the photo!

Dragon boating

We both joined the Cognition team and had a couple of weekends dragon boating in Abu Dhabi - first for training, secondly for competition. It's all about teamwork, it was a bit of fun and Matija had a couple of days on the beach. The weather was not ideal though, the temperature was in the high 30's and very humid, making the racing pretty hot and sweaty. We did okay in the racing without setting the world on fire. On competition weekend we stayed at the hotel where the competition was, got a baby sitter and had a great night at the Dragon Boat Beach Party which included a chef-prepared BBQ, music and dancing down by the beach. It was great fun and we got to know some more of the Cognition staff. One of the ladies there subscribed to the National newspaper last week and won an Audi in a draw. Fantastic.

XTonka

Spent a few days in Abu Dhabi after the dragon boating and bought a 4WD. It's a 2008 Nissan Xterra with 110 000 on the clock. We got it off a shady dealer on Airport road and had to work out most of the registration, insurance and stuff ourselves. I made the dealers worker an offer and he said "Okay, you get it for $1000 dirhams less and give me $500." The deal was also complicated as the insurance and ownership had to be in a friends name as we haven't got residency. Everything here is more complicated than it sounds and it was complicated enough already. Needless to stay I spent about 4 days trying to sort it all out before driving the new Tonka Toy home. It's got a stonking 4 litre engine, it's completely sound (had it thoroughly checked out) and very 4WD capable. We're looking forward to some great trips into the desert and Oman.

Deb's Visit

Deb flew out from the UK and stayed with us for a week. She told us she was flying into Al Ain but only found out when she asked that she was flying to Abu Dhabi and bussing to Al Ain (at about 2 in the morning). She's great, looking good and in fine form. We had a fantastic time, visiting the local attractions, cooking up a storm, checking out some wadi's and the beach in Oman (more about those later). It was fabulous to spend some time with her again and Matija loved her time with Aunty Deb.

Abu Dhabi

Ande had a days work in Abu Dhabi so Deb, Matija and I visited the Grand Mosque. Deb had to don an abeya to cover up (not so good in 30 degree heat) and we did the free tour with a gorgeous guide. This is one amazing building, only a couple of years old but done lavishly with no expense spared. There are 9 tonne chandeliers, gold spires, tiles from all parts of the world, mother of pearl from New Zealand, the worlds biggest carpet etc. It is an absolutely breathtaking piece of architecture and well worth the visit. It's also an amazing tribute to Islam. Sorry I haven't included many photos as you really do need to see it in real life to appreciate it.

Oman and the Wadi's

Now we have some decent wheels and our insurance covers Oman we're able to venture over the border. It's a bit of a process getting through the border posts and can be a bit tricky - you need entry and exit visas etc, but at least New Zealanders don't have to pay an entry fee to get into Oman whereas most other countries do. You can cross the border in Al Ain, but there's a 30km no-mans-land before you officially cross into Oman. Anyway Deb and I drove up a skinny little track to a waterfall in a wadi. There were some small clear pools with fish and frogs swimming around and it was lovely and cool in the shade. There was a bit of litter around but that's par for the course around here. We discovered that if you dangle your feet into the pools the fish come and nibble your toes. Deb loved it, although Matija was too scared to try. After the pools we drove up to a plateau with a great outlook. That was a real test for the 4wd, crawling over rocks and bumps in low range. No problem for the mighty Tonka then it was back into 2WD for the trip home. We were actually in the n0-mans-land but we'd got an exit visa from UAE so when we tried to cross back into the UAE they made us drive 30km back to the Oman border to get entry and exit stamps from there. What a pain.

Sohar

On the weekend we all drove through the border again and headed to Sohar, a beach town in Oman. We took a picnic and arrived at a beautiful municipal park right by the beach. There were plenty of local families picnicking and everyone was friendly, they smiled and waved and someone came over to offer Matija some yummy salty sweet biscuits. There were plenty of people on the beach, some fishing, others swimming or riding horses. We went for a swim then found a hotel pool right by the beach with a bar and a phillipino girl-band playing. We settled there for the evening and ended up sharing a room at the hotel. We did have the camping gear in the Tonka but I was outvoted on that one! It was a lovely evening and later on hundreds of kids came out to play beach soccer. Sohar is definitely somewhere that we'll go back to.

Daqeeq

On the way back we'd planned to meet the Emirates Natural History group who were touring a small Omani village in the hills. The group wasn't at the turnoff but we found the village ourselves and met them there a little later. These villages are on old family land where the families come back on weekends but labourers from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc. stay the rest of the time, tend the dates and goats and look after things. There are quite intricate falaj (canal irrigation) systems for watering the dates from small pools in the wadis (river valleys in the mountains). There were old stone buildings that were mostly abandoned and newer concrete ones for the Omani families. The power was only connected 1 year ago (no air conditioning before then) and there was one phone for the entire village. After a good look around we headed back to another wadi a few kilometres away. One of the pools ran back up through a narrow canyon, after swimming through that and clambering over rocks we came to a beautiful deep, clear pool in a cavern complete with the beginnings of stalactites. Absolutely gorgeous. After a swim and some lunch we ventured back through the borders to Al Ain.

