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Always been dreaming of capturing the starry sky from the darkest spot in the UAE ? Join us for a stargazing session in Al Quoa, Abu Dhabi, and camp overnight under a beautiful night sky ! In the week of March 4 2022, we will have a new moon, which means there will be no moon visible in the sky, which is ideal for stargazing. Bring your Digital Camera, and we will help you practice to get the best results out of it. The plan is to have a meetup with max. 15 members to practice and enjoy the art of Night photography and learn from each other. Bring whatever Digital camera you have and have a look at the advisable settings in your camera's manual or ask in the forum. After the event you can publish your photos in our gallery ! Meetup Location: Al Quoa, Abu Dhabi https://goo.gl/maps/MZVv2zZP73hecPAP7 What to bring: Your camping gear and some firewood, red headlamp and/or flashlight, camping chair, Camera or Smartphone, tripod, film/memory cards, extra battery, Recommended Lens(es). A tripod is recommended for night photography. This is NOT an Off-Road Drive. For the members who are joining us, please let us know which camera/lenses you are using and in which category you would put yourself: 1- Absolute Newbie. (Interested in Photography, but mostly use the Automatic settings, and things like aperture, iso, and f-stops are a mystery to me). 2- Enthusiast. (Is not afraid of experimenting with the manual settings, and knows his way around his camera a bit). 3- Jedi Master. (Is mastering not only his own equipment, but can help out or other members during the session). You can RSVP on below Calendar:

Dear all.. happy to confirm all WL is now added to the drive. Pls check your plan and in case you can’t make it pls remove your RSVP before tomorrow morning.. thx

Three men are in the desert when their jeep breaks down... They decided to split up to find some help. One of the lads, Jack, says "I'm taking the radiator since it has water in it." Another, Mike, says "I'll take a hub cap, for shade." They see their third friend, Greg, taking the door off. "What in the hell are you doing, Greg?" "Well if it gets too hot, *I can always roll the window down*"

@Deepak 11 it’s green pass or I think PCR taken within the last 48 hours (if Al Hosn is grey)

I have a 05 discovery2, silver too, its serving as our storage now because it has no documents... I drove it first time on sand, before I had license 😛 , and also why I am here now😈

Hey Frederic, I will be in a Land Rover Discovery 2, I have been out a handful of times with friends and another club. The car has towpoints. Looking forward to it! Thanks Ben

@Karthikeyan Govindarajan @Mus_hus78 @Rob H @Hasan Wahlan @ShereenMK thank you guys for joining the drive. Checklist Reminder Make sure your spare tire is in good condition. It should be the same size as your other tires. Ensure you have the wrench that fits the wheel nuts. Ensure your 4x4 has been recently serviced and all fluids are topped up. Keep your car light and only take the essentials, you will need all the power your engine can deliver. Bring enough snacks and water (5-10l water), some snacks and light lunch are preferred. Radio should be fully charged. If you have a spare one, plz bring it along. Last ADNOC station is at LIWA city https://goo.gl/maps/m9LnNsrs1Xjnvnau6 Carry Extra 20ltr feul Bring all your offroad recovery gears (every car must carry tow rope, shackles and shovel) Please ensure everything is strapped and secured properly. My mobile number in case of emergency is 050 699 04 11

Expected and truly deserved . Congratulations @Davie Chase 👍

No worries dear Thomas

Dear @M.Seidam, Sorry I need to sign out as a meeting suddenly popped up on Saturday morning

Good morning. As excited to be in sand again, and meet you guys, below is the list of names, attendees and waitlist. Appreciating all to reconsider their situations, joining or not, considering the long list of WL. Attendees ASAD. @ASAD. Shahid Mehmood @Shahid Mehmood Joseph Raju @Joseph Raju Andrew McCarthy @Andrew McCarthy Jose Thomas @Jose Thomas Harshal @Harshal Mark D @Mark D Karthik Raptor @Karthik Raptor Nathan @Nathan Prakash Anoop @Prakash Anoop Waitlisted Attendees Simon Dawood @Simon Dawood Tareq Al Turq @Tareq Al Turq Han @Han salah2u @salah2u arjumand @arjumand KKIRAN @KKIRAN Pierre de Maigret @Pierre de Maigret Peter Hager @Peter Hager Antony Abraham @Antony Abraham Senthil Kumar @Senthil Kumar Manoj Soman @Manoj Soman

@Davie Chase Congratulations !!!

