Conquered by the peaceful easiness of desert camping in the Wahiba Sands, back in the hinterlands of Oman. Just a couple days of car camping under the stars, draping hats & jackets to dry over acacia trees at night, living from cook kits & simple rations out of a dusty SUV, sleeping on canvas cots with more stars overhead than sand grains underfoot -- this was all it took to erase a couple years of pent-up office stress.

"K.I.S.S." my Dad used to say. "Keep it Simple, Sam."

Gentle energies shape the Wahiba Sands, Oman.
© Copyright 2008 Werner Thiele.

Even on the margins of winter, the Omani desert kept at a comfy 55° F (13° C) all night long for us. It gets a little nippier up in the mountains at night. But down in the river valleys & the open desert, the air is fresh & brisk after sundown, just perfect for a good night's sleep under a light down bag. If you fret about rain showers in the wee hours, just tote in a big tarp, & you can drape it over some desert tree, then catch your final 40 winks underneath. This is duck soup camping. After all, must every outdoor adventure be some grueling march, like trekking to Everest base camp with a 70-lb pack grinding on your spine?

I've got to hand it to Robert Gardner of Muscat, my new adventure-tour partner in Oman. When he invited me across the Atlantic to Oman in late 2000, his message was clear -- give the desert half a chance & it will change you for the better.

We'll see about that, I thought. Isn’t the desert where you struggle to survive, just like on Death Valley Days? Roll over, Ronnie Reagan, those Hollywood images are passe' here in Oman. You know, after a couple weeks trekking & driving across Oman with Rob, I never saw a single cactus, nor a scorpion, not even one snake. Not one. Cacti apparently do not grow in the Arabian desert of Oman. And those guidebook jitters about scorpions & camel spiders? Relax -- they are as rare as rattlers in the Rockies. And you fret about water? There are oases here & there, in every direction, called "wadis." These wadis are lush river valleys covered with pools of the cleanest drinking water on earth. My current vision of heaven is some way-back wadi in the foothills of Oman.

Rob Gardner, an affable Brit, & his wife Brigitte Wensauer of Germany, are expert back-country trekking & diving guides, whose adventure touring operation in Muscat, Oman's capital city, not only passed muster, but opened my eyes to the beauty of these Arabian desert sands. Rob & Brigitte are now our long-term business partners & we recommend their skills & savvy to all clients. They are delightful to work with.

I'm used to pushing my work days way too hard, running a tropical holiday network yet going for years without a true vacation myself, addicted to stress & Teutonic tidiness. Just a couple unshaven days on the Wahiba Sands, trekking about the painted Hajar Mountains, caving & canyoning with Rob & few Muscat buddies, & I've got this desert feeling under my skin. Probably for life. Nothing quite compares to the relaxation, the gentle joy of open-air bivouacs in the Arabian desert.

Bedouin man spins yarn from raw fiber.
© Copyright 2008 Werner Thiele.

Just as I turned to shuffle back down to camp a sudden bellowing sound rolled across the dune toward me & I leaped in fright. Turns out a Bedouin camel -- whose owner was letting it roam freely that night -- was hunkered down in the shadows in a declivity on the dune, so hidden I could not see him at first. He was startled by my movement & he lowed his warning -- don’t tread on my bed, buddy! So much for tranquility & I started to laugh out loud, & the sound seemed to carry half a mile in that quiet air. I wonder if the camel's owner awoke with a start, thinking some overly caffeinated genie was flitting toward his campsite?

The standard of beauty in the deserts of Oman is stark & alien, unlike anything most of us have experienced. You cannot take measure of the Arabian desert with mental images from American mountains, nor from European Alps, nor from tropical island beaches. Western standards of beauty do not apply here. These deserts of Oman are like another planet entirely. You cannot meld with the living desert until you learn its own whispered language. This is a subtle thing; it probably takes years, & I have barely started. But this is a gratifying process that I intend to cultivate all the days of my traveling life. And I will teach my sons these desert ways.

