Rahimdad

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.

X trail smallest brother, X terra midium brother, pathfinder big brother. All look same, just side differs.

As we say in Hindi... Vat lag gal. Meaning were screwed

After the thrills of the Wagan sands last Friday it's time to have a relaxed newbie to feeble drive in our much-loved sandbox - Maliha - Fossil rock. Looking forward to an easy relaxing drive for everyone with plenty of opportunities to learn and grow, hill climb, and ridge riding. 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: 19 January 2018 Meeting time: 0630 am, convoy will move about 7 am Where: Adnoc Petrol Station Maleha Road GPS Coordinate: https://goo.gl/maps/mzb26kxzte72 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 11 am 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: 11 am Please RSVP on below calendar

For the first time in forever I do not have the words or even where to start. Whether it was the excitement of getting up early on a weekend, or the preparation, or the jorney to get there, or the warm hugs before the drive to invigorate us, the deflation, the immaculate planning and execution of the plans, or being awe struck at every turn, this drive had it all. Leaving the boring stuff out we just loved every moment from the time we stepped into the soft stuff. The best part was one of the farmers walked up to us at deflation point to ask us if we were OK and if he could help in any way. Wow, perfect start. Even though we were just deflating and planning but the huge heart for him to walk over and offer his help started my trip on the perfect note. For the first few kilometers Gaurav bhai was being cautious and driving us from one end to the next to cross over to the other side safely, but after the first half an hour he decided we would have to go against the slip face a few times if we wanted to be on schedule. As we covered the slip faces the depth and the beauty of the desert left us wanting more. About mid day we stopped to evaluate our plan for Friday prayers, we came out, offered our prayers and had a lot of good options for lunch, so we saved some for dinner. After prayers we could not wait to go back in and a slightly different route and some persuasion to open the fence have us quick access to where we left off. Of we had fun in the morning we were in for a huge surprise For the second half. As we drive deeper we came across some huge virgin dunes which quickly became our playground. The best thing was as soon as we left one we would drive into the next huge clean play area. It was like having Big Red, Faya, Iftar Bowl, Fossil Rock and Pink Rocks all one behind the other. Which ever way we chose we were only blessed by the best. As the sun was coming down we raced to the sand pyramids only to find a fence, but the day was so good to us that Asif bhai was standing right on the track with the break in the fence. We quickly drive to it and took some pics to our hearts content. With very little light left we headed back out, had the leftover lunch as our dinner and eventually inflated and drive back to our homes. I have tried my level best to give a feel of the drive and I'm sure Gaurav bhai will post his trademark videos, but nothing beats the feeling of being there and experiencing it first hand. Thank you to Asif bhai and Sri for starting the Wagan craze, to Gaurav bhai for the excellent lead, to Sri for being a huge helping hand with the sweep duties, to Saleem for pushing us to our boundries, to Mujtaba for his participation. It was indeed an awesome day out with some out of this world people. Until next time signing off. BTW for 36 hours I felt I was climbing a dune even when I was trying to sleep.

Thanks for correcting me Barry. When I visited the Toyota showroom here in the end of 1985 I had spotted a Toyota Celica and this Supra, could have been the launch of the 86 model. Before that I used to think Celica Supra was 1 model, after visiting the showroom all these years I thought Celica and Supra were always 2 separate models with Celica being the 4 cylinder sports car and Supra was the 6 cylinder monster with twin turbo that could give head to the Skyline.

I Will join in the morning.

Yes pre 2014 have an upshot when reaching 6000 rpm even if you're in 1st gear it will shift to 2nd causing power loss and loss of momentum which is crucial in the desert, they reprogrammed the PCMs in 2014.

For the first time in UAE I saw a Ford F150 cargo bed covered with a hard top. I have seen so many in the far east, but my first spot of this in UAE.

Today morning while driving to work I spotted a 1985 Toyota Supra and a very acceptable condition.

Thanks Sketch for a comprehensive write up and allowing us to share with you our choice as per our experience. As my friend once told me, buy expensive and cry once or buy cheap and have to cry time and time again. We are in the middle of off-road season and people always tend to sell at a higher price during the season. My experience says even if you go for older but once you have a 4.0 6 cylinder Prado you will never regret it and it hardly looses its resale value. Pathfinder classic box shape 4.0 V6 and Pajero 3.8 are good choices but need a few mods to improve the ride height and approach and departure angles. With Pathfinder you should look for 2010 and beyond, and with Pajero 2014 and above. Hope this helps.

After such a brilliant video from Gaurav bhai, my words might not strike a cord, but here goes. It was a nice cool afternoon and after offering my Friday prayers I headed straight to Tawi Nizwa shops. As soon as the head count was completed we head to the deflation point. Thank you Gaurav bhai for trusting me with the lead. So we had the driver's briefing which seemed effective with healthy 2 way discussions. It was a pleasure to see Emmanuel and Ishaq as our new comers and Richard for his second time but this time in his Disco 1. It brought back a lot of good old memories as I had one for 5 years. We started easy and everybody managed well, so we picked up the level gradually till we reached the play area on Pink Rocks. Everybody experienced had a good time testing their rides, while the newbies picked on some nice tips and tricks. We than headed to the other side teaching the sunset point within no time. Upon the question being asked whether they wanted to stop for snake or later, unanimously agreed to leave snacks right to the end, so was the enthusiasm of the group. So we descended from the sunset point only to hit some high dunes on the way to Big Red. It was not that easy a terrain but I tried keeping it as simple as I could. I was surprised that everybody managed so well with the help of Sree and Gaurav in the sweep. I must admit, without the confidence of having a capable sweep team I could not have lead the way I did. As we reached the Big Red I safely negotiated the convoy from the back of Big Red to the front where all the action was taking place. While Gaurav bhai was racing to the top of Big Red to get some awesome clicks, we settled in and laid the snacks and drinks on the table. After all the sights and sounds of a truly live place and filled with some awesome snacks, we headed to the inflation spot and headed back out. It was special moment as we voted for the best newbie and Ishaq ended up winning after a close fight. It was a well organized drive and my first time to have Saleem as my second lead and Sartac keeping the convoy together in the middle. Well done everyone and till next time I bid you farewell.

Where are the newbies?

Perfect opportunity as we are having an absolute newbie training this week. Just join the off-road club and join the absolute newbie drive this Friday afternoon. Link posted below.

I'm in with full support.

Denali is in a class of its own. I'm sure the engine and gearbox are great, but not to sure about maintenance cost. Alternate could be a Range Rover, BMW X5, Porsche cayenne.

Taking about Lexus IS350 or Nissan Z 350?