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In the UAE, we have a myriad of terrains to choose from when it comes to desert driving. For many new members who might be asking themselves what the differences actually are, I wanted to compile the most known areas we drive in, and give some information about the area and what you can expect when you join a drive with us in that area. We will be focusing on the sand driving. Northern Emirates (UAQ and RAK) Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah have some very nice areas that we often explore, with plenty of vegetation, wildlife, and the mountains are never far away. On these drives, the emphasis is more on exploration than on the typical dune bashing. Scenic Score: 95% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 95% Fossil Rock - Faya - Sharjah From the moment you drive on the Sharjah - Kalba road, you'll see the majestic Fossil Rock mountain on the right hand side. It has got its name due to the ancient fossils that you can find on the rocks, and the surrounding red dunes are a delight to drive. Usually starting from Batayeh-Faya road, the dunes gradually go from small and bushy until you reach the nice open areas with "The Long Lady" as one of the most popular dunes to showcase and practice your sidesloping skills. The cherry on top is the climb on Fossil Rock itself which provides an amazing scenic view on the area and Mleiha town below. A must for every beginner level driver ! To even up the challenge you can take on the nice bowls behind Fossil Rock, or head out to Faya which is also called "The Saddle". Scenic Score: 90% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 90% Pink Rock - Big Red - Sharjah Nearby Fossil Rock, you will find Pink Rock, which got its name from the pinkish hue the rocks have. This very popular off-road area is known for the smooth gentle dunes at the start that gradually move to challenging bowls nearby the base of Pink Rock. Climbing Pink Rock is the ideal challenge for beginners and provides a fantastic view as well. From Pink Rock you can head out to Big Red which will up the challenge and entice every level of off-roader. The Big Red area is an off-roader hotspot during the season. Scenic Score: 80% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 75% Bidayer / Area 53 / Schuwaib - Sharjah This area is not for the faint of heart, and the big dunes will demand you to keep momentum at all times, while the massive hills such as Iftar Bowl and Super Bowl are ultimate play areas one can find in Sharjah. This area tends to be extremely busy during the offroad season. Scenic Score: 60% Excitement Score: 80% Versatility Score: 65% Margham / Lahbab - Dubai A little less known area, but very versatile with nice technical areas, playable bowls, and overall a terrain where any level offroader can practice and hone their skills without encountering too many cross tracks. Scenic Score: 70% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 75% Murquab - Lisaili - Faqa - Dubai This area is located on the Dubai-Al Ain road and offers so much. From technical terrain, to the arboretum in Faqa, long range dunes in both Faqa and some areas of Lisaili, and the most amazing creamy dunes below the Maktoum Solar Park which we have now called "Little Sweihan". This area never disappoints and there is a reason we have it on our weekly drives schedules ! Scenic Score: 85% Excitement Score: 80% Versatility Score: 95% Al Qudra - Dubai Al Qudra has become one of the most well known Offroad areas in Dubai, mainly due to the close vicinity to the city, but also because of its versatility, nearby facilities (Last Exit, Love Lakes), and the wildlife than can be spotted while off-roading (gazelles, oryx). This area stretches out to Murquab in the East via Al Hathmah area, on to Faqa going South below the Solar Park, and up to the Bab al Shams resort in the West. Scenic Score: 85% Excitement Score: 75% Versatility Score: 95% Sweihan - Abu Dhabi / Al Ain The Sweihan area in Abu Dhabi has to be experienced, and the proximity to Dubai brings lots of Dubai residents to Sweihan to explore the massive long range dunes and versatile area that has something in store for every off-roader. Sweihan never disappoints and the Nagrah area which alternates between monstrous dunes and deserted sabkhas will leave you hungry for more every single time. Scenic Score: 80% Excitement Score: 90% Versatility Score: 95% Al Khatim - Abu Dhabi A very popular and versatile offroader destination for Abu Dhabi residents with exhilarating dunes and technical areas that will challenge any offroader. Scenic Score: 80% Excitement Score: 90% Versatility Score: 80% Wagan / Umm Al Oash / Bu Tais - Abu Dhabi / Al Ain In search for monstruous dunes where momentum and pace are critical and where your vehicle will be pushed to its limit ? You have come to the right place as this area is spoiled with massive dunes, alternated by long flat sabkhas where you can get your bearings back before heading in again, and again ! Scenic Score: 95% Excitement Score: 100% Versatility Score: 80% Liwa Madinat Zayed - Abu Dhabi The Madinat Zayed area is famous for its Yellow Water Truck, which was left behind many years back, but no-one really knows how it got there. This area is consisting of massive dunes, and you can easily scale the level up or down in this area based on the convoy you bring there. From this place onwards and further down south into Liwa Crescent you will feel like you are on a different planet. Scenic Score: 90% Excitement Score: 100% Versatility Score: 90% Liwa Crescent - Abu Dhabi Seeing LIWA for the first time will leave you astonished, baffled, and beyond comprehension. From Himeem in the East, to Khanoor in the West, this whole area is filled with some of the biggest dunes on this planet, massive slipfaces that will make you shiver when descending, and extremely technical dunes that will require your utmost focus. This area is unforgettable and every off-roader should have this on his bucket list ! Scenic Score: 100% Excitement Score: 100% Versatility Score: 100%

