Spending a night in Ras Al Hadd

November 26, 2011 - We left the sinkhole after an hour and aiming to get our last destination in Ras Al Hadd well before nightfall. The place is known for its notable beaches which many wild turtles also lay their eggs on the sand and also considered the last point in the East of Oman on the edge of the Arabian Sea.

As we travelled along the coast highway of Bimmah and Fins, we were awed by the beautiful scenery of tiny coves tucked beneath the cliffs and long stretch of white sandy beaches lapped by refreshing emerald water. We proceeded to Tiwi and continuing along the coast of Qalhat until we got to Sur. I really wanted to get into the famous Sur bridge that connects the village of Al Ayja, but it was out of our way.

The T-junction with road signs

So, we just continued the journey until we came across the T-junction with the signs of Ras Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd. We turned left toward Ras Al Hadd and followed the road that lead to a roundabout. Then we saw the sign to the camping site. The sun was about to come down when we got there. And I was so hungry because we haven’t taken our lunch yet and it’s already 6:00 in the evening.

The road to Ras Al Hadd

To our surprise, people were not allowed to camp in the area anymore but within the hotel premises instead. Each person will cost 25rials. Unfortunately, our cash were only enough for our food, fuel and for contingency. And so we decided to spend the night at a public beach area and have to come back to the roundabout and to the village.

By now it was already too dark and we can’t even see the concrete road, much less if it was a good campsite. We only followed the beaming lights from the other campers' cars. Unluckily, the car driven by Gerry was stuck in a shallow pit of sands. Jesse and Enrico went out of our car and had to push BRIDGETTE out of that area.

we were so hungry for the long exhausting day trip

Then a great relief came to me when we finally found a good spot for us to setup our tents and have our super delayed dinner. I devoured a plate of rice and chicken adobo. I barely chewed my food just to satisfy my hunger. After sometime, I quickly change the clothings of my kids and put them to sleep. They were so exhausted with the entire day trip and had a good sleep despite of the surrounding noise from the sound of the stereo and the beat of the drums emitted by other campers as well as with the strong and cold sea breeze.

For me, this last stop was a little bit frustrating because of the unexpected policies of the local area to prohibit campers in getting access in the turtle beach. Perhaps on our next camping getaway we will stay in Ras Al Jinz and find amazing things in that area as well.