Bar al Hikman – the halfway point of Oman 3165

From the beautiful, but isolated salt flats of Bar al Hikman, sheltered from the seas by Masirah Island, Mark has reached the midway point of the expedition. After an amazing couple of days back in the kayak and 40 days since he started paddling, Mark has reached the halfway point of his journey along the coastline of Oman.

Tim, Marks land-based support, has headed inland to circumnavigate the salt flats leaving Mark alone for a few days. Always the avid birdwatcher, Mark saw a huge flamboyance of flamingos on the salt flats along with thousands of other birds and moved in closer for a look. But Flamingos wade in very shallow water and the falling tide caught Mark out. But always one for an adventure within an adventure, Mark took advantage of the water drying out around him and explored the mangroves.

As well as some of the wildlife he came across old wrecks, ruined shelters, a crashed aircraft and a haunting sight, hundreds of turtle shells. Eating turtles is forbidden in Oman today, but this was clearly a site of turtle hunting in years gone by.

After the tide came in Mark refloated his kayak and kept on paddling for a few hours into the darkness to find somewhere camp.

After 38 kms paddling today he is elated and well rested at the halfway point of the expedition.

Discover more about the expedition and track Mark at Oman 3165

The Oman 3165 podcast is produced in Scotland by Adventurous Audio

Sandwich Tern recorded by David Darrell-Lambert and used with permission under Creative Commons licence