The Desert Diva We are now anticipating that the Hijari New Year Holiday for Oman residents will be on Sunday 24th September – which gives us a nice long weekend for a break at the seaside. We will pick you up at an easy to find meeting point on Friday afternoon – either at 2pm or 4.30pm (or if you have gps you can drive straight to the campsite) – spend some time relaxing at the beach before our evening campfire and BBQ.
Note – 4×4, AWD or 4WD essential.
To book the ferry we will need a photo of your car mulkiya (registration card) and also a photo of each of your party’s id cards or passports – please submit these when you book
BOOKING WILL BE OPEN FROM AS SOON AS THE HOLIDAY IS CONFIRMED FOR SUNDAY WHICH SHOULD BE ON WEDNESDAY JUST AFTER SUNSET (If it turns out the public holiday is Thursday, this itinerary will sadly not be going ahead) and close at 0800hrs ON THURSDAY MORNING.
To come on the trip you need a car – either 4×4, AWD or 4WD is essential. Your clothes and toiletries, snorkelling gear, sleeping bag or blankets and a pillow. You can bring your own tent and mattresses and chairs, or you can hire them from us – we have a limited amount available.
Our basecamp will be within 30 minutes of the Masairah Island terminal at Shannah, and not too far away from the treacherous Barr Al Hickmann peninsula. You might be wondering why we are not basing our camp on the island itself and there are a couple of reasons – firstly, many of our guests are likely to come from AD and Dubai, and will have to cross the border at a busy time, so if they are delayed they could miss the last ferry to the island (ferries also likely to be extremely busy on the first day of the public holiday). Secondly, the island is not very big and we think a single day tour will offer our guests the chance to see most of the sights, as well as some time for snorkelling and beachcombing, therefore having our basecamp on the mainland give us the chance to offer a second, different tour on the second full day. 4WD car essential – AWD such as Ford Explorer, Yukon Denali etc are welcome on this trip.
Included in the package are
-
Camping
- Either 2 or 3 nights
- Camping gear available to rent for 75aed per person
- Bedding (pillow and sleeping bag or blanket/sheet) available to rent for 50aed per person
-
Excursions
- Day trip to Masairah (cost of ferry IS INCLUDED in package)
- Exploration trip Barr Al Hickman and Khaluf
-
Food
- Two BBQ dinners
- Two cooked breakfasts
- One biriyani lunch
- One packed lunch
- Tea, coffee and water at all times
- Guests staying a third night can look forward to a home made stew plus a cooked breakfast the next morning
-
Use of our camp and facilities
- Shaded seating area
- Campfire
- Handwashing station
- Shower
- Camping Loo
Temperatures are likely to be around 32C during the day with a fresh breeze from the sea.
Prices
2 night itinerary
1 adult one car – 1010aed including ferry fare**
2 adults one car – 1820aed including ferry fare (910 aed each)
3 adults one car – 2630aed including ferry fare (877 aed each)
4 adults one car – 3440aed including ferry fare (860 aed each)
Children aged 0-4 100aed each including ferry fare
Children aged 5-12 450aed each including ferry fare
Payment
We accept payment by Bank Transfer, Mastecard or Visa
Full payment is required at time of booking – we will send you a direct invoice from our credit card servicing company. This will be in AED, so your invoice will be 50AED less than the above prices to offset any currency transfer rates..
Booking
Please download and complete the form below (or you can download it from here too) and return to marina@desertdivaevents.com
[pdf-embedder url=”https://thedesertdiva.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/TAL024-barralhickman.pdf” title=”TAL#024 barralhickman”]
Itinerary
Friday 22nd September
Arrive in the afternoon, any time after 2pm or evening at our campsite, which will be near a beach. Relax by the campfire while we prepare a BBQ dinner.
Saturday 23rd September
Early cooked breakfast, catch early ferry to Masairah Island
- Masairah Tour
- Stop at beach at Ras Al Ya
- Visit to Shell Beach
- Quick stop at remains of shipwreck
- Falaj
- Wadi
- Picnic lunch
- Snorkelling spot on the west – bring your own snorkelling gear if you wish to explore the water!
- Visit to Hilf (the only town on the island)
Return on last ferry
Note – We will travel approx 160kms from start to finish on the day and it is our plan that we will be out of the car more often than in!
Sunday 24th September
Early cooked breakfast
- Drive round the edge of Barr Al Hickman
- Stops for birds and clean beaches, fishermen’s villages
- Stop at Mahuut, largest town in area to stock up
- Biriyani lunch
- Drive to Khaluf
- Drive 15kms south of Khaluf along beach
- Sugar dunes (please note we will not be dune bashing in the sugar dunes as they are very soft and technical, making multiple stucks very likely. We would rather be exploring than digging! We will however explore the outer reaches by foot)
- Visit to abandoned shrimp farm – teaming with bird life!
*If you have opted for 2 nights with us you can leave the trip anytime we are on the road, such as Mahut, Khaluf.
Ferries to Masairah Island
The most modern (and safe) ferries are run by National Ferries Oman. When booking your place on our trip, please include a photo/scan of your car registration card (mulkiya) and the same for your passport or ID card (Oman or UAE) – we will book the ferry for you.
The Area
Masairah Island should be on every expat’s bucket list, just a short ferry ride from Shannah, Oman, but a world away from the stresses and strains of modern life. This teardrop shaped island has over 100kms of coastline; Indian Ocean waves crash on the beaches on the East coast and gentler seas lap the beaches on the West. You can read about our previous visit here.
Barr Al Hickman is a massive salt flat, the cause of many stucks (and subsequent steam cleans) of 4x4s who stray off the beaten path. Khaluf is a small village around half an hour’s drive from Mahut, the main town in the area. From here you can drive 15kms along the beach to the edge of the sugar dunes and continue by track to an abandonded shrimp farm which is teaming with bird life such as sea eagles, heron, flamingo. You can read about our March visit here.
Please book as soon as you can. We need to pre-book the ferry to Masairah and as it is a public holiday it will likely be busy.
This will be a fabulous trip – hope you can join us! Maximum number of guests = 20. Don’t miss out – book now and reserve your place on the beach (camp)!
