AFTER epic adventure and some new life skills?

Make like Bear Grylls in Ras Al Khaimah,  says Celebrity writer Molly Reynolds.

There’s no way of knowing how you’ll react in a survival situation.

And yet, as I hang off the side of a rock face and abseil down the United Arab Emirates’ Jebel Jais mountain, trusting my weight to the rope knots I learned to tie just 24 hours earlier, I realise I’m actually way tougher than I thought. 

Knot for the faint-hearted

Desperate for a challenge after the mind-numbing monotony of lockdown, a month earlier I’d signed up for the 24-hour Bear Grylls Primal Survival Course in Ras Al Khaimah – the northernmost emirate in the UAE and just 45 minutes’ drive from Dubai.

Sadly you don’t get to meet the man himself, but ahead of me was two days’ hiking through the mountain wilderness that would challenge even Mr Grylls – with various survival skills and cliff faces to master, armed only with my backpack of bare essentials, including thin layers, a mess tin, water bottle, sleeping bag and a single energy bar.

After landing, I meet the 11 other adventure-hungry travellers and our guide Jake at the academy’s Explorers Camp in the foothills of the mountains, a 40-minute taxi ride outside Ras Al Khaimah city

Jumping into Jeeps, we head further into the arid landscape, before trekking on foot through huge boulder fields and gathering to learn how to make rope knots for creating shelters, animal traps and holding ourselves up in dangerous situations.

We practise reef, butterfly and hitch knots, figures of eight and so many more – each with its own special purpose.

Before long we’re moving again, and after another hike through the mountains and canyons – and my first wild wee of the 24 hours – we stop to make a fire.

Instructor Jake is firm that you should always head out prepared, so forget rubbing sticks together as we are taught to use a handy Fire Striker and how to source materials to help.

Tinder can be sticks, wild rabbit poo and even, sometimes, belly-button fluff!

Campfire challenges

A few hours in and my legs get shaky for the first time as we shuffle gingerly along a narrow cliff edge using a “via ferrata” – fixed rungs originally used by soldiers to get supplies to high places.

It’s slow work, but we make it.

Still, things soon get hairy again come dinner.

Using our rope work and the rocks and trees from around us, we learn how to create several types of animal trap.

But the most challenging part is learning to pluck, skin and debone a pigeon for tea.

Fire-roasted pigeon is, erm, chewy, and after dividing up the small offerings between us, I feel like I’m in I’m A Celebrity! – my stomach is already growling.

To take our minds off the hunger, we learn how to navigate using the stars.

From finding the North star to using Orion’s belt, it is amazing how the beauty in the sky can help lead you to safety.

Later we test our knowledge from our sleeping bags in our netted tents, soaking up epic views of the night sky. 

The next morning we learn how to build shelters and ways to find and filter water, before heading for that final almighty abseil down the mountain. 

As my feet touch the ground, I realise what I have achieved and it feels incredible.

It also feels like I’ve earned some serious R&R, which is handy, as I have booked a few extra days in the region to chill and see the sights.

Frolic with flamingos

I check into the Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Resort & Spa, where I treat myself to a deep tissue massage, £93 for 75 minutes, before taking a kip on the hotel’s private beach.

Double rooms at the hotel cost from £106 B&B (Hilton.com)

Later I refuel at Pura Vida Restaurant, one of the resort’s nine bars and eateries.

It serves up a Brazilian feast of unlimited barbecued meats, including wagyu steak, and sides like fried plantain, £56 per person.  

Come morning, I’m itching for another adrenalin kick.

At Toroverde Adventure Park I take the world’s longest zipline, flying at speeds of over 74mph while trying not to scream for the entire 1.76 miles.

Tickets cost £60 per person (Toroverdeuae.com).

I settle my nerves with a brunch of mimosa and eggs royale, £8.20, at 1484 by Puro – the UAE’s highest restaurant, which sits 1,484m above sea level – and take in spectacular mountain views (Puro.ae). 

Gentle kayaking through the mangroves in the heart of the city is particularly beautiful as the sun sets.

I glide along learning about why these incredible trees are so important to our ecosystem and get up close to the large flock of flamingos that live here.

Guided tours cost £59 per person for three hours (Challengingadventure.com).

Pick up a pearl

The next day I hop on a traditional dhow boat across the sea, past an island that is home only to camels, and step on to a floating real-life treasure trove, an Arabian pearl farm.

Pearl farming was the bread and butter industry of the region before the discovery of oil and a once-hazardous career choice.

At the end of our fascinating tour, we are allowed to pick out an oyster to see if we find a pearl – with only 1% chance of finding a naturally formed one, I strike it lucky!

But, sadly, I must hand it back. Tours cost £50 per person (Suwaidipearls.ae).

Nestled on floor cushions for lunch at Maghta & Sarood, a traditional Emirati restaurant, I dig into treats like Arabian coffee, shrimps sarona curry, £8, and salty, shredded baby shark, £10.

Afterwards, I join a safari from The Ritz-Carlton Al Wadi Desert resort zipping along the Al Wadi nature reserve in an open-top buggy to spot antelope, Arabian oryx and sandfish.

Tours cost £49 per person.

It’s incredible, as is a truly special dinner at The Farmhouse, the hotel’s restaurant, serving up creamy truffle fritters, £15, and rib-eye steak with mushroom sauce, £61 – both a million miles tastier than that pigeon (Ritzcarlton.com).

For a destination I’d have struggled to pinpoint on a map before, Ras Al Khaimah has shown me some incredible hidden treasures. 

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