The hiking season finally open. But this trip was special – as we combined hiking with overland.

In spite of still relatively hot weather a small group of determined hikers met at the meeting point in … Oman – as we were exploring the Omani enclave inside the UAE.

We started with a quick 5 min dash through the Wadi Madha by car, enjoying a unique experience of driving in a wadi. Apparently, the parking spot at the end of the gravel road was pretty busy – but we found safe parking spots and continued on foot from that point.

This was a theoretically easy hike – but with temperature still well beyond 30 deg, we started to feel the heat. Nevertheless, we made it in 40 min to a picturesque pond. Plans never work – planning does. The level of water in the pond was too high to wade through it – whereas navigating the massive rock structure to bypass the pond was not exactly safe. After some relaxation in a very unique part of the wadi, we decided to turn back.

With the hike a bit shorter than planned we decided to use the time for overland driving back the UAE through the mountains. The road is an easy combination of asphalt and tarmac with easy navigation. Yet it is epic – as you zig zag between rocks. All this while crossing UAE/Oman border at least 2x. Virtual border as no formal checkpoints are in place. We stopped at Nahwah Cave, one of unique rock formations along the way.

Finally, we made it to the exit point through Wadi Shees. Asphalt road construction is at full swing – so likely this epic road will be fully paved out one day. But today we could still enjoy it. Big thanks to Fiona, Malcolm, Benjamin and Chef Marc.