• In the sweet-smelling air. This is what I miss the most. The desert air of Oman is redolent of some lingering organic essence, almost like nature is teasing you to guess. It's a mystery what causes this fresh aroma. There is nothing to pollute the skies back on the wilderness sands, so the air you breathe carries the scent of pure life -- maybe a hint of camel sweat, maybe a whiff of acacia sap & some grasses, maybe a fine powder from these immaculate sands -- maybe all of this mixed with a little salt air blown inland from the Arabian Sea? Who knows what gives this air such a delightful bouquet? Rob says he doesn't notice it anymore because he's been living in Oman so long. But I smelled it every day in the back country. When I'm living in Minnesota, burning a few beads of Omani frankincense atop my woodstove, this soothing resiny smell comes close to the desert air & it kindles fine memories.
• The desert speaks to you in the shifting shapes of the dunes. This is so relaxing, peaceful to the Nth degree, when you're sitting in camp & watching the sun arc overhead, casting shadows that first stretch then squash these massive dunes as if they were made of bread dough. The colors of desert sand range from amber to light russet to faint yellow to fawn-brown. And the light plays gentle tricks with these hues all day long. This is a completely dynamic environment. Nothing ever stays the same for more than a few minutes. And you have to come with a quiet heart. This is no Metallica laser show. You have to be open to the subtle changes, the sly permutations of color & light that flow at a glacier's pace. The Omani desert teaches one about patience, about the meditative spirit, about the joys of aging gracefully & the wonderful resilience of just being alive. This is no place for hormone-driven college kids who cannot sleep on a Saturday night until they have pranced & pounded for hours at some noisy downtown rave.
• The desert speaks to you in the sounds of the dunes, the wind, even the sound of Bedouin camels bellowing in the distance as their masters set up camp just two sand dunes over. The breezes rustle the acacia thorns & the low-lying desert grasses, creating a soothing effect like wind raking a wheatfield. There are small hawks & other raptors sounding out overhead, at random moments, & their voices are not at all jarring. They almost seem lackadaisical, resigned to a bittersweet life of little action but plenty of open space & freedom.
• The desert speaks to you in the textures of sand & rocks. Just as the Eskimos have countless words to describe the multiplicity of snow & ice forms they see every day, Omanis have many Arabic words for sand & desert rocks. It's easy to see why. There are so many kinds of sand -- fine grained or coarse, rough or smooth, dull or glittering -- plus rocks of every imaginable size from tiny pebbles to bus-sized boulders in the canyonlands. It would take any geologist a lifetime to catalog all these magnificent nuances. And I like that. There are still some wonders on this shrinking planet that defy easy labeling & resist the linear logic-boxes of eggheads. If you get down on your knees & really sift the desert sands slowly through your fingers, you will find another universe of color & mineral diversity. Late in the day, it feels so good to run that warm sand over your weary hands after hours of rock scrambling in some backwater canyon. Warm sand therapy.
• The desert speaks to you in little things. You start to notice your humor getting as dry as the air. One wry aside traded every half an hour can seem like a resonant dialectic with your backpacking buddy. As it does anytime you're camping, all food tastes delicious, even the simplest fare. One morning Rob got up with big Cheshire Cat grin & rustled up a campfire breakfast, frying eggs & hash in an iron skillet, then slapping this concoction over some good rustic bread. We each grabbed an orange, a few swigs of water, & this was like no feast that Wolfgang Puck, the master chef, could ever dream up. "This is what I call a good stodgy breakfast," Rob intoned, half closing his eyes as he tore another choice morsel off his sandwich.

At dawn, laid-back camping from 4WDs in the Wahiba Sands of Oman.
© Copyright 2000 - 2008 John Hessburg, USDT.

Yet those two days on the Wahiba Sands were just as beautiful, just as brimming with happiness as any golden memories from North & South America. So gather round, all ye Nordic boys & girls, whether Yanks or Euros. If you were raised in a temperate climate, where the only sand you normally see is on your roadways after a winter blizzard, or if you have loved the South Pacific surf for years, & something inside you balks at first mention of a desert vacation, tell that something to take a flying leap. Here's what's needed -- a massive paradigm shift, catapulting into the absurd -- it takes faith amigo & the rewards for your boldness will be pure inspiration, pure enjoyment.

