Our Travels

OK no paddles involved but went on a boat yesterday in the 42 degree Oman heat! We made a plan to be at the marina at 8am...and the islanders we all were we finally launched at 9am so it wasn't to bad. This was to beat the scorching heat as it is still the height of summer in this gloriously sunny region! All our boat drivers...hubby and two mates are kind of first timers to driving/captaining a boat so were trying out the speed of the boat much to my dismay and wished from the back seat that I had darts to play find the bulls eye on the captain's back! The sea was a bit rough so the ride left a lot to be desired. Basically I was just worried that my two year old would bounce off the boat and none of us had life jackets and they were sitting in the back of the car! Responsible parents we are not, but I blame the heat because we forgot some life saving sh!t in the car! We didn't forget the coolers with the beers though haha. It's all about hydrating in the heat. We foun...

We drove down to Ras Al Hadd to see the turtles with our 6 and 1 year olds. We stopped at Wadi Shabb Hotel for the night. We enjoyed the hotel pool and had a swim on the spectacular pebble beach in front of the hotel. We took my SUP board so did a bit of paddling along the beach. It was really calm so it was a beautiful relaxing paddling session. There were a lot of fish and I saw a stingray which darted off as I came closer. The downside was the plastic rubbish strewn everywhere which was just awful. There was plastic in the sea and along the beach. The rock face on the West of the hotel was just beautiful as the sun set. The hotel was empty that night so we ate alone and the food was delicious. All the staff par for one receptionist who was there in the morning were non-locals. The place lacked any personal touch and just felt bland though the rooms were clean and spacious and the food was yummy. 

Tau started back at school yesterday. Now he is Grade one. When we arrived, his best friend was already in class and some of his other mates from last year were there too. So immediately he sat on the mat with the others and didn't bother to say goodbye to me. I had to go to him to say bye. I got the class schedule and it was swimming day yesterday so I went back to school 2 hours later to drop off his swimming gear and the teacher commented that he was doing really well as if he had always been there! phew...is all I can say. I was expecting him to hang onto me a bit longer like he did in Wellington. During our time in NZ I put him in Year one there so he could spend time with his peers. I guess because they were all new faces he wasn't too keen for me to leave. I stayed for about 10 minutes the first morning until he was comfortable but after that he was okay except he kept complaining that he didn't want to go. So I'm relieved that he's happy to return to his sc...

In celebration of our wedding anniversary hubby booked our little family into the Desert Nights Camp in the Wahiba sands in the Bidyia, Al Wasil region in Oman. It took us two hours and a half to get to the camp from Muscat. The dual carriage way after the highway was a little bit scary as dare devils overtake without considering oncoming traffic half the time. We got to the camp without incident. As we parked our car trying to sort ourselves out, a hotel porter showed up in a small cart and welcomed us to the camp. We loaded the cart with our gear and went in to the reception. We were received warmly and offered cool wet flannels to freshen up, a welcome gesture after driving through the sand. The camp was easy to find following the instructions given on their  Desert Nights Camp  website. As the golden sand dunes came into sight I felt butterflies as I was so excited to go back to the desert since 4 and a half years ago. Master Five was even more excited as he pointed to ca...

Wow is my page just boring or what? I've hardly blogged in the past months. Just weird how fast time flies since the last entry. Well a lot has happened. We have been blessed for the second time and have a few months to go until the arrival of our new family member. I'm grateful to God for blessing us again and praying that all goes well. Well I've been lucky with no nausea and whatever else happens to other people...but  have just been tired in the afternoons but then again that's normal for me so it's all good so far thank goodness. I'm starting to feel the little one's movements now which is very exciting and making it very real. The bump is growing fast now and so has my appetite. I'm enjoying my food that's for sure and the koko Samoa I have in the freezer for rainy days has never tasted better:) Coincidentally a lot of friends and family around the world are also blessed right at this time. My sister for one is 3 months ahead of  me which is v...

The lights of the festival. For the whole of January the city of Muscat hosted a festival which showcased local culture. It also included displays from different countries but mostly from around the region. We went to have a look and were quite impressed with what was on display. There were stalls from Egypt, Morrocco, Syria and Yemen. There were dancers from China, Iraq and the locals of course. There was also a Malaysian section. The Malaysians served their local food which was delicious. All over the grounds were little eateries of kebabs, popcorn, fries there were also coffee and tea places. It was very impressive and the carnival atmosphere was everywhere. The government had also imported animals and made a little zoo. There were four venues with with similar shows and entertainment. It was really nice. We had a lovely time there bargaining with the Egyptians and the Morroccans and then there were the Bedouins from the desert who would NOT bargain at all. It was take it or get los...

Alex Behind me is a cactus... never mind :) A funny sign at the zoo. A pelican in the small zoo. A couple of female cops. A caravan of horses, people and camels. A twist. A camel rider checking his mobile phone... hilarious. With friend Lize from South Africa.

My blog is looking rather boring from the lack of entries already. Its late and still burning the midnight oil supposedly on an assignment but the internet is a lovely procrastinating tool. I was up late last nite as I had a lesson to teach this morning which I passed thanks be to Le Atua. It was quite a frustrating lesson. I started off trying to set the context through generating interest from the class about their favourite bands and singers. No one responded. I felt like hitting my head on the whiteboard but collected myself and proceeded with the task at hand. Its funny I wrote it as an anticipated problem in my lesson plan that due to cultural or personal choice the students might not be interested in bands or singers. However I thought a couple would show interest but zilch, nada. It was the case of who cares what Madonna or Lionel Richie does? I guess it didn't help that only six people showed today normally there are twelve students. The lesson was a listening comprehensio...