Fuwairit Beach - Qatar

The Sand may brush off,

The Salt may wash clean,

The Tan may fade,

But the Memories will last forever.

Fuwairit Beach in Qatar is no exception for the above! Indeed a place full of memories!

Location details can be found at www.rush360.qa  pin your current location and set the radius to above 100KM (all this could be done by clicking the "Advanced Search" button just next to the Search Bar) then do an exact search for "Fuwairit Beach". It takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to get their from Doha. If you have a full tank of fuel its just fine to go and come back to Doha without a problem even though you do get Petrol Stations on the Shamal Road. 

Neil Mcbride shared with us this direction and some tips "" Fuwairit beach is very easy to find, simply head north on Al Shamal Road and exit at junction 79 (signposted Fuwairit). Follow the road to the end (just before a small village) and turn left. Travel for approx. 1km (its hard ground so no need for a 4x4) and you will see the car park. It is a good idea to park as far back, and on high ground, if possible as the car park does flood regularly".

Fuwairit beach is usually packed during weekends, people engaging in various activities! Most of the part of the beach is crowded with bachelor's having a lot of fun, but you could also see some families on one side where children are thrilled with water fun! 

There are no facilities like toilets, or BBQ sheds or anything else available there but nevertheless the water is so wonderful and a great place for Swimming, Water Sports, Snorkeling, Picnic, Sunbathing, Kite Surfing Camping and for BBQ with you own equipment. 

The local awsome Eco Adventure Company Entalek organizers Snorkeling Trips at Fuwairit Coral Reefs on and off. Like their Facebook Page and keep updated of their activities!

 

Details about Entelek can be found at www.rush360.qa  pin your current location and set the radius to above 100KM (all this could be done by clicking the "Advanced Search" button just next to the Search Bar) then do an exact search for "Entalek".

Fuwairit Beach is one of the places for witnessing the amazing event of Turtles nesting and hatching too! Read more about it here!

And its a great place to collect loads of beautiful shells! Kids will really enjoy the collection and it can bring out Art and Creativity too!

The immediate vicinity of the Fuwairit Beach looks like an abandoned Village area, so in case of an emergency to get water, soft drinks or other small grocery items you can head to the other side of Fuwairit to a small town called Ain Sinan and you will find Al Rashidi Cold Stores.

The location details of this store could be found at www.rush360.qa pin your current location and set the radius to above 100KM (all this could be done by clicking the "Advanced Search" button just next to the Search Bar) then do an exact search for "Al Rashidi".

The Store has some basic items you would need and seems like the only store available until you reach further noth for anything you would need if you are in Fuwairit!

Also at Ain Sinan you get a nice Masjid (Mosque) with separate prayer place for Ladies. The good thing about this Masjid is that the Toilets are clean and even have a shower in them. Ideal to get all your sand off or get the kids cleaned up and get ready for prayers!

Location of the Masjid could be found at www.rush360.qa by searching for "Masjid - Ain Sinan"

Finally, close to the Masjid is the cozy beautiful Ain Sinan Park! A great place to have the kids enjoy after the water fun at Fuwairit Beach! We saw this park going through some renovations or still under construction, but looked almost complete. The park has Prayer areas for Males and females with Bathroom Facilities and Children's Play Area. Find the exact location at www.rush360.qa by searching for "Ain Sinan Park".

Enjoy!

5 Simple Steps to find a location using www.rush360.qa

Qatar Turtle and Marine Watch!

Did you know that Turtles nest on various places around Qatar? Are you interested in knowing more about Turtles nesting and hatching and witnessing it? What about exploring the beautiful sea creatures of Qatar and much more! Read on to know more.......

