Morning Fewbie Exploration Drive (#F2F0) - Mahafiz - Sharjah - 8 Oct 2023

[Looper]

DRIVE PLAN

This Sunday, I intend to start a serires of exploratory drives. Let's meet at Muhafez Trees to explore a track towards Faya and its exit routes. In this terrain we will find a lot of vegetation but also some of the nicest bowls if my memory serves me well. Towards the end Faya is every off-roader's dream track. We will end our drive at Faya Roundabout.

We request every member that joins this drive to go through the information below and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquette, and responsibilities. 

MUST READ AND COMPLY

• Environmental Policy
• Offroad Flag Guideline
• Two Way Radio Guideline
• Off road Driving Etiquettes
• Emergency details for all off roaders
• Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities

DRIVE DETAILS

Level:  Fewbie and above
When: 08 October 2023, Sunday
Meeting time:  6:00 AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions)
Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/X9ZZcffaXf7cBTQ4A
Approximate finish time: 10:00 AM
Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance.
What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn.

RECOMENDED OFF-ROAD GEAR:

• Tire deflator & Tire pressure gauge
• Compressor (MANDATORY)
• Walkie-talkie radio (MANDATORY)
• Off-road flag (MANDATORY)
• Shovel, Tow Rope & 2 Shackles
• First-aid kit
• Fire extinguisher

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE

• This drive is limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Saturday - 12 PM.
• If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP list.
• RSVP will close a day prior to preparing a convoy list.
• Latecomers will be returned - Without any exceptions.
• Members without RSVP will be returned - Without any exceptions.
• Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others.
• Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month.

PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR

 

[Abhilash Kottakkal]

@Looper I hope this drive is not so Technical with sharp turns and soft sand...i am tired of popouts...that's why I joined the newbie and put this drive as second in the wait list...I know you as the technical master and bit feel bad I give all trouble with my popout....

[Looper]

28 minutes ago, Abhilash Kottakkal said:

@Looper I hope this drive is not so Technical with sharp turns and soft sand...i am tired of popouts...that's why I joined the newbie and put this drive as second in the wait list...I know you as the technical master and bit feel bad I give all trouble with my popout....

@Abhilash Kottakkal, it is going to be an exploratory drive. I have not been here in ages now, the last drive I did here was in May 2022 in a Newbei drive. Hence I cannot say how the terrain will be. There are a couple of sections where I have driven in the past but there will be a patch of track where I have never been to and will be exploring.

As far as I know, it will be technical, bushy with a lot of vegetation - at least at the start. In the second part it will be similar to Badayer, but more compact. and 3rd Part no idea; I will see what it looks like with rest of the convoy.

[Looper]

Please see this gallery to have an idea about the terrain.

Newbie - Mahafiz - Sharjah - 5 Jun 2022

[Abhilash Kottakkal]

@Looper thank you for the pics...i am really worried about my tyres poping out, stopping the convoy and pausing the fun you were wishing...

[Abhilash Kottakkal]

@Looper shall we go?? You got my back?? My confidence got disturbed after the change of tyres...

[Hisham Masaad]

On 10/2/2023 at 10:45 PM, Abhilash Kottakkal said:

@Looper I hope this drive is not so Technical with sharp turns and soft sand...i am tired of popouts...that's why I joined the newbie and put this drive as second in the wait list...I know you as the technical master and bit feel bad I give all trouble with my popout....

@Abhilash Kottakkal we have been in Mahafiz recently. Dont think changed. You should still remember. You should be good to go. 

[Looper]

@Abhilash Kottakkal definitely sign up for the drive. Any and all pop-outs will be fixed without qualms. I am going to run a poll to see how many volunteers we have for the job.

[Abhilash Kottakkal]

@Looper @Hisham Masaad Thank you very much for your support. I think during the last Mahafiz drive there was no popout, It was the first time with new tyre and had problems with climbs. Hope all goes well this time. Looking forward to joining this drive. 

[Looper]

@Mohit Gurnani, @Sreenath G, @Emanuel, @Issam Atra, @Ben Lee, @Mahmoud Taha, @Nadeem Ansari, @DanielN, @Ignacio Quindós, @Arun Menon

Waitlisted: @Mohammad Sayawoush Azad & @Abhilash Kottakkal

This is the mid-week reminder to all attending. Request you all not to be a No-Show and instead rest well and arrive on time. In case you think there are going to be any issues withdraw from the drive as there is a waiting list.

I will be publishing the convoy order on Saturday evening. Please note the meeting point is changed from the time I published the drive post.

A little history:

This will be my 10th drive in this general area and in the past, I have driven with 7 different leads, the last one being in June 2022. This area has become less driven these days due to all the shrubs that have come up here as well as because the Fossil Rock has been barricaded.

I did my first Newbie Drive at this place. In this drive 61% of the time was spent not moving and attending refusals. I was still a newbie so all that i did was just sit in the car and take photos. It was also the shortest drive i have even done with just 11.9 kms driven. Those days Fossil Rock was open and obviously we did not go there and moved to exit after reaching the bottom of the hill.