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Little Liwa Boy – were we spoilt for choice yesterday. Three drives, three different Emirates, lots of different experiences. As a relatively new ExPat in the UAE, one of the massive side benefits of joining Carnity has been the chance to get to see a totally different side to the country than the ‘Panem’ lifestyle of Dubai [for anyone not familiar with the reference, ask any teenager about The Hunger Games]. Which is why we jumped at the chance to drive Sweihan for the first time. Such is the addiction of the sand that dragging ourselves out of bed 30 minutes earlier than usual on a Friday (which is normally at ‘oh my god o’clock in the morning) seems completely reasonable! Watching the sun rise as we drove towards the meeting point we were excited at the prospect of what ‘Little Liwa’ had to offer. Even that early in the morning Sweihan was busy. A group of heavily modified F150s roared by, Jeepers crossed our path and there were more, including a newbie drive led by @Srikumar, very well attended and including @Vanessa8580, determined to strike out on her own in Little Blue. As the Fewbie group assembled, @Emmanuel gave us our briefing. Key message of the day (particularly as a number of the group were on their first Fewbie drive) – it you don’t feel it, don’t do it. There’s some days when we are at one with the car, others when things flow less well. Yesterday, for most it seems like things were going well, cars and drivers flowed in harmony and it started to look like the new fewbies were taking to this more challenging (and exciting) level with aplomb – but I spoke to soon. I am almost sad that @Denizzalbayrak has given up the Koleos for 4x4 moments as the new drive took everything with ease. Pop … seemed to be the theme for the day. As first @Michael sammy and then @Roshan Abraham suffered pop outs. Luckily, the pop-out king @Shamil was on hand with his heavy weight jack to get both moving again, in almost record time. Perhaps it was fortunate, perhaps not that we had followed @AKR or we might also have lost a tire. As Emmanuel continued with @Ale Vallecchi in second lead we crested wave after wave of wide, high banked dunes, everyone including @Febin Frederic and @Mostafa Taha gaining in confidence as the intensity grew. @sertac sweeping was rarely troubled: until, following a very clear message from Emmanuel to ‘come down this slope slowly and carefully’ was responded with @Szymon Stankiewicz and within seconds @Mostafa Taha confirming they had both had pop-outs within 10 meters of each other. Having recently added to the equipment myself and @Jeepie keep on board, I was keen to try out our new jack, but Shamil had reassured everyone that his jack was bigger than mine: and who was I to argue? With a double pop out, I was at least able to sort out the lighter car 😂 and we were on our way again. Talking of equipment, it’s OK to turn up to a newbie drive empty handed as far as equipment is concerned, but not acceptable to turn up to a fewbie drive without the equipment needed. @Gaurav takes time to send out a promotion mail to everyone who makes the grade, and it’s clear that the invitation to join drives with more experienced people is conditional on not just being able to drive, but also carrying the required equipment. Sweihan is not called Little Liwa for no reason. The sand is soft and it is difficult to gain purchase and so it was that out next stop was enforced by our poor little Wrangler getting a little hot under the collar as we tried to get up on little incline (apparently this is ‘Jeep’ thing). After an enforced break to allow the gauges to read more normally and checking there were no burst or blown pipes we were on our way again. Bowl riding is inherently risky, you need to time everything right and not to push when it’s not going right. Especially on exit you need to be in control and sure it’s safe. No more details, save to say, no one was injured, but if you don’t get this right it’s going to end the drive and lead to an exit quicker than planned. Which is a shame on too many levels to mention – so I will focus on the one that continues to impress every time we go out. The desert is phenomenally beautiful. Atop a highish dune the views are truly magnificent and stunning. What a privilege to be able to see them from within and enjoy this majesty. And how lucky we are that the tool we take with us, our dear beloved vehicles cope with the incredible stress and strain under which we put them. Our drive out of Sweihan was swift and mainly on a dirt track so there were no more incidents. As @Ale Vallecchi and ourselves decided we would help out on the Newbie afternoon drive we left quickly because we did not want to keep the other convoy waiting. For anyone wanting to know more, my thoughts about the Afternoon/Evening (!) Newbie drive, you’ll find it there. See you soon in the sand.

