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Having been in this area a few times before, I know very well how difficult it is to lead a convoy in those tight spots, where often it’s sheer luck to cross a dune and land just inbetween a tree and a bush. It’s the kind of area that’s mesmerizing, scenic, and as @JeromeFJrightly pointed out it brings a holistic experience to the word “desert driving”. Kudos to you buddy for taking on this challenge and guiding us through this terrain marvelously. I was driving in the back with a wide smile all the time because usually I’m a bit more focused when I’m leading while this time I could snooze and enjoy the scenery 😀 The whole group did very well, and @Alfred Alinazar if anyone knows how hard it is to take a stock long wheel base Pajero in the dunes it’s me, after stealing @Vanessa8580 her car a few times and getting stuck countless times. It’s a car that allows zero error for mistake due to the big weight and low clearance. So don’t worry about it. Once the HT tyres are due for replacement get yourself some AT tyres so you can do 11-12 psi, that will really help a lot. The sand was like powder today in some places so every psi will help. @Richard Franksgreat to see you back in the sand, the last time we met was in Liwa where your Gentlemens BBQ was on display 😜 @Suresh K Nice little Pajero you have there buddy ! That will take you everywhere! @Gerrit Bus @Amr Aydin @Haitham Khattab you guys rocked today with the Wranglers ! @Jose Thomas you navigated that X brilliantly ! Very well done ! @Adam James it’s never a bad thing driving behind an FJ Extreme, as i got to see how capable both driver and car really was today ! see you all in the sands soon ! Let’s make Batayeh a more regular desert venue for the club !

It's tough to follow @Thomas Varghese's recount of the drive this morning, so I'll try my best to fill in or express how I felt by the end of it all. My last newbie drive, just about a month ago, was the opposite showing of today. There, our convoy was bogged down refusal after refusal in the soft sands of Faqa and then Little Sweihan. I have also not driven with @Brette since he joined @Gaurav's convoy in Iftar Bowl in September last year, where he gave me some of the best tips and advice on how to climb. Thank you for those lessons, Brette. They've come in handy every single time after that, and with enough practice using that advice, I've learnt a lot more about how far I can push this car. So any success in scaling the climbs today, first begin with @Brette and other members offering critical notes to me. Sweeping at the back, I had little visibility on the front end of the convoy until we came to individual climbs. But, since we were always on the move, with almost no radio chatter, it was evident that every single driver today was clued in and in complete control of their machines. @Sunny84, you played the role of the second lead with elan. The drive from Tawi Nazwa to Pink Rock is usually a tight and twisty section where drivers not paying attention can often find themselves getting stuck. As Thomas has commented, we made the run to Pink Rock in record time, flying through this section. This is really a testament to the SL staying true to @Brette's beautiful line, and the convoy responding with pace and vigour. In the middle, @Pacific, and his experienced self just constantly pushed the boundary further and higher still. It gave Thomas and myself, quite a nice stretch to go after. In the latter half of the convoy, @Sita Sharma sitting with I'm sure a pretty vocal "back-seat" driver in @Looper was choosing excellent lines, plenty of throttle and even powering through sticky crests. Great job. One of the things I recognized and realized today, was exactly how other more experienced drivers would have felt when I was a Newbie. They too would have wanted to step in and show me the way. And the best ones did. I learned so much from then, just like Brette gave my first real advice on how to climb Iftar Bowl. Back then, as a Newbie, I too showed immense trepidation and hesitation when trying to climb, or criss-cross across dunes, or ride a ridge. These all seem so much easier now, because it took 50 odd drives to get here. But 45 drives ago, I too was a nervous wreck. I would hold off on the throttle when approaching a bump and proceed to lose all momentum and wonder why heavier cars can make it. It's very rarely the machine. The longer you do this, the harder you push yourself, and the more comfortable you get, will all lead you to get here. @Super Safari Girl, you'll lose the hesitation with time. And do a night drive. You'll lose it even faster 😛 . Your lines throughout the drive were cleaner, you gave yourself adequate distance to judge and see how the car in front of you was negotiating the terrain, and you were elegantly gentle through sections where there was no need to be brutish. There is already great foundations in the way you drive. Take some more of the hesitation out, and that SWB Super Safari will be screaming up the hill @Mike M. & @Jaro Tuzinsky, I was positively surprised to see the way both you pushed your cars. You were both not lacking in momentum, your lines were clean, and you had excellent follow-through going through side slopes. It was a treat to watch. White Rhinos don't see many hills in the savannas, but today, in the red sands of Sharjah, our homegrown white rhino was showing that even it can scale the highest hills. As mentioned above, it was a real treat for us. @Jad Moussalli, I haven't had the opportunity to see the new Defender in action in these sands before. And it was a nice surprise. There was clearly plenty of power at your disposal especially in the climbs where it showed no signs of relenting. @Anirudh Dayma & @Jonny90, I didn't get very good visuals on you until we got to the climbs, and there you both piloted your machines with absolute ease. Important to note is how well you exited when you lost momentum ensuring that you weren't fishtailing through the slopes. And finally, @Thomas Varghese, with more than double the number of drives, your experience is evident in spaces beyond just the driving, from clearing live codes with electronics, to getting a limping car to leap to the top of hills. You made it look super easy. And of course, I'm looking forward to what you caught in your frame. Thank you @Brette, for leading a great drive through this area. I learned so much today on why I got into offroading, and it brought up again the early feelings I had as a newbie. See you all out on the sands again soon [ 🐵 ]