@Frederic I just realized I had never congratulated you on your promotion to Crew. I'm so ashamed!! Perhaps, partly it's because I always saw you at the top of the pyramid. It's your natural place. Truthfully, there is nobody more deserving, so great is your involvement in every aspect and action of the Club. Thanks for everything you do to keep us going smoothly and efficiently. Bravo!!

Mahmoud Asar @Mahmoud Asar Mohamed Abo ElKomsan @Mohamed Abo ElKomsan Thomas Varghese @Thomas Varghese Shehab Alawadhi @Shehab Alawadhi Mohamed Seidam @Mohamed Seidam Szymon Stankiewicz @Szymon Stankiewicz Arman @Arman Alphin Aloor @Alphin Aloor Aus Alzubaidi @Aus Alzubaidi Harold Roberts @Harold Roberts Evening Desert Drivers, Wednesday night is the last opportunity to bow out of a drive gracefully. I say that not because I want to lose anyone, but because signing out after that date really has not been paying attention during the week. Assuming you are all still committed to the drive, tomorrow I will send out the convoy order and the radio channel. Some of you may wonder about my convoy positions and why you are being put there. While you wait and see, I will let you know that convoy positions are not haphazard and random. Drive leads look carefully at the drive and the positions of the drivers from a number of perspectives. A number of my choices for the drive Friday will be because I want to offer new challenges to the participants. They may or may not be welcome challegnes, but they are always considered from the viewpoint that we want every driver to develop at their own pace and capability and our job as leaders is to help everyone reach their full 4x4 potential. We may not get it right all the time, and we are by no means the complete drivers ourselves (boy there's still so much to learn), but we do feel that it's not just about driving round the desert and finding nice dunes but about helping every driver. Perhaps it comes as a surprise, perhaps not, but the leads talk to each other and check the recommendations on the convoy, identifying if a particular driver might bebetter placed in the convoy than the original plan. Mine, I am glad to say has been validated so I know what is planned ... unless someone pulls out. By 10,00 tomorrow, you'll hopefully see what we agreed - with any changes that need to be made because someone'e plans changed. If not, you'll get the final pre drive instalment so you can prepare yourselves for Friday's adventure. Myself and @Janarthan are looking forward to seeing you all soon in the sand.

Copy that Emmanuel, as you have this area still fresh in your mind Will adjust it !

@Wrangeld I love the fact that you’re hyping us so much. It honestly adds to the fun of waiting to go on the drive and adds fun to the drive itself.

Wonderful contribution @Frederic. Just a small comment: in my opinion, Wagan-Umm al Oush-Bu Tays area deserves much more than 80% for the scenic score. Even after the Chinese seismic prospection campaign that ruined most of it, some parts of this area still have the most breathtaking views that I’ve seen in all UAE, along with Liwa of course.

