The Wadis.

We start the day in a coach, as this way the guides can give an outline to the guests of what they are going to experience during the day and also some background on the Fort that we are going to visit. They have some time to explore the fort either with or without the guides. The level of decoration considering it's age is quite stunning, and remember that these were working forts, where the whole village would take shelter from invading marauders.

As they leave the fort they will see that the coach has been replaced by the landcruisers for the next part of the day.

First they visit a nearby Oasis, which is a meeting place for the local villagers, here they clean their vegetables, do their washing up, and take a bath in the water that is supposed to be 'very special' They will also see a good example of a 'falage' system which is basically how they manage the water around different gardens, diverting it to different areas by replacing or removing different rocks.

Then they are off into the Wadis. A Wadi is a dried up riverbed. They can be quite narrow, then opening into vast areas with rock pools and after the rains quite fast running rivers. There are small villages along the way where the locals will be keeping their goats, or looking after their bees. Honey is widely believed to have medicinal qualities, and from certain areas of the country demands very high prices.

The natural beauty of the wadis is enhanced by the scattered oases, and in one of these we stop for a picnic lunch. We, of course, have our own way of packing a picnic! We use stacked stainless steel containers - one for each person, so they have sandwiches, salads, cold meats and cheese, all in individual stacked plates, and they can take these and a rug and find a comfortable tree to rest against and enjoy their lunch in perfect surroundings. We have a kettle singing on an open fire for tea and coffee, and soft drinks. They can jump in the rockpools if there is enough water - or just paddle if the weather has been dry!

We drive back and arrive at the hotel around 16:30 - 17:00 and the best follow on to this day is either a relaxing BBQ on the beach - or the Omani Night!

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