Almost4x4

4 days and 320 kms offroad in Liwa was definitely a weekend for me ........

Started from Dubai at around 9'ish with Yoghybear, Zorro, Dimple, Francis, Eric and Sarookh ........

Nice and easy relaxing night in Hameem except that it was a definite pain cleaning up the tents in the morning due to the dew from the liwa cold morning .....

DAY 2 was a test for me as I was given the responsibility to Lead and be 2nd Lead for the intermediate convoy ...... Liwas is SCARY and is very stressful if you are the lead car ..... everything was a surprise and that you need to gut it out to get by the challenges ...... it was a good 152kms for the 1st day with only 1 pop out for the entire drive ...... Yoghy was first to lead in the Qasr Al Sarab area and it was fantastic to see Tornado conquer liwa with the HEMI engine

DAY 3 was the Bu Salem experience ....... I was again tasked to be 2nd lead which was an eye opener for me following Bu Salem ...... I definitely had my memory card free in my brain so i can take in all i can to learn from our founder ....

DAY 4 was with a new batch of drivers namely Musa, Adnan and Soheil ..... nice soft spoken gentlemen who definitely show thier passion for offroading by driving 300 knms from Dubai to have fun with us in the Qasr Area ......

It was a rocking weekend and the kilometers we conquered was definitely more than we all expected.

Drive safe and see you guys in Drive Hard 8.0

@FIDA ..... more LAMB CHOPS!!!!

Cheers

LIWA is something special, I am sure that drivers who came for the first time have soon realized why.....if you are not prepared mentally a disaster can be just down the first steep slope ...
The way we drive in LIWA has nothing to do with what we are use to do in A53, in my personal point of view LIWA is the real offroad, where you drive more that 100 km a day, with different type of dunes, different sand, .... everything is different, therefore the approach must also be different, I would love to go there every week end, but unfortunatelly is too far!
It has been a pity also that the sand was not the usual sand you can find in LIWA, due to the recent rain the ground was hard and we have not experienced the stuck that only there you can have, where driving half meter more left or right can make a huge difference.....but nevermind, next time ISA....
Said that, I would like to thanks all the participants who made this trip another great success of Almost4x4, with a special mention for Bu Salem who led 3 days and Strawb + Rashidjass who shared with me the leadership in day 1, not enough Strawb was second lead on day 2 + 3.
Again, second lead in LIWA, as mentioned by Bu Salem at the initial briefing is not an easy job, you are not a simple follower but you have to understand what the leader is doing and in the same time look around and be ready in no time for a immediate solution in case the leader gets in trouble, and often in LIWA desert the alternative is very tough to find.
Very good job guys!!!
Last but not least, a special thanks to Fida and wife for the amazing lamb chops, I love you guys!
See you soon and take care all.

Once again, another fantastic event organised to the highest level of detail, with meticulous planning by our leaders, the Marshalls. Liwa lived up to my expectations and more, as others have said the sand was not its usual consistency and hence perhaps we Newbies were let off a little from the usual stucks? Anyway, the camp started things off with Chief cooking up the Karak, which was pretty good and hit the spot as the temperature dropped under the perfectly clear, astonishing starry sky. As the vening wore on, more and more Almosters turned up and set up camp across the Hameem area. Chit chat around the camp fire soon gave way to well needed sleep ready for the morning excitement.

I awoke early before sunrise and wandered around the area taking pictures (facebook album to be added later). As the sun peaked over the horizon across the foggy landscape, the camp started to buzz as people arose and started packing up ready for the drive. After a detailed briefing by Al Shamsi and Chief, we split into a Newbie convoy led by Al Shamsi, Chief and Abu Jimmy in support, with the remainder led by Yoghy Bear. We left the camp site after 9 and headed off through the date farms towards the Dunes. We were almost immediately taken on a fast paced roller coaster ride, the adrenalin pumping and heart racing. This continued throughout the day and we experienced many many thrills, exceptional views and the breathtaking scenery of Liwa. I myself learned a lot more about my driving skills, how to read the terrain a bit better and more importantly, how critical it is to listen to instructions, follow the lead of the Marshalls and pick a better route when required. I was 'solo' for only the second time since driving with Almost - and I absolutely loved the experience with my fellow 'family' members.

Very big thanks to everyone who made this drive possible and kept us safe, and returned us back to normality. The weeks are now a blur to me as I yearn for the next trip - bring it on Almost 4x4. See you all soon in the sand - a break this week as I am moving house :-(

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