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Congratulations to the top 10 HOT SHOT Photographers, based on Facebook reach. @TT_Dubai @Veedooshee @Charbel @JeromeFJ @Jeepie @Chinthaka Ruwan @M.Seidam @Mario Cornejo @Looper @Lakshmi Narasimhan

I was living in Paris before I come to Dubai. No need for a car in Paris. When I moved here in Feb 2019 I lived on the Palm and my office was in media city, less than 5 minutes away. I was a workaholic, spending my days, nights and weekends at the office. I didn’t feel the need of owning a car. In my early days here, a friend took my out in the desert with his family one day. I found the desert so poetic, right away ! This is when I thought, if I ever get a car, it will be to go to the desert. Later on, I met a girl in Dubai, she had a 2 doors JK and she knew how to drive in the desert. I would ask her to take me to drive in the sand and in the dunes. Each time I would get behind the wheel, I would get stuck and she would take us out of it (imagine how helpless I would feel ^^). Once, I even got us stuck on the roadside because of an island of sand while taking her kids to IMG World… This is where I thought I needed to take desert driving lessons. Fast forward to Feb 2021, I finally decided to buy a car. Didn’t have to think long, went to Trading Entreprises, they showed me my car and I bought it. It was delivered to me on a Thursday, on Friday I was with @Wrangeld in the sand for a Masterclass, on Sunday I was registering to my first @Carnity convoy drive. And since then, my whole lifestyle has changed... I used to go out every Thursday and Friday, work on weekends… look at me now, I never miss a chance to be out there in the sand at early hours, even attending the mid-week afternoon rides. My journey is just starting. I already learned a lot and met many lovely people. I am more than happy and grateful to be part of the @Carnity community ! PS : and now I can take the girl to the desert PPS : beautiful initiative @Enrico Biscaro

I started my off-road adventures with a couple of Gulf News Fun Drives, the first in 2013 at Liwa and the second in 2014 at Lisalli. While the first one was reasonably enjoyable as it was the first time we were in the sand, the second was a complete torture with the more compact dunes. A group of us got lost in the desert and when we tried to contact the gulf news coordinators we were told to call the cops to help find our way out of the desert. Fast forward to Jan 2017, and I was looking for an outlet away from my work related stress. I was a member of Carnity since 2012, but was never active and had probably logged in just a few times. There was a newsletter of an Absolute Newbie Drive at Fossil Rock on 27 Jan 2017. Later I got to know, that this was the first of a series of 3-5 experimental drives started by Gaurav and team to start the Carnity off-road club. From being an introvert who would not be much of a risk taker, I have personally come a long way over the past 4.5 years to becoming more adventurous and willing to push my boundaries of comfort. The journey from an Absolute Newbie in this community club to being a senior member has been truly a life changing experience. Offroading gets me away from all the worries of the city and let's me spend a good 4-5 hours every week enjoying the passion with fellow off-roaders. Along the way made some wonderful friends for life. The icing on the cake was when my son started joining my off-road escapades and who also has started enjoying the outdoors. I owe a lot to this Club. Cheers !!

Excellent idea @Enrico Biscaro My story started in November 2020, when me and my friends planned a trip to Qudra to burst firecrackers on the occasion of Diwali (festival of light) at around midnight. We were 2 cars (prado and LC) and the plan was to go only 500 meters in the desert and burst firecrackers. Since we were all rookies, and did not deflate tyres, the land cruiser first got stuck and the prado got stuck when trying to pull out the land cruiser. We were then helped by a police patrol car around 4 am, after trying to dig out sands with our hands (we did not have a shovel) for 3 hours. This is when i got my offroad bug and i joined carnity in Jan 2021. Ever since, i have not looked back and make every attempt to join weekly drives which gives me a break from all the work related stress, city noise etc. I was never an early morning starter but my Friday and Thursday night routines have changed after being part of the @Carnity family Cheers and see you all in the sand!

