Leaderboard

Dear @Joji varghese @Junaid120120 @topgear @Rsjiv Samuel @Looper @Davie Chase @Sunil Mathew @Chris Wing @Daniel Yang @Thomas Varghese convoy list as above 👆

It's still work in progress, will explain how it works, once completed. In short, it is a user (off-roaders and non off-roaders) achievements system to recognize and honor best efforts (online and offline).

You are ready for which challenge? Liwa Crossing or to be able to stay in your house?

Please find the convoy numbering below. We will use Channel 2 @Enrico Biscaro @Quresh Pajero @Shahid Mehmood @Jose Thomas @Jona @varunmehndiratta @Karthik Raptor @KKIRAN @Simon Dawood @Rob S Gaurav Silver Pajero Simon Dawood Pajero LWB3.8 Grey Quresh Pajero Pajero LWB White Shahid Mehmood Prado Jose Thomas Xtrerra Grey Jona FJC White Varun Mehndiratta Wrangler 4DR Gray Tareq 2012 prado Karthik Raptor Raptor Black Kkiran Patrol Y62 Rob S Prado White

Dear desert wanderers, good evening. Hope everyone had a successful week, and looking forward to release the stress accommodated. Below convoy order. Will be using channel 3 on the radio. Will have @Joji varghese as SL, @Looper as CF and @Thomas Vargheseas SW. For any requirement please reach me on 0506318834.

I went there three weeks ago and made 180 Ks around over two days. The first day barely managed to pull 100. 100 Kms / day is feasible. 200 in a day is very unlikely, especially given the very soft nature of the sand there and the steeps climbs that will produce many refusals. Also is important to be clear about the potential damage to the bumpers. Both approach and departure angles are important to avoid damaging your car. Regarding the gas, I used a full tank + 45 lt in three rotopax jerry cans and finished with 1/4 tank. I have a 2 doors JK lifted with big tires, which makes me burn gas like hell. So, depending on your car and driving style it might be required the equivalent of another gas tank. Liwa is an amazing experience, not only because of the extremely beautiful terrain, but especially because it will challenge you (nerves, resolution, skills, teamwork to rescue team members on difficult stuck situations), and also the cars itself. I have gone twice and never get enough of it. If you love off-roading and have the skills and the right car, it is something you need to do.

Lol, i was just thinking as if counting the drives and waiting for your offroad promotion was not enough now we gotta worry about the badges also 😅.

DRIVE RSVP IS NOW CLOSED @Bhaskar @Azam the Adventurous @Vasja Zupan @Rasif ABDUL RAHIM @Antony Abraham @Goh KP@Amr Aydin@Bruno Finel @Tom V @hugo @Ahmed Wagdy@Adnan Halepota @AlexM@KKIRAN@Harshal@Danish Mohammad Some pointers: * We will be using Carnity Channel 1 for our radio comms: 446.00625 Mhz * Make sure to bring your flag, radio, deflator, and shovel. Otherwise you will not be accepted to the drive. * Bring your lunch and plenty of drinks. * Please be on time, a bit earlier is always better so we have time for preparation and briefing. We will be exiting around 4PM at this location: https://goo.gl/maps/kDvDT95qyAxAoYcW6 See you all tomorrow at 7AM !

"Can" is the key word ....fact is they can and i guess to an extant want too ...just can't see us happy. 😂😂

