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The One Where An Unfortunate Reputation MIght Start to be Formed Yesterday afternoon was a bit strange, starting with the confusion over how to get to the proper starting point at Badayer Shops. In the blazing temperature, it was excellent to see almost everyone wating in the parking area with the others arriving on time - having also been a bit confused by the ROAD CLOSED sign that MIss Google Maps has not yet been informed of! A word of warning to any trip lead looking ot start at Badayer and move to Iftar Bowl - enter the desert from the first roudnabout or you will like @Emmanuel end up in Al Madam before you can turn round. The end result, we entered the desert a bit later than planned. As it was showing 54C on the termerature guage in my car the later the better! With @Jeepie at the wheel, leading for 2nd time and @Colin Jordan in second lead, we moved off. It would not be an understatement to say that we had three recoveries within the first 500 meters and this was the theme of the day. As mentioned, it is a bit worrying that for the second week in a row the drive was defined more by the number of stops and recoveries needed than the driving fun. The summer sand was punishingly soft and a heavy long wheel based car will inevitably find the going harder than the three SWB Jeeps that handled the conditions quite well (I think @E.C. TAN who was sweep only had one or two moments - and he had to gind a new route after the sand had been churned by much bigger vehicles). A welcome back to the drives to @Roshan Abraham who was acting as centre forward, but even for an experienced driver thse conditions were not easy. The intention was to get to Iftar bowl and play. The challenge was that the desert from this direction was unforgiving, technical, and for newish fewbies a big challenge. @Shiju Manuel, @RohanH @Chaitanya D we tried valiantly to get a route that was less challenging from the start point and all of you will have learned from the experience - momentum is your friend (whether you approach a dune straight on or try to criss cross) and with a longer vehicle that becomes even more critical when the dunes are soft like they were yesterday. After the first hour and a half, i took over leading duties from @Jeepie who had done a magnificent job of taking the convoy forward and on a route that on any other day would probably have been less challenging. Every route she or I took seemed to end up with almost certain knowledge that if others tried to follow through the soft stuff, there would be even more stucks - and after the extreme revcovery of last week, I for one felt a bit once bitten, twice shy. A massive, massive thanks goes to @Emmanuel who shoveld, tugged and coached more in one afternoon than in probably many before all rolled up in one. And a massive thanks to everyone for your patience and persistence. We decided to exit sooner than planned, simply because the prospect of digging each other out in the dark after such a tiring afternoon seemed the right thing to do. For sure, next Badayer trip wil have a different entry point so we can get to the bowl and have some play time. So, back to that reputation thing ... second week of leading drives and second week of drivers having multiple stucks. We will see if that results in the take up for any new drives falling off! In my earlier reports I have written about the excitement and challenges of moving up from newbie and the experiences of what it it like being promoted in this game. The move from being a participant, even with responsibilities as centre forward or sweep, to actually planning and leading a drive is also a big leap. It creates renewed respect and admiration for the amazing marshalls of whom we have the benefit in this club. Learning to lead effectively and safely is not something that is going to happen the first time you sit behind the wheel of the lead car. There is an even steeper learning curve than when you move from other promotions. @Gaurav, @Rahimdad @Frederic @Srikumar @Asif Hussain @Emmanuel Hats off to you. You make the whole leading thing look so effortless - just like taking a drive out in the sand! Practice makes (well, not quite perfect) us all better. With the continued patience of our club members, I will continue to hone these skills in the aspiration of leading in some way comparable with these guys. I am keeping in mind that @Jeepie and I started this journey with Carnity in November last year. There's still a long way to go and lot of fun to be had. Bring it on. See you soon in the sand.