Like my Dad used to say when I took up track for the first time: "Remember son, some runners try to be fast. Others only do it half-fast. What'll it be?" Simply put -- you gotta wanna.

( Check our Oman Prices webpage for some ideas on camping & trekking side tours you can add onto your diving holiday. Hope you all get to be happy campers for at least a couple days in this sunny Sultanate of Oman. )

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First things first for your Oman scuba diving holiday. Please remember that you will need to secure a formal visa from the Omani Consulate closest to your hometown, before you will be allowed entry into Oman. Visas for most U.S., Canadian & European citizens are very easy to secure, & take only a couple weeks. In many cases, this entry visa can be provided right upon your arrival in Muscat. The Oman Embassy staffers in Washington, DC are exceptionally gracious & helpful. They are geared up to encourage eco-responsible tourism; this is quite evident. Visa fees are nominal & paid via cashier's check to the Omani Embassy or Consul General nearest to you. Make sure you prepare well for your Oman scuba diving trip.

OMAN VISA PROCESS -- Passport & visa required for all tourists, & for all Oman vacations. Tourist/business visas for multiple-entry issued for stays up to 6 months & valid for 2 years. Both business or tourist visas require a special official application form & cholera immunization if arriving from infected area & a self-addressed stamped envelope for return of passport by mail. For transit & road travel, please check with the Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman, 2535 Belmont Rd., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008 (202/387-1980, -1981 or -1982).

All package prices listed here for Oman diving holidays are subject to possible change in this steadily evolving travel market. Land prices are traditionally stable, while air prices may fluctuate for Oman vacations. Until air tickets are issued, all airlines reserve the right to change airfares without notice -- a longtime industry standard, per FAA rules. We at U.S. Dive Travel will price-protect you to the utmost of our professional ability; & that has been our pledge for one decade now. We normally secure excellent discount air tickets. Remember please, the federal government has deregulated airlines, so only they control their pricing -- not any travel professionals. But our lodging & Oman diving contracts are set for one year at a time, & therefore are rock solid nearly all seasons.

Unless specifically noted, these above packages are prices for only the land-based or vessel-based portion of your Oman scuba diving vacation, in most cases reflecting double-occupancy rooms. At most vacation resorts there will be no triple-occupancy rooms offered. Some exceptions may be noted. International air tickets & commuter "island-hopper" airfares are always extra above these land costs. Nominal service fees are also extra for air tickets & the lodging + diving components of all Oman vacations. The baseline tariffs for all clients start at $35 per person for the land portion + $20 pp for published-fare air tickets. Late-booking clients may receive slightly higher tariffs on the lodging + diving. Solo clients will always pay a single supplement to secure a private room on their Oman diving holidays -- normally 35% to 50% more -- & possibly a doubling of the standard double-occupancy rate at some resorts.

For our U.S. or Canadian clients, the preferred payment mode for all lodging, diving & side tours is by cashier's check or wire transfer in U.S. dollars. All clients living outside the USA or Canada will need to pay only via direct wire transfer in U.S. dollars -- no exceptions please. No personal checks or credit cards will be accepted for the lodging or land-tour portions of any Oman dive vacations, please. Thank you for your gracious understanding. Our service level is the highest & our prices the lowest in this industry, & thus we need to preserve a reasonable margin to keep the Ship of State afloat, thereby ensuring that your Oman diving holidays will be brilliant & affordable.

For published-fare air ticket bookings on your Oman diving holiday, USDT always accepts Visa & Mastercard, even from non-U.S. clients. For discount wholesale air tickets, however, USDT accepts only cashier's checks or wire transfers, please, since we are giving you exceptionally low net rates, below the lowest published discount fares available.

Remember, all clients to all foreign destinations will be asked by local officials overseas, upon departing the airport on your final day, to pay a nominal government departure tax, usually between USD $25 - $45 per client. USDT cannot collect this tax beforehand, so you simply pay it down there, in your host country. Be sure to stash away a little cash for this final moment at the airport, so you'll get your exit visa stamped quickly with no fuss; & away you go. Best of luck with your travel plans. We hope your Oman dive vacation is a safe & satisfying adventure. Blessings & best wishes.

Best fishes too!

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