Afternoon (Evening) Drive Maliha The UAE is at time a stunningly beautiful country. As @Jeepie @Ale Vallecchi and myself raced across from Sweihan to Maliha yesterday (worried we might miss the start of the drive because we would be too late) I could not help but to marvel and think how privileged we are to be in this part of the world. Carnity has proven to be the best way for us to get out of the city (we are guaranteed at least one trip out a week) and see a bit of the beautiful countryside. Having exited from Sweihan deflated (in more ways than one – read the report for more details if interested), we had first to find a garage to inflate and fill with gas, and empty other fluids (TMI! I hear you cry, but these are the practicalities of a full day driving 4x4!) before hammering our way East in the hope we would get to Maliha before the convoy left. All three of us had seen the sign up list for the drive and felt that a little more experience might be appreciated, if not needed, and wanted to be there for the seniors, just in case. If nothing else, we thought, if the track is churned up, we might help a few people reroute a meter or so. Even if we had arrived too late for the convoy, the truly spectacular countryside we saw would have made the journey worthwhile. The route through which we were guided by Ms. Google was stunning. Arrive on time we did, and with more than enough time to hear a part of the briefing and be arranged by @Gaurav and @Rahimdad into the gargantuan convoy. I think this is the largest single convoy of which we have been part. You almost had the feeling as we set off that that @Xaf at the end would start moving as @Gaurav at the head of the convey hit Fossil Rock. But I am a little ahead of myself. Fossil Rock was a long, long way off. The drive started off well, with everyone navigating the first dunes and descents well. @Ale Vallecchi took up a position as second lead, @Rahimdad was the centre forward, we played in midfield and @Xaf acted as sweeper. The first ‘play area’ was reached without incident (well, where we were in the convoy it was in any event) as we traversed across a wide area with smallish dunes either side and a few tester descents. Just about every driver @Kalahari, @Emad Malaeb @sebin @Chaitanya D, @balaji0007, absolute newbie to more experienced @Jolly Abraham was handling both the pace and the challenges well. As I remember my first drives, the most challenging part was keeping the power, but not too much, going as you get to the crest and over without knowing what is on the other side. From what I could see (and where I could see it) just about everyone @Jamy B., @yusufwas handling the challenges very well. By the time we reached the second play area a few experienced newbies felt confident enough and wanted to try their hand at slope sliding. This skill is one the real adrenalin buzzes as well as being useful for navigating dunes at more advanced stages. Then we began the journey to the foot of Fossil Rock. The hope was for the convoy to get the experience of climbing a large hill, engine screaming, bumping over the sand with the end result the sight of sunset from the top of Fossil Rock, before descending to the road in the dwindling light. Instead, we were treated to an pre-season night drive. In the growing dusk, and because the technical dunes close to the foot of Fossil Rock were so churned up by the traffic ahead of us, the back end of the convoy suffered multiple refusals and stucks. Nine cars had made it to the top. Congratulations to @Ale Vallecchi, @balaji0007, @Kalahari, @Chaitanya D, @sebin, @Emad Malaeb, @Nizam Mohammed, @Shahab Khan who all made it to the top. As the light faded, they were led down the other side of the hill by @Rahimdad. For the remainder, it being no longer safe to try an ascent, we turned around and ‘enjoyed’ a night drive. Thanks for waiting for us guys 😂😂 - it's great to know you've got our backs!! Seriosly though, making sure everyone gets home saely is a key principle of the Carnity values. No doubt this was explained by @Rahimdad as he made sure the summit reachers reached the Adnoc. No doubt later than expected but with confirmation it was ok to leave , they made their way home. I do not think we can pretend that for the rest of the convoy this was the easiest way out of the dunes. Despite everyone’s best efforts, and a lot of effort was spent by Gaurav, Xaf and Jeepie to bring everyone out, we did have a few more stucks along the way. @Anish S, @Najeeb Mohammed, @Alexander Sarte, @Anvar Sadath Bekal, @Dale Panganiban - Fabrication, @Shiju Manuel, @E.C. TAN, @sheri, @Sherif Hamed I am glad to say that you all kept your cool in what was a very different situaiton and eventually, everyone was accounted for and we rolled our way off to the Adnoc station where everyone filled their tires and stomachs with Aloo Paratha from @Rahimdad before making it back home, possibly a little later than expected. Does that sort of experience count as two newbie drives? I have no idea, but for anyone wanting to experience 4x4 it was a great lesson on car control and that things don’t always go to plan, but no matter the situation, when you’re with a group like Carnity no one is left behind. Perhaps, at times yesterday direction was given a little more firmly than is usual, and there was not enough congratulaiton and celebration for the people who had got themselves out of sticky situations, but this was a relatively unusual situation – normally we end the drives with a debrief, relaxed chat together and share a few stories and bites. Here we can give feedback to the leadrs and @Gaurav can give hints to drivers about what might make the experience more enjoyable or easier next time. For myself and Jeepie it was the end of another full Friday in the sand, and frankly, even though we had been up since 4.30, I would not have it any other way. When things like this happen it’s all part of the experience and helps remind us that this is a team event. We are literally all in it together and hope that with this experience everyone still had a great time. See you soon in the sand.

