Another Dive Fix
It was now mid J
uly 2005 and a couple of months had passed since our trip to Egypt, so his nibs needed another dive fix. Dubai is on the UAE’s west coast and there’s not a lot to see underwater, the east cost has only slightly more to offer so we decided on a weekend in Khasab, Musandam. The Musandam Peninsula is the northernmost part of Oman jutting out into the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. At its nearest point Musandam is just 55 km from Iran across the strait. The diving there is spectacular and compared to the Red Sea virgin territory, very few divers go there. The best and cheapest way to get there from Dubai is by road or boat, either way it’s a long journey and not one you can do in a day. So we booked 2 nights at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Khasab. Not the best hotel in the world, its Astroturf surrounded pool is an eyesore, but set in the Hajar Mountains it is prime real-estate. Musandam unlike most of the coastline has little or no beach, vertical cliffs literally plunge into the sea and it’s anything but straight. Dramatic twists and turns make for calm fjords that are home to thousands of fish and dolphins and it’s known as the Norway of Arabia. It really is a beautiful place. Oman unlike Dubai will not allow high-rise buildings and all construction must be in keeping with the surroundings, you will not find a replica of the Eiffel Tower being built here! The Sultan has placed a high priority on conservation – and I say good for him!
It was dark by the time we got to Musandam and the hairpin bends around the cliffs were a bit unnerving. His nibs was driving thankfully and though I’d not tell him, he’s a very good
driver! We spotted the bright lights if the Golden Tulip hotel straight ahead and thought our journey was almost over – not so! The hotel stands on the edge of the straight literally jutting out into the sea, so as the crow flies it was very close, but the road follows the twisty contours of the coastline so we were still a good 30 minutes away! Finally we arrived, unloaded his nibs dive gear and checked in. This hotel is a far cry from the Chedi or Al Maha, but we were there for the diving and as one of only two hotels in Khasab we had little choice. It does have a small English pub were we headed for a nightcap and game of darts!
After breakfast the next morning we lugged his nibs dive gear to the dive centre. They kitted me out with the relevant equipment and after a 10 minute drive in their bus we arrived at the small fishing harbour. Unfortunately the dive centres normal boat was out of action so they’d hired a local boat in its place. This boat was not designed for dive gear so the tanks were tethered to the flat deck and we sat on top of them. Not very comfortable for the hour or so it would take us to get to the dive site, and no shelter from the hot sun, but it was worth the discomfort.
Getting our kit on at the first dive site Abusir was eventful as the boat was tossed about by the waves and its sides very low, we managed somehow and hit the water. The coral gardens were beautiful and we saw turtles swimming near the surface. This was my first time drift diving, which is when the currents are strong so you are literally blown along under the water. It was a strange sensation as you have little control over where you go, but it does make easy diving. We relied on the experience of our very nice dive guide and the boats captain to determine which way the currents were moving and the safest place for us to enter the water. It was an amazing dive though being the dozy wench I am I scratched my leg on the coral.
An hour later we were at our second dive site Falcon Rock, here the currents were much stronger and at one point I was swimming hard but going nowhere! We were blasted by a rush of very cold water then a rush of very warm water as the currents changed, it was a little scary at times. These currents mean more fish though, so there was lots to see including 3 huge lobsters! By mid afternoon we were back at the hotel for a much needed feed, we were starved after the exercise.
That evening we headed back to the pub for more darts, his nibs had never played before and I’m not very good so we took an age getting the final double! His nibs ever observant heard a familiar accent; Quebecois. It turned out that 3 of the pubs other patrons were fellow French Canadians. Any chance to speak his mother tongue is relished, as you know I only speak English, so we joined them. They also lived in Dubai and had come to Khasab to dive, well the 2 blokes had, the female in the party was a non-diver. This was how we met our dive boat companions for the next day.
By 9 am we were back on our little boat, now very crowded with 4 divers, 1 dive guide, the captain and our gear. The 2 hour journey to our first dive site was bumpy but the views were awesome; stunning cliffs, small islands and even a small pod of dolphins alleviated the boredom. Again the dives were amazing and I was far more comfortable with the currents now knowing what to expect. The trip wasn’t without injuries though, I was bashed by a rogue tank on the boat, it escaped its bindings and hit my ankle causing a small but bloody cut. The elder of our dive companions fell overboard when kitting up due to the waves. He unfortunately fell hard on the very sharp rocks though thankfully surfaced quickly, it was very frightening. Apart from a few nasty grazes he was unharmed and able to complete the dive. After the action we were all quite glad to get back to dry-land and fresh water showers!
