munkybizness

Well done @Jessica Lambert - looking forward to catching those shiny new rims spinning up dust plumes in an IM drive soon

Congratulations @Albarqawi85!

Enjoy the new level @Salim Akhtar!

Amazing job @Ashutosh Garg! Can't wait to catch the Silver X and your uber calm nerves on an IM drive soon!

Well done @DanielN - enjoy the new level

Congratulations @Sebb - enjoy the new level and thank you for adding to the VTC count

@Warren Flay - we've done a fair number of drives together and I always knew if you were SL, we would have a great day out. And we usually did. It was an absolute pleasure to share our forays out into the sands with you, and here's wishing you amazing new adventures on your onward journey! And for anybody who's considering Warren's Pajero, I can attest to its capability. Not only did it climb high and sustain through the longest of our drives, it also sounded thunderous doing it. It's also a 3.8L short wheelbase so the power to weight ratio on this car is just so right.

@Harshal, as areas go, the above still stand true. There have been changes in the Fossil Rock area due to fencing for conservation efforts but by and large, still mostly true. Dubai’s #DubaiDestinations program has released an “Ultimate Camping & Picnic Guide” yesterday. You check it out here: https://www.dubaidestinations.ae/guides/4/2.pdf

@Krishna R - amazing! We're planning to leave on Saturday afternoon around 3pm from Dubai. There are some car stunt shows happening that evening at the festival. We intend to check out the festival, and then probably camp overnight before heading back in the morning. You're welcome to stick around or head back depending on your convenience. Do ping me on 0 5 0 1 7 1 8 6 1 3 and I'll add you to the group to co-ordinate.

Kicking off this past weekend on December 16th, the famous Liwa Moreeb festival is one of the most iconic for Offroaders. Unable to attend last year, I’m very keen to attend. The festival will go on until December 31st. I’m considering heading there next weekend - either on Friday or Saturday depending on the drive roster. If anybody would like to join, do let me know and we can make a trip out of it

@ASAD. - No! Please keep writing. My perspective would be incomplete without yours. There is a story unfolding in every section of the convoy. Together, our stories are fuller and richer @Frederic - Speechless is exactly how I feel in each drive under your lead 🙏 Glad to finally repay in a small way @Islam Soliman, you made my day. Your words mean that much more to me, because they're coming from you. I'm eagerly awaiting a GO TECH session when you're back

