Srikumar

Thank you Fredy for an absolute Epic Drive. This drive was long awaited, but it was absolutely worth the wait. This drive was not your regular offroad drive, but rather a proper overlanding where the objective was to reach a destination. It was a test of your endurance and ability to keep focus through long durations. By the time the drive had ended, we had offroaded for 24 hours spread over 2 days in unchartered territory. For me, the first stretch on Day 1 and the last stretch on Day 2 were the real highlights of the entire drive. The powder soft sand on Day 1 tested all of us and made us remember the basics of how one should stop the car when the convoy is not moving and how to choose your lines. The last stretch on Day 2, was a brilliant fast paced driving through some tight rolling dunes. Fredy was clearly a man on a mission, as he was setting a blistering pace with all of us playing catchup. These kind of overlanding trips, gives us all the chance to appreciate Nature at its very best and also to spend some time chatting with your passengers as well as other drive participants. I could spend so much time talking with my copilot, Kabir and the so many stories that he had to share. Those were the priceless moments that I will always remember from this drive. To all the drive participants, you guys were superheroes and the reason we could achieve an astounding 500+ km of offroad driving. So inspiring was the drive, that Kabir brought out his photography skills to click a beautiful picture at the camp site of Day 1. I have attached a few more pics in the gallery.

Thanks Fredy for arranging this long awaited drive. I will be joining along with my co-pilot. Looking forward to a proper overlanding trip along with camping. Going to be exciting

Convoy Numbering Srikumar Juan Sohini RK Ram Shine fareed Deepak LKP Lucas Deepak Rashid Vaibhav Terence Anoop Zubair We shall be using Carnity Channel 3 tomorrow (446.056). See you at the meeting point tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM

Hi, the drive is on. I will be posting the convoy order later tonight.

@Shinebabu please confirm which 4x4 do you drive, whether your vehicle has tow points at the front and back. Do you have any previous offroading expereince? Please ensure that you go through the below video prior to coming for the drive : Hi Deepak, thanks for the introduction. Please ensure that you go through the below video before joining the drive

Noted. Will remove from Manage tab. If you wish to join you can select going

MUST READ AND COMPLY Offroad Flag Guideline Two Way Radio Guideline Off road Driving Etiquette's Emergency details for all off-roaders Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities Drive Details Level: Newbie and above When: 29 Jan 2023, Sunday. Meeting time: 7:30 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/m6B8FVm345UEGDySA Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 11:30 AM P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE Limited to 12 cars only. RSVP will close on Friday, 2 pm. If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list. Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR

All the convoys do plan to stop at a common midway point on Saturday evening where we will have a big bonfire. So please bring some wood. Regarding the food, we are all bringing something for ourselves and a bit more to share. Some would be ready to eat and some would have to be cooked at the camping spot.

Wonderful to know that you are perfectly fine and it's good news that the LC repair is not extensive. Look forward seeing you on the sand soon Zeddy. Take care

MOI is mainly for AD and northern Emirates who follow the federal system. This is a free service. Dubai system is separate. I believe this is a paid service.

Videos courtesy of @Imran Kashif @Tom B @Haitham Khattab @Foxtrot Oscar Srikumar

@Rob S here is your attempt at the Pajero bowl

Normally my trip reports are delayed, but such was the kind of drive today that even though it's almost 5 hours since the drive ended the emotions are running pretty high. So here it goes: The day started with everyone making it on time. After a couple of laughs and briefing we got on our way. It took me a while to get a feel of the sand and the wierd dune formation didn't help much as well. Just as the dunes started getting spaced out and the drive flow improving we had the first unfortunate incident. Such incidents does bring the morale of the entire convoy down especially so early in the drive, but such was the maturity of all the drive participants that everyone chipped in to help sort the issue. By the time we were able to return to the desert it was close to 1 pm, so we decided to head to the famous Pajero bowl by taking the dirt track. Such kind of bowls are always nested deep within the desert surrounded by technical patch. As we glided through the narrow corridors available we had our first good run of the day. Pajero bowl was a shadow of what it was 5 years ago, when the name was invented. The difficulty level has all but gone, but still one needs to be fully focussed and committed to get in and get out. Everyone took their turns with some setting a record pace within the bowl. 😂 After having a couple of attempts and with just 2.5 hours of time available we decided to head to the other bowls of the area. What we instead found was a jungle full of bushes and hard bumps that didn't allow for a smooth ride. As we dodged our way out of the big dune area we arrived at a stretch of medium size dunes. Medium is a relative word, as these dunes were probably taller than the ones in Sweihan. And this is where we had one of the best nonstop runs that I have had the privilege of being a part of. To say that the convoy maintained a brisk pace would be a gross understatement. I wish to thank all the drive participants for putting their faith and following the route being chartered. We drove for close to 40 mins before finally I had to stop to catch my breath and so did the rest of the convoy. A break always causes a couple of refusals and so we had it as well. But once the convoy again started moving we were flying through the dunes criss crossing at the highest points and at will. That's when we heard that @ASAD. car started over heating. On closer inspection we found that the radiator fan was completely shredded and was not there. After letting the car cool off, we had the huge challenge of getting his car from the huge patch of dunes into the sabkha. As the sun was about to set in 30 minutes we had a narrow window to get the convoy out. With some excellent coordination by @Waqas Parvez @Rob S and tugging by @Tom B we were able to get the car out to the sabkha. Also a big appreciation to everyone for chipping in and helping get Asad's car ready to handle atleast some sections where he needed to drive out by himself. The excellent teamwork ensured that we recovered the car and safely reached the tarmac by 6 PM. Thank you everyone for joining the drive and for your excellent participation to help overcome each obstacle that we faced today. And thanks once again for the one hour run that we had, that was truly special.

