date: 2021-05-14
rating: favourite wadi in oman
links: [track]
This was my favourite wadi trip in Oman. There were good people there, it was accessible, but enough swimming and and a bit of climbing. Basically it was right on my level. Lots of different ways you can make it more challenging or less challenging so it can accomodate a group of different skill and risk appetites.
Jenny and Aline had made friends with someone at wadi bani khalid named However. Aline called However because he had told them about this other Wadi, Wadi Hawir, that we could go take a trip all up in it. Hence, it was all arranged very kindly by Aline and we planned to meet However at bani khalid from whence we would to proceed to Wadi Hawir.
We were meant to set off at 7:30 in the morning from the teachers' compound so I went to collect Jenny from her gaff at 7:25. Aline texted at 7:25 to say that she had just woken up. Jenny and I collected Vicky and Dave at the teachers' compound at 7:30 and made our way to Wadi Bani Khalid as a single car rather than wait to caravan with the Brazilians. It was a good choice.
On the way Dave explained what was the whole thing aobut the european super league that had recently been in the news. I was really curious because, on the face of it, it looked like a bunch of team owners and sports bankers blatantly chasing a whole bunch of money for themselves. There must be more to it than that, right? They said there was something in it for the fans and the love of the game itself? But no, it was nothing more than normal sports capitalists trying to extract as much as possible from anyone involved in the sport in any capacity and claiming it is for the good of society (my words, not Dave's).
When we arrived at the Wadi we walked past a local who said hello to us and then we carried on walking. The Hollands were right behind us, so we didn't want to go too far all up in the wadi because we were going to turn around and go to a different wadi once we had the guide with us. We chilled for about 7 or 8 minutes and then the Brazilians showed up and said "let us go!". As it turns out the person that we had walked right past was However himself! However introduced us to a lad, Amjad, who would be our guide for the day.
Amjad jumped in the car and then we drove the 20 minutes or so to the entrance to Wadi Hawir. After that we arrived at the parking lot and Amjad got barefooted while the rest of us got ready for some serious wadi jammin'. Emily ate a mayonnaise sandwich. There is a bit of a hike from the parking lot and then we got right into it. This is one of my favourite (if not the favourite) wadis because there was tons of swimming and water falls and climbing through water and all the stuff going through a wadi should be. We went for quite a ways and then eventually we came to a stopping point. At this point Amjad said that now we just go for five minutes more and then swim for five minutes and then it is the waterfall slide.
30 minutes later we were at the waterfall slide. The waterfall slide was awesome of course. Then we made our way back to the cars. Everyone was worn out by then. It had been about 4 hours back all up in the wadi so we were running on final reserves. Back at the cars, Jenny put on a wonderful spread that she had put together. Salmon, croissant, veg, bread chips, omani bread, fruits, vegetables. It was really really good and important to bring everyone back to life for the journey home.
There were (for me) two scary parts of this wadi journey. The first place that I had a scary experience was when I jumped off a cliff. I'm really happy about doing it. It wasn't so high that one could easily die but still scary once you're up there at the top. Thomsas reckons it was 30 metres.
The other scary experience was when we had to cross across a tree trunk bridge that was really high in the air to get to another thing. It was only a step or two but it was really really scary. My friends Aline and Evelyn were just in front of me and they were a little hesitant but they did quite well. Evelyn just walked right across so that set a good example for me and I walked across even though I didn't want to. But I did it.
Another interesting part of the trip was where we had to climb over a huge boulder to get out. Amjad bent over and let us use his back like a step! Thanks Amjad.
This is no doubt my favourite wadi because it has the accessibility (not to say it was trivial) of wadi Shab but without all the people. It has the secluded feeling and beauty of Tiwi (but not as green). Unlike Tiwi there is not as much exposure. One of my trips to Tiwi it was like, "oh - that group next to me doing the same thing as me but is wearing harnesses and roping in with carabiners...". Finally, since wadi hawir is relatively shaded the whole time and you spend a lot of time in and out of the water it is not hot. Perhaps even a bit chilly sometimes.