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When I look back 2020, like every onc in the world with lots of mysteries not sure what’s next ??? However, one of the very happy moment for me is joining Carnity Off-Road Club and started learning the off-Road techniques and also understanding the capabilities of my Pajero. Thank you to the all the Marshals Happy, Health and Safe New Year to all Carnitian's

Thanks @Baskaran P.R 2020 has indeed been a rollercoaster year with so many surprises, and the things we thought were impossible were proven to be possible. Carnity has been for me personally one of the things that kept us going and the positive spirit and willingness of our members to abide to all the Covid rules has been so inspiring. You have been performing so well with your Pajero, and having you and your son on our drives is a blessing for us ! Happy New Year !

I have purchased these cards a while back to keep reminding me of the basics. They are very helpful when you print them out and keep them with you on your shooting trips. Snap Cards Full Collection.pdf

@Luca Palanca Falsini grande, congratulazioni!

As usual - such a useful tool from you @Frederic. Fantastic to see and learn more from your contributions

Totally agree

@Mehmet Volga don't give up. I have the shorter end of the stick with a 3.3 liter 164 hp Pathy. I can never reach Faya or Iftar Bowl top from the front side. But it doesn't mean I can't reach the top, that is why I have my cheat routes. Next time we drive in these areas together I will introduce you to my cheat routes so you can enjoy the sand blowing on your face on top.

DRIVE REPORT : UMM AL OUSH/BU TAIS/WAGAN After an amazing Sunday drive coming from Wagan with @Nabil Bishara and @marks, a good night of sleep in the dunes close to our Monday meeting point and an indescribable sunrise on the sabkha, I heard @Chaitanya D and @Christian Andras arriving from the dirt road, about 500m away, a few minutes before meeting time. It was nice to see them both, the two last survivors from the list of attendees... They directly started to deflate and just when they were done, a massive and unidentified 4x4 truck appeared, coming from nowhere in our direction. First time I had the opportunity to see (and hear!) a Dodge "Power Wagon", with a monster V8 of 6L. The driver, an Emirati citizen, was just coming to say hi, make sure we were OK and have a little morning chat. As soon as he left, we headed East, towards Bu Tais, that I wanted to explore more deeply after the lovely taste we had the day before. After half an hour or so, we reached the famous "Tree Dune" surroundings, where we played a bit before we headed South, avoiding a technical area by using one of the sand tracks recently made in this part of Abu Dhabi (for oil and gas prospections), then back West through the white/salty sabkha to enter Umm al-Oush from the first huge star dune. There, the tracks didn't make our life easier, on the contrary, they made our climbs more difficult as they were cutting/interrupting the inclines. But then what a joy to reach the upper level and admire the vastness of this region ! I think we didn't let any of the high star shaped dunes of Umm al-Oush unvisited. 80% of them were covered with small trees and bush - good news for environment but still a bit frustrating for us off roaders... When we reached the end of Umm al Oush set of dunes and begun our descent to the sabkha, we had to make a choice between exiting slowly from the western dirt track and exiting from Wagan with the risk of finishing the drive later than announced (3:30 pm). We opted for Wagan exit, using the sand track at the beginning, till we realised that it was perfectly doable on time. After two days of leading, I was happy to pass the baton to @Chaitanya D who managed very well to take us out safely. Thank you! @Christian Andras thank you for your good company and excellent driving skills. Hardly one or two refusals if I remember well. Very well done!

I love writing poetry, but poetry to me means rhyming words. But this is poetry in true sense. @Frederic you ask my friend what he's smoking, when all that he's high on is the sand he breathes in every weekend. This is his way to vent out what he has inhaled after the mixture has been through his combustion chamber.

One day you must tell me what stuff you are smoking my friend....

Hahaha no I meant that you are also waitlisted in the PM (evening) drive. I did not mean “Personal Message”. We’ll be closing the convoys tomorrow and check who has signed out and fill up the drive accordingly.

Sure @Rahimdad i'll not give up but it's good idea to have some of your 'cheat routes'. I know your car is 3.3 L only but you have some 'super-magic' skills covering the gap I think So, if i manage to reach at the top with using one of your cheat routes then I can show off with my personal driving skills rather than the car's capacity. This give more satisfaction I think

totally agree with @Federico Galbieri, amazing drive and great crowd, thanks @Ale Vallecchi and @Gaurav for the nice exploration, and first taste of fewbie drive! See you soon in the desert.