Dear fellow Desertnauts. I am happy to share with you the first report after my first lead. I will not bother you (yet) with the different emotions that one feels before the lead (a concerned form of excitement), during (focused determination) and after (relieved elation). Before diving into the report itself, I wish to thank all the Carnity Marshals from whom I have been able to learn, in a relatively short period of time, the different tools of this exciting sport (incredibly, @Gaurav, @Rahimdad, Srikumar, @Frederic and @Emmanueleach has his own unique trade mark style, from which is easy to compile an encyclopedia of off-roading knowledge). Today's drive, the crossing from Al Faqa to Solar Park, started a few days ago, when I came to scout the location's trails with a few fellow Carnity drivers. Luckily, we discovered that the original meeting point was unreachable, due to the police's roadblocks at the border with Abu Dhabi, and changed the meeting point to the exit before Faqa. After a very punctual gathering and a quick deflation, we moved down the road for the briefing. With @Foxtrot Oscar executing a perfect second lead, the rest of the convoy was made of @Jun Zamora, with a much more efficient Jeep than during my previous drives with him, @Rizwanm2 whose Nativa performed impeccably (including a very nice climb of a high dune, with perfect side-sloping), @luwaimn working hard to control his powerful Prado, @Vanessa8580, as Center Forward, recovering impeccably the few stucks we got along the way (fortunately for her, this time we had decided to skip the shoveling, and immediately tug each stuck car, to save energies in the scorching sun), @AKR, @Rinelle Sanaani and @Kalahari, in perfect control of their machines, and last but not least @Srikumar sweeping and keeping a watchful eye over the convoy. Having started from a different point then planned, we proceeded to enter a few technical dunes, which initially I had intended to avoid, in order to spare the cars from overheating. With a bit of persistence we managed to get through with minor delays, and penetrated the depths of the Faqa dunes. This is a beautiful area, similar to a plateau, with medium height rolling dunes, dotted with groups of gnarly trees. We managed to move quite at quite a good pace, with just a couple of stucks, criss-crossing a good number of dunes, or riding their humpy tops. Along the way we found a very nice set of twin dunes, which all managed to side-slope impeccably, before moving toward another tall dune, at the end of the plateau, where we played almost until sunset. During his second drive up the dune Rizwanm2's Nativa spurted some white smoke, which prompted us to descend the plateau toward the sabkha in a very easy and relaxed manner. Sunset had started, while we were riding toward it. So, now you will ask yourself, did we reach Little Swehian? Yes and no: in fact, due to the softness of the sand, and the dark setting in, we decided to exit, after a couple of recoveries, to avoid getting stuck in the middle of this very challenging area. Hence, we coasted the dunes, along the sabkha, until we hit the small line of dunes separating us from the exit road. At this point @Srikumar took over as leader, due to my car’s night blindness (as someone in the group said: “note to self – buy desert lights”). And so the convoy reached Solar Park safely, after 66.5 Km and 4:14 hours of driving (minus the few stucks), at an average speed of 15.6Km/H, and a top speed of 64Km/H. This ends my report, but hopefully not my leading career. Thanks a lot to all for being part of this very special day for me. See you soon on the sand, again. PS. We had 2 last minute dropouts: @siddharth maheshwari due to car issues, and @Lucky sAm as his son was not feeling well. We wish Lucky Sam's son a prompt recovery, and Siddhart's car to be fixed swiftly. See you both soon on the sand.

Trip Report through my eyes. As @Wrangeld mentioned all were on time, deflated and ready to go. So with a quick deflation, fixing flag and a quick check of everyone's radio working and having no absolute newbies we were well on our way. With no absolute newbies on our drive I was not thinking so much about the pace and the route taken, this meant we were just flying through for the exception of a few refusals. I must say everybody managed very well and we had reached the base of Pink Rocks with only 2 stucks very close to the base. With still plenty of time left for the drive to end and weather still not at its worst, I decided not to end the drive at 2nd December. Without a word being spoken I quickly made it to the top of Pink Rocks and rest did well to reach the top fairly quickly. At this point I jokingly announced that it was a good drive and please make it home safely from here. After a pause and I believe with a shock fro all I came with the option of continuing the drive which everyone agreed to. So now came the challenging 2nd part trying to make it to Bidayer. Once again a few refusals and fewer stucks but greatly managed by all. Truly a really bad stuck on a side where @Yousef Alimadadi was stuck like a poster on the wall. His greatest assets were his calm, following instructions and being very clear with his situation while communicating. His greatest challenge being the Rear difflock not coming on, our prime objective to get those difflockers going. After a little concentrated effort and little experiment it worked and difflock were on. Once the difflockers came on the car slowly but surely came on and we were out. Great effort by @Yousef Alimadadi and great lesson for all around. Be calm and be patient, every situation will end up teaching you something. With a quick tug to get @Brette out of some soft sand while he was trying to offer help to @Yousef Alimadadi we were off to the exit. With heat now kicking in I took the easiest way out, quick and everybody followed amazingly well. We were quickly out, inflating and with huge smiles all headed to the comforts of their home. Mission Accomplished. I would like @Vanessa8580 for accepting second lead and enjoyed this position, I think she also has a better idea now why I chose that position for her. @Yousef Alimadadi thank you for keeping your excitement in control and moreover to your calm while stuck in a precarious situation. @VipinShetty to quietly but smoothly negotiated all the dunes. @Denizzalbayrak for rocking on with the best Trailblazer I have seen in my 12 years. @George Francis for also progressing through the completely drive quietly but surely. @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ and his capability to float a whale through the desert when he was finally called out on the second leg for not having a low gear. @Gregory Perkin for quietly leading from behind, well done bro. @Mehmet Volga for closely following @Gregory Perkin which was a great decision. @Brette for being in his helping spirit even though his ride seemed to have a mind of its own. Later realized there was a leak which prevented the 4x4 system to kick in and that drowned him in a couple of places. @Anish S thank you for your quiet enthusiasm in the back and good to know that you have experienced first hand on how situations are taken care off in the back. @Magellan for showing us why the FJ and 2 smiling spirited souls can conquer everything everywhere. Big thanks to @Jeepie for keeping the convoy safe, together and moving at all times. My hats of to @Jeepie for @Brette recovery from the ridge, the recovery was made with the right angle in mind and was done with a very careful and gentle tug. Hope to see you all again soon. Proud to be part of such an enthusiastic and responsible group.

