Almost4x4

Killer Bees:

This was the last drive of the National day long weekend. From the long adventure the night before, all the members got to wake up morning under a thick fog that made the bf time way longer.

The fog did not allow us to move from the camp earlier than 10:30 am. That alone took time from our plan but we were all in high spirits and exited to drive intermediate level in Liwa.

The sand was extremely soft and we could not flow lead car had his hands full trying to keep the drive in intermediate level something that was not easy as the terrain was bringing so many obstacles that forcing you to either raise the level or get yourself in trouble.

Second tries, stucks, pop outs ( my second one in two days) self rescues assisted rescues and almost a reverse long drop, fast drive through dust and long stretches of Sabhas were the challenges that we faced.

With @alshamsi_m on the lead me as a second lead @Booy @Scorpio and @Rashidjass floating we were trying to make our way thought the unfriendly desert.

With all these challenges and we the time set back from the fog the lead car needed to take short cuts to ensure that we will be on time to do the Shah's drop.


Over all the drive was full of adventure with many ohhhhh Shi..... moments and alot of team work.
The drop from Shah was amazing it is something that every driver should at least do it once.



Again I would like to thank the organizer and lead car all the supporting team and drivers for the amazing drive.

Until next time be safe.

The Killer Bees : survival of the fittest

Excited to make it for the trip, myself and @optimus decided to pair up and show up in the morning for the drive. Both Marshals @Rashidjass & @SINGH also decided to come along .
04:00:- Took off at 4:00 from dxb and just after couple of hours we got hit by a dense fog. it was indeed a challenging drive, as we were aiming to make it on time.
08:30:- We made it to the camp by 08:30 to find the folks in their pyjamas, huddled up around the bonfire, while coffee was being brewed. The way the fog was sittingin, it looked that it will take some time for it to die down. Couple of hours just passed in a flash thanks to the hilarious camp stories.
10:30:- @alshamsi_m briefing was short and precise as the focus in it was on endurance.
10:40:- Convoy moved , with @alshamsi_m in front and @giorgio as second lead, myself in the middle of the (due to a Marshal as my passsenger) ), and @Booy @Rashidjass , @Scorpio keeping the watch.
Before moving to the much bigger dunes, @AlShamsi_m did warmup with arches in deep bowls clubbed with some straight crests. There were some technical areas explored where the sand was very unpredictable (mix of soft and hard patches). In order to make it through these long climbs and side crests momentum was a must. It was challenge for few by at the end everyone made it, with some second tries. @AlShamsi_m was testing the convoy by suddenly raising the level and manoeuvring it at will. This led to few stucks, some self-recoveries and few odd pop outs. Our second lead @giorgio did really well to announce the safety call as soon as the hazard was noticed.
14:30:- The convoy stopped at a nice spot to chit chat while having lunch. For few, A snooze break .
15:00:- The drive continued with mix of technical, long sabkha stretches (touched 120), mega dune drops and series of arches on the walls.
17:15:- Icing on the cake were those long drops which were truly amazing to experience, especially the SHAH drop which we managed to reach at, just before the sunset.

The breath taking view from top of the Shah dune was just awesome!!!

thanks to @alshamsi_m , @Booy , @Rashidjass , @Scorpio, @SINGH for an exciting drive, amazing day and a great company.

Till next time
Mahmood yasin
Dark stallion
Black FJ cruiser

Hello everyone,

This was to be our 3rd and last day in Liwa. After our excursion to try and reach our camp location, due to last minute gate closures by some VIP'S, we reached our Plan B location fairly late. We took almost all the wood we had, made a big bon fire, chit chatted for a while and went to sleep.

Little did we know that we will have a few more hours of chit chatting in the morning, due to the fog that forced us to stay put at the camp until 10:30am. It reminded me of last year's Liwa experience, as we had the exact same situation on the third morning with dense fog. After burning most of the wood the night before, we now had to ration our supplies to keep the fire going until the fog clears up. It lasted, and @Alexandre could still take one bag home with him for his planned BBQ later in the day.

