Travel TIPS A Favourite Weekend Getaway — Sir Bani Yas
| A Favourite Weekend Getaway — Sir Bani Yas |
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ABU DHABI - It is a long, uneventful journey between Abu Dhabi and Jabel Dhana in Al Gharbia (the Western Region of Abu Dhabi emirate).
The lack of speed cameras tempt taxi drivers to push the accelerator along the 250-km desert highway.
From Marsa Jabel Dhana, there is a short, 15 minutes ferry trip to Sir Bani Yas, the latest tourist destination of UAE. Already becoming a favourite weekend getaway, the island’s first and only (for the time being) hotel, the Desert Islands Resort and Spa is offering special prices over Christmas and New Year. The eco-friendly resort is part of the most ambitious tourism development in the emirate, the Dh11.5 billion Desert Islands project master-planned by Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC). For the past year, an ‘army’ of wildlife, environment, tourism and construction professionals have been working round-the-clock to open the island to the public. A 50 minutes flight from Abu Dhabi, landing here on water, is the quickest way of arrival, although the boat trip from the mainland has the advantage of spotting a rare sight of dugongs, an endangered species, or dolphins. The ferry crossing also allows the only view of Shaikh Zayed’s palace on the island. Another surprising sight is the wind turbine. “This is the only one in the Middle East. It generates about 650 kilowatts, which is not enough to power the whole island, but it helps,” explains Lars Nielsen, marketing manager of the Desert Islands project. Since Sir Bani Yas is intended as an eco-tourism destination, more wind turbines and solar panels will be built in the future. “The entire energy supply will be built by Masdar and it will be from renewable sources,” adds Nielsen. In fact, there is nothing conventional about being a tourist on Sir Bani Yas. Twenty three species of animals, yet to be recorded, are roaming free on the island. Rumour has it that lions, bears and crocodiles live here, but this remains a rumour. “Shaikh Zayed created this island especially for the Gulf endangered species, so 75 per cent of the wildlife is Arabian. There are also giraffes, which was one of the favourite animals of Shaikh Zayed, ostriches, emus and antelopes,” says Nielsen. The only predators here are some feral cats and hyenas, which were brought here as ‘cleaners’, since they are known to feed on dead animals. Among the Arabian species, there is one of the largest herds of Arabian Oryx, 400 out of a total of 2,500 known to still exist in the wild. From South African Bush to Sir Bani Yas Savannah “Look, that’s the rockirex!” exclaims Marius Prinsloo, manager of Sir Bani Yas’s wildlife, pointing towards a dozen cat size and rodent looking animals, whose closest relative is the elephant, jumping from the tree and running into tall grass. “These little things can bite! If you pick one up, you’ll know what I mean,” adds Prinsloo, speaking from experience. In fact, his experience is not to be joked with. He was born and spent all his life in the South African bush, until TDIC asked him to help out with Sir Bani Yas savannah. “I have a room here on the island, in the staff building, but I only sleep there occasionally. Most of the time, you’ll find me out in the bush. In the evening, you can hear the day animals communicating with each other, saying ‘hey, it’s time for bed’. Then when the night settles in, the night animals appear,” says Prinsloo. His next task is to coordinate a research project, counting and studying the animals and plants. “This will take about one year and when it will be done, we’ll be able to redesign the wildlife distribution, to decide whether or not to introduce new species and to control the number of animals so that we maintain sustainable wildlife,” he explains. The Story of Sir Bani Yas The size of Abu Dhabi city, the 87 square kilometres island carries the name of the Bani Yas tribe, of whom Al Nahyan royal family belongs. Due to the lack of fresh water, the island was not inhabited in its recent history, although this was not the case in ancient time. Human settlement dating back to the Bronze Age is proved in the 36 archaeological sites found on the island, including a monastery 1,000 years old. Later, Sir Bani Yas became one of the first pearl diving centres in the Gulf and its fame spread, especially in neighbouring Delma Island, where ships stopped for a refill of fresh water. It was only 25 years ago that Sir Bani Yas was transformed into a sanctuary for wildlife, to ensure the survival of Arabia’s endangered species. Nearly 2.5 million plants and trees have been planted here, including 18,000 date palms. The Real Deal In this stage of the island’s development, no day trips are allowed, although these may be introduced in the near future. In order to protect the fragile eco-system, visitors are not allowed to bring their own vehicles or even bicycles. Exploring the island is only possible through guided tours, which include desert and wildlife safari, hiking on the world’s largest salt dome hilltops, kayaking through mangroves and flying fish, mountain biking and snorkelling. All these activities are possible through the promotions at the Desert Islands Resort and Spa. “Our next development is going to be a camping lodging, which should be ready next year,” Nielsen says. Also in 2009, the first Emirati nationals should be employed on Sir Bani Yas, as about 500 Emirati men and women from next-door Delma Island, about 10 per cent of the island’s population, have just started on a training course with the recently established Desert Islands Education Centre
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