Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - (South of Africa) Western Sweihan - Abu Dhabi - 06 Apr 2024

[Ale Vallecchi]

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 (all levels)

Meeting time:  8:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions)

Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uSSuoGtrzEcxrKvW6

Action Plan: One more drive in one of the more pristine parts of Sweihan's desert. The area most driven in Sweihan, just left of the road leading to Al Ain, and close to a big farm vaguely resembling the shape of Africa, is also known as .... "Africa". The side of Sweihan on the right of that same road, just opposite, and south of "Africa" is much more unspoiled, and offers just as much variety of dunes, bowls, and scenery. That's what we'll explore, either exiting at the camel drome just north of the Talal Resort, or perhaps going all the way back to Darzood (along the road from Al Ain, and closer to our starting point. Don't come in a hurry to return home, as we may take some time exploring this almost virgin area.

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, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

Approximate finish time: 12:00 PM

P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive.

RECOMMENDED 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 Friday - 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 

 

 

[Luke K P]

Good morning and happy Friday. ☀️

Just wanted to check the start time is 0800 as the finish is listed at 1830 I thought both might by typos.

See you all tomorrow

[Ale Vallecchi]

Hi @Luke K P. Yes, it's a typo. Start is at 8:00AM and finish around 12:00PM.

BTW. which car are you coming with? Thanks

 

[Luke K P]

7 hours ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Hi @Luke K P. Yes, it's a typo. Start is at 8:00AM and finish around 12:00PM.

BTW. which car are you coming with? Thanks

 

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi
bringing the ford ranger. did a drive with it already so got the feel for it. looking forward to the drive with you all tomorrow!

Edited April 5 by Luke K P
typos

[Ale Vallecchi]

Dear Desrtnauts,

ready for tomorrow's drive? A couple of pointers:

Please fill up the tank at the nearest gas station, at Sweihan, past the roundabout along E20.

We'll try to leave as close to 8:00AM as possible. Be also prepared to extend the drive, if the situation will call for it, until around 12:00 noon.

The convoy order at the moment is the following:
@Emanuel in Second Lead

@Andrew John Melvill at #3

@Pascal at #4

@Aser at #5

@Mahmut at #6

@Hani Howeedy at #7

@Luke K P at #8 and

@Stumpy in Sweep.

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow. Have a great Friday night.

[Emanuel]

I'll be there with my new GO15s. My Coopers gave up on my last drive. 

[Andrew John Melvill]

@Ale Vallecchi thanks for a great drive this morning, really clean sand, lots of camels and some true exploration. 

[Luke K P]

Thanks for leading a nice Saturday Exploration @Ale Vallecchi

We basically headed in a Westerly direction all day. After spending the first part of the drive hitting some lager dunes and bowls, we decided to aim towards al fayah. 

On the way we encountered a huge herd of camels including some baby Black and White ones.

Once getting close to fayah, we headed north and hit the newly fenced off section and after scouting around the outside of the fence decided to head back to the asphalt and head home.

Great driving by everyone in lots of different terrain. We spent longer time on bio breaks than recoveries which is always sign off a good drive.

I'm very jealous of whoever got to spot the lizard running away. 😅😅

I have us at 70km with average moving speed of 26.5kph. very respectable. 

See you all in the sand again sometime soon.

PS. @Emanuel I hope U get Ur shifter fixed easily. Thanks to @Stumpyfor the quick field repairs getting the convoy moving again.

Edited April 6 by Luke K P

[Hani Howeedy]

Great drive today, lots of fun and a great lead from @Ale Vallecchi. Best part to have fellow truckers in the convoy @Luke K P @Stumpy sharing the knowledge

was a great terrain with that pristine sand of sweihan never fails to impress for the ridging and criss-crossing techniques. 
 

[Emanuel]

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi for a wonderful drive with a good mix of terrain, camels and @Luke K P that was Ale and I that saw the lizard. It was a good size and speedy.

Thanks @Stumpy for helping me with the stuck gear shifter. As you disassembled the top part it was obvious that the plastic sleeve broke inside, exactly one of your estimations of what went wrong when I pushed it into park that one last time. Your experience came in very handy yet again. 

Carefully using the white plastic part I was able to shift gears and finish the drive. This was a good thing because Ale has said we were quite far from any exit point. This also gave me some long overdue practice driving in Drive because I have gotten accustomed to using Tiptronic. 

@Stumpy - thanks for the Pajero parts guy tip. He has this part in stock and will only cost me 25 Dhs. Good thing too because the Mitsubishi parts department is closed until Saturday and I want to get a couple of drives in this week. I'll see about replacing that missing dust cover though I think its just broken apart inside.

Here is a fun compilation feature video of our drive on Saturday. If you enjoyed it please visit my YouTube site and smash the Like button.

Here is the raw footage with all the action, sound and commentary. Sorry @Luke K P the lizard was too quick to get shot of it.