Convoy Numbering 1. SK 2. ASAD. 3. Imran Kashif 4. Haitham 5. Waqas Parvez 6. Tom B 7. Rob S 8. Varun 9. Anoop Nair 10. Foxtrot Oscar 11. Sunil Mathew 12. Zed We shall be using Carnity Channel 3. See you tomorrow morning.

Morning everyone. Just noticed that Google maps was acting up (again). So I have updated the meeting point mentioning the coordinates. The meeting point is next to the mosque I will be closing the RSVP by this evening and will then announce the convoy numbering. Please go through the important points once again. Most important is to keep your car as light as possible. It will help to exit the bowls on your own and will also help incase we need to pull you out. 😂 But dont compromise on your recovery gear. The last time I was there in Pajero Bowl, we needed all the ropes that we had to get the car out.

You could use either the ADNOC Wagan or ADNOC Al Qua. Both are open 24 hours. ADNOC Qua is a bit closer to the meeting point but you need to cross the meeting point and then return. Please ensure that your filled to the absolute brim. There is no CAFU service inside the Pajero Bowl

@Zed you would have the opportunity to re enact the entire scene this weekend where you can bring a black board and explain the entire geometry at site...

Drive Info Just to the north of Al Qua lies the wonderful virgin sands of Wagan that are famous for the massive stadium sized bowls and the infamous Pajero bowl. In this terrain, 360 degree bowls would be the nature of the game. This will be the ultimate test of driver and machine. You will be redlining the engine, and your car will still crave for more. So drivers, Start your engines!!! Important Points for all drive participants If this is your first IM drive, please think twice before joining. Keep your car as light as possible. This is not a drive to have passengers. There is no need to carry extra fuel Ensure that you are with a tank full to the brim at the meeting point The plan is to end the drive when we run out of fuel (so please dont keep any kind of other appointments for that day). Ensure that your car is in the best possible condition. Ensure that you conserve fuel by turning the engine off at every break, else fuel would be supplied at a premium. Bring some quick wrapped sandwiches or lunch to eat along the way. We request every member that joins this drive to go through the below information and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquettes and responsibilities. MUST READ AND COMPLY Offroad Flag Guideline Two Way Radio Guideline Off road Driving Etiquette's Emergency details for all off-roaders Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities Drive Details Level: Intermediate and above Meeting time: 08:00 AM Saturday (deflated and ready to move) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/HSDjVDShPXPdDsu58 (23.500105, 55.428638) Approximate finish time: When we run out of fuel Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Mandatory off-road gears: Tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, compressor, walkie-talkie radio, off-road flag, shovel, first-aid kit and fire extinguisher. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE This drive is limited to 10 cars only. If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP list. RSVP will close a day prior to preparing a convoy list. Latecomers will be returned back - Without any exceptions. Members without RSVP will be returned back - Without any exceptions. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR

Stay tuned. Something special is being planned for Jan

Reaching 10 mins. Mu number is 0559567471

Convoy Numbering 1. SK 2. Zulfikar 3. LKP 4. Ishak 5. Babaski 6. Marco 7. Vaibhav 8. Jerry 9. Juan 10. Benjamin 11. Nikola 12. Alphin 13. Mustafa 14. Andrew 15. Vanessa We shall be using Carnity Channel 3 (446.05625). See you at the meeting point at 7:00 AM

Yes the drive is still on. We probably would not have to deflate for tomorrow's drive, that's all. 😁