Nice initiative @Enrico Biscaro ....i am intrigued by while how diff the stories they all seem so similar. So here's my story - hv always hated driving for as long as I can recall.. Was always happy to allow my brother or friends drive me around - who can complain about a chauffer driven ride. Been in UAE since 2007 ( @Niki like your golden cage metaphor 🙂 just I prefer to call it an amusement park) and just like @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil always stayed close to the office - ..have always spent more time taking car in and out of home/office parking then on road....For last 12 years drove a Lexus IS - nice vehicle however stuck to it not for love of it but just to avoid searching around for the next ride and then Who Cares.. Couple of years back, bored of usual outings to restaurants, staycations, home parties, my wife cajoled me into a camping trip to fujairah beach and somehow next I know we were driving all the way to Salalah. One thing led to another and demand for a SUV started to rise at home and somehow my 8yo was adamant that it has to be one with a Spare wheel at back...don't ask why as I am still looking for answer. As soon as I sought some help at work, a friend took me to Jeepers and next I know 2 months later - we had a Jeep at home - again while being a nerd I did all the research deep inside, got to know about all jargons however was sure I wasn't going to use any of the features - I mean I had never even parked my car on a kerb, expecting me to hit the desert or off road was beyond my humble imaginations. And demands continued to grow as after a month I garnered some courage to visit Qudra lakes (yeah not the desert but just the trip to these love lakes etc itself needed a lot of determination). Story of how I shifted to 4H and even 4Lo to reach Qudra lakes became the office banter when a friend pushed me to join a drive to Pink rock with another club around Oct last year. And the bug had it's laugh, as soon exploring clubs I ended up with Carnity in Nov20. And now those 100km drive early in morning (or late night) to reach the meeting point seem like a fun drive and missing out on a weekend drive makes the whole week seem incomplete. 6:55pm on Sunday doesn't need any alarm. For a guy who would hire a handyman to fix bulbs in lamp to someone who is cleaning car filter every weekend I have come a long way and I thank team @Carnity for the same. Thanks all

10 years in this wonderful golden bird cage that is Dubai… a conservative driver (made to be a chauffeur not a race car driver). In my ten years I never got a speeding ticket which I was told is quite an achievement, that’s until I got my first racing to an Offroad meeting point I didn’t want to be late for! This community has really got me out of my shell… speeding … thinking about camping… enjoying the sand of Quadra more than the brunches as Al Qasr! I never understood the appeal of ‘basic’ old trucks/4x4 … I thought the GLS was the epitome of 4x4 cars…. Now I pass every hypercare without a care but double take every time I see a TJ or an old LC or any old rig! My wife believes I am suffering from post lockdown personality disorder, some friends think I have hit that mid life crisis milestone… I feel my story has just started - albeit 10years late! I joined Carnity in November 2020 and have never enjoyed dubai more than these past few Months on the dunes! I consider everything prior to November a boring story (the Star Wars prequels) … and looking forward to the months ahead!

Thank you @Enrico Biscaro for initiating the topic. I ve driving 4x4 cars since 1997, and never thought to go off-road. I am a person of work and home only, and if I go out, I go Fridays and holiday with the family. Sometime about 2015, was on one of sites in Nad Al Shiba, and upon leaving thought will make a short cut, and cross a small sand island to the road. Was driving Nissan safari, and got stuck. Was summer noon time, and had to call one of the drivers with 3 tons pickup to pull me out 😅. I was the joke of all whom he heard. In 2016 decided to take a one course with one of the driving institutes. Did not go much in the desert, since was driving Y62, and second drive with Nissan guys, all bumpers got damaged me and all others similar. Decided to stop again, till I bought the FJ from one of my friend in Oct 2020, where I joined @Carnity, and turned out to be a different person now.... 😃

I came to Dubai in 2008 a tax free land with almost all the brand car running on the streets and later got to know about cars running on desert while on a desert safari and was very much excited. Had a strong feeling to get in to desert driving, my job demanded me to travel a lot on work which didn’t allow me to even think of my passion. Then came blessing in disguise Covid lock downs truly enjoyed work from home. Was watching my old pictures and then came desert safari pictures. It just flashed to my mind why not go for off-roading, told my wife about my decision. Her first response was a big NOOOOOOOO. Then i was sure I am getting into it, worked out my way to sell my Nissan Sunny and bought a Pajero. Now my wife wanted me to be sure I am not lost in chasing my passion. I believe how much struggle, delay we go through in achieving our dreams, passion the more we enjoy the success. I found carnity, I found my passion, driving through it now. In 4 months, I have done close to 47 drives, still feel every drive like my first drive!!! Happily found the right balance between family, work and my passion!!!! @Enrico Biscaro you have taken the best decision of joining carnity and the best start with @Frederic as I did, am sure you will enjoy a lot!!!! Welcome to carnity family!!!!!!

