A C T I V E
T LOCAL BREAK
TOP TIP!
Due to new regulations if you’re travelling to Musandam, you are required to announce your border crossing in advance. The best way to do this is to notify the dive centre several days before and supply them with a scanned copy of your passport
Diving in Musandam Known as the Gulf’s answer to Norway’s famous Fjords, the northern Omani peninsula of Musandam is characterised by its enormous, jagged mountains soaring out of the sea. Majestic and impressive, yes. But it’s under the water where the real treasures lie 114_What’s On_05.2013
here are more than 30 different dive sites in the area,” our dive instructor Fizzy explains, trying to make herself heard over the growl of the motorboat engine. It is not yet nine in the morning as we skim over the waves towards one of those sites, located in a remote bay at the foot of a seemingly endless series of honeycoloured mountains. Over the past decade 1. the eastern coast of Oman’s Musandam peninsula has been steadily building a reputation among the diving community as one of the region’s leading dive areas. The serrated teeth of the uninhabitable mountains along the coastline have remained relatively untouched, which has led to the protection of the diving hotspots. There have been regular sightings of reef-hovering manta rays, whale sharks hunting plankton and curious turtles nosing around to see what all the fuss is about. Our dive trip actually started the previous night, after a two-hour drive east from Dubai towards the UAE-Omani frontier town of Dibba. After crossing the border we arrived at the understated beachside dive centre Nomad Ocean Adventures (discovernomad. com), just five minutes further down the road. Set up in 2004 by dive master Christophe Chellapermal and his wife Manisha, Nomad is a fullyequipped PADI resort dive centre that offers courses for
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beginners (Dhs1,800) and qualified divers wanting to level-up. They also provide 45-minute refresher courses for divers who are feeling a bit rusty. The beachside dive compound also doubles as a cut-price hostel where divers can fill their bellies and rest their heads for the night (Dhs580 for a full-board one night stay and two dives, equipment not included). Every night the centre hosts a sociable barbeque where travellers spin yarns late into the night over a few affordable cans. After our night’s stay there is an excitable buzz on deck as we drop anchor at each of the day’s two sites. The first of our dive sites is a small secluded
1. The jagged coastline of the Musandam peninsula 2. Turtle and other wildlife sightings are very common in the area
bay known locally as Ras Marudi. The second is a more open site a few kilometres off the coastal town of Lima. As we kit up before each dive (equipment can be rented for Dhs120), Fizzy briefs us on the dive and necessary safety precautions. Then we pair up and submerge. It is immediately apparent why diving in the Gulf has become so popular. The water is warm – even at 20 metres deep – the current is relatively calm and the coral beds are teeming with beautiful fish. The contrast between the abundance of life beneath the waves and the bleakness of the landscape above is mindboggling. It all seems a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of city life, with the only noise being the sound of your breathing and the distant passing of the odd fishing boat. Nomad Ocean Adventures, Dibba, Oman, daily. Tel: +968 26836069. discovernomad.com
The reigning kings of UAE diving, Al Boom has centres across Dubai, as well as on the East coast in Al Aqah and Fujairah, covering everything from the basics to the most advanced qualifications. alboomdiving.com
OCEAN DIVE CENTRE
This Abu Dhabi-based dive centre offers entrylevel PADI courses from Discover Scuba Diving course (Dhs300 in the pool or Dhs500 including an open-water dive) to the PADI Open Water course (Dhs2,300). Ocean Dive Centre, Beach Rotana, Tourist Club Area, Abu Dhabi, daily 9am to 6pm, from Dhs300. Tel: (02) 6441696. Taxi: Next to Abu Dhabi Mall. oceandivecenter.ae
FREESTYLE DIVERS
Located at the Royal Beach Hotel on the UAE side of Dibba, this friendly family-run dive centre may be small, but will teach you everything you need to know, including more complex wreck diving (Dhs1,400) and underwater photography (Dhs1,400) courses. Royal Beach Hotel, Dibba, daily 9am to 5pm. Tel: (09) 2445756. freestyledivers. 05.2013_What’s On_115 com