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What a day, what a wonderful day!! These are the kind of days that's makes you realize why we all love this sport so much. Pushing the cars and drivers to the limit, and enjoying the success of each convoy member as they scale higher up the dunes. And for me there was no better way to enjoy this day than to have the company of @Frederic and @Gaurav. The fact that we have been together on an IM drive after 2.5 years, just made it even more special. Thank you guys for signing up. @GauravSoni you are a real brave heart. When I made the call to him on Thursday to share the lead at Qua, he simply said 'Oh Yes'. You lost your phone just at the start of the drive, something can put many Leads mind off, but you stuck to it and pulled off an amazing Lead. Well done. About our convoy members @Amr Aydin @ASAD. @Waqas Parvez @Vaibhav and @JeromeFJ you were the true superstars, cause you were able to maintain the very fine line of driving at the limit without going over it. And the reason why we had a successful adrenaline pumping drive. As the drive post said, the drive ended only when we started running out of fuel. As we took the sabkha for the final stretch to reach Y60 hill, the fatigue of the entire day finally kicked in. But we had one final challenge, to get to the top of Y60 hill. Since it's impossible to do it with our stock cars, a few of us made the balance climb to the top on foot. The achievement of standing on the tallest dune for miles was truly special. FInally, I can't end this with out showing my huge appreciation and gratitude to my mentor and brother @Gaurav for teaching me everything I know in this beautiful sport. From route planning to execution and to be my SL was a true privilege. P.S. That's why I let you take the Pajero Bowl 2 first. You have to believe me when I say this, that it was out of pure respect. 🤣

Well.... where do we start ? - From the search and rescue mission and archeological excavations in trying to find a lost phone ? - From the two convoys that each went its on way but made it back out safely due to two fantastic leads ? - From the intense day of driving on the edge of our seats with big wide smiles ? While a couple of years back we only had a handful of crazy ones that would sacrifice an entire day to go goofing around in Abu Dhabi, we have now plenty drivers that sign up for this madness and carry a big smile while doing so. I am so immensely proud to see where the club has progressed to, and also curious to see where it will take us in the future. The dedication of our marshals and experts and their willingness to venture out and spread their wings is what makes them true trailblazers in my opinion. from @M.Seidam his drives the last couple of weeks, the pressure has been steadily brought up for our Intermediates and they were totally ready for this next level terrain and it showed ! I had @Gaurav and @Srikumar driving right in front of me. Two of my brothers who taught me nearly everything about offroading, and it was an immense joy to push old Kermit to the rev limiter every time to try to keep up with these legends. The guys behind me soaked up every little challenge with aplomb, from @Amr Aydin putting down exquisite lines, @ASAD. @Waqas Parvez @Vaibhav showcasing their massive experience that brought them to this level, all the while executing every challenge with a clear mind, which is THE MOST important thing when driving on this level and even more so in this terrain. @JeromeFJ was the one who kept an eagle eye over our convoy and we could not have gotten a better watchman to keep us all in check About the drive itself... well this was indeed the drive that allowed us to drive the snot out of our cars, but safely and under the guidance of the real masters at their game @Gaurav and @Srikumar I am not yet in the state of mind to recollect every bowl we flew through, and perhaps this is maybe for the best See you all in the sands very soon again ! (after a car wash perhaps)...

Our day started with @Gaurav becoming Gouthama! Happy Sunday. More to follow...looking forward to the videos from Sreekumar's drive...

Any member in @Carnity will tell you why people line up for drives with the 3 big marshals @Srikumar @Frederic & @Gaurav, thats not just because the drives are enjoyable but theres so much to learn. To have all three of them in the same drive is a rarity for sure but its also the ultimate pinnacle of off-roading experience, knowledge and skill that one can hope to drive with in this club. I just happened to be one of those lucky ones who fell in the same convoy and boy I can tell you I had the experience of my life. Cant thank enough to all three of you for the guidance but especially @Srikumar for the amazing route and drive. It felt like there wasn't a bowl or a climb we had missed so much so that by the time we reached our final destination the Y-60 Hill, no one had the energy left to try the climbs. It was only after @Frederic ventured to the top from one of sides that we all followed for a truly memorable end to the drive. @Amr Aydin you were amazing today, didnt feel one bit that this was only your 3rd intermediate drive. The lines you took really helped me make those climbs. My friends @Waqas Parvez & @Vaibhav I dont need to even tell you what great drivers you already are, we started our journey in a convoy on AlAin road more or less in the same order 😃, joined our marshals convoy on the way and back with our hearts fully content and minds still in Al Quaa. We will all be waiting for those amazing videos off your cameras. @JeromeFJ just a fantastic job at the back being sweep, im sure the sand was mighty churned up by the time it was your turn but not a single wrong foot from you. In the end, it would be unfair not to thank @GauravSoni for choosing to lead the 2nd convoy making sure all the wait listers got accommodated. That you still chose to lead even after losing your phone before the drive started, just goes on to show your commitment & leadership. From the chat I had with guys in the other convoy, it was clear they had an equally amazing time in your lead. Congrats on your first lead in Quaa, and im sure many more to come which i will be glad to join. See you all soon my friends!

