Thursday 15 / May / 2025
Muscat: Two women who plan on crossing Oman from north to south in a span of 50 days to celebrate the country’s 50th National Day have entered the Omani mainland, after finishing the first leg of their expedition in Musandam.
Omani national Anissa and her British companion Natalie– who’s served as a GP in the British Army for more than 15 years – are travelling through the country in a straight line from north to south as part of Yalla Go 2020, an initiative that aims to encourage young children and teenagers to adopt fitter lives and spend more time outdoors.
Their expedition began on November 18, 2020, when the Sultanate was celebrating National Day, on the tiny island of Quoin, Oman’s northernmost piece of land, which lies on the Strait of Hormuz, just off the country’s exclave of Musandam.
From there, they rowed 100 kilometres to the town of Dibba Al Bayah on kayaks, which needed to be sturdy, reliable vessels, not just because they’d be carrying them, but because of the vital equipment Anissa and Natalie were carrying as well.
“We’ve got Camelbaks: these are the rucksacks we’re gonna have strapped to the front of our kayaks,” explained Natalie.
“It contains a little hose, so that while we are paddling along, we can drink some water. I’ve got a mosquito net, but it is also a good hat, so that we can keep our skin away from the sun.”
She also packed what are, according to her, “all important sweets, I bought some special ones from the UK, and I brought an emergency energy gel. The other thing we’ve got is a knife: it is really important, while you are in a kayak, that you have something with which to cut through, in case you get stuck. You don’t want to get stuck underwater.
“The other things we’re going to be carrying at the back of the kayak are in a waterproof bag to keep them dry,” she adds.
“I’ve got battery backs so we can recharge our phones when we come on to the beach every night to sleep, and our satellite phones for safety, and our Kinetic 6 GPS tracker, which will be tracking us every step of the way.”
“I’ve got a pillow, and a change of clothes, again, for while we’re in camp at night, as well as a strobe light that we are going to attach with Velcro to our buoyancy aids, so that we can be seen when we are kayaking in the daylight, as well as in the dark,” she went on to say.
Theirs is a daunting journey that will see them pass through the varied terrain of the country, which will throw at them a series of challenges that differ from one landform to the next, but are unlikely to diminish in difficulty.
Their adventure will see them row past the fjords of Musandam, trek through hundreds of kilometres of wadis, over some of the highest mountains in the country, and face extreme conditions in the Empty Quarter.
It is sure to be the sternest test of their physical endurance, not to mention require every ounce of the women’s mental capacity.
To make good time required them to row ceaselessly and with undeterred focus for about six hours at a stretch. It is a feat that is tough for even those who are skilled in navigating the water, and to ensure they had enough energy throughout their time at sea, Natalie packed plenty of nuts and dry fruits, donated for this excursion by the Pakistani community in Oman to last for the entire duration of their journey, into little bags from which they could easily eat.
The women were given an entire crate of raisins, a big bag each containing a few kilos of figs and almonds, and two more massive bags packed with cashews, pistachios and peanuts.
“What are we going to eat in the kayak?” muses Natalie. “Well, Anissa and I had a big chat about what we are going to eat when we are kayaking for six hours at a time. A whole big bag of nuts! I’ve just spent the morning decanting these into little bags. Let’s hope they’re waterproof!”
Ahead of their departure, KK Ahsan Wagan, the ambassador of Pakistan to Oman, met the women to wish them luck for their journey.
Anissa said, “My mother is Pakistani – although she is not here in Oman at the moment – so when the Pakistani community heard of this, they were very keen to chip in. One of the most important aspects of community spirit from my mother’s side of the family is to never let a guest go hungry, so when people from Pakistan here heard of this, they said ‘hum usse bhuke nahi rehne denge’ (we will not let her go hungry) and they gave us plenty of food for the journey.”
