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Turtles are no doubt the national animals of Oman. Those mysterious creatures are in fact air breathing reptiles and so they need to surface every couple of hours, depending on activity. A resting or sleeping turtle can remain underwater for 4-7 hours.The green turtles - subject of our discovery, spend their whole life in the water. Only at the age of 37-40 yo, and only female turtles, crawl up the sand beaches to lay the eggs. This is an enormous effort to the animal which is not used to tis environment. You can probably only understand how difficult it is for them, when you see the female crawling back, without any energy left, back to the ocean, after only few hours spent on shore.
Adult green turtles are as big as 1.5 metres and weight upto 190 kg. Baby turtles are not bigger than 10cms and start their lives with the most dangerous journey - from the sands they were born at - to the sea. Most of them will do it at night, trying to avoid hungry foxes, crabs or birds.
There are plenty of other interesting aspects - for example gender of baby turtle depends on the sand temperature in which eggs are hatching. If sand temperature is less than 28C, those will be males, above 28C - females. Now just imagine, how global warming can reduce their population.
From SEP to OCT, the sand incubation of eggs comes to an end, baby turtles hatch and start their march to the sea creating emotional moments for cheering spectators!
We will have enough time to explore two of the most beautiful nature wonders nearby - Wadi Shabb and Bimah Sinkhole. Great for exploration in the spring/summer, with year round chill water, those two have been serving as a natural water park and inspiration for Wild Wadi alikes.
https://vimeo.com/182512150
Since the distance from Dubai is quite substantial, we will firstly fly to Muscat, sleep over and move to the destinations in rented cars. All you need to do is pack your bag and enjoy the trip.
Here is how we will go about it:
Friday - Meeting at DXB airport for a flight to Muscat at 17.15, overnight in Muscat, 4 star hotel.
Saturday - start early morning, quick breakfast, and drive in rented cars to Wadi Shab. After 45 minutes, with breaks to cool down in pools, we will reach the secluded waterfall and enjoy the uniqueness of this place. After 2 hours in the water we will head back to cars and take off to Sur.
By this time we should all be quite hungry so lets jump on the boat and head to secluded turtle hideaway to enjoy our lunch while they pop around us.
In the evening we will head to Turtle Reserve for a close encounter and cheer the hatching females.
Approximately 20,000 turtles or more lay an estimated 30,000 nests each year on the beaches around.
Sunday - if you re keen on early start, you can check the hatching females going back to the sea in the daylight. This is actually good opportunity for some great shots, if you are a photographer. Dont wake us up :) (optional).
After breakfast we will grab our snorkels and say hi to the turtles hanging around the shore. There are usually in a big number here, however nature is never predictable 100% - turtles presence depends on several factors. We will discover nearby idyllic shores of this little known part of Oman.
On the way back we will pass by Wadi Tiwi and Bimah sinkhole, when we will take a last dip before heading to airport.
Back home in the evening.
Here are the galleries from our previous trips, Wet & Wild version with accent on Wadis, rather than turtles:
https://vimeo.com/172799481
Level of difficulty: easy, available for kids and beginners
Activities: Turtles encounter, swimming, snorkeling, boating, short hiking. You should be a swimmer or at least feel comfortable in the water to join this trip. Life jackets available for rent.
Duration: weekend
Accommodation & meals: included. 2x breakfasts, 2 x lunches, 1 dinner.
Requirements: daypack, trekking shoes, sunblock, hat, snorkeling gears, bikini.
Cost:
- AED 2700 incl flights.
- AED 1900 without flights (drive or get your own flights on Wizz Air or Flydubai).
Both costs valid until SEP 03rd.
Specifically excluded: All expenses related to visas. UAE residents visa free (6 months validity required).
It is participant sole responsibility to assure admission to country of destination.
See yah with turtles x
Trekkup Crew
Whatsapp 050 4848238 / [email protected]
Find all trekkups at linktr.ee/trekkup
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Dubai International Airport, غرفة صلاة متعددة الأديان, مطار دبي الدولي دبي, الإمارات العربية المتحدة,Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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