Thanks to the organizers again - after a long day and some challenges towards the end of the trip, they stayed patient and made the right decisions. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip - learned a lot about my car and what can be done in these dunes. And a fabulous sunset from Fossil Rock to end the day. I did find a convoy of 23 cars a bit of a challenge, as the cars at the back had some churned-out tracks to navigate - maybe around 10 cars in a convoy should be good? But great that the group is growing, with a LOT of activity on Friday. See you next Friday!!!

Totally agree @Xaf I also mentioned this in my briefing to emphasize on the fact that if you buy a tool like a radio or deflator, that you should at least do an effort to test it, read the manual, and if still in doubt approach us. I understand that learning the off-road hobby takes some time but the forum and the tons of MUST READ topics were made to smoothen the process of learning. I’ve seen two types of drivers so far. People that have joined the club, took some time to got through most of the posts and information to get themselves familiarized, and people who just click on “going” without having the slightest clue on what they’ve signed up for. I guess we can all guess which type of persons will learn this skill the quickest...

Good morning everybody. I hope everybody reached home safely. It was a challenging sunset yesterday. Off-roading is a team sport, the bigger the team, the more challenging to manage. I want to stress out 3 things that are important in my opinion to keep the process streamlined. 1- Radio If you have bought a radio, please take the effort to read the manual or Fred's guideline how to program your radio. Or take the effort to come 10 minutes early and talk to one of the other drivers if you need help. 2- Deflating Lowering the tire pressure is essential for driving in the sand. Off roading is a sport/ hobby that needs some investments, we don't expect that you arrive with full recovery gear on your first newbie drive. In my opinion, the cheapest investment you should invest (Financially and a bit of your own time to read/ watch YouTube instruction) is a DEFLATOR. There are different ways to deflate your tire. Do your own research and make a choice. What I did/ do when I have a new deflator, I test it! I drive to a gas station, check if the air pump is working and I test my deflator. Test the gauge, see how much it is reading. (Not every gauge is calibrated the same, so the gauge might over/ under- read.) Inflate my tires again and drive away. So I feel comfortable with my new gadget. But this is my technique. The same counts for the radio, if you have bought new equipment and you don't know how to use it, please arrive 10 minutes early and ask one of the other members to help you. 3- Open communication As I said, this is a team sport. Don't be afraid to ask any questions. If you are ashamed to ask a question in front of a big group, ask the question direct to one of the more experienced. There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. This also counts for during the drive, please communicate. Hearing is a sense that is effected by stress. If you get stuck, or in any uncomfortable situation, hearing is the first sense that will deteriorate. Thats why the communication over the radio is essential. Talking to each other pulls you out of this tunnel vision so we can guide you. Hope to see you all on the next trip.

