Niki

Have a wonderful evening all! @Zed @samamara I received a rejection for my move permit Youtube it is for me this evening!

@Zed this is amazing info!! I am with the family and sneaking out may be a challenge however I plan to apply for the permit and see what I can get away with Thursday night! What stunning pic you captured and that is the dream spot!! Again, many thanks for sharing this and if I manage to pull it off I owe you!

@Frederic am gutted to have to drop off this trip!! 🥺 am in Abu Dhabi now until Friday! I wish I had access to Zed’s balcony to watch the show … am on Yas Island and suspect nothing viewable here even from a roof deck! Have a great trip all…. Very sad to miss out on this event!

@Gaurav I used Alsadeem Observatory’s Instagram update - they are Abu Dhabi based and as you noted, have used date and times to match our region. That said the gurus above may have differing sources however I would consider AlSadeem a trusted one for UAE!

show the court the above and hopeful any house arrest is prevented!

🤫 just take the credit and move on! Samamara already has so many ‘likes’ and ‘wow’ she’s not even paying attention any more!

@Hisham Masaad #1 you have brought your son up well it seems! #2 don’t bother posting your requirements, the answer to your (and any 4x4) question for us, is ….. an FJ! We are hard wired to our cars! @varunmehndiratta The rear space in an FJ serves as our motivation to get into shape! The car doesn’t only takes care of us off road! I have started to draft the peace treaty …. This could be a monumental week

When @varunmehndiratta recommends a Toyota and @Hisham Masaad a Jeep … we will officially declare peace in the Middle East @samamara … this has made a great read for us all … thanks for starting the discussion and for all that shared. Keep us posted on your findings and decision!

@samamara I almost am glad I found carnity ‘after’ I decided the car to buy!!!!! 😳 … your short list has got longer. I don’t think there’s a wrong choice in the list given… if buying new using the banks cash - Jeep is the only new or nearly new car still on your list. Photo trips where your passengers can stand as the roof is off and shoot freely cannot be rivaled. Also go head out to the nearest dealership and go for a true test drive to get a sense of the road comfort and noise… our ears on this forum are programmed due to, as Gaurav calls it, ‘brand afinity’ … let your own ears and experince be the ultimate judge! My experience in Jeeps with the roof down… the novelty wears off very quickly on highways and dunes … however your Wadi adventures are a completely different game and that experience would I imagine add a completely new dimension (ability to look up and out as you cruise).

Hey @samamara as a FJC owner I would not recommend it if you plan to carry adults comfortably in the back for long distances. That said it’s far more roomier than any SWB car so if you go the Jeep/Pajero SWB route - know who ever you put in the back seat will feel you don’t like them much! Can you not keep your LWB 3.5 Pajero as your group tourer and then buy a SWB for yourself or yourself +1? or if you had Jeep money, you could just buy 2 Pajero’s 🤣 3.8 LWB and a 3.8 SWB. I know that’s not very helpful .. hopeful the unbiased FJ commentary does help a little to confirm your original thoughts (both side suicide doors open, rear windows do not open, there are no AC vents on the back as they receive cooling from the front and underseat only, AC is okay and not Nissan level cooling)

I haven’t laughed this much in a drive, or for that matter, in my 10years in Dubai… ! For the guy ( @Wrangeld) who came up with the idea of themes for a drive, I salute you! 🙌🏽 …… on the other hand, to the guy who invented zero, thanks for nothing. thanks everyone for such a memorable morning …

My wife just broke up with me. She's sick and tired of my constant Zodiac puns. It Taurus apart. I'm in Pisces typing this.

@Wrangeld dad jokes you said!!!!! what kind of car does a jedi-drive? a Toy-Yoda!!!! (like it or not more of these will be brought to the drive)

@Enrico Biscaro : Mean Mother - google search mean mother compressor dubai, the first non-Ad result is the UAE dealer (where i purchased from) ARB - have a branch in International City and trade via every offroad shop or ACE in the UAE. The Dobinsons Compressor which has a tiny tank (approx 900-1kaed) and they are available direct from Dobinsons, Amazon or a google search lists (second result) a supplier. I have switched to the ARB portable twin with a tank and couldn't be happier.... if you have the budget just jump straight to that setup vs taking my route which had me holding 3 compressors at one stage prior to the current setup!

