Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Murquab to Faqa - Dubai - 26 Jul 2025

[Emanuel]

We’re organising a scenic and moderately challenging off-road drive from Murquab to Faqa, starting westward before looping south. This route offers a great mix of terrain—perfect for those looking to build confidence in the dunes while still enjoying a bit of variety.

We’ll begin with soft, rolling dunes that are ideal for warming up and getting into the rhythm. As we progress west, the dunes gradually increase in size and complexity, offering a fun challenge without being too technical. Around the midway point, we may encounter some sabkha flats—potentially useful spots to regroup and take a breather, depending on the conditions. As we head south toward Faqa, expect more varied terrain with scattered bushes and camel grass, adding a bit of spice to the drive.

Looking forward to seeing you out there for a safe and thrilling desert adventure!

We request every member that joins this drive to go through the below information and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquettes 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
   

DRIVE DETAILS

Level:  Fewbie and above

When:  26 July 2025, Saturday

Meeting time:  5:30 AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions)

Meeting Point:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/vgmQVN1suNhcVRQ57

Action Plan:  Starting in Murquab, making our way South towards Faqa

Approximate finish time: 9:30AM

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.

Recommended off-road gears: Walkie-talkie radio and off-road flag (MANDATORY), plus tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, compressor, walkie-talkie radio, off-road flag, shovel, first-aid kit and 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 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 THE CALENDAR

 

[Andrei S]

The fastest hand in the middle east 

[Emanuel]

Good afternoon everyone! Hope you are excited for our drive tomorrow morning. Please let me know if your circumstances have changed and you cannot  join the drive. 

I will be posting the convoy order in the next few hours.

[Emanuel]

@Mahesh_ I've moved you into the  Manage tab for this drive.

[Emanuel]

Please find the convoy numbering below.

We will used Radio Channel 4: 446.081.

@Diego @Danie @Arvindraj @JC_E @Michael asir @nithish468 @Mahesh_

Lead    Emanuel         The White Rhino
SL        Michael asir    Silver SWB  3.8 V6 PAJERO
3          Diego             2024 Ford Ranger Raptor - 4 door - Blue
4          Danie              2024 Jeep Wrangler - 2door - Grey
5          Arvindraj         2023, Nissan super safari, LwB, brown
6          JC_E                Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 250
7          nithish468       2011 Toyota fj cruiser - 2 door - white
SW       Mahesh_         2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon - 4 door - Green

[Emanuel]

Good afternoon Desert Explorers,

First and foremost, thank you to all of you for showing up on time, deflated and ready for briefing. We had a very unexpected surprise with our SL having slept in. Having consulted leadership we decided to proceed with the drive with certain adjustments to the drive plan and supports nearby if needed.

Everyone drove really well through super technical dune patches, mixed patches and some cleaner and fun dunes to play around on. We had very few refusals and reattempts with only one stuck which was quickly resolved.

As my first independent drive, you all are permanently locked into my memory of this challenging drive that required skill and focused concentration throughout. Well done!

Thank you for our Second Lead @Michael asir and @Mahesh_ for a strong Sweep and Support. You made this an easier day for me. Thank you.

I'll post the drive stats later. Though as a teaser... we covered an amazing 52 kms. 

[Arvindraj]

Thanks for the lovely drive @Emanuel (adding your souvenir here) we covered quite the distance today have a great weekend everyone! 

[JC_E]

Thanks to you @Emanuel! It was a great drive, all round challenges from technical dunes, to super soft ridges! I enjoyed every second of it!!! And also big thanks to the support guys! The silent heros, always there and ready to assist! @Michael asir @Mahesh_

[Mahesh_]

Great drive today — awesome to see everyone handled it so well.
Have a great weekend, and see you soon back on the sand!

 

[Emanuel]

Drive stats for today. Total drive was 55 kms in 3 hours and 47 minutes, which is pretty darn impressive gentlemen!

I haven't quite figured out how to combine two tracks and have some sort of combined stats. The stats I was getting for a the two tracks in a folder was giving me double the distance and time for some reason. If you know the fix please let me know.

For now, I'll post below both drive tracks. I've found sometimes Gaia GPS stops recording when I switch to another app, in this case Whatsapp to give Gaurav an update, and when I come back to Gaia the track stopped recording.