THE DRIVE. I called it the drive because it was the drive. Absolute entertainer from @Brette. Being driving with @Carnity for almost 1 1/2 years and gradually raising my level to Intermediate, I was little apprehensive about joining a newbie drive considering it to be boring and slow paced with all sorts of refusals and stucks. Well I was wrong. Minimal refusals - (3 or 4?) and 1 stuck speaks volumes about the driving abilities of the convoy. Kudos to the Marshal @Brette for correctly judging the strengths and weaknesses of the convoy and setting a track and pace corresponding to the convoy. 1st time driving with @Brette and I regret having not joining his drives before. Don't get me wrong that @Brette set a very easy track for us. The 1st phase of the drive was very tricky and challenging on extra soft sand until reaching Pink Rock. I couldn't believe when everybody climbed Pink Rock in the 1st attempt itself with very minimal inputs from the Marshal and support team. Wow. When Brette asked me to climb after him and direct the cars coming in to park at a safe place avoiding the rocks I was counting I would have to wait in the sun for a long time considering it was a newbie convoy. In no time everybody was up and parked and driving again. Amazing skills in offroading by this convoy. The pajeros and the super safari's didn't disappoint today. The 1st 3 pajero's at the front followed wherever Brette led without any flaws. Congrats @Sunny84 for being a good 2nd lead and @Anirudh Dayma & @Jaro Tuzinsky for keeping up the pace. @Jonny90 in his Y 61 followed all of them like a walk in the park. @Jad Moussalli & his incredible machine the DEFENDER was top notch in performance. Couldn't get a chance to see the DEFENDER self recovering with all the gizmos it has as Jad never got refusals or stucks anywhere. The 2 ladies @Sita Sharma & @Super Safari Girl were driving perfectly in front of me. @Sita Sharma has the potential to become the upgraded @Looper. Waiting for the day when she will start talking on the radio I got to loop again. @Super Safari Girl knows the potential of her car and knows how to tame its power. The surprise car today was the aptly named White Rhino aka Pajero of @Mike M.. Who said Pajero's are underpowered. That car can climb anywhere without any issues and better than any car in the convoy. A tuned 2014 Pajero 3.8 grey LWB is soon going to have a serious competitor in dune bashing. @GauravSoni are you listening? As @Brette, @Pacific, @munkybizness put it, its 90% driver and 10% car and today @Mike M. proved that. Climbing Big Red like it was its daily routine amazed me. No comments about friend's @Pacific & @munkybizness. Both of them gave a live tutorial to the rest of the convoy how to climb dunes and it was fun watching them. Will be joining @Gaurav's newbie drive tomorrow and who knows that convoy will be even better. My 110th drive with @Carnity. Till next time we meet again in the sands bye.