Amazing synopsis of the areas @Frederic. Thanks for this

Make sure of the three point bolt fixation not only two . All the best buddy 🙏🏻

Yes @Frederic there are. Front tow hooks is a bolt which is stored in the spare tyre compartment. Rear hook is not quite visible but at the right side of the rear bumper. To see it you need to go under the car. I don’t know if it changes with the trim level or not. Mine is mid range.

Thanks for the info @Mohamed Seidam. Hopefully I will fix the tow hooks today as my garage informed me that they are fabricated & ready to be fixed

The stock tow hooks of X should be fine as long as you have checked it’s structural integrity ( corrosion , firm attachment bolts ( three bolts in the back and two direct from and indirect bolt front )

Higher mileage engines might start consuming a bit of oil, hence going for a slightly thicker oil like a 20w50 makes sense. On the other hand the 20w50 is a mineral oil which provides less protection in comparison with a full synthetic oil. I have tried both and for now I stick with the 5w40 Castrol or Mobil1 on both our Pajeros. With regards to gear oil you should strictly stick to what the maintenance manual says. When it comes to oil intervals, if you are offroading on a weekly basis you should consider bringing your interval to 70-80% of time, for example a full synthetic oil 10,000km oil change would better be done at 7000-8000kms. Same formula would apply for gear oil. (20,000 kms). These are general guidelines and everyone will have different experiences of course. I have experience in the machine industry where we keep mineral oils for many years on a running machine but perform oil analysis as replacing 4000l tends to be a bit expensive

It was indeed a wonderful drive and we were blessed with a group of drivers who were enthusiastic to explore this area as a team. I was delighted to be in the sweep as it allowed me to have a good look on how everyone was doing, and I liked what I saw: even in places where sometimes I thought it was going to be a little bit tougher due to the churned up tracks, everyone ploughed through it, and the technical area was the perfect exercise and cherry on top of the cake that gave them a different flavor and brought us back to our senses. You've nailed this drive, and the smiles I saw and the positive things I heard at the end of the drive confirm this too. @Goutam you were great in supporting the drive, and everyone stepped up to the plate when needed. See you all soon in the sand !

Drive report We started with a little delay - late comers, not a big deal, but for your next drive plan to reach a few minutes before meeting time so that other drivers won't have to wait for you. Good point is that everyone, including those who were attending their first newbie, managed to deflate, raise the flag and change the Radio channel without asking for help. It's a detail but it tells a lot about your readiness as off-roaders. I was also blessed to have a wonderful support team during this drive: @Harold Roberts (again, congratulations for your promotion to fewbie level) was my second lead, @Goutam, center forward, and @Frederic in sweep. For the first half, we headed to Qudra South side, starting easy till we reached the long range dunes area next to the oryx farm, where we were able to increase the pace and enjoy nice side slopping. Those middle dunes might be a bit scary for really new off-roaders, but as a matter of fact no one has been shy on the gas (nore reckless) at any moment and, honestly, I wasn't expecting to reach such a good pace at newbie level. Well done @Badar Tariq, @ZakWarah, @rajeshkumar rathod, @frederic demolder, @Salty3Arab, @Carlos Fernandez, @Larry Cadden, @Matthew Ticehurst, @Alphin Aloor! Amazing convoy! For the second half of the drive, we came back to our meeting point and continued to Al-Hathmah, which is a bit more technical area. I was very impressed with all the drivers' skills, especially those who have low ground clearance, @frederic demolder and @ZakWarah, as we had a wonderful smooth drive almost till the end. By "almost", I'm referring to the 1 or 2 last kilometers before the track leading to our exit point, in a more technical area that we usually avoid at newbie level... but since everyone was doing so well… Anyways, we had some good fun with shovels, sand tracks and ropes. Excellent opportunity for everyone to learn something. Hopefully, the recoveries and last difficult crossing ended just at sunset, so we were already on the track when night came. Thank you all, supports and drivers. It's been truly a very fun drive for me, well done everyone. See you next time!