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for very competent second lead and joining after the morning drive. @Chaitanya D @Grenville Mark Stuart Wright @sebin it was lovely driving with you all and thanks for lovely pics. @Xaf "BRILLIANT" points mentioned and raised over Radio, Deflation and Communication. I like to reiterate what @Frederic mention in a slightly different and a blunt way: If you really need something, you will find a way (read, search, ask, google, try, experiment etc.) If you really don't need anything, you will find an excuse: Oh, site is too confusing, not loading. Do you have whatsapp group? Do you have an app, FB group? Why don't you sell stuff? Nobody called me I am always busy UNFORTUNATELY some people come with a mindset to drive off-road like to be a NASA space scientist without reading a single page or a book. Ask them to read the basics and attend a briefing to "LISTEN" and they start browsing their phone, moving and looking around as briefing is for Marshals and not for them. All they just want is quick fame video and images for their social media without understanding the basics, technicalities, skills, risk and associated threat involved. @Xaf we do have an internal closed discussion group for Moderators, Marshal and Crew, so when anyone reaches to that level they will be added to that Mod group for discussing behind the scene topics and brainstorming. @Kalahari thanks for your valuable suggestion and we do take note of such inputs very carefully. @Emad Malaeb I love your offroading spirit and passion to learn things to advance with a right mind set. Please keep it up and you will enjoy lot more adventures in different parts of UAE. @Chaitanya D nobody is too new or too old to make constructive suggestions here, as that's why we are growing at such an amazing pace with help of each and every new and old member and/or offroader valuable inputs and creative feedback. @Wrangeld I have no match to write a beautifully capturing trip report like yours but I will add few important points being a trip lead of yesterday's drive. Thanks everyone for showing up on time, that has been changing lately to be almost perfect and this really help us plan, start and run drives as per set schedule. This also help all 30+ offroaders to start the drive with a happy note rather than holding 30+ convoy for one person delay (not fair). We have recently started leaving the late comers behind and I highly suggest all our marshals to continue doing that for better planning and execution of drives with the limited time in hand. I can see lot of absolute newbies joined recently and I highly advise them to start reading off-road related topics, advises, blog post here so that they can learn and enjoy off-roading without breaking bumpers, bones and confidence (most important). If you have any doubts, feel free to ask on offroad forum, if its been discussed before someone will point you in the right direction, if its not, your curious question will help thousands other in the future. So be a curious offroader than just a deflate and go types. Offroading in this country is probably the best weekend activity I have found that offers a lot of freedom, adrenaline, showing new places, meeting new faces, make new friends and explore new areas from a different vantage point that has no match in reality. If you get the basics of offroading right at newbie and fewbie level, you practically have whole life to enjoy the offroading with the best skills and safe knowledge. So in short, having a little patience in beginning goes a long way to let you know this extreme sport and hobby with better clarity. @Xaf rightfully mentioned that offroading is a team sport than just one man show-off contest (at least with Carnity) so that you will/tend to develop lot of trust on your team while off-roading. Marshal, Crew and senior member driving at different positions in a convoy plays an important role to keep the whole convoy safe and moving at all times. With the same team spirit and teamwork we scale massive dunes, conquer impossible challenges and have an extreme dose of adrenaline but with a confidence and peace of mind that we are backed with a competent and trust-worthy team. For the absolute newbies who have joined us yesterday for the first time, you must have seen bit of extreme side first, which we usually witness very rarely like once or twice in a year. As an inherent nature of off-roading you should be always ready for such unexpected delays and always learn to retreat if things aren't working as expected. I really appreciate and thanks everyone personally to hold their grounds and act very sensibly, maturely and cautiously until we manage to contain the whole situation. Taking absolute newbies to a night drive was not at all part of this drive, but it happened so because of continuous stuck and refusals due to extra soft sand that caused expansive recoveries. As soon we realized that we all cannot make on top of fossil rock, before it gets dark we decided to retreat. With the convoy split of all experienced drivers reaching on top VS all absolute newbies at the foothill of fossil rock we left with limited support and going back was quiet time consuming with more recoveries and refusal in the dark. I fully understand the fear, anxiety and inconvenience you must have faced when you were stuck in the dark, but due to limited support, situation and number of unprecedented recoveries at the same time it took us little longer than usual to reach you with a help. I appreciate your understanding and apologies for not reaching you any sooner as 12 out of 14 cars had stuck/refusals at the same time. Thankfully we all came out together to a safe track with an hour or two delay. Many thanks to @Wrangeld for taking the roll call of each and everyone while we sweep and combed that piece of desert 3 times before leaving. Hopefully some of you got a fair chance to learn new tricks for self recovering on your very first off-road drive. Looking forward to seeing you all soon in the sand with bigger and better appetite for more thrilling adventures.

@Wrangeld well put, I could not have written a better report if I tried. Truly yesterday tested our patience, skills and judgement. Can't thank @Wrangeld, @Jeepie and @Ale Vallecchi enough for being so thoughtful to come rushing to our assistance. @Xaf was also very cool, calm and helpful during this whole drive. @Gaurav bhai although posted the afternoon drive but was there to support @Frederic drive in the morning but had the presence of mind to check the list to make sure all made it out safely after the last 2 really tough hours. Hats off to a brilliant team effort.

