Night Newbie Desert Drive - Faqa Night Explorers - Dubai - 18 Jul 2025

[M.Seidam]

Hello and welcome to Carnity offroad club!
 

Exploring Faqa in the Dark definitely will taste different as the terrain diversity is huge here . Nevertheless I believe that the Newbie still can do it in the night with proper selection and careful adherence to the desert rules. 
Expect that there will be a bit of everything and some challenges at times during our overlanding  activity . Basically the aim of this drive is to give the newbie ( especially the ones who are preparing to be promoted to Fb ) the chance to taste a bit from the different challenges in safe manner . Here focus and attention is critical to keep up with the flow fluid . I advise strongly to avoid this drive if it’s your first Newbie Drive in Carnity . 

Important points worth mentioning here regarding desert driving in the night , more to be emphasized and reminded during the brief at the meeting point . 

1. No need for offroad lights except for car number 1 . If you have them that’s ok to use them unless the front car asks kindly to let it        off. All what you need is just to follow strictly the front car . The high beam stock lights/fog lights are adequate in convoy trips 

2. Always see where you step ( hand torch or headlight ) during inflation , deflation and during the breaks.

3. Try to avoid the bushes when out from car.
4. it’s highly recommended to have your legs and feet covered as creepers like exposed feet and legs 😅

5. always carry your radio where ever you go. 

6. the speed and distance between cars falls into half of that during daylight drive ( will talk more in the brief ) 

7. Desert driving rules holds valid and more emphasized here as we are bound with limited visibility.

8. last but not least night drives are different world to explore and experience. It’s nice , cool and it’s another level of enjoyment .

Once you master it I assure you that you will be able “ to see without seeing and to you the darkness will become as clear as the daylight “

We request every member who 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 Etiquette's
• Emergency details for all off-roaders
• Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities

First time with Carnity Off-road Club:

• Please share your vehicle details - Make, Model, Color, and Year.
• Please share your prior off-road experience.
• Confirm your vehicle has front and rear tow hooks/eyelets.
• Confirm you have a programmable radio with Carnity frequency.
• Confirm you have a compressor and safety flag.
• MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING
   

Drive Details

Level:  Newbie and above (all levels)

Meeting time: 8 pm

Meeting Point:https://maps.app.goo.gl/7idV25FzEuEbxoiH9

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.

Approximate finish time: 11:59 pm

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

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE:

• This drive is limited to 12 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 10 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 back - Without any exceptions.
• Members without RSVP will be returned back - 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 below calendar

 

[M.Seidam]

@topgear@Bhaskaran Ramaswamy@Mahesh_ @Kashx2 @Suneedh Wrangler @ChrisW@Warbs@nithish468@Gertjan@Andrew John Melvill

Dear Faqa Explorers

Please note the following :

RSVP is closed 

Check on your final Items ( Gear as per level , fully charged radio , safety flag , shovel ... etc ) 

Check your recovery points 

Check your stock high beam lights please and rear lights as well 

come with full tank please 

be sharp on time please 8 pm ( or bit earlier ) as once we are done from the brief, which is mandatory for all participant to attend, we cant wait and we move immediately not later than 8:20 pm

late commers or missing vital items like radio , flag or defect in recovery point will result in NO DRIVE

we will communicate on radio channel 2

Convoy list 

 

looking forward to share and explore the fun with you all 

Cheers 

 

 

[M.Seidam]

Drive Report 

First of all I would like to thank every one for sharing last night drive and being ahead of time flagged up deflated and ready to move by the time I arrived.much appreciated 🙏

Faqa in the daylight can be challenging even to the experienced driver. So you can imagine in a moonless dark night and a Newbie level drive. It was indeed a challenge night for all of us .

We started slow and nice through the darkness carefully avoiding the bushy platform utilizing the farm tracks which helped a lot . The terrain became more tricky and softy as we were approaching the star fish area where the real challenge happened with multiple refusals and two stucks which required winching after which we made a link between Chriss , Mahesh and my self to guide the convoy safely to the other side . 

the break was the most beautiful one where my Abdallah had the chance to meet and greet the team ☺️

time was slipping and upon closing the Faqa loop it was 11:20 already and most of the participants agreed to extend for additional half an hour except three who preferred to exit earlier and we dropped safely on the track leading to the paved road nearby. however winds came against our boat and I got nasty nose down stuck in a pocket and that was the signal that it’s game over 😅

we exited from Faqa for good . 
 

@ChrisW you left nothing for me except to lead and find out clean track Thanks for winching me out at the end . Definitely in day or night your are an asset to team Carnity . Well done and hope your journey back to AD was cool . 
@Mahesh_ your coordination with Chris’s to help the others was fantastic. It’s pleasure having you in any drive and congratulations again for joining the support team . 
 

@topgear it has been really from a long time since we drove together . A guy from the early times in Carnity . Welcome back and thanks for your vigilance in the second lead . 
 

@Andrew John Melvill Thank you for watching the back of the convoy and definitely the view of the convoy in the night was lovely . 
 

the rest of the night explorers very well done for the patience and sharing the passion and I hope with every drive you take a home message which prepare you better for the next one . I do always myself . 
 

till next time take care and have a peaceful week ahead . 
 

Cheers 

Seidam 

 

[ChrisW]

Thank you @M.Seidam and all. That was a really fun evening and gave me a chance to learn and practice different skills. It was a great pleasure to support you. 
 

You all did really well - driving at night in softer sand with larger terrain can be daunting, but nobody panicked and everybody did the right things at the right times with their driving. @Kashx2 and @Suneedh Wrangler you both handled refusals and reattempts really well, looking forward to driving with you both in the future. 

[Kashx2]

Great drive thank you @M.Seidam @Mahesh_ @ChrisW @Andrew John Melvill @topgear

 

[Mahesh_]

Hi Doc,

Thank you so much for the drive—it was a pleasure to be part of it and support the team. Yesterday was definitely a different kind of experience altogether.

 

@ChrisW, appreciate you pulling me out of the stuck—it was great working with you to support the convoy.

 

It was good to see everyone doing well out there, and sorry again for the long wait.

 

Lastly, @Andrew John Melvill, you did a great job as sweep.
 

Hope to see you all on the next drive

[topgear]

Thanks Dr @M.Seidam for organizing this drive. It has always been a pleasure to drive with you whenever I get the chance to join you. Friday's night drive was great with all the challenges that we encountered and managed to overcome. 

Thanks to @ChrisW, @Mahesh_ and @Andrew John Melvill for their great support to keep the convoy together. 

@Bhaskaran Ramaswamy you did really well.

I hope to see you all again soon in the sand.