Sunday 5 January 2020

The retiring type

After returning to Oman from the Safari holiday there was around 6 weeks to go from then til the end of my contract. People kept trying to get me to extend, but for me "it was time". 7 and a half years in Oman is a long time away from home and as I'm not getting any younger..............

The work was still interesting and the people good to work with, but I was tired and ready to move on. Retirement sounded real good.

Oman was a wonderful experience and a great place to live. Over the time there our horizons were expanded, we got to interact with a completely different culture and explore interesting countries. All in all the only regret would have been if we had not gone, so thanks to the various people that "bullied" me into making that big leap of faith/confidence. It turns out that I do seem to know my stuff, at least that's what a lot of Omani's, business people and international experts tell me.

The interim between returning and going was filled with selling things, farewells and getting the house ready to move.  Those 6 weeks went pretty fast with things coming one on top of the other. We didn't really have time to do much in the way of anything other than preparing to leave, or in my case work.

With around a week to go the removalist company arrived and our remaining things were packed into a container for shipping to Australia. Quite the change from when we had arrived with nothing but our personal luggage! We did end up selling almost all of the things we wanted to, but sadly mostly for no-where near what we would have liked to get. It was particularly bittersweet watching our garden drive out the gate on a truck! At least we know it's gone somewhere that it will be well treated.

Just before the removalist arrived we took our cat (Scraps) to a young Omani couple that cared for him in preparation for his (first) move to Abu Dhabi where a friend is hosting him. He needs to stay there for around 6 months before coming to Australia. It's the rabies laws.

After the removalists had left we closed up the house and spent the last few days staying with some Brit friends (the Benfields) - back to nothing more than our personal luggage!

The final little while at work was also a bit of a whirl, finishing things off, handing things over, reassuring people that they would cope, etc.  At the same time I was also spending a lot of time at the national radio station recording a series of short sessions on logistics and border management. Fun, fun, fun! And for my final day of work the whole team (20 strong)were flown to Salalah at the far end of the country for two days of team building at a rather swanky resort. A very nice farewell to work!

The guys from work didn't seem to want to let go of me just yet and my last morning in Oman was spent on a fishing boat, trawling for fish. Between four of us we caught a bunch of Tuna, such that my final dinner in Oman was barbequed tuna for the Hunts, the Benfields and their maid and driver!

As all things must, our time in Oman then came to an end and at 0400 the following morning we headed off for the airport and the next phase of life. It was a pretty standard trip to Australia, with the sole exception that I bought myself the retirement present of a drone on the way through Dubai.

In all the Oman adventure ran from 12 March 2012 to 30 September 2019.

On 1 October we flew into Brisbane and went to our son's place where I finally got to meet my granddaughter - Triana!  As to what's happened since then in Australia, that's a whole other post to come............ In the mean time here are shots from Oman!

My first sighting of Oman, late October 2011



Meet the camels

Muscat (Muttrah) from the water

Traditional dancers

Contemplating a purchase at the souq

Ruins in the mountains

The Grand Mosque in Muscat

The main prayer hall inside the grand mosque

Marshalling dancers at Muscat Festival

Who knew there would be international cricket to watch - Oman vs the Netherlands
Royal Oman Police, Mounted bagpipe band - although we met them we sadly never got to see a performance
 
The entrance to Wadi Shab, - what adventures await?

Old style decorations in an abandoned village

Exploring wadi

Traditional bull fighting

Celebrating the after effects of rain

Ruins in the mountains

One of many, many castles (Nakhal)

The iconic coffee pot

A proud Omani gentleman, who asked me to show the world what an Omani looks like

Horse sports, in this case saluting the Royal presence (one of the Princes)

Desert that goes, and goes, and goes - it seems forever

Some of the spectacular mountains

Joy of joys Wadi Bani Khalid

On the wild coast of Masirah Island

Bye Bye garden

The house is packed

Last view of Muscat - 30 Sep 2019




Thursday 22 August 2019

On Safari part 2 - Animals Ahoy in the Masai Mara

Assuming you've read part one - On the Monday morning we finally met up with Peter Ngugi, our guide for the Kenyan safari. He picked us up around 8 and we headed off from Naivasha for the Masai Mara via Narok.

Driving in Kenya is a relatively slow experience as most vehicles are limited to 80kph. It's fine and as per the Swahili language Akuna Matata! We made it to the Masai Mara without incident (well other than Katrina losing her glasses in Narok - which made night time difficult for her).

Peter's experience as a guide made the trip for us! Nothing like expertise to be in the right place at the right time. Late one afternoon when we were discussing whether to try for another animal sighting (which we did successfully) I said to Peter "It's been a long day for you, we could head back", his response was "It's ok, I'm watching animals, so I'm happy"
His knowledge and experience came to the fore with sighting the Rhino, Leopard(s) and the lioness carrying its cub. African big 5 plus, plus - seen in one day! Nuff said - good man, good guide to have!

The rest of this is going to be very picture heavy and text lite - and yes we did get that close, 3 meters or less on occasion, but safe nonetheless as safari vehicles are not game, just something to be ignored!

Lions, big things, yep - with every appearance of nothing to fear:


Except we fear a herd of buffalo and move the baby to safety! Quick smart!


Love this shot



Leopards, not so big, solitary, but probably the most beautiful of the big cats:
Mother and baby

Grandma


Cheetah's, fast - certainly, but I kinda think they're the "punk rockers" of the big cats - got attitude, make trouble!
Making the gazelle run - just coz I can

Will these guys run?





Cerval, not often seen, certainly the rarest animal we saw - elusive and the size of a house cat:
Love the way this little guys extremeties just fade into the background




Rhinoceros - reclusive and rare, this guy didn't hang round when he realised there were watchers:


Elephants large serene and majestic:


When muck slinging adds value!
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Hyena's get undeserved bad press, but I love the way they turn out in photo's:
Cold belly helps digestion

Chasing off an interloper



Vultures clean things up and their squabbles are amusing to watch:



Wildebeest come in multitudes:


Giraffes are everywhere, stately and gentle:



Yes those scenes you saw in the lion king of mixed herds are real:




And to finish off, let's play a little game of spot the big critter! It's surprising how little cover they need to disappear from view!


Three lions in there