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Thanks, everyone here for your inputs on the tricky Paolo's FJ recovery. A great round of applause for everyone to pitch in and coordinate with whatever they can to make things right and safe as soon as we can at such a tricky angle and a huge slip face. Here are my learnings, mistakes, and takeaway from such incidents. FJ Cruiser: Lifted with dangerous height without compensating the center of gravity by widening the stance. I noticed that in the morning and I think it's 4-6 inches above standard FJ height. I didn't ask or mention anything assuming (my mistake) that Paolo must be driving this super lifted FJ for a long time as he has reached IM level, so he has been safely married to this higher stance. FJ Cruiser from the factory has a borderline tipsy center of gravity, so FJ owners who lift FJ more must be 200% aware of this ridiculously bad center of gravity and MUST adjust their drive style accordingly. Paolo: As Paolo already accepted his driver error, that starts the journey for learning after the acceptance. He didn't follow the same line as Shaaz and Ranjan. He didn't exit and come down to re-attempt. Kept fighting gravity until the whole momentum was lost. Switched off the car after 14:45 minutes on side slope stuck. Paolo refused to come out after the side flip (GRAVE MISTAKE). This alone could have cost much trouble for everyone. In case of side flip or roll-over - NUMBER ONE PRIORITY is to get human life out and then figure out ways to think it through to control the situation. After removing the seatbelt and sitting in a flipped vehicle on a slip face with 30-40 meter height could have been a nightmare if FJ rolled. In a side flip position with leaking fluids, the car could have caught fire. If Paolo loses consciousness in such a side flip position, we need to risk more lives to get him out. Learning: If you lost track or line, exit safely and make a second attempt. If you can't make it a second attempt, request lead to re-route. Switch off the engine ASAP when you have a roll-over or side flip. Exit the vehicle ASAP if you have secured the vehicle and removed your seat belt. Shaaz: Managed to recover the vehicle in the best possible ways but due to inherent damage caused by 50-60 degree tilt it was almost inevitable to avoid the side flip. He requested Paolo to switch off the engine, which probably got missed on the radio, and reconfirmation of the same would have at least saved the engine (maybe). He could have comforted and assured Paolo that the car is secured with 2 cars and its safe for him to get out from the boot door. Gaurav: While in an attempt to reach them faster I went in a straight line in big dunes, which cost us a couple of refusals until I decide to backtrack and look for a straight but long way to reach them. I could have comforted Paolo over the phone and made him convince to get out of the car by explaining the risk involved. Extreme Recovery While in extreme recovery, we all know that we need to follow certain standards and steps to handle the situation. These steps are designed to provide maximum safety and control. Switch off the engine Get the driver and passenger out Bring the vehicle back on its wheel Let it sit for a while so that engine oil and other fluids can settle down. If a vehicle is not switched off immediately, the car will not start due to internal engine damage. Making extreme recovery more tedious and time-consuming to tow the vehicle out or seek expensive desert recovery trucks. If the engine is cranking and not starting then the spark plug need to be removed. If the engine is not cranking (turning over) means some internal damage is already happened by a delay in switching off the vehicle. That's why I suggested moving the engine crank by hand. Jumpstart and car started but with loud clanking noise of piston or connecting rod that must have starved due to lack of lubrication and stalled the engine. If the vehicle starts after the flip or roll, let the white smoke subside within the first 2-5 minutes, and then it's safe to be driven out till tarmac (but not with white smoke). If we would have used a car engine to push for those 20 meters incline with clanking noise it could have either stalled or blown the piston out when it's clearly hitting some hard metal inside the chamber at 750 rpm, imagine a blow at 4-5K rpm, might cause an instant engine burst. Trip lead is prime Every Carnity trip lead has been selected after rigorous testing (attitude and skillset) from all existing Marshals and crew based on several drives, incidents, initiative, and presence of mind. Every Carnity trip lead then goes through the intensive leaders lead training to cover all aspects of leading drives, navigation, basic troubleshooting, and extreme recovery. And then allowed to lead the first few drives under supervision before they embark on leading their individual drives. Shaaz has completed 79 drives with Carnity in the last 16 months and has successfully completed all the pre-requisites to lead a drive in Liwa. Unfortunately, Shaaz has seen such extreme recovery too soon, but it doesn't make him a lesser lead or junior lead in anyways. Such accidents or incidents are part of this extreme sport and that's why we always remind everyone during the briefing not to lose track or fight gravity. I humbly request everyone for big learning and take away that please abide by trip lead instruction (new or old) at all times considering your safety first. Always support the trip lead with whatever they request you to contribute, as keeping trip lead car and mind free to gain complete control during such extreme situations. Be more nice and gentle with your suggestions for them to evaluate accordingly. Keep a calm demeanor during extreme recoveries so that everyone can think it through and make the right decisions. Replacement Yellow Truck - IM drive We will soon plan a replacement drive for all IM drivers who missed this drive and boldly supported such extreme recovery with all the best efforts, tools, vehicles, and knowledge to display brilliant teamwork at the end.

