COVID19 compliant - Intermediate PLUS Exploration Drive - Umm Al Oush - Abu Dhabi - 28 Dec 2020

[Chaitanya D]

@Kailas I will convey this to Emmanuel as he is already driving to or at  Wagan.

Take care 

[Frederic]

@ABSL ABSL this is an intermediate+ level drive. If you have not driven with us before, please book into the Absolute Newbie level drive first.

[Kailas]

6 hours ago, Chaitanya D said:

@Kailas I will convey this to Emmanuel as he is already driving to or at  Wagan.

Take care 

Thanks @Chaitanya D

[ABSL ABSL]

I have done almost 15 drives . But I am new in this club.

[ABSL ABSL]

Ok 

[Frederic]

1 hour ago, ABSL ABSL said:

I have done almost 15 drives . But I am new in this club.

Hi @ABSL ABSL good to hear that, but our club has a grading system so you’ll first be doing an Absolute Newbie drive, and then followed by Newbie drives. Have a look at below grading structure:

 

[Emmanuel]

Please note that our meeting point has been slightly changed for tomorrow morning:
https://goo.gl/maps/9LvTbsu1WndnwjdW7

 

[M.Seidam]

@Emmanuel best of luck and all the drivers for tomorrow . Hope to catch up and drive with you soon🙏🏻

[Emmanuel]

DRIVE REPORT : UMM AL OUSH/BU TAIS/WAGAN

After an amazing Sunday drive coming from Wagan with @Nabil Bishara and @marks, a good night of sleep in the dunes close to our Monday meeting point and an indescribable sunrise on the sabkha, I heard @Chaitanya D and @Christian Andras arriving from the dirt road, about 500m away, a few minutes before meeting time. It was nice to see them both, the two last survivors from the list of attendees...  

They directly started to deflate and just when they were done, a massive and unidentified 4x4 truck appeared, coming from nowhere in our direction. First time I had the opportunity to see (and hear!) a Dodge "Power Wagon", with a monster V8 of 6L. The driver, an Emirati citizen, was just coming to say hi, make sure we were OK and have a little morning chat.  

As soon as he left, we headed East, towards Bu Tais, that I wanted to explore more deeply after the lovely taste we had the day before. After half an hour or so, we reached the famous "Tree Dune" surroundings, where we played a bit before we headed South, avoiding a technical area by using one of the sand tracks recently made in this part of Abu Dhabi (for oil and gas prospections), then back West through the white/salty sabkha to enter Umm al-Oush from the first huge star dune. There, the tracks didn't make our life easier, on the contrary, they made our climbs more difficult as they were cutting/interrupting the inclines. But then what a joy to reach the upper level and admire the vastness of this region ! I think we didn't let any of the high star shaped dunes of Umm al-Oush unvisited. 80% of them were covered with small trees and bush - good news for environment but still a bit frustrating for us off roaders... 

When we reached the end of Umm al Oush set of dunes and begun our descent to the sabkha, we had to make a choice between exiting slowly from the western dirt track and exiting from Wagan with the risk of finishing the drive later than announced (3:30 pm). We opted for Wagan exit, using the sand track at the beginning, till we realised that it was perfectly doable on time. After two days of leading, I was happy to pass the baton to @Chaitanya D who managed very well to take us out safely. Thank you!  

@Christian Andras thank you for your good company and excellent driving skills. Hardly one or two refusals if I remember well. Very well done!

   

[Chaitanya D]

29 minutes ago, Emmanuel said:

 

DRIVE REPORT : UMM AL OUSH/BU TAIS/WAGAN

After an amazing Sunday drive coming from Wagan with @Nabil Bishara and @marks, a good night of sleep in the dunes close to our Monday meeting point and an indescribable sunrise on the sabkha, I heard @Chaitanya D and @Christian Andras arriving from the dirt road, about 500m away, a few minutes before meeting time. It was nice to see them both, the two last survivors from the list of attendees...  

They directly started to deflate and just when they were done, a massive and unidentified 4x4 truck appeared, coming from nowhere in our direction. First time I had the opportunity to see (and hear!) a Dodge "Power Wagon", with a monster V8 of 6L. The driver, an Emirati citizen, was just coming to say hi, make sure we were OK and have a little morning chat.  

As soon as he left, we headed East, towards Bu Tais, that I wanted to explore more deeply after the lovely taste we had the day before. After half an hour or so, we reached the famous "Tree Dune" surroundings, where we played a bit before we headed South, avoiding a technical area by using one of the sand tracks recently made in this part of Abu Dhabi (for oil and gas prospections), then back West through the white/salty sabkha to enter Umm al-Oush from the first huge star dune. There, the tracks didn't make our life easier, on the contrary, they made our climbs more difficult as they were cutting/interrupting the inclines. But then what a joy to reach the upper level and admire the vastness of this region ! I think we didn't let any of the high star shaped dunes of Umm al-Oush unvisited. 80% of them were covered with small trees and bush - good news for environment but still a bit frustrating for us off roaders... 

When we reached the end of Umm al Oush set of dunes and begun our descent to the sabkha, we had to make a choice between exiting slowly from the western dirt track and exiting from Wagan with the risk of finishing the drive later than announced (3:30 pm). We opted for Wagan exit, using the sand track at the beginning, till we realised that it was perfectly doable on time. After two days of leading, I was happy to pass the baton to @Chaitanya D who managed very well to take us out safely. Thank you!  

@Christian Andras thank you for your good company and excellent driving skills. Hardly one or two refusals if I remember well. Very well done!

   

@Emmanuel it was an absolute joy to drive in this region- massive dunes, huuuuuuuge bowls in and out. Three car convoy was perfect for exploring and the way you took us around was mesmerizing. 

Climbing in and out of a bowl, climbing  down on slip side crossing a narrow sharp ridge will be in my experiences for a very long time, frankly I was feeling my heart beat crossing that ridge after it was a bit churned as I was sweeping. But it was a memorable day.

Thanks to @Christian Andras for being part of this memorable day with you in Um al Osh to Wagan.Excellent driving by you 

Thank you for letting me experience a bit of leading in this terrain which I thoroughly enjoyed. I wish to come back here more often. All the pain of waiting for covid clearance , passing through check posts and driving close to 600 Km on tarmac in one day up -down is worth the experience in this terrain. 

See you soon