My off-roading sojourn began in 2011 when at my best friend's engagement brunch (under the influence), I stupidly boasted that I would take the couple out for a drive. I'd never driven in the desert before. I was hoping nobody would pick up on it until he did. Little did I know that his neighbour was a marshal in an off-road club. And suddenly, my ill-conceived boast had blown into a drive the next morning. I immediately proceeded to head home, to sober up, and watch as many videos as I could find on "how to drive off-road". The morning after, with sweaty palms clutching onto the wheel of a borrowed 2002 LC, I reached my friend's house to find that three of his ten year old cousins were also being bundled into this "fun trip". I should have come clean at this point. I didn't. At the meeting point for deflation, my story began to unravel. As I bobbed around like a confused munky, another driver came to my rescue and that's when I came clean. He quickly gave me the low-down (pun intended). The loud blaring music was turned down, the radio now chirping, three kids in the back, a half-nervous couple who were getting an Arabian Adventure for free, and me, trying to cram like I did ten minutes before exams in high-school into my short-term memory. H comes before L, Diff after L, L only if you're stuck, radio confirmations, something about gravity... And then we were off. Nervously overbearing on the pedal sometimes, and then backing off, I was quite the erratic driver. But as soon as we hit our first small dune, the crest and trough melted all of those fears away. And then another, and another, and another. Everything came together. The storm inside (my mind) was finally calm. The backseats not so much. This is the first pivotal moment when I caught the proverbial bug. It was all was very smooth sailing until we hit our final "playground" Iftar Bowl, where my short-term knowledge broke the cardinal rule - "never fight gravity". I did that at the tip of the bowl, nose pointing twenty degrees upwards, in a car full of screaming children, a couple planning their happily-ever-afters, and the car itself contorting to the side of the slope creaking and croaking with sound effects straight out of a horror movie. I remember the next thirty odd minutes like it was a day. But with tons of guidance, I managed to get it unstuck. Back at the base of bowl, our car was eerily quiet going back to the exit. However, inside my mind, I wanted to go back there, and figure out how to do it safely, and right. This was the moment when I truly appreciated the happy fear that comes from taking on something big. The kind of fear that forces you to learn and scale yourself up. I wanted to get that feeling again, but more so I wanted to learn to do it correctly. It would take 10 years for me to finally commit to driving off-road. The two drives I've had with Carnity so far have been transcendent 🐵 This topic (thanks @Enrico Biscaro) and the amazing response I've seen in the past two weeks makes me feel like I've finally found the right place to do this.

Thanks @Gaurav . I really enjoy the drives also the beautiful landscape and vehicles with us. My favourite @Ale Vallecchi in action.

I've always believed that sharing stories is a great way to connect and make new friends. After all, we humans evolved around campfires all around the world. The Desert is a story in itself and I can imagine thousands of place I'd love to set camp and start a fire followed by YOUR stories and adventures. A good meal and a drink also always help to overcome the little differences that makes each of us unique and special. In the link below my 1st Story. Thanks @Frederic for sharing your expertise with me. P.S. Trust me, I am geologist.