uly 2005 and a couple of months had passed since our trip to Egypt, so his nibs needed another dive fix. Dubai is on the UAE’s west coast and there’s not a lot to see underwater, the east cost has only slightly more to offer so we decided on a weekend in Khasab, Musandam. The Musandam Peninsula is the northernmost part of Oman jutting out into the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. At its nearest point Musandam is just 55 km from Iran across the strait. The diving there is spectacular and compared to the Red Sea virgin territory, very few divers go there. The best and cheapest way to get there from Dubai is by road or boat, either way it’s a long journey and not one you can do in a day. So we booked 2 nights at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Khasab. Not the best hotel in the world, its Astroturf surrounded pool is an eyesore, but set in the Hajar Mountains it is prime real-estate. Musandam unlike most of the coastline has little or no beach, vertical cliffs literally plunge into the sea and it’s anything but straight. Dramatic twists and turns make for calm fjords that are home to thousands of fish and dolphins and it’s known as the Norway of Arabia. It really is a beautiful place. Oman unlike Dubai will not allow high-rise buildings and all construction must be in keeping with the surroundings, you will not find a replica of the Eiffel Tower being built here! The Sultan has placed a high priority on conservation – and I say good for him!It was dark by the time we got to Musandam and the hairpin bends around the cliffs were a bit unnerving. His nibs was driving thankfully and though I’d not tell him, he’s a very good
driver! We spotted the bright lights if the Golden Tulip hotel straight ahead and thought our journey was almost over – not so! The hotel stands on the edge of the straight literally jutting out into the sea, so as the crow flies it was very close, but the road follows the twisty contours of the coastline so we were still a good 30 minutes away! Finally we arrived, unloaded his nibs dive gear and checked in. This hotel is a far cry from the Chedi or Al Maha, but we were there for the diving and as one of only two hotels in Khasab we had little choice. It does have a small English pub were we headed for a nightcap and game of darts!After breakfast the next morning we lugged his nibs dive gear to the dive centre. They kitted me out with the relevant equipment and after a 10 minute drive in their bus we arrived at the small fishing harbour. Unfortunately the dive centres normal boat was out of action so they’d hired a local boat in its place. This boat was not designed for dive gear so the tanks were tethered to the flat deck and we sat on top of them. Not very comfortable for the hour or so it would take us to get to the dive site, and no shelter from the hot sun, but it was worth the discomfort.
Getting our kit on at the first dive site Abusir was eventful as the boat was tossed about by the waves and its sides very low, we managed somehow and hit the water. The coral gardens were beautiful and we saw turtles swimming near the surface. This was my first time drift diving, which is when the currents are strong so you are literally blown along under the water. It was a strange sensation as you have little control over where you go, but it does make easy diving. We relied on the experience of our very nice dive guide and the boats captain to determine which way the currents were moving and the safest place for us to enter the water. It was an amazing dive though being the dozy wench I am I scratched my leg on the coral.
An hour later we were at our second dive site Falcon Rock, here the currents were much stronger and at one point I was swimming hard but going nowhere! We were blasted by a rush of very cold water then a rush of very warm water as the currents changed, it was a little scary at times. These currents mean more fish though, so there was lots to see including 3 huge lobsters! By mid afternoon we were back at the hotel for a much needed feed, we were starved after the exercise.
That evening we headed back to the pub for more darts, his nibs had never played before and I’m not very good so we took an age getting the final double! His nibs ever observant heard a familiar accent; Quebecois. It turned out that 3 of the pubs other patrons were fellow French Canadians. Any chance to speak his mother tongue is relished, as you know I only speak English, so we joined them. They also lived in Dubai and had come to Khasab to dive, well the 2 blokes had, the female in the party was a non-diver. This was how we met our dive boat companions for the next day.
By 9 am we were back on our little boat, now very crowded with 4 divers, 1 dive guide, the captain and our gear. The 2 hour journey to our first dive site was bumpy but the views were awesome; stunning cliffs, small islands and even a small pod of dolphins alleviated the boredom. Again the dives were amazing and I was far more comfortable with the currents now knowing what to expect. The trip wasn’t without injuries though, I was bashed by a rogue tank on the boat, it escaped its bindings and hit my ankle causing a small but bloody cut. The elder of our dive companions fell overboard when kitting up due to the waves. He unfortunately fell hard on the very sharp rocks though thankfully surfaced quickly, it was very frightening. Apart from a few nasty grazes he was unharmed and able to complete the dive. After the action we were all quite glad to get back to dry-land and fresh water showers!
posted by Bev @ 4:28 pm
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