Where to spend it

A little while back he popped the question if we want to join him into the Snake Canyon for an adventure trip. Forget about how fit you are! Just bring waterproof shoes, quick drying sporty - or comfy - clothes and your love for nature! And so we did.

At dawn a week ago, five four-wheel cars packed with food, people, camping and mountain gear hit the road from Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Musandam to a meeting point in Sohar, Oman. From here, we drove in formation about 200 kilometres to Rustaq, the last town before the entry into the Wadi Bani Awf, pretty much the border between the Western and Eastern Hajar mountains.

“Is there anything you need? Water, juice, bread? Last chance for shopping,” announced Yousef as we made a quick stop over in Rustaq.

Born in Musandam, the Omani peninsula at the tip of Ras Al Khaimah, Yousef Mohammed Al Shehhi spent all his life climbing rocks, swimming and generally exploring the outdoors. With such passion for nature, it was only natural that he would establish a tourism adventure company — Absolute Adventures — in his hometown, Dibba, taking oversees travellers and weekend trippers trekking through the dry wadis and peaks of his mountain, rock climbing, sea kayaking, scuba diving or just exploring the stunning Musandam fjords and bays from a boat perspective. Even his holidays are all about outdoor adventures rather than five-star resorts.

“Last year we rented some four-wheel cars and drove through Botswana, mostly camping, and the year before we did pretty much the same in Australia,” he said.

After stopping for the Friday prayers, fuel and cola for Ali G, we finally left Rustaq and the paved road and entered the mountain terrain for the Bani Awf gorge and Snake Canyon.

“Just take out about a minute of air pressure from your tyres. It will help with driving on the rocky road,” advised Simon, a mountaineer who’s done the Snake Canyon several times before.

Pretty quickly, the spectacular Hajars reveal their might and beauty, with greenery easing the eye at its feet and sharp rocks piercing the sky thousands of meters above. No wonder that the nearby Oman highest mountain, at 3075 meters, is called Jebel Shams — Mountain of the Sun.

After half an hour drive through the gorge, we take a sharp turn South of the main road and stop at the mouth of Little Snake Canyon. A mat placed in the shade of a tree gathers everyone around for a quick lunch of home cooked rice, meet and saloona - vegetable stew - a nice surprise made by Mohammed.

Most of the group prepares for trekking the canyon, while Yousef and Simon go searching for a good place to camp.

“It’s now three o’clock, so not much time before sunset. Not matter what, make sure you turn around after one hour, so you will be back here at five o’clock,” urged Simon.

“You will be swimming part of the way through cold water, so don’t wear boots or cotton clothes.”

The first part of the wadi proved the most challenging one, as we had to go over high, slippery rocks. As we pushed on deeper, the gorge

WHERE TO SPEND IT

was getting narrower and narrower. Small pools of water began to appear and the occasional frog was jumping about.

“In the summer, when it’s much hotter down here, all these frogs will become lunch for the snakes that are now hiding in warmer spots,” pointed out Ali Mohammed, who had no problem walking over the sharp rocks barefoot - no doubt a habit he picked up as a kid in the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, and then continued over in Musandam, where he lives now.

At the first deep water pool, Ali G decided to be the first to take the plunge. In the flashes of everybody’s waterproof cameras, he jumped from the three meters high rock into the 15-17 degrees water. The rest of us just walked into the pool until it reached chest-high and then had to swim for about 30 metres.

“Once you are in you have to keep going to keep the body warm. Otherwise it could be dangerous,” said Ali G.

Elena, Ivana, Emi and Sarah took the lead, being among the first to make it through. At some point the canyon walls were so narrow, barely a metre wide, that felt like you could hardly swim through.

After passing a couple of such pools, we took a rest for just a few minutes and began the way back. At the entrance, Yousef and Simon were waiting for us.

“Common guys, we found a good place to set up for the night,” said Simon.

Still well soaked, we drove to the camp just as the sun was setting. After a quick change into warm, dry clothes, set up the tents, we were ready for the campfire. Pretty soon the food began to appear and it seemed to never end. Lamb, beef, chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn — the barbeque grill kept being filled, with Emi, Ivana and Elena doing a yummy job.

“Hey everybody, before we all go into party mood, we need to have a meeting to decide who is doing the line climbing tomorrow,” shouted Yousef switching off the music.

“We only have equipment for a few of us. Who wants to go?”

Immediately, all hands were up. The ropes, the carabiners, the harnesses and the helmets were all checked and, according to numbers and sizes, but also the strong wishes, five climbers were selected.

They all had to be ready by 8am to drive above the Snake Canyon, from where they would begin the vertical descent down the mountain and then across the traverse line connecting the split between two mountain walls. Despite the clouds and short showers that kept coming and going, the brave five each packed a small rucksack with gear, water and some food and early morning were off, while the rest of the group was still asleep.

By noon the rain was pretty heavy and the rest of us packed up everything and went to meet them. Just as we thought the rain is getting really dangerous, filling up the wadis with muddy water pretty fast, all five appeared safe and sound.

“It was tough, but great,” said Ali Mohamed, all wet and shaking with cold.

Sarah too was all smiles.

“I’ve never done it before and it was difficult in the beginning until I understood how the rope and the carabiners work,” she mentioned.

“We had a problem with the rope in the beginning because it was tangled and Simon had to hang on the traverse line for a bit, with a sheer 50 meters drop under him, but he was safe and everything was okay,” added Yousef.

Being caught by rain in a wadi is often fatal. The water rises in minutes and climbing out of the muddy pools onto the high slippery rocks it’s not easy and, in the case of Snake Canyon, impossible, as the rocks are too high. There have been cases, Snake Canyon included, when people were trapped and never made it out.

As the rain was slowing down and the clouds were fading away, we did drive to the mouth of the Snake Canyon and despite the weather and the late hour — 2pm — a few of us ventured in, while the rest of the group went for a walk in the higher slopes.

“The canyon is 3.5 meters long, but we will only go up to the cave and return back. We should be back in three hours,” said Simon.

The gorge may not require perfect fitness, but is definitely not for the skirmish. Right from the beginning, the group plunged into the cold water and the entire route was a challenge of climbing rocks and jumping into pools from several meters high rock ledges.

Usually, once you go in there is no coming back, nor an escape exit up the canyon. The trek should be completed till the exit on the other side of the mountain.

“Returning the same way we had to climb about five metres high rock, which was smooth and slippery, from deep water, while still swimming. That was the most difficult part,” said Ali Mohammed.

“The cave too was not easy since we had to swim in the dark and there was a lot of drifted wood, but it was all great fun.”

Soon before sunset we began the drive back down the mountain and, after dinner in Rustaq, the long drive back to UAE.

“Looking back at the pictures, I think we are not normal,” joked Elena.

Yet, barely a week had passed and everybody is talking about returning.

• UAE
• Ras Al Khaimah