Thank you all again for joining us this morning!
We all met up on time and it was clear to me from the start that everyone was eager to dip their toes into the sands of Nahel / Sweihan.
As typical for a Newbie level drive, we try to choose an area that's not too much occupied with other convoys or cross tracks. This worked out quite well as this area was very quiet. Some vegetation was there but nothing that we couldn't handle.
A couple of dunes inside we saw a brave soldier appearing (insert theme of Raiders of the Lost Ark here...) @Imran Asghar who had enough of his couch and decided to join us for the morning desert run.
A bit later @Zubail announced he was losing pressure quickly and his ship was sinking. There was some sand stuck in-between the rim and the tire. Thanks to @ChrisW and his mobile workshop, we lifted the car, deflated the tire to ZERO psi 😆 and cleaned the rim bead with water and eventually also with a blast of compressed air. This did the trick and the tire held up fine for the remainder of the drive.
As the weather was so great, @ChrisW brought out the donuts and karak to celebrate his 100th drive today. A fantastic achievement! Your commitment, skillset, and superb guidance to the newbies was a blessing today. I hope to see you as an emerging lead very soon!
As time had gone so fast, my original plan of heading West towards Sweihan itself was modified a bit, and we looped back to go and say good morning to Ghafeteen Bowl, which never disappoints. We all took some run-ups and took some nice convoy shots. @J-P L was brilliant in the sweep and showed that even the mighty Jimney can rescue a big Expedition.
All in all, the guys in the front who were on their first couple of drives managed brilliantly this morning. I was really impressed with all of you. The smiles at the end of the drive said everything
@nithish468 you did fantastic as second lead. Keeping enough distance and polishing my tracks where needed. Thanks buddy!
Feel free to add some photos in our gallery:
Newbie - Nahel - Abu-Dhabi - 22 Feb 2026 - Carnity.com
Wikiloc | AUH-Nahel Newbie Trail
See you all soon in the sand again!