It'd been just a week over six months since I'd done an Intermediate drive. Travel has kept me away from the sand for the past many months but I wanted to get back out there, at the peak of it all. After the past two weeks of sickness and revelry, the opportunity finally came in the form of an Intermediate "Plus" with @GauravSoni. The fact that I even made the cut to be on this drive is pure luck since Gaurav had set very stringent conditions for those who would join him on this foray. To say I was nervous more than excited, would be an understatement. I also did myself no favours arriving very late at the meeting point the night before, just in time to say my hellos, see my lightweight chair collapse in the sand under my weight, the last embers of firewood turning grey and a furry little golden rodent giving Gaurav & @Looper ample entertainment. In some ways, I'm happy that I didn't have more time to immerse myself in Al Qua'a before my drive. The unexpected remained unknown and the way the campsite was setup, the dunes seemed distant and uncharted. It helped calm my nerves. Unlike the Liwa Crescent Crossing from February this year where we camped smack in the middle between large walls of dunes, Al Qua'a fools you into thinking that its dunes are less noteworthy. Its reputation and legacy here within @Carnity and beyond will tell you otherwise. I would never underestimate this terrain, especially not when in the company of some of the finest drivers in this club and a drive carrying a "plus" grading on the highest level. This was going to be a challenge. It is perhaps because of this reason, that even after putting down my gym mat and sleeping bag in the back of my car, with the faint red-light of my lamp illuminating the inside of the cabin that I couldn't immediately fall asleep at 2am. For thirty minutes, I just revelled in the silence, listening to my breaths finding equilibrium with the stillness of my surroundings. Soon after I fell asleep. I arose at 5am and realising that it was still dark out, and I was already at the start point, I pulled the schoolboy trick to add another hour to the mental tank. I would need it later. At 5.57am, my excited nervousness overcame any fatigue and I woke up to dress for the day. As the horizon turned violet from indigo, to pink, and back to violet, and back to pink again, the magic of the moment washed away the fear of what was to come. I can only imagine what was going through the minds of @ASAD., @Looper and @GauravSoni. Elsewhere, in the distance I could see the dusty yellow Wrangler of @Anoop Nair and the beastly looking Y61 of @Mario Cornejo arriving at the road exit. The moment was upon us. I lit up my stove, and just as the sun's golden hue began to change the horizon, my gooseneck kettle began to hiss. The boiling water and the caffeine it blended into were the perfect metaphor for what was going on within my heart - my mind was racing, the heartbeat quickening and the excitement reaching a fever pitch. With the caffeine washed down, some semolina stuffed in, the recovery gear ratcheted down and the radio brought to life, we headed out to join up the convoy. As the newest member in this terrain I was put up front and I'm thankful for it, definitely more thankful than @Anoop Nair who had to follow me. My rusty joints and slowly rebooting memory would give him a lot to anticipate. Many of his refusals came as a direct result of my being unable to keep the momentum up the warmup session. The warm up session was also the first to claim @Zixuan Huang - Charlie in a stuck on a steep slip face but amply recovered by the gents in the back. Over the radio, we heard crackles of air seeping out and this deflation would further deflate us too, but fortunately it was just a momentary issue and quickly resolved. With this minor moment behind us, we set out again, to find some of the most glorious bowls and ridges to cross over. As my confidence began to rise, I also began to experiment with my gearing. Some times I got it right, some times I got it very wrong. But I'm glad that I'm more wiser for it now. Al Qua'a required that I pull every trick, every little nugget of knowledge in my experience and every experiment I ever wanted to conduct out into the open and in direct view. There was no time to prepare - it was now and do. I however, had excellent advice from all quarters. And just as I was beginning to feel a little confident, up on top of a ridge, I slipped off to the right on a little step and I heard the loud sound of air escaping from my front right tyre. I had just gotten a pop-out. Thirty minutes of repairs later, my wheel was back on. The time it had cost the convoy was a lot more. I could see how both Gaurav's plans were falling apart as I contributed in helping them unravel. When you've had a pop-out, you tend to worry a little immediately after. You get a little more cautious. You brake a little sooner. It takes a while to lose that nagging voice to act more carefully. In a particularly tricky climb, no matter how many times I tried I could just not make it up. It reminded me of this moment many months ago from a drive with Hisham in Area 53 where no matter how hard I tried, I just could not make it over. My heart began to sink and I began to beat myself up. In moments like these, having the experience of over seventy drives, one part of you is critical for letting yourself down while the other is critical for letting down the wider convoy. Here were six other drivers who'd also driven long distances to be here and I was letting them down. It is exactly when these thoughts were making a house in my head that @GauravSoni showed up next to me. He took me up to the starting line and coached me exactly through the line and gearing required. His calm and collected advice would help me cross over, where I continued to take the incorrect line once again but his impatience (even if he was feeling it) never shown through. For this, thank you Gaurav. And thank you all. It is the sole reason why I feel so comfortable to be among people like yourselves. With these slowdowns behind us, we set off once again to the sabkha on the opposite end of where we'd started. And it is always in these final runs when you see a convoy find new pace. We were running through technical sections that were almost five times taller than the twisties of Lisailli. Such is the scale of Al Qua'a. With the afternoon sun beating down on us, we began to make our way to the exit, and this is when we realized that the excitement of the terrain had led to Gaurav not turning on his extra fan and Charlie began to hear a flapping sound from his crank. While Gaurav's issue was quickly resolved with water and time, Charlie's turned out to be a lot more serious. At the base of the bowl, we had to climb pretty high up to exit out. With a moment of hope, we set out, and the four cars in the front were racing ahead when we realized that car #5 wasn't following. At this point we stopped, and Anoop, Looper and I stopped up ahead while Gaurav raced back to diagnose the problem. I'm not sure what happened next. As we waited in silence and stared out at the vast sabkha with lime deposits and camel convoys, the radio crackled to life with a "woohoo" and we saw a tandem tug of @ASAD., @Mario Cornejo and @Zixuan Huang - Charlie emerging down the long slope of the dunes into the sabkha. It was a sight to behold. As attested by @Mario Cornejo above, it was also executed to perfection. Remember when I said that I was in the company of the finest drivers in this club. Here was proof again. I can write a lot more but I will stop here. Some of it needs to remain in my mind. But I want to thank Gaurav for being such an amazing lead. From my first "real" drive with him on Ale's full day exploit in Al Ain to now, he's maturing like a dram of the finest elixirs. His love for the outdoors coupled with his care for his convoy was on full display yesterday. Alongside, a man of numbers and deep experimentation @Looper is this steadfast rock. He is always there, always predictably good, and always the yellow beacon you need when you lose sight. Behind me, @Anoop Nair continues to boggle the mind with what he does in a stock "manual" Wrangler with 245 tyres. If ever you wanted to throw a number at eking out performance from just the barebones, you have it right here. Further afield, I saw @ASAD.in a new light on this drive. Usually, so bundled with Waqas and Vaibhav, his line, power management and control all had the moment to shine by themselves. He is such a fine driver, an even better human being and a class act. For all the troubles that @Zixuan Huang - Charlie had to bear with his engine, his adventures and mine are quite intertwined. With him in place, I shut off my rear view entirely knowing fully well that his capability in navigating any terrain will bode him over. And of course, I can't leave out @Mario Cornejo who tells the best jokes on Argentinians, has the quietest demeanour but the loudest display of driving and a car that looks like it was designed for the apocalypse. Thank you all for helping me immerse myself back into the desert, so that I too can close this year out knowing I finally did Al Qua'a. If I don't see you soon, I wish you all the warmest greetings of the season and lots of outdoors in the year to come. [ 🐵 ]

