 Wadis, caves, mountains and rabbits. Oman, a country in the South-eastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula has it all.
Never before had a rabbit bounced on my head in the desert. In fact, it's the only time I've woken anywhere with a small furry thing with floppy ears bounding around my sleeping bag. But that's harsh desert life in Oman.
When you choose to sleep on the warm sand, in an enclosed nomadic encampment, where the locals enjoy boiling the odd bunny or two and are happy for them to hop till they drop into a steaming pot, it's not a unusual occurrence. But it was also a link to what was to follow, a symbolic, bob tailed connection to the terrain I was destined to encounter. We were going to be rabbits, or more to the point, we were going to do what rabbits do best when not peeling carrots or shagging. We were going underground.
Not so long ago, my only interest in caving had been confined to asking occasional questions such as; 'who, with any shred of honesty, could say they'd rather go caving when there was something compelling, like doing the washing up, as an alternative?' And 'what pittance of pleasure is there in forcing yourself through a small, slime ridden hole dressed in a boiler suit, in a place where it's so dark you could be anywhere, though where would not be of any significance, since complete darkness has a universal sameness?'
And before anyone points out the obvious; yes, I do have an insight into the subterranean life of obscure torch fetish communities. But other then these select groups, surely there can't be anyone who would want to spend a day down a bloody hole when there's a mountain to climb, views to catch your breath and tasty bunnies bubbling away in Bedouin pots and pans. Well actually there is, and, I'm a recent convert, so let's go burrowing.
 The dry, barren rock strewn 2000 metre high plateau of the Eastern Hajar is a complete contrast to its rugged and precipitous northern approach. Think slightly rounded sun dried hillocks, but mostly flat and level enough in places for the Omani Air Force to clear stones and rocks from 20 metre wide strips and land medium sized planes. And as it's composed of sedimentary rock it's also a fertile place for fossils and big holes in the ground. And boy, are we talking big.
The Majlis al Jinn cavern of Oman is the second largest underground chamber in the world (the Sarawak Chamber in Borneo is the biggest) with a volume of just over four million cubic metres. To put that into perspective, it's got a floor area of 60,000 square metres, big enough to fit in 10 average sized football pitches or a small squadron of jumbo jets. The great Pyramid of Giza would fit in with plenty of room to spare.
The Hajar mountains are riddled with holes, huge caverns and miles of linked up cave systems, some of which have been mapped at over seven miles in length. These natural catacombs are the result of erosion, powered by age old underground rivers fed by desert downpours. In essence, what you have, hidden from view under the rock strewn, dusty crust of the highlands, is a whole bunch of new wadis waiting to emerge into view when their roofs eventually collapse. And collapsing they are, there are holes all over the place.
The 7th hole is so named for no good reason that I could establish. It's neither the 7th largest in Oman, nor is it the 7th of any sequence of fissures in the ground. And, as holes go, the entrance to the 7th is neither spectacular nor spacious and more of a gash than a round opening. But it does require a 200 metre rope, abseil equipment, a steady nerve and a couple of French climbers with big bills to assist. Fortunately both Patrick and Natalie had balls and the sort of French accents that when applied to the English language make even the words 'serial killer' seem outrageously romantic.
Pat and Nat, who are both excellent climbers and qualified guides, spend their summers in the South West of France where they run an outdoor adventure company within sight of the Pyrenees. For the rest of the year they can be found exploring the mountains, caves, coastline and crags of Oman. And that's how I came to be looking into the mouth of the 7th hole as Patrick rappelled into one of the biggest cave systems in the world.
Prior to visiting the country I'd never envisaged writing 'enormous underground caverns' and 'The Sultanate of Oman' in the same paragraph, let alone the same sentence. Neither did I think I'd ever kick off a feature mentioning there was a rabbit on my head. But Oman is full of surprises, from the totally litter free streets of Muscat (the capital city) to the rugged and mountainous geography, the legions of dolphins swimming just offshore and the shopping malls named after a short Scottish female singer who's best forgotten. Lulu shopping centres, I ask you...if George Bush ever got wind of that...
 Anyway, back to the 7th hole and my turn to clip on, with the lovely Natalie close by to assist with the complicated start. It wasn't a clean abseil into the cave, after about five metres the rock cut back creating an overhang, with a bolt drilled into the exposed lip. The bolt is positioned to keep the rope from rubbing against the sharp rim of the overhang, where friction is apt to do it's worst. However, clipping off one rope and onto another whilst swinging free over a 200 metre void places a huge amount of weight on the arms and is a manoeuvre you need to get right, first time, every time, to avoid a dramatic and fatal introduction to caving.
Once over the obstacle it was a slow descent through a narrowing channel of rock into the depths below and then....the word that comes closest to capturing accurately what I felt is...FECK.
Suspended on a rope 180 metres above the cave floor I'd just emerged through a small hole in the roof and into the most massive, immense cavern I'd ever imagined a cave could be, the scale was so staggering that for a while my brain failed to register, or believe what I was seeing. The view looking down between my legs was just simply magnificent.
Below was a natural, water sculpted theatre of mind boggling scale and beauty, all lit by shafts of light beaming through small cracks in the roof. Stalactites and mites of colossal dimensions, cave walls that looked more like melted candle wax than rock, gigantic boulders, oversized plunge pools, scoured watercourses, gargantuan grizzled rock formations; this was a work of art like no other I'd experienced. And the scale of the damn thing, I keep coming back to it, it's left such an impression on me, and this is why. The 7th hole is high enough to accommodate a modern 45 storey skyscraper like Canary Wharf, or the BT tower, or two St Paul's Cathedrals stacked one on top of the other, or for that matter just about any of London's noted landmarks.