@Looper give the number below a call/WhatsApp. He has the ARB air gun itself. +971 55 248 1803 hth … ps without a tank the air gun will ‘pulse’ air vs a continuous stream.

Thankyou @Ale Vallecchi … what a drive!! Nearly 100km on the dot… no ropes and barely a shovel! Moving for nearly 4 hours!! 🍻🍻 and how you navigated the closing stretch with all that glare and almost no visibility/contrast on the dunes! 🙌🏽 @Kalahari & @Shehab Alawadhi - great support for all that needed it! And @Ranjan Das nicely done as SL! very quiet on the radio for a drive with @Shehab Alawadhi in the convoy but that’s also recognition of how great the trip was today- always moving and needing concentration.. fun being with this group and see you next weekend!

Lol brand affinity … love it.. I think many of us have this bug .. I am the guy below!

A ‘mattress’!!!!! Okay I may try and beat Gaurav’s recliner by bringing my camping Cot and a pillow!

like you @Gaurav I was coming to enjoy the show vs shoot, but now @samamara has kindly offered to help with some MIlkyway shots - i may arrive a little earlier and try that out ... hopefully finish by the time the convoy arrives for the shower and then sit back (not able to recline as not yet at the 'posh' level of glamping to have a reclining camping chair) and enjoy the show. If you want to shoot the milkyway we can do a slightly earlier arrival and play around a bit.

10 years in this wonderful golden bird cage that is Dubai… a conservative driver (made to be a chauffeur not a race car driver). In my ten years I never got a speeding ticket which I was told is quite an achievement, that’s until I got my first racing to an Offroad meeting point I didn’t want to be late for! This community has really got me out of my shell… speeding … thinking about camping… enjoying the sand of Quadra more than the brunches as Al Qasr! I never understood the appeal of ‘basic’ old trucks/4x4 … I thought the GLS was the epitome of 4x4 cars…. Now I pass every hypercare without a care but double take every time I see a TJ or an old LC or any old rig! My wife believes I am suffering from post lockdown personality disorder, some friends think I have hit that mid life crisis milestone… I feel my story has just started - albeit 10years late! I joined Carnity in November 2020 and have never enjoyed dubai more than these past few Months on the dunes! I consider everything prior to November a boring story (the Star Wars prequels) … and looking forward to the months ahead!

That’s a great plan @Frederic … I am in! 🍻

@Zed I’d be open to a newbie style night drive Wednesday with the midnight pause for the shower .. we could even consider an evening drive 8pm-midnight … so we are close to the exit and watch the shower at the end of a drive vs in the middle? Either way … open to options and only ask is to consider ‘newbie’ level to ensure @munkybizness as the originator can join (plus I am still scared of driving in the dark 🤦🏽‍♂️)

@Gaurav oh I'm in for this - thanks @munkybizness for the post and suggestion! .. Frederic has created a photography club and we have had a few Astrophotography session close to Murquab Mosque - a super site i suspect for the meteor show also. @Zed time to bring your low-light camera skills into play again! we just need to take @Frederic passport off him so he doesn't travel! I suggest August 12th (Thursday) evening - would need some more experienced folks to advise on timing of the meteor shower that day. for our Astro shots we usually meet around 6:30 and are leaving the desert by 9pm - i suspect those times would not work for this event.

Nissan Patrol Gazelle If your budget is growing 👍🏽 @Enrico Biscaro with regards your used Jeep experience pls go and arrange to test drive for a brand new SWB from dealers or others and that way you can immediate get a perspective on the experience. A full service history from trading enterprises is a good sign… the rest not so much however if that’s how a new stock jeep runs then you definitely have a good option. The crazy part is that car new was approx 105k (pre VAT days) so the used market is still steep it seems!

Wow!! Many many congratulations @varunmehndiratta for the new addition to your family!! Such wonderful news and being tired as a new dad isn’t so difficult after being tired after every early summer drive May you daughter bring you fortune and happiness and look forward to celebrating (socially distanced of course :)) when we next are on a ride! 🥂🥂🥂🥂