Frederic

Hi @Christian Andras welcome to Carnity Off-road Club ! Please share with us the following info: - Which 4x4 are you driving ? - Any prior off-road experience? - Is the vehicle equipped with tow hooks on the front and back and are they in perfect condition? About the radio it is not mandatory for your first drive as we can give you a spare one, only from second drive onwards you’ll need to obtain your own radio. Please also confirm that you’ve seen the briefing video, and will comply with the Covid precautions by clicking the “totally agree” emoji in that post. Do not hesitate to post your questions here, we will help you out. Hi @Magellan Please note that this drive is reserved for Absolute newbies only. As you’ve been driving with us before please book into one of the available newbie drives. Thanks !

He will join with his own car or be your passenger ?

Hope you can make it

That car is a fantastic bullet. But good luck trying to find one. 2 years back when i just entered the club, one of my colleagues left Dubai and went back to his home country and sold his Prado SWB VX in IMMACULATE condition. He hardly drove it and it was always parked in a basement. I remember he kept telling me that locals on SZ road were honking at him and asking if it was for sale, but he never understood why that car was so attractive. Anyways, he sold it one day, and i only realized months later how capable that car was...

Hi @Mukundan Nair welcome to Carnity ! For your first drive with us, the main requirement is making sure the hooks are in perfect condition, so we can recover you safely in case you get stuck. If you can arrange a radio and flag by Friday that would be great, and a tool to deflate your tyres. Apart from that, please go through the original drive post with the Newbie video briefing, the link with Covid19 precautions, and click on the "totally agreed" emoji to confirm that you agree with the precautions. Which member is your friend ?

Hi @Sreejith Sreenivasan Welcome to Carnity Offroad Club ! With regards to the radio, they are available in Dragon Mart and we recommend either Motorola/Crony MT-777 (130-150AED) or the Baofeng UV5-R (75AED). Both work well. How to program them to our Carnity frequencies is explained in below advice: For your car details, you can just reply on my message: 1) Which 4x4 ? 2) Any prior offroading experience ? 3) Are the towhooks front and back in perfect condition ?

