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It's taken me 10 months from my first Absolute Newbie drive to get back into a drive with @Srikumar. To say that he's the first person responsible for me wanting to be a part of @Carnity would be an understatement. On that humid morning in mid-July last year, I arrived at the meeting point in Qudra, 10mins late, and never having deflated a tire before with those quick-release gauges I'd bought the day before. Sri was the perfect host, welcoming me in, calming my nerves (from being late), and sending help with a support team member to help me get down to the right pressure. And before we could leave, we had a Pathfinder whose tire was leaking air. Unlike most other clubs, which would have sent that driver back, Sri rolled up his sleeves, got under the car, pulled out the spare, and then helped the driver swap his tyre. The entire ordeal set us back by 40mins, which in the summer would have been brutal. But he did that nonetheless, and I've never respected and admired an individual as much as I did him on that warm morning. And then, on this Absolute Newbie drive, he also made me his second lead which heightened my nerves to no end. Fast forward, ten months to yesterday, when I finally again found myself on his drive, he walked up to me and asked me to repeat that role all over again. The serendipity wasn't lost on me. And it helped cap my 49th off-road drive, bringing the journey a full circle. To say that our drive was eventful, too would be an understatement. With two pop-outs - one on my car, and the other on @Waqas Parvez, and a sensor failure on @Vanessa8580's "Big Blue", we ensured that much of the time that Sri wanted us to fight off through an early start and sleepy eyes, was lost to fixing them. Much was remarked about how Old Lady may not have given her all of her blessings, but I believe these were just the sacrificial rituals she warranted for a lot of new faces traversing these slopes. Of course, it doesn't take away from the error I made climbing up where I should have exited 20 seconds sooner. With the steep gorge at the top, I then landed my right wheel smack into the middle of a little wall where Vanessa and I both heard the air escaping as the bead unsettled itself. About an hour into the drive, and having just left Old Lady in our rear view, I had the good fortune to also bring @Vanessa8580 into my cabin. This came off the back of her misfortune, but it gave me the opportunity to really get to know her, the Marshal she is, and gain access to a second pair of trained and experienced eyes. For this experience alone, thank you Vanessa. I learned so much from hearing about your story, and for the advice that I intend to carry on with me in drives to come. I also hope that the "Big Blue" is back in its natural habitat soon, putting to test, those lovely new riveted flared fenders. With the Pajero parked on the track, we continued back inwards into the dunes, and this is where I saw Srikumar's penchant for not looking back. I also was witness to where he sees a path emerging. And it is quite unique to many of the marshals I've been out with. With every marshal, this close up front, it's a special treat to see where they are seeing a path through. It gives you a view into how they plan a track and then lay it down - in the moment. At some points, I did lose sight of him because he is like a child with endless wonder darting from corner to post and back again, but as long as I kept my eye on the little red flag bobbing in the wind, and the deep tracks of the Cherokee, I knew where I needed to head. The virgin, almost untouched sands, ensured that his were the only ones there. But most of all, seeing Sri lead, and being in the second seat right behind gave me a newfound perspective on some of the angles I would have previously thought I should not attempt. I learned first hand yesterday, how a marshal also uses every passing car including his/her own to force into compliance a step that will eventually disappear when car #6 gets there. Sand, unlike tarmac compresses. And good marshals will use that knowledge to create paths where you may not see them at first. A fantastic lesson for me. Sitting at the top of the hill, I think @Salim Akhtar, you really deserve the most honors for not giving up. With @Vanessa8580's tested advice from years driving the Pajero, the 4HLC unlocked a new avenue of power delivery for you. And you put it to great use. Well done in your first Fewbie Plus drive, and also for being the first at the meeting point. Your eagerness to participate and fly through the hills was felt by all. To everybody else in the back, including some of my favorite people, thank you for making this such a great day out. And @Srikumar, the spell is broken, and I hope to return to see Sweihan or wherever you call us to go, much sooner than this last one. See you all out on the sands soon. [ 🐵 ]