I don't agree with this comment, completely biased in my opinion. The leads in @Carnity always say that they consider the experience of the members in a convoy, therefore why should have @PaoloMaraziti raised hand or give a "heads-up" when the split was, from the very outset of the drive announced as a "surprise".

Dear all, I can’t remain silent to this situation. In my my humble opinion, I don’t believe the blame can be put so bluntly on Paolo, a responsible and attentive driver. I will relate below my feelings towards the succession of events. Many drivers attended this drive especially because Gaurav was leading it (I am one of them). Driving in Liwa was something I myself apprehended a lot - especially at IM level. It was a long convoy, I admit it and honestly I didn’t understand the complaints coming from the back about the lines. The dunes are high enough and it’s part of the convoy discipline and order. We could have switched positions for those who wanted virgin lines. To be honest I was surprised about the split. And this is where I believe we all trusted the judgement of the leaders and moved forward. Don’t get me wrong, I drove with Shaaz several times and I even drove with him this morning and I respect him a lot and trust him. Paolo had some resistance in crossing one or two dunes before getting to the fateful one. That should have been taken into consideration. On the fateful cross, I genuinely don’t think that Paolo didn’t follow the track or even that he fought gravity. As per his saying, his car jumped because of a bump and landed on 2 wheels and he tried steering down - and we saw the positions of his wheels. And now, allow me to point out that at that moment, a cacophony started. I myself requested everyone to stop talking, Paolo to stop moving and Shaaz to come back. When Shaaz came back, he requested me to join him and because of all the talking on the radio, I didn’t understand where he wanted me to go and I got stuck because of the different directions on the radio. Shaaz did his absolute best to contain the situation, to secure the car and eventually allow Paolo to get out of the car. Ranjan and I were next to him and we never at any point criticized his decisions. But as you said Gaurav, an extreme recovery comes with risks. About Paolo not wanting to come out, this is ridiculously indecent to say that he refused to obey Shaaz request ! Paolo was in a very insecure position, the car was not well lested and no one suggested to get him out from the boot. And in any case, me being there, would it have been safe for him to move out of the car. I am so sorry to read what is being said about Paolo when I was sitting next to him to reassure him while everyone was stressing him !! The succession of event is known to all. When Gaurav arrived, the second winch and the experience allowed to safely exit Paolo from the car. Again, this is my humble opinion and feelings on the situation as I am not here to discuss the physics of the recovery or criticize the expertise of any of the leaders.

