Thrills and spills in Oman

OMAN is fast becoming a hot spot to visit, discovers Veronica Matheson after a sneak preview on a new luxury resort on a remote peninsula.

Work-in-progress ... Zighy Bay does not officially open until 2007 but owners Evason believe it will soon become one of the world's most talked about resorts

PARAGLIDE into the remote, but luxurious Zighy Bay resort on Oman's Musandam Peninsula? Some well-heeled adrenalin junkies will, but most will choose four sturdy wheels.

Wheels offer minute-by-minute thrills in a Hummer (a four-wheel drive now built for comfort as well as rocky challenges) from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Two hours out of the city, the desert road crosses the Omani border into spectacular mountains pitted like a moonscape along a narrow, dusty, zig-zag road that may have inspired the bay's name.

It is a rocky, barren landscape, and a tad inhospitable until the track soars over a jagged peak to reveal a gob-smacking view of an intensely turquoise ocean.

Far below is the crescent bay shared by a small Omani fishing village and the newest Evason Hideaway & Six Senses Spa.

This surreal vista is certain to make the resort one of the world's most talked about, in a hot new tourist destination, and be worthy of "bragging rights" back home.

Zighy Bay does not officially open for six months, so I am the first guest at a low-key lunch where the menu is printed on the back of a pristinely clean cement trowel.

"Welcome to your first meal in paradise," says the butler, who is excited the resort is moving closer to completion.

Even at this stage it is evident the resort is set to garner kudos like no other, being built of local rock and blending into its mountainous backdrop.

The resort's general manager, Naam Maadad, originally from Adelaide, has joined me for lunch and confidently says: "Within a year of opening, Zighy Bay will be named the world's top resort."

It is a big call, but Naam could be right. Zighy Bay is so different and offers so many experiences to ignite excitement in the most jaded of travellers.

It is in the middle of nowhere, on Oman's dramatic Musandam Peninsula, and close to Dibba – confusingly three seaside towns rolled into one, each with allegiance to a different ruler.

Dibba Bayah is part of Oman, Dibba Muhallab has ties to Fujairah, and Dibba Hosn to Sharjah.

While Dibba is a quiet backwater, it lives in Islamic history as the site of one of the great battles of the Ridda Wars in 633.

Travelling to Zighy Bay is a real adventure. Along the way you are likely to pinch yourself and ask, "What am I letting myself in for?"

But it is also a relief after two days in Dubai, which is currently one of the world's biggest construction sites (Beijing is tops for now).

(The Melbourne flight with Emirates arrives in Dubai at 5.20am so an early check-in is made at the Shangri-la Hotel, 20 minutes from the airport, and ideally located for inexpensive taxis to Dubai's sights.)

Travellers need to be wide awake and well rested for the trip to Oman as the Hummer zips along the dual-lane Emirates Highway beside a sea of sand dunes. Bedouin camel drivers are occasionally seen under palm trees, chatting on mobile phones while their haughty beasts graze nearby. And mosques frequently stand invitingly alone in the sand hills beside the road.

Arabian sheep with fat tails and raggle-taggle goats also wander the desert which is fenced off from the road to prevent accidents. Traffic is constant, with big trucks loaded with huge rocks to create fill for the increasing reclaimed land in Dubai. Oman's border crossing proves of little consequence as there is no checkpoint, just a billboard and a small turreted building. Here the road diverts along the coast where village houses with brightly patterned doors look out to a smart new corniche (coastal walk) with freshly sown grass and statues of flying dolphin (presumably in preparation for the anticipated tourism boom).

Busy food markets sell the freshest of dates (off nearby palms) and slabs of bright-eyed fish, including baby sharks, caught that morning.

Boutique resorts such as Zighy Bay are now opening and the Omani Government is taking a cautious approach to development, while remaining one of the most conservative Middle East countries.

The country has a proud history, including an ancient trade with the African coast, and was at the heart of Arabia's frankincense trade when the perfumed oil was rated more valuable than gold from the first to the sixth century.

Zighy Bay resort has kudos, too, from its surprise location to its luxury, eco-friendly facilities, and activities from snorkelling and diving on coral reefs metres from the beach. Adrenalin seekers will hang-glide in the mountain's thermal flows and go trekking or climbing.

Cultural activities with local artisans who work as they have for centuries are also planned, as are cruises on traditional dhows and trips to explore nearby villages.

On site there will be hillside restaurants, a modern spa – including an Arabian hammam – and private villas with individual pools and summer houses.

With every imaginable luxury on site, most guests will do no more than flop and drop.

Sunday Herald Sun