Last April, my French friend Pierre Petit returned to Oman for the first time in seven years since attending the launch of my film ‘Adventure has an Address, Oman’.
Between 2016 and 2017, Pierre made four trips from France to Muscat with his crew to complete the filming at all the chosen sites. This time, he brought his son Solal to share the beauty of Amazing Oman.’
We were fortunate to have beautiful weather following a couple of weeks of rain. The wadis were brimming with crystal-clear waters, and the waterfalls were flowing abundantly. For our first excursion, we decided to visit Wadi Bani Awf, cross Wadi Hat, and explore ‘The Ogre Canyon.’ Six years ago, along with a team of French canyoners, we had pioneered these magnificent wadis.
Both canyons feature numerous waterfalls ideal for abseiling, with the highest in ‘The Ogre Canyon’ standing at around 60 meters. On the first day, we explored Wadi Hat, which begins at the village of Hat and ends in the village of Al Hajir. This was my seventh visit to Wadi Hat, and I had never seen it with so much water. All the waterfalls were flowing profusely, making the swimming in the crystal-clear waters and ponds a great joy. Our trip through the wadi took about three hours.
We then climbed back to our car and spent the night camping. The weather was superb, and a bright moon illuminated our campsite. For dinner, we enjoyed ‘Kefta’, a type of Lebanese burger prepared by my ‘cordon bleu chef’ Marta, my wife.
The next day, after an early breakfast, we packed up our tents and crossed ‘The Ogre Canyon,’ which features magnificent high waterfalls and superb tufa formations. It took us about three hours to complete our adventurous trip. We then drove through Jebel Hat back to Muscat, stopping briefly at the col of Sharaf Aalamein for a short photo session overlooking the villages of Bilad Sayt and Hat.
After a comfortable night at home, we set off for Wadi Halhal, a tributary of Wadi Bani Kharus, aiming to cross Wadi al Jamal, another exceptional canyon. Starting from the village of Al Hijir, we followed a trail up the mountain to Al Suweib, a hamlet where I had met Salem bin Mohamed, whom I dubbed "my lonely old friend," as he had been living alone for 35 years.
On our way, we stopped at ‘Hosn al Furs’, a majestic citadel built on a mountain overlooking two dramatic canyons. After a short break, we continued up the mountain to begin our canyoning journey by abseiling down several drops in a tributary of Wadi al Jamal.
Upon reaching the main canyon, we hiked upstream to enjoy a snack at the base of a sublime 50-meter tufa waterfall with a crystal-clear pool. The water flow was more robust than I had ever seen, likely due to recent heavy rains. After our light lunch, we began our descent through the canyon. The strong water flow had even dislodged an anchor I had fixed 10 years ago, requiring me to use a natural anchor to progress.
We reached our car by mid-afternoon and drove home for the night.
For the next four days, I planned more adventure trips for my visitors in Al Sharqiyah in the North Governorate. "The landscapes of the mountains are as beautiful as those of the sea. I am very happy to have visited the wadis filled with so much water," exclaimed Solal when asked about his first impression of the Sultanate.
"Khaled told me it was exceptional because of the heavy rains Oman received recently, which made the trip even more incredible," he added. "Oman is truly the best place for canyoning. I have never seen such impressive wadis, so many of them, and the fact that they are all so different makes this place magical for this outdoor activity."
To be continued...
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