@Ale Vallecchi it was a great lead sir. I really enjoyed following your lead and ..and learning from u and the crew @Srikumar @Vanessa8580 @Foxtrot Oscar.. its always fun to drive with u guys

What a great day out !! @Ale Vallecchi you did a great job of plotting a path through some really technical dunes and rerouting when necessary. The area you chose is by far my favourite, it is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. But like all things of outstanding beauty it has dark and dangerous secrets. I'm always in awe of you guys at the front who have no nice tracks to follow as we who follow your path do. You kept us all safe in an area that is hugely unforgiving, especially in the summer heat and provided us with some fantastic challenges. The big sidey was fun as was the big dune with the steep climb. @Vanessa8580 plays centre forward so well, I think she should have used the shovel more though 😝 hee hee hee, I'm just being sadistic, it was soooo hot. My temp gauge was reading 123 degrees in old money (centigrade) I did not envy you the challenge of getting in and out your car to help everyone. Some great learning points as always on a Carnity drive and in the scorching heat I think we have all become so much more aware of the need for momentum, the soft sands really do demand it. Finally, as if the day wasn't fun enough already we had the absolute brilliant experience of driving in the dark, yes the dunes were timid by comparison to what we had experienced earlier in the day, but with @Srikumar 's outstanding lights and navigation skills to guide us, we raced through them to get to solid ground at Solar Park . It was without doubt an awesome experience! I've been trying to upload pics in the gallery, but keep encountering glitches , perhaps the sand is too soft 😄 .

Well managed drive Ale, had a bit of challenges, but you handled it very well, right from the posting the drive till the end of the drive. And want to congratulate you on some very good pre-planning, keeping in mind the Abu Dhabi restrictions, and relocating the meeting point before the start of the drive. Though we encountered some technical dunes at the start, you lead us to some very nice roller coaster dunes that this area offers. With the sand getting soft we did have our share of stucks and refusals which is perfectly fine at a peak summer Fewbie level drive. And thank you for letting me lead that small portion of the night drive. Enjoyed it.

@Rahimdad, thank you so much for your great leadership and guidance when I got stuck. Without your efforts, advice and help I was not able to handle that situation. @Brette, thank you too for your great help and advise🙏🙏🙋🏻🙋🏻 below is the link of the video made for amazing off road trip done yesterday;

@Foxtrot Oscar you did an amazing second lead. Well done. Perhaps we need @Gaurav to get you out of this stuck position. 😁

It was excellent lead today by @Ale Vallecchi. The drive was very interesting with plenty of dunes to play along. It was my first time driving from faqa to solar park, looks like I’m already in love with this area. Big thanks to our seniors @Srikumar and @Vanessa8580 for helping all of us in multiple stuck and refusals. Unfortunately white smoke was a concern, Will Try to get it sorted tomorrow itself. Hope to see you all soon next time. Stay safe!!

Congratulations @Magellan for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Based on your last newbie drive you have demonstrated skills required deserving this new offroad rank. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Once you have all the required off-road gear, you are most welcome to join the Fewbie Level Drives with Carnity Off-road Club. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Number of drives 10 (16 Newbie + Fewbie drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune reading Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor. Drive teamwork Observe recovery from a safe distance and offer help when needed Drive posting/joining Join newbie and fewbie level of drives only Forum participation Active participation on forum. Share drive experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

