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Published: February 5th 2016
Salalah to Duqm Road
Unusual rock formationUp early for the long drive North, a little bit nervous as we still couldn’t get positive confirmation that we could drive all the way to Duqm on the coast road and saw a report of an avalanche taking out the road. From what we have already experienced the signage on Omani roads is pretty bad and we would be depending on it being a bit better for this leg. Checked out of the hotel at 8 .15 and hit the road and had no trouble escaping the confines of Salalah. Followed the same route as yesterday, passing Al Baleed and Khor Rouri without any problems, and then about 9 we got to the town of Mirabat. As with nearly everywhere in Oman, there is lots of roadworks going on and we completely missed our turnoff which wasn’t hard as there was no signs at all. Ended up following some Ute who was driven by a guy who must have been just going home and wondering why he had someone following him. Stumbled across the Marriot hotel which to say it was huge is an understatement, and from all
Salalah to Duqm Road
Just taking my camel for a walk the guard towers surrounding it we initially thought it might have been a jail. Drove around Mirabat for a while and spotted the Mirabat Fort which is famous for the battle in which 9 British soldiers managed to hold off an attack by 300 communists rebels during the Dhofar uprising in 1972. Apparently it was a nasty little battle in which two soldiers were awarded the VC but now the fort lies abandoned and locked up. So being lost at least enabled us to find another piece of history.
Spotted some road works in the distance complete with scarecrow lollipop men (see picture), back tracked a bit took a guess on a road and after a while we found a road sign that told us we were on course again. The road then veered inland before moving back to the coast where we were met by a large mountain range. For the next hour or so the road clung to the side of the mountains with the sea lapping on our right. The range of types of rock was extraordinary and I can understand how they say Oman is a Geologists dream destination. Eventually we came to
Slalah to Duqm Road
Car about to be hit by a rock wave a beach where we stopped for the view and spotted a large pod of dolphins just off shore.
Along this road we stopped heaps just to take in the incredible views, at one of them we stood beneath a high sandstone cliff that had huge stalactites hanging from it and whilst there a guy drove by hanging on to his camel by a leash out the window. He was thankfully driving really slowly. There was even the postcard oasis complete with date palms on the way. The wind all day was howling a gale so bad that it was difficult to stand and nearly impossible to open the car door against it, the gusts would have had to been close to 100km/hr or more. This unfortunately churned up a lot of sand and dust so everything was a bit hazy and we got sandblasted every time we hopped out of the car.
Around midday we came to some army trucks parked by the side of the road and what appeared to be a bit of a base so we slowly drove past not sure what to expect. About 50 metres past we heard a
Salalah to Duqm Road
Looking into the gorge horn beeping and in the rear view mirror saw a couple of guys appear from behind the truck flapping their arms so figured they wanted me to stop. Rather than risk being shot at I stopped and turned around and went back to them. Nice bunch of guys that we think must have been sleeping when we went past but wanted to check our details and boot and guess who’s bag was the only one checked – yes Shelley’s, so once again her bras and undies got a viewing. After this was done we shook hands and took off. Not far past this we hit the brand new section of road. Since driving this road we have found out a bit more about it and we can tell you that it was completed in December 2014, at a cost of 288 Million Rial and is 95 kilometres long and is the final piece in the coastal road. The reason it was the last piece in the road network is because it is basically over the top of a very large mountain range and the amount of earthworks in getting this road through is staggering. The road is not only an
Salalah to Duqm Road
Shelley beside our car Engineering marvel but the views as you travel along are stunning. Thankfully the builders have put in small carparks at all the best spots so if you drive it and you see a carpark, pull over because it is there for a good reason.
We had heard they were having all sorts of dramas building this road and keeping it clear of debris and not far into our ascent we came across a large avalanche that had taken out the road completely. Thankfully a diversionary road had been built around it so we could continue along. Stopped constantly along the way for the views and one of the last was the best. Spotted a carpark and from the road couldn’t see why it was there, but we pulled over anyway. From the edge of the carpark we had the most fantastic view down a deep gorge that looked very much like an Omani Grand Canyon, well worth the stop.
