Fewbie Plus Desert Drive (2 DAYS) - The Untamed Liwa - Abu Dhabi - 02-03 March 2024

[Frederic]

DRIVE REPORT CONVOY 1

With the rising sun warming us up after a chilly night, we met up at the Khanoor entry point with two convoys eager to explore this "holy grail of terrains" for off-roaders: The Mystical Liwa !

After the briefing, where we emphasized this kind of terrain demands a humble approach and mental resilience, we set off and started making our way Eastwards. We had drafted a plan with waypoints to keep as a reference to fall back on, but the idea was to follow where the dunes were leading us, as in Liwa this is usually the only way through. After a couple of hours, i handed over the lead to @DP1011, as i wanted him to feel the joy of leading in this terrain, which he did MARVELOUSLY.

Throughout the day, we had a handful of refusals, zero stucks, and no rope or recovery. In almost 7hrs of driving in this challenging terrain, where low gear was sometimes the only way up or out. This says a LOT about the convoy, that was so in tune and capable, and of course the lead, who carefully chose his lines to keep the group safe from harm. Our tactic of letting the lead climb first to the platform of the dunes, and then giving the second lead the confirmation to follow, worked like a charm, and this allowed to avoid massive bowls and pitfalls.

@Rafey Hashmi you had your doubts about yourself and what the Jimny could manage in LIWA. Let it be put to rest for once and for always that it's always about the driver. The way you carefully chose your lines and built your momentum on bigger climbs was a sight to behold, and the skills that your little Jimny forced you to learn has turned you in a super capable off-roader ! 

@Alphin Aloor we all know what a heavy boat a stock Patrol Y61 is. Me too  But look at how bloody capable they are. I slept comfortably in the Patrol the entire weekend, and the car is a blessing for this long journey. If driven the right way the Patrol is unstoppable and unstuckable. You proved it by not breaking a single sweat all weekend !

@Pascal you've done plenty of drives with us, and your skills are way up there, together with your calm approach and magnificent 4Runner. Always a pleasure to have you and your wife on any of our adventures !

@Richard Franks who is an Ex-Jeeper who moved to the Toyota world of no worries, proves once again how capable a stock FJ is, and how you navigated it seamlessly through this challenging terrain !

@AlexM and @Amr A both equipped with superb driving skills and green mean Jeeps, i love having you guys on our drives, as you both have a can-do attitude and back it up with so many drive skills.

@M.Seidamand of course his dear Abdallah, was an absolute delight to have you watching our backs and supporting us at each step. 

We reached the camp around 4.45PM and took our time to setup. I was in touch with @GauravSoniand heard he ran into some technical troubles, but soon after we saw 6 knights in shining armor racing towards us, full of adrenaline and joy, and it looked they had a very different type of day but nevertheless turned it into a blast and A-Team Work ! Kudos to you guys for not giving up and i am looking forward to your drive report to tell us your stories !

The next morning, we cleaned up the camp, left by 9.15, and within 40mins we were on top of Moreeb, enjoying the scenery and taking photos that will help us remember this unforgettable weekend ! Most importantly we have to count our blessings for exiting two convoys, free of incidents. And that is what matters most. I am sure everyone drove home with a smile  I know i did !

Thanks @GauravSoniand @Simon D for taking the second convoy and offering everyone a chance to experience this unforgettable drive. I will never forget the stories you guys shared about how the Pajero roared back to life after its surgery 😆

Below the actual track we did (black line was our draft, red is the actual track):

Day one we covered around 76km in approx 8hrs total.

Day two we only needed to cover 10kms in 40mins to reach Moreeb.

 

 

[Ranjan Das]

Can't thank you enough @Frederic for organizing such an enterprise and @GauravSoni for leading our pack safely in and out of LIWA. Thankfully I have always been able to answer whenever LIWA called - this being my 4th excursion - an annual pilgrimage of sorts.. and loved every bit of it and then some more...

Thanks also for the opportunity to make new friends with @Gautam Banka and meet up with old ones @Simon D @Batuhan Kulac and @Imran Asghar. it was fun experiencing respective leads of Simon and Gaurav - different but then similar traits with common denominator being safety.

It was an absolute pleasure driving with you gentlemen and the time spent together around the fire under clear star studded skies is simply priceless. Thank you for the company, the opportunity and all the fun.