Hello Guys. It was a golden opportunity for me as a lead to have another LL session from @Asif Hussainwho have mastered in LIWA. It was my first drive with him and first time to LIWA desert. It was a wonderful experience to make it to the yellow truck leading a convoy and under the supervision and guidance of @Asif Hussain . The terrain as you all know was totally different from what we find in dubai and Sharjah and the way of approaching the dunes itself was different in this part .!!! We had a real strong convoy to take up the challenges. On our way way to the yellow truck we had a break in a farm..which was again a different experience. Reaching the yellow truck it was another surprise for all of us to see the truck painted in yellow and UAE flag behind..and for me my second attempt to make it there and the first accomplished one. The second half of the drive it was @Asif Hussainturn to show us the real nature and fun of the LIWA sands... really loved those deep slopes and massive bowls....and much more from the legend. Thank you sir for making it possible for me to experience LIWA as a lead and for the rest of the convoy to make it to the yellow truck and enjoy the LIWA drive. Thanks to @Jeepie for sweeping the convoy and helping us in recoveries. It was a pleasure to be with @Xavier Treasurer, @Looper, @Zed, @Gok Krish, @Karthikeyan Govindarajan, @Chris Wingand @Josh T...Guys enjoyed the drive with you. @Josh T.did an amazing job in exiting the broke down car to the tarmac. keep it up bro.. Thank you guys once again and hope to catch up with you soon. some pics in gallery ☺️🙏

Thank you @Shaaz Sha for the drive, and well done on taking a Fewbie convoy into such a technical and challenging terrain that is Shuwaib. It was definitely a good occasion to learn and practice some skills that will help Fewbies go to the next level. In this terrain one needs to keep a good pace so you don't loose momentum while keeping a focused eye on the car in front as the risks of refusals are many. And I do believe the convoy was up to the challenge today. Having @JeromeFJ as 2nd lead and support is a blessing. Your experience in rerouting and managing the convoy is valuable. Same for recoveries and tricky situations. Plus, you have proven many times before and today how helpful and knowledgeable you are in supporting. @Joji varghese didn't get the chance to see you much as you were closely and perfectly sticking to Jerome's tracks. @Reggie Landicho you have to get extra credits for driving a manual. We often forget how different and technical it is to shift gears especially on soft sand. Remember, momentum is your friend, sometimes giving it an extra push in the beginning can help you cross the dunes. @FARAZ MOHAMMED welcome back. The refusals you had were mainly due to the technicality of terrain. I am sure that coming back to the desert you will re-adapt to driving you Pajero in the sand. You had your first pop-out today... it had to happen one day @Enrico Biscaro you pushed your self and your car very well and always alert on what was happening around you. @Chinthaka Ruwan anchoring the convoy very well. Your support was very much needed. It was a pretty long convoy and you were there to keep an eye open and make sure everything was smooth. @Naim Aoun your approach to the dunes is surgical you have a good approach of testing your limits to keep control on your vehicule and capabilities. I believe it's a good way to learn safely. @Rsjiv Samuel you handle your FJ pretty well. Wandering in the dunes looks easy for you. And now, after 2 drives together in less than a week, I'm sure I won't forget you :)) @Gregory you are a very contained and patient driver. Also perfectly handling your big car in the technical areas as well as climbing high dunes. Also thank you everyone for the team spirit and support when we had to get the shovels out ! Really enjoyed driving with all of you and hope to see you soon. PS : @Fabien Monleau we would have loved to have you and your LC in the picture ... another time

@M.Seidamfantastic drive today appreciate all the knowledge we gained from your leadership. As challenging and fun and most of all the team work to get through the couple of issues we had on the drive. True Carnity. Great team thanks to all @munkybizness@Anoop Nair@Charbel@Felix Obst@Imteeaz Goolamhossen@Alexander Holodny@Gertjan@Alfred Alinazar@Prakash Anoop great to meet new and old faces, great drive by all really enjoyed it made special by you all. Thanks again.