Bravo @Davie Chase. Keep it up 💪

Thanks @munkybizness always a pleasure to drive with you mate as we work well together, appreciate all you help and guidance as i came up through the levels

congratulations @Davie Chase. well done!

… and what a brilliant job getting here too. Congratulations on the promotion @Davie Chase. From my first drive with you, you’re not just a great driver but an excellent team player as well, ready with the shovel and to help when it gets tough for any of us. See you on the sands soon!

General Info This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and and strictly follow these guidelines in order not to jeopardize someone's health, and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives safely. MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions Mandatory Safety Requirements Ban from Carnity Off-road Club Two Way Radio Guidelines Drive details Level: Newbie and Above When: 27 Feb 2022, Sunday. Meeting time: 07:00 AM SHARP Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/LZZosc4n8rem59GD8 Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 11:00 AM THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. WE WILL ENDING THE DRIVE A POINT, WHICH IS NOT CLOSE TO AN AIR LINE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COMPRESSOR, PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS DRIVE. IF YOU ARRIVE AND HAVE NO COMPRESSOR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE DRIVE. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 12 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 3:00pm If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list. Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. Please RSVP on below Calendar

Confirmed

@Hisham Masaad confirmed from my side

Hi @Gaurav - any idea if we need Al Hosn Green Compulsory ( or even if not green, but all vaccines taken ) is Ok for Dubai people to Join this?

Confirmed. We are coming

@Hisham Masaad confirmed

Hi Frrederic. I am going with my father on the event. We will come to the map location. Do we need anything else? Can you confirm the event?

@Hisham Masaad Confirmed

@Hisham Masaad confirmed. Thanks

Hi @Srikumar would like to confirm if it's a family friendly 😁 and an easy route to pink rock. Thanks

Yes Damian, you will need to join the Absolute Newbie Drive first.

Finally another drive for Newbies @ Al Fayah! Excited for this with your lead @Gaurav and to see some familiar faces

@Vanessa8580 saving the team from a hidden pocket by taking one for the team 😁. Excellent drive. https://photos.app.goo.gl/CxxxGDRGbDcnC2JJ9

@Davie Chase wow that was quick😃 congratulations

Congratulations @Davie Chase

@Vaibhav will be sure to join you bud, you wont be far behind me so i am sure you will be joining me also on the Intermediate drives very soon

Congratulations @Davie Chase on your promotion. Well done.

@Davie ChaseCongratulations on the Promotion. Do join us in fewbie plus also 😂

I'd like to thank @Gaurav@Srikumar@Frederic you for organizing such an incredible event, as well as the other crew members and support team who made this journey possible. @GauravThis is the first time I've followed your lead, and it was as good as other marshals. The reason I say that is because everyone's main goal is to have a safe drive while having some fun. Thank you for your valuable advice and assistance with recovery; it was a good learning experience. @imranaasghar81Thank you for the second lead; you were right on the money with the gap and rerouted us with your expertise. @Alphin AloorIt was a pleasure driving with you for the first time, and I was always confident in following you. @LooperThe data and statistics expert You have been an excellent CF and have assisted us in overcoming adversity. @Fabien MonleauIt was a pleasure to drive with you; you made the 76 series sail through the ocean. @munkybiznessIt was fantastic to have your experience and advice during the journey and in difficult situations, my neighbor and Trip Partner. @Zixuan Huang - CharlieIt was a pleasure driving with you because you made that Nissan partner drive like a Y62 with such confidence and control. @Ashok chaturvediThank you for the sweeping; you've been driving on the bumpy track and assisting us in navigating through a difficult situation; you've been feeding us phratha and tea like babies; it's always a pleasure having you in the convoy.

Day One (Gaia GPS Link) I covered 86 km in exactly 9 hours. with a moving speed of 15.6 kmph and moving time of 5-hour 30 min. Day two (Gaia GPS Link) I covered 59.9 k, in 4-hour 42 min at a moving speed of 20.2 kmph and in 2 hr 57 min moving time.

