Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Kayaking in Qatar


When I was in Abu Dhabi a couple of weekends ago one of the activities that I did was kayaking. Our hotel was near a mangrove forest and you could rent kayaks to explore the waterways and canals in the forest. We had fun and my friends thought it was a great activity so when we returned to Qatar they went out and bought some kayaks.



Qatar also has some areas with mangroves, one of the largest ones being just north of Al Khor on the shore of a town called Dhakhira (its name translates as “ammunition”, not sure why it’s called that). So after breakfast on a Friday we loaded up a truck with the kayaks and headed to Dhakhira.


We spent a couple of hours touring around. Mostly saw herons and some fish, sometimes small crabs near the shore.


After a while we found a small beach on the other side of the bay where a tour company sets up tents and/or BBQs for their clients. They rent kayaks for people to use to explore the mangroves.




If you happen to know any Qataris with the last name Al Mohannadi ask them about the area, back in the day the land around Al Khor and Dhakhira was controlled by the Al Mohannadis and so chances are any Qatari with that last name has plenty of relatives still living there.

If you're interested in kayaking amongst the mangroves do an internet search for tour companies that offer kayaking. Definitely remember to bring sunscreen, and make sure you take it with you on the kayaks, you’ll be in the sun for many hours.

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