Convoy moving! All well at the back. Let me start by thanking @Srikumar and @Carnity crew for their decision to accept the waitlist, giving us all the opportunity to enjoy a fantastic drive and day at Al Qua. A big thank you to @GauravSoni for taking the lead and of course to @Looper, @Rizwanm2 and @Zixuan Huang - Charlie for keeping the convoy safe from start to end. Our convoy was joined by @Chris Wing, @Gok Krish and @Imran Kashif, a great group of drivers with whom we all enjoyed the wonderful terrain Al Qua offers to offroaders, be it climbs, bowls or starfish dunes. It was not difficult to hear over the radio a request to go around a bowl or up a climb once more. It was pure fun and adrenaline rush. According to my GPS tracking this was the highest I climbed in Y60 Hill , the faint bluish-teal line is how high I went during @Gaurav's drive on 29-Jan-22. The difference? went farther to gain more momentum The drive was intense, specially when we tried to exit the last bowl, "720 Bowl" @GauravSoni?, so towards the end even though fuel was still plenty, our energy tanks were almost empty but souls fulfilled with the joy and camaraderie amongst us. Perhaps, for an all day drive I will for sure plan to camp at its end . As usual, it was a pleasure to drive with all of you and hope to see you all soon. In the meantime, have a great week ahead.

I can sense truly the feelings in between your honest words Fredy. Despite I would consider my self relatively new here but in two years and a half I have witnessed how this community has progressed . Only few like minded off-roaders have embraced the desert with love as part of their life which can’t be separated. I am so glad and happy to be on board of this ship helping and assisting its crew to explore the unknown , always!

When you’ve driven at the more extreme levels, it can seem counter-intuitive to want to spend time in Newbie drives. Where intermediate drivers are more sure-footed with their choices (not always), newbies are still experimenting with what works best. But, I can say this with absolute certainty that 70 drives later, I’m still learning and honing my skills. I made mistakes yesterday that I’m not proud of, but I live to tell the tale and to learn from them. And my note to all is that you too will make similar errors in drives to come. If you are not getting stuck, you’re not pushing hard enough. A stuck-free drive was either too boring or too safe. And yesterday was none of those things. It was a recovery experience. I won’t bog down this post with details on the distance that we drove or the heights that we scaled, or the depths that we dove into. We have statisticians here who do that much better than I do, and we had enough real bog-downs that the stats pale in comparison. I enjoy coming to newbie drives to meet the new faces entering Carnity, and the wide-eyed smiles of awe that are formed as drivers push their machines and themselves to their current limits. These limits will push out even further over time. And watching that evolution takes me back to my first drives. You know that feeling you get when you hear a song (you end up falling in love with) for the first time? And then you spend your life hoping to get it back, only for it to return when you experience your next new song. Being on newbie drives helps me chase that feeling by seeing it on others, and it’s so glorious to watch unfold. From children tapping away excitedly to music in the cabin, seeing their parents totally owning their machines, to friends seeing friends do things they hadn’t seen before, to just the self-realisation that I too can do this; makes ever foray like this out such a treat to be a part of. But, it’s easy to have fun when the cars are rolling along. It is really though in the moments when you’re completely at standstill, recovering four cars that you begin to see the cracks in a convoy. It is here that your true mettle as members of this community really shone through. Please know that your unwavering support and patience only empowered @Vanessa8580, @Rob S, @Simon Dawood and myself. For all of that, and much more, thank you all. See you all out on the sands soon. [ 🐵 ]

Simply the best drive I ve had so far ! Atho we paid a little tribute for it at the start Despite some little annoying occurrences just after we started moving (GauravSoni's Engine issue, Rizwan's coolant hose blown, my Pathfinder's starter not wiling to work unless Rizwan approached), we genuinely had a wonderful time in Quaa bowls, that my boring way back home isnt so boring (My mind was still in the Quaa bowls) Thanks @GauravSoni for leading us in Quaa, cant thank you more for where you taking us and guidance and encouragement. and @Looper @Rizwanm2 for brilliant support and leadership along the way as well, @Mario Cornejo for being the extremely clean sweep! and the fellow drivers @Gok Krish @Imran Kashif @Chris Wing for performance, and support wherever needed. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rnzPBlZv8iNunPO50zS1dLBwzMU-FPlV?usp=sharing here are few videos I took for @Rizwanm2 @Mario Cornejoand @Imran Kashif, couldnt take for all of you cuz my phone got overheated.

