Overnight Camping Trip to Liwa on Friday 14th March 2014.
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After the excellent response from the members on the earlier Liwa trip in February, let’s have one more sojourn to Liwa before the weather gets too hot for long expedition type drives… This trip to that mother of all deserts the Rub Al Khaali…meaning The Empty Quarter…in plain English, is open to all members !!!
The Rub’ al Khali (Arabic: ุงูุฑุจุน ุงูุฎุงููโ) or Empty Quarter is one of the largest sand deserts in the world, encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula, including southern Saudi Arabia, and areas of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The desert covers some 650,000 square kilometers , Liwa Oasis is about 100 km south of the Arabian Gulf coast and 150 km SSW of the city of Abu Dhabi, on the northern edge of Rub’ al Khali desert and stretches about 100 km east-west, along an arch curved to the north.
The geographic and economic center of the oasis is Mizair’a, where the highway from Abu Dhabi enters the oasis and then divides to the east (65 km to the easternmost village, Mahdar Bin `Usayyan) and west (45 km to the westernmost village, `Aradah).
The villages of Liwa Oasis are the southernmost settlements of Abu Dhabi and of the United Arab Emirates. The southern border of Abu Dhabi with Saudi Arabia, which runs at a distance between 16 and 35 km to the Oasis, is a straight line in the Rub al Khali desert, which is largely uninhabited.
There is a beautiful video shot by Ole Andre Vilnes, one of our members, which aptly captures and portrays the essence of this beautiful desert.Day and date : Friday, the 14th of March 2014- Saturday, the 15th of March 2014.[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W2t_2N7WmU[/media]
Drive Type : Open to all members, Families are specially encouraged to join as it will be a nice picturesque adventure.
Meeting Point : The Parking of Emarat Jebel Ali on Dubai Abu Dhabi Highway, E11 or Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Road, just after the Jebel Ali Free Zone.[map]24.94142,55.04227(Emarat Parking)[/map]
Meeting Time : 08:15 am
Drive Start: 08:30 am
PLEASE SWITCH YOUR RADIOS (WALKIE TALKIE) ON AND ON CHANNEL 4 ONCE YOU REACH THE MEETING POINT. THIS WILL HELP US GET IN TOUCH AND STREAMLINE THE ASSEMBLY AND DEPARTURE.
Drive Terrain: Beautiful Picturesque Terrain of Rub Al Khali.
Duration: We will have a longish tarmac drive that will take us from the meeting point to the desert entrance point, we will then have a long desert drive till sunset, we will then camp & make merry & depart in the morning for another day in the sands and upon completion of the desert section we will inflate the tyres & head back home to arrive in Dubai / Sharjah by late evening.Checklist:-
a) Ensure your 4 x 4 vehicle is in perfect condition and with enough fuel.
b) Compatible Radio.
c) Carry all necessary offroad gears, in good condition.
d) Carry enough Food/ water / refreshments / re-hydration drinks for self & co-passenger(s).Please read the following and register for the drive:-
Equipments that one needs to carry for offroading
Rules Of The Trip
Dubai Offroaders – DisclaimerThis is a family Outing & all Dubai Offroaders members are welcome to Join.
Please register your intent to participate in the drive here.
Please make sure that your vehicle is fully prepared for an expedition type drive with complete recovery kit etc. and that it is fully serviceable with recovery points front & aft.
This will be an overnight trip with a camp out in the desert and the night is going to be pleasantly cold with chances of a fog which will condense overnight and drench everything as if it has rained. All the members are thus advised to come prepared with proper warm clothing and camping equipment including a waterproof tent and proper/ warm sleeping bags and/or blankets.
The members should come prepared with sufficient food & drinks for the full day’s drive along with the evening BBQ, as we WILL NOT encounter any place to replenish supplies on the way, once we start the Drive.
The total off Road drive section on the two day drive is expected to be about 150 kms.+ but we will be able to access LIMITED provisions & Petrol on the morning of the 2nd day prior to the beginning of the Drive.
You may also carry BBQ Equipment & food if you want to cook the food at the evening camp.
Please carry at least 2 bundles of wood per Car for the Overnight Camp bonfire.
This will be an excellent opportunity for photography enthusiasts to take some unbelievably beautiful natural sandscapes…so keep your cameras ready…too!!!!
I haven’t been on one of these trips with you guys before. You mention in the above that we should bring our own bbq equipment, but do we not build a communal fire/barbecue pit?
We do build a communal Bonfire, hence the firewood…but most members prefer to cook their own food even though it is offered to and shared by all.
BTW the full moon is just a night away from the Camping night and we should expect some spectacular vistas as Liwa’s Dunes look surreal…almost like a dream in the bright white moonlight.
Again…some beautiful photo opportunities!!!
Any suggestion on where to get the firewood (apart from scavenging)? Can you buy these bundles from shops somewhere??
quote GordonDK1973:Any suggestion on where to get the firewood (apart from scavenging)? Can you buy these bundles from shops somewhere??Hi Gordon,
Most petrol stations stock it and also places such as ACE Hardware.
quote DuncanField:quote GordonDK1973:Any suggestion on where to get the firewood (apart from scavenging)? Can you buy these bundles from shops somewhere??Hi Gordon,
Most petrol stations stock it and also places such as ACE Hardware.You can also find these bundles of wood being sold at small groceries near places where people normally go to camp, most notably in Awir, Tawi Nizwa and on the Lehbab Round about.
Sorry guys, can’t spend the whole weekend in the sand (though I would have wanted to). Definitely going the next time.
Welcome Sridhara Bhai.
๐
Looks like a good convoy shaping up.
Thanks Ahmad, It was nice getting more information from you.
Look forward to meeting all of you.
Really looking forward to this drive.
Okay…ten now…and counting…
Inspired by the upcoming Liwa trip I finally changed my tires to new ones with much less aggressive tread pattern. (as Ahmad and Duncan has been advising all along).
When I asked the tyre sales guy whether the new ones a good for sand and dunes he said that “with these your Jeep will climb the dune like a camel” ๐ ๐ ๐ Let’s see on Friday how it goes. The differentiator may still be between the wheel and seat. ๐ ๐
Tommi
quote traitio:Inspired by the upcoming Liwa trip I finally changed my tires to new ones with much less aggressive tread pattern. (as Ahmad and Duncan has been advising all along).When I asked the tyre sales guy whether the new ones a good for sand and dunes he said that “with these your Jeep will climb the dune like a camel” ๐ ๐ ๐ Let’s see on Friday how it goes. The differentiator may still be between the wheel and seat. ๐ ๐
Tommi
Which tyres are those…Are they Michelin or Sumitomo Shaheen…
quote khshareef:quote traitio:Inspired by the upcoming Liwa trip I finally changed my tires to new ones with much less aggressive tread pattern. (as Ahmad and Duncan has been advising all along).When I asked the tyre sales guy whether the new ones a good for sand and dunes he said that “with these your Jeep will climb the dune like a camel” ๐ ๐ ๐ Let’s see on Friday how it goes. The differentiator may still be between the wheel and seat. ๐ ๐
Tommi
Which tyres are those…Are they Michelin or Sumitomo Shaheen…
The new ones are Kumho Road Venture SAT. It’s an All Terrain tyre, but the treat pattern is quite mild. Looks almost like a standard road tire. It’s a very similar pattern as in Yokohama Geolandar ATS.
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