Adventurous Drive to Liwa on 7th & 8th of February 2014.
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quote Saj:A learner’s drive to Liwa…. 😕
It is one thing to think of taking a bunch of newbies to Liwa and another thing altogether to go ahead and pull it off.
It requires guts and a brave man to do this and hats off to Ahmad Sahab for executing this challenging drive with a couple of absolute first time drivers in the sand and that too in Liwa, the mother of all deserts! ^:)^ ^:)^
We were thirteen cars that gathered at the meeting point and proceeded towards Mafraq Adnoc to pick up another companion, Arturo from Abu Dhabi.
We continued our journey on the tarmac to the last fueling point on the Sahil Road, taking a gatch track towards the deflation point.
The signs were ominous :-ss and it was on the gatch track that Arturo complained about a rattling noise from under his car. We took a stop to diagnose the cause of the rattle and a patch-up job was done and we headed to the deflation point where the rest of the convoy was waiting for us. We had two stucks right at the deflation point even before we had begun our off-road journey :ymdevil: . Bearing in mind that we didn’t have a winch and the competencies of the drivers in the convoy, the chief marshal decided to play it safe and took a relatively easy track with a couple of challenges thrown in for the convoy. The chief avoided the long climbs but did take us through some steep falls 😀 . We had the usual stucks and pop-outs on the way and as the convoy was progressing, the members were gaining confidence.
A huge bowl was picked out by Ahmad Sahab as our camping site. Everyone set-up camp and took a well deserved break. The bbq pits were lit-up and we had a bonfire going and all members sat around it creating a lovely atmosphere. :ymparty: This is where we did a nationality count and were delighted to discover that we had a very diverse and multicultural group. The group had members from China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, India, Moldova, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Ukraine and last but not the least, our very own Emirati. We had our dinner and regular chit-chat session and our Emirati friend, Saleh kept us all in good spirits with his wise cracks and we all called it a day after a while. I-)
We woke up next morning and had breakfast and the customary karak chai and egg bhurji from Leo, Stanley and friends. I would like to make a special mention of the effort and the pain that Leo, Stanley and their friends go through at every overnight trip to offer everyone the life-saving karak chai in the middle of nowhere. :thanks:
We were ready to start our second day adventure. The instructions from the chief were that we will proceed to Hameem Adnoc, fuel up and start with the level of the drive going up. What a treacherous terrain we ventured into which had extremely soft sand and tricky slip faces. The stucks and recoveries got more difficult and eventually a decision was taken to head out to an easier route and find our way to the exit. We drove very little in the sands on the second day but I am sure it must have given everyone a fair bit of idea of what Liwa is all about. :-s We proceeded to the nearest tarmac following a gatch track and inflated. Everybody said their goodbyes and headed home.
The convoy discipline and management during recoveries could have been better but that is a lesson learnt for another day.
Thanks Ahmad Sahab for leading this drive and Faheem for sweeping duties. Thanks to Mehboob for the second lead and Ayan for recoveries. :thanks:
Off-roading is not only about driving but also about discovering places, making new friends, bonding with old ones, good times and memories.
Till we meet again.
Regards
SajidThe factor that helped the convoy complete the trip smoothly & successfully was the fact that the number of experienced and in/less experienced drivers were almost equal and the fact that we interspersed the convoy with the different skill levels. AND last but not the least…was the excellent support and constant encouragement that was provided by You Sajid, Faheem, Mehboob, Ayaan, Naazish and Alexander that helped us to pull off this feat so well!!!
And of course…it is only on the excellent omelettes and breakfast prepared by Stanley & Leo that the members were able to extract themselves from certain very soft and sticky situations!!!
Kudos to all!!!
:ymapplause: :ymapplause: :ymapplause:
Wanted to say a big THANK YOU for the unforgettable experience. It was an amazing trip (thank you Sajid for a descriptive overview – I am sorry I was one of the first two stucks).
I am very grateful to Ahmad for being brave enough to take us newbies to Liwa and for showing us what we may be able to do once we master the skills. We also understood that even good drivers do get stuck 😮 and that no matter how good we become, we should never be dismissive of the power of the desert.
I look forward to seeing you all again back in the sand very soon! (Can we have more Saturday drives for the newbies, please?)
Some of the photos taken during the Liwa drive came out OK. Next challenge is to upload them correctly.
Hi Guys, just a quick thank you to all of you, especially our Marshall who had the courage to lead so many of us newbies, and also Nazz and Ayan, our convoy guides, who were always giving us useful pointers on how to tackle the sand dunes more effectively. It was an amazing experience, one that made us wish for our own 4×4, and we look forward to meeting all of you again!
Big, big THANKS from the Abu Dhabi multinational crew. Amazing trip and a lot owed to marshal Ahmed and very friendly and helpful advanced members, guiding us through the all the stuck-situations! Very cheerful camping company too.
It was fantastic!
thank you guys for such a great adventure (for a newbie).when is the next?
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