Biggest adventure so far!

Husband writes: Day trip to Wadi Bani Awf

With temperatures rising and day trips to the beach becoming more of an ordeal, the best place to go for a day out is up into the mountains. With temperatures up to 20°C cooler than at sea level it makes a pleasant change and gives relief from the summer without having to rely on the ubiquitous aircon.

So a day out was planned. We'd not worry about setting out at silly o'clock, because the route chosen would only take a couple of hours to the top, and get us to our intended picnic site by lunchtime. I'd heard that there was now a tarmac road over the mountains which would speed our passage, and that Wadi Bani Awf was a spectacular trip.

Here was my first mistake. Unfortunately I omitted to check that the tarmac road and Wadi Bani Awf where one and the same route. As it turned out, both set off from roughly similar areas, and both headed up the mountain in a similar direction, but unfortunately Wadi Bani Awf has no tarmac whatsoever, and according to the guide book involves "Challenging off-road mountain and wadi driving". Yes, we have the guide book (and luckily we had it in the car with us) but no, I didn't bother to read it properly before setting out.

Apart from the quote above, other comments which may have set alarm bells ringing were:

"....perhaps the most spectacular mountain road in Oman", "Tragically, there have been casualties in this area" and the classic "....a stone memorial marks the spot where one unfortunate driver failed to negotiate the hairpin bends with vertiginous consequences."

Lesson: Read the f*****g book.

The drive from home to the foot of the mountains was uneventful. The readout in the car told us the outside temperature had hit 48°C so we were looking forward to having our picnic at 30°C, at 6500'. Eventually we reached the appropriate signpost and happily turned off the main road towards our destination. Looking back, I have to wonder why nobody mentioned the fact that instead of a smooth, well defined tarmac road stretching off into the distance, majestically climbing the mountain in long elegant sweeps, we were now bumping along a rough gravel track towards a deep cleft in a vertical wall rising 4000' above us.

But press on we did, and for a good while it was a fantastic experience. For the first few miles the track runs along the dry wadi, flanked by lush date palms with the almost vertical canyon sides towering above. At this time of year there's very little surface water in the wadi, but the water height marker bears witness to the dramatic flash floods that can occur when there is rain further up in the mountains. At various spots along the way, the canyon opens out slightly and tiny small-holdings appear along the margins, growing whatever they can on the only flat terrain for miles around. These 'farms' are really no more than over-blown vegetable patches, but it's enough for people to survive here. During the dry months, water from high up is funneled down through man made water courses called 'falaj', irrigating each village and farm on the descent in turn. This is the way it has been done for hundreds of years, and is still as effective now.

At this stage the track was fairly good so Wifey decided it was time for her first off-road driving experience. Nervous at first, she soon got into the swing of things and by mile 2 she was barreling along nicely. Thankfully the car doesn't have a hand brake or she would have been tail-sliding it round the hairpins.

Further up we came to the village of Az Zamah, another remarkably lush oasis in the hot, dry mountains. Initially we missed the turn to head further up the mountain, and followed the main wadi to a dead end. There we found a spectacular gorge heading off deep into the surrounding rock. The first few hundred metres were flooded due to a man-made damn but it looked shallow enough to wade and give access to a spectacular walk. We'll be back to explore.

After re-tracing our steps for half a mile we found the track we needed hidden between some date palms and a goat pen. The first few hundred metres were fine but when we got to the first steep hairpin and I suggested permanent 4WD, Wifey decided she'd had enough in the driving seat. We flicked the switch to engage the 4WD and carried on with only the occasional slip/slide. On the next descent we rounded a corner to be confronted by a JCB, crewed by jolly looking bloke and engaged in rebuilding the road. We sat in stunned silence for a moment or two, and it was at this point we began to wonder what exactly we thought we were doing. We were trying to negotiate a rough gravel track, barely wide enough for the car, up a mountain we'd never been to before, with a guide book we hadn't read. The track had been getting progressively rougher, narrower and steeper as we'd gone along but we hadn't noticed as we marveled at the spectacular scenery around us. As we sat there waiting for the JCB to finish the road we had to make a decision, carry on or go back. Looking at the rudimentary map in the guide book, it appeared we were a good ¾ of the way to the top so we decided to press on. Surely we'd broken the back of it and it couldn't get any worse? Besides, there was nowhere wide enough to turn around.

A mile later it got worse. Much worse. There were stretches so steep we had to crawl up in low ratio, so narrow there would have been nowhere to stand if you opened the door, and crests where the road disappeared below the bonnet and there was nothing but sky through the windscreen. Occasionally there was the respite of a brief, level, interlude as we passed through a slight widening of the gorge. Invariably there were signs of life at every spot large enough to accommodate the meagrest of farms, We passed tiny terraced fields, stone built houses clinging to the cliff, and even a football pitch straddling the road. There was one particularly beautiful spot where a collection of houses overlooked a date palm grove, with lush grass beneath and small standings of corn growing next to the wadi. Just beyond, where a spring appeared from under the bare rock face, a small damn held a pool of water, the reservoir for every home further down the wadi.

From here on up it was a seemingly endless series of tight hairpins, steep climbs and a still deteriorating road. Where it opened out and we could go a bit quicker we'd go back to high ratio with hope in our hearts, only to be forced to stop and go back to low to cross a washed out section or crawl round an impossible looking switch-back.

At last, 4 hours after leaving home, we reached the top. Creeping round the last corner we were suddenly confronted with the glorious sight of tarmac. I imagine we had the same feeling as the first explorers to set off onto a never crossed ocean and, months later, sight land for the first time. Natalie would have dismounted and kissed the warm asphalt if there had been room on her side to get out.

And was the end of our adventure. We had a lovely picnic in the cool mountain air, with a spectacular view back down the route we'd come. To celebrate, Pops had his first stand-up pee in the great outdoors. Not a bad place to do it, looking down from a 6500' mountain! From there it was smooth tarmac all the way home and the only event to spoil our swift passage home was Pops, projectile vomiting. Unperturbed by 4 hours bouncing up a mountain, 15 mins on the twisting tarmac descent was more than his little stomach could handle. It was quite spectacular too. He managed to get grape juice, tomato skins and humus all the way from his car seat to the dashboard.

It was a long day, but a great adventure. Now that we've done it once, we'd be happy to take any visitors with a spirit of adventure back into the wadi. There are lots of other routes and detours to shorten the journey, and with planning we could incorporate camping en-route. Next step is to buy the trekking guide and get away from the roads.

I might even read that one before setting off.

p.s. If anyone is interested, I've plotted the route and added some photos on Google Earth. If you want the file, drop us an email or leave a comment.