Alhosn turned green 👍

Is it a mistake , or am I really "Very Popular" ??? 😄😀

It's about time to have another EPIC off-road drive to enjoy the World’s coolest winter in UAE. And what better way to aim to cross the Liwa Desert from one end to another, yes really...! Let's experience the magic of Rub’ al Khali (Empty Quarter) the largest uninterrupted desert on Earth! Thanks to the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi to publish an open route to try Liwa Crossing so we can avoid the restricted areas and exits. It will be a 150 - 200 km off-road drive covered within 1-1.5 days through amazing breathtaking views and monstrous dunes of 200-300 meter height, that you have never seen before. Or only seen on star wars. The Abu Dhabi section of the Rub' al-Khali (Liwa Desert) was used in location shooting for the desert planet Jakku in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. (Wiki extract) The Liwa Crossing through Empty Quarter offers a chance to witness nature in its purest form and in itself is a transcendent experience. However, traveling through the largest desert in the world is not something that should be taken lightly. So we are giving some time ahead for you to plan your two full-day availability of 19 and 20 Feb to experience something that you have never seen before. We plan and hope to finish the majority of the drive on 19 Feb and then pitch a camp to experience the most memorable night under the clear sky in an empty quarter. We plan to hit the tarmac on 20 Feb by 10 AM - 12 PM, so that we all can drive back the same day. Get your house permission signed, stamped and locked. Get your car ready with all photo and video gear. And then hit the poll above at which level of drive you "surely" like to join. Based on the poll result, Liwa Crossing drives will be live on 14 Feb, Mon - Your Best Valentine

Please find your convoy numbering below. We will use Channel 1 @Srikumar @Taimur Khan @Shahzad Akbani @Jessica Lambert @Murad Hamed @varunmehndiratta @Adnan Halepota @Savio Fernandes @soumyasaklani @paolo dassi @Senthil Kumar @MMansoor @Melenany Gaurav Silver Pajero Srikumar Green Cherokee Taimur Khan White Toyota Prado Krishna R Infiniti Qx56 Shahzad Akbani Black FJ Cruiser 2012 Jessica Lambert White Toyota Prado Murad Hamed 2019 Patrol Y61 Falcon varunmehndiratta Gray Wrangler Adnan Halepota White Toyota Prado Savio Fernandes Grey Nissan Patrol Y62 soumyasaklani Toyota Prado 2020 paolo dassi Mitsubishi Pajero Senthil Kumar Red Jeep Wrangler 4 door MMansoor Nissan Patrol Y62 Melenany Black Ford F150 Lariet

Something I learnt today. Don't worry there is much more to enjoy than these drives. of course the Liwa drives are special, but in no time you will be able to drive in such drives.

It's giving me anxiety and an inferiority complex!

I packed already, where and at what time do we meet?

Team @Carnity we see this Rank Progress and Badges. Can you please help us understand how it works?

Done. Thank you. Looking forward to the drive. Coming with my wife and 5 year old daughter.

Nope, we are entering from Tawi and exit from Bidayer (20-30 kms away).

Will miss you bro

Hi guys, I am coming with my wife and 9yo daughter, any other child about her age joining!? See you tomorrow!

Dear @Naveen Raj @JeromeFJ @Hasan Wahlan @Warren Flay @munkybizness Looking forward for 👀ing you tomorrow morning at the meeting point Pre-drive details below: 1- Please be on time and bring all your passion for off-roading and pull as much as you can of yourself out of bed.. trust me you will need all of it. 2- Be at the meeting point by 7:00am (or before) and be ready to move max by 7:15am max (deflated, flag erected, 4H on, radio on and set, airbags/traction/abs all set....) 3- Please ensure your programable radio is on, fully charged and set to Channel 4 (446,081) 4- Briefing will be done on on the sand before we start moving 5- Please be prepared for a demanding drive which you will require your undivided attention. Bringing passengers is ok provided they will not be a cause for distraction and don't have known motion sickness or fear of heights. 6- Please ensure everything in the car is tied down and no moving objects 7- Please check all oils, tow hooks, and ensure no hanging parts below the chassis. 8- please ensure you come with a full tank (as much as possible) in addition to all necessary gear for this drive level specially your safety flag (NO FLAG or RADIO = NO DRIVE) 9- Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/LZZosc4n8rem59GD8 10- Convoy order: We will agree the order at the meeting point 👻

Hi @Gaurav kindly exclude me from the poll, I will not be able to join this drive

Well, only if you agree to spend 2 days in the MALL once you are back.

I googled too!

Hi @hugo Our location for lunchbreak will be here: https://goo.gl/maps/7MKAic56ARV3cC1P7 This is accessible via the road (you can use Google Maps). I hope to reach that area by 11AM but by 12 we should be leaving from there. Keep me informed on 0 5 6 5 0 4 2 6 3 2

confirmed

Wife also wants to join in - we can bring +1?

