Sir Bani Yas Island | Behind The Scenes

Set 170km from the UAE’s capital of Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas is the largest natural island in the area. Originally the vision of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, he wanted to create a green, sustainable living desert at the start of the 70s, and in 1977 he outlawed hunting on the island and started developing it into what it is today.

☆ The History

Since then it has been awarded the ‘World’s Leading Sustainable Tourism Destination’ at the 2014 World Travel Awards. More than half the island makes up the Arabian Wildlife Park, one of the region’s largest wildlife reserves, home to more than 10,000 free roaming animals including Arabian Oryx, Gazelles, Giraffes, Hyenas and Cheetahs. The Arabian animals were relocated from the mainland to protect their existence and to improve their numbers, whilst inheriting other animals from Sudan, Burma and India.

☆ The Journey

My husband and I were lucky enough to have visited the island back in 2009 – before the palm trees had even been untied and just as the conservation area had been finished. 6 years on since our visit, it’s clear to see just how much development and dedication has gone into the island. When we first visited, we drove 3.5 hours from Dubai to get there (ouch and a little boring), whereas this time we had the luxury of flying.

However, driving to a staycation with a family means you can take the kids scooters in the boot of the car and the bonus of being able to take a full size shampoo and an extra pair of heels for choice and not have to think about the 30kg restriction. And, if the timings are right, the kids and the passenger (yep that’ll be me) can sleep all the way. What you can’t take away from flying there, is the adventure of getting on a plane and Rotana Jet were a great airline to fly with.

Once stepping in to my son’s idea of ‘Where The Wild Things Are’, I was overwhelmed by the never-ending Instagram opportunities throughout the whole of the Sir Bani Yas Island experience. I was immediately faced with the impossible task of trying to take pictures whilst safely helping my children on and off the plane and I couldn’t decide which one was more important It was a good job my husband was on hand to look after them. I have a huge love for taking photos and this barren yet historical environment with the dramatic skies and textured landscapes helped me exude my inner ‘camyogi’ (camera yoga) #noflashcanons

Accommodation and Food

The island is home to 3 luxurious places to stay, Al Yamm Villa Resort, Al Sahel Villa Resort and the family friendly Desert Island Resort and Spa all owned by the flawless Anantara Resorts. We stayed at the Desert Islands Resort and Spa and loved it! However, due to our full schedule we didn’t manage to spend too much time enjoying the stunning facilities. We will go back to give you the lowdown but in the meantime we can safely say that we thoroughly enjoyed the stunning room and views and a delicious dinner at the Lebanese restaurant, Amwaj, located in the local hotel’s Water Sports Centre. For a full review of this al fresco desert delight, click here.

The hotel staff were very friendly and always seemed to be one step ahead of our schedule – and we needed that!

The Safari

This is one of the most commonly talked about parts of visiting Sir Bani Yas Island. The first safari of the day leaves very early in the morning so dinner shouldn’t include too many grapes the night before. The experience reminded me that there is a sunrise everyday, and we really shouldn’t miss too many

You most probably know our love for Africa by now and although you won’t see an elephant or lion here (just yet), you do still get that ‘Out of Africa’ and ‘Masai Mara’ feeling. With the great umbrella shaped Vachellia tortillas tree strategically set in rows throughout the open desert plains, not only do they add the African vibe but they also offer shade for the animals and are a great addition to creating the island’s incredibly unique ecosystem.

The 4×4 jeeps offer the best safari experience. There have no windows and you can also choose to have the roof off to really experience the nature.

The early morning mountainside stop for a continental breakfast was completely breath taking..

Behind the Scenes | The Animals.

The island is home to around 30 species of mammal. The Arabian Oryx, a species of Antelope, was formerly extinct in the wild, but Sir Bani Yas Island is home to a herd of over 400 who roam freely on the island.

Birds also have free roam of the skies and trees above, including mighty birds of prey and their two and a half metre wing span. The island has attracted over 112 species of birds to date, naturally adding to the cycle of the indigenous habitat. My daughter fell in love with the near extinct Houbara bird. We were lucky to visit this endangered bird in its aviary sanctuary (after washing our feet in disinfectant to protect them) and fed them wriggly worms and seeds.

Behind the Scenes | Breeding

Every animal has the chance to live as freely as possible on Sir Bani Yas Island, meaning they are encouraged to give birth in the wild of the reserve too. It just so happened to be the beginning of spring when we arrived and we were lucky enough to see many baby Gizelles clumsily stumbling on their new legs behind their mothers. The circle of life is rarely interfered with but sometimes, when a mother abandons a baby or she is killed by one of the six cheetahs in the reserve, the team will step in where they can. Preserving and managing the different species in the reserve is key so a Barari Guide will have the opportunity at this stage to rear the baby animal at his home on the island due to the infant needing night feeds in the first few weeks (don’t we all know that feeling) until they are strong enough for release into the reserve again. We had the chance to meet and feed a baby that was currently staying with one of our guides and feed and play with him… along with some rather fast tortoises.

We also spotted a sheepish Hyena – being nocturnal animals – he was most possibly having a midnight wee

Sheikh Zayed’s passion for nature and his legacy to protect the environment for future generations includes the idea of Mangrove preservation. Being ‘Green’ and preserving life will be a bigger part of our children’s era so we should try to understand it more where possible Taking that on board, and armed with my green gardening fingers, I officially took in a mass amount of Mangrove information and I am now officially an expert…

A Mangrove forest provides many benefits for the environment, including providing food and shelter to many birds and fish that are a vital ecosystem for the island to reproduce and flourish. Mangroves are the only plant that can live in the salty sea water and protect the shoreline from erosion. Amazingly, we heard from one of our guides that if there had been a mangrove ecosystem around Thailand during the time of the Tsunami in 2004, it could have significantly reduced the destruction and loss of life due to its protective boundaries. We had the pleasure of supporting this important ecosystem by planting our very own trees when we arrived on the island. We can come back in 15 years to see ours again – and we will – no matter where we are.

Behind the Scenes | The Stables

This isn’t a place we would have visited with our children just yet as our youngest would not have been old enough. But being #baniyasbehindthescenes we had the chance to go and feed them and learn about them which was a real treat!

Windy was a white horse who didn’t like flies so the team protected her eyes with a special netting mask – you could tell she was grateful! Witnessing Windy use her nose to open her stable door when she felt like going for a walk reminded me just how clever these mammals were not to mention her opening her fellow horse’s stable doors on previous occasions. The children got the chance to help the friendly stable hand by feeding the horses and leading them to their open paddocks. The facilities for horse riders are very good and the latest bespoke saddles (designed to fit each individual horse) ensure that both horse and rider are as comfortable as they possibly can be.

Saying Bye to Windy…

Behind The Scenes | The Team

Day in and day out they work to improve the life of the animals and extend the growth of each species. They are a very knowledgeable bunch and know almost everything Bani Yas related and beyond – it was a pleasure learning from them.

Sir Bani Yas Island is a place for adventure and whether you want to ride wild on horseback looking for cheetahs, kayak through mangroves with your children, or plant your very own contribution to the ecosystem, you can just about do it all.

After our whirlwind of adventure we were dropped off at the airport just in time to wait in the lounge for our return flight back to Abu Dhabi.