Congratulations @Ale Vallecchi for reaching the Expert Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Ale has got the fastest promotion from Advance Certification on 25 May 2020 - Expert Certification on 27 Jun 2020. Within a month's time, he has been driving to learn and advance at 3 drives per week - accelerated pace. Based on your last fewbie drive lead and managing the drive impeccably from planning to implementation stage under Marshal supervision deserving this new off-road rank. Your love for off-road knowledge, experience, teamwork, suggestions, and feedback has always helped everyone around in a very positive manner on the off-road drives and on the forum. Keep it up and its time for you to work on your independent lead to demonstrate your skills, knowledge, and passion. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Expert: Number of drives 10 (46 Newbie + Fewbie + Intermediate drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune & sand reading + map reading & basic navigational skills + strategic convoy driving Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 shackles, floor jack, jack board & GPS trackback Drive teamwork Capable of diverting the convoy to safe spot + part of sweep team Drive posting/joining Join any drive and lead fewbie & intermediate drives with Marshal / Crew permission Forum participation Share experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery + drive and route suggestions + post trip report + share route + track and waypoints + Help Marshal / Crew for alternate routing + marking safe exit Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

Congratulations @Leo Francis for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Based on your last newbie drive you have demonstrated skills required deserving this new offroad rank. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Once you have all the required off-road gear, you are most welcome to join the Fewbie Level Drives with Carnity Off-road Club. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Number of drives 10 (16 Newbie + Fewbie drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune reading Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor. Drive teamwork Observe recovery from a safe distance and offer help when needed Drive posting/joining Join newbie and fewbie level of drives only Forum participation Active participation on forum. Share drive experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

Congratulations @Janarthan for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Based on your last newbie drive you have demonstrated skills required deserving this new offroad rank. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Once you have all the required off-road gear, you are most welcome to join the Fewbie Level Drives with Carnity Off-road Club. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Number of drives 10 (16 Newbie + Fewbie drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune reading Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor. Drive teamwork Observe recovery from a safe distance and offer help when needed Drive posting/joining Join newbie and fewbie level of drives only Forum participation Active participation on forum. Share drive experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

@Wrangeld and @Jeepie there is no race, rally or contest here in Carnity drives or its lead, EVER. It's an adventure sport that we are in and we should always keep on learning and optimizing ourselves. As you both share the one drive time in same vehicle that's why learning curve seems a bit delayed, but that's perfectly normal and nothing you both should be really worried or concerned about. You both are doing great and please continue doing the same. I personally love your both cool and calm approach at the worst of the situation - which is a very BIG ASSET. Thanks @Emmanuel for the wonderful feedback, support and watchful observation to let them lead the real convoy. I remember last month I did the same area with fewbies and also unable to complete till Iftar bowl due to various intense stuck and one of the car overheating to the max and curfew time changed all of sudden. These are absolutely normal behavior of the desert driving and especially in summer, when sand is less forgiving and cars running warm with little less power output. The only thing I will learn from my last failed attempt, if I do it again now, is to skim the route to half - with less play time and more drive time considering the convoy slow movement and adding bit more buffer for intense stuck. It's called planning on the go - where you start with very tight control to cover as many as km's you can and then slowly adding the play time (if time permits) after the first 50% route is covered. When it comes to sand, we all are kids and we all love the playtime doing endless sideys and hill climbs but when on a route with a mission to reach a difficult endpoint, trip lead need to take some tough decision too (at times) to delay the playtime, stick to flat track (sometimes), avoid sharp dunes crossing, avoid going through pockets, go easy in heat (to have no refusals/stuck) etc. I personally don't push my car above 3K rpm, when Im pressed on time, so that cars behind me don't fight or struggle to go through. As lead car crossing at 3K will increase to 4-5K rpm for the last car due to cross tracks and soft sand in summer. So more you factor these ideas, more you will have a better control on convoy movements. Keep learning, you both are doing great.

Indeed, I want to add my thanks for @Ale Vallecchi for planning and leading this trip - great route and beautiful part of Dubai. Thanks to @Srikumar and @Vanessa8580 for tirelessly attending to the stucks, in glorious sunshine! This was a trip where a few people struggled with momentum repeatedly - I am not sure whether they were driving new cars, or whether their lack of following distance forced them to brake at the worst of times? As a result the convey lost a lot of momentum, but we still covered most of the planned route + enjoyable night drive. All in all a great way to spend a Friday afternoon with like-minded community members.

