The Traveling Rumptzes: Eid ul Fitr 2009Trips part II

Gaff Grove BBQ September 21, 2009 GPS: 24°23'39.60"N 55°39'8.24"E

Well on Monday we took some friends out to the Wadi Subaitah, Oman later in the evening we meet up with some more friends and had a BBQ out in the desert. The place we went to was the gaff grove just past the camel race track in Al Ain. Our family ahs camped here several times and the pictures are from one of those previous excursions. The other people had never been there so it was a new experience for them. The reason I like the gaff grove so much is that well it offer some shade in the middle of the desert!!! This is very nice. Another cool thing is that it is in the middle of a bowl. The sides of the area are sand dunes and the entrance to the area is built up but not as high as the opposite sides. So it is like driving up a small volcano you get to the peak and then drive right in to a lower section it is a lot of fun to drive and as there are several trees in the bowl it is a great place to camp and have a BBQ. I have also gone there and done some 4x4ing with one of my other buddies. I really like this area a lot I have to say it is one of my favorite easy trips out. You can get tot eh sire in 30 minutes and have a great time.

Jazirah Oasis September 22, 2009 GPS: N24 19 13.3 E56 09 06.7

Well we all had a great time on Monday night and I decided to take them to the Jazirah Oasis for a picnic. Again we have been to the Jazirah Oasis several times as a family but I wanted to show the other families this place as it has a great dam and this makes a great swimming spot. Well the drive to the oasis is very cool too it is not really 4x4 but it does get a bit intense at some points.

We arrived at the pool next to the oasis at about 12 and had a picnic lunch. The kids and adults than swam for a while in the pool created by the dam. Then I decided it would be nice to take people on a tour of the oasis. This lead to a false start by me – trying to take the adults before I had scoped out the oasis, well I decided to tour the oasis without the rest of the adults. After getting lost in the oasis a few times I figured out the path we had taken with the Emirates Natural History Group. Of course I had to get some help from the man who was working the oasis!! He led me out of the oasis on a couple of turns where I had gotten a bit confused –NOT LOST!!!

A great thing about Jazirah Oasis is that the buildings are still made of mud brick and except for one rest house most of them are built using the traditional style of mud brick. Granted on one lives in the village any more but it is nice to see the old style.

After finding my way around I came back and grabbed most of the kids and adults to give them the tour of the oasis. Granted I am in debt to Brien form the Emirates Natural History Group because most of what I had to say I learned from him. Well the kids and adults had a great time on the walk and no one got lost!! Not even me.

If you want to see more on the Jazirah Oasis go to my Blog http://travelingrumptzs.blogspot.com/2009/03/jazira-oasis.html