Abdullah Aziz was one of our informative tourguides at the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve near Sur. He graduated from Sultan Qaboos University (as had many of the guides there) about a year and a half ago and loves telling people all about the nature reserve and the turtles found there. Here‘s a short clip of our tourguide explaining the reserve.
The people here are taking conservation more seriously. Anyone who visited the reserve earlier than 7 months ago might have been sad to see the lack of effort (see here for an example of how it used to be: Pity the Poor Turtles of Oman). They no longer allow photography of the turtles (except after sunrise) and people can no longer camp right on the beach (which I can’t believe they allowed before!!!).
If you do go, make sure to make a reservation. They have night tours and morning (4am!!) tours. If you are a photography maniac, such as myself, I would recommend taking the morning tour. Photography is not allowed in the late-night tour. Of course if you are willing and able, I highly recommend doing both as I did.
Here are some of the friendly Ras Al Jinz tourguides at the center. Check out their website at www.rasaljinz.org If you like maps, it’s located here. (and then click the “-” symbol about 8 times to see more of the area.)
My honey at the nice giftshop they have at the centre.
If you live in Oman and have never been to Ras Al Jinz to see the turtles, you really should get out there and see them. You won’t be disappointed!
Andy in Oman 