I'd go as far as to say, at that single moment, as I dropped through the narrow cleft in the roof, and found myself dangling on a thin, springy rope, 600ft above the floor of the 7th hole cavern, my senses were overwhelmed.
Once on the ground, I wandered in awe until I was struck with the notion that at some point we'd have to get out of the save. Patrick was ahead of me on this, well ahead. Before we'd descended he'd secured a 100 metre rope atop a nearby wadi on the assumption that our cave would emerge near or at that spot.
We eventually scrambled out of the chamber taking an easterly course along the cave floor which led into a deep, dry, plunge pool, and there were the ropes. Except, they were stuck on a ledge about 30 metres up a vertical wall that towered overhead. No problem when you've the lovely Natalie for company. Nat climbs so well, it appears as though she's gliding up the rock, and she waltzed up the 30 metre unroped ascent with ease. Shortly after that we were all safely up and out of the cave and well before nightfall.
What an adventure, what an experience, what the bloody hell could we do next day to keep the buzz going.
'How's about a first descent of an uncharted wadi?' asked Patrick 'There'll be big rock faces, huge abseils, unknown obstacles, a threat of flash floods, maybe we'll never get out of it'.
Man, Oman, does it get any better than this? I'll let you know how we got on some day.
A Short History
The earliest known settlements in Oman date from around 3000BC. In these early days the region dominated the ancient worlds copper trade; this successful economy petered off sometime in 563BC and Northern Oman was incorporated into the Achaemenid Persian Empire, in later years it was dominated by two other Persian dynasties – the Parthians and Sassanians.
The boom in copper picked up again in 100AD along with that of frankincense (Southern Oman is one of the few places in the world where the trees which produce frankincense will grow), which made the area prosperous and forged links with the Mediterranean, India and Persia.
Omanis are supposedly among the earliest converts to Islam – a claim of which they are very proud. The Prophet sent envoys to the rulers of Sohar (in the north of Oman), who, along with many of their subjects embraced Islam. This conversion took place in the mid 7th century and shortly after the Umayyad dynasty began to rule the Omani tribes.
The Portuguese arrived in the gulf in 1506 and it didn't take them long to realise that control of the area was vital for any European power with designs on India. They occupied Oman in 1507 and stayed for 143 years, but mainly on the coastal areas.
In 1650 Imam Sultan Bin Saif expelled the Portuguese from both Muscat and Oman and Omani independence is usually dated from this victory making it the oldest independent state in the Arab world.
Throughout the following three centuries Oman kept its independence and its merchants competed on an even keel with the British and Dutch. By the end of the 18th century, Omanis had their own empire. At its peak Oman controlled Mombasa, Zanzibar and parts of what are now India and Pakistan. Oman gave up the last colonial outpost in Pakistan in 1947.
The country suffered from economic stagnation in the late 19th century, caused in part by the British pressing the Sultan to end the trade in slaves and arms for which Oman had long been known. During this period the interior of the country became harder to control and the influence of the British grew. In the early 20th century, after the death of Sultan Faisal Bin Turki, the interior tribes tried to take over Muscat but were forced back by the British.
In the 1590's Oman had a territorial dispute with the Saudis and under the rule of Said Bin Taimur, the country was effectively closed off from the rest of the world. In 1970 Said was overthrown in a bloodless coup by his son, Qaboos, in which the British denied any involvement – a comment hard to believe, especially as British officers commanded the army at that time. Qaboos reversed his father's restrictions and started to modernise Oman.
In 1973 he asked the British to help quell DLF rebels and several hundred British troops and the SAS were sent to assist and by 1976 the rebels were driven into South Yemen.
Muscat and Mutrah are now very modern cities, though modern housing, office blocks and hotels have been built on land that was previously uninhabited so as to preserve the accient character and culture of the country.
Getting to Oman
Gulf Air fly direct daily from Heathrow into Muscat with prices from around as little as £300 return depending on the season and availability.
When to go
The weather is very hot and humid between April and September. So, the best time to travel is between October and April when the average temperatures range between 25 and 35C in the day and 17 to 19C at night. However these temperatures can be much lower – it was bloody freezing one night we were biving – up in the mountains and snow is not unheard of on the higher peaks.
Getting Around
Oman has a modern network of roads that can get you from one area to the next quite quickly. On a more local basis, transport through the mountains/desert is on dirt tracks and four wheeled drive is essential. Car hire costs are reasonable and taxis are un-metered so agree on fairs before hand.
Costs
The luxury hotels in Muscat cost the same as top class hotels everywhere else, elsewhere you'll find accommodation to be good value. Up in the mountains or desert areas you can camp pretty much wherever you want. Food and logistical costs are low.
Climbing, Caving and any other Activity
It's a good idea to use the services of guides when in Oman and without hesitation I recommend you contact Muscat Diving and Adventure Centre (MDAC), a company run by Rob Gardner, an expat Brit. Patrick and Natalie are both working guides for MDAC and their experience and knowledge of the mountains of Oman are worth paying for. Check out www.omandiving.com for all the info.
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