@Brette Cheers for the information, I will look into installing a kill switch soon. Also I was completely unaware I should take out the airbag fuse, thanks for that. @Alex Sidorov I am not worried about taking my car out on Newbie and Fewbie drives. Taking into consideration that the marshal and all the other cars infront of me are taking the same route it is unlikely that the path being taken will do any serious damage if any to the car. Especially in Newbie drives where the drive is usually relaxing and not very challenging. However, I would be careful taking my car out without professionals if you do not at least have a skid-plate, I was driving in the desert with friends recently and broke my radiator completely and needed to replace it. I have 0 modifications on my car.

Congratulations @Frederic for reaching the CREW level with Carnity Offroad club. It is the highest position in Carnity Off-road Club, that anyone can ever attain. We all are absolutely delighted to welcome you to the off-road CREW level and looking forward to sharing our off-road passion and long-term vision together. Your passion for off-road and supporting the Carnity off-road club from so many different angles and multi-tasking various roles behind the scene, has truly helped and touched everyone around. You are one of the main reason behind this glorious success of Carnity off-road club in the recent past. Without your constant support, intelligence, planning, vision and true acumen we wouldn't have reached so far in such a short time. Some call you Radio genius, other calls you techy head, I prefer data scientist to hold all the keys of all the doors whenever we are in trouble to see the future through Fredy's Crystal Ball. Your technical knowledge, data sheets, statistical metrics have become totally indispensable for all of us around to manage, organize and equipped ourselves. Your continuous contribution and great efforts to improve the Carnity off-road club, plan to develop new off-roaders and a keen eye on safety regulations have resulted in great progress and well deserve this new off-road rank. Your off-road knowledge, vast experience, great teamwork, and critical observations have always helped everyone around in a very positive manner on the off-road drives and on the forum. Keep it up and its time for you to help other aspiring offroaders to demonstrate your skills, knowledge and above all the true passion for off-road with community spirit. CREW - Carnity Exclusivity Carnity Benefits Earn reward and recognition from 1:1 Desert Driving Course Off-road Certification with rank and skills achieved Full access to Carnity without any paid subscription Full access to Carnity for 1 friend or family member Join any drive in “Manage” tab even when drive is full Carnity Contribution Committed to drive with Carnity off-road club only Lead 3 drives or more per month with 1 Newbie drive at least Carnity off-road club strategic planning and be future-ready Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 50 drives are required for Crew promotion along with mandatory attendance to leaders lead drives. (Promotion will be based on Crew feedback.) What you'll learn Plan and manage weekly drive calendar Optimum utilization of existing resources Track all drives and manage all Marshal’s progress Strategic ideas to maximize participation and teamwork Adherence to all guidelines, procedures, terms and policies for highest safety standard for every offroader Skills required Visionary leader with strategic thinking skills Intensely focused and highly enthusiastic Skilled communicator and expert organizer Motivating team/individual offroaders at all levels Car Worthiness Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS, Floor jack and jack board, tire repair kit, tool box, tie-down straps, fluids. Drive teamwork Manage all Marshals and weekly drive planning Conduct Leader’s Lead drive to train new Trip Leaders Support and supervise senior offroaders at all levels Drive Joining All Levels Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Hi Gaurav, I am unfortunately still in South Africa & will be available first week of Feb.

Current Waitlist @Farook Veettil @Shehzada Umer Naseer So far there are no drop outs, if anyone drops out I will add your names.

Hahaha my dear @Ale Vallecchi you came to the party when the lights were already off, the DJ is gone, and the cleaner has brushed the dance floor 🤣 Thank you so much for the compliments, having a passion in life keeps you going and i am learning still so much every week from all of you guys !

Consider it done ✅! Thanks Ale !

Great idea @Frederic. Lots of useful info to help members decide the type of area they may be interested in. Perhaps we could up the Lisaili/Faqa Excitement grade, to a little more than 75% (I would actually grade it higher than Qudra), considering the variety of dunes we can find in those areas. But I am just neat-picking (about one my favorite areas 😉), as you have really done an outstanding work. Thanks a lot!!

@Wrangeld & @Janarthan I'm comfortable at any position offered and I'm ready. Can you believe I was already driving in the desert with you all when I took a short afternoon nap.

