Oman 316524 Nov 2025

Sohar, sea snakes and turtles

From the Tolkien like landscapes of Limah, Mark and Mohamed have continued south, paddling into sea caves and exploring beach landing sites. Both were struck by the simple structures used to store water for the local goats, but also the birdlife these watering holes attracted. A kingfisher joined them followed by a small flock of sand grouse.

After crossing the border out of Oman and into the UAE and back into Oman again, the landscape has changed into flat fertile coastal plains. The coastline is now sandy and smooth, heavily populated with strings of forts and mosques lining the shore.

The team pass the port of Sohar, one of the largest in Oman and the alleged birthplace of Sinbad the Sailor. But local curiosity and hospitality mean they have had to abandon their beach campsites and find isolated campsites inland so they can rest and connect, undisturbed, with the educational groups around the world who are following the expedition.

Mohamed has gone back to his day job at Outward Bound Oman, so Mark is paddling solo at 6.5 km/h, he has had his first encounter with turtles and the highly venomous sea snakes.

The weather has enable Mark to make great progress, Muscat is only 5 days over the horizon and his wrist is getting stronger by the day.

Discover more about the expedition and track Mark at Oman 3165

The Oman 3165 podcast is produced in Scotland by Adventurous Audio

Sandwich Tern recorded by David Darrell-Lambert and used with permission under Creative Commons licence

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Episoder(23)

Oman 3165 Expedition update considering events in the Middle East

Because of recent events in the Middle East, Mark updates us on the Oman 3165 Expedition and why it has had to be paused until Winter 2027.Safely back in the UK there is still lots of work to be done ...

5 Mar 27min

A living legend in Oman’s climate community – meet Aisha Al-Balushi

Meet Aisha Al-Balushi: activist, educator and environmental impact officer Asyad Container Terminal’s Environmental Officer Aisha Al-Balushi shares her passion for helping the shipping industry and ot...

6 Feb 30min

Back on the water, back on the move with an old friend

Now the unseasonally bad weather has abated, Mark is back on the water again and continuing south west towards the port of Duqm which is about 3 days paddling away. He is joined on the expedition now ...

3 Feb 24min

Rain stops play! An opportunity to explore Oman’s maritime heritage with Captain Khalil bin Ali Al Hooti

Oman has been hit by unusually heavy rainfall and high winds so, while Mark waits patiently for the weather to allow him to pick up the journey where he left off at Bar Al Hikman, he takes the opportu...

28 Jan 18min

An oasis within an oasis

Having reached the south west corner of Bar Al Hikman, a site of international importance for migrating and wintering wading birds, Mark catches up once again with Jonathan Turner, CEO of Masirah Mari...

21 Jan 20min

Bar al Hikman – the halfway point of Oman 3165

From the beautiful, but isolated salt flats of Bar al Hikman, sheltered from the seas by Masirah Island, Mark has reached the midway point of the expedition. After an amazing couple of days back in th...

15 Jan 16min

From the shores of the Sharqiya Sands with Nigel Winser

The coastal waters Mark is paddling through are blooming into life. The upwelling cooler water is bringing with it nutrients from the deep, providing the fuel for the phytoplankton soup that plays suc...

12 Jan 31min

Andy Willson – Future Seas and the paddle ahead

As Mark launches into the next stage of the Oman 3165 Expedition he drops into see marine ecologist Andy Willson in Muscat. Andy set up Future seas, an Oman based marine research and conservation comp...

8 Jan 21min