Just got back from a run out to an interesting looking wadi in Ras Al Khaimah – Wadi Shawka. A long twisting wadi that has been cut out of gabbro and basalt by a flashflood-fed seasonal river. Really picturesque and a good site to camp, although there are poisonous water snakes and also scorpions in the area. The little Ford did well and rumbled along the boulder-strewn river bed gamely, though lack of difflock once again caused a bit of slipping and slithering.

I seem to have resolved the Land Rover issue – Nick D, a Brit living in Dubai, has a Disco 1 that he has restored and renovated and it seems good. A 3.9 V8 in good solid condition, without the electrickery of the Disco 2s and the ludicrously disproportionate expense of the Defenders. I’m hoping it will make an appearance in the next fortnight – possibly in time for a trip further into Oman at Eid? Who knows.