Leaderboard

@Frederic Thank you for allowing me to lead your drive today as always it was a pleasure to lead such a great bunch of off roaders around the beautiful desert of Abu Dhabi. We had a little bit of everything starting off with the foggy drive down, which then turned into a stop start as we chased the clear patches of visibility until the sun finally did its job and burnt it off. We then went from technical dunes to some mid-range ones that we were able to play on back to Technical. Could not have led such a drive a few months back, this is just down to one thing, all of the help and guidance that I get from you and the other leads @Carnity you have all supported me on this journey and it is really appreciated. The Journey although will never be complete, has thus far given me a lot of confidence in my own ability in the desert as well as knowledge that I can pass on to others in this great sprot of ours. A big thank you and shout to my buddy @Dodi Syahdar who came out to support the drive and played a pivotal role in keeping the center of the convoy moving freely in the CF role, brilliant support Dodi keep it up and once again thank you. A just as big a thankyou goes out to our sweep @Amr Aydin for doing an amazing job of sweeping the convoy and ensuring we all stayed together till the exit. The other team members @Frans M @Emmanuel @Glenn W @Ishak @Marketa Dobesova @Bjoern and @Ahmad Nerat you guys drove amazingly well in some challenging terrain. The fact we had a handful of refusals including myself and zero stucks, along with just one pop out, (which we ended up changing the wheel and tire as we had a leaky valve stem) is a huge shout out to you guys for the way you took every challenge in your stride. I would also like to thank you for your patience at the start of the drive as we battled the fog but perseverance paid off for a beautiful drive once we really got going. For those that like to see where we went and what speed, distance covered, altitude etc. please see below. Thanks again for a great Sunday morning out and hope to see you all again in the sand very soon

Thank you very much for a wonderful drive, my first Fewbie, my first time with a fog in the desert, and my first pop out experience!!! Thank you @Davie Chaseand @Fredericfor leading the convoy today! Hope to see you all soon again 🙂

Thanks @Davie Chasefor leading the convoy, @Fredericfor second lead and @Dodi Syahdar @Amr Aydinfor supporting. The fog was immense this morning but fortunately it gave way to some fantastic looking sand dunes and a short camel farm tour. And to everybody else, fantastic drive, great Sunday morning out and I hope to see you all again next weekend 😬

Got two pictures only..... 🙃

thanks @Davie Chase for organising the drive. it was smooth.. I have enjoyed it and got the chance to experience my New Fj. it seems I was driving an elephant 🐘 (my LC) in desert compared to FJ. it was great to drive again with @Glenn W @Frans M, @Ishak@Dodi Syahdar , @Frederic .. @Marketa Dobesova u did very well for ur 1st fewbie. it was abit relaxed in the back of Convoy with few managed refusals. Thanks again all for all support and fun we had today. Ahmad

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for the nice drive, we learned alot through the drive, we were all listening to the radio attentively as if it Netflix on the radio, really exciting, thanks @DP1011 and @Pavel Pashkovskiy for the support and special thanks for the coffee. Overall it was an amazing drive because of the whole convoy that drive nicely even though it got a bit technical at the end. @Pavel Pashkovskiy pictures are very nice, you have a good eye.

@Varun Mehndiratta The drive was incredible with plenty of vegetation and track finding. Our first obstacle was finding an entrance to start our adventure much like the beginning of Jurassic park, we saw wildlife such as camels... I mean raptors, and found our way through vegetation galore. My take of the drive I reckon it's perfect for FB or FB+ depending on the track due to softer sand. the drive in all was a nice for a scenic drive with a splash of excitement with some awesome dune heights. I recommend

Thanks to everyone who join afternoon drive! It was really good. @Ale Vallecchi good track @DP1011 thanks for support. @Emmanuelle Ifrahcongrats with first drive! You still have 2 bumpers on the car, it's absolute record! ... and we found the water

Dear Sand Sailors Thanks for joining in for the this unique exploration experience - was it a desert or a forest, I am still not sure . True to the theme it was one real Jumble, thanks to your company and the awesome adventure we had, I will remember it for a long time. As sticker on @Benjamin Jeep said - a true Jurassic Park experience. We have all experienced steep climbs at Sweihan, have faced super soft sand in Liwa and have enjoyed those awesome @Frederic signature scenic drives through farms and vegetation - this drive combined it all togather and nature somehow zipped it all into a small area - just forgot that it meant no space to loop around for those steep climbs, crazy irregular ridges with vegetation on both sides (reminded me of Floor is lava 😀) and powder soft sand. It was wonderful to see how you all individually and as a convoy transversed through this terrain. We had our fair share of refusals (I stopped counting after 15) however nothing that took more than 5-10 min of collective effort to clear off. It was a busy morning however the camaraderie kept it free flowing fun. Usually we all focus on maintaining momentum, this drive was all about maintaining control through sudden shifts - a super tech challenge and the whole convoy did amazing. Bravo. In terms of data - we covered around 36Km in 4 hours, climbing up around 650mtr 😮- as @DP1011 mentioned during the drive as well, terraced shape of dunes meant while all climbs were super challenging it never felt that real cumulative ascent to be this high - this is usually a number we do in little sweihan and Faqa area - when we do climb a lot. So yeah quite a positive reflection on what we achieved. @Rajiv Sam couldn’t have asked for a better SL. It undoubtedly was the toughest terrain i have led through but with you as my wingman I was convinced that we will sail through and so we did. @Alexanderrr its not easy for a Pajero in this terrain - especially with sudden super steep climbs. Was really motivating to see your smile while managing the challenges. Brilliant work. @Jaro Tuzinsky @Benjamin@Gok Krish apart from some minor refusals on those crazy ridges you all did amazingly well - always in control of your rides. Thanks to our sweep and platoon leaders @Fabien Monleau @DP1011 and @Sunil Mathew always there to support through all countless refusals despite all the heat and humidity - yup we are in summer and yesterday we all got a good flavor of it. Since this was an exploration drive, I look for your feedback on how you assess this terrain and drive - should we bring it as part of regular drives with @Carnity ? My take on it is as below - In it’s present form I.e. as we experienced it - I would say a good overlanding experience for FB and perhaps even Nb level. Don’t get on the crazy climbs stay on and around sabkas to maneuver through the vegetation. A one off Int challenging drive just to get a feel of something different than usual. - During summer hopefully the vegetation goes down - well expect sand to be softer than what we experienced. This might be a good area for Intermediate. But then also need to take into account that ridges were too irregular and in summer with wind might be a bit tricky. Perhaps a tech challenge drive for int. - Before the rains, early in winter - might be a good area to explore for all levels. So a good addition to our treasure to be treaded with caution. Thanks again and looking forward to see you all sometime soon. Refer below for comparison of 2021 drive (the graph on top) with our drive this Saturday. Very similar route and overall elevation profile, just the vegetation made the diff in speed a bit. Low stop time a good reflection of the way you all managed the terrain. Cheers

