Almost4x4

[quote=KIMOz;45337]First of all... I would like to thanks Almost4x4 and the trip organizers for arranging that amazing trip.


On Wednesday dated 23/12/15 I headed directly to my home with full speed after finishing work to load food and drinks for the trip and not to be late for the meeting, but I realized that I forgot my mobile in the office, thus I had to return back to the office for picking it. That cost me nearly 2 extra hours but I didn't have another choice. Then I met @hamzahng at Ghantoot petrol station, and we started after having a quick dinner there. We reached Liwa (Mezairaa petrol station) by nearly 1:10 am, then we headed directly to the deflection point after fuelling our cars. After deflating we climbed a big dune on our way to the camp then suddenly we found a very steep drop (nearly right angle :o). We decided to turn back and find another rout. We had an easier rout with couple of drops in which I was so happy when I heard the first singing dune as i was really missing that. We reached the camp (Liwa base camp) at around 2:00 am, we stayed with our second family for some minutes and then I decided to disappear inside the tent as I was dead. I was disconnected as soon as I jumped inside the tent till nearly 9:30 am in which I was late for the morning drive.


Day 1 (Liwa Base Camp):


I was guarding the camp while Having some Egyptian breakfast (Foul - Bean) then I went to arrange my tent and had a power nap till the guys finished their morning drive. We had a chitchat then we were instructed to get ready for the afternoon drive. There were two convoys (Newbies +10 & Newbies -5/+5). I was in the +10 convoy which was led by @Zorro and Swept by @fida. I was the second lead then @hamzahng and @Mohamed. It was a fantastic drive through liwa in which we saw all types and colours of sand :D. The drive went smoothly although I did two second tries and got crested at the end of the drive in which @fida pulled me (Thanks Fida). In addition, @hamzahng got stuck twice and had a situation in which his car entered a deep bowl while reversing after the stuck. However, @fida recovered the car professionally by taking the risk of entering the bowl and coming out from the other side. Then we reached back the camp and had the lovely dinner prepared by @orlantsev , @hatem, @Barish and @Solmaz. Suddenly I felt sleepy at nearly 8:00pm, so I decided to have a nap for 2 hours, but actually I was dead till 5:00am next day.


Day 2 (Liwa Base Camp Extension):


I woke up while everyone was sleeping, so I went to sit around the bonfire, but actually it was off, thus I had to start it as it was cold. I enjoyed the sunrise, then @Abu Jimmy joined me and after that everyone woke up. I prepared the foul but this time it was for the family (hope they like it :D), then I packed my stuff and we headed to Tal Moreab to throw the garbage in the bins and had the briefing there. It was assigned that we will drive as one convoy (Newbies in the front and Intermediates at the back) till we reach a certain point, then we will split in two convoys (Newbies and Intermediates). We drove through some dunes but unluckily @hatem got stuck in a very soft spot and was pulled by @momo. After some time @hatem had to leave the convoy and we continued driving in the marvelous desert with couple of lovely drops. As per the plan, we split and I was the second lead after @Zorro, then @Barish, @hamzahng and @Red Baron. @Abu Jimmy was our sweeper. We had a fast track with some small dunes till we reached Hameem. We inflated at the tarmac and Ihad to leave as I was Heading to Al Ain. On the way back @hamzahng and @Red Baron joined me till Abu Dhabi then I took the E22 and they continued.


To Sum up, this was one of the best trips I did in the desert. Many thanks to @alshamsi_m (Bu Salem), @Yoghybear , @Abu Jimmy , @Zorro and all the lovely members for that amazing time we had.


Hope the time will run fast till we go back again.

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See you soon in Sand.
Cheers and Merry Christmas :D[/quote]

Due to some technical issues ... I had to copy kimoz's post

[quote=alshamsi_m;45339]Due to some technical issues ... I had to copy kimoz's post[/quote]

Thanks Abu salem :)

Hello all.

I was going to write my report tomorrow, but since it rains and I am confined to my apartment and have time I am writing it today.

As I mentioned before two weeks prior to the event I had been involved in negotiations and rejected all alternative Christmas ideas. At times the strategy was of a ‘carrot’ type and sometimes that of a ‘stick’.

