Different dunes

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Tomvanhouten
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Hello everyone,

with a bit of luck, I was allowed in the "Different dunes" drive.

We went sightseeing thru several area, hence the name of the drive, where all sorts of different dunes were encountered.

It was again a great drive, organized in a professional and safe manner. This is what our club is really good at; you get to learn in a very safe environment, although looking around, all seems scary!

I hope that all enjoyed the different sceneries and sincerely looking forward to see all of you again soon.

Thanks to the organization and safe guidance @alshamsi_m and @Barish not to forget the great support and advise of @Gabor @Jasper and @haider alnuaimi

See you soon,

Tom
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So the trip started with @alshamsi_m asking who speak French? My friend who was with me speak French, both of us were shocked for a while, why do you need a French speaker in the desert? Shall we say yes? we did and we were asked to come to the road, will they kick us out? I did nothing! we still did not drivešŸ˜³šŸ˜³šŸ˜³ oh, we have to recover a super car and the driver only speak French, yes, a yellow McLaren was stuck in sand.
We spent the time ā€˜delicatelyā€™ removing the recovery point plastic cover, we spent few minutes looking for the recovery point connector, which turned to be in the front šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚, extra soft shackles were used, very gentle pulls were done, i am saying gentle as usually when we get stuck, one or 2 people will try to help in digging, pull the car once max twice, 2 minutes max and we will be out, for this, we had 6 people (founder, marshal, advanced, intermediate, newbie and a CM) making sure not only sand but even dust does not touch the car or go inside it, whenever the car is close to the sand from the side, stop stop stop, then 4 people will help in removing the sand, we move it few inches then we stop and go around the car to make sure we do not hurt its emotions, sorry I mean we do not scratch it.
We noticed a scratch in one of the tires, we stopped everything to make sure the driver know about it and does not blame us for it, I think because we know that this wheel is almost the price of my car šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ¤£šŸ¤£
Here is the recovery video:



The rest of the drive was amazing with more than 25 cars in the same convoy going through Sharjah desert attractions starting with Big Red, passing by the Pink Rock, then crossing the road hiding to Al Fayah passing next to the Little Camel Rock and ending the trip next to the Fossil Rock.
The drive was handled in very safe and professional manner led by the club founder @alshamsi_m supported by @Barish @Gabor @Jasper and @haider alnuaimi thank you all for the safe trip.
Here is the drive video:
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alshamsi_m
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Hello Everyone

We had our CM drive, followed by to technical drives which felt overwhelming for our new family members. The idea of this drive was to show you that the desert has more to offer in a variety of sceneries and as a club to show you that we have more to offer " Our Friendship " . :innocent:

We had 25 cars in one convoy with many families in the cars which made it a very special day for the drivers. After crossing 45 km of different terrains we came to a very nice sitting area to watch the beautiful Fossil Rock and it's challengers Psmiley

We had a very chillout drive this weekend and that all wouldn't happen without the guardian of @Barish , The rescue support by @haider alnuaimi m @Gabor & @Jasper and the help of @brett , @Tomvanhouten & @James .

Thank you almost4x4 for another great memory and looking forward to see you in the sand

Shamsi
AdventurousĀ League ofĀ Mountains,Ā Oceans andĀ SandĀ Thrills
Slydubai
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Hello! After 6 months away from the Almost 4x4 family, I was lucky enough to join what turned out to be a ā€œmust joinā€ drive, as we passed by some major Sharjah desert waypoints with amazing scenery all along.

Admittedly, Iā€™ve not driven at the newbie level for a while now, but can definitely echo Tomā€™s words. ALMOST4X4 takes safety seriously. The attention to detail at every moment of the track (even as we were sitting down, @alshamsi_m and @Barish maintained their focus and help some of us leave the desert - nothing skips their attention) and ā€œno compromiseā€ approach makes this the best club to learn your first steps in the desert.

Thank you!
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brett
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Hi Almosters

What a great drive we had yesterday ! My weapon of choice for this drive was - J-Wasp as i wanted get a feel for it again before EIB next week.
We gathered at the meeting and man was it Hot šŸ”„
I was expecting the briefing to be brief ! But with so many drivers to organize and set their position in the convoy it took longer than usual - i felt like i was being fried ! Finally we jumped in our vehicles and started lining up. Then the radio call - who speaks french ? You have read @Ehab post and watched the video so i wont repeat it. Yellow McLaren a baby wasp ! My favorite car if i win lotto šŸ¤£.

So finally we were underway @alshamsi_m leading me at second lead and some 24 others behind. This was a mostly track drive with only a few technical spots thrown in to keep it interesting for the -5ā€™s. Some lessons were learnt for sure !

Support and recovery was as always brilliantly covered by @Barish @haider alnuaimi @Gabor @Jasper

And of course helping out in the convoy @Tomvanhouten and @James sweeping up the tail.

The drive delivered in its name. Amazing scenery , wild life - camels and lizards (if you were quick to spot them) some very soft sand patches . We found out that the bushes are tough one had even stolen someones flag ! So along with dont fight gravity dont fight bushes. We also encountered a lot of other traffic quad bikes , jeeps and others coming at us from all directions. The drive ended just at sunset with everyone gathered around enjoying food and drinks and great conversations and stories while watching the antics of a few locals rocketing straight up Fossil rock. Some making the climb others having to abort.

