Thursday Night Drive – 4th April 2013
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Sorry guys – not going to be able to make this one, just got home and I am absolutely knackered! See you next time.
Have fun.
WHAT A NIGHT!!!
A truly memorable drive…
The night started off as usual, with all the participants having assembled at Tawi Nazwa at the appointed time. The marshals spent some time setting up their night driving equipment (assorted HID lights) with most of us casting admiring and envious looks upon them. When we were ready to move, we moved off to our entry point, and were split into 3 convoys, led by Kumar, Ganesh and Thanseer, and set off at a cautious pace.
I was in Kumar’s convoy. As mentioned by the Marshals in their briefing, night driving is an entirely different animal from what we’re generally used to. Visibility is extremely limited, and the darkness can get a bit claustrophobic. I must admit, I was a bit out of my comfort zone, and it showed as I had an initial pop out, a tow recovery, and to top it off, had to be winched out of an extremely nasty dip! The soft sand also did not help… however I’m sure as our drives progress, I’ll be able to adapt and get better.
The drive picked up in pace towards the end, as we were to meet the other convoy’s at Pink Rock, which required us to get a bit of momentum while attempting the climb. Once on top, we got out of cars and waited for the other convoys. There truly are very few sights as magnificent as a night sky in the desert. We continued to star gaze and chit chat till Thanseer and Ganesh met us with their respective convoys.
The second part of the trip began, and those of us staying back for the BBQ unpacked their wares and began to set up. Little did we know that the gentle breeze blowing at the time was only a taste to come of something more ominous!
Myself and my father, Ganesh, Anand and daughter, Carl, Amin, Sundar and Jason stayed back to camp over night, seated by a magnificent campfire, the embers of which fed our BBQs and kept us warm for the most part. We had a wonderful time chatting, while Ganesh regaled us with past stories and anecdotes of previous drives. The wind started to pick up a bit, but none of us payed much attention to it, assuming that it would die down in some time, and continued on till the early hours. At 04:30 am, when that gentle breeze had evolved into a full on sand storm, we were forced to retire for the night to the shelter of our vehicles, as the tents were putting up a poor fight against the wind.
At around 06:30 am, I awoke to an awesome sight. Smooth untouched desert, where once had been countless tracks left behind by the previous nights convoys and assorted buggies, that had now been blown away by the still prevailing sand storm. So strong was the wind, that my tent was half buried under huge volume of sand, and required enormous effort to actually recover. We quickly packed up, and attempted to move out. We had to be pretty careful, as most of the vehicles were now in dips, due to the sand blown all around them, but it was nothing that low gear and a firm throttle couldn’t solve. once ready, Ganesh led us on a short but fast paced drive out of the desert, back to Tawi Nazwa, where after a few cups of coffee, we inflated and went our separate ways.
Definitely looking forward to more of the night drives in the future!
A Night Drive report
Wow, the parking out front of Nazwa shops was humming with 4×4 vehicles mixed in with local transport, DO’s were there in force as was an Almost 4×4 group of Marshall’s. Light rigs were mounted, tires deflated, flags positioned. The air was thick with drive talk, equipment chatter and a general clear the air of ‘work life’ concerns as our world condensed itself down to
The first DO night drive of the season 😀Our DO group moved off ‘en masse to our entry point on the other side of the E44 where we spent a few minutes waiting for stragglers to join us. Once at entry the group was split into 3 convoys led by CMT & TFT Marshall’s Thanseer, GKumar and Ganesh. Without more ado we organised into convoy positions and moved off.
Marshall Kumar’s convoy; Rein second lead, Rakesh, Hendrik, Bubban, Nikki and myself as sweep, moved off into familiar terrain but to all intents and purposes an entirely different world. Deprived of normal peripheral vision one’s focus condenses down to the tunnel of light in front and other moving lights ahead.
The lead driver extends his skill to encompass all in the line behind him as he picks a route through the sand, more so than in a daytime drive. If you can imagine our drive following our Marshall and then take away the safety net of following. You are about to crest a ridge or crossover a bowl….. complete black emptiness …your lights are in the air, only experience guides you. That is what we were part of last night..ohh sorry I mean this morning. A consummate demonstration of skill.
Our convoy moved comfortably around the dunes, we had a couple or three ‘live’ demonstrations of the usual recovery techniques; popout – kinetic pull and winch-out, plus a few challenges and retry’s. Kumar responded to these incidents and adjusted the routing to suit, nevertheless we were the first convoy to arrive at the chosen ‘camp spot’. It was one of those magic transient moments; a group of folk with shared interests on a vantage point under the stars. A warm breeze caressed our spirits, finally washing the weeks woes/ cares and other people problems away. We were free. Smiles broke out, night time stories were swapped, distant landmarks were discussed as we watched the approach of Thanseer’s and Ganesh’s convoys.
