This is a blog post I’ve been meaning to write for a while as it was such a memorable trip. A friend of mine, Amit, is from the Sultanate of Oman had been telling me how amazing the country was and he said that if I visited he’s make sure we had a good time. Well he wasn’t kidding and so after I finished the Desert Run in Dubai we hopped in his Aventador and set off for Muscat.
Now Amit has a few nice cars to choose from, but the one I thought we should have a play with was his new Mercedes Ben G63 6×6 AMG! He planned out a few action packed days in and around Oman. The first day of adventure was a little road trip to Jebel Akhdar which is part of the Al Hajar Mountains range in Oman. It features some amazing roads and rocky scenery and more importantly some amazing places to take photos of the 6×6!
Day 1:
We wanted to see as much of Oman as possible so the first day of the adventure was to go to Jabal Akhdar, an incredible mountain pass which takes you up past villages and amazing sights along the way. There were some very steep gradients to get towards the top but the 6×6 took it in it’s stride thanks to the reworked 6.3 engine.
Every corner gave us a different view and I had to show restraint to not stop every two miles for photos!
Here you can see the car showing us at 1630m above sea level. Quite high but nothing compared to how high we’d end up!
This was an incredible little place where people apparently often camp. Hard to believe there could be a lake in a place so high up a mountain .
As we got higher the weather changed a bit and the clouds started to come in. Normal for me as I’m from England but Amit started to get excited at the prospect of rain!
At the top of the mountain was Alila Hotel, a really beautiful hotel built from local stone with really spectacular views. I proposed that one day I’d spend a few days there. On this occasion though we stopped for a quick lunch and tea and set off down the mountain.
Views were just amazing
Car starting to get a little dusty from the earlier little off road excursions
This was the exit of the hotel, perfect light with the sun peeping through the clouds
I can never resist a little off roading and a 6×6 is the perfect tool for it. You can park it practically anywhere!
Top of the mountain at 2240m, quite impressive!
On top of the world!
Heading back down the mountain as the sun set
A little village below
I liked this sign, it read: “DANGER, Series of Bends, Steep Descent. Engage Now Low Gear With 4WD”. Luckily we had 6WD so it was a doddle!
Nearly at the bottom of the hill, time for two last photos before the dark drive back to Muscat.
Day 2:
Day 2 Was actually spent seeing the sights of Muscat with Amit. He had a real passion for his home City and told me about the history of it. Here are a few quick snaps from the day:
After a gander round we went back to see Amit’s garage
Then took the Ferrari to dinner
Day 3:
Day 3 was rather exciting, we were going to the Wahiba Sands to go camping overnight. This meant packing up the 6×6 with camping supplies then it was a little road trip ahead!
Luckily the seats in the 6×6 are incredible comfortable, with a lot more space than a normal G63.
Carbon everywhere is a nice touch too!
When we arrived at the edge of the desert and were about to drive on the soft sand we stopped and let down the tyre pressures. Nice and easy thanks to being able to change it easily when on board!
This chap seemed to like the 6×6. We liked him camels.
This was the route towards the camp site. Light was fading fast and it got dark as we approached the camp site, so setting up would be done in the dark
Upon arrival one of the first things to do was get the fire going so we had lots of hot coals!
I couldn’t resist a bit of night photography before sleeping so we went out to capture some stars!
Day 4:
Early start to get the best light, not much sleep!
Even long before the sun popped up the light was amazing!
We drove into the dunes and found some nice spots for photos
Leaving fresh tyre tracks from the 6 wheels, the 6wd made it so capable in the desert sands.
As it started to get lighter we decided to go exploring…
No other people in sight, lovely and peaceful… apart from the sound of the V8!
We went back for a bite to eat for breakfast then it was time to head back to Muscat… On the way back of course we did some more photos and even found a load of camels to get photos with.
Yes, it could go anywhere
Back on the road and it was time to pump up the tyres. Easy work with compressors built in to the truck
Just some camels in a pickup truck…
Back to Muscat and then it was time for the flight home, back to the reality and the cold of England!
Huge thanks to Amit for making the trip possible and looking after me so well when in his amazing country. I can’t recommend Oman to people enough and am already trying to find an excuse to go back…