Well as I write its 43 degrees centigrade outside, humid as hell and all the sensible people have departed for a holiday in cooler climes. However, Mrs C and I decided to brave the heat and stay for the summer. So, what do you do when its 43 degrees outside? Of course, you take a staycation in the middle of the desert…but not just any staycation. We treated ourselves to a weekend at the wonderful, fabulous, brilliant, stunning (ok you get the picture that we like the place) AL Maha Desert Resort and Spa.
Now I have already written blogs about Al Maha but this time I was determined not only to enjoy all the luxury of the wonderful resort, but to try and see as much of the wildlife as possible and capture said animals with either the Leica SL2 and 24-90 Vario Elmarit or my new weapon of choice, the fabulous Leica Q116.
The Al Maha experience starts as soon as you pass through security. It is a ten minute drive from the perimeter of this nature reserve / luxury resort to reception and 2 minutes in we spot a beautiful gazelle nestling in the shade under some branches
Well that’s a good start, a keeper and we haven’t even checked in. Upon arrival we are welcomed by an army of staff who whisk us away to suite 23, a rather nice little B&B which will do nicely for a couple of days. Well done Mrs C.
Oh, did I mention that we also had a room with a view, and what a view!
Following a quick un-pack we focused on priorities and went directly to lunch. Kate was “in like Flynn” with the Gin and Tonics and was then scouring the menu with her usual laser like precision.
Well it wasn’t long before food started arriving. I decided upon a protein rich event which included a wagyu beef tartare with beluga caviar followed by Chicken Tikka with a spicy Makhani Sauce. Not bad so far and we had only been in the place for a couple of hours.
I also took the opportunity to try out the Leica Q’s Macro mode. Just a twist of the sublime 28mm Summilux lens and I am able to focus as close as 6.5 inches (that’s 0.17 metres in new money).
Having completely over indulged I was already girding my loins for an hour or so on the sunbed and a few zzzz’s. However, Mrs. C had other ideas and had already booked us on a nature drive with the wonderful Kester. So tooled up with the SL2 and the 24-90 Vario Elmarit we climbed in to the chilled calmness of the hotel’s Landcruiser and headed off in to the desert.
You know I have said before that nature just seems to thrive when humans are not allowed to muck it up. The nice thing about our nature drive is that we don’t crash about over dunes and in fact noone is allowed out in to the conservation area unsupervised. So, surprise surprise, there is a complete absence of little blue plastic bags and empty water bottles. Instead we have all manner of flora and fauna and animals living without unnatural threats to their environment and seemingly thriving.
As always at Al Maha we wanted to see the famous Arabian Oryx. In the past these beautiful animals were almost hunted to extinction but after some serious intervention from the U.A.E. authorities, hunting was banned and slowly their numbers were brought back to safe levels.These beautiful creatures are now thriving. Nobody and nothing is hunting them and they roam freely around the reserve without a care in the world.
In addition to the Oryx there seems to be a plethora of gazelle. Although clearly used to humans they are always on the lookout and remain extremely skittish. However with care and even at 90mm, it is possible to obtain some interesting close up images.
During our many visits we had never been able to see the famous Hubarra Bustard. These birds are hunted in the wild using Falcons to chase and catch them. Other than wild falcons they are perfectly safe at Al Maha although this one wasn’t taking any chances as he tried his best to blend in with the local surroundings.
On the return leg of our nature drive we stopped by one of our favourite spots, the Falcon House. They not only keep falcons but also Owls and a couple of Eagles. Lets just say the Eagle was not thrilled to see me and my Leica and I managed to catch him giving me the evil eye!
Now the Falcon’s are indeed very valuable and are treated like royalty in their own air-conditioned living quarters. They were extremely obedient models and just sat motionless as I grabbed a couple of images.
Our guide Kester is now fully trained to fly the Falcon’s. He showed us his daily logs where he records the weight of each Falcon and also their behaviour. Apparently they have no actual bond with their handler other than they know he is the hand that feeds. Therefore, it is important that they are not over-fed so that they will always return to the leash for more food.
Our final port of call was to stop by the horses. Kester is a real fan and loves to ride and took as to visit them armed with their favourite treats, apples and carrots. Indeed Mrs. C was extremely brave as she handed out the treats whilst I kept my distance and worked on getting a few keepers for my blog.
That was most probably the best nature drive that we have ever taken at AL Maha (trust me we have taken quite a few) and hats off to all the rangers who are doing a wonderful job as the wildlife are clearly thriving.
So dusty and a little weary we end our desert exploration in the spirit of Lawrence of Arabia….and headed straight to the bar. Greeted by the barman I said that “mines a large one” to which he replied “so is mine but what would you like to drink”…….Touché.
Anyways I ordered my usual, Vodka Martini with a twist whilst Mrs. C ordered a rather fancy cocktail aptly named “The Sandstorm”. Delicious and just what the doctor ordered
Our staycation continued with more food and more relaxing in our private pool and it really did feel that we were a million miles away from the hubbub that is modern, bustling Dubai. However, we had decided on one final excursion, to take Champagne amongst the dunes and watch the sun set over Al Maha. Now we had done this on a previous stay and there are two ways to get out to the Dunes.
The first is for the amateurs (a.k.a. tourists) who take a 20 minute ride by camel. Trust me the last time we did this my nether regions were numb for a week and it definitely took the edge off the champagne.
The second way is what I term as for the pros (a.k.a. for the experienced Middle Eastern Expat) and involved a five minute drive by our favourite guide Kester in his comfortable air-conditioned Landcruiser. Needless to say the astute reader has already guessed our choice and thus we were first to arrive at our “watering hole’ and were greeted warmly by our barmen who had the fizz nicely chilled.
At first he tried to offer me a bottle of water. With all innocence I asked him “why, was there a fire?”
As we sipped our ice cold champagne we noticed the “amateurs” arriving!
Those that could walk hobbled over and joined us for a cool libation. The rest asked for a towel and some ice. No, not a special desert cocktail, just something to sooth tender parts!
Of course for Kate and I we were really there for the sunset. Yes I know its all in black and white but I am sure you can use your imagination….
As for me, I passed the camera over to one of the other guests so that I could have the picture I really wanted. an image with the women I love more than anything else in the world, taken in a place that for those who have fallen in love with Arabia is simply magical. I guess we have to be doing something right in our current chaos-filled world.
Well I hope you have enjoyed sharing in our desert staycation and stay tuned for more adventures in the near future. Stay well and warmest regards from the desert.