Having been in an and out of Dubai since 1980 when I was born, (in the Uk they where giving away free passports then 👍🏾)and I have seen the place change. We where a Lebanese family living in Mirdiff and starting business here . Everywhere was quite in the 80’s in Dubai SZH road being two lanes and jebel Ali beach being in the desert 😂. Al Ghurair Centre wasthe first mall we visited with shops , visiting Sindebads as a child , we were frequenting there a lot. We lived on the edge of Mushriff park ……my playground then a complete desert being watered into what it is now, my father when I was 5 came home with my first desert toy. I remember the day clearly when my mother freaked out at him and he opened the doors of his red 84” Range Rover Classic and there was freedom. My first desert toy a 50cc Suzuki quad. Soon as it hit the ground I was on it, hit a corner on tarmac full pelt and realized straight away how to drive on two wheels on a 4x4 before crashing obviously in the first 5 mins. But that was the start of my desert love, gradually through the years the engines got bigger, the wheels got less. Driving the cars was a part of the learning curve, driving when I 6 years old for the first time in dads lap while he accelerated for me ! I never wanted to live here full time though. Was just here on holidays, 3x a year, job offer after job offer turned down when I was older. Till now and COVID trapped me here , lucky though I was here when the country locked up. The funny thing is before lock down I spent 8 years at sea, crossing the Atlantic multiple times, Indian Ocean , Red Sea everywhere traveling the world cooking as a chef for people with more money then sense and ridiculous toys! Till COVID and a lock down and a fiancé who put her foot down and said enough traveling the world and now I’m here again. Traded in my addiction of the sea back for the desert as a child but in an adult toy this time, my patrol, I always loved that car seeing the locals go anywhere and everywhere in it when was younger. Funny though as a child how I used to cross the desert alone no worries, not getting lost, water bottles of petrol tied to the back , granny’s food packages and friends in tow. We could draw you a map of the tracks we used in mushriff park and the canyon that was there! How different driving in the desert is now and what we consider safe rules to not go alone and what was the norm before. But here we are today spending every non working moment driving again with friends or with carnity when possible, making new friends and back to bringing the desert home to my living room too annoy a woman I love . First my mother now my future wife! 😂 Desert or ocean once you are deep in and at the mercy of Mother Nature there is something beautiful about it’s simplicity and I often find those who love being at sea for different and similar reasons love traveling in the desert too. See you in the sand all.

Beautiful video @Enrico Biscaro and a good way to connect with stories, always work wonder. Lemme start with my favorite story of how I started off-roading, as many might not know this hilarious bit. My girlfriend (wife now) company invited us to a gathering in the desert on a safari tour. Saw how my wife enjoyed and scream during that ride motivated me to sell my Lexus GS430 (I used to be a sports car guy, before off-roader) and changed to Land Cruiser. She joined me for three drives and got bored, and I got this offroad bug for my life.

Thank you @Gaurav This is one of my own favourite ones

Hello! Long time no see! Was out of the country for some time. Perseids Meteor Shower should be nice! As you can see on the picture below, it peaks at 04:31AM 13Aug21 with 83 meteors per hour. That means, that you can see, well, one meteor every 5-10 minutes 😃 Because the rest are so small and fast that it is very hard to catch them by a naked eye. At midnight you can expect 36 meteors/hour, at 02:00AM around 60 meteors/hour. So, definitely, you will see them! Gray shape indicates a number of meteors per hour, gray line is elevation of Perseids, blue line is Moon. It's a bit of a challenge to take a photo of meteors though. Even though meteors should come from azimuth 25-35deg and elevation 18-48deg, I can tell from my experience that you will notice them almost everywhere, all the directions and elevations. I believe that it is because we are located very close to equator (not sure though). Anyway, to take a photo of them you need to have sterile conditions 😃 Set your tripod, camera, settings, enable time-lapse shooting for a few hours and wait. Refrain from touching the camera and using flashlights. At the end of the session, check your photos (could be around 100-300 photos) and try to find ones with meteors. You can find 5-10-15 shots with them, depends on your luck. Later, if you want, you can compile everything in one photo. My best advise is to bring a comfy chair or a mattress, sit back and relax. Just enjoy the silence, stars and meteors (from time to time). Unfortunately, this time I will no be able to join you as I work all these days. If some of you are missing this event, be sure to check Geminids Meteor Shower on 14th of December with 95 meteors/hour! It is even more bright and cool than Perseids. Hope it helps a bit 😃

What a great story I agree with you, I just joined, but I feel this is the right place where mutual respect, respect fo nature and gravity can safely help us becoming not only better off-roader, but also better persons.

