Seven go to Oman – July 08

(Bob Pitman, Katie Pitman, Jane Pitman, Frank McHarg, Graham Sturrock, Andrew Todd and Myra Todd)

The Club trip to Oman was a great success. We stayed at the Oman Dive Centre which is set in its own private sandy bay surrounded by jagged mountains - very picturesque. Accommodation was in barasti huts on the beach. These were made from palm and were comfortable twin bedded, air conditioned rooms. The en suite shower/toilets were partially open air and this meant that we sometimes shared the shower with the local wild life – lizards and a scorpion!! The restaurant was excellent, there was a nice pool and a bar on the beach. The staff were great.

The Dive Centre was well run and friendly. The guides were multi national; Sri Lankan, Egyptian, German and British. There was kit to hire if needed and Nitrox too. We dived off three custom built speed boats which left from the pontoon in the bay. Very handy.

Our days took on a pattern. The first dive left at 8.30 with up to a 45 minute trip to the dive site. Surface intervals were often spent in deserted coves munching water melon, apples and biscuits. After a second dive we returned to the Dive Centre for lunch. Third dives were available at 2.30pm.and Frank Bob, Jane and Andrew went on several of these. We also had one night dive at nearby Jissah Island – not the intended destination, because local fishermen had put out nets just before we got there and we didn’t fancy getting tangled in those at night!!

The diving was lovely though the visibility was poor – a bit like Scotland on a good day. This was because there was so much plankton in the water – a common feature here. However, because there was so much plankton, there were huge shoals of fish. We saw baby barracuda; yellow snapper; pennant fish; lots of morays; turtles; stingrays; anemone fish etc. Just gorgeous. Every dive started and finished with a hot bath!! The water temperature at the surface was 30 degrees!

Most dives were shallow with little current. Some sites were called reefs but were often rocky slopes with a covering of corals – Mermaid Cove and Seahorse Haze. Some sites were beautiful coral gardens - Cockleshell Bay and Novice Bay. Wall Street was a great wall dive and we also dived the wreck of the Al Munnassit, a patrol boat deliberately sunk for divers. (We saw a sea horse here though there was some debate as to whether it was real!) Fahal Island provided two beautiful dives in amongst huge shoals of fish. Fantastic. Dive times were limited to one hour or shorter, depending on how much gas you used.

Afternoons were spent chilling out; kayaking to the outer bay to snorkel with baby sharks and turtles; shopping at the souk in Muscat, about 20 minutes away; and seeing some of the local sights including the Sultans palace.

Katie and I also visited the Sultans Mosque which was a beautiful marble building with gorgeous mosaics. We had to dress appropriately with long sleeved shirts, long trousers and headscarves. Graham enjoyed the attractions of Lulu’s shopping mall.

We spent three days at the end of the holiday on a four wheel drive tour with our Omani guides Salal and Khaled. Day 1 took us along the coast to Sur via Wadi Shaab and a huge sink hole. We added an extra to the tour and were delighted to be able to watch turtles laying their eggs on a nearby beach. We felt a bit like David Attenborough as we huddled round a turtle in the dark, whispering questions and listening quietly to our guide. What an effort these creatures make to dig a decoy pit for foxes and seabirds, dig the real nest, lay their eggs, cover them with sand and then pull themselves back to the ocean. The beach was covered in so many turtle tracks.that it looked as though people had been racing quad bikes. What a wonderful experience!

Day 2 took us to the Dhow building yard in Sur then inland to a fabulous green wadi in the desert. From there we went to the Wahiba Sands which is a sand sea with dunes reaching 100m in height. Our drivers took great delight in racing the cars down the dunes. We had tea in a traditional Bedouin family tent! (complete with satellite dish, 4 wheel drive and house nearby !) We spent the night at Nizwa an oasis city. Day 3 included a fascinating trip to the souk, a visit to impressive Nizwa fort and Jabrin Castle, then back to Muscat.

We were impressed by Oman and the Omani people who were friendly, helpful and open. The Sultan has turned the country around since the seventies. All children are provided with free education. Some Bedouin children are taken to school by helicopter if necessary. The Health Service is free for everyone. The road infrastructure is being rapidly developed to a very high standard which puts our roads to shame. Road building is huge. The coast is being developed too and we felt that it will change dramatically over the next few years. Fortunately much of the development is low rise.

Our trip was organised by Regaldive and we travelled with Oman Air from Gatwick. (The catering was excellent.) Oman is a fascinating country and we recommend the Oman Dive Centre. Because of work commitments we went in July which is very hot. (we experienced 34 degrees at the coast and 47 degrees in the desert). However it meant that the resort was fairly quiet and that’s how we like it.

If you get the chance, go. There is also great diving in the north of the country in the Musandam peninsula – an area of fjords and magnificent scenery.

Myra Todd