@Desert Wrangler @Anton Dimov @Quresh Motiwala @Vishu Korgaonkar @Ron.P @Mathew Abraham @Juan Carlos Prego Perez @Amro Aydin @Ria John @Antony Abraham @Joao It was very nice to meet you all yesterday. We had an amazing morning with lots of learning opportunities and shoveling, tugging and winching. That is the kind of drives that @Srikumar and I as seniors love the most, especially if we all work together as a team and we are putting our heads together to try the best solutions of getting cars out of stucks and refusals. You all did very well and I am very proud of every one of you. You all gave it your best ! I especially wanted to thank Goutam aka @Looper too for all his help with the recoveries ! At the end of the drive, my Big Blue unfortunately gave up but with the help of my wonderful husband, we got her fixed again and I was able to drive my car out of the desert .... Moving forward you all will be joining the Newbie drives and not an Absolute Newbie drive anymore. Drives are announced every Sunday at 11 am, and they go live on Sunday at 7:00 pm. Due to the high demand, these drives get full in about 10 minutes, so please be online at 7 pm to book your spot. If you miss a spot, put your name on the waitlist asap. Generally, by Thursday with dropouts everyone does get a spot if they have waitlisted. For the next drives, please bring along a deflator, pressure gauge, flag, compressor and radio as a MANDATORY requirement. Learn to deflate your tires and checking them precisely Learn to fix a flag on your car Learn to program and fully charge your radio MUST READ: Offroad Club Structure, Levels and Rules Off roading - Everything you need to know Transfer your previous off-road experience Mandatory Safety Requirements Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities Tire pressure deflation for off road driving Dune Crossing Tutorial and Techniques Emergency details for all off-roaders Off road Club Grading Structure V.3.0 Team Carnity Grading Structure V.1.0 Multicultural Off Road Club in UAE Carnity Off-road Certification Off road Driving Etiquette's Levels of Offroad Drive Off-road Convoy Rules Carnity Drive Notification

It was a wonderful drive today. Thanks for leading us on the drive today Dr @M.Seidam. I learned a lot today. Not only about the tyre issue, but also how to understand how my car behave during the maneuver Special thanks to all the team for helping with the tyre issue and patience to wait for my car to be recovered. See you again in the sand @M.Seidam, @Adhir Saxena, @Gertjan, @Imteeaz Goolamhossen, @Alexander Holodny, @Anoop Nair, @Davie Chase, @Felix Obst, @Prakash Anoop and @munkybizness

Dear friends @Davie Chase@munkybizness@Anoop Nair @Charbel@Felix Obst@Imteeaz Goolamhossen@Alexander Holodny@Gertjan @Alfred Alinazar@Prakash Anoop As an appetiser and more to come , hope you enjoy

@Vaibhav @Pacific @Daniel Rodas @Niki @Waqas Parvez @AlexM @Wrangeld lots of pictures in the gallery. Enjoy

