Meet Aisha Al-Balushi: activist, educator and environmental impact officer

Asyad Container Terminal’s Environmental Officer Aisha Al-Balushi shares her passion for helping the shipping industry and other organisations to make more sustainable decisions and choices.

Her passion for the environment was formed in childhood in Oman where she was lucky enough to grow up with a strong connection to nature and landscape, a connection which has helped shaped her expertise and now her career with Asyad Shipping.

Mark joins Aisha in a café in Duqm, near where she works at the container port. She shares her vision for the importance of Duqm as a major hub for focussing on the environmental side of shipping. For Aisha the port at Duqm is perfectly placed to play a key role in developing a greener future for Oman.

Aisha’s love and interest in the environment extends beyond her role at work, she’s also a climate activist, volunteering as a teacher, educator and facilitator with the NGO Climate Fresk.

Discover more about the expedition and track Mark at Oman 3165

The Oman 3165 podcast is produced in Scotland by Adventurous Audio

Sandwich Tern recorded by David Darrell-Lambert and used with permission under Creative Commons licence

Now the unseasonally bad weather has abated, Mark is back on the water again and continuing south west towards the port of Duqm which is about 3 days paddling away. He is joined on the expedition now by his old friend, and logistics wizard, Alan Morrissey.

Alan joins Mark fresh from an expedition through the vast empty quarter and supporting Alice Morrison to be the world’s first walking explorer to cross Saudi Arabia from north to south.

Alan has spent nearly 30 years in Arabia and is passionate about life and travel in the desert. He supports expeditions and people wanting to travel and explore the deserts of Arabia. Mark and Alan reflect on their previous Heart of Arabia expedition, his recent travels with Alice and their mutual love of Arabia while looking forward to the next stage of the Oman 3165 expedition.

Discover more about the expedition and track Mark at Oman 3165

The Oman 3165 podcast is produced by Adventurous Audio

Sandwich Tern recorded by David Darrell-Lambert and used with permission under Creative Commons licence

Oman has been hit by unusually heavy rainfall and high winds so, while Mark waits patiently for the weather to allow him to pick up the journey where he left off at Bar Al Hikman, he takes the opportunity to catch up with Captain Khalil bin Ali Al Hooti, Vice President of Asyad Shipping. Captain Khalil shares his thoughts on Oman’s rich maritime heritage and how its location has helped to shape the country and its people. In particular, he talks about how the relationship to the ocean has shaped not just commerce but identity, turning Oman into a community which looks outward, where sharing and curiosity is woven through the culture. As a result, Omani people not only welcome the stories of others when they arrive on its shores but are inspired to continually expand their horizons through exploration by sea.

Discover more about the expedition and track Mark at Oman 3165

The Oman 3165 podcast is produced by Adventurous Audio

Sandwich Tern recorded by David Darrell-Lambert and used with permission under Creative Commons licence

Having reached the south west corner of Bar Al Hikman, a site of international importance for migrating and wintering wading birds, Mark catches up once again with Jonathan Turner, CEO of Masirah Marine, a font of knowledge regarding anything to do with Oman’s marine environment and maritime heritage to find out more about what makes the area so unique.

Discover more about the expedition and track Mark at Oman 3165

The Oman 3165 podcast is produced by Adventurous Audio

Sandwich Tern recorded by David Darrell-Lambert and used with permission under Creative Commons licence

From the beautiful, but isolated salt flats of Bar al Hikman, sheltered from the seas by Masirah Island, Mark has reached the midway point of the expedition. After an amazing couple of days back in the kayak and 40 days since he started paddling, Mark has reached the halfway point of his journey along the coastline of Oman.

Tim, Marks land-based support, has headed inland to circumnavigate the salt flats leaving Mark alone for a few days. Always the avid birdwatcher, Mark saw a huge flamboyance of flamingos on the salt flats along with thousands of other birds and moved in closer for a look. But Flamingos wade in very shallow water and the falling tide caught Mark out. But always one for an adventure within an adventure, Mark took advantage of the water drying out around him and explored the mangroves.

As well as some of the wildlife he came across old wrecks, ruined shelters, a crashed aircraft and a haunting sight, hundreds of turtle shells. Eating turtles is forbidden in Oman today, but this was clearly a site of turtle hunting in years gone by.

After the tide came in Mark refloated his kayak and kept on paddling for a few hours into the darkness to find somewhere camp.

After 38 kms paddling today he is elated and well rested at the halfway point of the expedition.

Discover more about the expedition and track Mark at Oman 3165

The Oman 3165 podcast is produced by Adventurous Audio

Sandwich Tern recorded by David Darrell-Lambert and used with permission under Creative Commons licence

The coastal waters Mark is paddling through are blooming into life. The upwelling cooler water is bringing with it nutrients from the deep, providing the fuel for the phytoplankton soup that plays such pivotal role in the food chain of the marine ecosystem.

This phytoplankton bloom has given Mark a wonderful sight, bioluminescence has been lighting up the water as every waves crashes onto the shore of his night time campsite. He is camping on the edge of the Sharqiya Sands. Formerly known as the Wahiba Sands, it is one of only 3 fog deserts in the world and an incredibly rare, isolated sand sea ecosystem, making it an ideal living laboratory.

In this podcast, join Mark in conversation with long-time friend of Oman, the inspirational Nigel Winser. In the mid-1980s, as deputy director of The Royal Geographical Society in London Nigel led The Wahiba Sands Project, a multiyear multidisciplinary study of this unique environment.

Discover more about the expedition and track Mark at Oman 3165

The Oman 3165 podcast is produced by Adventurous Audio

Sandwich Tern recorded by David Darrell-Lambert and used with permission under Creative Commons licence

As Mark launches into the next stage of the Oman 3165 Expedition he drops into see marine ecologist Andy Willson in Muscat. Andy set up Future seas, an Oman based marine research and conservation company and has been a huge supporter of the expedition.

During the expedition pause, Andy has been servicing the hydrophone and setting up the analysis of the recordings Mark has been gathering each day.

In this fascinating conversation, Andy gives Mark a preview of the marine habitats he will be passing through and an insight into the oceanography that makes this section of the Omani coastline so special.

Discover more about the expedition and track Mark at Oman 3165

The Oman 3165 podcast is produced by Adventurous Audio

Sandwich Tern recorded by David Darrell-Lambert and used with permission under Creative Commons licence

Mark is finally back on the water after two days stormbound on land. Today’s leg starts near one of Oman’s stunning pink lakes, just south of Al Ashkharah and took Mark south along the coast to Ras Jibsh.

Landing at Ras Jibsh Mark reflects at the joy of being back on the water again, especially as this was the final paddling day of Leg 1 of Oman 3165. So Mark takes a moment to reflect back on the last 36 days of the expedition.

So far they have collected 6 eDNA samples, gathered over 120 hours of underwater acoustic recordings, captured hundreds of 360 images on land and on sea, while every couple of days Mark has been having online conversations with school children around the world and in Oman.

Go and check out the expedition Story Arc on the website to see more of the Omani coastline and learn about the expedition.

Leg 2 of Oman 3165 starts in early January when Mark takes to the water again to head south towards the border with Yemen.

Discover more about the expedition and track Mark at Oman 3165

The Oman 3165 podcast is produced by Adventurous Audio

Sandwich Tern recorded by David Darrell-Lambert and used with permission under Creative Commons licence