Nudibranch in Qatar Waters

Neile Mcbride a resident of Qatar had a passion to share information regarding Turtle Nesting and Hatching in Qatar. In April 2014 he started a Facebook Group "Qatar Turtle Watch" so that people could share information about the amazing event of turtles nesting and hatching as well as get involved. Details about "Qatar Turtle Watch" can be found at www.rush360.qa

When Neil started the group the feedback he received was overwhelming and never thought it would be big as today. Qatar Tutrtle Watch Facebook group has 2400 plus members and more are joining and sharing information everyday. Neil says, "To be honest, I am happy there are so many people out there who share the same passion"

According to Neil, the type of turtles that are found in Qatar are Hawksbill Turtles. They nest on various sites around the peninsular, but the only one that public have access to is at Fuwairit beach The rest are beaches that form part of private company land.

Picture Courtesy of Entalek

 Find Fuwairit Beach Location at www.rush360.qa  pin your current location and set the radius to above 100KM (all this could be done by clicking the "Advanced Search" button just next to the Search Bar) then do an exact search for "Fuwairit Beach".

Fuwairit Beach

Directions and some tips by Neil with regard to Fuwairit Beach : " Fuwairit beach is very easy to find, simply head north on Al Shamal Road and exit at junction 79 (signposted Fuwairit). Follow the road to the end (just before a small village) and turn left. Travel for approx. 1km (its hard ground so no need for a 4x4) and you will see the car park. It is a good idea to park as far back, and on high ground, if possible as the car park does flood regularly".

So when do turtles nest and hatch at Fuwairit?

 "Turtles nest around May-July, and hatch for about a month or so at the end. The season may vary by a few weeks every year of course, but this is the general period. Luckily there are people who are kind enough to give us lots of information so we are able to pass this on and keep wasted journeys to a minimum. Its not an exact science of course, as nature never has, so we cant issue any guarantees I’m afraid" says Neil.

Qatar Turtle Watch is not limited to online only they do organize and arrange activities and field trips as well. This year they organised a beach clean up at Fuwairit, and helped people find the beach, so that many can witness the nesting and hatching. 

"Its so rewarding to see families and children on the beach and really enjoying themselves", says Neil and he continues,  "This year the wardens and marine biologists had things ready up there for the children. They had plastic trays for them to hold the newly hatched turtles in their hands….an experience I think they will remember for a long time to come. Maybe, in future years, we can expand this and include other activities? Who knows?!" 

 

We asked him what are the problems and harms that the turtles are exposed to over here, and this was his reply. "The biggest problem the turtles face, like all marine creatures, is from pollution. People can help by not leaving their litter on the beach when they use it. Plastic bags pose such a threat to turtles as they can mistake them for jellyfish and eat them. Imagine eating a plastic bag? 

Like we always say….

when you visit the beach please, take only photos and leave only footprints!

Isn't it great to have something like this in Qatar and a nice way to keep the inquisitive kids busy too during the hatching seasons.

Neil has also started a another Facebook Group "Qatar Marine Watch" as a way of expanding the activities of Qatar Turtlewatch to include all marine life. Details could be found at www.rush360.qa 

He started it with a view of replacing Turtlewatch, simply because the name limited their activities somewhat. Neil says, "Sadly, as we had already passed the 250 member mark, we could not simply change the name of Qatar Turtlewatch as the rules prevent it (although I am not a 100% sure why?), My original plan was for this to take over, but now we will run both at the same time so that we can reach a wider audience.

Neil has also started a website  so that they can reach out to people who are not on social media. If you are interested to know more and keep updated you can join the two groups too and yes, witness the next Turtle Hatching and Nesting!

The Rush360 Qatar team would like to thank Neil Mcbride for sharing all this wonderful information with us and we wish him all the best. Here are some Sea Creatures of Qatar that Northern Divers Qatar  happily shared with us! 

Mantis Shrimp

 

Kayaking in the Mangrove - Summer Festival in Qatar 2014

Kayaking at Al Khor Thakhirah or Dakhira Mangrove Nature Reserve Beach is one of the activities going on during this Summer Festival Season 2014 in Qatar. Tickets for different out door activities can be purchased at the Summer Festival tent at the Al Khor Mall, Parking. 