Drive Report - Full Day Newbie Liwa Drive (No Yellow Truck) We all set at the starting point well on time , just a few minutes past the planned 7.30 am start considering the fog. We all had a slightly extended briefing considering the challenging terrain we were venturing into. Driving along the dirt track and enjoying the sunrise , we were eager the see the vastness once Liwa opens up. The initial part of the drive for about 20-25 kms was free flowing into the massive dunes that we hardly had any radio chatter. While we ventured deeper , the dunes became more taller, more steeper and some sharp drops were inevitable. That's when I as a lead ventured into a slightly tricky area where one drop was ending into a soft patch where if you loose your momentum , one is bound to have a refusal or stuck. We had one car here which had that and all did their best to get the car out with some long shovelling sessions, cooling a overheating transmission , some weird-but safe tugging and finally a double rope tug which got the car out. With some small rerouting and as everyone drove out of this spot , we decided to exit the Pajero as overheating in a cool morning is something which meant definitely as we drive deeper it was bound to have the same issue as the terrain would get more challenging where once will have to use 4-L multiple times. The closest route to dirt track took close to 90 min - as we had already discussed , no close exits in Liwa unlike in Dubai deserts. This meant we were almost back at the starting point by 12 noon , exit the car and head back. I chose a route as much as possible along the sabkhas/flats - considering the fact that were were heading in a direction which was slightly against the massive slip phases . We had multiple refusals , stucks, shoveling and many tugs as we drove along. I appreciate everyone's cooperation as we decided not to have a formal break for all cars but to refuel and rehydrate ourselves whenever we had a refusal/stuck. I will be mentioning the drive stats below which will give you all an idea as to why we (a bit disappointed myself) could not make it to the iconic Yellow truck. By around 2.30 pm to 3 pm, we were at a point which was equidistant from our starting point, the yellow truck and our planned exit at the desalination plant. Going to yellow truck potentially meant we would be driving in night , and in this terrain was not a safe option. We decided to take the route to the desalination plant skipping the yellow truck. We drove through multiple falt super soft patches, bowls, sharp and steep drops and finally made it to the exit on dirt track near desalination plant just when it was dark. To see everyone out safely was the whole motto, and we did it! @Patrick van der Loo played the 2nd lead to perfection, stopping in split second calls made by me in some very nasty spots. The ones to mention are - when I entered a slightly steeper bowl, another just as we were near the exit and i was stuck on re-laid sand and the last one when I ventured into s super soft bowl just before the exit. Had it not been these stops by you, we would have spent more time shoveling for sure😃 @Vishal Nair with his pajero was the one which had to be exit half way through the drive. Overheating transmission on your model Pajeros is a common issue was we discussed which has been seen multiple times with multiple drives. You need to install a extra transmission cooler with a switch which will save you from these issues when you push your car. You will switch on this only when on sand and turn it off when on tarmac. Considering this we had to exit you early as we would be using 4LLC multiple times ahead . You should also learn and make sure you engage the gears advised to you correctly- the best way to do this would be to practice next time you are on sand (while having a break) and engage the 4H, 4HLC and 4LLC and see how the gears sound and behave. This time around you were in 4HLC all the while which made you dig yourself further , which probably would have been a 5-10 min maneuvering if you were in the correct gear. @Mawy did well with his pajero , in some refusals and stucks following as advised. At one spot he was off track and landed himself into a soft pocket. we had to use double rope to pull him out as even though he was crawling out nicely, the sand there was way too soft. Rest of the challenging drive you did wonderfully well my friend. @Rob Soughton learned the hard way with some refusals on soft sand long climbs as to why his Prado was unable to . As he started using the tiptronics , climbing in lower gears in 4 H was easier. You were very controlled in all the steep slip phase descents we had and it was wonderful to see that from a distance. @Dinesh Kumar A too did well being behind the center forward. Driving on soft churned sand meant you would be having some refusals and as it got hot even a toyota had a overheating transmission 😆. We did cool it in quick time , and you were able to recover yourself in a soft patch. @Muhammad Qasim drove a FJ at the back with good control and following the advises in soft patches. It is indeed challenging being at the back and driving following multiple churned tracks but you did well. At one spot a lot of counter steer meant you had a pop out which was fixed. It is always better to exit when you are not able to climb and reattempt. Well done buddy, and I believe your son had a nice time watching all the action unfolding. @kiranshinde was the only fewbie on this drive and hence was at the back. He controlled his beast Y62 well most of the times which was wonderful to watch. Only at one spot coming down a angled slip phase , there was a bit too much fishtail which was very uncomfortable for me to watch from a distance. I humbly apologize for being a bit loud on advising . If you are in a tight spot like that and are unable to acknowledge , the least you could do was to stop to prevent the situation worsening any further. Barring this , I believe you enjoyed the challenge at the back being newly promoted . I have to mention my immense thanks to @Rizwanm2 and Carnity legend @Gaurav for supporting this drive. Your presence gave me the extra confidence to push all day long. All the advises, recoveries and the rerouting you guys did were flawless which kept the whole drive super safe in a super challenging terrain at newbie level. Some of the memorable ones being - recovering Vishals Pajero from the soft patch which took almost 90 min, double rope recovery of Mawy by rizwan under the watchful advises by gaurav, rerouting on the slip phases - and especially the last one where I danced on soft sand for quite some time . Only upon deflating to 8 psi I could dance and jump out of the soft bowl🤣. To complete a full day newbie drive in Liwa and getting everyone out safely was a awesome experience. Some stats below for you all to relive the experience, some pictures are uploaded in the gallery. Please share your feedback, comments , experiences , pictures and videos. Well done and Cheers to all of you

