It was a mighty fine day for a ROAD TRIP to Al Ain, to a place we'd never even heard of, (although it's been open for two years) ....... WADI ADVENTURE!
We plugged in the coordinates....
but as we arrived in Al Ain, we didn't see one single sign!
(Typical UAE!)
We ended up on a dead end street,
lined with little cabins.
WHERE OH WHERE WAS WADI ADVENTURE?
We finally realized that we were behind the park,
so we turned around and navigated our way
to the front --
at long last, a sign!!
The park was situated at the base of a mountain and it looked amazing.
We couldn't believe our luck --
there were hardly any cars in the parking lot!
(So if you are going to go, be sure to go during the week!)
We were fired up as we walked towards the entrance.
The park attendants literally lined our arms with wrist bands....
one for white water rafting,
one for kayaking,
one for zip lining and the rock climbing wall,
one for the surf pool,
and a blue band to enter and purchase food with.
(Surely there's an easier way!)
Armed with a map, off we went
just in time for our white water rafting booking! (Call in advance to book each activity.)
The park was quite beautiful with the mountains
by the water's edge!
We put on life jackets and helmets.
(Who needs a helmet?)
Yea, I actually asked myself that question!
We met up with our guide and our raft,
and we were ready to go!
Up, up and away, we slowly moved up the conveyor belt!
After successfully riding the waves through the
white water several times,
it finally happened....we flipped over!
O.M.G.
The three of us went flailing through the rapids.... and nearly died! (I kid you not! I kid you not!) Luckily there were guys with ropes all along the shore... they saved our lives! And Yvonne saved my paddle! WHEW!! What an adrenaline rush!
So we did it again, and again, AND AGAIN!
Then it was time for our kayaking adventure!
They had us put on these skirt things!
I'd never been white water kayaking, so this was new!
Soon we were raring to go once again!
There were two things we all had to do
before we could actually start paddling our kayaks.
First, we had to feel comfortable being tipped over!
Then we had to be comfortable releasing ourselves
from the kayak under water!
Once we all three passed
(with flying colors)
we were ready to start paddling!
Like I said earlier,
I've been kayaking before (many times),
but never in white water.
This was a blast!
Darlene and Yvonne thought so too!
HaHaHa!
I LOVE this one of Yvonne!
But once she got the hang of it, she loved it!
After white water rafting and white water kayaking,
we were ready for a break
and for lunch!
Note the mountains reflecting off the glass doors!
It was breathtaking!
(And, FYI, the food was delicious!)
Next, we tackled the surfing pool.
It was Open Swim
from 4 - 6 PM,
so surf boards weren't allowed.
But we had fun body surfing in the waves!
Finally it was time to go zip lining!
We harnessed up
and totally peer pressured Darlene into going!
It was an absolute blast! (Yes, even Darlene thought it was!)
By the time we were finished for the day,
WE WERE ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY EXHAUSTED!
WADI ADVENTURE....
Yea, we explored our limits all right! (And then some!)
Being the crafty one, she put it through a translator
(I never knew those existed)
and emailed me the result!!!!!!!
So, with schedule in hand (and fingers crossed),
a group of us
decided to head to the track
in hopes of seeing what was listed
on the schedule as a "Marathon".
(Sorry Jack and Karen - we took this before we found you two!)
We arrived at the track at about 2:00....
to anxiously await
the camel "Marathon" that was to begin
at 2:30.
But there wasn't a camel in sight.
The grandstands were empty.
And we all thought, "Oh great -- here we go again!"
It just so happens that here in Dubai
you never really know
if something is going to happen.
Even if it is a scheduled event,
and printed in ink on paper,
it simply doesn't mean it's actually gonna take place! Thus the saying: "IT IS WHAT IT IS!"
This is particularly true when it comes to camel races!
(We've been here 18 months and have only
"happened on" one race!)
We were determined
to see
SOMETHING....ANYTHING!
So we walked around the race track and
soon saw camels
arriving from all directions!
We asked some guys in a truck
if there were actually
going to be camel races that day.
They promptly answered, "No, no races today."
HMMMMMMM!
So we waited. And the camels waited.
And the men with the camels waited.
And the men without the camels waited!
Sooooo, was there going to be a race or not? We were emphatically told, "No, no race today." But it sure looked like SOMETHING was going to happen!
AND THEN IT DID -- SOMETHING DID HAPPEN!! Men started leading the camels to the starting gate (whether they wanted to or not--the camels, that is!)....
They were loaded and locked into place....
And their poor little noses were mushed up against the starting gate...
Then suddenly the gate was raised....
And the "No, no race today" race began!
It was absolutely the funniest thing to watch the camels' legs splaying, their mouths foaming, and their tails flapping about!
But the funniest part of all were the guys driving their cars along the track. They weaved; they honked their horns; they pounded on the side of their cars; and they controlled the mechanical jockeys with their remote controls!
And once we saw these cars driving crazily towards us, John and Roger hightailed it to their cars to get them the heck out of the way! Needless to say, it was HYSTERICAL to watch! I don't think either one of them have EVER moved so fast!
I'm really not sure what was more comical to watch: the camels running or the cars driving haphazardly on both sides of the track!
Believe me, the camels didn't actually run nearly as fast as these pictures depict!
After a while we all loaded into the cars and drove to the end of the track. At the end of each race, guys are literally catching the camels to slow them down and to get them to stop. Poor creatures are foaming at the mouth by this time!