[Gautam Banka]

It was an absolute pleasure to drive with you guys. The terrain was amazing and thanks to our lead @GauravSoni and @Simon D who added some challenging maneuvers, which I greatly liked. I also learned how patience works when @GauravSoni kept performing surgery on his car and recovered it with great tactical support from fellow members.

I would also like to admire @GauravSoni who suddenly stopped the car in between to collect the trash which some other people might have thrown in the nature. It reminded me of my last fewbie drive with @M.Seidam & @DP1011 who reminded me not to leave the coffee cup in the open. The spirit of keeping our desert clean is a great effort with everyone practising it religiously.

I also appreciate @DP1011and his better half for hosting few of us with live cooking delicacies which were mouth watering.

Looking forward to this kind of epic ride soon. Pleasure to meet new friends. @Ranjan Das@Imran Asghar@Batuhan Kulac

Thank you Leads for bringing us out safely from the ride in 1 pc

[Gautam Banka]

[Rafey Hashmi]

Is it weird that my hands are itching to go back? That does speak a lot about the outstanding experience we all had. Thank you very very much @Frederic for organizing this, I have rendered this trip as an Oman experience, and I'm happy with it. 

I have to say, I genuinely had doubts before joining the convoy. But Fred believed in me and gave me that 'one chance' (lol) and I can now proudly say that I am LIWA certified (awaiting the sticker Fred). Wouldn't had been possible without our amazing convoy and it's leaders. @M.Seidam@DP1011. 

Some highlights below

Soft sand is an understatement when it comes to Liwa. I got a refusal 3 mins into the drive, back of my mind I was like 'what did I get myself into' - but further down my sight I could see Fred and Deepak sir quietly watching and assessing. Immediate motivation booster haha!

The dunes sang for me whenever we headed down, that was a true ':O' experience. I thought I had a pop out and its creating that sound. Nonetheless, all captured on video. 😳

Deepak sir had a simple yet interesting situation, jerry can leaking. When @Amr A used his surgeon steady hands to transfer the fuel, it's only to find out that one is leaking too lol. 😋

Fred being on standby while DP checks out the dunes and gives the go ahead really saved us from some tricky bowls. Well done! 👍🏼

Unfortunately, I looked away for 5 seconds on the sabka and went off track and hit the front of the car from a step. Which caused my car to create weird sounds when I braked and when I took a half left turn. Bothered Fred from his well deserved break to check out the car and he was kind enough to do a thorough check just for my peace of mind. Although the issue was not identified and the grinding and grunting existed till the end of the trip, massive respect for Fred was gained. 🫶🏻

Heading to our final camping site and seeing the beautiful sunset was a sight to behold. But an even better sight was when our second convoy rolled up on our camping spot one after the other, next to each other with loud music blasting from their cars. @Simon D @GauravSoni 👏🏼

After a quick spin by the second convoy, @Imran Asghar decided to retire the rush and set camp as you cant be lucky thrice. Wise move sir! 🫡

The beautiful sun set as the stars came out, a blanket of pearls in the sky with little to no light pollution. Couldn’t stop looking away. Our fireside stories began and one by one, we voiced our experiences digging deep into our Carnity journey. ✍🏼

Headed straight to the tower the next morning, no rush, at ease at our own pace. @Batuhan Kulac got to try the Jimny and fell in love. @Amr A was able to squeeze his legs in the driver seat and immediately smiled once settled. ✅

As we inflated and said our goodbye’s, I was excited for this to happen again next season. 💪🏼

Learnings from the drive:

• I have a whole another level of love for Jimny’s
• Create your own lines when the going gets tough
• Push, but don’t over push. Fine line between getting bogged and making it out 
• Any and I mean any mechanic can fix a Jimny. That incident costed me 20 dhs and a screwdriver to unbend the disk.
• Heads up the person behind you and request patience, @Alphin Aloor being a champion with that. Thank you. 

See you all post Eid.

#JimnyPower
 

Edited March 7 by Rafey Hashmi

[Batuhan Kulac]

@Rafey Hashmi You called it singing. I would call it the sand getting possessed by the devil hahahahaha. My heart skipped a beat when I first heard it also thinking my whole car was falling apart or something. See you next time on the sand brother. #JimnyPower

Also, If anyone has a video of the POV standing at the campsite watching the second convoy turn up... I NEED it. PLSSS.

Edited March 7 by Batuhan Kulac