Just wanted to share this with the group....😀😀 on a drive this morning, (I shall share the track) we found a second yellow truck. Looks like it has been here only a few months. Maybe something for Carnity in a next drive.

I am very sorry to hear about the incident @PaoloMaraziti.. thanks to Allah that you and everyone involved are safe and hats off to everyone who supported this extreme recovery and getting everyone safely out. No doubt these are very stressful situations and leaves marks in everyone’s mind and soul specially those who witnessed it first hand, not speaking of those who were at the center like yourself. I enjoyed driving with you and wish to drive more with you hoping you would reconsider your decision. Finally, these incidents are part of the inherent risks we all sign up for and accept when we go for an extreme sport like offroading. Let’s please use the analysis to learn and be better off-roaders but avoid blaming and pointing fingers at anyone; this will bring no value to anyone.

Thanks @Shaaz Sha for the drive, and @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil and @JeromeFJ for the excellent support, especially in the challenging terrain. I had a friend with me today... introducing him to the desert.. and he was impressed with Carnity as a club, and the sense of teamwork especially when things were a little challenging and help was needed. 👍👍👍 Wish everyone a good week ahead!

Hi off roaders, Thank you all for making it on time at the meeting point. We were all ready and waited for few minutes for the three No show member today for around 10 minutes. After the radio check and briefing we entered the area where it was not too crowded.. Only few cars , but the tracks from previous days were obviously there.. which were annoying at some points. After a few minutes of warm up , we started slowly to the side slops where every one did a good job..It was nice to see you guys doing it very safely. Good work guys.The terrain had enough to practice all our skills and it was quite technical towards the exit. We had a few refusals and a stuck followed by a pop out which were all handled the best way by @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil, @Chinthaka Ruwanand @JeromeFJThank you Guys .. You were absolutely amazing.. 👏👏👏. @JeromeFJ, thank you for being the second lead.. you did a good job in re-routing where ever needed and kept the convoy moving. Your assistance while recoveries where also great. Thank you. @Joji varghese, @Reggie Landicho, @FARAZ MOHAMMED, @Enrico Biscaro, @Naim Aoun, @Rsjiv Samuel, and @Gregory... you guys were all good . We had few time consuming stuck s and i appreciate you support and patience.Thank you all once again and sees you soon. Some pics in the gallery..

Thank you Dr @M.Seidam for this super smooth and exciting drive. always a pleasure to drive with you, the way you led the convoy and the care and attention you showed to every driver is exemplary. see you soon. 🤘

I am speechless and running short of words but will manage to write a bit....excellent convoy @Vaibhav @Waqas Parvez @Daniel Rodas @AlexM.... @Niki a true samaritan offering coffee in morning hours. Thanks @Jeepie for stealth support. @Wrangeld true of about intermediate drive with fewbie speed, with most of stepping down the dunes and then climbing may be 50to60 pink rocks over the drive. Few refusals managed pretty well with ease. Richard got some nasty refusal but believe me ,I have seen it as amazing self recovery, especially driving reverse up the slope. The sand was deceptive ,spots appearing hard eventually turning out to soft like butter ,at time difficult to judge. But all that end well is good. Hurrah we made it. Kudos to all. Hope to see you all with such great enthusiasm.