Congratulations @Colin Jordan for reaching the Intermediate Level with Carnity Offroad Club. As per your recent drives, you have shown tremendous progress and well deserve this new offroad rank. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Keep up your great contribution on the forum and get socially involved in the newbie and fewbie drives to impart your knowledge. Once you have all the gear required, you are most welcome to join the Intermediate Level Drives with Carnity Off-road Club. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Intermediate: Number of drives 10 (26 regular drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune & sand reading Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor, tool kit, tow rope Drive teamwork Help in recoveries under Marshal / Crew supervision Drive posting/joining Join newbie, fewbie & intermediate level of drives only Forum participation Active participation on forum. Share drive experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery + drive and route suggestions Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

Congratulations @Mehmet Volga for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Based on your last newbie drive you have demonstrated skills required deserving this new offroad rank. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Once you have all the required off-road gear, you are most welcome to join the Fewbie Level Drives with Carnity Off-road Club. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Number of drives 10 (16 Newbie + Fewbie drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune reading Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor. Drive teamwork Observe recovery from a safe distance and offer help when needed Drive posting/joining Join newbie and fewbie level of drives only Forum participation Active participation on forum. Share drive experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

Congratulations @Yousef Alimadadi for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Based on your last newbie drive you have demonstrated skills required deserving this new offroad rank. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Once you have all the required off-road gear, you are most welcome to join the Fewbie Level Drives with Carnity Off-road Club. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Number of drives 10 (16 Newbie + Fewbie drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune reading Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor. Drive teamwork Observe recovery from a safe distance and offer help when needed Drive posting/joining Join newbie and fewbie level of drives only Forum participation Active participation on forum. Share drive experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

@Wrangeld I felt you are being a bit harsh on yourself. Leading in such extreme weather conditions is firstly a real challenge, and the soft sands add another complication. Area 53 has always been a more difficult area compared to others. I remember my first drive in that area as a Fewbie, I really struggled through the entire drive. @Asif Hussain was also in the same convoy and he also was having his first experience of that area. Now, in drives we are accustomed to having an occassional pop-out. But the speciality of that drive was that me and Asif Bhai were having pop-outs two at a time. And if I remember correctly, it was totally 3 times that such double pop-outs happened. But we all learnt from these challenges and thats where you start observing the sand even more closely. Like Gaurav mentioned your and Jeepie's biggest asset is your calm composure even in the most stressed situation. I am sure the route forward will only become easier and more enjoyable.

Heartiest CONGRATULATIONS to @Ale Vallecchi for completing his very first independent lead very successfully. Thanks @Srikumar for all the great feedback, support and watchful observation to let Ale face the real convoy situation. There was no doubt on Ale capability as a new leader, as he has lead with many of us before. But when new leader leads an actual drive convoy and everyone enjoys, appreciate and crave for more (like here) that demonstrate the real success of that leader drive. Well done Ale. Ale impeccable planning of route by plotting 22 points, track, exits, playable dunes on map, scouting area mid-week, and properly tuning up the drive as per convoy strength are the main reason for such a great successful drive. We feel extremely proud when new leaders understand the real gravity of this adventure sport, invest time in planning and careful execution with perfectly balance mind and heart for maximizing fun and minimizing risk/danger involved. Once again, congratulations Ale and keep it up.

@Wrangeld and @Jeepie you both did very well as leads no doubt. Just that the heat and soft sand was getting everyone stuck. I feel every refusal or stuck is a learning experience for newbie/fewbie as this is what we need to get out of. More we learn in harsher conditions, probably the better. Of course everyone wants to drive on dunes without getting stuck, but that probably will never teach you how to get out of a stuck situation.

Wow @Yousef Alimadadi. Brilliant video. Love your hunger to learn and your videos and pics to share. You truly belong in a community where these are the 2 traits that can help you to grow and I'm sure you'll soon be among the leaders. Keep up your great spirit.

Hi Shiju, if you intend to continue offroading at Fewbie and above level with your Pajero, you might want to trim the front bumper lower lip and get a stronger bash plate than stock as a start. Then as the next stage get a small 2 inch lift installed which will give you a very nice ride to comfortably push it through most places. Having said the above, the learning what you get in driving a stock Pajero is invaluable. Offroading is about knowing the strength and weakness of your vehicle and working around it.

The thrill & excitement starts every Sunday from 1830hrs to grab a spot in the high demand drives from Carnity & ends with the drive on Friday every week (to be refreshed again on Sunday). The drive was excellent tks to lead from @Rahimdad & equally supportive Seniors @Wrangeld @Brette @Jeepie @Vanessa8580...... just been my 4th drive with the club & every drive is a new learning in itself with refusals, self recovery. .....See you guys for the next drive.

