jordan road trip
The trip from New Zealand to Jordan is not a quick one - firstly a 19.5 hour flight (including a quick pause in Kuala Lumpur along the way) to Dubai before transferring to a 3 hour flight to Jordan, where we landed in the capital city, Amman. We headed immediately for a couple of days at Ma'in Hot Springs, an amazing spot, it’s set so deep in a valley, below sea level, that hot thermal water coming from the earth flows downwards in waterfalls. This meant we were able to go for a swim under a hot waterfall, a super strange feeling! It was also conveniently located near the Dead Sea so we got to experience the salty weightlessness, we chose a random entry point rather than a resort or spot that was set up for this, meaning we had it mostly to ourselves and we got lucky on the timing as we were there for sunset, a super special experience, we were giggling like kids on christmas as we bobbed along in the water. We’d collected our hire car for the trip by this point and had also ticked off a short hike in a nearby Canyon, very different terrain to what we’re used to, more like dry desert vibes for the most part, rocky but with water flowing through.
After these relaxing few days to start to our trip we hit the road, we ended up in a huge 4x4 vehicle after the more normal sized car we’d booked had been damaged by the previous hirers. We clambered up into our seats and started driving through the country, Jordan is very road trip friendly with lovely wide open roads and plenty of views, it was just so nice to have something different hitting the eyeballs after being stuck in one place so long. Some parts of the drive were spectacular, in particular a hilly area where at one point we stopped when we found a little cafe perched on a sweeping bend high above the bendy road we’d just driven up.
We arrived in Wadi Musa and checked into our room for the next few nights, we were in a place just out of the main part of town and it was a gorgeous old village that had been restored into nice accom with views down over the town and a great pool. Our reason for being here was Petra, one of the 7 Wonders of the World, made famous in Indiana Jones apparently. We’d heard it could get very packed with visitors, so we made a point of turning up super early, the combination of that plus Jordan only just having re-opened it’s borders to tourists meant we got a really awesome experience. Very few people and lots of wide open spaces and views to ourselves. We decided to take the longer hiking path that we could see on the map, it wound up and over and behind many of the major sights and instead showed us lots of smaller sights, and stunning views, we ended up at the same final destination as the standard visitors route, and we then walked that way out, this was a great way to do things as we got to see so much in one day. It’s hard to put Petra into words so see pics below, we loved it, it’s a really impressive place and despite some aspects being sadly a little in-your-face touristy (rides on sad-looking animals and pushy sellers) there are still ways to enjoy this place with some of your own space and peace.
There is also a back entrance to Petra which you need to hike to get to, we made sure to do this another day we were there, the hike was really cool and well worthwhile, we hardly saw another soul along the way, it’s poorly marked though so we were very grateful for a GPS watch! Along with enjoying Petra we continued to keep our hummus levels high, finding some great food in Wadi Musa despite Ramadan meaning opening hours and seating arrangements were adjusted (it actually barely impacted us).
Our second to last stop in Jordan was the desert - Wadi Rum - and we’d booked a tour type thing for this part which kicked off just inside the protected area. We met our guide and jeep-mates for the next few days (a lovely family from Holland) and headed off into the desert. Our days were spent driving around between various rock formations, some of which we could climb for sport or views or with nice places to walk nearby, then in the heat of the day we’d stop the jeep in a shady space between big rocks and our guide would rustle up a delicious one-pan lunch before siesta time. After our days spent cruising around the desert we’d gear up for sunset - this is special time of day in the desert and they made a point of finding great sunset spots each night and they’d serve tea and snacks to accompany the view. We stayed at a small campsite with proper bathrooms with (very precious) running water, a larger tent and outdoor fire-pit area for meals and glamping-type tents/huts. However we’d chosen the option of sleeping out under the stars - with comfy mattresses, cosy blankets and thick sleeping bags warmth was no problem. Our spot was a flat rock area slightly above camp with a small overhang in case of drizzle but open enough to stare at the stars, which was how we fell asleep each night - magic. The food we were served at the camp was excellent, one night it was kind of Hangi-style, cooked on hot stones in the ground, there was always plenty to eat!
After farewelling the desert we drove up to Amman for a couple of days in the city, the main thing we did while there (apart from eat lots of great food), was a street art walking tour. A cool way to discover the city and learn alot of the hidden meanings and reasonings behind the art that covers the city. It also included a stop on the roof of his friends place where they all train pigeons, so we got the scoop on that hobby, so random! We ended up going for some beers with our guide as he felt he owed us after we taught him how to use “find my iPhone” to lead him back to his phone he’d left along the way during our tour. This meant we got to hear lots of interesting insights about life in Amman, the history and all the messy politics of the region.
We LOVED Jordan, the people were friendly, it was easy to travel in, it’s super different to other places we’ve been in, has great food and lots of interesting sights.