What an epic drive. Lot of driving and lots of fun. This drive needed a lot of planning both from marshals ( @Frederic-FB, @Gaurav-FB+, @Srikumar-IM) to organize and the participants to bring the right amount of stuff so that they can drive safely and well. After a day and a half of driving I am quite impressed by how well the drive was spread-out over two days. The majestic Liwa - empty quarter dunes are like Sirens; they invite you to ride them, but they won't let you drive over them. Often exceedingly difficult to read and extremely easy to get stuck. Half the dunes are not even drivable, but majestic and a remarkable sight. I could not even count how many times I gasped at the beauty of the mother nature here in this barren desert land. On the first day we tried to start early but covered a lot of ground and reached the 18th hole in time to set up the tent and gather around the bonfire. The first eighteen waypoints were quite easy to navigate since they were from one sabkha to another, so we wandered around and had lots of fun. Thankfully in our FB+ drive we did not face many refusals and the few that we did face - (by @Gaurav) they were masterclass in self recovery - being applauded by everyone every time he self-recovered from a seemingly impossible stuck. The camping site was one of the best I had seen. On a dried-up lake front, under the stars without any light pollution. The moonrise in the east was a sight to behold. I was tired and slept like a baby late into the morning the next day. On the second day our drive was a bit straight though the waypoints, but they were not as easy as first day's waypoints - quite challenging to be frank. But we quickly wiggled out of all the stucks and refusals and reached the end, stopping only to take a few nice photographs to commemorate our achievement on finally crossing the Liwa. This Liwa Crossing was indeed a test of endurance and grit, and I am quite happy to be a part of this first installment and looking forward to next year once again. A big thanks to all who participated and contributed to the drive. @imranaasghar81, @Alphin Aloor, @Waqas Parvez, @Fabien Monleau, @munkybizness, @Zixuan Huang - Charlie & @Ashok chaturvedi.

It was another amazing drive with Team Carnity. As always it’s a pleasure driving with @Brette. Thanks a ton for @Vanessa8580 for all the support and guidance. I did go to the tire shop and got my tire and rim cleaned Apart from that bummer I really enjoyed drive. Thanks to all the fellow convoy member for the company. Got some pics which I will save to the album.

Thank you team for the enjoyable drive and I'm looking forward to driving with you again soon! 🙏 Special thank you @Brette for reaching out last minute for the extra radio. Really grateful 🙏

Thank you @Brette for leading us through today’s exciting journey and ensuring safety while having Fun. I am getting more comfortable handling my JGC thanks to your helpful tips. @Vanessa8580 Thank you for your enthusiasm, passion and efforts during multiple refusals and stucks, i learned alot from you today and it gave me more confidence for next trips. Thanks to all convoy colleagues, and see you in next drives.

A morning very well spent. @Brette Thanks for keeping the convoy away from “Shk. Zayed Road” traffic 🤪 @Vanessa8580got more than my weekly excercise routine. Much appreciated her amazing support for multiple recoveries and refusals all throughout the drive. Thanks to all for making the day wonderful.

Thank You @Brette @Vanessa8580 for routing us through some good and amazing dunes. whole team was fantastic and cooperative. We got some refusals and STUCK today but i didn’t see anything @Vanessa8580 🤦‍♂️.. 😁 Another great experience with some soft sands and tricky dunes. tested X-terra for these conditions. Thank you Guys. Will see you in next drive. 👍