Temperatures are cooler now - mid thirties in the middle of the day, but it's relatively pleasant being out at night time. We've got a picnic at the park planned this evening and it won't be long before we can do a little bit more outside.

Bye for now

Vince, Ande and Matija.

The Rain in Al Ain.

Hi boys and girls,

welcome to Al Ain. Our wee family have been here for around a month (Ande's been here a few weeks more) and we're settling in.

Where's Al Ain?

On the UAE border with Oman. It's about an hour and a half to Abu Dhabi and an

hour and a quarter to Dubai. It's inland while the better known places are coastal.

Why on earth would anyone want to live there?

Originally the Emirati families would move here over summer to escape the intense humidity on the coast. It gets hotter here, but the heat is dry so it is more bearable. Al Ain is alongside a mountain (Jebel Hafeet) and it is famous for its springs, making it an oases in the desert. Nowdays many Emirati still have summer places (palaces) here, there are camel farms surrounding it (we look out over a camel farm from our windows) and date farms throughout the city. The population is about 700 000, and it's incredibly spread out. The whole city is low-rise, it's quite green and beautiful (it's called the Garden City) and there is a much higher population of Arabs here compared to expats. That's mainly because there is very little gas and oil and not much tourism, the Westerners are mainly working in Education while Indians, Pakistanis, Phillipinos, Sri Lankans etc do the hard work.

Our Place (Te Papa)

We have a big four bedroom villa on the far edge of Al Ain. There's only really a camel farm between us and the airport and we're on the way to Abu Dhabi, which is great because Ande has quite a bit of work there. We share about an acre with another villa. They have a few plants struggling to survive in front of their house. The rest of the acre section is sand and rubble. I kid you not. There is a small supermarket 5mins drive away and a big one 10mins away. It takes about 30 mins to get to Ande's office in town, although she won't be working there that often. We have four bathrooms a seperate kitchen dining and lounge (and another lounge is now Matija's playroom) and about 8 split a/c's although there are usually only six or seven in working order at any time. Temps have been in low to mid 40's in the middle of the day, high 30's at night, but they are gradually cooling. No dishwasher, but the house is great and we're enjoying the space, although we have to yell to find where everyone is. Ande keeps telling me to mention that the house is great. It is very comfortable!

The Neighbours

The house next door has a Cognition couple and the next two houses have Cognition families, although none of them are in Ande's teams, which is good. Amelie and Declan are kiwi kids aged 7 and 4, they live a couple of houses over and they come and visit all the time or Matija goes and hangs out with them. Their parents are good value too. Louis is a 5yr old from South Africa, he has older brothers but he is Declan's mate and comes over sometimes too. It's great. We're loving the chance for Matija to hang out with other kids and it is great for her.

The Job

Ande is one of three School Improvement Leaders looking after 24 teams of 3-7 advisors who are working with the local Emirati Schools. Sexy senior managament! She'll be the guardian angel for 7 teams around Al Ain, keeping them up to speed and up to scratch. Lots of coaching and PD and kicking arse where that fails to make an impression. She was heavily involved in the induction but schools have just re-started so she'll be getting down to b'ness this week. She's also involved in Professional Development for Cognition in the Middle East.

Vince will be writing stuff when he packs Matija off to school (tomorrow)

Matija starts at Sunflower, a nursery/school that caters for 3-6 year olds, tomorrow and she starts once-a-week ballet tomorrow. The school only has 4 teaching hours per day, but there are another couple of optional hours of supervised play. Each class has a teacher and an assistant and there is a maximum of 14 in each class. There is heaps of space, a great covered play area plus an indoor playroom. It just started this year and is being run by an Aussie. Should be great.

Rugby Club?

We joined the Al Ain Amblers Rugby Club. They have a pool, gym, bar and restaurant that's about 10 mins drive away. I've started playing touch rugby on a Thursday night, they have family discount meals that night as well as bouncy castle, touch for the kids and movies for the little ones. It's great - the place was swarming with kids last Thursday and Matija had a ball. Despite the heat the touch was fun. There are Poms, Aussies, South Africans and even a few Americans turned up to have a crack. It was a lot of fun and really family oriented. We're also using the pool and gym during the week so we will be making the most of our membership.

Other stuff.

Been setting up the place, getting a few bits and bobs and making it feel like home. IKEA in Abu Dhabi have some great stuff (thanks Bron), but we've mostly picked up bits and pieces locally. Got a vinyl blow-up pool. They were on special for a coupla hundred bucks and I thought it could go between our villa and the neighbours. Well, I overestimated the gap and underestimate the size of the pool. It now takes up the whole space between villas and is still a bit squashed fitting in there. You can no longer walk between the houses. I thing Doug and Marion (next door) were a bit shocked when they got back from their holiday, but they've been great and once I've got a bit of shade cloth up behind it, it'll be a great place for a few quiets on a sunny afternoon (something to look forward to Deb). There's a filter and pump and we can treat it with chlorine. Just like a real one but a lot quicker to vacuum. The water is up to Matija's chest, she can go diving around I'm thinking of putting a coupla basketball hoops up the side of the buildings to enhance the fun.

The Rain in

Look out for Jonty and Choc in all good bookshops! If they don't have it please ask them to get it in for you. The Chronicles of Stone will also be coming out in October - it was written as one book and thats how it works best - the cover is looking awesome!

Vince.