Congratulations @Foxtrot Oscar for reaching the Intermediate Level with Carnity Offroad Club. As per your recent drives, you have shown tremendous progress and well deserve this new offroad rank. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Keep up your great contribution on the forum and get socially involved in the newbie and fewbie drives to impart your knowledge. Once you have all the gear required, you are most welcome to join the Intermediate Level Drives with Carnity Off-road Club. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Intermediate: Number of drives 10 (26 regular drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune & sand reading Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor, tool kit, tow rope Drive teamwork Help in recoveries under Marshal / Crew supervision Drive posting/joining Join newbie, fewbie & intermediate level of drives only Forum participation Active participation on forum. Share drive experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery + drive and route suggestions Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

Congratulations @Rajeevan Vickneswaran for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Based on your last newbie drive you have demonstrated skills required deserving this new offroad rank. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Once you have all the required off-road gear, you are most welcome to join the Fewbie Level Drives with Carnity Off-road Club. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Number of drives 10 (16 Newbie + Fewbie drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune reading Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor. Drive teamwork Observe recovery from a safe distance and offer help when needed Drive posting/joining Join newbie and fewbie level of drives only Forum participation Active participation on forum. Share drive experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

WOW!!! This is totally unexpected, and extremely humbling. I would not have dreamt of this, as I feel my learning process is still (and will always be) ongoing. I have been lucky to be able to spend enough time driving, and most of all, in the company of great experts (as I mentioned in my last trip's report, each Carnity Marshal - @Gaurav, @Rahimdad, @Srikumar, @Frederic and @Emmanuel - have unique driving skills and styles, allowing all of us as Carnity members to learn from a living encyclopedia of off-roading). My companions along this path, to whom I owe my improvements have been @Xaf, @Wrangled, @Jeepie, @Javier M, @Shamil, @Brette, and more recently @Mels Wolf, @Vanessa8580, @Desert Dweller and @Foxtrot Oscar. I am very much looking forward to see them all progressing to the top, as they deserve. It would be very long to list all the other fellow club members with whom I have driven, but I would like them to know that I have learned as much, if not the most, by joining Newbie and Fewbie drives, and learning from other drivers' performances and mistakes, looking, evaluating, reliving their failures and successes. I very humbly thank, from top to bottom, this whole Club, whose familiar, warm and collegial atmosphere makes it unique in the UAE. See you soon on the hot sand. Thank you so much @Rinelle Sanaani. BTW, you did great yesterday.

@Ale Vallecchi amazing ... at this rate you'll be a marshall within another 2 weeks 😂😂 Great news and i am delighted for you that you have been given this additional promotion. Looking very much forward to supporting you on a drive some time soon.

Officially Completed "My First Drive"(as a driver instead of passenger seat😃) Inspired and encouraged by @Anish S to join the carnity off-road club, i feel very delighted to share a little bit about my first drive under the excellent leadership of @Gaurav. The team registered for the drive was all there in time, deflated and ready to move however there was a small heating issue with @Shamil car and unfortunately he had to exit. Since it was an Absolute Newbie drive (that's why i decided to join this specific one ), @Gaurav took us through some smooth and nice and easy pathway and it starts helping me experiencing how driving a car feels on the sand. For me, this was really important to achieve that self trust to attempt more and more driving in the sand and understand the reaction of my big Pajero LWB. We then started to attempt the downward slopes (descent), i was a bit scared but eventually went through and learnt how to tackle them. As we go on the second one, i had a small refusal, @J J stopped (who was in the second lead) and even before i could communicate the refusal, he did so for me. With some advice of my co pilot @Anish S, we managed a quick self recovery. @Gaurav then took us through some more technical dunes and even steeper slopes (where in my first drive as passenger i was almost closing my eyes 😄) and i managed them quite smoothly. The drive continued with some ascending dunes where @Gaurav advices given before we attempt them, was indeed the game changer in how i deal with them. Eventually we headed to the challenging dunes leading to the fossil rock where i got a stuck. @Gaurav came and did some shoveling and gave me the instructions and we managed a recovery. From there, it was straight to reaching at the top of the fossil rock. However few seconds after @paolo dassi had a stuck in around the same challenging dunes at the bottom and was guided by @Gaurav and ecovered. At the rock was such a great sunset view. Then we headed down via the steep slope under the guidance of @Gaurav and @J J and headed towards the road. It was a very enriching first drive for me and after the first almost half an hour, i started having more faith to handle the drive while enjoying it. Thank you team @Gaurav for managing such a great drive, thank you @J J for always prompting me and keeping an eye for me, thank you @Leo Francis also for watching out, thank you @paolo dassi and @Carlos Fernandez as sweeper for a nice drive.

thanks to Carnity for providing me with such a great opportunity to learn and drive in desert safely under supervision of skilled maeshalls today was my third drive and learnt few more tricks from @Frederic and @asifk as leaders and rest of the team for support.

