A love affair with camping in Oman
I was asked to write my personal history as to how it was that I setup Nomad Tours Oman and how it was that we developed Nomads into Oman’s leading provider of camping equipment and car Roof Top tents.
I arrived in this beautiful country with surely the friendliest most hospitable people in 1996. I had a 6-month contract working for a drilling company providing drilling rigs to PDO, a joint venture mainly between Shell and the Oman Government. At that time, I worked for one of the most visionary bosses I ever had. He would ask me, “So how’s it going?” I would say, “Gary, there is only one way out of here for me, and that is in a box.” I had already fallen in love with this country of endless adventure where you can swim in the sea without a wetsuit every day of the year. We used to keep our camping gear ready to go at a moment’s notice. The kids were 0 months and 4 1/2 years old.
From Drilling Rigs to Camping Dreams and the Journey to Nomad Tours Oman
Together with Gary and the team, we delivered substantial cost savings to PDO, and my contract was extended to 1998. But in 1998, the oil price collapsed to around 10 dollars a barrel, and Shell began laying people off. Gary, by then back in the US, pulled some “ropes” for the company to offer me a very senior job in Dallas. I accepted and went to pack my bags, only to look out of the window and see my 2 boys, one 2 years and the other 6 1/2 years, swimming in the pool right outside our window in glorious sunshine. I just could not leave Oman, and I still cannot, 28 years later.
Choosing Oman Over Dallas and a Decisive Moment
So I was jobless with two young kids. What the heck! Let’s go to the beach, take some cool ones, and camp for a couple of days. When I came back refreshed, I went knocking on the door of PDO. Would you believe it? They offered me a 2-year contract. This was extraordinary when you think they were letting some of their own staff members go. It must have been clear to all my colleagues, in particular my Omani colleagues, that given my clear passion for Oman, I was going to work so hard that they would not want to send me home. The 2-year contract turned into 8 years, but then the time was up.
From Jobless to Entrepreneur with the Establishment of Nomad Tours
With a big company like Shell, you can only stay in one place for so long, and when I was continually invited to go to places like Nigeria (for career progression) and I refused, I knew it was time to move on. But how was I going to stay in Oman? In those days, the only way to get a visa was to set up an LLC company. In that way, you could get an Investment visa. So together with an Omani partner, we set up Nomad Tours.
Transitioning from Sea Tours to Camping Tours
It was always my intent when we set up Nomad Tours to offer tours, particularly camping tours, to overseas tourists who were just beginning to discover Oman. But my Omani partner (who was really the boss) was not so keen and preferred to concentrate on sea tours and, in particular, game fishing. In the meantime, I had to earn some money to pay for all the boats, fishing tackle, etc. So I worked on contracts in Yemen, Kazakhstan, Libya, Malaysia, China, Cameroon, New Zealand, and Abu Dhabi. I always returned to my family in Oman for some camping and fishing.
Surviving COVID and Thriving with the Growth of Nomad Tours
During this time, the once incredible game fishing was in decline. We think this was due to a combination of factors. Oman was hit by a deadly typhoon Guno in 2007, which did major damage to the coral reefs, and foreign long liners were allowed to fish in Omani waters. I took this opportunity to buy out my partner and find a new one. I then turned the company in a different direction. We brought in car rooftop tents and camping gear. I was finally able to realize my passion for offering camping tours and renting camping gear to tourists in the hope they would have as much fun as my family and I had had.
We survived COVID, and now we have 99 rooftop tents. It is a great business to be in. Many flights into Muscat airport arrive in the early morning hours. So when guests arrive at our guest house to pick up their car and tent in the morning, they are often very tired and the kids are often grumpy. But not when they return; they are sun-tanned and smiling. The turnaround in the kids’ demeanor has to be seen to be believed.
