Off the Beaten Path: Sea turtles and you in splendid isolation

Our destination is the very end of the Arabian Peninsula in Oman - a round trip of 2,000km - to a practically inaccessible beach where sea turtles nest and only the toughest of 4x4 vehicles can reach.

For this kind of trip, I needed a vehicle with pedigree; we had to be self-contained, carrying everything we needed in and out for five nights of remote camping; we had to travel long distances at speed on dodgy tarmac; and, eventually, navigate down a rough mountain, fully loaded. My previous experience with the vehicle led me to the offices of Land Rover, looking for an LR4.

For the less adventurous, there is the official turtle reserve at Ras Al Jinz, developed as a tourist resort, where access to the turtles is carefully restricted, because these shy and vulnerable animals are endangered, and so, to be fair, please appreciate Off The Beaten Path is presenting you with this destination with mixed feelings: it is a spectacular destination, and one you cannot experience in many places on this planet. It's truly out of a National Geographic special but, at the same time, I respectfully request that you understand just how precious this location is and how to behave in respect to these fragile animals.

The female sea turtles lay their eggs on the beach in the same area where they themselves hatched, digging large holes under the cover of darkness. It is a very stressful time for them, as on land they are exposed for several hours. They lay hundreds of eggs in one sitting, carefully covering them with sand, and then, completely exhausted, they make their way back to the ocean, hopefully to return the next year.

The babies hatch in their hundreds and immediately scramble towards the sea, but many are picked off by birds and foxes. Only a few reach the water - and who knows what else is waiting for a quick, easy meal in there.

For us human spectators, the main guidelines are not to interfere. There must be no lights on the beach, or the turtles will not appear, and you will need to lay low in silence.

Simply bring a good mat and a sleeping bag onto the beach, and wake up as dawn breaks. Do not try spotting turtles during the night (although they are there) because your presence will disturb them and, obviously, do not use flashlights or try to take photos with a flash.

But we did actually interfere - this is not to be taken as an example, and so much for my lecture on turtles. A very old mother turtle was too exhausted to make it back to the Indian Ocean before the sun came up. She was stranded and dehydrated and so we intervened as the mid-morning sun mercilessly made the situation hopeless. We poured water over her and gave her a little help over the sand bank. Purist environmentalists would not have interfered, but we took the decision and she made it back to sea.

I also spotted a young turtle that had got stuck between rocks as she tried to slide back into the waves after laying her eggs. She was wedged tightly, and the tide was rising. She'd take a deep rasping breath whenever the wave drew back, but she was doomed to drown. Again, we decided to intervene. It took five adults to drag her backwards and out of her rocky grave.

Please do recognise that your visit to such a delicate natural environment can only happen if you respect the animals that will be subject to your observation. Our children will treasure these memories, as we do, and so it is our collective responsibility to understand why these marvellous creatures come ashore and how we should act in order not to disturb them.

We crossed the border into Oman at Mezyad, south of Al Ain with our passports, car registration documents and insurance for Oman, paying Dh85 each person. We then drove east towards Ibri. Next page