@Rahimdad leading drives are always full of fun, becomes easier and enjoyable to everyone with excellent guiding and help by @Vanessa8580 @Brette @Wrangeld. Thank you to you all! @Brette 's first stuck was because of me rather than his bad luck maybe. I tried "not to fly" this time and pushed it less but that part was definitely needing more momentum indeed. The rest of the trip was good to me because I was driving behind @Gregory Perkin this time! He was excellent in all and I always followed his track and copied his movements - made it all problem-free! So impressed with @Yousef Alimadadi's self-recoveries with rear-lock shows! At the slope, I thought it was a huge "stuck" and no way to take off even with shoveling - absolutely be towed! It was amazing to learn many tricks of such self-recoveries! See you next week!

Thanks @Vanessa8580, I could not have done it with your help and support during our last drives. Thanks Fred. I have been learning a great deal from each of you Marshals, and all my fellow drivers. I am super happy at this level, and will enjoy it as much as possible, before even thinking of moving on. This seems very much a dream to me as it is

So happy for you @Ale Vallecchi !! And so well deserved. Like @Xaf mentioned before, you possess a finesse to read the dunes and work with them instead of fighting against them. You spend time in preparing your drives and execute them perfectly, and as a support you’re always around with helpful advice. You deserve this rank and look forward to reaching the ultimate ladder very soon !

Congratulations @Foxtrot Oscar ! Now you can help me shovel 😜

Congrats @Leo Francis !!

Congrats @Mehmet Volga !!

Well deserved @Colin Jordan !

Well done @Colin Jordan!

Thank you Gaurav, I did mention to Richard that I thought he was a little tough on us in the report😄. I was very pleased we managed to get everyone in and out safely and I think there is no shame in having to adjust the plan. For sure we have a lot to learn, but I think it is important to remember to have fun while learning.

Totally agree with you @Srikumar and thanks for the advice.

It’s good to be back on @Rahimdad’s convoy after a long time. He can make newbie drives quite challenging and fun at the same time with his sence of humour. And again thanks to seniours @Wrangeld, @Jeepie and @Brette for taking care of rest of the convoy. I hope problems of Grand Cherokee can be sorted quickly. I may say 2nd part of the trip was a newbie plus level. Who ever liked this part as newbie, wait for what is to come on fewbie and above levels😊 After experiencing heating problems 2 months ago, my eyes were at the heat gauge literally every 3 min. Thankfully, It didn’t even reach to 100 degrees even with long idling times. I hope everybody enjoyed and had fun! See you guys next week.

Thanks @Frederic - it was a great smooth drive today with you. Also thanks @Mels Wolf for the pajero tips after the drive too. Glad @AviG made it for our first carnity drive together - hope we can do a lot more of them !

Drive Report I was glad to see so many cars lining up at the Qudra deflation point. After spotting a few vehicles that I didn’t recognize, and seeing some flags popping up, I realized these were UAE Offroader guys. We gave them a friendly wave and moved on with our convoy that was equipped with a majority of Fewbies, and only one Absolute Newbie. This drive went so well, that we managed to do more than 40kms in less than 3 hours, which is a testament to the skills my convoy had and how well they managed the very few refusals and mini-stucks. Of course, having a second lead like @asifk helps. His ability to slightly alter the track and overall driving style has again impressed me so much. A big thanks for that ! His friend @AviG joined us for the first time and drove very well. You were probably afraid of getting crested and as a result sometimes came over the dune a little too fast, which resulted in the front bumper getting unclipped. Rest assured that the more drives you do with us, the more you’ll find that finesse of pointing the car over a dune with ex actly enough momentum. I hope your lovely daughter is feeling better by now and we will see you all coming back soon. Talking about pointing, our friend @syed salman raza pointed his TJ perfectly over every dune and drove very well ! @Tbone was my center forward and did a great job in communicating and helping out over the radio with members having a refusal. @Janarthan is also finding his way in the Xterra, and drove very good ! The Wranglers did what they usually do, (no, not overheating). @Nacho, @Rajeevan Vickneswaran @Matti Brockman all drove like it was just another drive on the E11. Stunning job guys ! @Jose Martin with the shorty Pajero is a pleasure to see, always calm and composed, always having fun. Time for your Fewbie challenges my friend, you’re totally ready for it. @Mels Wolf must have had time for a cup of tea and Dutch biscuits today. He was flying sweep but didn’t have to fly much. Nevertheless perfectly communicated and always a sharp eye on the convoy makes a sweep even better. Thanks for the support ! Lady Qudra was gentle on us today so we were able to ride some mini ridges, do some sidey’s and still even had time to spot some nice gazelles. Lady Qudra never disappoints and we shall be back again ! IMG_7942.MP4

Wonderful drive superman @Rahimdad. Thank you @Brette, @Vanessa8580 and @Wrangeld for guiding and helping everyone. Super exciting to drive a bit carefree now without worrying I will hit something or break something...but getting used to it a bit better. Some pictures uploaded in the gallery.

