Borders and petrol stations.

It may be a long drive to get there, and you may get stuck in traffic at the border. But time after time Oman has always been worth it.

This trip wasn’t about going extreme or trying to cover as much ground as possible. This was all about getting outside and finding some peace. If that meant we had to drive through some amazing scenery on the way, then so be it.

After arranging to get on the road, two cars headed off to cross the border and aim for a wadi that I had stayed in before. It had fresh running water and some beautiful spots to swim in. It was quiet and it didn’t have any phone reception. How about that.

The first two cars met up after an uneventful border crossing and pushed on down the long expressway towards Muscat. Although this is a long straight drive, it is the fastest way to cover some serious distance and get to where you want to be. Once past Muscat we started to get to where we needed to head off road. So, we decided to stop at a small petrol station to top off the tanks before heading into isolation.

Drama.

My friend Ed has a Diesel Y60 patrol. These are very unusual in the Gulf states and he often gets funny looks when he pulls up to a diesel pump, as they are usually just for commercial vehicles. As Ed and I were having a quick catch up by the cars, I noticed the colour of the pump currently streaming fossil juice in to his car was the same colour as the pump attached to mine. I had barely got out the words “is that a petrol pump in your car?” out before the pump cliked to signal the tank was full. The whole tank. The whole, extended range 180 litre tank. When Ed had pulled up to the station he still had two thirds of diesel in his tank. That had now been topped up with Oman’s finest petrol. Shit.

After a brief shouting and screaming session, followed by a lot of arm waving, we came up with a plan.

Step 1

First we had to move Ed’s car without starting the engine. If we were lucky, the petrol wouldn’t have got to the pump and the rest of the fuel system, as we noticed before he started the car. We didn’t even switch on the ignition, just to make sure the pump didn’t prime and suck any fuel through.

So, I towed it away from the pump to the edge of the forecourt.

Step 2

There was a small workshop near the petrol station. I think actually it was a tyre shop. The attendants from Shell went over and summoned a man who looked like he had been out in the sun for the last 300 years. He had a face like an old wooden ship and a spectacular bald spot which looked like a radar dish on the top of his head.

The plan was hatched. By them. They gathered together any type of container they could find and opened the release nut on the fuel tank. Efficient, this process was not. Ship face got a good covering in a hybrid diesel/petrol mix while trying to get as much of it as possible in to the various containers to hand. Sadly, the ground also got a good soaking. A small environmental catastrophe which no one seemed to care about. Penguins be damned.

Once the tank was emptied, I towed the poor Y60 over to the car wash so we could get the undercarriage cleaned off. There wasn’t too much on the car, but it needed a good going over.

Then we had to tow it back to the pump to fill the whole 180L tank back up with pure diesel. Which Ed had to pay for.

With that drama over, the trip was back on and we were heading to the wadi for dinner and an early night.

Once off road, this wadi is pretty spectacular to drive through as there is a constant flow of fresh water. This snakes its way down the wadi, creating multiple water crossings to the camp site. It’s a bit like jumping in puddles as kid when you have a pair of wellies. Every 4X4 owner loves to drive through water and they always have the biggest grin on their face when they do. Unless they are a moron and try to drive through the sea or a raging torrent. Then they just have pure fear and disappointment on their face.