Current Waitlist: 1) Chris Meir 2) Explored Dubai 3) Arman 4) Michael Glavanis 5) Alexpol (also in WL PM drive) 6) Imranaasghar81 (also in WL PM drive)

Congratulations @Veedooshee! Well Deserved.

@Chaitanya D I agree, in one day, 600km on tarmac + 100km on dunes is too much. My suggestion is to arrive the night before or leave the morning after the drive.

@Emmanuel it was an absolute joy to drive in this region- massive dunes, huuuuuuuge bowls in and out. Three car convoy was perfect for exploring and the way you took us around was mesmerizing. Climbing in and out of a bowl, climbing down on slip side crossing a narrow sharp ridge will be in my experiences for a very long time, frankly I was feeling my heart beat crossing that ridge after it was a bit churned as I was sweeping. But it was a memorable day. Thanks to @Christian Andras for being part of this memorable day with you in Um al Osh to Wagan.Excellent driving by you Thank you for letting me experience a bit of leading in this terrain which I thoroughly enjoyed. I wish to come back here more often. All the pain of waiting for covid clearance , passing through check posts and driving close to 600 Km on tarmac in one day up -down is worth the experience in this terrain. See you soon

Are we talking about off road or Jiu Jitsu ??? Momentum, power / weight... leverage and finesse... its seems a lot like BJJ... 😘😘😘

.... the beautiful moments slips pretty fast from our hands like a vehicle sliding smooth down a soft dune .. no matter we try to capture every moment ;the sand particles are gentler than our wheels can grip hold tight ...so just let go! ...what matters is not what we know or expect more than what comes spontaneous silky and make sense ... so just let go! open your heart and you will feel what your eyes can’t see how magnificent is that place where I try my best not to let it go ! for all desert lovers cheers

Thank you @Frederic very useful 👍🏻

Hi everyone , can i know your opinion on older LC say 2000 model v8? Are these reliable and easy to mantain? To use as leasure desert drive with family.

Hi Frederic, Please add me in the waiting list. Thank you.

@Frederic Hi mate I can't PM you unfortunately it saysy account won't allow but I'm a 12 month paid up front. You asked me to PM you? I'm just checking now to see if I managed to get accepted onto a drive ..

Hey guys! I have been out of the country a while and looking to return to offroad driving ASAP. I saw that the fewbie and fewbie plus drives say RSVP limit reached. Does this mean i can't join the drive, and is this based on a maximum limit of people in the drive due to COVID constraints? Would be great if someone could assist with this since I wanna get back on the dunes ASAP! Looking forward to catching up with you guys again! Cheers!

@Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader I noticed the same issue as soon I bought the Pajero, which was quite annoying so I switched immediately to stream music from my spotify account, issue solved, the wheel audio controls now work perfectly 😂.

Shall we remind @DANIEL NOGUEIRA it is not about speed...... it is all about momentum and power/weight! 🥁 (I’ll get my coat !!! )

If you get it clean and low mileage, they are very good and reliable. V8 is slightly more expensive on maintenance than V6, but worth extra power as LC100 is very underpowered for long hill climbs. But if your intend is family camping and leisure drives, it will be perfect. Reliability, 4x4 technology, suited for hot climate, safety features are all awesome. Just make sure you read this comprehensive advise and follow as much as you can.

Thanks i used to develop them by myself even I was printing them myself if they are B&W. Lately since I am not taking a lot of pictures I have a friend developing film as business, he is doing for me. But if we create a group to make B&W pictures with analog cameras I still have my tools with me.

I am a photography and especially analog photography freak. I never enjoyed these new technology toys. I had tried many different analog cameras and at the end I am a Nikon and Mamiya freak. In Dubai there is very active Analog photography club. With them I joined the Sikka Art Festival 2018. One of my picture find a place in the exhibition. When I was living in Istanbul I was having more free time and a city that can be photographed every second. In Dubai mostly because of work I slowed down. I was mostly producing Street photos. Currently I have; Nikon F3, Nikon FE2 bodies as 35mm. With them I am. Using; Samyang 8mm Vivitar 24mm f2.8 Nikon 28mm f2.8ai Nikon 35mm f2.8ais Nikon 50mm f1.2 ai Nippon Q 135mm f2.8 Vivitar 70-150mm As medium format I have; Mamiya 645 Mamiya RB67 Mamiya C220 Other then these I have Fujifilm XE1 and Sony A7ii digital cameras.