TRIP REPORT Sweihan is also known as "Little Liwa" among offroaders. The reason being that the dune formation and size is second only to the massive Liwa desert. So I was eagerly looking forward to a challenge of having a Newbie drive in the midst of some of the biggest dunes that UAE can offer. Upon reaching the meeting point I was happy to see that the entire Newbie and Fewbie group and already arrived, so we were in a position to leave immediately. At that time I noticed a heavily tinted Xterra park besides our cars. A minute later I get a call from @Asif Hussain and to my very pleasant surprise our good old buddy had finally rejoined the Carnity drives in his new Xterra. Welcome back Asif bhai, we all missed you a lot. After that, we moved to the deflation point where we split the Fewbie convoy (led by Emmanuel) and I started the briefing of the Newbie group. A quick brief and I assigned the convoy numbers with @Nivin as my second lead and Asif bhai in sweep. We started slowly in the massive rolling dunes near the deflation point with zero refusals. That gave me the confidence that this group can manage itself quite well. So we headed out to the infamous Naqrah hills. In between we encountered a big patch of small technical dunes, and while it was not as fun as driving on rolling dunes the entire group managed themselves did exceptionally well to have zero stuck. I must say congratulations to the entire team to drive so well, as technical dunes while they look small can be very nasty. As we approached the base of Naqrah hills, i got a radio message from Asif who was checking for some water leak from the radiator. On closer inspection, we found out that Xterra's radiator had developed a small leak. So we parked Asif's car near the Naqrah hills, while the rest of the convoy started exploring the back dunes of Naqrah. We came across some of the most amazing virgin dunes and the satisfaction of riding on those dunes showed on the face of the entire convoy. As we were nearing 12 pm, we exited out to the track to pick up Asif's car which had to be towed to the road. While the route through the dunes was the shortest exit, but I didnt want to take a risk with a Newbie convoy and hence we decided to go all along the track. Special thanks to all the members for showing patience as this is the true essence of offroading which in the end is a team sport. Congratulations to @Remco Snoek and @Gordon Grimmond on their first offroad drive. You guys did extremely well for Newbies as the route taken was definitely not for Absolute Newbies. @Martin. @IMAMPand @Rinelle Sanaani it was wonderful to see your confidence growing since your first drive in Al Qudra. @Vanessa8580 you are an extremely fast learner and your enthusiasm is infectious. Hope to see you as a regular on our drives. A special mention about @Nivin who not only did an excellent job as second lead with continuous communication with the Sweep, but also to guide us on the track by explaining the obstacles during the towing of Asif's car. A wonderful day which started off with possibly the best surprise of the season and though we had a small hiccup, it once again showed that with a good and patient team everything can be well managed. Look forward to seeing you all next weekend.

@Emad MalaebI would have been glad to be part of this drive, but the thing is that I wasn’t here yesterday afternoon 😂. Maybe you wanted to say thank you to @Xaf, @Wrangeld, @Jeepie and/or @Ale Vallecchi who were here to support @Gaurav and @Rahimdad?

@Xaf Essential points to remember. Well said. More about the challenging sunset later. We all have to rely on each other while out in the sand, so the more that we try to help each other, the better. Yesterday was a prime example of how working together, and understanding that when people are asked to do something they could perhaps understand that there is a reason for it. Turning up as an absolute newbie to a drive unprepared is fine, as long as you then pay attention and follow the rules. Turning up and thinking you know better is not. Carnity has a massive amount of informaiton avaialble BEFORE you drive, as ALL levels. It's not there because the people who wrote it have nothing better to do with their lives. As Xaf says, it;'s a team sport.

