As usual I enjoy chit chating with my friend who is a fond of picnics and camping/diving ...
Our talk this time was about Wahaiba Sands...
Always heard about it....did I go to it??? had the chance once (with this very same friend) BUT....(:( exams)...
Oh well he said:
The Wahaiba Sands gives you what you want from it..if you want to get away from the stresses of the city...and chill its there...
if you are for exploring and 4WD breaking/challenges...its there!

The weather there when the sun is up is very hot...but once the time for the sunset reaches....the tempreture changes 180 degrees...
During the light time...the Moving sands has its beauty ...shifting...in a very soft way...
The Night has its beauty as well.....the VERY VERY clear sky with its enormous number of Stars that you cannot count...ROMANTIC is the word!!!!!

Hers Some info about The Wahaiba Sands and Some few pictures!!
Enjoy the Beauty of OMAN...
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PART 1
http://www.omantourism.gov.om/Topics/Attractions/images/Nature/Wahiba2.jpg
Ash-Sharqiyah Sands (also known as Wahiba Sands)and locally known as the shifting sands of Sharqiya is favourite location for adventure seekers and it offer the romantic visitor desert in the accepted sense of the word. Rolling sand dunes, varying from deep red to a rich honey colour sands stretching as far as the eye can see.
The Sands stretch for 180 Km from north to south and 80 Km from east to west. They consist of grains of various eroded rocks and marine sediments blown into the area.

Sand driving requires skill, boards for digging out and a long tow rope in case one gets stuck. It is recommended thus to take one of the organised tours from Muscat which are led by knowledgeable guides.

http://www.omanlng.com/images/inside/sharqiya_image/9_a.jpg
In Oman the desert has three faces, sand dunes, stony plains and mountains. In the Wahiba all three landscapes are present! On entering the Wahiba through AI Mintirib, you drive for miles through a large stony plain. On the left are the Hajar mountains with their brown, violet and grey peaks. On the right are the sand dunes on which the sun plays a symphony of colours, offering visitors a unique image of the desert. Another facet of the beauty of Oman.


The Wahiba hold many other surprises. A series of unusual, unexpected, spectacular and unique landscapes where the trees, plants and flowers have found their way through the sand to deep water sources. It is like a jouney back in time and you can come face to face with the authentic life of the Bedouins. To appreciate the Wahiba Sands requires time and the spirit of an explorer. It is necessary to go from Al Mintirib or from Al Kamil to Ras An Naqdah where the sand dunes dominate the sea, just above the pier for Masirah Island. It is 200 km of sheer adventure!


The trail from AI Mintirib to the sea first follows the dunes - light sandy hills covered with plants. In the winter and at the beginning of the spring it is a surprise to see the dunes covered with yellow Arabian primroses (Arnebia hispidissima), orange cleome glaucescens, which is home of the caterpillar of the blue pansy butterfly. Amongst them grows the small crucifer white Eremobium aegyptiacum and the yellow launaea. These are annual flowers, but in the desert they only last a very short tinic. They just appear after the rain, miraculously transforming the Wahiba with their blossom.
http://www.omanlng.com/images/inside/sharqiya_image/9_b.jpg
There are Many plants present in Wahaiba sands that can be consodered as natural treasures ..some of them have medical uses (the Beduins there know them very well)..over 180 different species of plants survive in the dunes.....
Few people realise the variety of plants the desert has to offer, or the damage that the four wheel drive can cause. This is one of the reasons it is recommended to follow the trails - although these can be blown over at times by the wind, making them invisible to anyone but those with an expert eye. The inexperienced explorer can be forced to drive in circles searching for hide-and-seek trails. This is a place where a GPS can be very useful!


Through the dunes, in the distance, some trees appear. Is this another mirage? No. We have now reached the Woodlands, a forest covering an area 70 km long and several kilometres wide. It is the only forest in the desert that can be found anywhere in the world. Ghaafs and acacias appear first in scattered groups which get denser. Some trees can be up to 10 metres high, but most are under five metres. Their roots, especially those of the Ghaaf and the Prosopis cineraria burrow 60 m down in their search for water.





But this is not just a sandy kingdom for plants, 200 species of animals, such as lizards, snakes, birds and mammals, also inhabit this desert and use the plants as a means to survive. Camels and goats are keen on the head-high shrubs of Pennisetum divisum that often grow on the sandy plains amongst the smaller stands of Panicum turgidum with its intricately mingled branches and brown and white flowers. There are also vast expanses of Aristida and stipagrostis grasses. Lasiurus scindicus and stripa capensis also delight plant lovers. They have flowers that are light and delicate like a mirage with some lasting only a few hours at sunrise.


---- to be continued

http://www.omanlng.com/images/inside/sharqiya_image/9_c.jpg

Under the parasol trees, the Bedouins - such as the Wahibas from the Nizari tribe, who settled in Oman in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and the Jenebahs - set up their settlements. In the past, these dwellings called barasti were made from wood and palm fronds. Today, these traditional materials are often replaced by tin, planks of wood or fishing nets when near the sea. However, these settlements have remained in keeping with traditional Arab homes. A tent for men, another for women, an inner court and a pen for the herds. The Bedouins jealously guard their privacy. It is often the elders who look after the youngsters as the Bedouin mothers have many tasks to attend to. During the day, the herds are free to roam around eating the leaves of the ghaafs or the acacias. These trees are also the children's favourite playground.



There is little farming in the Wahiba, except for a few alfalfa fields to top up animal feed. Many of the Bedouins are still nomads who move with their herds in search of food. However, there is a settlement in the Wahiba. The village of Palayj AI Mashaikh with solidly built administrative buildings, a mosque and a few shops is an odd place of permanence in shifting environment.



