Leaderboard

@Benjamin, @Mahesh_, @Cristian, @Deepak Eswar, @Alphin Aloor, @Emanuel, @Tareq Al Turq, @Mahmoud Taha, @Charbel, @Anoop Nair, @Imteeaz Thanks for joining for the Sunday morning quick fix drive. The objective is to have a quick drive in the Qudra’s very own little Sweihan area. we will be strolling on channel 2 and this is the proposed convoy order. the convoy is arranged as per number of drives but, the JLs decided to stick it together at the front of the convoy.

Dear Desert Drivers, Thank you for joining the drive today, with a spirit of adventure and discovery. We were lucky to have very nice sand conditions, slightly compacted by the rain of the previous days, and the dunes were clean, with very little cross tracks. After the entrance track, we started smoothly riding the dunes, passing from one side to the other, testing the grip of the tyres, giving a bit of gas to climb a steeper dune. We tested the first crossing, trying to get sufficient momentum to cross, but not too much to avoid flying. We had all the configurations, with a few cars crested, good opportunities to test shovelling, and recovery with a rope. Every one improved from one crossing to the other. In the second portion, the dunes were becoming higher, and we did a few nice climbs, pushing the revs, and getting the feeling needed to control the car in the descents. We continued climbing, keeping an accurate line to avoid the deep sand pockets, until I got stuck on a flat patch of soft sand. @Davie Chase helped me out with his winch, and we reversed our way. On the way down, a narrow crossing was the challenge of the day. Climbing straight, going down into a V shaped pocket, and pushing straight to exit. @Sviatoslav had a pop out, again an opportunity to understand in which configuration it can happen, and how to fix it ! The next cars crossed one by one, great achievement from each of you. After a small "educational" break, we finished the descent crossing a technical portion to reach the sabkha, and from there the exit track. @Sviatoslav thank you for the 2nd lead, and congratulation for your 1st Newbie drive with Carnity. You need to get the feeling of the momentum, but it will come with more drives. Very well done. @Wilfredo Perez, same here, you were too fast on the first crossing, but for the rest, very well done. You will get used to the different sand conditions. @Juzer Talib nice control of the Pajero, you were comfortable in most of the situations. @Tatsiana Chase very nice handling of the Jeep, perfect adjustment of the power for the crossings, you will get more confident with practice. Continue to enjoy ! @Damian, you made the best use of the LC, a bit too much power in some occasions, but nothing critical. You will enjoy more and more the capabilities of you car. @Hani Howeedy taking the long truck across sharp ridges is not easy at all. You ticked your 3 crests ! Well driven along the different challenges of the day. @ozgu, smooth riding with the Y61, continue to enjoy! @SamBha the second Y61 very well done also. We will find more technical dunes the next time ! @Mehmet Volga it was a pleasure and a great comfort for me to have you in the back, thank you for joining with your new ride ! @Davie Chase, the most helpful passenger of the day ! Thanks again for the great support! Thank you all for the common effort during the recoveries, your patience when needed, and your willingness to learn ! Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and see you in a next drive !

Today’s afternoon's desert drive at Lisaili, masterfully led by @Davie Chase, unfolded as an adventure that those of us present will pleasingly remember about. I had the honor of serving in the Second Lead role, for which I am immensely grateful. Thanks for the faith. The drive was marked by some inviting cool dunes and also cool was the camaraderie and spirit of adventure displayed by all, especially Mr. Essam. Despite facing several challenges and getting refusals at times, @essam ibrahim your unwavering enthusiasm and adventurous spirit were truly inspirational, reminding us all that age is but a number when it comes to embracing the thrills and having fun. The climate was the highlight of the drive, with the cool air aiding a refreshing touch to our desert escapade, making the experience even more enjoyable. Davie's leadership throughout the drive was exemplary, your effort ensured a seamless and enjoyable experience for everyone involved. The drive through Lisaili was not just about testing our skills—which were indeed impressive across the board—but also about appreciating the beauty of the desert, the joy of adventure, and the value of teamwork. @Ahmed Farouk superb driving bro. I had to keep looking for you. The gaps were quite wide between us at times. Of course you were always on perfect track nevertheless. @Shiju Raju that cresting caught you off guard. I happened to watch you exact at that time you were right behind when@essam ibrahim paused momentarily on that ridge which probably you had to brake causing you that stuck on the ridge. A slight gap would have avoided it. @Julien Recan @frederic demolder rock solid guys. Your BAIC is getting it’s fair share of fans bro. @Mohit Gurnani Great going bro. You really completed Davie in your sweep and kept us all together and safe. Once again. Thanks to all. Hope to see you all soon. Cheers! And have a wonderful weekend. Will be adding some random photos on the gallery soon.

