Rahimdad

I always got lucky and never regret any of my buys. My first car was a Handa Civic DX 1991 model manual everything, even glasses, no power stearing, no cry, loved it. My second one was a Mitsubishi Eclipse GSR4 1990 model with Turbo, manual and tuned by AMG,, AWD, my favorite most. Once I got married I had to sell it and buy a Toyota Echo in 2001 which I drove for 7 years, trouble free car and gave me a good resale value within no time of posting the ad. 2008 is when I wanted to go off-roading so bought myself a Jeep Commander 5.7 Hemi, what a beast and my first taste of American luxury and the Jeep off-roading DNA. 2011 I sold the 5.7 Hemi for a 3.9 V8 Land Rover Discovery 1998 model, British Luxury at its best. This is when I really learned to drive in the sands. 2011 also I bought a Renault Clio 2008 model which I loved but destroyed in 2009 with no insurance. 2012 I bought the Renault Megane, drive was fantastic, but I hate the dealership and they really hurt me bad, loved the car, hated the expense in maintaining it, lost loads on the resale value and that was the only bitter experience about the buy. 2016 my current R50 Nissan Pathfinder 2001 model, very basic, very capable.

How much did you enjoy your first drive? My first drive came after 6 months of reading all kinds of material on off-roading, although I knew exactly what was written in the books, everything seemed fresh to me and my first drive was fearful. What did you enjoy about the drive? I enjoyed learning from the experience, seeing everything I had read for 6 months come and present a challenge to me, I needed my peers to get through that first experience. Which part of the drive you think you enjoyed the best which you would like to repeat? I enjoyed the concept as a whole and wanted to learn more and more and got more comfortable with time, I enjoyed it so much I have been repeating the experience week after week for over 10 years now. Do you think there was a good mix of lecture and practical, was the lecture too long, and any part that can be avoided or done in a shorter or different way? Do you think anything else could be added to the lecture? I always felt that even if I knew what was to be done a driver's brief in the beginning helped revise the rules to be followed and gives you a sense of the day's proceedings and keeps you focused. Do you think prior reading material would help? It helped me to read everything about off-roading for 6 months, but nothing replicates the experience. Would you know where on the Carnity forum you would be able to find the information you are looking for? Although i know where to find the information, I am trying to index it in a way where it could be easier to find, any suggestions will be very helpful. Is there anything you think could be done in a better way? What I do is because I think it is the best way to learn, but I need constructive criticism to better myself. How do you suggest to make things better for the new comers? Any suggestions are most welcome, I am trying to do the best I can from my experience. How do you think you can progress within the current atmosphere and learning opportunities provided? I thank Carnity for this opportunity as there are many things I have learned from all my fellow off-roaders in the past one year.

With a 10 years experience in off-roading I have learned from my seniors to part the knowledge I have gained from them and from my experiences so that driving in the sands is a safer bet. I have always enjoyed coming across like minded people who want to learn and step up to learn and practice driving in the sands safely. In turn the best part is that I get to learn from all the newbies every time. As a part of this growth I would like my off-roading buddys to share their experience with me so I can get better at the sport I love and can offer a more competent and complete set of training. I have designed the below set of questions which would help everyone to share their experience in a structured way. You may copy and paste these questions to the reply page and type out your answers from your experience. I will start by sharing my experiences with all. How much did you enjoy your first drive? What did you enjoy about the drive? Which part of the drive you think you enjoyed the best which you would like to repeat? Do you think there was a good mix of lecture and practical, was the lecture too long, and any part that can be avoided or done in a shorter or different way? Do you think anything elese could be added to the lecture? Do you think prior reading material would help? Would you know where on the Carnity forum you would be able to find the information you are looking for? Is there anything you think could be done in a better way? How do you suggest to make things better for the new comers? How do you think you can progress within the current atmosphere and learning opportunities provided? Thank you all

Thank you Sertac for a first and most amazing drive. Talking about flavour, you bring it all buddy. I am sure everyone enjoyed and had an amazing time. We started a bit late, but for me its always the quality of the time spent rather than the quantity of time spent. It was well worth the wait. After a quick driver briefing and deflation we were off for the most amazing lead in a long time. Sertac, proud of you buddy, learning really fast. As we drove 1 dune over the other, we were joined by our very own Gaurav Bhai, and the fun continued. We even got a chance to play on our favourite set of dunes with some awesome side slopping, we could not stop as once was not enough and everyone wanted to better their performance from their previous try. We again headed toward the track and then took a deviation towards a nice shade to have our breakfast. By now I am sure we were all hungry, I certainly was famished. To our surprise Asif Bhai and his family had prepared a special treat in the form of a cake for Gaurav Bhai and Sohini Bhabhi's wedding anniversary. As we filled ourselves the time just ran ahead of us and we started packing up and heading out towards the mosque for the Friday prayers. In the rush to head for the prayers and some confusion we had a bit of a crash which ended up in a 2 day affair, a cast, a few X-rays and coming across some very rude authorities, but as always as a team we faced the challenges and ended up with all on the bright side. Until next time ride safe and catch you on the dunes.