I bought from dragon mart for AED 20.00 which is 2mtr long. I had not seen any shop selling similar type of flag here in Abu Dhabi. Shops like Ace Hardware / Adventure HQ sell AOR brand which is expensive and you can also find them online. @Waleed Soliman for your first drive with us safety flag is not mandatory but from second drives onwards make sure have a safety flag.

This is a great write up on the deserts. I hope I will be able to do a desert drive at Liwa

This area is always fresh in my mind! 95% is a perfect score, just to let some kind of advantage to Liwa.

@[email protected] please see above, we have another member with Renault Koleos.

@Gauravany chance to join in your team?

Hello Off road Gurus, 😊 Need to learn from your experience. What engine oil would you recommend for the cars with old engines or with higher mileage on the dial. My Pajero just completed 200K on the dial. I normally use 20w/ 50 for the older engine. Also for the gear oil. Keeping off roading in consideration of course. Kindly advise. Thx & Regards.

@Rahimdad bahi, copy tht. I was fortunate enough to grab it from good hands. And well taken care of. I bought it with almost 160k on the dial and just reached 200k. Since going off road regularly so need some extra pampering.

@Rizwan Waheed its not about how many kilometers your vehicle has done, its about how it reached there. How much you've cared for it. I agree with @Frederic and you should use an oil which will keep your engine protected for longer. I think @Gaurav bhai would also advise you the same.

SPOT ON. Well done @Alexander Alcala for nailing it perfectly that such extreme drives need a proper safety too. Doing it with your daily driver without a roll cage, helmet, 5-point harness and other advance safety feature to cut-off fuel supply in case of rollover is highly not recommended here.

@Wrangeld I already had all the fluids, checked yesterday at the garage. Got the radiator hoses & spark plugs changed along with the inlet manifold, throttle body & MAF sensor cleaned and serviced. All electricals checked. Hopefully the vehicle will not give me more surprises as it did yesterday at the garage by showing the radiator hoses were weak. Me & my car is ready. I did all this as 2 cars developed problems during our last drive with @Ale Vallecchi and had to be extracted to the tarmac. See you on Friday ay 7am. The only thing which worries me are the stock tow hooks which I didn't get time to replace with new ones. Hopefully the stock ones will serve the purpose as I got stuck 3 times during my Absolute Newbie drive and held when it was being towed out of the stuck by @sertac and once during a Newbie drive by @Jeepie. I pray I won't get stuck much as more throttle control and momentum along with reading of surfaces had been learned from @Frederic, @Gaurav, @Ale Vallecchi , @Rahimdad & @Chaitanya D and I will not hold the convoy up with more stucks.

Could you please add me in waiting list, I am very much interested

@Gaurav Please add me in queue.

With the tremendous increase in the number of COVID cases in the UAE, we all have to be responsible while off-roading. Failing to abide by any single precaution at any time during the drive, will result in an immediate ban from Carnity Off-road Club. ZERO TOLERANCE First offender - 1 Month Ban. Second offender - 3 Month Ban. Third offender - lifetime ban and report to authorities. COVID19 PRECAUTIONS 2.0 All Carnity off-road drives will be LIMITED to driving only: No Socializing and gathering allowed at any time. No break for taking photos, breakfast, smoking, etc. No exchanging of off-road or recovery gears. Wear a mask at all times, while outside your vehicle. For passengers restrictions, follow RTA or NCEMA guidelines. All passengers should be inside the car, at all times. Maintain a minimum of 2-meter social distance at all times. Sanitize your hands and recovery gear after use. PS1. If you and your passenger cannot sit inside your vehicle for 3-4 hours please DO NOT JOIN CARNITY DRIVES. PS2. A Member who has RSVP the drive is RESPONSIBLE and LIABLE for their passenger's compliance. PS3. The above precautions apply to everyone irrespective of their vaccination status or schedule. PS4. You can confidentially submit the photo of any offender by sending an email to [email protected]. How to comply Read the drive post before arriving at the meeting point, so that you know your convoy numbering and radio channel. Arrive at the meeting point and switch on your radio to the pre-set frequency of the drive. Stop your vehicle at least 10-20 meters away from each other. Deflate your tires, while wearing a mask, and then go back inside your car. All briefings will be done on the radio now, so pay full attention to a briefing for your own safety. After the briefing, fall in your convoy position just before the drive starts. While driving if you get stuck, announce on the radio and be inside your car at all times. Trip lead and/or support will guide you on the radio for self-recovery or tow-rope recovery. While there is a stuck or a refusal, everyone else supposed to be inside their car at all times. You can only take a bio-break during the drive, by requesting trip lead permission. Once the drive is over exit out to inflate by maintaining 10-20 meters distance from each other. While inflating, only the driver supposed to be out and with the face mask at all times. After the drive, you can talk on the radio for any feedback, suggestions or help you need.

