Bumpy roads and sinkholes

An early start welcomed us as we set out for an overnight camping trip to the south east corner to Oman. We had stocked up on supplies the night before at the Indian `hypermarket’, Lulu, which is far more interesting inside than even the intriguing exterior. It is more to do with the amazing mix of Omani, Indian, Pakistani and Western clientele than what they sell, though some of the fruit and veg was pretty unique. Of course, they did have a true blast of the known, good ole' Papa Johns, though in Oman it's called Baba Joon's (we had a picture of a van with the sign - as well as one of Lulu which is a site to see - but again, they are on Thierry's machine so will post later).

We were heading for the Arabian Sea coast, though first we had to drive through the large wadis around Muscat. We were on paved roads at first, but due to the extensive damage done by Gonu, the cyclone that hit Oman earlier this year, the roads were not all together reliable. It's hard to fathom the strength of the water that would have been rushing down the wadis out of the mountains, but apparently in places, it was five to eight metres high and more or less completely destroyed anything in its path. Here we were months later and in many places the damage was still quite fresh looking.

They are building a new paved coastal road from Muscat to Sur, however this is not complete, so the old dirt/rock track is what we spent most of our time along, including one 40 kilometre detour well away from the coast through the hills and troughs of the rocky foothills.

Once again Thierry cranked up the Green Day album on the ipod and we bombed along the tracks in an intrepid way. Please let us put in here that Thierry is a very good driver and truly understands not only what his 4x4 can do, but how it handles the different terrain, i.e. we had fun, but it was never dangerous.

This is just one of many random road (or should I say track) signs we came across. Don't worry it didn't really drop off as it seems here, and we did slow down. We dedicate this one to Adeline...

So once you do find a nicely paved road, you still aren't guaranteed a nice smooth ride. This is just one other example of the damage by Gonu, where the road in between these rock barriers was just washed away. No warnings, just a dirt track veering off the road down through the wadi and around to the other side.

Our first stop along the way was at this large sinkhole just a few hundred metres in from the coast and near absolutely nothing. It is approximately seventy-five metres deep by the same in diameter and is so inviting you want to jump into it from above.

Of course common sense prevails and you walk down the stairs, carefully avoiding the tree in the middle.

The water was warm, gorgeously clear aquamarine in colour and completely relaxing after the jarring journey to get there.

We had it mostly to ourselves at first, though we were soon overrun by two other groups and took our leave, as it is a place best to be savoured alone. We took a short drive down the coast to a secluded white beach and tested our swimming legs in the salty water of the Arabian Sea.

Again, it was a perfectly enjoyable way to spend some time in the brilliant warmth and sunshine of a Wednesday morning! More about the rest of our day tomorrow...