Once all 20+ vehicles were reunited atop Pink Rock, Camp was setup, fires and BBQ lit and for some the party began. Our calm was broken by a group of ‘Space Invader Jeepers’ with more Lumens than the Eddystone Lighthouse and a second time by a 2 car group of locals having fun in the dark. Sundar’s landrover was put on defence watch atop a ridge and our ‘hamlet’ gathering took shape.
Having said our goodbyes the combined return convoy set out led by Marshall Thanseer with Marshall Kumar as Sweep. In some respects the exit drive was more challenging than the entry drive and although there were no incidents, several drivers had their skill set challenged crossing the higher dunes before we descended to the lower tracks out back to Nazwa.
Inflation and light rig demounting took place in front of Nazwa school at around 02.30am.
:thanks: to Marshall’s Thanseer, Kumar and Ganesh for the organisation and the lead,
:thanks: to all our fellow DO’s for their company for the First of the season JUST FOR FUN night drive 😀SEE y’all soon B-)
Thanks to Dada, Tiger & Desert King for organizing the drive…
Pictures during drive..
Oops, it was dark.. 😀
quote rak667:WHAT A NIGHT!!!A truly memorable drive…
I’m sure as our drives progress, I’ll be able to adapt and get better.
At around 06:30 am, I awoke to an awesome sight. Smooth untouched desert, where once had been countless tracks left behind by the previous nights convoys and assorted buggies, that had now been blown away by the still prevailing sand storm. So strong was the wind, that my tent was half buried under huge volume of sand, and required enormous effort to actually recover. We quickly packed up, and attempted to move out. We had to be pretty careful, as most of the vehicles were now in dips, due to the sand blown all around them, but it was nothing that low gear and a firm throttle couldn’t solve. once ready, Ganesh led us on a short but fast paced drive out of the desert, back to Tawi Nazwa, where after a few cups of coffee, we inflated and went our separate ways.
Definitely looking forward to more of the night drives in the future!
Hey Rakesh, comment on line 2 above, you did just fine brother. Good self control. Popouts, kinetic recoveries and winchouts happen to the very best whether you are out front, in the middle or at the end. Just stay open to learning keep :drive:’ing and remember it’s Just For FUN 😀
Sounds like you had another sort of adventure later this morning …nice one 🙂
Take care & regards to dad
quote rak667:WHAT A NIGHT!!!A truly memorable drive…
The night started off as usual, with all the participants having assembled at Tawi Nazwa at the appointed time. The marshals spent some time setting up their night driving equipment (assorted HID lights) with most of us casting admiring and envious looks upon them. When we were ready to move, we moved off to our entry point, and were split into 3 convoys, led by Kumar, Ganesh and Thanseer, and set off at a cautious pace.
There truly are very few sights as magnificent as a night sky in the desert. We continued to star gaze and chit chat till Thanseer and Ganesh met us with their respective convoys.
The second part of the trip began, and those of us staying back for the BBQ unpacked their wares and began to set up. Little did we know that the gentle breeze blowing at the time was only a taste to come of something more ominous!
Myself and my father, Ganesh, Anand and daughter, Carl, Amin, Sundar and Jason stayed back to camp over night, seated by a magnificent campfire, the embers of which fed our BBQs and kept us warm for the most part. We had a wonderful time chatting, while Ganesh regaled us with past stories and anecdotes of previous drives. The wind started to pick up a bit, but none of us payed much attention to it, assuming that it would die down in some time, and continued on till the early hours. At 04:30 am, when that gentle breeze had evolved into a full on sand storm, we were forced to retire for the night to the shelter of our vehicles, as the tents were putting up a poor fight against the wind.
At around 06:30 am, I awoke to an awesome sight. Smooth untouched desert, where once had been countless tracks left behind by the previous nights convoys and assorted buggies, that had now been blown away by the still prevailing sand storm. So strong was the wind, that my tent was half buried under huge volume of sand, and required enormous effort to actually recover. We quickly packed up, and attempted to move out. We had to be pretty careful, as most of the vehicles were now in dips, due to the sand blown all around them, but it was nothing that low gear and a firm throttle couldn’t solve. once ready, Ganesh led us on a short but fast paced drive out of the desert, back to Tawi Nazwa, where after a few cups of coffee, we inflated and went our separate ways.
Definitely looking forward to more of the night drives in the future!
