Penguins, golf courses, waterslides… six things that shouldn’t exist in the desert

And so it has, planting not only botanical gardens but record-breaking botanical gardens, ski slopes complete with penguins (no, not a mirage) and dozens of greens, fairways and golfing water hazards.

The secret?

Well, desalinated water provides some of the countless gallons of water needed to realize these dreams but another source is somewhat dirtier.

45 million flowers

It takes a lot of water to maintain any kind of garden in the desert — but imagine trying to keep 45 million flowers in bloom.

That’s the task for the team behind Dubai Miracle Garden, a seven-hectare attraction that opened in February in the sands just outside the city limits.

Visitors are confronted with a riot of colorful — some would say gaudy — patterned flower beds, creative vertical displays and manicured lawns.

More: CNNGo in Dubai: The extravagant edition

Water slides

In times gone by, when Bedouin trekked across the Arabian desert in search of water sources, the thought of people floating down a nearby river on rubber rings, or riding an artificial wave on a boogie board, would have been considered the stuff of mirages.

But now there are not one but four big water parks in the UAE — Wild Wadi (+971 4 348 4444) and Aquaventure (+971 4 426 0000) in Dubai, Dreamland in Umm Al Quwain (+971 6 768 1888), and Yas Waterworld in Abu Dhabi (+971 2 414 2000).

Each pumps millions of liters of desalinated seawater through dozens of rides each day for the entertainment of aqua-loving thrillseekers.

At Wild Wadi, 600 gallons of water a minute surge through the white-knuckle Jumeirah Sceirah to propel riders down its steep slide at more than 80kph.

Nicol Nicolson helped with research for this article.

CNN