Day Trip to Northern Oman

On Thursday 28th April I drove to Northern Oman for a day trip. I was intending to explore the small coastal fishing town of Khasab, but was in for some incredible surprises.

About 130 km drive north from Dubai, I arrived at the border passport control crossing point between the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f8 : 1/250" : 35mm : ISO 200: 28.04.2011 07:25:17)

After a month of looking at flat sandy beaches and gently rolling sand dunes around Dubai (and temperatures slowly increasing from 30°C to 40°C - life is tough here when you don't have to work !!!), the large rocky outcrop across the border in Oman was an interesting contrast.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f8 : 1/250" : 24mm : ISO 200: 28.04.2011 07:26:35)

The road then winds along the coastline, flanked by small beautiful sandy beaches and the azure blue Persian Gulf on one side, and large bare rock faces climbing up several hundred metres on the opposite side.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f9.5 : 1/350" : 20mm : ISO 200: 28.04.2011 08:11:15)

I drove along this scenic coastal road for about 40 km before reaching Khasab.
(Nikon D700 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f11 : 1/500" : 92mm : ISO 400: 28.04.2011 09:27:23)

Before arriving at the port of Khasab, I came across the largest colony of cormorants I have ever seen in my life - these are just a few of them ....
(Nikon D700 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f10 : 1/400" : 200mm : ISO 400: 28.04.2011 09:29:52)

.... and a few more !!!
(Nikon D700 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f11 : 1/500" : 200mm : ISO 400: 28.04.2011 09:30:45)

This is one of the Arab dhows that takes tourists from Khasab along the Musandam coastline, where you can expect to see schools of dolphins at very close range. I did see a solitary dolphin from the road, but it headed out into deeper waters before I captured a good shot of it !!!
(Nikon D700 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f10 : 1/400" : 78mm : ISO 400: 28.04.2011 10:09:38)

The ruins of a house.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f11 : 1/500" : 34mm : ISO 200: 28.04.2011 08:30:56)

An interesting door at the entrance to someones' back garden.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f9.5 : 1/350" : 18mm : ISO 200: 28.04.2011 08:38:50)

A mosque in Khasab.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f16 : 1/1000" : 46mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 10:40:39)

At Khasab port, the freshly caught fish are spread out on fishing nets on the land to dry in the baking sun.
(Nikon D700 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/640" : 135mm : ISO 400: 28.04.2011 10:50:50)

The smell was .... overpoweringly fishy.
(Nikon D700 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f11 : 1/500" : 120mm : ISO 400: 28.04.2011 10:54:20)

An impressive front porch at a house in Khasab.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f11 : 1/500" : 24mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 11:08:35)

This is the end of the road.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 23mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 11:15:33)

As I headed away from Khasab, the tarmac road turned into loose gravel, but the rock formations became more interesting and the mountains got much bigger !!!
(Nikon D700 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f10 : 1/400" : 100mm : ISO 400: 28.04.2011 11:44:01)

Starting to climb up out of the dried river valley into the mountains (and ignoring the road sign that said "engage four-wheel-drive now", hoping that that was only a requirement during the rainy season with the risk of flash floods, but wondering how much further I could drive before I had to give in and turn back !!)
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 32mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 12:27:38)

Still climbing .... so far so good !!!
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 18mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 12:31:12)

It took over 1 hour of driving around hairpin bends to get to here .... and you can see the road zig-zagging up where it has been cut into the rock face ahead, until it finally passes through the V-gap at the top of this image. With very limited or no signal strength on my mobile phone, on a track that was not reckognised by my satellite navigation system, and not having seen any other vehicle on this road yet, this is not a good place to break down or have an accident !! But the scenery was breathtakingly spectacular and harsh, with scorching sunshine and temperatures of 42°C in the shade .... this was more exhilerating than driving over any pass in the Alps, so I had to continue !!!
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f11 : 1/500" : 24mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 12:44:30)

After almost two hours and 40 kms of tortuous twisty gravel track, both I and my car were covered in dust, but I finally reached the summit of the pass and could see the road ahead winding down the opposite side of the mountain .... damn, I can't turn back now, I'll just have to keep driving wherever this track takes me !!
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 18mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 13:26:37)

Starting my descent down the other side of this mountain pass.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 24mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 13:42:50)

The track (just visible in the bottom right corner here) winds its way around the left side of this gorge, before running along the top of the central ridge, and finally dropping down into the valley on the far side of the ridge (another 30 kms of hairpin bends ahead - yaaaaayyyyy !!!)
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 22mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 13:27:56)

Looking back from the start of the drive along the ridge ....
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 18mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 13:47:57)

.... and forwards at the road along the ridge.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 26mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 13:54:00)

Looking down into the gorge from the ridge road.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 18mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 13:58:17)

Continuing the drive down into the dried river valley ....
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f16 : 1/1000" : 30mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 14:03:53)

.... I finally completed the drive up and down this awesome mountain pass. Unfortunately, when I reached the next border control from Oman back into the United Arab Emirates, they would not let me through - I had to re-enter via the same checkpoint that I exited through this morning ....
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 23mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 14:40:03)

.... which meant turning around and driving over this pass in the opposite direction again !!! Aaaaawwwww, shame !!
During the 5 hour drive over the mountain pass and back, I saw only 3 other vehicles (all 4-wheel-drive), so you can imagine how happy a local guy was when I agreed to give him a lift for the 75 kms from here back to Khasab !!
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 24mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 14:47:37)

Instead of crop circles, there are mysterious rock circle patterns in this river valley.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f13 : 1/750" : 35mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 14:29:10)

(Nikon D700 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f10 : 1/400" : 145mm : ISO 400: 28.04.2011 14:29:41)

Almost as strange were the patterns of sand that had settled on the rear corners of my car !!
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f5.6 : 1/125" : 50mm : ISO 400: 28.04.2011 17:39:15)

A minaret alongside the coastal road near Ras Al Khaimah.
(Nikon D700 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f6.3 : 1/160" : 112mm : ISO 400: 28.04.2011 18:32:28)

Another typical view of the coastal road.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f16 : 1/1000" : 40mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2011 17:13:01)

Back in the United Arab Emirates, this is a mosque in Ras Al Khaimah.
(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 18-50mm f2.8 : f11 : 1/1,5" : 20mm : ISO 400: 28.04.2011 19:53:18)