Shooting at Al Forsan

We went with a couple of friends to the Al Forsan International Sports Resort. The resort is awesome. It has shooting, wake boarding, karting, paint balling, equestrian sports, off roading, plus a pool and leisure club.

We were invited to go shooting, something we had done before at The Caracal Shooting Club and enjoyed it, so we thought we would go -and I was interested to see how Al Forsan had developed since I visited it while under construction.

There were more lanes at the club than Caracal, but I don't think the quality of the instruction was as good. 

There is a better choice of weapons here - I chose the .38 Smith & Wesson - for that authentic Cowboy and Indians feel!

Not a bad result I guess - especially pleased with the bullseye! 

Next time though I think I am having one of these! Telescopic, laser sight - yes! Always wanted to strike that crawling Action Man pose!

This weekend there is a World Championship Wakeboarding event going on, which looked pretty cool.

The karting track looks like it needs a go too!

There was some camel racing going on, on the TV inside. It shows the camels with the robot riders. When we went they had real jockeys, this was fun to watch.

Milo in the desert

We decided to give Milo the chance to return to his genetic roots and take him to the desert. It would be our first time letting him off his lead to run free, so it was a bit nerve racking, not knowing whether he would come back! We had taken some advice and let him know that we had food before we let him off - and sure enough he came back! He did actually seem to love being free and enjoyed the sand beneath his paws.

We drove to an "Endurance Village" in the desert, where the locals enjoy their favourite pastimes of falconry, horse/camel riding, desert driving etc. We could easily access this area in my car without a 4x4. We passed loads and loads of camels on their way back from the camel race track nearby.

One find Caroline made in the desert was this falcon head cover they use. I guess the owner must have replaced it and left the old one in the sand.

Here's a video sequence I put together showing Milo's first time in the desert...

Camel Racing at Sweihan

Last weekend we did something we have said we wanted to do since we got here - go camel racing (not riding you understand, just watching!). I saw an advert in the paper inviting the general public to a camel racing festival in Sweihan which is about an hour or so into the desert from where we are.

The festival ran all week and included Saluki (dog) racing, camel and saluki beauty contests and traditional arts, crafts and dancing. 

The day we were there it was really windy and cold under the cover of the grandstand, so we didn't stay all afternoon, but we did see a few of the races. Here's a few piccies of the afternoon....

Traditional Emirati dances

Gold Ceremonial Sword Prizes

Lexus 4x4 prizes!

One of the unlucky ones!