So finally the day has come and I left work early to prepare. So loaded all the items in the car and left 3 hours 20 minutes before the meeting time. I made a wrong decision to pass by Dubai Mall and it was usual traffic jam there, so when I stopped at the traffic light my bumper light bracket caught the attention of the police and I got a fine for not having visible plate number. We continued on E11 and upon reaching Jebel Ali I realized that I dropped my bag with wallet and documents at the parking. The flashback was very clear – as I was loading the car, I put it on the chair where security normally sits and forgot to remove it after. That meant I needed to return and was not going to make it on time. Moreover, if the bag was not secure it was going to put the entire trip at risk.

I was glad that upon return home the bag was still on the same chair where I left it with all valuables safe. All in all I wasted 1 hour.

When I stopped at petrol station to get wood I met [MENTION=9136]margarita[/MENTION]. I thought we would reach the Mezaina petrol station at around same time, but I think she took some wrong turn, and I was there some 30 minutes ahead of her and I told her I would proceed to the deflation point. Then it was the task of finding the camp which was 2 km away, and unlike other camps it was not a straight forward access road. Far from that … So about 5 minutes into the drive, I fell into a ditch and got stuck. What to do…shovel out and started digging. In about 20 minutes with further deflation and diff. lock help I was out. Now I was on a right track, but there was big drop ahead so I tried to check the alternative ways around it when I saw some other car (guess it was [MENTION=9136]margarita[/MENTION]) which safely passed that area, so I returned and took similar path.

After so many events in one day I was tired that went straight into the comfort of the car saloon and slept.

Next day newbies and intermediates split and some left to guard the camp. For some unknown reason I started the drive with some strange sense of fear. This mental trouble caused me to release the accelerator on some climbs without any reason to do so, and do second tries. Thank to [MENTION=1820]fida[/MENTION] who swept for patience and guidance. After [MENTION=44]alshamsi[/MENTION]_a changed my position to become car # in the convoy things improved. In total we drove for 3 hours. I felt so sleepy after lunch that when [MENTION=1803]Zorro[/MENTION] passed by and asked if I was joining the afternoon drive I could not understand if I was daydreaming or it was real…so I did not drive.
[MENTION=1820]fida[/MENTION] and [MENTION=2549]Mohammed[/MENTION] had to leave and left me with some marinated BBQ which I added to my stock of meat. After dinner and compulsory cigar we called it a day at 9.30.
Unlike first night I slept undisturbed like a baby. Some new members have arrived overnight. It was good to see some with wives meaning that Jane (my partner) who joined me had some company.

As mentioned by [MENTION=8771]KIMOz[/MENTION] the 2^nd day drive was first combined newbies and intermediates and we separated at 12.40. It was not going to leave us to much time as the drive was planned to finish at 1.30 pm. However we kept on driving until 4 pm, and made the spectacular huge drop of I guess 200 meters. I was glad that my first day un-comfort was mostly gone which made the day very enjoyable yet challenging.

We finished the drive near Hameem which reduced the return journey to Dubai. I had to drive home non-stop fast so Jane could still do some Skype Christmas calls to family before the day was over. We safely reached at 19.20.

Hello everyone

Waking up in the morning with the star wars dunes view is definitely something special. That was the feeling I had after a very good sleep in night two but let us go to the beginning.

Since I am working in AD , Liwa felt for me like driving from home to Al Badayer. I checked the MZ adnoc and it gave me only 2 hours so I was trying to fill up the time from 2:30 pm to 10:30 pm with very slow shopping and going around. I was planning to reach the camp by 9:30 and go straight so no waiting for the members ;)

By the time I reached Madinat Zayed, I realized that MZ stands for Madinat Zayed not Mezairaa petrol station :( So I had to drive for 100 km more to the petrol station and wait everyone with [MENTION=1531]Abu Jimmy[/MENTION].

The drive to the camp was interesting for everyone especially people who drove without marshals .

The following days were as described by kimoz. The best thing that I loved was the camping with the family environment, sharing the food and good mood.

I'm sure that we are going to do it again, so till next time.

Drive safely

Hello All,

It was a great weekend and I enjoyed every moment of it.

Starting from the camping point. Yes it was a little bit challenging to reach but it was worth for waking up in the morning with such an amazing scenery. It was like a VIP balcony for the Liwa desert.

The family spirit was great during the morning and night camps as always. Good food (Thanks to all care to share) , great people, nice stories and camp fire under a sky full of stars for 2 days was amazing.

