Afternoon Fewbie Desert Drive - 3 Day Emirates Weekend: Part 1: Sharjah, Nazwa to Area 53 - 14 Jun 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:  2:30 PM (departure time)

Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9BK1uN6nYfLneZqt9

Action Plan: During the upcoming Eid al Adha weekend, we will celebrate a 3-day trek across the main UAE emirates of Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The trek has been broken into 3 separate drives, all posted at Fewbie Level to make them more accessible to most members. As per Carnity's rules, you'll be able to only sign into 1 of the 3 drives as your drive of choice. But if you wish to do more than one drive, please wait list yourself into the other dates, and by Wednesday evening I will do my best to add members to more than one drive, so they may complete the full trek, or 2 of the 3 segments.

The plan for Day 1 is to focus on Sharjah's better known off-roading paradises, going from Nazwa toward Pink Rock, then across to Big Red, across to Badayer, through the main bowls and possible going as far as Area 53 (or Bezhad Ranch), in Al Madam.

What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn.

Approximate finish time: 07:00 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 

 

 

 

[Sunil Mathew]

@Ale Vallecchi ..are we meeting at the Nazwa farms / 2ndDec or other point?

Just need to calculate travel time , and decide if i can get out of office to reach..

Edited June 12, 2024 by Sunil Mathew

[Ale Vallecchi]

2 hours ago, Sunil Mathew said:

@Ale Vallecchi ..are we meeting at the Nazwa farms / 2ndDec or other point?

Just need to calculate travel time , and decide if i can get out of office to reach..

Hello @Sunil Mathew. We'll meet here:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/9BK1uN6nYfLneZqt9

This is at Tawi Nazwa. Hope to see you. 

Thanks. 

[Ale Vallecchi]

Dear @Nicolò, @RiadJL and @Sunil Mathew. Not too much to say about this drive. other than we'll try to make it fast and long. We aim to complete the first part, to Big Red in 1 hour, then proceed through Badayer to Iftar Bowl in another 1 and 1/2 hour, if possible, and to reach Area 53 (Bezhad Ranch) in Al Madam by sunset. We should make full use of the 4 hours of light that we'll surely have. Departure should be scheduled around 2:45 PM.

We may not loop around a great deal on the taller dunes, but we'll still make as many climbs as it makes sense, with the idea of completing a long trek (should be around 80 to 90 Km). This means we'll try to enjoy, and cover, as much terrain in this red-sand Sharjah area as possible.

The convoy order will be given on site tomorrow (shouldn't be too complicated 😁). Short and sweet convoy, ideal to complete such a long drive.

Enjoy the end of the week and get ready to start the Eid weekend in desert style.

[RiadJL]

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for the amazing, fast paced drive today. Great to see @Nicolò and @Sunil Mathew

Lots of bowls and climbs today followed by some technical dunes.

Interesting to see the different colors of sand in the same area - red where we started off, changed to yellowish with darker bits and finished in almost red again.

Visibility got pretty bad there towards the end - so hard to read the shape of the dunes with the sun getting low in the sky

 

Great idea by the way for the 3 Emirate tour this weekend. Sharjah done! Looking forward to Dubai tomorrow and Abu Dhabi on Sunday 😁 

[Ale Vallecchi]

3 EMIRATES WEEK - SUMMARY AND THANK YOU NOTE

A heartfelt thanks to all the members who chose to join one or more of this 3-Emirates Eid weekend series. I had a great time, pursuing my passion for overlanding. Over 3 days we planned and executed one drive in each of the main Emirates (yet by no mean exhausting all the possibilities to be found in Abu Dhabi, which would require a full week just on its own).

Find below a crisp summary of the places we visited and the drives' statistics:

Day 1 - Sharjah: from Tawi Nazwa's farm, skirting Pink Rock, on to "the dune next to Big Red", Big Red itself, across the highway to Badayer, through the main "star dunes", to Iftar and Super Bowl, and onward to reach the exit at Bezhad Ranch (AKA Area 53, AKA Ericson Tower); Driven 85 Kms in 3:28 hours of moving time (total of 4:23 h.), at 24 Km/h moving average and almost 2,000 meters of cumulative climbing.

Day 2 - Dubai: from Lisaili's camel track, across to Murqab, onto the "road to The Chimney" (AKA Solar Tower), on to Faqa and west toward Little Sweihan, around the military enclosure, to Ghantoot oryx farms and palm oasis, to exit on the road back to Qudra; Driven 105 Kms in 3:42 hours of moving time (total of 4:29 h.), at 28 Km/h moving average.

Day 3 - Abu Dhabi: from Sweihan Tilal's entry, all the way across the cordons, through the sabkha and very technical dunes to reach Sweihan Pond, and onward across beautiful white dunes dotted with palm groves and sculpted clay rocks, to exit at Faya Road. Driven 77 Kms in 2:52 hours of moving time (total of 4:05 h.), at 27 Km/h moving average.

Thanks again to all the participants (in order of drives completed): @RiadJL (3 drives), @Andrew John Melvill, @ChrisW, @nithish468 (2 drives) and @DP1011, @Emanuel, @Sunil Mathew, @Batuhan Kulac, @Mohit Gurnani, @Cesar Chacon and @Nicolò (1 drive).

See you all soon for another long trek !!

[Cesar Chacon]

Thank you very much Ale and the whole team and convoy, quite a pleasant morning drive.  Enjoy the holiday. 

Edited June 17, 2024 by Cesar Chacon