Take aways from the drive
- stay focused and concentrate things change quickly.
- listen to the instructions on the radio its important !
- the radio is for announcements not chit chat
- even on an easy track drive you are learning new skills. Enjoy the process.
- maintain the correct distance not to close and not too far

Until next week ! EIB
Please come along and enjoy the entertainment its going to be a wild event

Brett
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Until the next Adventure

Brett
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Zain
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Hello Almosters,

Different Dunes was as the name suggests a different experience from the previous drives. Most of the drive was relatively high speed with fun sloping turns. Got to open the throttle and enjoy floating over sand on this one.

Since the track wasn't very technical the drive was mostly incident free. There was a car ahead that lost its flag causing everyone behind to suddenly slow down. Even though we were driving at a quick pace, we were able to quickly slow down without any problems since everyone was maintaing safe distance.

The views throughout the drive were really beautiful with interesting way points like the camel rock and 'walking' trees.

Thank you to @alshamsi_m , @Barish, @Jasper, @haider alnuaimi , @Gabor for all the support and watching over a large convoy. Hope to see everyone again, another day, another drive :D

Zain,
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nidal78
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Hello Almosters
Different dunes drive exactly matched it topic
It was a really chilling relaxing and exploring drive
I loved the areas so much there are many nice camping spots I put it in my mind for the next winter šŸ˜
I made a video for the trip trying to summarize it but I couldnā€™t film everything because of camera overheating šŸ„µ
Finally I want to thank Abu Salim for organizing such a wonderful drive and many thanks to support team and I hope everyone enjoyed the drive and hope to see you soon
theDanutz
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Dear Almosters,

Thank you a lot for organizing Different Dunes trip! It was a very nice experience and happy to find out we drove 45 KM through sand OSMILEY Amazing trip!


I am calling UAE home for more than 10 years now, but did not think I would see so many interesting landmarks in just one drive. :have_a_nice_day:


The convoy was lead by @alshamsi_m with support from @Barish, and help of @haider alnuaimi, @Gabor, @Jasper, @brett , @Tomvanhouten & @James .

The briefing was short and while we "cooked" a little in the cars before starting, it just gave me enough time, to enjoy the a little bit more the nice views around us, before drive begins. Shortly after Black Pajero was on the move! :yaeh_am_not_durnk:

Few small dunes and we reached a very pleasant area with higher speed drive though some very nice tracks, transitioning from one side of the dunes to another. This is the reason why I started to take my car off-road. When thinking than just a bit more than 1 month ago (tools receipt reminds of 23 april 2021), I wasnā€™t even remotely interested about desert driving, now Iā€™m enjoying more than ever! Happily, I even did modifications to my stock car.. plates, bumper cutting & ABS switches (normal things for Pajeros as I understood). All these, some time back seemed unimaginable. Further in the plan.. some proper suspensions cool

With all these, hopefully Iā€™ll not have to use my towel so often (as @Barish noticed brigade.baka-wolf.com )

During this drive, I had one 2nd attempt, ā€œbotheredā€ by an ATV and did not carry enough momentum to continue, so had to turn down... but better to be safe than sorrow. I also lost my entire flag pole, I apologize for having entire convoy stop, and many thanks to @Gabor for recovering it and helping me mounting it back on the car! I am grateful and I owe you a tea! thumbsup

There were short brakes in between and we had time to chit chat, which turned great in having the chance of getting to know each other. The picnic at the end was very fun, Thank you a lot to everyone for the preparations for it! in love

While now I have to get back to work (to fund my new hobby have a nice day ), I'm really looking forward for next drives!

Thank you Almost 4x4! :have_a_nice_day:

Best regards,
Danutz

Black Pajero

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dorudoru
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Hello all,

One more newbie drive passenger experience for me. It was such a lovely sightseeing tour. This drive gave the chance the fresh newbies to enjoy the desert sights of UAE.

I can closely see @sparrow's progress during the last few drives. These are the times you get used to your car and understand the responses. I believe all fresh newbies are experiencing the same. Just few points;
  • Try to master your car as much as possible
  • Keep a safe distance all the time (big enough to let you decide in any critical condition, short enough to keep the car in front in your sight
  • Report the situation, don't try to resolve the mystery by yourself
  • And the most important thing is, Enjoy the ride!
Special thanks to the @alshamsi_m and @Barish along with the supports @haider alnuaimi, @Gabor, @Jasper.

@James as the best sweeper and @brett as second lead(nice to see you in the jeep again). Additionally, I shouldn't forget @Tomvanhouten who kept an eye of the newbies in the convoy.

See you in the sand!
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Barish
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Hello everyone,

I believe it was really different experience for our new members. It was a great track by @alshamsi_m as a trip through the famous rocks, coffee dunes and walking trees including an amazing drive ending in our sitting area.

Everyone did very well. Comm skills need a little bit polishing and concentration till the end to be up although its hard especially in afternoon drives in this season.

Dont forget; change is good as soon as followed by improvement.

See you next time.

Barish
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