And the drives , it is hard to explain. Every other desert have a specific character in UAE but not Liwa. It is very very unpredictable, full of surprises and challenges. I respects anyone who have the courage to lead in this desert. And you can see the real level of skills of our Marshalls when they enter a very challenging section, under a time pressure where the sunlight was about to go away and they manage to find a safe track in such a challenging area for 5+ drivers and reach the camp just before the dark.

The intermediate drives was also great, playing at the big bowls and especially the climb for the big drop was fun and challenging (Especially with my stock tires). I never saw such a soft sand . During the climb we were driving upwards through a very slight slope (almost flat) and I took a little bit left from the track to avoid some bushes (Thinking about it now where you have the hard ground actually) and I was swallowed by sand in a matter of seconds . When I announced the second try @alshamsi_m was wondering if I was climbing from down :grin:

Finally we did the amazing drop then drove more for a while and head back to our homes wondering when are we coming back ...

Thanks to Marshalls and all participated for this amazing weekend.

Hope to see you soon.

Best Regards

It was a good weekend, Liwa is always special, doesen't matter which level you are driving (if you are driving....not like me:TT TT:), the beauty of the desert pays itself the long trip to reach there.
It was good group people and I would like to thank you everybody for the good time and for sharing the food, really kind of you all.
Regarding the drive......since unfortunatelly my RAM went out of service a few days before the trip, I have been replaced by Zorro.....so a very BIG thank you to him who took over my role and managed to entertain the Newbie Drivers, not easy in Liwa, good job dude!
Another BIG thank you goes to Abu Jimmy, always nice to spend good time with you bro and my old friends of tens and tens of adventures, of course to Bu Salem, a pillar of the Club, and last but not least to all the people who participated in this event and that helped make it a success.
See you all soon
Yoghy

Hi all,

Interesting weekend we had. Unlike other times, where we do from point A to B we had a base camp, so no need to pack up all camping gear for the drive on day 1 - i like that!

Although at first i wished to be with int/adv convoy, even with the newbee it got interesting, with some challenging areas and great views. At some points i wished i could have brought them deeper into the beautiful dunes of Liwa to show them the real deal, but it isn't easy and the risks out weight the rewards, as we saw in the afternoon in a tricky bowl, Great recovery Fida! this meant we had to remain within sabkah's reach. Soon guys, don't worry! U did great!

I remember reading in the opening tread about the bbq, to bring 10% extra to share, felt more some brought 100% to share and remaining 10% for them! Great food guys thank you!!

Overall i believe we drove a combined 170-200kms in the 2 days, not bad.

Mohammad, chicken wings were good! Just wished u cooked them. Same goes for Fida! Not that Orland didn't cook them well, it just isn't the same.

Thanks marshals/founder for the support and fellow members for the lovely weekend.

See u soon
Raf

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I dont know where to start...Escape from Dubai...Liwa...Drives...Camp...Almosters...

We decided with [MENTION=3080]Agalon[/MENTION] and [MENTION=9783]Daggerfall[/MENTION] to drive to camping location as a late comer due to late exit from work and a couple of preparations needed before moving towards Liwa. I did not notice where we are going towards since it was dark on the way till we reached the deflation point and noticed that we are surrounded by some chains of high dunes. Then i felt really that we are in somewhere different than the places we camped or drive before. It was Liwa by then when we had our first drop while reaching the camping spot...Although late, we had the chance to see and chat with all friends. It was almost icy and 5:30am when we moved to bed under amazing cloudy sky with full moon..

We started the first day with a newbie drive and i had the chance to be the 2nd lead after [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION]/@Zorro. It was really a good drive just as if heating up for Liwa...Thanks to [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION]/@Zorro for the lead and track, [MENTION=1531]Abu Jimmy[/MENTION] for usual support and patience, especially the one where we were all stuck while climbing and all drivers who made it a good newbie convoy. Then back to base camp at noon and rested. Second half of the day was the drive with [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] and we have seen those interesting bowls and high dunes after three chains completed. What a return back it was; stucks, recoveries, popouts, speeds and more with sunset refreshing our technical skills..Reached the family, hugged them and jumped into bed...

