Hello Almosters,
I had the full Liwa package, so I will write about all 3 days in one report.
For me it was the first time to spent full 3 days and nights in Liwa with 6-8 hours desert driving per day.
I was not sure if I could persevere the marathon, mentally and physically, especially with the intermediate drive at the last day.
Stage 1:
I left towards Hameem straight from work and arrived at the camp site at around 6 and started the fire with the help of
@Sorin who arrived just a few minutes after me. More and more people joined the camp and we spent the evening chit chatting and eating.
After midnight most people went to sleep, the brave ones in a tent, despite the dangerous creatures which are wandering through the desert
I slept 4-5 hours and with some fresh coffee in the morning I managed to wake up before the drive. We had a small Newbie 5+ convoy with only 6 drivers I think and a lot of Marshals as support. I honestly have to say that I do not remember much from this drive. I was second lead behind
@Booy and the track challenged our drivers especially with sharp crests and big drops. There was one crest nearly all got stuck including Marshals
and we spent quite a while there.
We finished close to Hameem at around 5 as scheduled and said goodbye to the 5+ drivers.
Stage 2:
From Hameem we drove towards Moreeb dune with a stop in Mezaira to fill up fuel and snacks. We arrived at the deflating point around 7:30 and met
@SameRaptoRed and
@Loca there so we drove to the camp site together. Even if I felt really tired that evening we had a great time around the fire with good laughs and delicious food prepared by
@SameRaptoRed, thank you for that
Around 11:30 everyone went to sleep and even with some noise from the Moreeb dune which was challenged by some supercharged cars, I managed to get some good sleep for a couple of hours.
In the morning after breakfast and coffee I felt still tired and was wondering how I will survive an 8 hour drive in proper Liwa...The area is challenging and different than what we are usually drive. There is no room for mistakes and Liwa is always good for surprises.
Just ten minutes after take off the first dune reminded me of that. I drove at the back so I had to deal with messed up tracks and I tried to use fresh tracks wherever possible. The first climb we did I hit a bump that was not visible, I flew and landed very hard. Surprisingly nothing broke, but I had bad headache the next hour. sick
Our convoy was quite long and radio communication and distance more important than ever.
Even if you need to be focused in Liwa all the time, I got in the zone. It is this mental state when you are focused and relaxed at the same time.
Our convoy did very well, I guess we only had one stuck car and a couple of second tries. The Liwa dunes are stunning every single time and I cannot get enough of it. So I really enjoyed the parts on flat ground when you can have a look around, a cigarette, food, drinks… (please dont tell my mum I do these things while driving a car
)
Our grand finale was a big drop close to ghost town, personally for me always a mental challenge but the perfect end of the drive day. At around 4 pm we reached the road and said goodbye to our Newbie 10+ drivers.
Stage 3:
After the 10+ drive we went back to Mezaira for some proper food at a Pakistani restaurant. I dont know if I was just super hungry or if the food was really that good.
With a full stomach and after 8 hours proper Liwa drive I really struggled to stay awake, but we had to fill up our cars and drive to our camp site in Arada.
At the camp it was just Booy, Bu Salem, Mabubaker, Rapailo and myself. My original plan was to go to bed as early as possible, but we had some good time again at the fire and so it was already 10:30 when we went to bed. I fell asleep immediatley as I crawled into my sleeping bag and slept 7 hours without moving
In the morning it was super foggy and I couldnt find the camp site without Garmin, even if it showed me that I am only 255 metres away… Very creepy. The fog was so thick that we could only start 11 am
Even if it was the highest level drive of the weekend, I felt it the most relaxed one. We only had 6 cars, we all drive together for quite some time and know each other well. We started with some play time in the walls, which was super fun, even though I lost the first two cars slow. It was just maybe half an hour that we played around, but I enjoyed it so much, especially with my new car set up
After playtime we left the big dunes behind and drove fast through the beautiful scenerie. I was totally in the zone, the radio was silent most of the time, the flow continousley without stops and the terrain not too challenging.
We had another great playround at a wall and I was happy to see that my heating issue seems solved one and for all, so I could enjoy my cars´full power while freezing with full AC
Shortly after the that we reached the road and decided to call it a day as already 2 out of 6 cars were facing some issues.
It was really a weekend that I will never forget.
Thank you everyone for the great company.
In the beginning I said I wasnt sure if I could handle 3 days Liwa. But I could and I am proud of myself that I keep up with the big boys,
@alshamsi_m and
@Booy who also stayed the whole 3 days
Till next time