Excellent idea. Made me think of how i got the offroad driving bug. I moved to Saudi Arabia in 2012 and wanted to explore the deserts a bit, but had absolutely no clue on how/where to start. I fell in love with a big blue 2007 FJ Cruiser which i found secondhand in Dammam, and was imported from the US. It looked immaculate, and i was even able to trace back the original US owner. On a lonely weekend, i deflated my tyres a bit and went offroad. Soon i found myself stuck and was approached by a friendly Saudi national who came camping with this family. His two young kids who were perhaps only 6-7 years old started to deflate my tyres further to try to help the self recovery, but nothing worked. He called up a friend that arrived 20 mins later with a heavy modified Chevy Blazer. He pulled me out of the sand and as we were talking the guy kept asking "Did you engage the 4x4 ?" To which i replied "i assumed the FJ is an all time 4x4" ? and a few moments later we realized this was actually a 4x2 model from US. (two wheel driven only). I felt super embarassed but we had a good laugh about it. I decided not to give up, and to practice a bit more before selling the FJ. At 10psi i was actually able to reach some nice camping spots and enjoy my weekend outings. But by then i realized if this is so much fun in 2WD how much fun 4WD would be Eventually i ended up selling the FJ, and ended up meeting the wonderful Carnity family which taught me everything about offroading and so much more.

Again @Ale Vallecchi becomes favorite for taking on nice ridge riding in rain and beautiful rainbow!!!

Wowwww, thanks @Gauravfor sharing this. Excited to see my car featuring twice. Thx @Veedooshee for the nice pics!!!

@Niki I love your definition of Dubai. About the GLS. I love it. It drives beautifully also in the desert. Look at the GoPro 6 footage (not stabilised) and you will notice how smooth the ride is. I wish I bought the off road edition with an extra inch of clearance and even lower gear ratio. Alas when shopping for used car you might not have the choice. Now, I will probably regret this ride as my car is at the mechanic...something happened on the ridge where I got stuck. Talking about feeling stupid and being laughed at, I am sure I will be joined the club very soon... I love this! I am sure we can apply this not just when off-roading, but in everything we do in life. Thank you so much for sharing openly your story, It is a lesson for all of us.

fantastic one @Enrico Biscaro 👍 My dad was a senior petroleum engineer and many times took me while I was child along his work trips. But I never knew that the desert bug has bitten me already till last year when I was totally inspired by a friend … and here we go almost every week sailing with the best community in offroad .

I will give it a try then

Hi @Frederic I will be bringing a recliner chair to just enjoy the meteor shower. I have missed meteor shower far too many times, so hoping to see it live is my first priority. Anyone who wish to use or explore my Nikon D750, tripod and remote I'm happy to carry along.

Hi @Lorenzo Candelpergher Please waitlist me first drive of the week. Thank you.

@GauravSoni it's good that it was just the U joint. It's quite an inexpensive part and hope you have checked the others as well. One thing is strange though, that whenever a U joint is near failure there would be some small clacking noise. Did you have that? Or did it just suddenly break under the stress of self recovery.

Hello, Any plan for an absolute newbie ride in abudabhi this weekend?

Wow, it must have been incredible to see Dubai changing as it has under your eyes. Is there anything you miss about the old Dubai? by the way I also love sailing….for the exact reason you mention

A ‘mattress’!!!!! Okay I may try and beat Gaurav’s recliner by bringing my camping Cot and a pillow!

Rizwan I have the same observation but I heard it from other drivers driving Nissan y62 with factory tires that their actual Speedo meter are showing less by 10% of the actual speed . So I don’t know really if the difference in tire size makes this although it’s minimal as per the chart you showed !

@James ThornCongratulations! Attached a photo for 2 big v8 shoot by @TT_Dubai

Thanks Lakshmi. See you soon Thanks Gregory, see you soon Thanks Ale, looking forward to more learnings with you! 谢谢！

Thanks for everyone's congratulations. Looking forward to continuing to learn and face new challenges and driving something unusual in the dunes

Congrats mate!

