Sunday Sandy Snapshot #26

Man and machine in perfect harmony crossing a sabkah (gravel plain) near to Bu Karriyah, UAE

Sunday Sandy Snapshot #25

Oryx in formation near Himeem.  This photo was taken 2 years ago before the formation of the Oryx Protected Area.  Miss the drive through from Al Qua’a to Himeem but it’s great to see these once almost extinct creatures back where they belong!

Sunday Sandy Snapshot #24

Always fun to have the cars lined up on a dune – judging by the sequinned UAE flag on my tyre cover this pic must have been snapped in December, just after UAE National Day.

Sunday Sandy Snapshot #23

Camel farm on the move – taken in Liwa March 2014

Sunday Sandy Snapshot #22

This shrub may look as if it is dead, but in the spring, after the smallest amount of rain, new shoots appear and the plant looks alive once more.  Photo taken between the Himeem Road and the Madinat Zayed road, north of Liwa.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Broken

Don’t look so surprised – surely you expect my “broken” photo to be automotive related?

There are lots of wrecks in the desert, vehicles struck down with mechanical issues so far from civilization it would not be viable to recover them; this was the day that my beloved little car almost achieved that status!

When we woke up we noticed that one tyre had a puncture so we changed the tyre, drove off ….. and didn’t check it again.

The offending wheel eventually worked its way free of the hub around 200kms later, some 1km from the Saudi border with Oman and 300kms from the nearest town, Ibri.

This was the first and only time we have had to use our Satphone in an emergency and we “phoned a friend,” Mike Nott (author of Adventure Routes UAE and Oman), who suggested we backtrack to the Abu Tabul army base some 22kms south of our location.  We had passed there half an hour before but never given it a second thought as a) we didn’t need help at that point and b) it looked deserted.

Turns out there were lots of soldiers inside, who were a bit surprised to see us, especially a man and his wife driving separate cars.  Did not compute!  They told us they would convoy us to Ibri where we could get a recovery truck to come and retrieve my car; however they stopped and inspected the damage when we passed my car then declared they could sort it and get us back on the road – which they did!

Once the repair was complete and we were ready to move off, Tariq, a young Omani soldier asked Neil “why you come this way, good road Salalah to Ibri?”   “to see your beautiful country” said Neil.

Tariq looked at him incredulously “What’s to see – it’s only sand!!!”

I thought our unscheduled visit to this base would have been the most exciting thing to have happened to them for 40 years but it turns out they were able to help a fellow traveler a few years earlier.  You can read his story here and I am glad that he is here to tell the tale – he was so ill-prepared for the journey he is very lucky to be alive!  Never go deep into the desert, even on tracks, with less than two cars, and food/fuel/shelter for at least 24 hours – satphones are relatively inexpensive these days and are a must if you travel so far off the beaten track.

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Broken.”

Sunday Sandy Snapshot #21

You’ve heard of Gorillas in the mist – well this is a camel behind a cloud of fine white dust kicked up on a trip through the Empty Quarter in Oman!

Sunday Sandy Snapshot #20

Sunset in Liwa with camels in the foreground.  Picture taken in February 2014.

Sunday Sandy Snapshot #19

Leptien’s Spiny-tailed Lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia leptieni) is not uncommon in the UAE and Oman.  Preferring gravelly areas, we snapped this one in Liwa in August 2013.  These creatures are herbivores and never need to drink water!

Sunday Sandy Snapshot #18

There are so many beautiful patterns in the sand, and none more so than where 3 completely different colours of sand lie.  It’s not as 3 dimensional as you think!  The white sand comprises very small grains and is very soft, whereas the red sand has course grains and often lies on the top of dunes;  if you dig there won’t be much of it below the surface.