Desert Drivers… I think today we embraced the complete meaning of these words. The Desert was there, in its full variety of sceneries, full of sand, but also full of life. Drivers we were, with all the skills required to navigate into this environment. One surprise was announced in the briefing before the drive, we had a few. The beautiful environment, for those discovering this area, virgin dunes, trees, a lot of different vegetation, the sand, very fine and soft, the desert life, with all these farms and different animals, camels of course, but goats, sheeps, gooses, and cows, yes cows! Human infrastructures also, from the watch tower of Falaj Al Mualla, to the small town of Al Rafee, and the railway works, like a scar in the desert. Still driving required full attention and skills, to avoid being lured by the quiet apparence of the dunes, hiding super soft patches. In some occasions, I had really the feeling to « swimm » out of a soft pocket (thank you FJ engineers). The convoy did very well managing climbs and keeping the momentum when needed, diving straight down into the slip faces. A few stucks were inevitable, and were rapidly sorted out with team work, shovels, and the support of @Frederic for one pull, and @Richard Franks and his hoist in another case. Thank you @Richard Franks for the SL, you were always ready to anticipate difficult situations, and holding the convoy when needed. Big thank you @Frederic for the guidance during the preparation, and the assistance for recoveries during the drive. Special thanks also to my friend @Chris Wing who came with me scouting the area the day before. It helped me to fine tune the route for today. @Suresh K @Alfred Alinazar continue to be focused on the car in front of you to anticipate difficult situations, and be very attentive to the instructions during recoveries. @Jose Thomas, very well driven today, @Haitham Khattab you enjoyed your new mount, and you made the best of it, @Adam James @Amr Aydin @Gerrit Bus very well driven. It was a pleasure to have you all today, see you soon !

Dear desert wonderers, @Imteeaz @Michel Van Woudenberg @Joseph Raju @Gregory @Mark D @Simon Dawood @salah2u @Tareq Al Turq @Alexanderrr @Tom B @DP1011 , Deepak wrangler @Rob S @Mohamad Anwer Hope you are enjoying your weekend and hoping will have good drive tomorrow. We will be on channel 4 on the radio, and looking forward to meet you at 5:00 am. In case of requirement my mobile is 0506318834. Below is convoy order.

This morning was superb! Great convoy and great area to drive in! It’s was my first visit to Pink Rock, but certainly won’t be my last! @Brette brilliant leadership as always, well planned, safe and extremely enjoyable! @Thomas Varghese, @munkybizness fantastic drive reports - very kind words! Great to meet you all again! @Brette until the next drive!

For me all the basis of offroading came from @Frederic in my Absolute Newbie drive. Every time I do slide slopes or climbs his words ring in my ears. Gain higher ground initially and you will be able to negotiate the slopes and climbs much easier. Even if I sometimes deviate a little from the laid tracks its always to gain higher ground so that I can control the fishtailing and control my exit easily. Plus a little left right motion of the steering will help the car to climb more. You already saw that today.

Dear Sand Sailors Find below the convoy order and other details for our drive on Sunday. See you all in Faqa. Meeting time : 5am (sharp without any exceptions), expected end time around 9am. Radio channel : 3 Meeting point : https://goo.gl/maps/WbWFK5iwurzey1dF8 Please ensure your vehicles and you are full of energy and fuel ($$$), fully packed with all the requisite gear. Since we have no pre-defined end point as part of our plan, this is a compressor only drive. Closest gas station might be far from the final end point. Convoy Order: Sn Driver Name Vehicle Rank 1 Varun Wrangler Grey AD 2 Jona White FJ FB 3 Sam K FJC White FB 4 Sergio Super Safari LWB FB 5 Paolo Pajero Bronze FB 6 Richard Pajero Black Marshal FB 7 Federico Xtreme White FB 8 Pieter Wrangler Silver JLU FB 9 Mahmoud Taha Xtrerra Silver FB 10 Beide F150 FB 11 Ashok FJ Yellow Int @Daniel Rodas @Jona @Sam K @Sergio Big Dawg @FiNaR @Paolo Pellegrini @Federico Galbieri @Mahmoud Taha @Pieter Potgieter @Beide Worku @Ashok chaturvedi @Wrangeld

Agreed with you. Passing on the experience is vital for starters as it will make the difference between having off-roading as a one-off or a real passion. What you saw today from the White Rhino with the ability to climb Big Red to the top every single time with ease with H/T is thanks to all the tips, tricks and feedback of coach @Brette