Second day was the big convoy of all Almosters. I had another chance to be the 2nd lead behind [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION]. Thanks to [MENTION=1531]Abu Jimmy[/MENTION] and [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] for their trust. We reached that drop and thanks to Bo Salem securing my family during the drop. It was a track with full of amazing sceneries...then we splitted into 2 and headed towards tarmac under the lead of [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION]/@Zorro.

What a 2 day it was...body was tired but brain was revived as if I went to another planet and came back...Almost drives are always full of challenges pushing you to the extreme sometimes but also giving you space to enjoy what you are doing at the same time...one special thanks to all Almosters due to family environment, all together cooking, sharing and good mood.

See you all at the earliest on the sand.

With a late start on Thursday evening, my wife and I reached the deflating point at around 11:00PM. Getting to the camp site was challenging, - after several failed attempts I saw [MENTION=8718]momo[/MENTION] who seemed to know where he was going, so I followed his tacks and finally got to the camp. After a quick dinner we settled for the night.
The trip on the next day took us to amazing scenery that only Liwa can provide. We had great fun, a pop-out, steep drops and challenging climbs which all together made for get day out.

Thanks to all the marshals, leaders and members of Almost 4x4 [ATTACH=CONFIG]2816[/ATTACH]

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So I was the only -5 who had the courage to take on the Liwa challenge. I heard about Liwa before, and I was always told that I had to have a minimum amount of skills to be able to drive there. Not only was I -5, my car was completely stock, even the tyres were stock. I'm mentioning the tyres specifically because I think this was the breaking point in my experience.


I started off the trip boosted with alot of confidence knowing that I will get to experience Liwa accompanied by the safety and experience of our Marshals and advanced members. The trip ended, unfortunately a bit prematurely for me, with me having mixed feelings.


I was the first stuck in the trip, just minutes into the sand, trying to reach the camp site.It was a difficult stuck after falling into a ditch, and one of the tyres was completely out of air. Thankfully it did not pop-out. Special thanks to [MENTION=1820]fida[/MENTION], he was able to drive my car out of this situation.I learned alot just sitting beside him seeing what he does in such a situation. I started this trip with my front tyres deflated to 12psi, and the back tyres defalted to 10psi. But this was Liwa, and this pressure was not suitable for the sands of Liwa. I ended up deflating all tyres to 10psi.


Second day started, and all of us were eager to start the drives.I felt like a VIP having a -5 drive just for my level. In the middle of the drive [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION] asked me how it was going, and he decided to increase the level as I was able to handle the drive.It was interesting getting stuck in the bowl, and thanks to [MENTION=1531]Abu Jimmy[/MENTION] and [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION] I was able to get out of the situation safely. After the drive [MENTION=1531]Abu Jimmy[/MENTION] explained to me in detail about the situation, and I benefitted alot in this discussion, especially learning more about low gear in my car. One point that [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION] repeated several times on my stucks was "Put Low gear and switch on everything you have". I'm going to remember this sentence everytime I get stuck. Due to this situation, I deflated my front tyres to 10psi and back tyres to 8psi.
Thanks to [MENTION=1803]Zorro[/MENTION] for the lead and interesting track.


Afternoon drive things started to be more difficult. Many stucks and second tries, 3 pop-outs, one of them being in the same tyre that has been causing me issues from the beginning of the drive. [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] was in a hurry to get us back before sunset for our safety. We made it back just in time before sunset, but the last part of the drive was difficult on me, and I think for most of us due to the time constraint and any mistake would delay us more.
Thanks to [MENTION=3080]Agalon[/MENTION] for the wonderful job sweeping this drive.


Last day was were I failed in my Liwa experience. I woke up to find the same tyre causing me issues from the beginning totally flat. I filled it to 14psi as I was afraid for it to pop-out again. And I don't know if was the stock car, my driving skills or just my very bad luck I got stuck in a very soft spot at the beginning of the drive. For the best interest of the group I didn't join the drive as again there was a time constraint that a certain distance had to be convered in a specific amount of time, and too many issues or stucks would delay that.


I left the convoy returning back home, very disappointed. I started out wanting to enjoy Liwa, and trying to keep up with the rest it became a challenge which Liwa finally won. I'm still wondering what went wrong, and perhaps I'll keep wondering. I hope someone with more experience can help in answering this question. In all cases I'm not ready to give up, not just yet.


I appreciate the experience, and thanks to each and everyone I met on this trip.