Karoo to Coast Karoo to Coast The Karoo to Coast is an annual 100 km mountain bike race held in September down the Prince Alfred's Pass from Uniondale to Knysna in South Africa. In 2007 this was voted one of the top ten mountain bike races in the country. All proceeds go to the Lions Clubs International “SightFirst” fund, financing sight restoration surgery for the poor. Started in 1999, this event is considered extremely arduous along a route of which 93% is on gravel roads, from a high point of 1045 m down to sea level, with many long and gruelling climbs, often
Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert Gulf of Oman continuing along past Muscat to the beaches and dunes of the Ash Sharqiyah Region. From the Ras al Hadd point it runs south along the coast to the desert island of Masirah. It also includes an inland strip running along to the southwest of the Al Hajar Mountains. In the UAE it covers the plains around the Al Hajar mountains in the east, in the emirates of Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al-Khaimah, and the country's Al Batinah coast around Fujairah. This dry ecoregion contains a mixture of habitats including mangrove swamps, lagoons and mudflats on the coast,