Drive RSVP is closed now. Looking forward to seeing you all tomo at 5 AM at Mahafiz. Please find the convoy number below and we will use Radio channel 2: 446.031'25 @Senthil Kumar @Theo09 @Stan Hassett @munkybizness @Yogesh Chaudhary @takeshi sobue @imranaasghar81 @Dodi Syahdar @george charbel @Farook Veettil @Thomas Varghese @KKIRAN @Looper Gaurav Silver Pajero Senthil Kumar 2014, Jeep Wrangler 4 door- Red Theo09 2009 Toyota Fortuner V4/ 2.7 Stan Hassett Toyota Prado 4L White munkybizness Y61 Nissan SS - LWB - White Yogesh Chaudhary 2014 Pajero, 4 Door, Gold takeshi sobue FJ Cruiser imranaasghar81 2013, FJ Cruiser Xtreme, White Dodi Syahdar 2018 Ford F150 Raptor george charbel 2017 Wrangler 2 door - White Looper 2019 Wrangler Sport - 2 Door

@Gaurav, @imranaasghar81, @Senthil Kumar, @KKIRAN: I will have your Liwa Crossing stickers on me tomorrow AM

Thanks @munkybizness for the kind words. It was a pleasure driving with you! Appreciate the tips you were continuously sharing. Did my best not to further churn the plowed sands in front of the both of us

Thanks @Thomas Varghese for your humbling words. I am looking forward to seeing how The White Rhino will behave once I switch from H/T to All Terrains. Thanks again and it was a great drive today! Great going by everyone!

@Hisham Masaad, just picked up car from garage. Hoping you can squeeze me into tomorrow’s drive! 😉🤞

Thank you so much @JeromeFJ for the spectacular drive today. It was such a diverse environment of trees, bushes, soft sand & animals in one place making the scenery so beautiful. Thanks @Frederic for the support & patience and clear instructions for fellow team members. welcome back @Richard Franks & Thanks for the Second lead, well done. shout out to all convoy team, you made it fun today. Added some photos to the gallery

@Simon Dawood we missed you today! Hope the car is sorted soon! Thanks again @Islam Soliman for great drive today! And for a small shovel workout as always! Thanks to @Hisham Masaad for sweeping and @marksand @Zixuan Huang - Charlie for support! Some photos in the gallery! See you all soon!

Thank you @JeromeFJ for the good drive today and @Richard Franks for the SL and the legendary @Frederic for the sweep/assist. thank you all @Suresh K @Alfred Alinazar @Jose Thomas @Haitham Khattab @Adam James @Gerrit Bus (waiting desperately for the feed from your camera 😅), good to meet old friends and make new ones on this drive. see you all soon on the sand.

@eismail @Alfie Argana and @sophiedana Looking forward to meet you all tomorrow . Because it’s just a small convoy, I will decide on the convoy positions tomorrow morning 😊 See you bright and early !

Good afternoon all, Please find the convoy list for the drive. We have got an amazing support for the drive, so the experienced drives have been mixed with the FB drivers. 1. @Kailas-L 2. @Joji varghese-IM-SL 3. @Andrei S-FB 4. @Looper-AD- CF1 5. @Rajat Verma-FB 6. @Anish S-EX- CF2 7. @Waqar Sarwar-FB 8. @Charbel-IM 9. @Jessica Lambert-FB 10. @Rajiv Sam-IM 11. @Andrew McCarthy-FB 12. @DP1011 , Deepak wrangler-FB+ 13. @AlexM-FB+ Sweep 14. @GauravSoni- flying sweep We will be on channel 1. Yes, please get your chairs. Driving at night can be exhausting. Seeing the convoy strength, the drive level can be stepped up. So in order to not tire you out, we will take two 15 minutes breaks in between. See you all at 6pm. Cheers

I see I just made the cut. Thanks!

@Islam Soliman i appologise, i wont be able to make it today

Drive RSVP is now closed and the convoy order is below. @Sunny84 @Anirudh Dayma @Jaro Tuzinsky @Jonny90 @Jad Moussalli @Pacific @Sita Sharma @Super Safari Girl @Thomas Varghese @Mike M. @Mohammed Sirajuddin @munkybizness Please go through the tutorial videos and make sure your cars front and rear tow hooks are in order. Hope all of you also have the required gear for the Newbie level drives. No gear = no drive. See you all tomorrow morning at 6:00 AM sharp and we will be using radio channel 1, 446 006. 25. If you need to contact me in case of an emergency, my number is O52 6771O76.