Please click on "Totally Agree" Emoticon on down right white heart icon - 3rd option from right is "Totally Agree" when you hoover over (on desktop) or click (mobile) on white heart icon.

As we have been respecting authorities guidance & Carnity COVID guidelines to resume desert drives with caution by keeping social distance and wearing mask at all times outside the vehicle Unfortunately few off-roaders have difficulty in understanding and abiding these guidelines. As published in the national newspaper of UAE, everyone need to understand that still there are no gatherings allowed and authorities are issuing fine for 10,000 AED for host and 5,000 AED for attendees. https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/people-caught-violating-covid-19-safety-instructions-prosecuted-1.1591381059748 If you spot anyone stepping out of the car not wearing a mask, please remind them on the radio immediately. As we all are in this together, so we all have to help each other to remind. Failing to abide below list of restriction will result in an immediate ban from Carnity Off-road Club: FIRST WARNING Minimum 1 month ban from joining any Carnity off-road Club drives. Written warning will be issued on your Carnity profile. SECOND WARNING Minimum 6 month ban from joining any Carnity off-road Club drives. Written warning will be issued on your Carnity profile. If you do not like these restrictions, please stay at home and do not join for any off-road drives. Every Carnity Off-road Club Member has to COMPLY WITH THESE COVID19 GUIDELINES FACE MASK IS MANDATORY, WHENEVER YOU STEP OUT - NO EXCUSES. LEARN TO CONFIGURE YOUR RADIO, before the drive. Nobody will teach you or exchange radios like before. Read the detailed instructions posted here - to configure. If you still cannot configure, ask on forum ahead of time. Click "TOTALLY AGREE" Emoji here before RSVP any drive or else trip lead will remove your name.

Congrats @Frederic..

Thanks indeed for this great review. Very interesting and helpful. Got my to do list now).

@Farook Veettil I have added you on to this drive list. Please confirm and also withdraw your waiting list request from other drivers as well.

As of now drive is on. Any changes we will announce here in advance.

@Asif Hussain Thank you very much. when do we get confirmation that this drive is still on. i see only two going including myself

Dear @Ahmed Wagdy, thanks for joining the drive. You are welcome to bring your family (making sure they, and any items you'll bring along, are all safely strapped down). Just make sure you always manage to pay attention to the drive, and to any kind of communication that will be going on). See you on Friday. Dear @Ganesan Kathirvel, I tried to write to you as soon as I could, so you may get a spot in a Newbie drive. I'll see what I can do. Have you put your name in any waiting list?

@Alex Sidorov airbag fuse is designed in such a way that the fuse doesn’t need to be completely removed. It is the big yellow fuse at the bottom left corner, this can pulled off and the fuse stays inside the box. To remove other fuse you can use the yellow color plier at the right side top corner. These fuse can be removed completely and put back, I have not done that so far as I am only pulling of the airbag fuse. yes you can remove lower fascia and can be fitted back again.

This is a fast paced Intermediate level drive where you have a bunch of experienced drivers willing to push the pace. Having said that, some of the overtaking manuevours were outright dangerous.

Thanks Gaurav, I am on standby for the booking slots to open at 7:10pm. cheers william

Thanks @Emmanuel and @Frederic for another great drive.

Wow @Asif Hussain bhai, you've done it again. Astonished everyone with some amazing terrain and awesome playable dunes to wet anyone's appetite for more.

I can see that he is, his calm and cool manner while tackling huge dunes that I wouldn't dare tackle without anyone's hep is astounding. thank you again @Asif Hussain