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for the drive today morning... was looking for a nice and relaxing drive for the kids/family, and they loved it and enjoyed every opportunity to get out of the car and watch yourself and @Russ in action for all the recoveries. Good to meet and drive with all the newbies, @Belal Aldaour - good job as 2L , hope you got the hang of it ,in maintaining the right distance , ready to promptly reroute or stop at the split second request of the Lead @takeshi sobue - great drive, couldn't see much of you except for a couple of re-attempts @Azeem M, @Simon Dawood the LWB pajero boys were left with their rear fender out of shape, which is normal. time to install skid plates, before joining higher level drives !! Pointers to Azeem - technique of maintaining the right distance from the car in front. I could see that you were too far from Takeshi and on the verge of losing the track at times. As you join more drives, this should come naturally to you Simon - Fishtailing at someplaces, i suggest to think in terms of technique/approach angle etc rather than raw power and flooring the gas for climbs/side slopes. @Mark D - Great drive, just in front of me , without much issues except for occasionally churning up the sand for me, which is off course by nature of Raptors @ahmed salama with his cool TJ and first NB drive if i am not wrong, managed well. couple of crests are bound to happen in every ones off-road life, take home the learning! @Harshad Ashraf and @Goh KP - couldnt see much of you as you were driving further behind. Good to meet everyone, and looking forward to the next one!

Thanks @Gertjan nice driving and beautiful pictures 👍 Thanks @Davie Chase you drove like a pro today and much appreciate your experience and willing to help . True spirit of a team work indeed . Glad you enjoyed 👍🙏

Thanks @M.Seidam, Carnity team, great drive! Some pictures loaded in the gallery: https://carnity.com/gallery/category/1107-fewbie-qudra-dubai-4-dec-2021

@Chaitanya D @Gaurav @Rizwanm2 thank you for the support and patience. I would definitely take all the points into account and the fan is definitely going to be there in the next drive. Thanks to all the shoveling team for the efforts and motivation.. thanks again.. 🙏

Post Drive Report Liwa Yellow Truck What a day! Any Yellow Truck drive is an accomplishment that cannot be under estimated. Control, concentration, composure and guts are needed to cope with this as a first time drive - moreso, when your lead has only been there once before and that as 18 months before. This was a Rock Solid Crew day: Everyone on this convoy was fantastic, throughout. @Pacific your 2nd lead was impeccable. Adjusting and leading the convoy away from the moments where I got stuck (two in particular were excellent). I really appreciate the support that you brought to the front of the convoy. @Niki having your calm, encouraging, insightful support MUST have made every recovery easier for the few times it was needed. Your driving was immense, taking everything in your stride and apparently enjoying every second. Your energy incredible and infectious. @Jeepie Is the inly one who knows quite how terrified I was of heights (well to be accurate, it's not the heights it's the rapid deceleration on landing that scares me, the falling but is OK). Not only is it a pleasure to know you're there on a drive supporting and keeping everything tidy, but sharing the experience (albeit in different cars) was fantastic. The convoy @Vaibhav, we are waiting for the photos and the drone video, @Waqas Parvez you proved why the promotion you requested was justified - in spades - @Daniel Rodas 2nd drive in 2 weeks and I really want to see more of what you can do, @AlexM strong, quite silent, but deadly effective. Bottom line, you were brilliant. Managing to get to and from Yellow Truck without more than a few refusals among the convoy cannot be underestimated. You don't get there and back without having had to drive through numerous challenges and obstacles. As I think was explained by Pacific, this was an intermediate drive in terms of challenges, driven at fewbie speed. As an exploration drive, I think that we covered as much of the Liwa experience as possible. Massive climbs, making Faya look miniscule, massive descents, dwarfing Fossil Rock, some play in bowls (but not much, admittedly), and high technical sections. For me, the challenge was overcoming my fear of heights - yes, the Liwa lead, where the drive is all about massive descents has a problem with that - but your patience and trust in my leadership got me through, and we all got through safely, carefully and with having had a challenging long day out. I factored in much more recovery time in my drive plan - which in the end we did not need, so had the pleasure of exiting in daylight and people being able to return home while it was still light. Maybe next time out, we can go and play more on the bowls and have more aggressive challenges, but by then you are already an old hand in Liwa. And you can say what a lot of people cannot: you made it to Yellow Truck, and out. Thanks for everything guys. I am really proud that I got to share my first proper Liwa lead with you. See you soon in the sand.