Welcome @smartphreak,. Everybody has already said everything there is to be said. So looking forward to seeing you in the sands soon and like I say, you need to gel in with your car, just like your car needs to gel in with you and deliver you exactly what you need.

Execellent initiative Sertac. I'm in with full support. Congrats on posting your first drive.

Really interesting back story and impressive specs. It could go well over anything I can afford in a million years.

Its been a long awaited area we wanted to discover. But started with the first challenge, Gaurav Bhai had to fly off for company work, but he made sure I had a few coordinates so I had an idea where to start and a few advises on how to tackle any situations which come our way. You can never be prepared enough, as soon as we reached Asiff Bhai broke the news that the area we were planning to explore is a military zone and guards don't even let birds fly in that area. So we had to go to plan D. Thanks to Asif bhai's earlier drives to Naqra dunes, we were headed to Sweihan. It was a such a beautiful area that the first 15 minutes I just played on the dunes from one to the next, but with some guests in my car, they wanted me to take it easy. So the next half was halved in pace and everybody enjoyed and managed very well. But the very reason for one of my guests to vomit was the slowness of the pace as he had no time to be scared when we were at pace. This 12 kilometers for us lasted a good 35 kilometers. Upon reaching Naqra dunes it remined us of Big Red with so much crowd all rushing up and down. At this point we decided we were going to head behind the Naqra dune where we settled in for some light snacks and drinks.At this point I would like to thank Sertac who made me realize that I had lost my LED bar. So with Asif Bhai and my car and Sree behind me we back tracked to find it lying on the track. This part I would like to thank the eagle eyes of Asif Bhai which spotted the LED bar. after the recovery we went back to the waiting party and exited on time to be on the road by 7pm. What a team and what a day out, I must admit that getting the LED bar back was a big relief as it was gifted with a lot of love and heart by my brother. and he was the only reason this trip feels a little incomplete. With a promise to definitely return to the area with a lot more to discover and play, I bid you adieu.

In outer space everything looks peaceful and amazing.

Talking about McLaren my favorite F1 driver was Nigel Mansel. He used to drive the Malboro red and white Honda McLaren. He once came to the Honda showroom in Deira back in the late 80s. My brother is quite an artist and he had painted the F1 Marlboro McLaren. When he was initialling and giving everybody his posters, he put his complete sign on my brother's drawing. We spend a good 10 minutes chatting with him. I still admire him.

Wow are these the TRD versions?

Depends on luck. I have loads of abandoned cars lying around for ages and they picked my car as abandoned car when I went on a 3 weeks leave.

I have been waiting for this area forever. In in with full support.

Not only Pajero, majority of the plastic pigs nowadays have these low overhangs with designed which look ugly after the actually go off-road. Another flaw for your model Paid to is the gear upshifting automatically in manual mode. Who ever thought of that and whatever reason they have for that.

God bless us all. We want to walk together hand in hand.

Thanks for sharing your views Vinod and Gaurav bhai, it's always good to see things from a different point of view.

Thank you for this honour and I really feel at home with Carnity. Like everyone would try to better his or her home to come back to, I too make suggestions which might or might not help. I am humbled to being heard every time and it not only feels good to see my idea come to life but also being appreciated publicly. Many people make contributions in their own way to make Carnity what it is today, a wealth of knowledge preserved for any body who would like to use it to their advantage. Thank you Carnity for giving us the opportunity and thank you to each and every friend I have made in Carnity who encourage me to make my home a better place.

