UAE West to East - Umm Al Oush (Madinat Zayed to Arada)

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David
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Got to campsite around 9, very good ambience around the fire, decided to go to sleep when I saw that only the hardcore ones were left (Mabubaker, Nidal, Ehab ...) as I knew they would be there for a while ...

A "classic" for Almost, Madinat Zayed to Arada including a little segment after the E15 underpass. Always gorgeous landscape, dune after dune with amazing walls always in sight.

Very very long convoy lead by Shamsi with Tom as 2nd lead, area well known for the drop-climbs combinations and some patches of very soft sand, some issues were clearly expected, I was positioned as sweeper so I knew it was turn to "learn how to survive", very chewed up tracks everywhere so extra attention was required for continuous small track modifications while still avoiding to end up in a ditch in the process.

Leading car was good with us the intermediates allowing us to play some walls, much appreciated as for me personally I was very keen on trying the FJ in those, quickly discovered where 1st would cut off and after the first couple of walls quick changes made to the way to approach these dunes, you need to keep a closer eye on the rpm than with the jeep, after a while you know where to keep the car and goes nicely.

Added bonus to practice 4L, really impressed with it must admit, very enjoyable and useful, looking forward to putting it to practice more often.

Giorgio and Mabubaker worked extremely hard to keep the convoy moving and under control, amazing job, up and down all of the time giving instructions and assisting as and when needed.

A few interesting rescues that I also enjoyed and provided very good practice, one in a very soft patch where countless viking ropes and 2 cars were needed and a pop-out situation that required anchoring the car with 2 cars from the upper side.

Darkness found us with still a good portion of the track to be completed, loved it, I really like driving at night so this was an added bonus, we even had the convoy splitting and getting lost by the farms that took us back into the dunes where the now famous "lets go in a straight line!!!" happened (We love you Marco).

If allowed my view on points to improve:

- Lets be on time, I know "s..t happens" but out of respect for fellow drivers lets all aim for punctuality.

- Radio communication, please listen to Marshall's instructions, if not clear ask for them to repeat.

- If stuck, breath in before you floor it, you might be making matters worst, wait for Marshall's instructions and if not clear ask for them to clarify, no harm in coming out of the car to inspect where and how you got stuck, sometimes that gives a good view of what you need to do.

- A drive like this one is designed to test endurance amongst other driving skills, always the most dangerous times are after lunch (yes, the Spanish siesta) and towards the end of the drive when we are all tired, extra concentration and attention required at these times.

Finally, as always, thank you Shamsi for another amazing lead, Mabubaker and Giorgio, as said before extremely impressive work, and of course to everyone else that attended and made the drive possible.

See you on the sand soon.
Last edited by David on Mon Dec 05, 2022 4:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Tomvanhouten
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Hello everyone,

The trip title is not accurate anymore, we have been driving far away ORLY

This was day 2 of the series and as always Liwa had some surprises waiting for us.
We started off and immediately it became clear that the convoy was long stretched which took some time to get up to speed. No worries, with a leading car of this class! Soon the first stucks and second tries were reported and that is were the fun started!! Psmiley
The whole day, until we finally got out around 730pm, it was fun and excitement with challenges to sort as well.
Fixing pop-outs in the dark, recoveries with optimum concentration, getting lost, cars without fuel.... sounds like we had fun and disaster at the same time, well, yes it was. This is Liwa and it will always throw something at you.. cool

Thank you all and see you soon,

Tom
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giorgio
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This drive for the 10+ drivers was part of the second day of the Liwa 2022 adventure.

The convoy was quite long which made it more difficult to manage and navigate it through the dunes.

The lead car executed a well designed track turning on and off the fun and the challenge.

After 10 hours of continuous fun we end up the drive with 0 losses and 0 casualties something that it is to be proud of. This time Liwa did not claim any victims.

Thank you to all members, lead and support team for the great off-road adventure

See you all at the next drive
The Wolf is not concerned with the opinion of the sheep
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brett
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Dear Almosters

Day 2 in Liwa ! after a nice rest at the campsite we woke to another lovely morning. with chit chat and coffee around the fire, finally it was time to start the drive. The briefing was short ! from @alshamsi_m - @Tomvanhouten 2nd lead, @giorgio floating lets drive !

Again only a few 10+ Newbies and the usual suspects of intermediates, like with day 1 the sand was very soft and the drive level (speed) was pushed up a notch or 2. Again the intermediates were given some opportunities to challenge the bigger arches under the watchful eye of the Founder and Marshals.

