Looper

Congratulations @Suresh K. Well done.

Congratulations @Goh KP, well done.

Congratulations @Claudio C, well done.

Congratulations @Harshal on your promotion. It would be fun to see your mighty V8 do more here on.

Day One (Gaia GPS Link) I covered 86 km in exactly 9 hours. with a moving speed of 15.6 kmph and moving time of 5-hour 30 min. Day two (Gaia GPS Link) I covered 59.9 k, in 4-hour 42 min at a moving speed of 20.2 kmph and in 2 hr 57 min moving time.

What an epic drive. Lot of driving and lots of fun. This drive needed a lot of planning both from marshals ( @Frederic-FB, @Gaurav-FB+, @Srikumar-IM) to organize and the participants to bring the right amount of stuff so that they can drive safely and well. After a day and a half of driving I am quite impressed by how well the drive was spread-out over two days. The majestic Liwa - empty quarter dunes are like Sirens; they invite you to ride them, but they won't let you drive over them. Often exceedingly difficult to read and extremely easy to get stuck. Half the dunes are not even drivable, but majestic and a remarkable sight. I could not even count how many times I gasped at the beauty of the mother nature here in this barren desert land. On the first day we tried to start early but covered a lot of ground and reached the 18th hole in time to set up the tent and gather around the bonfire. The first eighteen waypoints were quite easy to navigate since they were from one sabkha to another, so we wandered around and had lots of fun. Thankfully in our FB+ drive we did not face many refusals and the few that we did face - (by @Gaurav) they were masterclass in self recovery - being applauded by everyone every time he self-recovered from a seemingly impossible stuck. The camping site was one of the best I had seen. On a dried-up lake front, under the stars without any light pollution. The moonrise in the east was a sight to behold. I was tired and slept like a baby late into the morning the next day. On the second day our drive was a bit straight though the waypoints, but they were not as easy as first day's waypoints - quite challenging to be frank. But we quickly wiggled out of all the stucks and refusals and reached the end, stopping only to take a few nice photographs to commemorate our achievement on finally crossing the Liwa. This Liwa Crossing was indeed a test of endurance and grit, and I am quite happy to be a part of this first installment and looking forward to next year once again. A big thanks to all who participated and contributed to the drive. @imranaasghar81, @Alphin Aloor, @Waqas Parvez, @Fabien Monleau, @munkybizness, @Zixuan Huang - Charlie & @Ashok chaturvedi.

@Gaurav this is the drive I could not attend. Please remove my name from the attended list.

US$ 99 plan is with "Outside" subscription perhaps we dont need it. The normal rate for annual subscription is 39.99. I was able to renew mine just now for 34.99 (10% discount). I think it will automatically apply the coupon when you proceed to subscribe it.

Some of us bought their new Jeeps in stock configuration from the authorized dealer and set out to modify gradually over time choosing the right parts and accessories. While others prefer to buy fully pre-built and modified cars from either of those two garages in Al Quoz. I did not intend to drive off-road when I bought my car. When the salesperson asked if I intend to off-road, I gave him a resounding NO, because a) I did not even know what Off-Roading meant at that time b) because we were buying it as a school ferrying vehicle (hence the color) for my wife to drop my son to the school As I never had to compare these options, I never had any thoughts on this but want to know from those who have bought a new Jeep and had compared these options - what was your thought process and why you decided to buy from either authorized dealer or from one the off-road garage.

A bit late in the day for my thoughts on the drive but, nevertheless. It was my second newbie drive with @Islam Soliman but first one driving myself. As usual we started with an elaborate briefing by the lead and wonderful weather to drive that day. Margham area presents a unique landscape where one hone their off-road skills and boy we did practice a lot. While off-roading you not only get to know your car, but the car gets to know you. It's not just poetic to say so - because it is a fact. You learn to what extent you can push it and how to push it. You know how it behaves in certain situations and manages it. Similarly, your car learns from you what you expect and gradually both the car and the driver become one. There were some refusals along the way, but they were good refusals in my opinion. Better to get stuck while going slow to cross a dune than to go fast and fly off the other side. Because it is safer to gradually increase the speed than to be at high speed and get into trouble and then try to reduce it. First of all, a big thanks to @Islam Soliman for a great fun drive. @Suresh K you did well as the second lead and @Sharat Nambiar as the sweep. It was great to drive with you @Haitham Khattab, @Serhat Yalcinkaya, @Krishna R, @Mahmoud Taha, @karim hamandi, @Awais Zuberi and @Yesu Yarlagadda (also congratulations are in order on your promotion). See you all soon in another drive.

A little late in the day for a post but better than never. It was long time since I drove here and was my first drive under the stewardship of @Hisham Masaad. This area is a spaghetti of tracks - you would be hard pressed to see even a single square foot of land which has not been used and abused and the fun is in navigating them masterfully. The specific characteristics of the Big Red area which are for our enjoyment are: Those medium sized dunes between camel rock and Big Red - it is fun navigating them at high speed non-stop You get to use your manual gear here - the automatic would not work all the time - especially on those tall dunes. And finally of Couse the Big Red and Camel Rock themselves. In this drive we did everything and more. and a big thanks to @Hisham Masaad to lead us on a wonderful trip round the area. All were present ahead of time and ready to go and we hardly had anything that can even be called refusals. Everyone gave their top performance and drove masterfully. Few observations - In the desert one needs to have a good distance between cars - which means you not only not drive too close to the car in front but also not too far away. I noticed a few were driving a bit too far from the car in front. Please be mindful that you might not only lose track of the convoy also in certain cases it can be troublesome because you will miss how a specific dune needs to be tackled. There are hundreds of permutations and combinations that affect a climb up the dune or navigate in the sand. There is a element of chance that everything falls into a perfect place, and you achieve great heights and often silliest of things go wrong and you don't. All I have to say here is don't worry - you will come here many more times - do it many more times as well. As you drive more and more you will learn to manage all those tiny permutations and combinations that can go wrong and achieve it - just give some more time. Thank you @Thomas Varghese for your services at the rear end of the convoy and ensuring the flock is moving. Also, a big thank you to all present @Joji varghese, @Junaid120120, @topgear, @Rsjiv Samuel, @Davie Chase, @Sunil Mathew, @Chris Wing and @Daniel Yang see you all in a new drive very soon.

Still in planning stage

I would say that everyone should plan to be the previous night. It is next to impossible to drive the entire day without camping. I will be leaving Dubai around 2:30 pm on Friday and reaching the meeting place. I suggest you all should reach there on the evening of 18th. Request - guys with bigger cars bring one bag of firewood.

Just counted 24 in the waitlist- 2 more convoy worth. Amazing response.

Congratulations @Sree - Fortuner well done

Congratulations @Yesu Yarlagadda the baby wheels are off now. well done

Congratulations @Antony Abraham well done

Congratulations @Rasif ABDUL RAHIM well done.