Truly its been a while since |I have been in Al Awir and it seemed a bit new to me on entrance, but once we were passed a few new roads and villas it was the same simple desert place I was used to with the usual tracks. It is perfect place to introduce Newbies to the sands and gain their confidence as mostly tracks passing through quite a scenic desert. All for the exception of a few dunes with some soft sands that needs precise navigation. From what I saw I was impressed that all the newbies did very well and more pleasing is the more seasoned ones who kept the patience in such a terrain and kept the convoy moving at an amazing pace. We had a little niggle with one of the vehicles 4WD selector shift, after going under the car also we were not able to figure out where the linkage was under the vehicle. Luckily with 4 low the car was not immobilized and he kept the convoy moving and helped in any way he could to keep the convoy safe and steady. At one time we found tracks and were moving at a very good pace when a fence presented itself, keen eyes of Asif and Gaurav bhai spotted a track that lead to a break in the fence and we were out. Yet the center barrier on the road kept us from crossing over. So we started driving towards an underpass that would give us access to the other side. Soon we came to a spot with a gap in the barrier which was sealed with some cones and plastic barriers with sand filled in them, they were difficult to move, but with some team effort we were able to make way and soon we found ourselves on the other side. With about 23 Kms to reach Fossil Rocks I followed Gaurav Bhai's advise to follow a path and made it a good 10 Kms in about 15 minutes, but just than we got into a dune with really soft sand and all but one vehicle got stuck in a very bad way. slowly but surely we got it out of the situation and by that time it was too late and the sun had already started to set. With natural light still left and everybody feeling hungry we stopped over for some snacks and drinks. By the time we finished our little picnic it was time to pack up and leave. By this time it was dark and everybody with their night lights had the covers off and ready to go. Keeping in mind the safety of everyone we had a short driver's brief to make them aware of what to expect in the dark and we were off. Luckily we found a track that took us out on Mahafiz Road and we were headed to the closest Adnoc pump. Technical help arrived soon at the pump in the shape of Saleem with his handyman to sort out the effected vehicle, around midnight we were sorted out and on our way back home. Special thanks goes out to everyone who participated with full enthusiasm and delicious food, 8 cars, but we missed Basel. Until next time this is your host Rahimdad signing off.

Hi @annabelsmith, glad to have you on board, enjoy your time at your very own forum to discuss and ask anything about cars.

What a year we have had at Carnity with some amazing drives and memories to cherish. But once the sand bug has bitten you, you just can't stay away from all the action. Eventually we all want to learn and explore more. As I was contemplating the area we should use as we already covered Maliha, Kalba, Tawi Nazwa, Bidayer where new can we take our newbies and Fewbies this time. After a lot of thinking it is the one area we have not touched on the whole of last year, Al Awir. So everyone of all levels is most welcome to join to enjoy some small to medium dunes and polish their skills in this easy area. Newbies and Fewbies will have great chance to see and learn the real fun that off-roading offers in a very safe and organized environment. Level May be changed upon convoy level. When: 2 February 2018 Meeting time: 1230 pm, convoy will move about 1 pm Where: Mosque right after the Am Awir Roundabout GPS Coordinate: BAB AL RAYHAN CAFETERIA Dubai-Hatta Rd - Dubai 050 169 6365 https://goo.gl/maps/R8r3egqV8E12 Level of drive: Newbie - Fewbie - All are welcome Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 10 inches of ground clearance. Plan: Drive, train and enjoy till about 7 pm What to bring along: Loads of snacks, plenty of water - whatever you like with little extra to share, water, liquids, smiles, stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 7 pm Please RSVP on below calendar

Truly amazing day out. Nice cool morning with fog, just delayed us a bit but we got to try out something new. With the keys locked inside the car it took some really exceptional cordination with blind faith and amazing guidance to unlock the car with basic tools and a flag pole. Once we unlocked the car and deflated it was time to head in. With still some fog around visibility was not that great but the convoy was very deciplined and kept a good distance to navigate the dunes well. Due to the moisture it felt like I was driving in mud, where sand was sort on top it was wet inside and when it was moist on top it was soft inside. This made driving a little bit challenging in that area. At one point I got a glimpse of Asif bhai driving on some virgin dunes, but by the time it was my turn it has to be muddy conditions. Yet another drive with zero stucks, well lead Asif bhai. As the fog lifted conditions became better and we were all enjoying ourselves heading to the Iftaar Bowl. All cars reached the top and we played around for some time before we headed down in search for a spot to start our snack come breakfast session. There was a nice spot close to Iftaar Bowl but away from all the action. We settled in and we had so much food to go. So Camilla the last camel as shown in the video and pics decided to help us finish what we had got and joined us for breakfast. After several failed attempts to shu her away our hero for the day Asif bhai showed us one more way to use the flag pole. Sucessfully Camilla was guided away as we finished our breakfast session and started to pack up. At this point I had to say goodbye and was soon on my way back home due to an afternoon commitment. It was fun because of the people in the trip, the terrain, the weather, the challenges faced and overcome, but nothing would have summed up the trip better than having Camilla over for breakfast. Until next time Adios Amigos.

What a wonderful area to select. Really an amazing area that requires a lot of patience and concentration. I'm thrilled for this drive. In in with full support as well.

Love it, just way beyond my budget.