For Location of Al Khor Mall please go to www.rush360.qa pin your current location and set the Radius to more than 100KM (all this could be done by clicking "Advanced Search" next to the Search Tab), and do an exact serach for  "Al Khor Mall".

As for Kayaking you can actually make payments at the Thakhira Beach to the organizers of Kayaking Tours. Location of the Thakhirah Mangrove Nature Reserve can be found at www.rush360.qa, by pinning your current location and making the radius above 100 KM and doing an exact search for "Thakhira Beach".

When you get to the Thakhira Beach the beautiful clean beach with green Mangroves welcomes you!

All credit to Baladiya Ministry of Municipal and Urban Planning, for maintaining this beach  for the visitors  and making it a clean place and for some of the volunteers for taking their time to clean the mangroves in the recent past inspite of visiotors not being so considerate with regard to not littering this beautiful reserve. 

The Kayaking guys are decent helpful guys over there. Before you go on a Kayaking tour towards the Mangroves they give you a small training session as to how to paddle forward, backwards and also what to do and how to get on to the kayak in case the kayak topples. 

Explaining to the Adventurers!

Listening attentively before getting on!

Adventure begins and time to experience the thrill!

 Heading towards the beautiful Mangroves!

The tour lasts about 1.5 hours to 2 hours and they return by sunset! According to the Summer Festival information tent this activity goes on everyday from 1pm to 8pm till the 27th of September. 

The charges vary  from QR50 to QR250 according to age,  for kids and Adults! Kids under 12 are allowed too. They can accompany without paddling and even older ones who were not paddling were accompanied by others who were paddling!

You do not have to be an expert in Kayaking from what we saw, its a simple technique and most of them who were kayaking were doing it for the first time! But it does need some strength and you need to take some rest in between! We asked few of them after the tour when we saw them panting and at the same time looked satisfied with the experience, if they would come back again for this adventure! Guess what they said?! "YES", "SURE"!

So another activity to try out and enjoy away from Doha!


PS: Kayaking is offered by the local Eco Adventure Company Entalek follow the 5 simple steps and search for "Entalek" at www.rush360.qa for all details

Ruwais - Parks and Beaches!

Ruwais is a very quiet city in the North of Qatar (Ruwais was once a flourishing city where fishing and trading were at its peak) and the people who live there are very hospitable too, especially the locals. They are ready to go out of the way to help you and fulfill your needs. Admirable gesture indeed!

Take Shamal Road and head towards north, you will see this Majestic looking Shamal Sports Club.

Pass the Sports Club and keep going you will enter the beautiful city Ruwais. This is one of the Roundabouts reminding the old fishing days! 

Abu Dhalouf Park

You get two Family Parks in Ruwais. One is close to the beach and has the beach as the forefront which is called 'Abu Dhalouf  Park or Aba Dalouf Park". For exact location go to ww.rush360.qa  search for "Abu Dhalouf'"

Usually this park is livelier than the other one mostly because of its location.

People picnic there, children run around  playing at the play areas and many sit and gaze at the beautiful beach front!

The beach is very inviting.

We saw kids and families having some water fun. Guess who else we spotted at the beach trotting!!!

There were few people with horses and ponies walking around. Little guys were riding a small shetland pony and having fun just outside the park. Is it a place where many own Horses ???? Wow! If so, its fun indeed for horse lovers!

The Mosque in the neighbourhood (not inside the park) with separate prayer area for ladies is convenient for families.

Al Ruwais Park
This is the other park at the corner of Ruwais. For location go to www.rush360.qa and do an exact search for "Ruwais Park", all details with map will be displayed.

The place was a bit lonely and after sunset no people in it at all except for the security.

It is a nice green park where you can stroll..... and Children can play...

Adventurous to go on a ride to the north of Qatar. Plan a picnic and have some fun at the Parks and the Beach and experience the calmness and forget the hustle and bustle filled City life for few hours!

Have you been to Ruwais?