Drive Hard 7.1 - The Liwa Experience
Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 12:02 pm
Rugged and unpredictable dunes , breathtaking drops and high speed sabkhas ...
You haven't seen the desert until you experience Liwa !!!
Day1:
Started with a rushed departure from Dubai; just before 8pm and after a long drive , I arrived at the Adnoc Hameem , refuelled and hurriedly made my way to the camp .
Arrived to be greeted by over 20 Almosters , relaxing around an inviting campfire.
The night was spent in chit chat and after midnight , most decided to rest before the demanding full day drive..:2 z Z:
Day2 :
Awakened at 5:30am to be greeted by crisp air and mist covering the nearby date farm and the majestic dunes in the distance.:like:
A lazy start , breakfast , light-hearted chat followed by the pre-drive briefing just past 9am.
The group was split into two convoys ; Newbie and Intermediate.
The Newbie convoy were first to leave with Bu Salem as lead and Abu Jimmy & Caprihorse in support
The Intermediate convoy had Yoghybear carving out the track initially , the lead was later rotated between Strawb & Rashidjass.
Expecting a very technical drive , I fastened my seat belt and followed Duck Commander past the farm to our day long playground . The drive progressed well , the scenery was mesmerising - Nature at its best! ... Tall dunes riddled with a maze of pockets ; large flat sabkhas held captive by intimidating sand mountains and gigantic sand walls.
We played HARD the entire day - side sloping and cresting every dune the marshals could find ... but nothing prepares you for the incredible descents ... we were easily around 100-150m up on some of the slipfaces and the ride down was the height of exhilaration , my heart pounding in my chest and bursts of adrenaline helping to cope with the uneasy slide down these almost vertical sandwalls .. :wtfsmilie:
The recents rains had dampened the sands but not our spirits and it was an amazing drive with friends, experiencing the best nature has to offer.
We arrived at Moreeb after covering 150km of desert driving at around 5pm , then headed to Liwa to refuel ,before we made our way to the next campsite.
A smaller group of offroaders now as the Newbies had departed but another great social evening with great company , great food and lots of laughter.
Day 3 :
With the 4x4s all repacked, we set off at 10am following Bu Salem's tracks with Abu Jimmy watching over the entire convoy .
Just to ensure that we were all fully awake, we were surprised within the first few minutes with a jaw-dropping descend which made the drop at Fossil Rock look like a small hill .
This was a taste of things to come ... the sand was much drier having soaked up the previous day of sunshine which made for a more rewarding drive . It was a day of extremes ... With EXTREME side sloping and EXTREME cresting many, many metres above the safety of flat ground which demanded nothing less than perfect execution . Bu Salem took us to his favourite 'play areas' all of them providing unique experiences that only Liwa has to offer... The endless side sloping on the Great Wall was spellbounding .
At one point we had to evade an extremely deep conical bowl . In all likelihood if anyone was drawn into this great abyss , there would be no chance of recovery. To safely reach the exit required a fair deal of sidesloping followed by a brief crest ride to the ' balcony' of the dune on the other side . It was this and other gravity defying stunts that kept the morning interesting.
An hour long lunch break under shade generously provided by Bu Salem's portable awning and a bit of ingenuity from Sarookh ensured that we could comfortably enjoy a meal while recounting our experiences of the morning . Lunch was followed by an afternoon high speed drive through Sabkhas to reach our final destination Ghost Town ... but its seems the ghosts had relocated and the place had simply vanished off the face of the earth.
We all inflated at the road nearby and made our way back home.
I now understand why Liwa is the pinnacle of offroading ...
The unique terrain tests both driver and car to the EXTREME in an unforgiving environment.
THANKS FOUNDERS AND MARSHALS FOR ORGANISING THIS EXTREMELY REWARDING EXPERIENCE.
CANT WAIT FOR DRIVE HARD 8.0 !!!!
You haven't seen the desert until you experience Liwa !!!
Day1:
Started with a rushed departure from Dubai; just before 8pm and after a long drive , I arrived at the Adnoc Hameem , refuelled and hurriedly made my way to the camp .
Arrived to be greeted by over 20 Almosters , relaxing around an inviting campfire.
The night was spent in chit chat and after midnight , most decided to rest before the demanding full day drive..:2 z Z:
Day2 :
Awakened at 5:30am to be greeted by crisp air and mist covering the nearby date farm and the majestic dunes in the distance.:like:
A lazy start , breakfast , light-hearted chat followed by the pre-drive briefing just past 9am.
The group was split into two convoys ; Newbie and Intermediate.
The Newbie convoy were first to leave with Bu Salem as lead and Abu Jimmy & Caprihorse in support
The Intermediate convoy had Yoghybear carving out the track initially , the lead was later rotated between Strawb & Rashidjass.
Expecting a very technical drive , I fastened my seat belt and followed Duck Commander past the farm to our day long playground . The drive progressed well , the scenery was mesmerising - Nature at its best! ... Tall dunes riddled with a maze of pockets ; large flat sabkhas held captive by intimidating sand mountains and gigantic sand walls.
We played HARD the entire day - side sloping and cresting every dune the marshals could find ... but nothing prepares you for the incredible descents ... we were easily around 100-150m up on some of the slipfaces and the ride down was the height of exhilaration , my heart pounding in my chest and bursts of adrenaline helping to cope with the uneasy slide down these almost vertical sandwalls .. :wtfsmilie:
The recents rains had dampened the sands but not our spirits and it was an amazing drive with friends, experiencing the best nature has to offer.
We arrived at Moreeb after covering 150km of desert driving at around 5pm , then headed to Liwa to refuel ,before we made our way to the next campsite.
A smaller group of offroaders now as the Newbies had departed but another great social evening with great company , great food and lots of laughter.
Day 3 :
With the 4x4s all repacked, we set off at 10am following Bu Salem's tracks with Abu Jimmy watching over the entire convoy .
Just to ensure that we were all fully awake, we were surprised within the first few minutes with a jaw-dropping descend which made the drop at Fossil Rock look like a small hill .
This was a taste of things to come ... the sand was much drier having soaked up the previous day of sunshine which made for a more rewarding drive . It was a day of extremes ... With EXTREME side sloping and EXTREME cresting many, many metres above the safety of flat ground which demanded nothing less than perfect execution . Bu Salem took us to his favourite 'play areas' all of them providing unique experiences that only Liwa has to offer... The endless side sloping on the Great Wall was spellbounding .
At one point we had to evade an extremely deep conical bowl . In all likelihood if anyone was drawn into this great abyss , there would be no chance of recovery. To safely reach the exit required a fair deal of sidesloping followed by a brief crest ride to the ' balcony' of the dune on the other side . It was this and other gravity defying stunts that kept the morning interesting.
An hour long lunch break under shade generously provided by Bu Salem's portable awning and a bit of ingenuity from Sarookh ensured that we could comfortably enjoy a meal while recounting our experiences of the morning . Lunch was followed by an afternoon high speed drive through Sabkhas to reach our final destination Ghost Town ... but its seems the ghosts had relocated and the place had simply vanished off the face of the earth.
We all inflated at the road nearby and made our way back home.
I now understand why Liwa is the pinnacle of offroading ...
The unique terrain tests both driver and car to the EXTREME in an unforgiving environment.
THANKS FOUNDERS AND MARSHALS FOR ORGANISING THIS EXTREMELY REWARDING EXPERIENCE.
CANT WAIT FOR DRIVE HARD 8.0 !!!!
… The fun started when we arrive at the camp meeting fellow members and organisers……with welcome drinks "karak" provided by Chief….Thanks