@SrikumarWow! what a drive. The stories about your drive were really true. Though the start we had the issue with @Vanessa8580 car and time spent on getting it sorted you made it up by the end of the drive. @Vanessa8580It was a pleasure meeting you. hope your car issue is sorted and you reached home safely @munkybiznessGood job as a second lead only one issue during the drive which was the pop out @Salim Akhtar drove well only the pyramid drive was challenge for you. But 1st drive as Fewbie plus you did well. @Xavier Treasurer1 or 2 refusal but strong performance @Anoop NairGood drive buddy. @Waqas ParvezPop out only if you had a momentum you would have overcome it. but like always strong performance @Looperthank you for your support. @Mohamad AnwerSo many drives together and the beauty you drive never fails to impress. Excellent drive @Ranjan DasDid well with the climbs and no refusals no issues. Good to see you again @Josh T. Thank you for your support as a sweep. Your car is very beautiful specially to watch it on big bowls. Hope to see everyone on the sand soon.

@JeromeFJthanks very much for a very enjoyable drive and your excellent leadership during it. Also thanks to @Federico Galbieri, @Hisham Masaad and @Tareckfor the support during the drive. For my fellow dune bashers @Alfred Alinazar @Suresh K @Jose Thomas @Haitham Khattab @Sergio Big Dawg @Michel Van Woudenberg @KKIRAN @Beide Worku at the below link you will find some Gladiator POV videos. https://photos.app.goo.gl/toWZ5fWZhTTfTqecA

It's become a habit for me to get up in the middle of the night and start driving from home, but I have no regrets. On the drive, I met a few new folks from Abu Dhabi, and it was a pleasure driving with you all @Josh T.@Xavier Treasurer@Salim Akhtar, @Vanessa8580 was anxious about how we would get the car out when it broke down due to a malfunction in the airlifter, but her car reflected Vansesa's attitude of never giving up and made it to the first section of the road. @Srikumar I was looking forward to driving with you in @Carnity and you did not disappoint, I was discussing the drive with @Vaibhav and @munkybiznesswhat we could expect with the terrain, the terrain had beautiful big bowls and high speed crest crossings with virgin track, for a desert enthusiast it was heaven, @Srikumar you deserve a round of applause for finding the tracks for us and making sure we were all safe and enjoyed it thoroughly I'd want to relate my first popout incident; generally, I'm very careful with my steering input and never resist gravity, So I was following @Vaibhav and he missed the track of the car in front of him and took a different route that was challenging which we as intermediate drives expect to handle, so basically it was a side slop crossing and I missed to accelerate instantly and slid down into a ditch. I had two options: save my front bumper or steer aggressively to avoid hitting the front on impact. If I could go back in time and tell myself what I could have done differently, I would tell myself to listen to the sound of the car in front of me to hear the engine roaring and realize that I needed to step on it, overall it was a good learning experience and will be more vigilant in future, the cherry has been broken of the tyre and rim, as @munkybizness said, and I am now a member of the popout club 😃 Thank you @Looperand @munkybiznessfor your support @Ranjan Das @Mohamad Anwer It's always a pleasure to drive with you guys; we have a lot of fun conversing and watching you drive. I look forward to driving with you all in the future till we meet again in the desert.

So well written @munkybizness 👍

Thank you @Hisham Masaad for the great drive yesterday ! Two intense sets of steep climbs, sharp crests, narrow bowls and high ridges. Everything needed to get our shot of adrenaline and high sensations you managed to find an exciting route coping with the existing tracks and the other convoys in the area. The convoy was awake in no time to follow your tracks, and it was a pleasure to watch from the back, with the front cars already a few dunes away. The level was there as expected, and newcomers to the IM level @Simon Dawood @Fabien Monleau @Rob S @Tom B showed that they fully deserved their promotion. From what I could see, excellent 2nd Lead from @Simon Dawood. We had a few situations in the middle of the convoy with some cars stuck in a narrow bowl or with a steep angle, all of it was sorted with the support of @Davie Chase @Lawrence_Chehimi @Rob S , and the self recovery skills of the drivers, and a great team spirit from all. @Tom B you may have sand in your tire as we had to take your car down from the dune after the pop-out. It is a good precaution to have it checked if your experience vibrations while driving. Excellent week to all !