@Wrangeld and the whole team, thanks a lot for the drive! Convoy abilities, pace of the drive and technical dunes made the beginning a bit challenging but so fun! Once members were warmed up, every body picked up the speed and, as a result, we had only a few refusals! Great job! It was surprising to see all the hidden gems of Margham including little gazelle watching us from the bush just 10-15 meters away. See you soon!

@Frederic excellent, very useful.

Thanks for the wonderful introduction Ale, i agree that going to digital has brought a lot of challenges for many of us. I loved the fact that on 35mm films we really needed to think before shooting, because otherwise the roll would be full before realizing it. Now we can point and shoot at anything and delete it whenever we want. The same thing happened to music, where i still have more than 500 vinyl records and few thousands CD's stored in my basement but everything became MP3 and here we are using Spotify as it has become so much easier. to bring back these hues that analog films typically had is possible nowadays with Adobe Lightroom that has thousands of possibilities. But i think for now let's focus on trying to have fun with shooting with our favorite cameras and learning some tricks from each other. I've always been jealous of my wedding photographer who persistently stuck with his old Leica gear and the joy of spending few hours per day in his dark room. He once opened the boot of his car and there were probably 15-20 high end cameras thrown in there. Now many years later he went digital too but he must surely miss these old days.. (see him below fighting with his gear)...

@Srikumar @Gaurav @Anish S @Frederic @Wrangeld Thank you all for these feedbacks. The issue is well lighted up. I am globally happy with my Pajero since it is definitely good in technical areas. As @Srikumar mentioned, we are rarely doing long hill climbs but need technical recovery capabilities in almost every single drive. So, I agree now that long hill climbing should not be the sole criteria to judge an off-road car. @Anish S @Gaurav @Wrangeld yes, maybe it is better to re-motivate myself not to look up of the hills only. I will try some attempts with 4HLc but your technical comments are very logical, so I do not think this would make a difference better than 4H... @Anish S thank you! You and me are trying to exploit full capacity of our cars so this helps development of our skills I think... @Frederic, I am also using my car for family purposes as well and Pajero is quite sufficient especially in my situation with two small monsters on the back seats and with many stuff on the luggage. So yes, this satisfies the both on and off road. That's why we will continue with this for a while I think. Maybe later I can convince my wife to sell her convertible audi and replace it with a SWB Wrangler, which still she can open its top and I can borrow some days when long-hill climbing is required.

Congrats! @Federico De Chirico welcome to the next level!!!!

@Mehmet Volga I am with the ithrrr guys. Getting up Faya is not all its cracked up to be. Right day, right sand, right line you'll make it. 30 minutes later, forget it. If climbing big bowls is your thing think about your angle of attack and your momentum. 'Underpowered' cars in the right hands can surprise by having more than enough. My swb 3.8 is wonderful for most climbs ... but i will happily give up getting to the top of a hill if it does not feel right. The sand is fickle.

It's true. I do.

I totally agree with what the others here have mentioned above. The LWB Pajero is a very capable off-roader despite its inherent limits. If you rate an off-road vehicle purely on the capability of climbing Faya then the Pajero is not the right car. If you want a capable and reliable allround off-roader which is comfortable as well and suitable as family vehicle than the Pajero is the right fit. If you prefer to stick with Pajero then consider a SWB 3.8 Pajero like @Wrangeld is driving. You’ll have the best of both worlds.

And to be honest, so many times we drove together @Mehmet Volga, you are managing and doing very well with the Pajero. I am very impressed by your driving skills.