Everything you need to know about Off-roading in UAE from Desert, Mountain, Wadi and Camping As simple literal meaning off-roading means any terrain off the road, but it gets way too confusing as per so many people different understanding with not enough clarity. After spending 12 years in UAE off-road scene, I feel this write up will help many offroaders clear their doubts and explain a lot of intrigue details to other aspiring offroaders. Off roading is a way of life For a vast majority of UAE population venturing offroad over the weekend is a way of life, that you sneak away from your busy lifestyle and enjoy the adrenaline rush to forget all your worries and recharge yourself. Why and how do you forget your worries? While off road driving your brain has to process hundreds of instructions per seconds that you will eventually forget all you were thinking in the first 5 minutes. And this process continues for the whole offroad drives and keeping you super alert at all times to have the best experience every time. Offroading is an act of driving a standard, stock or modified vehicle on any surface other than the tarmac road. It can be on loose gravel track, beach sand, desert, dunes, mountains or in wadi's (riverbeds). There are several different ways of off-roading in UAE based on your adventure appetite from leisure drives with stock (unmodified) vehicles to slightly modified vehicles to competition level with highly modified vehicles. Off road drive Sand Driving This is the most basic and first step towards an offroading. This requires your standard road 4x4 vehicle with proper 4x4 and LO gearing or even AWD vehicle is acceptable to a certain extent, but not an SUV. All you need to do is deflate your tires to 14-15 PSI to gain more traction and increase the footprint of your tire to spread the vehicle pressure on a greater surface area. At first, learn some basics of offroading in the sand in UAE. Plan your entry and exit points carefully either by following offroad books available in UAE or by existing trails from wikiloc. This level of a drive can be done on the beach, desert or any place close to the habitat territories. In the desert, it's usually restricted to either flat tracks (sabka's) or easily passable tracks on the broad dunes. Dune Bashing This is the most common level of offroading in the UAE, where the group of offroaders get together and venture in desert dunes and explore the uncharted and uninhabited territories. This requires a proper 4x4 with minimum 8-10 inches of ground clearance and deflation of 10-15 PSI depending on the tire and vehicle load. This level of drive organizes in the desert having plenty of dunes to make your own path on virgin sand dunes. This challenge requires special skills of reading the sand and riding the 4x4 with precise control to continue moving without getting stuck. Self-recovery in the sand is the most important skill that every offroader should learn after the first few drives. If you are stuck in the sand, then listen to the instructions very carefully without getting panic. Get out of the car to analyze the situation and also to help the person who is helping you either by shoveling or by fixing the tow rope to your car in the proper recovery point (tow hook). Once you are out of the stuck, do remember to get out of the car for removing the rope and thanking the person. In dune bashing chances of getting stuck are very high and that's why most of the offroaders venture in groups to help each other with proper offroad recovery gears. You can join the like-minded offroad club freely available over Websites, Facebook, Meetups and Whatsapp groups. All you need to do is join a couple of few to find where do you fit the best, as every offroad club and groups are different and unique in their own ways. Some people do prefer private drives over the club and vice versa, check out the reasons here. Mountain Driving This is the second most common level of offroading in the UAE, where offroaders get together to explore beautiful mountains, wadis, and gorgeous camping spots. This requires a proper 4x4 with minimum 8-10 inches of ground clearance and deflation of 22-25 PSI depending on the tire and vehicle load. This level of drive organizes in scenic mountains either accessible by gravel track or by tarmac road to a partial extent. Traversing through rocky mountains or riverbed, do require a special skill that is easier to learn with capable offroaders. Similar to dune bashing, you can join any offroad club for quickly gaining the right experience with safety. These are the Top 3 off-road mistakes in Desert & Mountain that you can learn and avoid. Off road cars Depending on the level of off-road adventure you seek, you need a capable off road vehicle to make you a good offroader. Not all 4x4 and SUV are made equally capable and some are better, stronger and more reliable than others. To begin your offroading journey you can take your regular road vehicle if it's equipped with 4x4 gearing and LO gear option and also have 8-10 inches of ground clearance. Once you get a hang of this new offroading hobby it's always better to invest on a separate dedicated offroad vehicle because of several reasons: You can enjoy the best of both worlds: a comfortable vehicle for road and stronger vehicle for regular off road use An offroad vehicle will be limited to weekend bashing to prolong it's offroad usable life, as every offroad car require more frequent maintenance than the road car. If your offroad vehicle is under repair, you can still safely use your road car for daily commute. You can freely modify your offroad car by trimming bumpers, lifting the suspension, additional lights etc. You will be more comfortable in pushing the rev limiter in 20-40K dhs offroad vehicle than in 200K road car. Here is the list of best offroad 4x4 cars under 10K and 20K dhs in UAE, if you really get serious for offroading. After every offroad drive, you need to check your vehicle before hitting the road again with these post offroad drive car care checklist to make sure if your vehicle is safe for the road again or not. For more serious and regular dune basher, you should learn from other offroaders mistake to know what went wrong just before the accident. These discussions and feedback from seasoned offroaders will help you avoid the disaster and save your life and vehicle. Last but not least wherever you venture, please do not throw your trash or anything as it's a house of beautiful wildlife who get killed by eating plastic, tins, glasses and even metal threw as garbage. If you spot anyone doing it, please explain this to them as many people think that desert is an abandoned area and they can throw anything there. Due to this inconsiderate approach authorities are fencing lot of conservation area and also issuing hefty fines for offroaders littering in the desert or mountains. Feel free to ask me any question for more details or suggest me to add more valuable points for offroading in the UAE.

A situation where only two cars entered the Desert with family and got stuck in the middle of nowhere without GPS. Could have become worse had it been close to the summer season https://m.khaleejtimes.com/nation/dubai/10-uae-residents-get-lost-in-the-desert-at-night-heres-what-happened-next