Thank you @Hisham Masaadfor yesterday’s drive. Lots of fun! This was my 2nd IM drive and loving the pace so far of the IM drives. @Simon Dawood great job as 2L and thanks to @JeromeFJ for providing solid support in sweep position and fixing my pop out in record time!

Another prado promotion great to see congratulations @ASAD.

Thank you everyone for the great drive! Here’s some photos!

Happy wife happy life....... smart way of thinking Hui. @Theo09 while reading your original post, I was thinking it's Y61 you are comparing for Prado, which was clarified by Fredy and 4.0-liter statement. In short Y62 - 4.0 Liter vehicle isn't really made for sand, rocks and wadi - AT ALL - Irrespective of countless advertorials and commercials bombarded by Nissan and Arabian automobiles with rhetoric advertising of "Conquer everywhere". It is only meant to conquer office, malls, school runs and traffic jams by leveraging the legendary reputation of Y61. Selling Y62 with a badge of Patrol is a modern-world scam, in my eyes as an ex-patrol owner of Y61. How do we know, because we see the dark side of Patrol Y62 getting bruised in every single drive and masterclass we do unless and until the driver is super-duper careful in every single descent, which means the driver is sitting on ticking bomb all the time. You go off-road to relax and enjoy than heavily pressurized yourself by sticking your both eyes on the front bumper. If you wish to do gentle off-roading in the future and nothing very intense, then you can also check Nissan Patrol Super Safari Y61. It may not be as comfy as Y62 and Prado, but it brings a very good balance for a fair share of off-road in sand, rocks, wadi, cross country etc. + good space available than Prado. And no body modification is needed from the stock state as compared to gentle bumper trimming needed in Prado.

We had fun today - old lady dune’s blessing or not - it was fun - started with pushing myself out of the bed at 2:30 in morning, driving to the starting point through the unpaved road google maps took me, @Vaibhav and @Waqas Parvez from to meeting all of you there smiling broadly - beaming with anticipation of thrills that lay ahead. Thrilled I was! Fluid drive with very few refusals and stucks; big followed by bigger bowls, not to forget Sri was setting the pace! Absolutely amazing. @Vanessa8580, hope your ride is fine and can be sorted out in quick time. thanks @Srikumar for the lovely adventure. already looking forward to your next. Kudos to @munkybizness and @Josh T. for the support - thanks

Congratulations @ASAD. for reaching the Intermediate Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. INTERMEDIATE Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 Fewbie Plus drives are required within last 6 months for Intermediate promotion. What you'll learn Basic GPS and navigational skills Basic tow rope and winch recoveries Extreme side sloping and long hill climb Tall dunes ridge riding and criss crossing Precise control over technical dunes Fast pace desert driving Clear radio communication skills Advance recovery skills Self recover from dune crest Soft sand recovery Pop-out fixing Skills required Adventurous and thrill seeker but in a safe manner Level headed under stressful situations Responsible, dependable and accountable Car Worthiness Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS. Drive teamwork Manage center forward position with Trip Lead’s permission Learn/assist recoveries under Trip Lead’s supervision Re-route convoy and coordination, when needed Learn to lead small portion of Intermediate drive under Marshal supervision Drive Joining Join Newbie, Fewbie, Intermediate and Exploration drives only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @RiaanJH for reaching the Fewbie Plus Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. FEWBIE PLUS Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 Fewbie drives are required within last 6 months for Fewbie Plus promotion. What you'll learn Advance dune and sand reading Advance recovery techniques Rocking and crawling to make path Learn to flatten/compact soft sand patch Self recovery from crest Advance side sloping and long hill climb Advance ridge riding and criss crossing Advance control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving FULLY control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Extremely attentive and focused while driving Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Bash plate and skid plate protected Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie, Fewbie and Fewbie Plus drives Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @Tareq Al Turq for reaching the Fewbie Plus Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. FEWBIE PLUS Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 Fewbie drives are required within last 6 months for Fewbie Plus promotion. What you'll learn Advance dune and sand reading Advance recovery techniques Rocking and crawling to make path Learn to flatten/compact soft sand patch Self recovery from crest Advance side sloping and long hill climb Advance ridge riding and criss crossing Advance control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving FULLY control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Extremely attentive and focused while driving Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Bash plate and skid plate protected Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie, Fewbie and Fewbie Plus drives Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @ASAD. on the promotion. Be ready for some pace .

