“The Starfish Dunes of this route are the pyramidal dunes that lie to the southwest of Jebel Hafeet in Oman. They are remarkably beautiful dune formations and stand tall and isolated in a sea of smaller dunes. The area in general seems to be very rarely visited by off-roaders.”
– Mike Nott, Advanced Adventure Routes UAE & Oman
We did not have time to drive Mike’s complete Starfish Dunes route; due to other commitments. The earliest we could arrive was just after nightfall on the infamous Friday the 13th in April. However, the four cars in the convoy managed to successfully rendezvous with some other Oasis Offroad members at a pre-arranged campsite some 6kms east of Starfish Dune #8 for a BBQ and campout, in readiness for an early start the next morning.
They say that the Starfish Dunes are formed by changing wind directions and although none of us can offer scientific proof that this is so, we can now testify that the wind certainly does not come from the same direction for long; we had to frequently move our seats over the course of the next few hours to avoid a blast of campfire smoke in our faces!
One of the joys of reaching a camp in darkness is that you never know what the view will be like in the morning and we were all delighted to wake in the most beautiful of spots. April can be a tad warm so we were camped on a slightly elevated spot, surrounded by small red sand dunes, but very close to a sabkha and an easy route out just in case of an emergency.
Our group totalled around 14 cars but in the morning it split into three convoys; one returned to the road, another opted for an adrenaline inducing side-sloping drive whilst my group headed southwest towards Starfish #8 with the intention of completing Mike’s route within seven hours.
Our team comprised – myself with my hubby, Neil as co-driver (Nissan Patrol), Jean (Nissan Patrol), Kevin and Christa (Nissan Xterra) and last but not least, Clive Delves with visiting friends Martin and Clare (after the demise of his legendary and much loved Pajero, he too was driving a Nissan Patrol).
We dashed across the sabkha, slowing down a little when faced with some low, technical dunes on approach to dune number eight. To fully appreciate the Starfish Dunes you either need to drive all the way around one, or look at some on Google Earth, or both. It seems almost incomprehensible how these huge lumps of sand can stand alone; surrounded by sabkhas and small, connected, sand dunes.
Departing from #8, the group endured further technical driving over soft dunes before skirting round a sabkha and returning to sand as we approached Starfish #9. We followed the dune line further until we reached Starfish #10 where we stopped in the shade of a ghaf tree for lunch. Our visitors were amazed by the beauty of the area and Martin, having been designated trip photographer kept busy with his camera.
If you look at Starfish #11 from the air, you will see that it does not stand so alone as its predecessors — it is surrounded by smaller versions of itself with high walls of sand; we were all tiring and made a group decision to visit that one next time, and if I am leading then I will approach it from the south.
We breezed through dunes #12 to #14 but for some unfathomable reason instead of driving to #15 via the nearest sabkha just 400 metres away, I headed west thus making a detour round a long tongue of sand; I now hold the official record for the longest track between #14 and #15 at 17.9km compared to 6.1km straight line. The detour took us within 1.5km of the UAE border over smooth terrain where we were able to pick up some serious speed.
From his book we learn that Mike’s favourite starfish is #10, however our team decided that #15 was the highlight of the trip. You can see it from a long way as it rises from a large sabkha and unlike the others it is not surrounded by a sea of smaller dunes – it is really out on a limb so to speak. Another unfathomable fact from this trip – nobody took photos of it, so we will just have to go back!
From here it is a short and easy drive to the final Starfish #16, then out to the main Ibri-Buraimi road and home to the UAE. Access to the area is only 15 minutes from the Mezyad/Hafeet UAE/Oman border post and it offers varied terrain, lovely camping and superb views. To do the area justice you really need two full days; if like me you are lucky enough to live in Al Ain you can be there in less than an hour.
Words by: Marina Bruce
Photos by: Martin J L Pepper