Climbing Faya from front with so many cross track is not easy and not many stock can do that incl. Xterra, Wranglers and FJC. And those who make it up again some day they make it and others they cant, due to sheer difficulty, angle and height Such long hill climb, do need serious power mod or change or car or change of attitude as @Srikumar trying to point in last line. One less dune is better than 10-20K AED mods + RTA violations + every week mechanic visits + lack of reliability + low resale vale. Once you are completely done with your Pajero, buy another desert toy having good power to weight ratio which is above 120 hp/ton and you will be enjoying lot more.

As some of you already know, I have been suffering from the performance of my 3.5 L - LWB pajero in recent drives. It is well-enough on small technical dunes and most of the times I am able to make self-recoveries. However, I think the HP of new-gen pajeros are not enough (190 HP only) to drive on long-track taller dunes. My car is not able to reach at the top of Al Faya or iftar bowl dunes and I always have to steer down at the half of the way since it is losing its momentum. I have tried with 2nd gear, first gear, high speed and pushing maximum; but none of those ever worked... As far as I see during my drives, even 3.8 L versions are not able to do it... Don't know the others, but I am a bit bored to watch all xterras, FJs, wranglers easily reaching up... My question is about 4HLc gear mode whether it can be used for such long climbing tracks. I circled it on the photo below. This one is high-gear mode with locked-center. I know that the locked differential is not advised on paved roads and also not safe if you need to make turns. However, does it work on sand (soft ground) and on a straight direction? For example, climbing straight up to al faya without making sharp turns? Do not have any idea whether this mode would increase the performance so your comments are appreciated, if any one has used this mode before. @Frederic @Vanessa8580 @Gaurav @Wrangeld @Anish S @Veedooshee @Yousef Alimadadi

@Frederic kindly remove me from the wait list as I have got included in a fewbie plus drive with @Gaurav thanks

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi and @Gaurav for this amazing experience! And a special thanks @Ale Vallecchi for leading the way to a really nice exploration drive first, and then to this short but outstanding drive int the dunes towards Ajari Mountains! A great opportunity to start as a fewbie! Looking forward to the next drive with you guys!

Current Waitlist: 1) Chris Meir 2) Explored Dubai 3) Arman 4) Michael Glavanis 5) Alexpol 6) Probir Mukherjee 7) Imranaasghar81

Hello Can I please join this drive/waitlist for this drive. Thank you very much, Zak

Yeah man, congratulations!!! It's well deserved!!!!

@Federico De Chirico congratulations !

Congratulations @Federico De Chirico, hope you continue to enjoy learning the art of off-roading at this new level.

Driving in HLc will change the power ratio from 70/30 (front/back) to 50/50. Whenever you start moving you should do it gently. 4H or 4HLc will not make any difference at that point. More important would be to find your ideal tyre pressure as that would avoid your car from sinking in. If you have normal road Tyres don’t go lower than 12-13 psi. With off-road tyres you’ll be able to deflate further down to 10psi which will improve flotation. Also avoid stopping abruptly, as that makes the tyres sink in. Try coasting to a stop and dont stop the car on an incline, but at a decline or flat level. There are people who swear by driving in 4HLc and notice improvement. Myself I’m a big fan of the viscous coupling that works extremely well in sending the right amount of power to the right wheels at the right time (4H).

Due to extremely high demand for Carnity off-road drives and to give everyone a fair chance to sign up in advance, we are sending off-road drive notifications via WhatsApp Broadcast List. Every Monday we send two WhatsApp notifications: Morning at 11 AM: Drive plan with all drive details Evening at 7 PM: Drive link with calendar to RSVP All drives calendar will go live at 7 PM, every Monday, so that everyone gets a fair chance to sign up. Please note that some drives do get filled within a few minutes, so please click "add to waitlist" and you will be moved to RSVP if anyone drops out. To prevent all drives getting full on Monday by multiple RSVP. We like to request everyone to pick ONE DRIVE initially and then book your second or third drive on Thursday 00:00 hrs onward, please. Mon - Wednesday - Limiting one drive per member Thursday Onward - RSVP on multiple drives ______________________________________ Please join the Carnity Drive Notification - WhatsApp group for receiving off-road drive notifications. If you are an old member, please verify that you are still part of this WhatsApp broadcast list. P.S. We strictly limit this to drive notifications and critical announcements only.

I like how they do in Germany when there is traffic. Everyone pulls to the side of their lanes to make room for emergency services to get through.