It's another early morning in Badayer, I always like to go to Badayer, not only it being the nearest desert drive destination from home, but also because of thrills from continuous climbing, and the iftar-super bowls. Thank you @Hisham Masaad for bringing us back again and leading the drive. Driving IM after a month gap in sand indeed caused some trouble, struggling to climb in narrow terrains, lack of momentum on other climbings too. But great to see that@Chris Wing behind me who did not get affected at all! I actually noted that the steering boot was cut and leaking some liquid when everyone was helping the pop out, by then the steering was all good, and thought not to announce it as the drive is ending anyways. until I got stuck at the soft slop where a lot of steering was required in sand. It should be an easy fix. and I shall be ready for this week's IM inshalla @JeromeFJNow I recall that I didnt respond verbally to your instruction during self recovery, but I did follow your instruction in actions ( steering left right but more to right, try to reverse). Apologies for not responding verbally, will avoid next time. Everyone drove very well, as Hisham mentioned we did have a strong convey. See you all next time somewhere in the sandy pit!

Congratulations @RiaanJH

Congratulations @Tareq Al Turq prado partner

Hi @Indra Ozola did you get bitten before you brushed it away ? Is there any local mark on your arm ? If No then its something else . If yes , fortunately that most ant bites are harmless and resolve within days . However some of them can be really annoying ( desert /red ants ) when it stings or bite producing a local burning 🔥 like sensation stemming the Formic acid or venom that inject under the skin leaving an elevated red pimple and can be itchy for a while . Treatment is directed toward the symptoms and prevention of infection which usually result from scratching the area opening the door for pathogens to enter. The best is clean the area and apply some lotion. Also if the person is known to be allergic to certain thing this might add to the severing of symptoms so local corticosteroids can help. Hope you are good soon

The Y62 Patrol (2019) is 5165mm in length, 1995mm wide, with a 3080mm wheelbase. Unladen weight is 2800 kg. The Prado (2018) is 4995mm in length, 1885mm wide, with a 2790mm wheelbase. Unladen weight is 2240 kg. Hence, in almost every component, the Prado is narrower, shorter, with a lower breakover angle. And it is lighter. For use in the mountains, if you ever find yourself in tight spots, with the addition of flares and side bull-bars, the Prado will still give you some clearance that a Y62 just wont. With a lift kit when you're ready to upgrade your mountain skills, and shorter wheelbase, the Prado also has a lower probability of getting belly rubs. And in the sand, the lighter profile with a nimbler footing will make the Prado easier to maneuver.

The Nissan Patrol Y62 is a lot bigger than the Prado. In the mountains the Patrol is indeed very large and heavy. I would vote for the Prado as it's plenty powerful and has good stock ground clearance. The lack of a rear diff-lock is really not a big thing, and only a "nice to have" during self recovery in sand.

Thank you @Srikumarfor an adventures trip at Sweihan today, and for pushing the group to nice challanging new areas, the scenery and the vast open untouched dunes was a great relief to see!! The drive was nice and smooth, despite the unfortunate breakdown of Vanessa's car and a couple of popouts and some minor refusals. @munkybiznessand @Josh T.thank you for all the great support @Looper you were also a great support with a few refusals. @Salim Akhtaryou drove very well and probably had the best experience with an amazing advanced team! 👏 It is a great pleasure to see you all the rest of the team always which is becoming a regular weekend treat to me 👍 👌 👍

@Hisham Masaad thanks for a great drive today, had a fantastic time, it was quick but safe and hardly any refusals or stucks. great to meet some new friends and see some old ones again and everyone drove exceptionally well allowing a lot of KM to be covered @Simon Dawood @Zixuan Huang - Charlie @Charbel @Fabien Monleau @Rob S @Tom B @Amir Amiri @Chris Wing @Lawrence_Chehimi Thanks @JeromeFJ for the sweep and I learnt a lot from your guidance today have a great rest of your weekend and see you all again in the sand soon