Seeking permission from home of course .. Moreeb, Dune 7, Rig E Yalan all are small compared to this challange.. 😂😂

Hi @Islam Soliman, it is a bit last minute, but I would like to join the drive if still possible. I've done my PCR just now, it shall be ok for Saturday morning. Can you please add me ? Thank you

Wow awesome ... seems carnity is fully committed to ensure we will be thrown out of our homes ..mid term school break and need to seek permission to be out in desert for two days ...interesting .😂😂😂 i am in for this challange, Is Moreeb part of the equation? Couldn't cover it last time.....

Wife passed me to my mother first for signature @Gaurav 🥲

2016 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 3 drives in desert Hooks: Yes

My Tundra has Rigid lights on the front and Baja Designs on the rear, have 2 Rigid radiance bars (20”), Rigid fog lights which came stock with the car, and the D-SS Pro floodlights on the A pillars. The rear has the Baja Designs S1 spotlights which are activated only when the car is engaged in reverse as the stock reverse lights provide no where near enough light to reverse in complete darkness. I will say that Rigid is my absolute favorite company when it comes to off-road lighting, they have quick and helpful support teams and the build quality is just out of this world, up close you can see what I mean, they are just beautiful. I would say at-least get the A pillar lights first as they do make quite a difference when it comes to lighting a large area, then go ahead with light bars mounted on the bumper, these will completely change the game and will light up everything, especially in foggy or dusty conditions, they are just great. I am not planning to mount roof bars as they wind noise is crazy as I’ve heard from others on the forum and I wont be buying them now, maybe sometime later on. These will illuminate more than low mounted light bars, simply put, the whole area will be almost as bright as day. Theres not much to talk about for the rears as they just provide lights for reversing but they are small and do the job well. Basically, even though companies like Rigid are expensive and your looking for something mid range, they are definitely one if the best if not the best Off-road lighting company in my opinion, they are built very very tough. If you can, buy nothing but Rigid, KC or Baja Designs, these are popular for again, the quality and reliability of many years. Trust me, you will be much happier with brands like these. You can look into KC for roof mounted lights mainly. And Baja Designs make decent, small sized spotlights. But be careful with battery draw as MunkeyBizness mentioned, my Tundra runs on the stock battery but when ignitions on and engines off, power drains rather quickly, not as much as a damaged battery, but it definitely takes a toll on the battery’s life span. I will change the battery soon and will update if its any better.