Thank you, @Ale Vallecchi, for a lovely educational drive yesterday 😍. I enjoyed it a lot, nice pace, with some really technical dunes, and beautiful side sloping 🤩 Look forward to trying some more advanced drives with you 😉. And thank you, @DP1011, for covering convoy's back 🙏. Thank you, @Pavel Pashkovskiy, for taking and sharing the pics 😍🙏

I really enjoyed the short tight convoy, Jeeps always have fun at the back of the convoy getting through the churn. infinite loops was a lot of fun as was the beautiful scenery at fossil rock. An on time finish is always highly appreciated when we have many other weekend commitments.

So quite here I don’t see anyone ?! Am I in the right location ?!

@Karthik_LC200 added you. See you tomorrow.

Thank you @M.Seidam for this drive. Great drives as always. I really enjoyed the climbs and the loops

10 minutes only

Dense fog in Abu Dhabi Al Ain road. Visibility less than 100m. Drive safe everyone

Drive safe

Asif bhai some dense fog on the way. Will be running few min late. Sorry

@Asif Hussain… have fun all of you. Maja madi 😄

Let's go @Karthik_LC200 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Congrats @Benjamin fellow Jeeper, definitely you're ready for Intermediate. See you in IM drives soon 👍🏻

@Zed @Imran Kashif @Looper @Mus_hus78 @Waqas Parvez @ASAD. @Salim Akhtar @GauravSoni @Srikumarthank you all for joining the drive. Convoy position we will do at meeting point. Everyone please be on time. We will be using Carnity Channel No.4 - 446.081-25 See you all tomorrow I wish him a speedy recovery. See you next time. Get well soon.. Will miss you.

Day 8 - Tabuk - Tayma via The Red Sea at Al Humidah (673 Km) Excited and energized by the exhilarating off roading of the day, over dinner we started toying with the idea of extending the trip to the ultimate arrival point: a small village on the Red Sea, just a few kilometers south of the Jordanian border. This would materialize a true "coast to coast", from the shores of the Arabian Gulf to the beaches of the Gulf of Aqaba. Unplanned, thus even more satisfying. It would take a detour of around 150 Km round trip, on Road 394, after a couple more hours of off-roading needed to reach the tarmac from our campsite, inside the Tabuk red sands. After waking up at the entrance of the canyon where we slept, we took a short trip to explore its depths. The gorge got tighter and tighter, with the red walls closing in above our head. About halfway through its length a bottleneck blocked the passage of the car, but a few steps beyond the gap the tunnel fanned out, ending up in a small oasis, full of trees and flowers, reachable by car from an entrance on the opposite side. After less than an hour enjoying the coolness of this miniature paradise, we finally decided to head to the coast. Off we went, to the Red Sea. A long climb took us to the top of the plateau on which, further to the south, one of the Neom project's landmarks will soon be developed (Trojena, on the slopes of Jabel al Lawz). From there a gentle descent took us to the rim of the mountainous area, and as soon as the road begun to descend more steeply, it revealed, firstly through the haze, then clearer and clearer the blue stripe of the waters of the Gulf of Aqaba, and the dark cliffs of the Sinai Peninsula, just a few kilometers beyond. At the end of the road laid the small village of Al Humidah: going right we would reach the Jordan border (just 38 Km away), while going left we would follow the coast, all the way to the southern tip of the gulf. Left we went, to reach a rocky and sandy beach, where we enjoyed a quick lunch, feet in the water. The stop was more symbolic than anything else, but it really gave us a sense of accomplishment. Going back home would entail driving a direct distance of 2,485 kilometers. With this daunting task in mind, we started to head back to the initially intended rest area for the night, in the town of Tayma, which we would reach just after dusk. As memories of this so far fantastic trip started to flood back, we happily turned around, heading for the center of the Arab peninsula, and to our final destination, back home.

Call 800-ZED-TOW if you need some V8 towing again 😂