It’s time to explore the mountains of Oman! We’ve been driving alongside dramatic peaks and I can’t help but feel if it was America for example there would be a parking lot with hiking trails, not with lots of infrastructure or paved paths, just rugged but accessible. Oman kinda feels so untouched that it’s like driving across another planet but we have no idea how to explore it. We don’t have a 4×4 which could definitely get us more into the mountains but we also don’t like hiking in this unbearable heat so maybe there’s no pleasing us. Luckily after scanning google maps I discovered a paved road leading up to a view of Jebel Hatt. It would take us up a mountain road until we reached 2000m elevation. From the carpark at the top the road changed to dirt and continued around the mountain and down into the valley below. The road was great condition although the big floods we’ve just experienced have caused all the wadis to spill over so lots of sections had gravel or piles of silt. The views were nice on the drive up but as we crested the pass at the top we were blown away by the view. Layers of jagged mountains encircled us but the best part was there was low drifting cloud below the peaks.

We hopped out the car and were hit with a frigid wind. It was blowing an absolute hooley and I couldn’t believe the change in temperature. We put on our puffer jackets and scarfs and set off on a hike in cold weather, how bloomin’ delightful and exactly what I’ve been craving. We hiked along the edge of the mountain where it dropped down to the valley below with cute villages and oasis nestled between the rocky mountains.

After a picnic lunch on the side of the mountain we headed back to the car and both felt quite exhausted after so many sleepless nights in the tent so we actually had a nap in the car because it was the first time where the weather was comfortable to sit inside without the air conditioning on. In the afternoon we set off on a hike down the dirt road that headed the opposite direction. It was a lovely little ramble, we even passed some rock climbers on the way and impressive ledges to stand on above the valley. A local drove by and greeted us excitedly while fumbling in his footwell for something. Then a bag of dates were passed to us, we didn’t want to be cheeky so we just took one each but he wasn’t satisfied so he grabbed a huge handful and stuck it in our hand.

While on this hike we discovered a perfect place to camp out of the wind. It was on one of the ledges and had an incredible view of the mountains. Plus it was only a few hundred meters down the dirt road so perfectly fine for us to drive and park on the side of the road. So we got out our soaking wet tent which had actual pools of water in it last night from the heavy rain and let it dry in the sun.

It was probably one of the best camp-spots we’ve ever pitched a tent on. Craig began making dinner on a rocky seat with a fab view while I pottered about and shooed the goats away from our food. Then it was time to watch the sun go down, which we didn’t actually see because it was behind us but the opposite side to the sunset usually offers a gorgeous pink hue on the horizon and tonight’s one did not disappoint. Weirdly it was blue above the mountains and then a thick layer of pink followed by more blue. It was so pretty!

The weather cooled down even more once the sun set so we headed back to our car to watch some tv and stay warm. I could hear some wind whipping around the car but didn’t think too much of it until we went to go to bed and our tent had moved about 2 meters and knocked two 5 litre bottles of water over. The problem was we couldn’t peg the tent down, which has been the case in many camp spots around Oman due to the abundant rocks so instead we used some elastic cord and wrapped it around rocks on the back two poles…I guess it worked to some extent as the tent was still there but I think we were pretty close to losing it.

So we headed into the tent and the wind was still strong so I couldn’t leave my lightweight Birkenstocks outside and opted to put them in a bag in the tent. It was brutal inside, the fabric was blowing in like a parachute and making the tent feel half the size. The back section was just repeatedly smacking us in the head. There was no way I could get a wink of sleep and the cold weather didn’t help either, I was bitterly cold, my feet were ice blocks and the mountain air created so much dew that the tent fabric was all wet and that spread onto our blankets and my hair.

I didn’t think it was possible but the wind got even stronger. It was hitting my side of the tent and actually lifting the base off the floor, rolling me into the middle of the tent! It became so bad that we realised we’d have to pack up and leave but that led us to another issue – how could we pack up in these winds? Craig got out first and told me to follow him which I refused to do. I was struggling to keep the tent grounded while I was inside it, if I got out it would fly away. I told him to grab the bedding and run it back to the car but he was insistent that I got out but I still refused, the tent needed weight inside and i’d just eaten a humongous portion of chili for dinner so I met that criteria. Seeing as I wasn’t budging Craig’s next plan was to collapse the tent while I was in it, which was a good idea as the flatter the tent meant the less wind would be able to hit it. But I still had to get out, I was holding a bag of bedding in one hand and my Birkenstocks in the other but I couldn’t put my shoes down because they would blow away. I had to be ready to step into them immediately. It was so frantic. We were screaming at each other, barely audible over the wind and flapping tent. Eventually Craig realised why I wasn’t moving and helped me out before I ran the first load of stuff to the car. When I came back Craig was literally lying, star-shaped across the outside of the tent trying to hold it down. We just roughly folded it and chucked it in a bag and then drove the horrible dirt road in the dark to the top of the mountain before we descended down the tarmac. Eventually we found another place to camp, 600m elevation further down so it was slightly warmer, no wind but still lots of dew which made our blankets rather wet.

What a palaver. We didn’t sleep very well. I was still cold in the new location but we headed up the mountain again for sunrise. The mountains were just catching the first rays of light, turning a bright red colour. It was so calm on the mountain, without a farts wind so it was kind of crazy to think how different it was last night, battling bloody hurricane force winds in a £12 tent on a ledge. After some breakfast we headed back down where we got some views of the mountains on the other side rising from layers of low cloud.