Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Pink Rock - Sharjah - 22 March 2025

[Gaurav]

@Theo09 @Aggy22 @Humi @juoffroad @Simon Hope @Aser @vinayak n @Jason M @Zsolt @Vijaya Kumar Doppa @Faraz94 @frederik.eistrup

Thank you all for joining today's amazing clean-track Pink Rock drive. Everyone did superbly, especially the newbies.

Please share your pics here: https://carnity.com/gallery/category/2258-newbie-pink-rock-sharjah-22-march-2025/

Thank you Jessy for this special recognition, with the best certification I have ever got.

[Simon Hope]

Some pics from todays Pink Rock adventure

[Theo Prado]

Thanks @Gaurav, Jessy enjoyed her 1st carnity drive! Pink Rock remains one of my favourite areas to drive! 

[fred_]

Very professional guidance, making everyone feel safe while still challenging the group and creating a great experience!

[Aggy22]

Thank you Gaurav for the amazing drive! 

As discussed, I just wanted to share a quick summary of my off-roading experience as part of my request to be considered for a level upgrade.

So far, I’ve done 7 off-road drives in total:

• 4 drives with another off-roading club here in the UAE, where I got familiar with convoy rules, dune driving, and basic recovery techniques.
• Plus 3 drives with my partner, who's an experienced off-roader, and helped me practice more advanced stuff in a one-on-one setting.

During those personal trips, I had the chance to work on:

• Different self-recovery techniques, including recovery from the bottom of a bowl (where I got happily stuck) and using a rope
• The importance of never fighting gravity
• How to properly apply the right amount of acceleration
• Applying the right steering input to stay smooth and in control
• Driving at a faster pace
• A bit of technical dunes driving for better control
• How to safely do parallel crest crossings
• Climbing up the Iftar bowl and the surrounding dunes
• How to fix a pop-up

Thank you again and I'm looking forward to the next drives with Carnity

 

 

[fred_]

I would like to share here my "Self-declaration", with the intention of applying for a Fewbie promotion.

I did my first drive with Carnity as a Newbie in Pink Rock (22/03/2025) (the drive of this topic).
Although I fully enjoyed the trip and had a very good experience as Newbie, I have some previous contact with sand-driving which I believe qualifies me for a promotion to Fewbie level. I own my Nissan XTerra since December 2024.

0) 5 different touristic package dune-bashing experiences (closely observing the tricks and skills of the drivers), 2 of them in Liwa (!)

1) 2-day Crossing of Wahiba Sands in Oman, in a convoy of 12 cars (Oman Raiders, private group). Main learnings:
(A) tire pop-out from agressive turn on slope;
(B) failing to side-cross a dune crest, sliding sideways down the slope risking roll, ending fully stuck with car body on the sand, requiring careful towing to get unstuck;
(C) failing to ascend a dune by taking a too diagonal line, getting stuck, carefully reversed back, retried successfully on a straight line;
(D) rich learning from observing other cars’ situations and how to recover.

2) 2h-3h exploratory trip Sweihan desert, 3 cars. A few minor stuck situations, amongst the 2 less experienced drivers, learning how to recover and avoid to repeat from the most experienced driver.

3) 2-day mild driving (w/ camping) in Ras al-Khaiman (near THE DUNES Camping), 2 cars. Some night drive. Longer 2h exploratory trip, on diverse ground (sand, rocks, mud, vegetation etc). No incidents.

4) 2h easy drive around Al Qudra desert, 2 cars. Got stuck ascending frontally a small steep loose sand slope due to too little power (too carefull), easy recovery with towing from 2nd car.

5) Organized a desert rave event in Half Desert Dubai, transporting all necessary equipment plus passengers in the car - observing complete different response from the car due to the heavy load.

6) 5h-6h drive near Mleiha Fossil Rock protected area, 2 cars. Got stuck sideways on ascent due to too diagonal line and too little speed, risking roll (once again), easy recovery with towing from 2nd car. Noticed big difference in sand with temperature throughout the day. Found it challenging to predict the technical difficulties of the next move when leading and not following another car. Ascent to Al Faya Dune, no incidents.