Dear Desert Wanderers, @frederic demolder, @essam ibrahim, @Ahmed Farouk, @Shiju Raju, @Lala G, @Julien Recan,@Shaun J,and @Mohit Gurnani thank you all for showing up on time today I really enjoyed the drive and the company You all drove brilliantly making my job so much easier. We had a couple of stucks and refusals but as I said at the beginning of the drive this is what we want from in order for you to learn from your own stucks as well as others stucks. @Lala G great second lead, you did everything right and made the drive a success and a smooth dried for those behind you @Mohit Gurnani great job at the back sweeping the convoy, was a pleasure having you back there knowing everything was under control. have a great rest of your weekend one and all and see you very soon in the sand for some more adventures :)

Dear Desertnats. Quick tips about tomerow's drive. Gasoline - as suggested by Frederic above, the closest station to the meeting point is at https://maps.app.goo.gl/soX1HikBfnwUwqvC6. Make sure you top up to the brim. The distance we plan to cover approximates 90 Km. Plus the 40 to the meeting point that will need enough fuel for about 130, 150 Km. max. Consumption will be lower for the first 40 Km on tarmac, and the final 20 Km on a streight dirt road. Picnic lunch - Planned at the Tree Dune. Bring your favourite food, to be enjoyed cold during our break. We will not be out of the desert until around 3PM. Convoy order - The short convoy will start as follows: @Marek_was003 in Second Lead @Shaun J at #3 @Aser at #4 @PAJERO petelczyc luke in Sweep Let's meet just before 9 AM and enjoy the fill day exploration in this beautiful piece of desert. See you tomorrow.

Thanks @JeromeFJ @Davie Chase @Mehmet Volga and all!!! Thanks for this beautiful drive in a beautiful weather with all types of experiences and lessons learnt. See you all next time!!

Dear @JeromeFJ Thank you for leading the fantastic experience we had today! Really nice driving, nice dunes, excellent guidance and collaboration. Special thanks to @Davie Chase for his recommendations and expertise! @Mehmet Volga you were like a black comet, assisting everyone, everywhere. Thanks for taking care of us, See you on the next episode!

I'll bring a kettle and hopefully we can do Karak and espresso at the tree dunes ☕☕

For some reason, I thought the drive was today (Saturday). Funny as it may seem, I even reached the meeting point at 7:20 am, only to realize the drive is happening tomorrow (Sunday). Regrettably, I have withdrawn for tomorrow. I wish you all a wonderful drive for tomorrow. Thanks