@PaoloMaraziti sorry to have heard from the thread what happened on the drive and this post about the incident and also to hear your are leaving club. We only drove once a while ago with Richard and particularly enjoyed meeting you. I am also in support of what you said in your last post , and wether or not your were in the wrong in your drive and made an error which you humbly agreed too. There seems to be plenty of errors along the way that were not your fault. Also the way some people may have approached you in this thread i belive is in correct and doesn’t support the ethos of “Let’s watch and grow together “ but more a placing the blame game. Either way I just wanted to say you have been very polite and humble considering the situation you were in, anyone in carnity would have panicked at the top of a dune that size in your position and I would like to say without naming names , opinions on this thread could of been written slightly more sensitively then they were in consideration . Good luck and safe driving in future and hope we cross paths again.

Thanks @Gertjan. What a beautiful picture. Must have been taken by a very talented photographer

@Shaaz Sha Thanks for the excellent drive today. Shuwaib is a challenging terrain also one of my favorite area in UAE. Everyone did really good and pushed it to the next level. It will be a good experience when reaching to next level. Thanks @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil and @JeromeFJ for excellent support. Supporting a long convoy in this area is not easy and you guys did a great job. Some pictures are uploaded in the gallery. Nice to see you all and have a great week.

Good afternoon everyone joined in liwa event. Great fun and many lessons that we have learned from experts. Thanks to @Chaitanya D for breaf comments on us. Thanks to @Gaurav for his expertise and keeping eye on each driver. Thanks to @Rizwanm2 for being in the middle and supportive to the cars in front and the cars in his back. I found on nice picture of @Rob Soughton that I will be sharing and I have some nice videos which I can't upload them here... Waiting for the event next. 🙂🙂

Hi chaitnya, first of all no need to mention apologies becuase it was for our safety. Surely i will improve steering control. I enjoyed drive throughly. Yellow truck is for next time. Thnx to all team.

Thanks all team for nice day!. I hope @Vanessa8580 recovery her car!. please stay safe and looking forward for the next one.

Thank you for a great day @Chaitanya D and the trust to have me in 2nd spot. I think all of us newbies learned a lot and really experienced how the desert fights back! It was a simply stunning setting - I think we must have taken 100 pictures if not more. @Gaurav and @Rizwanm2 thank you for all the guidance and help and the tow! I am looking forward to my next visit to Liwa, yellow truck or not!

Dear friends @Davie Chase@munkybizness@Anoop Nair @Charbel@Felix Obst@Imteeaz Goolamhossen@Alexander Holodny@Gertjan @Alfred Alinazar@Prakash Anoop Addendum of the final convoy numbering :

Many Thanks @Ale Vallecchi, was refreshing, exciting, and Amazing explored new terrain with beautiful snenery Dunes and Trees. Have a great convey in break time with lovely Tea under Date Trees with perfectly sunset time. See you next adventure one☺️

@Wrangeld No Pics only videos from my end. how do i upload it? Gallery shows only images can be uploaded. Below are few videos. Will share the Drone videos also https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tIbwoo6RPnXddsYi1WSRbzaN9K-MPM8K/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gSzYZwmRHr7ODWK_Ln-6DLf6eBRZIuFd/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kk8lHkkj8wg6N-kTLmHw9SLrkJmEmFnj/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1njS3bMu8nuOsbciikP-eWbetnwHI4hqb/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sVc3dAugeLoibyfs2yQXM4QoAbiUJrP0/view?usp=sharing