The Roots of My Passion for Camping
When I was about 7 to 10 years old, I used to go caravanning with my grandfather, Donald Macleod. He had lost his wife at an early age, so he enjoyed my company (surprisingly, say my kids). We went to the Isle of Skye and many parts of Scotland. Then, at 14 years old, I went on a camping trip to Ireland. It rained every day except one, but we had a fantastic time. During those same years, I spent a lot of time camping on Dartmoor, one of my favorite places (if it weren’t for the weather). I will be forever grateful to the British Army for organizing a trek over Dartmoor called Ten Tors. As the name suggests, you have to climb 10 tors while trekking either a 35-mile route or a 45-mile route. I did it three times, and although they kept telling us it was not a race, the general consensus among the boys was that if you didn’t win, you were a “big girl’s blouse.”
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Camping and Adventure Tours
Adventures Across the Globe Including Canada and Japan
I continued to extract as much fun out of my school days as it was humanly possible to do, and I went on every possible outward bound trip. At the end of it, I managed to fluke a scholarship with Anglo American and, after my A-levels, went off to South Africa to work in the gold mines. We did some camping in the magical Drakensberg mountains. But South Africa was not for me, and it was the year of the Soweto riots. I bailed out and went back to the UK. Now, what shall I do? I had a few months before taking up my place at Nottingham University, and I had enough cash that I had earned in the gold mines to buy a return ticket to Canada. After I bought my ticket, a friend of mine decided to buy a ticket as well. He came over to my place to plan the trip. “So where are we staying?” he said. I told him we are hitchhiking and camping all the way.
Camping in Canada Compared to Oman
Canada for wild camping is a bit like Oman. in those days you could camp almost anywhere , But the camping season in Canada is about 3 months in Oman you can enjoy camping all year around.
From University Days to a Job with BP in Aberdeen
I returned from Canada and bummed my way through university. We used to spend our summers in Newquay, camping and trying to surf. After university, I did a couple of jobs and then ended up with a job with BP in Aberdeen. And then at 25 years old, I found myself in a business class seat flying over the North Pole to Japan. What a blast we had! I was working as a Drilling Engineer for Esso Production Japan. They paid us well, but Japan was super expensive, and I wanted to see as much of Japan as I could. So I bought a motorbike and a small tent. I would try to head off to a different place every weekend.
A Memorable Experience in Japan
In Japan, you certainly cannot camp anywhere. In fact, there are very few places you can camp. So the tent I bought was self-standing. You did not need to “peg” it out; just put some weight on the ground sheet, and it was good to go. We spent many nights camping in lay-bys beside the road. I absolutely loved my two years in Japan. I lived in downtown Roppongi in a flat on the 13th floor next to the IBM building.
Exploring Norway and Going on a Walkabout
After Japan, my next stop was Norway, and this again was a great country to camp in the short summer months. After working for a subcontractor for a Norwegian company for 4 1/2 years, some sort of tax dispute bubbled over, and it seemed wise to leave.
A Budget Walkabout Around the World and a Surprise in Japan
O heck! What shall I do now? So I went on a walkabout around the world for 9 months. Now I was determined to do this trip on a very limited budget. (In Nepal, I spent the equivalent of 10 English pence to sleep on a plank of wood in a Sherpa’s hut.) I knew my return trip to Japan would be a major challenge to not blow the budget. I hitchhiked from Narita Airport downtown. The very first car picked me up. My plan was to visit some old drinking holes that we used to go to and see if I could find an old acquaintance who I could bum some floor space off. But in Japan, as soon as they build something, it only seems to last a few years before they knock it down. So I was unable to find anyone, and I was not going to blow my budget on some expensive hotel. So I went back to my old apartment block, went to the top floor where the air conditioning units were, and pitched my tent. The same one that was free-standing that I had used 4 1/2 years before. So the next morning, anyone working in the 40-story IBM building would have had a bit of a shock looking down on the tent pitched on the building below.
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4×4 Car Rentals in Oman with Roof Top Tents for Camping
I could never tire of camping in Oman . There are just so many beautiful places such as the Sugar Dunes and Bar Al Hickman