TRIP REPORT CONVOY 2 Almost everyone made it on time today which was a blessing, and by 06:45 most people were already busy deflating and getting to know one another. After the briefing we made up two convoys, of which the first consisted of @Rahimdad with @tjsingh as his trusty helper to get all his convoy members nicely ligned up. They headed out and soon our convoy followed. With @Mels Wolf as my second lead, who did excellent in keeping a close watch on the convoy behind him, and appropriate distance from me, the convoy was moving swiftly and our friend @Pickey Singh drove through the dunes like he never did anything else. @Muffy Acidwala his Kia took a bit of time to wake up on this early morning, but soon he found the way to tame it and managed well throughout the drive. The Wrangler boys, @Nacho @J J @siddharth maheshwari all drove very well too. I love Wranglers on my convoy list, they are hard to get in trouble with @Tero Vallas joined us with his wife for the first time too, and i noticed him smiling throughout the drive. I am sure Mika Hakkinen was a better F1 pilot, but Tero was today the proper offroad version of him. @Hariharan, @Zaheer Mohamudbucus did great with the LWB Pajeros ! @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ your Ford Explorer managed very well. good job done. @Salarios your beast mode could not get unleashed yet, but we wanted you to get the basics right, i see you're eager to reach higher levels and thats a good thing. Keep coming back and you'll be on those higher levels faster than you might have imagined. @Nizam Deen Instagram man, who decided to wing it and drove to the meeting point, swiftly registered and signed up. Well done buddy, keep coming back. @Mathavan Muthukrishnan your Prado and you did great ! @Jun Zamora drove into the meeting point with a very nice SWB Wrangler, quite the upgrade coming from the Murano. It shows your enthusiasm and you did great as our sweep, keeping an eye out to keep the convoy moving, and communication well with me and @Gaurav We headed back to the Last Exit for a snack and a chat, and our senior chiefs quickly inflated and went to the afternoon drive in Maliha. Please send us your feedback, suggestions, and kindly upload your pics and snaps in the gallery. I had a blast and hope you did too ! Let me know if i forgot a name too, as my convoy list had to be updated on the fly with some last minute signups.

This is actually mentioned on every drive post:

@Wrangeld I love reading your trip reports ! I think I did well in my little blue, next week it's time to try the big blue 😁

Hi all!thanks for an amazing first experience off-road. What you do in this group is amazing for all of us that want to learn in a super friendly enviroment! Thanks for all the things we learnt and for all the fun we had. Already looking forward for the next one! Thanks!!!

Hi all, very big thanks for Mr. @Gaurav and @Emmanuel @Rahimdad for the fantastic day we spent yesterday .i really enjoyed the experience which I learned, see you next week.

Hi guys. Has everybody exited safe and sound? Sorry for not saying bye to the whole group. It was a fun drive (at least for me 🤓), and full of learning, for sure. Great surroundings as well. Thanks Gaurav for the lead, thanks Rahim for guiding us out from "the other side", and for watching over the group from high above. To all the drivers and passengers, have a great coming week. PS. Looking forward to Richard's reporting on the drive (after recovering from the very long day).

Thanks all. Had a great time in Convoy 1 today. Had a lot of fun meeting some awesome people. See you all again soon. Greg

Thanks @Frederic and @Gaurav for taking us to highest peak for our picture taking break . Very nice view from there. And also for allowing us to experience a few leap of faith moments to prepare our confidence for the even more challenging adventures in the future. Very nice ride today guys. Good job to all !!

Glad to have been in this and meet like-minded and passionate folks . Great job !

@Chaitanya D check the post, just above your request. It's pretty simplified. I was able to configure using it If not, I can do it for you before the next drive. it just takes 15mins.

When driving with Koleos, one of the concern was to get maximum power that small engine will provide before approaching a hill and the other one was not get stopped buy electronics. Because they kick back in over 55km/h speed. The role of electronics can be summarized with a quote from Gandalf, “You shall not pass” Trailblazer undoubtedly is a powerfull car. But dealing with weight needs completely a different study.

A poor breed you mean 🤣

Thanks @Srikumar, I had a blast yesterday !!! I think I also caught the off-road bug like my hubby 😁 I definitely want to do weekly drives if the kids let me. Next week, you will see me in my big blue instead of the little blue, Fred made sure I have 4 new off-road tires.

Thank you @Frederic Had a great experience , well organized and most importantly felt really safe with @Gaurav. Lovely people and nice meeting all of them. Looking forward to next adventure and next level. Cheers!

Guarav thanks a lot your guiding and we enjoyed a lot as newbie

Hey Federic really it was an amazing day for me and my wife, as i wanted to test my Kia. Now i am sure i can take kia along with me for the next drives. All the people there, you guys are really cool and adventurous. Looking forward To meet you all for next weekend drive. Cheers 🤟🏻

It was a fantastic experience and loved it... Cant wait for the trip.. please let me know when we are going next! Amazing crew.. Many thanks guys.

