Would you go to Oman?

This week, I change format a little and share more of a photo essay of a recent trip. If you are reading on Gmail, open this in the substack app or your browser in order to view the story with images. . .

A friend of mine, Miles, thought it high time we go on another adventure. As he’s based in the Middle East, we would explore Oman and discover what the coastline could offer in terms of salt water fly fishing. The idea was to camp rough, not spend any money on accommodation and add a little challenge of living off what we could gather from the sea using our skills. A real boy’s own adventure.

Driving along the coast, it quickly became apparent that shade would be our priority. If we could find a shady spot to escape the extreme heat, we could set up camp and be relatively comfortable.

No man’s land. Overnight stop en route to the coast.

We hardly encountered any cars on the road. We did pass through several military checkpoints but after checking for drivers licence, were waved though.

The further south we travelled the more mountainous it became.

Jabal Samhan

In this harsh barren landscape, we discovered a Wadi at the bottom of a pass near the coast, in the Dhofar region. It was surrounded by cliffs on either side. Where not even a blade of grass managed to survive, suddenly we were in the midst of an oasis. Our spirits lifted at the sight of water. We found an entrance to the water cut through the thick reeds that some truckers must of cut through in order to wash.

The water was crystal clear and inviting. We stripped off and plunged in, washing the dust and accumulated dirt from the last 2 days spent on the road. We then inflated our sups and then paddled downstream to explore.

Eventually, we made it to the sea, surrounded by steep cliffs on either side and the wadi of fresh water on the land side.

Standing on the beach looking back at the way we had come.

We were surrounded by cliffs making this unique beach inaccessible.

Notice the cave in the background.

Finding the cave on the beach was an absolute highlight. This meant that we would have shade and shelter throughout the day. Not only shade but fresh water too. On one side was the Wadi and the other side the ocean. What an incredibly unique spot and fortunate find.

Shade during the heat of the day.

Tranquility cracks

We set up camp and set out exploring the sea. This is what it looks like from the shore:

Snorkelling here was unlike anything I had previously experienced in terms of the volume and diversity of fish. We were 80 km from the nearest hamlet in either direction and surrounded by cliffs and water. This spot was relatively untouched due to its inaccessibility. We didn’t see a single person for the week we spent here but unfortunately, the harmful effects of man were evident with plenty of plastic washing up on the beach with every high tide. Sadly this was the case with all the beaches we visited during the 4000km we travelled through Oman. The marine life though, was amazing.

It took Miles a couple of minutes to figure out which flies to use once he had a good look at the beach and the bait available and then we were on. We lived on a high protein diet of fresh fish everyday with the occasional Crayfish just to vary our seafood diet. The oysters we found were a bit small and rather bitter but we were more than happy with what we could catch on fly.

The diving as I mentioned, was spectacular with many caves and swim throughs.

My overiding memory of this trip apart from the spectacular sea life is of sleeping under the stars evey evening, counting shooting stars and satellites as I drift off to sleep and then awakening with the sunrise to the sound on the sea.

Having the right gear and the perfect travel partner made this one of my favourite trips. The permit game fish Miles was targeting proved too elusive this time round which gives us the perfect excuse to return, next year.