Different kinds of Offroading in the UAE

[Frederic]

This article highlights the different kinds of off-roading being done in the UAE. The aim is to show the differences, and what you can expect on these kinds of drives, organized amongst friends, or in your favorite offroad club  

When we talk about offroading in the UAE, most people will think about the typical desert-safari dunebashing stuff, which exists of stuffing the maximum amount of people in a Landcruiser, and doing some quick sandshower-sidey's in the nearby dunes, followed by a belly-dance and BBQ dinner in the evening. 

Once you arrive as an expat in the UAE, and after reading some magazines and articles, you will come to know that in the weekends many UAE residents flee the city and make their way into the beautiful countryside, mountains, and deserts UAE has to offer. The gentle climate during the winter time, and the low risk of running into venomous creatures, makes the UAE a really cool camping terrain !

Of course, there are limitations. If you drive a modern day SUV with AWD functionality, you can venture out on the farm tracks and gravel roads to visit the Expo Lakes, Love Lakes, or follow a farm track or pylon track into the desert, but the low approach and departure angles and low ground clearance will not enable you to go for more challenging desert drives in a club. You will quickly damage bumpers or damage the vehicle and will ruin your weekend out.

If you are one of the lucky ones to buy an FJ Cruiser, Landcruiser, Jeep Wrangler, Nissan Xterra, or any of those rugged offroad-ready 4x4's you will be having access to adrenaline rush offroad adventures ! 

Below you will find different types of offroading:

Easygoing BBQ, Camp and Drive (Difficulty Level: Easy)

Typically making use of existing farm tracks or "washboard" road, you try to find a nice quiet location to enjoy an evening out with your friends and set up camp. Any modern day SUV can do this, and by deflating a bit to 25psi you will get better traction and flotation and this will also dampen the vibration on these washboard roads a bit. 

Google Maps will show plenty of these roads, especially more towards the north of the UAE. You will find nice tracks in UAQ and RAK and with the help of GaiaGPS or Wikiloc you will have access to previously recorded trails by others that you can try out. 

 

Wadi Driving,  (Difficulty Level: Medium)

If you enter wadis, the ground clearance and approach/departure angles of your vehicle now start to play a bigger role. Most entry-level wadis (if you follow the right path) are totally doable for any SUV, but be careful not to venture off from the normal track. There could be many side-tracks with very steep climbs and descents. Deflate a bit to 25 psi and drive carefully.

Rock Crawling (Difficulty Level: Medium to Hard)

In this type of off-roading, your ground clearance and approach departure angles will make the difference between successfully crawling over a boulder, or hitting it with your bumper. Low profile tyres are definitely to be avoid in this terrain, as it might puncture or damage the sidewalls and/or rims. The aim is to traverse a technically challenging track safely.

Desert Driving, Dune Bashing (Difficulty Level: From Easy-Newbie to Hard-Intermediate)

The biggest adrenaline rush providing type of offroading, where all above factors such as ground clearance, angles, and performance all play important roles. This is where SUV's will just manage on Newbie levels, but from Fewbie level onwards one or more of the mentioned factors will become a major hurdle (power, angles, or clearance). Recommended to join an offroad club to experience this safely and grow your skills with the right guidance.

Overlanding (Difficulty Level: Medium to Hard)

While the desert driving and dune-bashing category focuses more on "playing" in the desert and exploring your skillset in side-sloping, criss-crossing, or ridge riding, the overlanding category might use these activities but will typically limit them for this single reason:

The aim of overlanding is to successfully cross a terrain and is more about exploration and endurance, rather than conquering the next big bowl. Fuel needs to be preserved, and the trip lead will try to find interesting trails but avoid tarmac as much as possible. He can use "nice to see" waypoints or try to drive in a straight line as much as possible to find the shortest "as the crow flies" distance. 

Therefore, overlanding, which can be 1 day, months, or even years, requires precise navigation skills, and the mental resilience to spend long hours in your 4x4. The reward is in exploring unknown terrains and finally reaching your targeted destination after a long travel.

Many overlanding vehicles are equipped with all the necessities to camp, cook, or even sleep, but this is all up to the owner of the vehicle, as he needs to be aware this adds a lot of weight to his 4x4 and will slow him down on the more challenging climbs or trails through the desert.

UAE has a lot to offer for overlanding enthusiasts. From mountain trails, to wadis, to enormous dunes, we have it all. And for the really adventurous ones we can cross into Oman or Saudi Arabia to find even better trails, canyons, mountains, and deserts !

 

[Tom B]

Great write-up @Frederic. Searching through Carnity pages some time back I noticed that the club used to do Wadi drives every now and again. Is there plan this winter to organise one or two Wadi drives? I have done the likes of Shawka, but was hoping Carnity might try and organise one or two drives in more remote /less visited areas.

[Frederic]

5 minutes ago, Tom B said:

Great write-up @Frederic. Searching through Carnity pages some time back I noticed that the club used to do Wadi drives every now and again. Is there plan this winter to organise one or two Wadi drives? I have done the likes of Shawka, but was hoping Carnity might try and organise one or two drives in more remote /less visited areas.

Hi @Tom B yes I did a couple of scenic drives last year that included wadis as well. The only difficulty is the convoy size as you can’t really enter the narrow wadis with a 15 car convoy, but I know a couple very nice ones that are scheduled for the winter.

[Tom B]

3 minutes ago, Frederic said:

Hi @Tom B yes I did a couple of scenic drives last year that included wadis as well. The only difficulty is the convoy size as you can’t really enter the narrow wadis with a 15 car convoy, but I know a couple very nice ones that are scheduled for the winter.

That sounds great. Look forward to them.