Afternoon Fewbie Desert Drive - Murquab to Secret Dunes of Qudra - Dubai - 5 Jun 2026

[Emanuel]

DRIVE DESCRIPTION - WHAT TO EXPECT

We’re organising a scenic and moderately challenging off-road drive from Murquab to the Secret Dunes of Qudra, starting westward before moving northwest. 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 will encounter some sabkha flats—likely where we will take a break, depending on the conditions and timing. As we head into Qudra's Secret Dunes, expect more varied terrain with scattered bushes and camel grass, until we see the open dunes ahead of us for the finale part of our planned drive.

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

 

Please read, understand, and follow the guidelines, etiquette, and responsibilities below.

⚠️ IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY 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
• Convoy Off-road Drives - Safety protocol during emergency alert

🕖 DRIVE DETAILS

• Level:  Fewbie and above
• When: Friday, June 5, 2026
• Meeting time: 2 PM (Arrive 15 minutes early to get setup as the briefing will start promptly at 2 PM)
• Meeting point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/vgmQVN1suNhcVRQ57
• Approximate finish time: 6 PM

🚗 VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS

• Any proper 4x4 vehicle. 
• Front and rear tow hooks / recovery points.
• 8–10 inches minimum ground clearance

🎒 WHAT TO BRING

• Loads of water, snacks, smiles, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. We also recommend adequate protection from the sun and closed shoes.

🧰 OFFROAD GEARS

• Tire deflator and Tire pressure gauge.
• Air compressor.
• A programmable Walkie-talkie radio.
• Off-road safety flag.
• A proper shovel.
• First-aid kit and Fire extinguisher.

✅ RSVP

• Confirm your attendance by clicking on "GOING" in the Calendar Event. Your name will appear on the RSVP list.
• If the RSVP is full, add yourself to the waitlist. As soon as a spot becomes available you will be moved automatically to the RSVP list.
• The RSVP closes one day prior to the drive
• Latecomers will be turned back (no exceptions)
• No RSVP = No Drive
• Please withdraw your RSVP if your plans change
• Repeated no-shows may result in 1-month suspension

PLEASE RSVP ON THE BELOW CALENDAR EVENT

 

[Emanuel]

Good afternoon everyone. Hope you are excited for our afternoon drive tomorrow. We have experience FB and above drivers so the briefing will be concise and we'll be moving shortly after 2 pm. It should also be a fast moving convoy as a result of the experience.
Please let me know and remove yourself from the RSVP if your plans have changed.
I'll be posting the convoy order in the morning. 

[Yerem Davtyan]

Hey guys, seems I won't have the car by 2 PM tomorrow unfortunately,  so will have to reluctantly skip. 

Have fun in the desert!

[Emanuel]

1 hour ago, Yerem Davtyan said:

Hey guys, seems I won't have the car by 2 PM tomorrow unfortunately,  so will have to reluctantly skip. 

Have fun in the desert!

Thanks for letting me know and removing yourself from the RSVP. Hopefully you'll have a car for the weekend and can join one of those drives.

[Jason M]

@Emanuel i wont be able to make it, sorry to miss out.

[Emanuel]

2 hours ago, Jason M said:

@Emanuel i wont be able to make it, sorry to miss out.

Thanks for letting me know and for removing yourself from the RSVP. Have a great weekend and see you next time.

[Emanuel]

Hello everyone,

@lucas amat @Jerzi @Jose Luis Campos @Thomas54675 @Riyad @Fabien Monleau

Convoy order as follows:

Lead    Emanuel    The White Rhino    Expert
SL        lucas amat    Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk 2016 Grey    Fewbie Plus
3          Jerzi    2019, Toyota, FJ Cruiser, gray    Fewbie
CF        Jose Luis Campos    Mitsubishi Pajero,  2020 LWB 3.8L, White&black    Support Team
5          Thomas54675    2017 Jeep Wrangler JK, 2 Door, white    Fewbie Plus
6          Riyad    Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392    Fewbie
Sweep  Fabien Monleau    Toyota Land Cruiser 76 series    Support Team

Channel 4.

See you in a couple of hours for some Friday fun.

[Emanuel]

Post Drive Report
A big thank you to everyone for arriving early and being ready for the briefing—great to see the drive starting right on time, and we were rolling by around 2:15 PM.

We initially followed the sand track toward our first set of dunes, where @Thomas54675 began experiencing power issues with his Jeep, struggling to sustain above 3,000 RPM. After some checks and a few test climbs, the issue persisted, so we continued cautiously toward the Murquab playground. While Thomas waited there, the rest of the group enjoyed some nice sidies, hill climbs, and descents.

From there, we crossed the sabkha and took a sand track toward the next dune area between Murquab and Qudra. During a break, and with @Jose Luis Campos’s help, we identified the issue—Thomas’s new aftermarket hood liner was getting sucked into the air intake at higher RPMs. Once removed, the fix worked perfectly, and he was back in action.

We spent some time playing in that area before heading to Qudra Secret Dunes, where we wrapped up the drive with some excellent sidies, ridge riding, and controlled crossovers. Overall, really solid driving from everyone—special mention to @Jerzi and @Riyad for their control and pace. Also great to see proper convoy discipline and spacing, especially when some vehicles needed to exit early, turned down, and had to make a re-attempt—exactly how it should be done for safety.

Unfortunately, @lucas amat had an issue with his front driver-side wheel liner coming off on a small step-out, causing some rubbing on metal now. Given the situation, we decided to exit, about 15 minutes early—well managed and no major impact on the overall drive.

A big thank you to @Jose Luis Campos for strong center support and @Fabien Monleau for covering sweep, as well as @lucas amat for stepping up as second lead.

Drive Stats (Gaia GPS):
We covered approximately 57 km, with a great mix of terrain. The elevation profile clearly highlighted some of the more enjoyable climbs and descents we tackled along the way.

Relive Video:
 

Thanks again everyone—fantastic drive and great teamwork throughout.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend ahead, and I’ll see you when I’m back from holidays in Canada!

[Riyad]

Thank you @Emanuelit was a fantastic drive. A couple of hiccups along the way, but it only adds to the adventure.

enjoy your break and see you on the next one.

[Thomas54675]

What happened was I had the bright idea, to change the felt on the inside cover of my jeep. What can go wrong buying it from Temu? I tell you what. On the first clime my Airflow dropped dramatically. The engine control unit (ECU) limited fuelling because it sees insufficient air. My engine struggled to make power. The RPM did not rise beyond a certain point (in my case about 3000RPM). So, I knew immediately something was wrong, but didn’t think on Airflow at this time. Indeed, I went on trying on some smaller dunes to clime and the “pack” made some sidings. A few minutes later Emmanuel told me we should continue to a certain area, stop and look at the Jepp together. Jose joined in and we had a small brainstorming abt possible reasons for the sluggish behaviour. The moment he, Jose, mentioned the word Air. I knew we could check the felt and we saw the marks of the air inlet filter on it. It was clear it was sucked into the inlet and as mentioned above we knew the problem. I ripped the new felt out, cursed TEMU and hugged Jose and Emmanuel. I mean I did not want to sweat for nothing this Friday afternoon, I wanted to have more fun. As all this happened very early in the drive we still had an awesome afternoon and great fun, regardless of the high outside temperatures. Lesson learned – drive on!

 Obrigado @Jose Luis Campos Thank you @Emanuel great Team work!