The One Where the Reputation was Under Threat @Rahimdad has a reputation for leading Newbie drives which are exciting and challenging and where there are no Stucks. This morning's drive stressed out that reputation beyond recognition ... but let'sget to that later. Everyone had deflated and put up their flags by the time our fearless leader arrived. This meant that with the briefing delivered, we were under way in record time. There was quite a large convoy today, and it was great to have @Vanessa8580 in 2nd lead, @Brette in centre forward position and @Jeepie sweeping up at the rear. As usual, the pace was great, the route interesting and enough challenges for everyone. We even had a wonderful breeze blowing so that sitting in the car with the windows open (yes guys, that is an option) was warm but not oppressive. I thought we were in for a relaxing, problem free day ... For about another ten minutes, until we had our first refusals. Thankfully, we were able to help with instructed self recoveries and I commend everyone for retaining their cool when things did not go as planned. The first major stuck of the day saw @Mehmet Volga recovered by @Brette for him to find himself stuck and in need of a quick tug. I think I ought to say here that for what ever reason it was not @Brette's day. It seems that on more than one occasion he did his job as centre forward perfectly, only to find himself refusing or stuck once the recovery was over. It turns out the mighty beast was suffering a transmission oil leak as well, which probably has some impact. It took almost 1 hour 40 to get to the base of Pink Rock because of the number of problems. BEFORE COVID on the same basic route plan we had arrived here within an hour. The sand can be a very changeable thing. @Yousef Alimadadi found he needs to train his Pajero better as it was initially difficult to climb Pink Rock. After a few attempts, he was up and over and the r est of the convoy climbed the hill without incident. The route to 2nd December cafe from there is a challenge for Newbies at the best of time. With the extremely soft sand today we faced a lot of Stucks and refusals. @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ needed a quick tug, @George Francis had a moment and @Brette needed recovering again. All thos took time so we really had no moment for play before we ended up on a track again and out to reinflate. There were some drivers really deserving of an 'honorable' mention, navigating their way round with aplomb. @Gregory Perkin excellent drive, and contributions to the seniors to advise on the situation as well as helping out other drivers, @Chaitanya D looks like you are getting to grips with the Xterra (we will see a bit more in the Fewbie drive ...) @Magellan you really have the FJ well under control. @Denizzalbayrak @Anish S the fact we did not hear anythjjng from you speaks volumes. Most improved driver of the day goes to @VipinShetty. Following your feet finding drive last week, you handled today's challenges really well and get extra credit for having no hesitation to ask @Rahimdad to help on a t echnical section where you felt unsure. Brilliant. As we are always told by the seniors, there is no shame in getting stuck or asking for help. We exited by 10.30 as planned, having all had another enjoyable morning, and I think it would be appreciated, if nothing else to retain the reputation of the superman that led us fantastically today if noone says anything about the stucks. See you soon in the sand

Yes, I remember it was in Qudra sometime last November for an early morning drive.

@Xaf what can I say, other than you have been my closest driving partner throughout my history at Carnity. As you mentioned in another post, I could not have been the Yin off-roader that I have become without your Yang. I am truly looking forward to our next drives, where your energy, enthusiasm and absolute control will certainly spur me more, and further along the learning curve to the top. Thank you so much. @Srikumar thank you so very much for your words, and most of all for your tutoring. You may not remember, but my first newbie drive was under your Marshalship (I guess I just made up a new word ), as has been the case for my first lead. This must not be a coincidence. I am very grateful for your confidence in my abilities, and look forward to many more drives together.

Congratulations Ale! 🍷

This is Fantastic, Thank you to all the senior members for your guidance and assistance @Gaurav @Rahimdad @Srikumar @Frederic Looking forward to all the new adventures to come along with the all learning curves. This has truly been only a pleasure! Cheers! Thanks @Wrangeld much appreciated.

@Colin Jordan since the first day you arrived and every drive since your boundelss enthusiasm and immense skill have brought you just rewards. It's great to have you on any drive and now knowing you'll be joining the more extreme adventures I am looking forward to seeing just how far this goies.