Aug 31, 2017: We started with a hefty breakfast at a dhaba in Rusayl. We took the Old Sur road Route 23 from Bidbid and then to Sinaw on Route 27. We checked out Sinaw which was slightly more awake then usual inland Omani towns because of Eid festivities. We bought some supplies here and then continued towards Duqm on Route 32. Plenty of fuel pumps on the way unlike my previous road trip to Salalah in 2010 where we had to beg our way to the front of a mile long que as our tank was nearly empty.
We reached Duqm late afternoon. We had lunch at Abbottabad Pakistani restaurant. Good food if you can overlook the hygiene part. Bread was exceptional. After lunch we went to Duqm Rock Garden. This garden is not worth a visit to Duqm. Not very prominent examples of Aeolian landforms. However the sea and coast is something different from Muscat and weather was cooler because of the impact of monsoon winds. Though it doesn’t get any monsoon rainfall like Salalah. We didn’t find much in Duqm. The town looks kind of confused. Since I landed in Muscat in 2009, I hear that they will develop it as a huge city. I can just say that it has a long way to go.
We drove further towards the southernmost point on our itinerary, Ras Madrakha. It was dark by then and the desert around us appeared like a dense jungle to Soubam. Maybe it was the tinted windows of the car and cloudy dark sky causing this illusion. We reached a secluded beach and saw one more camp set up there. We camped nearby and called it a day 700 km away from home.
Next morning we had a quick breakfast at campsite then drove away towards our grand destination of the trip, the Sugar Dunes. After driving halfway to Duqm we did a detour to Ras Markaz, a fishing beach. This was very exciting. The winding steep road goes down to a beautiful long beach. The cliffs above the beach have a tremendous view. The wind here was gale force, it could easily push you off if not careful.
Back on the road we reached the turn to Sugar Dunes from asphalt road by afternoon. Driving on dirt road for few kilometers we reached a deserted place which was a fish farm on the map. The farm was empty, there were fish bones in the dry pools. Here on we drove on the levee along the beach and found a campsite at the northern end after all other campers. Then we started with the sugar dunes. We walked on top of white dunes and watched other campers below. They were kayaking, kite surfing cooking, walking. The sunset, white sand and blue sea made amazing pics. In the evening we fried peanuts had some beers and slept.
This morning I took a long walk on the beach with Irina. We photographed the sunrise, sea, crabs dunes, everything before reaching camp. Here we packed all into the car and took a dip in the sea. We had planned to drive north along the beach to Khaluf instead of driving back to the asphalt towards south. This was shorter but trickier because of sand and tide. We stuck to the plan. On the way we took a detour to checkout a wreck mentioned in a blog. The wreck was not that grand or maybe it was covered by the high tide. The beach drive to Khaluf was eventless just for a flock of birds we scared to shoot a video. We had a good brunch in Khaluf and inflated our tires. In Khaluf we saw some old trucks smeared with grease to protect from saline air. Very rusted but they worked!
Enough of sand and sea, we entered the desert towards Muhut. Desolate little town, we continued towards our next stop Al Ashkara. On the way we photographed dunes and camels. You don’t have to leave the road to find both. Al Ashkara is the northernmost place on Oman coast where monsoon winds reach. We enjoyed the coastal scenery without getting down from the car. Today we wanted to camp in a less windy place near the sea where we could also swim. We found that there was no such place. Then we decide to drive to Sur and stay in a hotel. We drove little off the road to find big lizards that we were told roam the area. We didn’t bump into any as a local told us that they come out at night or early morning when it is cooler. Now as we were out of monsoon winds area, the temperature was 38C. We got a cheap room in Sur, dumped our luggage and went sightseeing. We checkout the landmark Sur bridge, one dhow they have placed near the museum, the light house and Sur corniche. We had dinner at the coffee shop next to the hotel and retired.
Next day was full of suspense 😎 Earlier we decided that we will push out early and swim on a beach or in one of the several wadis on the way to Muscat. We lazed longer in the AC room and moved out only by 11. We dropped the idea of beach swim because the sea was not calm. We dropped the idea of wadi swim because it was too hot to walk even to the nearest pool from road. Now we decided to drive back to Muscat and swim in Qurm. On the way back we visited the lagoon in Daghmar. The dark sand here is unique. Unfortunately the main area is blocked for some project construction. We visited Quriyat Fort before we had lunch at a roadside restaurant. Muscat welcomed us with 43C temperatures. We gave up, no swimming and slept straight 15 hours.
wanderIngY 