By now, day 3, we had a good team of support and I decided to stay around the back of the convoy, observe, enjoy, and most of all, to keep moving such that I can have a breeze through the car - with no AC it warms up pretty quickly when not moving :)

@alshamsi_m did a very good job in adjusting our original planned track, to make sure we will reach our destination before sunset, and to take the convoy out of the desert on an easy track while driving in the dark.

After driving down the amazing Shah's drop, our Liwa Wonders came to an end... I felt tired, but well rested at the same time. Tired body, but fresh mind...

Some people stayed for one day, others two days and 2 of us did all 3 days - thank you everyone who joined - you made wondering through Liwa an experience of a lifetime - again...

See you soon and stay safe...

Regards,

Booy

Hello everyone!

This was my 2nd drive in Liwa. The first was when during the newbie days and now on intermediate level.

I left Dubai around 4pm and arrived at the deflating point around 8. After deflating started to move to the entrance and it was blocked by a rope and I tried to look for other ways around – no luck. Decided to remove the rope blocking the way and drove straight to the camp site. I didn’t call/text anyone as I was expecting members already in the camp as it was 8:30 pm – no one was there. Double/triple checked the coordinates and I’m sure I’m in the right spot. Checked my phone to call the others and no signal. Now decision time. I decided to start the bon fire and chill and wait for the members to join. While heating up my dinner hear a car coming and saw it was @alshamsi_m. Great sense of relief that I’m in the right spot

Once they started settling down we found out that the rest of the convoy can’t go in. Quickly @alshamsi_m decided to move to Plan B and move to Base Camp. I quickly packed my stuff and off we went to meet the rest of the convoy. @Booy led us to the camp site where we settled in. Had a nice evening around the fire and decided to go to bed past 12 midnight. Trying to sleep hearing all the cars playing around the areas is the start of the challenge (all hitting their redline limits).

Morning was greeted with a very thick fog and we had to wait for it to clear before we move. We started moving around 11am. I was 2nd to the last car (@Rooies is the last as sweeper) during the line-up. We had a nice warm up with long arches and climbs. Getting too excited made me go into the bowl even if the car in front of me is not yet clear (first mistake). Have to back out and clear the area so he can take a second try. On the same spot I think is where @Rooies got technical issues with the car and decided to call it a day. Felt bad for you man!

We continued the drive flowing nicely over big bowls with a combination of technical areas (with powder soft sand). Since we started late, we had a late lunch too (I think around 2 pm). After the lunch we continued to tackle combination of long dusty high speed runs and big climbs. Second mistake happened again going into the bowl and started to climb without the car in front of me clearing it. I had to do figure 8 to climb out of the bowl to clear it for his second try.

Being the last car driving on disturbed sand had its challenges. Had to find a different path most of the time to clear the climb. It was a very tricky position. The icing of the cake came when we had to do the Shah drop. Since this is my first time, I didn’t know what to expect. I know I was very excited to do it and being the last car and seeing everyone doing great compounds the excitement and the fear factor.

@alshamsi_m’s lead was amazing! He provided us an unforgettable experience. I can’t say thank you enough. Special thanks also to @Booy’s continuous instruction to correct our mistakes to make us better and improve! It is much appreciated. @Rashidjass , @Scorpio and @SINGH for keeping us all safe as well and @giorgio’s second lead! And to my fellow intermediate drivers, well done guys!

Take care and see you all again soon!

Hello everyone

Chapter 3 :


The plan for this day is to play high intermediate, what does it mean?

1. You are going to drive in extremely soft areas on the top of the dunes.
2. Marshals are not going to hesitate to do the large drops.
3. You are going to experience Anxiety because of the continuous intensive driving.


The fog in the morning delayed our drive for 2 hrs but I paid back by extending the drive till sunset.

For me the highlight of this drive was the hug dune that I passed on the other side of the fence in " Saudi Arabia " and as always the top view from Shah drop.

I would like to thank all the Marshals who joined us in last day and special thanks to @Booy who was able to survive the 3 days " NO AC " with me this year!!!

Till next time, Stay Safe and see you in the sand

Shamsi