@Richard Franks@Adam Black@Wilfredo Perez@khlief@Juzer Talib@Abdul Hannan@Vijay Cowlagi@Theo09@Nathan@Mohit Gurnani@Bjoern Meeting Point: Rashidiya: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9qKoAHpzkG4R3PCw5 When you arrive, there is no need for putting a flag. Please do deflate to around 20psi, it's not needed to go much lower than that. See you all Sunday morning ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @Ahmed Wagdy@Vipin M@GS periwal @Andrew John Melvill@Sumedh Krishna@Soufiane@Ali-M@Xavi Moyano@Rafey Hashmi@Gary F@Brette Meeting Point: -Falaj Al Mualla Spot2 : https://maps.app.goo.gl/EKYWdof4BYNDwRXE8 When you arrive, there is no need for putting a flag. Please do deflate to around 20psi, it's not needed to go much lower than that. See you all Sunday morning ! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @Amr Aydin@monkeywrench@Prithvi Raj@Hani Howeedy@Sandeep Nayar@karim hamandi@Mohammad Sayawoush Azad@Jeetu Sharma@Bhaskar@Mike M.@Ranjan Das Meeting Point: Falaj Al Mualla Spot1: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gngmhHmXvVsjd95U6 When you arrive, there is no need for putting a flag. Please do deflate to around 20psi, it's not needed to go much lower than that. See you all Sunday morning ! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DRIVE PLAN FOR ALL CONVOYS We have put 3 different meeting points so we can park and accommodate this amount of cars safely. The three tracks will run basically parallel (a few kms apart) from each other and the plan is to meet up with all three convoys at a nice tree on a huge sabkha in RAK. It will take around 1 hour to get there. After taking some nice photos with the three convoys, each convoy will move towards part 2 of the trip where we will head out into the mountains and small village roads. The exit point is also at the same spot. Below you can see Part 1 (up to the sabkha), and Part 2 of our adventure for Sunday.

Bonjour Frédéric, Great! I am driving a Nissan Patrol Safari 2021 and enjoyed just a few fun trips so far on the side of deserts in Qudra or Mleiha and want to learn more and especially the right way vs YouTube to build my confidence. i read the advice posted here and have all the newbie gear, compressor, radio, flag, tow rope and soft shackles. see you all tomorrow! Frederic

If you find the cabin light let’s me know as that has been on my list. Darkest cabin I’ve ever driven and makes finding stuff at night difficult

No worries it will be an economic drive 😜

Very True. You can add Google Satellite maps to GaiaGps by adding as a custom map.

There used to be a time where Chinese 4x4's were rare in the UAE, and the overall consensus amongst the public would be to avoid them, or walk around them with some curiosity, not really being sure as what to expect and how these would perform in the UAE deserts. Over the last couple of years, we have seen the introduction of several 4x4's in the UAE coming from the Far East, often with a big marketing campaign and lots of bang for the buck. Often accompanied by very interesting warranty and service deals. In below topic, the aim is to compare the most recent models and discuss their potential performance and pricing. We will focus mostly on the 4x4 capabilities, and not so much on the comfort creatures or technology. To value these vehicles on their performance in the desert is not easy. But by looking at their specs in terms of power, ground clearance, and approach/departure angles, we can have a fairly good impression on what to expect from them. Of course, the real answer will only come after a couple of years to see if they really can rival with the Japanese reliability or the Jeep versatility and power. For now, let's have a look at below selection of 5 4x4's we compared: Jetour T2 BAIC BJ40 Plus Haval H9 Haval Dargo Tank 300 @frederic demolderand @Faraz94 are proud owners of BAIC and Haval 4x4's, and drive regularly with us. Would love to hear their comments and experiences, and invite everyone to chip in with their feedback and opinions !

Thank you @JeromeFJ @Davie Chase @Mehmet Volga for your top notch guidance & support that gave me lot of confidence and understanding of the terrain as well as the vehicle, which will in time improve my skills further and have a better understanding for all future drives. Cheers to an excellent morning of adventure!! Until we meet again🫡

Dropping out, not feeling well unfortunately. Enjoy! the scenic drives they are one of my favourites drive... add more @Frederic

Awesome drive everybody, enjoyed being the sweep for the first time 👏

Dear Desert Wanderers, @frederic demolder, @sohinik, @essam ibrahim, @Ahmed Farouk, @Shiju Raju, @Lala G, @Julien Recan, @Arravind, @Shaun J, @Mohit Gurnani and @Pacificwe will be meeting at Lisalli, flags up & ready for briefing at 1300 tomorrow. The convoy order will be as per the below and we will be using Ch4 (446.081). Please bring plenty of enthusiasm with you and that all important willingness to learn See you tomorrow Afternoon