Unfortunately there were some silly mistakes made by some of the drivers with situations causing the convoy to become disjointed and of course causing delays. did I mention the sand was SOFT !
our Marshals showed incredible patients ensuring every situation was handled safely and by the end of the drive everyone came out of the dunes safely and for the most part with their cars in one piece.

It was getting late and we were driving with lights - which was an extra bonus/challenge towards the end, the drivers were tired and luckily other than a pop out and a couple of second tries, fatigue didn't claim any victim's

My Take Aways from the 2 days in Liwa
- listen to the instructions on the radio - and FOLLOW THEM
- report situations on the radio IMMEDIATELY and wait for support
- keep the right distance - too close is not a good idea in a fast paced convoy, too far and you will lose the track.

We inflated, said our goodbyes to those staying on for day 3 and headed back to Dubai reaching home around midnight - it had been an intense 2 days of fun and adventure. huge thank you to @alshamsi_m for his tireless effort arranging the trip, and leading @giorgio for your patients and guidance, @Mabubaker for keeping an eye on us and to all the intermediates for the support.
Thank you to the newbies for joining the drive and making it a wonderful Almost4x4 adventure.
Until the next Adventure

Brett
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nidal78
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Hi almosters
What a marathon day it was driving around 11 hours in desert plus 4 hours to reach home 🥵
But it was another amazing experience with ALMOST4X4 family 😊
The day before the drive we had a lovely and joyful camp chitchat with the friends with many funny stories to share and watching of course the WC matches 😎
THE DRIVE DAY
“Gather up, gather up” the famous call by our leader @alshamsi_m and he gave us (maybe) the fastest brief ever @Tomvanhouten 2 lead @giorgio and @Abubakar floating marshals and let’s drive
For me it was the first real test for my new Nissan pathfinder(Shadow) and it really passed the exam with high score 😁 it preformed very well I felt very confident with it and I finished the drive and reached home without any issues 😊
The drive was amazing big arches, big drops, soft sand, many straight crests, lots of recoveries, 2 pop outs and driving in the dark
Our leader choose a nice and challenging route according to the level of the drivers
Actually some of the drivers had some difficulties but as we know it’s part of the learning journey so my advice to everyone please listen to the marshals instructions and keep always your radio on and don’t lose your concentration otherwise you’ll end up in a bad situation
Finally I would like to thank @alshamsi_m for his amazing efforts for organizing and leading this drive
@giorgio and @Abubakar for their patience, guidance and secure everyone 🙏
Our brave intermediate for all the rescues and efforts you did really great guys 💪🏻
Till next time be safe and see you soon on sand
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Mabubaker
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10+ drives in Liwa reminds me of my best days in the club as a newbie. Liwa drives gives an accumulated experience of several regular drives because of duration/distance, variety of dune shapes and obstacles. In fact, one drive is an upgrade to your newbie skill and believe me you'll feel it.
As usual, @alshamsi_m drows a track beyond expectations with twists to test the newbies ablity to respond.
Intermediate support team didna great job on assisting recoveries is a safe way. Well done guys.
Thanks to Bu Salem for organising and leading such an amaizing drive and @giorgio for ensuring safty of the drivers.
See you soon!
Mohammad
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Mghoneim
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Apologies for the late trip report, but I promised i would do it so here we are.

This was my second time to Liwa, after my first time in March 2022 @ hameem. I was looking forward to it as the first time was still carved in my memories. I started early to ensure arriving to liwa before sunset. @nidal.a-l-salti and I met at AD boarder and convoyed our way to madinet zayed, and managed to get to the last petrol station before sun set where we met a lot of almosters returning from the 5- drive fueling up for the next day.

Afterwards we drove further to the camp where some chit chats, barbeques took place while a I was watching the world cup matches. I managed to wake up very early, so I had the chance to cruise to the petrol station and back to get some ice.

The drive started quickly with almost no briefing as some members was late packing up and @alshamsi_m wanted to give them a hard time. It was yet another beautiful scenic of dunes, and @alshamsi_m managed to play with our adrenaline every other dune. The convoy was long and I was expecting to split into two convoys, but we didn't. As the drivers got tired , some started to repeat silly mistakes which made the marshal's frustration audible on the radio.

After 10+ hours of driving or so, all managed to be out safely with great memories of this lovely place. Big thank you to @alshamsi_m ,@giorgio ,@Mabubaker for leading and floating around the convoy. Thanks to @Tomvanhouten for the second lead, @PedroLeal @Ehab @David and all other intermediates for the support.


Till the next time in liwa
Mghoneim
Cheers,
MGhoneim
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