Eventually the road wound back down the mountains to the plain below and we both felt like turning around and seeing it again. What made this trip even more remarkable was that for the entire
Salalah to Duqm Road
Where the mountains meet the sea drive over the mountain range we never saw a single car travelling in our direction and only 4 other cars passed in the other. The condition of the road is absolutely pristine with no potholes but we think nobody uses it because you really do need to drive slowly and carefully and ultimately the inland route is a lot quicker.
After this the terrain just flattened out to the usual boring landscape, and the only thing to break the monotony was watching out for stray camels and goats. At the town of Al Kahil we detoured off the road to investigate the pink lakes and to see if there was any Flamingos. The lake was more like a puddle and of course no birds. Eventually just after 6 as the sun was touching the earth we reached our destination of the town of Duqm, making this trip nearly 10 hours long. Would have been shorter without the stops but it was still a lot longer than the 6 hours by the inland route, so that in itself explains why we didn’t see any other cars, but it sure was worth it.
Booked into the
same overpriced hotel as last time, due to lack of choice, but got a room that was marginally better and the staff were friendlier this time. We dropped our stuff off in the room and then headed over to the Pakistani restaurant (Duqm Pakistani Restaurant Shop Bay al Duqm 81) we ate at last time. For dinner we both had a whole BBQ fish each that was fresh and tasty and came with salad, hummos, fresh piping hot flat bread and two drinks for 2.4 Rials ($10 AUD), bargain. The waiter remembered us from last time and we had a long chat about the cricket and the recent game between India and Australia. This place is a real Gem, and well worth going to if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself stuck in Duqm.
We were both fairly worn out but the one good thing with our overpriced hotel was that it had good WiFi so we ended up sitting up to midnight so we could post the last blog; see the pain we have to go through for this blog.
Day 14 Monday 1st February 2016 Salalah to Duqm Road
The road begins to climb Slept in till 7 and we awoke feeling like a truck had hit us. After breakfast we packed and hit the road once more. Today’s journey started along the coast for a bit before heading inland, through the flat featureless, monotonous terrain. We followed roadworks for nearly the entire length and the day was interspersed with avoiding wayward Camels and Goats and being overtaken by people doing 160km/hr, just another day on the roads of Oman. The good thing with the drivers here is that they will flash their lights if you are heading for Camels and goats on the road or if there is a police car nearby.
Thankfully the drive today was short and we reached our destination of the town of Bahla around 3pm and booked into the Bahla hotel apartments. The guy running the place gave us a choice of three rooms, I really should have warned him not to give Michele a choice, but luckily after only 15 minutes of deliberation we had a winner. The room is a bit small, but very clean and perfect base for the next two nights. The hotel doesn’t have much around it and because
Salalah to Duqm Road
Oasis on the side of the road the restaurant in the hotel didn’t serve Indian but more Middle Eastern food we decided to eat in there. The food was good but it ended up being a big mistake because instead of it costing us 5 Rials we were charged 6.3 Rials. We were given salad and other things on the table which we didn’t order and were then charged for it. Had this happen in other countries but this was a first for Oman, so took it on the chin despite it costing us an extra $6 AUD. Got back to the room and discovered that they had also given us Saudi money amongst our change, which is pretty much useless to us. This was like a red rag to a bull for Michele so she stomped down to the kitchen and had it out with thearrogant cook/waiter running the kitchen and then the hotel manager got involved as well. She couldn’t get a refund on the food we didn’t order but at least got Omani money as change which we could use.Really cannot understand why anyone would want to risk being slammed on websites and social media for just a few dollars.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Sounds like an adventure
I have a good laugh imagining you trying to open the car door in those winds. Spectacular photos....what a drive. Love reading about Michelle's spunk! Stay safe and have fun.