@Frederic @Gaurav and @Rahimdad thank you for your guidance and patience. The off roading experience is already amazing, but you guys made it even more enjoyable. I'm already looking forward to the next Drive. Thank you! Cheers, Salar.

@Nayan Shenai thanks @Frederic, my apologies for not seeing this complete thread and shooting a query to you. Thanks

Sorry but can I add something, as a newbie it's too early for me to make suggestions!:-)) When new drivers sign up and are asked about which car they drive, tow hooks and prior off road experience , along with this it would be better to provide them the exact thread advising on what is needed as a newcomer. Just to make it point they read it and be aware because sometimes they may read other discussions/threads on carnity which are of interest.

Mostafa - thanks for clarifying. Maybe it was @Febin Frederic I know if was a Wrangler and @Shamil dealt with the pop out - because my jack was just not big enough to lift it 😋 The red pajero was @Roshan Abraham

Nice article ...though it’s not me that had a pop-out it was Symon and the red Pajero.

Wow @Vanessa8580, you have got a good husband that not only splurges on his car, but his wife's car as well. He is definitely a rare breed.

Hello all...I hope everyone is back home ...have some rest and thanks to @Gaurav @Rahimdad for guiding . Well done all of you, have a look at the pictures in gallery. Looking forward to the report

@Frederic, @Gaurav & @Rahimdad Thank you for providing us with such an opportunity. It was an wonderful experience with such an amazing community. Your coaching and advice encouraged me to drive my Ford Explorer into the desert. It was a day full of learning and thrill. Good job, looking forward to join you for another drive. 👍

Hi @Gregory Perkin It was a pleasure meeting you on Friday. It's funny how getting up for work takes 8 alarms, multiple snooze hits, several gallons of coffee, and fifty seven curse words. But waking up on Friday at 5am for my first Carnity off-road drive required only a single beep of the alarm..

Instead of a GoPro, I recommend a 360 camera like the Rylo. You mount it on the windshield with a suction cup, and it takes 360 degree video, and then you can choose the ideal frame you want in the app on your phone afterwards. Very easy and intuitive. Or, as in this video, you can choose to show both front and rear angles in the same frame. IMG_6439_Trim.mp4

Thanks you all for yesterday a good friendly group. Will definitely join you again but I can only make the occasional weekend. But really enjoyed myself and your cars are assume in the Desert.

Jeez man talk about a ludite! Bet you still use an old typewriter and write angry letters to the local newspaper sent via the post office

After yesterday`s drive i want to compare my old car 2000 Jeep Cherokee 4.0(Auto) and 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0(Auto). I was pretty happy with my Grand Cherokee but i was never tested it properly. I went to Qudra, Maleha area few times but all was newbie drive. Yesterday on Fewbie drive at Sweihan i saw the real capacity of the car. I found chance to climb some dunes while convoy is stopped for pop out. At my old Cherokee 1/2 manual gear was together so while i was climbing it was shifting to 2 itself even tough i want to stay on 1 and i was losing momentum. With Grand Cherokee 1 and 2 is separate, so if i want to stay at 1st gear it will stay and it will go to redline never shift up. Whit this advantage i found Grand Cherokee is climbing more easier than Cherokee. Yes Grand Cherokee is heavier car with extra 250kg but it has 10hp more than a regular cherokee. Yes it is bigger car but not big as today`s Grand Cherokee. Still i have to say if you find and if you can drive manual get a Manual Cherokee over auto Cherokee or Grand Cherokee but if you are going with Auto gearbox I am thinking Grand Cherokee is better option.

We had a great day; well organised and a fun morning thanks for everything guys. Hope to see you again soon. Mark and Ilya

2007 Toyota 4runner V8. Hooks F & R, Yes

Thank you! Choosing took a while but I'm happy with the final result

Just for those who would be coming to Sweihan for the first time, the nearest gas station to the meeting point is ADNOC Service Station Abu Dhabi - Sweihan - Al Hayer Road - Abu Dhabi 800 300 https://maps.app.goo.gl/TKTgwSNCCk8mUgBc7 Please ensure that you are refuelled and at the meeting point at 6:45 am. See you tomorrow

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