That's the reason why he had to let go off all the worldly things like an iPhone 😂

DriviDriving 300 km was worth every kilometer we traveled; it was definitely one of the best drives of my life and will undoubtedly be remembered forever. @Srikumar you made sure you carried out the plan to its perfection; this would not have been possible without the experties of @Gaurav and @Frederic your participation in the drive gave me a lot of confidence and you were always encouraging and guiding: In particular, the slip face bowl, we were like kids screaming on the radio and going crazy climbing bowl after bowl and high speed switching all under control pace with lotssss of fun. This would have not been achieved without the remarkable convoy we had @Amr Aydin @Vaibhav @ASAD. and @JeromeFJ watching our back. In the coming week i will be sharing the google drive link with all the superb vidoes.

Everyone has summed up everything I would like to say but most important is the Laughs , Teamwork and the safety for the drive we followed was top notch. @Srikumar @Gaurav @Frederic @GauravSoni @JeromeFJ @Rizwanm2 @Looper your experience made this drive really special and memorable. It was good meeting @Gok Krish @Imran Kashif @Zixuan Huang - Charlie @Mario Cornejo @Chris Wing though not in the same group of mine but reading the comments seems you guys equally enjoyed the drive as us. @Amr Aydin @ASAD. and @Waqas Parvezyou guys drove superb. Though it was a challenging terrain we completed without any tugs and just a minor 2 or 3 refusals. Hope to see you all soon on sand again!

Nice click @Gok Krish I hope you have the camping pictures also

What an amazing drive thank you all for the great day @Srikumar@Gaurav@Frederic for all the effort in the front. @ASAD.@Waqas Parvez@Vaibhav and @JeromeFJ at the back. I felt really good to be in the middle and well taken care off as the newbie intermediate in this convoy in such a challenging yet amazing fun terrain. Thank you @GauravSoni for taking the lead on the other convoy and make this mesmerizing drive possible to the WL. see you all on the sand.

Hello everyone, thankyou for your assistance during my tire pop out. It was a good learning experience. Appreciate everyone's team work. Thankyou @Vanessa8580 as well as all support team. It was a nice drive.

Evening everyone, It was lovely being able to go out with a group again after so long. Thanks to @Vanessa8580 and the rest of the Carnity team for fun drive and enjoyable experience. As @munkybizness mentions, mistakes can and always be made by all regardless of their amount of drives. It always acts as a learning experience and should never be something to be ashamed of, especially with how well you guys worked together to recovery the four vehicles and get us all moving again. Again, thanks for the drive and I hope to join you all again for some more fun.

Thank you @Hisham Masaadfor a very nice relaxed drive, its good to drive with you again. Thank you @Fabien Monleau for your appreciated iated support. To the rest if the convoy, great driving. 👍 and look forward to seeing you all soon. Regards,

What a drive….ups and downs , fast and slow sections, shovels , tugs and pop outs … If a drive was a movie , this was Forest Gump… “life is like a box of chocolates “ and all that. This drive also highlighted the importance of being prepared for the unexpected, always bring extra water , good boots for the sand and a decent hat. Thanks to @Vanessa8580 the support team for leading with such great camaraderie

@Ahmad Nerat good to know you will be back in the dunes soon, thanks for the lovely Arabic coffee yesterday, it was a good start to the day.

What a nice drive.. many thx to @Vanessa8580 and the support team. For the efforts and everything.. If u ask about my car, my landcrusier is ok and in perfect mechanical status. I doubled checked it with my frd he is mechanic. Its just some fixes to front pumber and hopefully by end of tomorrow it will be back to business again with another shiny pumber 🥳🥳. Waiting for the next challenge. It was my pleasure driving with all of you BR, Ahmad

Wish you all a lucky people Fantastic drive. Cant express how much FOMO I have right now and cant wait for another one , Epic Drives like this should be released atleast 2 weeks earlier pls🙏🏼🙏🏼, is all I can sincerely request😅...am sure long MANY would agree to make sure ppl like me dont take up other commitments😂!