While offroading, we cross dunes by using different methods, based on how the dune is formed and what the drive level is. Once you have spent some time in the desert, you will slowly start to pay more attention to the dune formations and how we cross them. Once you reach Intermediate and Advance level, you'll need to start learning how to read these dunes in order to navigate and create your planned routes in the desert. As a rule of thumb, the prevailing wind in UAE is blowing from a North-Western direction to South-East direction from 10AM onwards. At night and in early morning it will be reversed and blow from the South-East to North-West. This is something you should remember and you will notice when you zoom into certain areas with your navigation app (Google Maps, Gaia, MotionX, Mytrails,...) you will notice that the wind from that side has caused the dunes to take on their shape. This is a general rule and will not always apply, as you will see that in certain areas where wind is coming from different directions, you will see for example "star" dunes appearing. There are different types of dunes which are separately described below. As you can see in below picture, a dune is formed when the prevailing wind blows on a mound of sand, where the grain will move into the wind direction and create a ridge. The sand which falls on the other side of the ridge, creates a slipface, and this sand is not compacted by the wind. This is the main reason why we generally drive on the prevailing wind side or the convex side of the dunes on the Newbie level. "A dune is a curiously dynamic creature," wrote Farouk El-Baz in National Geographic. “Once formed, a dune can grow. It can change shape and move with the wind. It can even breed new dunes. Some of these offspring may be carried on the back of the mother dune. Others are born and race downwind, outpacing their parents. [Source: Farouk El-Baz, National Geographic, February 1982] The shape of dunes is affected by things like the strength, direction and consistency of the winds; the consistency and amount of sand; the hardness of the terrain and the amount of vegetation. Below we will describe the most common dunes found in the UAE. Different Dunes Crescent or Barchan Dune This is the most common dune. It forms the shape of a crescent moon when the wind blows from one direction. We generally use the words concave and convex to describe both sides of the dune: * Concave is a shape that curves inwards. * Convex is a shape that curves outwards. Crescent-shaped mounds generally are wider than long. On the concave side you will have the slipface. These dunes form under winds that blow from one direction, and they also are known as barchans. Parabolic Dune A parabolic dune is similar in shape to a barchan, but it is just the opposite. The tips of this dune point into the wind, and its main body migrates with the wind, forming a depression between the tips. Because of this formation, parabolic dunes are also known as blowout dunes. These dunes often occur when vegetation stabilizes sediments and a U-shaped blowout forms between clumps of plants. Example of Parabolic dunes near Faya: https://goo.gl/maps/ob8xu3y8VJJvF6hk8 Longitudinal or "Seif" Dunes They are also often referred to to as "sand ridges" or "seifs". Their length can range from a few meters to many kilometers and their height from a couple meters high to a couple hundred meters high. Wind pushes the sand and forms ridges parallel to the prevailing wind direction with slip faces either side of the crest. Linear dunes are straight or slightly sinuous sand ridges typically much longer than they are wide. They may be more than 160 kilometers long. Linear dunes may occur as isolated ridges, but they generally form sets of parallel ridges separated by miles of sand, gravel, or rocky interdune corridors. Some linear dunes merge to form Y-shaped compound dunes. Many form in bidirectional wind regimes. The long axes of these dunes extend in the resultant direction of sand movement. Barchanoid Dunes These ridges are similar to Barchan dunes. They are connected in long crescentic waves as the sand supply is much greater than that which forms a Barchan Dune. Star Dunes These dunes are formed when there are several prevailing wind directions - there is a complex wind regime. Typically there are three or more slip faces, whilst the dunes do not migrate they grow in height. Star dunes are radially-symmetrical, spyramidal sand mounds with slipfaces on three or more arms that radiate from the high center of the mound. They are created when the winds blow equally from every direction, causing the sand dune to grow many extensions and resemble a star. They are rare and are fairly stable and remain in the same place. Some are landmarks with names. Example of a Star dune: https://goo.gl/maps/jRnYghQc8ACzVz6T7 With this knowledge, the next time you step into the desert, you can start looking at the different dune formations, and this will give you lots of knowledge that you'll be able to apply in the future when leading and navigating off-road drives.

Gefeliciteerd ! Under the skilled wings of @Asif Hussain you’ll be reaching new heights soon !

You’ve left the Hummer behind and see what happens now !? Hahahahaha just kidding buddy well deserved, you’re a genuine asset to any drive ! See you soon with a shovel in your hands 😆

Super deserved ! Well done!!

Hi @Incognitoes @marks this is a drive specifically designed for Absolute Newbies. As you have done some drives with us before I’d like to ask you to book into another drive. Thanks.

No luck with the Nativa ? What's the status ? @Emmanuel drives the basic Xterra and it goes everywhere. Adding a cruise control is not easy, and i am personally not a fan of the aftermarket stuff for obvious safety reasons. Adding a rear difflock is a Nice To Have option for self-recovery. You can get ARB lockers but honestly you can perfectly go offroad without rear difflock. I would keep the extra money and spend it on good tyres, proper maintenance, and offroad gear such as compressor, ropes, shackles, etc... (or even maybe a winch ). I have a RD on my little Pajero, but not on the big Pajero vanessa is driving. Which is a mystery because it is the 3.8 Gold Edition model and virtually all Pajero 3.8 have the RD. I was told this car was a Oman or Qatar import, but not sure about that.

It might buff out with some Turtle Wax.

Good point about the Manual FJ Cruiser. I have seen them during my time in Saudi but i dont know if the gearbox ratios are good for the typical offroading style we have. They are cheaper and is good thing to consider. Do not forget the FJ cruisers Achilles' Heel: which is lack of visibilty all around, and lots of dead corners @Ale Vallecchi has complained about this before. I would go for a slightly older Xterra with the simple reason that you can probably easily find one which has never been offroad. Xterra is often used as mall crawler or commute to school vehice, so those are clean examples.

