M.Seidam

Drive report @ exploration : Early morning …Taking the beautiful E55 Shuwaib road heading north toward our meeting point at Adnoc gas station for about 15 km. The peacefully palm boarded road on either side ignited my vivid imagination of how our day will turn out . Truth is I discovered later that the reality was far more beautiful than fantasy! on time after we met we moved ( about 1 km ) toward our deflation point . By the time we were done and we started moving the breathtaking sun rise from behind the Rocky Mountains of Oman portrayed such a stunning image in our imagination background. luckily the magnet went along our initial intended route pulling us toward it in steady climb up and down till we reached the sabkha which comes parallel with fenced Omani/UAE boarders and the southern part of wadi Alshuwaib belonging to Oman where the north west of it belong to UAE AD . To climb up straight was not successful as the sand was super soft and the incline pretty steep so we took a “cheat route” exploring what was behind before we continue further Our next encounter was a huge dune with steep long slip face reaching it from behind through climbing a technical strip which was not easy but not impossible to navigate it locally especially when you have with you such a bunch of explorers who crave for such adventures 😊 Moving on crossing some beautiful farms and dunes ,which it’s vegetations and the sand color and consistency reminded me of mahafez , till we reached our first coffe break stop at what I call “fish farm” yes the artificial pond had lots of fish 😅 After that we kept on top of the ridges as long as possible avoiding the shrubs and plants below and all the time the rocks were east and in some spots we found many trees 🌲 at the valley of the dunes background what a magnificent scenic relaxation for the eye. heading more south along big reserve fence then we detoured to discover what we called “ mini little Sweihan “ and here I let to stretch our legs bit relying to navigate locally with vigilance off course and that was epic When they say the beautiful time passes like a blink of a second I say so is life so let’s live the moment and enjoy it. And we did to content of our hearts. unfortunately time is about to run so quickly and we had to prepare for exit leaving the further south till Hyer for part II exploration soon inshallah . upon request of all we took a pause for some pictures on our way to the final point where we started this morning . Points to mention in summery of this exploratory trip : 1. The area we drove in by all means needed undivided attention and certain skill level definitely attained to at least Fb+ if not IM level 2. there are many reserves and farms fenced and unfenced areas which are not even available on the maps. ( marked ) 3. Lots of free wild life around with lots of trees and vegetations ( north to middle part ) with beautiful scenery 4. unexpected surprises are always there ( twice I faced a fence in tight spots bordering deeper pockets ) luckily managed by rerouting with no incidents . 5. the very few refusals and self recoveries with no ropes needed speaks of how every one today including my self took the challenge seriously and cautiously and I admire all of you for that. Dear @Mohamad Anwer , @DP1011 , Deepak wrangler, @Fabien Monleau , @James Thorn and @Anoop Nair thank you a ton for coming enjoying exploring the unknown together it was for me one of an unforgettable Memorial Day . till we meet again hopefully in part II take care and drive safe cheers 👍