While offroading, we cross dunes by using different methods, based on how the dune is formed and what the drive level is. Once you have spent some time in the desert, you will slowly start to pay more attention to the dune formations and how we cross them. Once you reach Intermediate and Advance level, you'll need to start learning how to read these dunes in order to navigate and create your planned routes in the desert. As a rule of thumb, the prevailing wind in UAE is blowing from a North-Western direction to South-East direction from 10AM onwards. At night and in early morning it will be reversed and blow from the South-East to North-West. This is something you should remember and you will notice when you zoom into certain areas with your navigation app (Google Maps, Gaia, MotionX, Mytrails,...) you will notice that the wind from that side has caused the dunes to take on their shape. This is a general rule and will not always apply, as you will see that in certain areas where wind is coming from different directions, you will see for example "star" dunes appearing. There are different types of dunes which are separately described below. As you can see in below picture, a dune is formed when the prevailing wind blows on a mound of sand, where the grain will move into the wind direction and create a ridge. The sand which falls on the other side of the ridge, creates a slipface, and this sand is not compacted by the wind. This is the main reason why we generally drive on the prevailing wind side or the convex side of the dunes on the Newbie level. "A dune is a curiously dynamic creature," wrote Farouk El-Baz in National Geographic. “Once formed, a dune can grow. It can change shape and move with the wind. It can even breed new dunes. Some of these offspring may be carried on the back of the mother dune. Others are born and race downwind, outpacing their parents. [Source: Farouk El-Baz, National Geographic, February 1982] The shape of dunes is affected by things like the strength, direction and consistency of the winds; the consistency and amount of sand; the hardness of the terrain and the amount of vegetation. Below we will describe the most common dunes found in the UAE. Different Dunes Crescent or Barchan Dune This is the most common dune. It forms the shape of a crescent moon when the wind blows from one direction. We generally use the words concave and convex to describe both sides of the dune: * Concave is a shape that curves inwards. * Convex is a shape that curves outwards. Crescent-shaped mounds generally are wider than long. On the concave side you will have the slipface. These dunes form under winds that blow from one direction, and they also are known as barchans. Parabolic Dune A parabolic dune is similar in shape to a barchan, but it is just the opposite. The tips of this dune point into the wind, and its main body migrates with the wind, forming a depression between the tips. Because of this formation, parabolic dunes are also known as blowout dunes. These dunes often occur when vegetation stabilizes sediments and a U-shaped blowout forms between clumps of plants. Example of Parabolic dunes near Faya: https://goo.gl/maps/ob8xu3y8VJJvF6hk8 Longitudinal or "Seif" Dunes They are also often referred to to as "sand ridges" or "seifs". Their length can range from a few meters to many kilometers and their height from a couple meters high to a couple hundred meters high. Wind pushes the sand and forms ridges parallel to the prevailing wind direction with slip faces either side of the crest. Linear dunes are straight or slightly sinuous sand ridges typically much longer than they are wide. They may be more than 160 kilometers long. Linear dunes may occur as isolated ridges, but they generally form sets of parallel ridges separated by miles of sand, gravel, or rocky interdune corridors. Some linear dunes merge to form Y-shaped compound dunes. Many form in bidirectional wind regimes. The long axes of these dunes extend in the resultant direction of sand movement. Barchanoid Dunes These ridges are similar to Barchan dunes. They are connected in long crescentic waves as the sand supply is much greater than that which forms a Barchan Dune. Star Dunes These dunes are formed when there are several prevailing wind directions - there is a complex wind regime. Typically there are three or more slip faces, whilst the dunes do not migrate they grow in height. Star dunes are radially-symmetrical, spyramidal sand mounds with slipfaces on three or more arms that radiate from the high center of the mound. They are created when the winds blow equally from every direction, causing the sand dune to grow many extensions and resemble a star. They are rare and are fairly stable and remain in the same place. Some are landmarks with names. Example of a Star dune: https://goo.gl/maps/jRnYghQc8ACzVz6T7 With this knowledge, the next time you step into the desert, you can start looking at the different dune formations, and this will give you lots of knowledge that you'll be able to apply in the future when leading and navigating off-road drives.

Sure, most welcome, please RSVP to the calendar, will add you to the convoy list above.

I see indeed no problem, done

Seems a long convoy in Liwa is expected next week Just out of curiosity, will there be Newbie level drives next week? Or the focus is entirely on this amazing adventure!

What is this house permission? You guy means tell wife? Or...

My son's birthday is on 18th, and just like his mom he has a penchant for celebrating birthdays. But then I and my wife are actually trying to sort out the logistics of it so that we can come to Liwa.

I'm very interested!

@Gaurav i would like to join, rather i would LOVE to join. is family allowed ?

My pleasure.

Regarding the fuel requirements, please wait for the official drive posting on Monday. The trip lead would mention the requirements.

Good to hear... I know my car can do 60l for 100km FB/FB+, but cant guarantee the same for the dunes in Liwa. Already hunting for 20L jerry cans now

Missed Dec liwa drives, can't miss this epic one. BTW how much fuel do we expect bring? 200km I'd say 140L ?

Green pass on my Alhosn + short convoy: I can’t miss this 😎

Dear @Thomas Varghese one drop out, and therefore you are added to the drive.

@Mark D as you already know mate, I have the Toby's mounted on custom pipe bumper and also a couple just about the hood. They are perfect for me 😎 and I must say the lights on the A-pillar makes a huge difference wrt side view (although they look bit weird) I hardly use these lights maybe 10 times max in a year, so I went for the cheaper option.

Absolutely yes, as far as she is healthy and can stay in the car for an hour of a mild newbie level off-road. Btw, it will be an EPIC drive to have such a senior of 80 years of age and youngest as 6 months old (Varun's kid) in one drive.