Dukhan Highway

This is a great drive because there is actual desert – dunes – not many and they’re tiny – but there are some ! As well, the landscape itself changes to include the amazing limestone formations!

These are pictures about 40km west into my journey along the Dukhan Highway. This highway seems to have more sand than a drive north on the Al Shamal Highway (Al Shamal is Arabic for The North) to Fuwairit or Al Maroona Beach.

Dukhan Beach

I arrive at the end of Dukhan Beach, past the picnic area, where it is suppose to be good snorkeling.

Looking back at what is behind me – you can see the limestone formations in the background – as well as a few buildings that are Qatar Petroleum; who own the land, populate Dukhan and has very specific rules when entering…..like no photography within certain areas!

Well, I guess it is difficult to clearly see any of what I pointed out in this photo!  On the right is a beach – but fenced off. Behind the palm trees is actually part of Qatar Petroleum  and then right of that are limestone formations!

Setting up!

And ready to go!!!!!

The water is SUPER clear here!!  If the water was calm, the snorkeling would have been amazing…..and if I wasn’t too chicken to snorkel in the water by myself!!  I tried it – but only made it into the middle blue section of the water because I was too fearful to go out into deeper water  – the darker water – by myself!!  The darker water is where the dead coral is – where fish can be found!

These pictures below are the middle blue waters that I snorkeled out too before kayaking.  There is coral there..if you look closely – the brownish colors – but I was even to scared to go this far out in this section of water!!!

And I’m off…..!!!! I head left first – to paddle around the point….but I was unusually fearful to paddle that by myself as there were not any people there if anything happened.

So, I turned around and paddled along the beach and resort filled shore line where I felt more safe! The second pictures had an orange buoy – I paddled to that – that was a great place to tie my kayak too, jump off and snorkel as it had a large coral section with many schools of fish!  But, again I was too scared to jump into the water by myself!!!!

I saw this along the way – a dead what I think is a type of angelfish? The decaying fish smell was intense – just from this one fish!!

Fun silver sparkly toes picture!!

Shameless Selfie!!!!

After an hour or so, it was time to turn around and paddle back to my launching location on the beach! This is getting closer to that starting point!

As I’m leaving this is a sign at the beach:

An Actual Drive Through!!

Time for a real treat – not because it is McDonald’s – it is because it is drive through and that is not as popular as parking outside the restaurant you want food from, beeping your horn loudly until an employee comes out, you give that employee your food order, they go inside – place the order, bring it to you, you pay and then leave!!!  Yup, that’s the popular way here – not drive through – drive to!!!  LoL!!!!!!!

But I will also call you attention the child, the nanny(maid) in the very back seat and the Toyota Land Cruiser in front of me at the McDonald’s drive through.  There are 3 very common sights in this picture: 1. Land Cruisers – they are EVERWHERE!  Most locals have at least 2 of these vehicles per household.  2.  Nannys (maids) sitting in the very back of the vehicle.  3. Children climbing all over the place inside the vehicle – meaning never wearing seat belts! Throughout Qatar, there are signs posted along highways and local streets indicating that wearing a seatbelt while driving is the law…

View as I sit and eat my lunch of champions!!  hee hee!! I don’t go into the restaurant  – because I’m not dressed appropriately.  I’m wearing my bikini and beach cover that shows my shoulders and is above my knees,

Before I leave Dukhan, I pull over (a bit nervous as I don’t know for sure if I’m in a “no photography” zone!) and take a picture of a limestone formation along the start of the Dukhan Highway. The fence with the green and blue design belongs to Qatar Petroleum.

Here is a video as I drive along the highway! I mistakenly say driving across Doha, I should have said Qatar!  oops……

This was another great kayaking day!!!!!

Stephanie, 🇶🇦