@Brett Eicher There is a stunning gravel trail that is easily doable with our machines from Khasab through to Jebel al Harim and south all the way to the Wadi Biyah junction. Along the way you'll see little farms and the mountain range being split by the road you're on. The challenge is that this is a one-way path. So once you get to the Wadi Biyah junction, there is a military checkpoint and only the nationals of UAE & Oman (may perhaps be GCC too) can pass through this gate back into Ras Al Khaimah for you to continue to Jebel Jais. As an expat, I need to turn back around and retrace the same track to Khasab from where I need to again use the official land border to cross back into the UAE. One of the ways in which I was thinking about doing it was to enter from the Khasab coastline and return back from the Dibba border. I just need to scope out how to take the Rawdah exit from Biyah west towards Zighy and south down to Dibba. Would love to try and scope this out with you if you're keen.

Thanks so much @Brette & @Gaurav for jumping into the rescue to get a drive back on the roster. Apologies, I’m locked out tomorrow afternoon, getting smashed in a birthday party 🥃😂 and won’t be able to support the drive 😔, but thanks so much for making this happen 🙏🏽

He saw the light and made the smarter decision to get a Y61 instead, where he will spend more on fuel but will spend less on braking as everybody will just move out of his way 👏🤣

Sorry to hear about you both @Ale Vallecchi & @Hisham Masaad. Having been one of the early ones to catch it last week, I was in a very similar scenario when I had to miss out on the Yellow Truck drive. It’s certainly going around. Get well soon, gents! @MikeSpillane, our structures are designed for the safety of drivers and to ensure that the entire convoy feels assured that they are at the same level when out in the dunes. Having driven open-level drives with other clubs especially in places like Sharjah, I’ve witnessed first hand the lack of care for driver or machine. While this may feel restrictive at Carnity, it ensures that more times than none, we enter and leave the desert with our egos deflated and our machines intact. We find ourselves in a very rare scenario where two marshals are both ill. If you look back at our drive roster, this rarely ever happens. And I’m certain that this decision was only taken after seeking every recourse possible.

Hi @Hisham Masaad, could you please add me to the manage tab. I would love to support on this drive

@Frederic, @Srikumar and all of you fine people, it is with great regret and sadness that I must part from the drive. Late last afternoon, I began to develop a flu and an associated fever symptoms that seem to be at the peak right now. Since I didn’t get to do the YT last year too, I’ve tried to weigh this in my head multiple times but the risk of what I may put myself and all of you through is just not worth it. Have an amazing time, take tons of photos, revel in the magic of the great outdoors and enjoy every second of it. I’ll live vicariously (from my bed) through all of you. 😔

It's time to join the "manage" tab, @Fabien Monleau

Finally, a support vehicle and a pilot that always looks the part Congratulations @Fabien Monleau!

I can finally hang up my shoveling spoon and pass the handle on to you Congratulations on the well deserved promotion

We're hoping that we not only see your excellent support on the sands but your rolling kitchen too 😛 Some tantalising images have been making it into my IG feeds. Well done, sir!

Fantastic job @Gary F! Enjoy the new level

Congratulations @Glenn Waters! Enjoy the new level

Looking forward to seeing more flashes of the White Rhino in FB+. Congratulations @Mike M.!