Yes, as @Rob Smentioned, another great drive and another fun drive, with great team. All were ready on time, and had to rush before other convoys start and spoil the tracks, which was already done earlier. Below what you guys has achieved, same would not have been possible with strong convoy. Many thanks for all joiners, @Simon Dawood @Zixuan Huang - Charlie @Charbel @Fabien Monleau @Rob S @Tom B @Amir Amiri @Chris Wing @Davie Chase @Lawrence_Chehimi. Special thanks for @JeromeFJ . Pleasure meeting you again Lawrence after some time. Look forward to see you again. Nice week ahead.

The old lady dune was not benevolent on us initially. Needed 3 sacrifices to satisfy her. @Vanessa8580’s MAF sensor and a couple of pop outs. As correctly predicted by @Mohamad Anwer the bad luck lasted 3 count and then we began. It was FB+ for name sake only. I could sense that @Srikumar was pushing the drive and it was pretty much an Intermediate drive, considering that almost all of the drivers were at that level. Loved every minute of the drive. Sweihan has the one of the most spectacular dunes and we had a chance to enjoy all of it . Frankly it was much more than the worth of the effort of getting up early in the morning and driving all the way. @munkybizness was excellent host and second lead for the drives. A big thanks to @Josh T. for managing the rear of the convoy. @Salim Akhtar on his first Fewbie+ was excellent and I am impressed by his driving skills considering that every one else was an intermediate or above. Well done.

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: Fewbie and above (All Level) When: 4 June 2022, Saturday Meeting time: 6:00 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: - 24°57'00.3"N 55°30'40.0"E https://goo.gl/maps/aRhyHjqTEYeL1Csc8 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), smiles, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 10:00 PM P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Friday - 1 PM. 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 THE BELOW CALENDAR EVENT

Great job @ASAD. prados will soon be filling the intermediate drives!

Congratulations @ASAD.! 🤘🏽🤘🏽

Prado owner here, its been a great car and spends more time off road than on road. The V6 is powerful enough to take the car most places, but i always feel like “a little bit more” would be better. . . . . . I can imagine if the car weighed and extra 500kg (approx difference between patrol and prado) it would not be much fun in the desert. Regarding rear difflock, centre difflock has been enough for me in the sand, and in the wadis the traction control is more than adequate to help through some more challenging obstacles. bash plate and bumper trim was more than adequate for fewbie level, and some AT tyres made fewbie plus level more enjoyable! Hope that helps!

Mabrook @Tareq Al Turq Well done 👍

@RiaanJH congratulations well done 👍

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for a great drive through the dunes, the path you chose was fun and you managed to find some nice sand! The scenery was fantastic too! Thanks to @Thomas Varghese also for adding a few extra sideys here and there to make things even more exciting! Also thanks to @DP1011 , Deepak wrangler for sweeping and helping everyone out. Nice to meet you @James Lovell, @Nitin Mohan, @Murad Hamed & @Farook Veettil. I will share some photos in the gallery soon.

Hi, All! I have just a quick question- is desert ant a thing to be worried about? I had one on my arm when we were inflating at the exit, I think I squeezed it a little as I brushed it off and in the evening I wasn't feeling so well... maybe it's unrelated.... I don't have Covid, I've done the test and it's negative. Online there is some information, but I was just wondering if you've heard anything? Usually it's scorpions and snakes to watch out for 🫣 or so I thought. Thanks for letting me know!

It has been a while since I did a 5am drive. This drive led by @M.Seidam and @Rizwanm2 was great. We also get to pay homage to the legendary Fossil Rock from afar that we used to go often previously. The Faya dune at the end was a great bonus as it was relatively peaceful for us to play. I enjoyed playing sweep to a very capable and efficient convoy. It was a great morning for us. My guest enjoyed it a lot. hope to see you all soon! I have shared some photos in the gallery.