Amazing video !!

What a fantastic drive report and seeing Vanessa coming home with a smile after such a great drive means your preparation and planning really paid off !

Join us in exploring the Al Qudra Desert to see what's beyond the lakes, and learn the art of offroading at the same time ! This area is a very versatile playground for Absolute Newbies on their first offroad adventure. If you have already driven in sand before, then you can learn more from experts having decades of off-roading experience in the UAE. This area offers a good mix of playable long set of dunes and broad ridges to test your off-road control. Drive is open for all 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD vehicle having 8-10 inches of ground clearance and front and rear tow hooks. You can bring your family, friends and kids, but if you are absolute new to sand offroading we advise you to drive alone first to learn off-roading without any distractions. What you'll learn: Introduction to off-roading Desert driving basics and etiquette Desert driving tips, techniques, myth and best practices Off-road and safety gear familiarization and recovery procedures Vehicle orientation, risk analysis, deflation and outdoor safety advice First time with Carnity Off-road Club: Please share your vehicle details - Make, Model, Year. Do you have any prior off-road experience? Confirm your vehicle has front and rear tow hooks / eyelets. Why should i join? We will teach you how to self-drive off-road safely and learn the best offroad driving and recovery techniques. If you have already driven in sand before then you can learn more from experts having decades of offroading experience in the UAE. This area offers a good mix of playable long set of dunes and broad ridge to test your off-road control. Can my vehicle do this ? This drive is open for all 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD vehicle having 8-10 inches of ground clearance and front and rear tow hooks. If in doubt please first announce your questions on the drive thread so we can advise you further. Any stock 4x4/4WD are most welcome, you don't need any modified vehicle. Can i bring passengers ? Yes of course, but if you are absolute new to offroading it is better to drive alone first to avoid any distractions. STRICTLY: For ABSOLUTE NEWBIE who are driving for the first time with Carnity. MUST READ AND AGREE - COVID19 PRECAUTIONS MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING Drive Details Level: All Levels When: Jul 10, 2020 Friday. Meeting time: 5:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Al Qudra - https://goo.gl/maps/ZgS2Gqam9PcsxWR48 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: 09:00 AM End Point: Qudra Parking - https://goo.gl/maps/eV6UEio13s97pKSp8 LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 15 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 5PM. 1 Lead Marshal + 2 Senior Members + 12 Members. 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. PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR

Drive Report: The first drive of the year where I had to wake up at 3:00. Luckily I was not the only one in the house that had to wake up so that made it a bit easier. Arrived around 04:40 and Rajeevan was already there, eagerly waiting to hit the sand with the big blue Wrangler. Syed Salman could not make it due to technical issues on the TJ. @Incognitoes was incognito today.. As we had a strong convoy I decided to brush the newbie+ level to see how our friends were doing and i wasn’t disappointed. Having seen some people grow this much in a matter of weeks makes me really happy. Things went so well that we reached Fossil Rock in around 90 mins although we played around a lot on the way there. After a chat with my sweep team @Wrangeld and @Jeepie we both decided nothing was gonna hold us back today and we would head out to Faya. We took the easy track to make sure we had enough play time in Faya and came across @Ale Vallecchi and @Vanessa8580 their convoy who was doing almost same route but in reverse direction. Upon reaching Faya we see another Carnity convoy, this time our Intermediate crew under the lead of @Javier M. They were putting tire tracks on every square meter of the area, and we decided to play on the side of Faya and do some small ridge riding on the smaller dunes towards the buggy rental exit point. It seems Carnity convoys are taking over the UAE deserts. To all newcomers, rest assured that Carnity has big future plans and that you have come to the right place for safe off-roading adrenaline ! @Jorge Stepniak Felippe was doing his first second lead and I was very impressed as he managed it brilliantly and was pro active in rerouting and communicating with the convoy. I thank all who joined and hope to meet you all soon again ! IMG_8094.MP4