Thanks! Looking forward to share a drive with you although is going to take time fo Rome to catch up with you

The Carnity Offroad drive is scheduled in Maliha-Fossil Rock from 8PM till 11PM after we will quickly inflate and head out to Shawka dam.

I was lucky we just got stuck 40 minutes the first time then of course you want to conquer the sand.

If you check your speed with google maps you will be surprised to find that when you are coasting at 140km/hr as per speedometer your actual speed is only 130km/hr. This error happens because the wider tires alter the aspect ratio as both tires have 70 as aspect height ratio. So its not surprising your car is not getting speed radar flashes when you are coasting at 140 km/hr as originally you are only doing 130 to 131 km/hr. Your car will only get a flash from speed radar if your speedo shows above 150km/hr.

Naah, If I touch camera I get hyper very easily and expect too much and may not enjoy the real stuff.

Congrats @Zixuan Huang - Charlie. Well done!

Nice one Charlie!!! Congrats

Hi @Frederic, I'll be joining with my daughter who is a photography enthusiast with her Nikon D5300 and multiple lenses: 18-55, 70-210, 18-300. We both got some experience but first time shooting a meteor shower

@Aaliyah Mohammed @Jins John Welcome to Carnity Offroad Club, and thanks for your introduction @Jins John ! The Absolute Newbie drive is tailored to members who join us for the first time, and where we can guide you through every step along the way into becoming a confident Offroader. You will be amazed at your own progress and soon you will be doing things with your 4x4 you have never even imagined ! We have an Absolute Newbie briefing video which you should definitely watch a few times, and which will give you the essential basics and make you feel more comfortable behind the wheel coming weekend. Please take your time to go through this video prior to joining us. MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING On this drive topic, please introduce yourself a little bit, and include the following info: 1) Which 4x4 are you bringing ? 2) Do you have any prior off-roading experience ? If so, where and how ? 3) Does your 4x4 have front and rear towpoints ? This is a very important point and i want you to inspect your towpoints to make sure they are not completely corroded or loose. We want to be able to recover your car from any angle safely in case you get stuck. For your first Offroad drive we request you to bring the following items: - Pressure gauge with deflator, as we need to deflate your tyres to 15psi. - 12V Air Compressor to inflate your tyres. We will be ending our drive nearby a petrol station but unfortunately their compressor is out of service. Hardware shops like ACE, Speedex, and Dragon Mart have plenty of options from 200AED up to 1500AED. After this drive, you will become a Newbie level driver, and then you will be needing additionally: - An Offroad flag. - A UHF Radio (walkie-talkie), programmed to our frequencies. - A proper shovel. If you have any of these items already, all the better, please bring them along. Do not hesitate to ask your questions if any ! Hi @Jins John have a look at the above posted message. A tire deflator and pressure gauge is enough for your first drive. After that drive you will be indeed needing a radio, flag, shovel. A rope is not needed until you reach higher level. We highly recommend for your first drive not to bring any children or passengers. The main reason for that is because we want your to be 100% comfortable and not distracted. After this first drive you will be definitely welcome to bring children along, as long as they are properly strapped in as per the RTA regulations.

Congrats @Zixuan Huang - Charlie, well done

Congrats @Aisha S, well done

Hello @Ranjan Das. You are #1 on the WL. Thanks Dear @Ashok chaturvedi. You are #2 on the WL. Thanks a lot.

Ayyyyyyyyy mabrook @Aisha S can’t wait to drive with you on the IM drives

Buy FJC

Hi @Frederic, I am new to off-road driving and my car is 100% stock condition. Do I need anything apart from the below stated Items. Tire deflator, pressure gauge and compressor, Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. I saw saw the absolute newbie video where they ask for Radio, Flag, shovel, rope etc ? Do I need all these equipments or only the items you mentioned above. Please confirm. At present I don't have any of these Items so wants to start with minimum requirements. Also Is there any age limit for the children who can join the drive. Thank you Jins

Congrats @James Thorn, well done

Well done @JamesThorn !!