Edited … =)) to make my part of the bit :-B
All I could say is Thanks to DO for giving this wonderful opportunity . Thanks to the Marshals , Sweeps & Seniors for a very safe and wonderful night out. :ymhug:
:thanks: to Ganesh ,Rakesh , his Dad , Carl , Jason , Amin ,Anand & his baby daughter for making the night out a cool one.To stand testimony to the fact that mother nature is unpredictable and formidable,last night’s sand storm gave us a valuable lesson.
With the mercury rising, lets plan for many more Thursday night drives and camping :p
Last but not the least , we went in and we came out, safely. Thanks to the Almighty and DO !
After the meeting point at T Navazah shops, the convoy was divided in 3 groups lead by Marshall’s Thanseer, GKumar and Ganesh
Marshall Kumar’s convoy, myself at second lead, Rakesh, Hendrik, Bubban with Nikki/Brian at the sweep, we moved off in the nigh wondering what this new experience going to be like. The drive at night was an entirely a different world. Our vision was locked on to the lit up area of our own 4×4’s headlight and to other moving lights ahead.
Our lead Marshall Kumar made it look easy as he picked the track just as if he was driving in the area at daytime. Our convoy moved comfortably around the dunes, with a couple recoveries. We were relieved when we reach on top the Pink rock with all drivers reaching the top we lit the campfire and the party started.
When it was time to move, we said our goodbyes to the and he returning group was guided back by Marshall Thanseer and we descended to the lower tracks out back to Nazwa
Many thanks to Marshall’s Kumar, Thanseer and Ganesh for the organisation and the lead, Thank to all the DO members who joined in the season’s first night drive. It was truly a wonderful experience; looking forward for more such drives.
Its very nice and happy to have many good reporters among us to brief about the drive and development to all those would couldn’ t participate :-BD :-BD :-BD 🙂 🙂 🙂 Sometime in the past, we use to rush to the laptop on completing a drive for making drive report to share drive details with all our colleagues. Now this task is completely taken over by very capable and active group of members. Very happy to notice that they are executing this task much more efficiently :ymapplause: :ymapplause: :ymapplause: Great job guys, keep it up :-BD :-BD :-BD
Yes, we DOs marked the beginning for a new night drive season in a grand way 🙂 Nice line up of 23 cars 😮 most of them were quite curious to experience the wilderness of desert at night. We as well were quite eager to get into sands to test the old & new HID lights. Inflated at meeting point, drive briefing at entry point, splitted in 3 convoys, started rolling in the dark. I am sorry for you Firoz as you couldn’t spot our regular entry point in the dark. You had been there number of times but spotting it in dark is a difficult task. Better next time bro! 🙂
It was a nice surprise to most of the participants to experience the limitations of driving in desert at night. Limited vision, no room for error, follow exactly the track, crest cutting in the dark were few of the challenges to the convoy. Everybody coped up with the challenges very quickly having experience of sands in their pockets. In my convoy Rakesh was certainly out of his comfort zone. No probs Rakesh, its just a learning. Moreover, night driving is not everybody’s call being tough and risky. Rest of my convoy was Rein, Hendrick, Amin, Brian / Nikkie and everybody did a great job :ymapplause: :ymapplause: :ymapplause: The track was through dunes and few bowls and it was enough for a refreshment drive. Many to follow.. lets wait for it :-w :-w :-w
It was a pleasant night, was not cold as expected with nice breeze (later turned out to be a storm 😀 ) till we left the BBQ by around 2am. Had a nice chit chat at top of Pink Rock, had a chance of tasting different food stuff, had some small tips from our own young man on astronomical navigation. Really enjoyed the company :-BD 🙂
Non camping drivers were led in a single convoy by Thanseer to Tawi Nazwa with myself at sweep. Inflated, exchanged greetings, short chit chat and left the place at around 3.45am. With the onset of summer, thinking to make this slot as an integral part of offroading schedule 😀
Nice to know Campers had a good time at top of pink rock and also had the chance to experience nature’s fury :-ss :-ss :-ss I am happy for you Sundar that we changed the position of your car at last moment.. otherwise just guess @-) @-) @-)
All together it was a nice evening worth to spend at sands in company of bunch of good people. Thank you all for joining this drive and we will together make it happen again and again :-BD :-BD :-BD 🙂 🙂 🙂
quote GKumar:I am happy for you Sundar that we changed the position of your car at last moment.. otherwise just guess @-) @-) @-)All together it was a nice evening worth to spend at sands in company of bunch of good people. Thank you all for joining this drive and we will together make it happen again and again :-BD :-BD :-BD 🙂 🙂 🙂
😮 😮 O:-) O:-) 😀 😀
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