It is true to say that the Bedouins have changed little in their way of life. They continue to rely on themselves, learning and passing on to their children the values and principles taught by their parents or their tribes. The rules of hospitality, the respect of their elders, of religion and also how to survive the shortage of water, the intense heat, and how to care for the camels, goats and sheep are still passed on.


The survival of the family depends upon the careful management of the breeding cycle of the herds of camels, sheep and goats to ensure there is milk all year round. They must be attended to every day with water and extra food if necessary (forage or dry fish). The herd remains the central focus of Bedouin culture.



The Toyota pick-up trucks have made the life of the Bedouins easier, avoiding previous frequent changes of settlement. They can now easily bring food and water to the herds, move them around and drive the children to school. These trucks can go anywhere! Men have learnt to drive them and look after them. Now they also have time to work for the government or the oil companies. Children also learn to drive them quite quickly. In the summer, the families drive down to the oases of Badiya, Aiyn and Sinaw to pick up dates. But the women have remained independent, moving around with their goats. Often three or four generations of women live under the same tent, the older ones looking after the children while their mothers get on with their chores. In the Bedouin community, chores are clearly divided. Men look after the camels. They milk them and weave the udder bags to stop young camels from sucking all their mother's milk, which is dearly needed by the whole community. The Bedouin women there weave their tents, their blankets and their bags...
http://www.omanlng.com/images/inside/sharqiya_image/9_d.jpg


These women are beautiful, real desert princesses with their gold or indigo masks (the burqa), and their bright colourful dresses under their black transparent abaya. They love jewellery and wear gold and silver copies of their grand-mother's jewellery - large earrings and heavy necklaces with many chains. From the way they walk and the way they speak, you immediately sense their authority. They are after all the soul of the household, responsible for the children, and their herds. Alone, they go to the market to sell their goats and alone they take them to graze 10 to 12 km away from the settlement. They are the image of the endurance needed to survive in the desert.

http://www.omanlng.com/images/inside/sharqiya_image/9_e.jpg


Another world follows that of the Woodlands. A sea of sand and large dunes, moon crescents, sleepy hollows and sandy arches pleated and hemmed with gold by the whims of the wind. Underlying the sand is the most extensive deposit of aelionite in the world, a product of the angry winds and the moving dunes, which appear even fiercer at sunset as they play a game of shadows in their shifting world.


When the dunes reach the sea at Ras An Nuqdah, they become cliffs or plains. Now we meet the Bedouins of the sea. They are communities of fishermen living in tent villages along the coast, often centred round a small but hard built mosque. Their settlements are fenced off using fishing nets. The beaching of the boats is followed by the comings and goings of the Toyota trucks picking up the catch. The unloading of the slithering silver fish (hammours and sardines) is an extraordinary sight. The gulls hover over this prospective feast. The sardines are often left to dry for several days on the beach to be used as animal fodder.



When a visitor comes round, he is always welcomed with traditional greetings and invited to join in and have a cup of tea or coffee, accompanied by dates and oranges. The long and formal repeated greetings, made up of wishes and blessings, are full of nobility - a beautiful image of ancient Arabia. They lead on to an exchange of news as everybody in the desert seems, strangely enough, to know everybody else. Eventually the dunes make way to sabkhas and mud flats, as the land meets the sea.



Sabkhas are treacherous areas of soft sand and mud with a salt crust that can swallow the vehicle of an inexperienced and unwary traveller, while the mud flats are areas of mud and salt water. These areas are home to water birds, flamingos and other migrating birds. And if you are lucky, a look out to sea may give sight of dolphins at play following the fishing boats or the ferry on its way to Masirah Island.



Fine



Guys I hope you enjoyed the above...as much as I did!!!!
I have to say that MOST of what i wrote above are copied/with some selective paraphrasing from 2 main sites that i will provide in the end...and the OMANLNG site indeed did a great job in writing such an extensive/comprehensive article about Wahaiba sands..information i didnt and even am sure my friend didnt know about...

Sources links:

http://www.omanlng.com (http://www.omanlng.com/)
http://www.omanaccess.com/explore_oman/hotels_other_regions.asp (http://www.omanaccess.com/explore_oman/hotels_other_regions.asp)
http://www.omantourism.gov.om (http://www.omantourism.gov.om/)

How do you find the above info?
DID you ever go to Wahaiba Sands???
Have you ever heard about it???share With us and discuss :) even about deserts in general :)

Yup, been there so beautiful. I would love to go away for a romantic night with my husband there. It is really romantic at night. :love:

Never bein there but i would love to visit it! :flower:

ahh Wahiba :(

miss that place last time I was there was before I left to the states

beautiful place to just sit back and relax.

They have lots of tourism activities going on there. You can set it up with a company and they'll take u to a small resort where they'll provide you food and shelter (reasonable sized huts) however nothing beats a tent camp. At night there are some activities and you can also rent a dune buggy or go sand surging ;)

ahh Wahiba :(

miss that place last time I was there was before I left to the states

beautiful place to just sit back and relax.

They have lots of tourism activities going on there. You can set it up with a company and they'll take u to a small resort where they'll provide you food and shelter (reasonable sized huts) however nothing beats a tent camp. At night there are some activities and you can also rent a dune buggy or go sand surging ;)u r LUCKY! thats SOKOIIIEE (means great in Japaneze...ignore the spelling!)

and offcourse you didnt take any pictures or they arnt avaliabe with you Knowing the BAKKA in you :p ?

u know me well :p