Dhofar Traverse (Highlights of Route 17 in AORARUAE&O)

One of the best trips I have ever done in Oman was in 2013 when I was lucky to be part of Mike Nott’s recce team as we scouted a number of routes in southern Oman.   If a picture is worth 1000 words then here are 25,000 words for you – most of them are “wow, awesome, amazing, beautiful”

We started by driving Route 19, Al Huqf Traverse, following on by Route 20, Jebel Samhan – day 4 or 5 of the trip saw us camping overnight at the route start, ready for off the next morning.  It is not a long trail and with the exception of the short boulder field the driving was quite easy, yet this section was my favourite due to the amazing scenery.  About three quarters of the way into the drive, having not encountered anyone (except an army patrol), or seen any signs of civilisation, suddenly the wadi widened and we saw a mosque, seemingly in the middle of no-where. We had driven past what I thought were piles of firewood but on close inspection they are windbreaks to shelter livestock from the weather.

Hope you enjoy the pictures, and if you do, please go and buy the book – you will find it at Adventure HQ and various outlets and bookshops, or alternatively buy it online here.

Campsite at start of trip

Lone tree hill

lots of wadi driving

dramatic scenery

unusual trees

caused my molten rock reaching the surface, millions of years ago

same rock formations for perspective

more wow scenery

we didn’t have the wadi to ourselves

the farmers in dhofar have their tents made of tarpaulin, not canvas

boulder field

Moody wadi

lone feral donkey

parked in front of a windbreak (not firewood)

in a big country….

all of a sudden, a mosque appeared

this photo could only be in Dhofar

goat herders

End of the World campspot

but we were not alone

enjoying the view

extreme barbequeing

never sure if Ian was trying to get a signal or just a good photo

early morning view from the campspot