Dubai: Fun Drive enthusiasts revel in the desert's mystical beauty

From: http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/09/02/06/10282965.html
02/07/2009 05:22 PM By Anjana Sankar, Senior Reporter Dubai:

The mystical beauty and marvel of the Arabian desert was uncovered as the 28th Gulf News Friday Fun Drive treated participants to a rich outdoor experience on Friday.More than 2,000 participants, young and old, braved the cold weather to drive over vast expanses of sand, arriving at The Sevens as early as 6am. The convoy of more than 450 cars nudged through the morning fog as Duleep George, Executive Director, Marketing and Sales, Gulf News, flagged off the leading vehicle. Adrenalin rush The Al Futtaim–Toyota sponsored Fun Drive offered the ultimate adrenalin rush to participants even as the stomach-churning dune drives left a couple of unlucky vehicles stuck in the sand. But the camaraderie and team-work among patrons and marshals ensured everyone drove on safely. Asif Ahmad, a regular at the Gulf News Fun Drive, said the event is a great opportunity to get together with friends and have a lot of fun outdoors. What makes the experience more enjoyable is the immaculate planning that goes into organising the event, he added. “The markings, the route maps, communication control — everything was faultless and hence there was no need to worry, even for inexperienced drivers,” Asif said. Challenging A skilled driver himself, Asif commented that the track set by Gulf News every year is challenging. He advised first-timers to take time out to get some training from friends. Andrew and his team, who got stuck in the sand twice, said the beauty of the Fun Drive is all about getting stuck while taking on the dunes. “It is nice to try some escapades like driving on top of a 200-metre sand dune and sliding down. When you are on your own you tend to be a little cautious because you do not want to get stranded. But with the Gulf News marshals around, you tend to be over-confident,” admitted Andrew. However, marshal Naidal Ali advises drivers not to attempt stunts and stick to the rules. “This is not a rally. This is a fun drive and one should soak in the experience,” he suggested. A Gulf News marshal for more than 12 years, Naidal feels it is more fun to be a marshal than a participant. Naidal’s brother, Mohammad, who took on the mantle of marshal this year, shares the same sentiment. “It is nice to help people. Sometimes, you feel good when people cry out for help to you,” he said. Experience Children as young as three years had their share of the desert experience as many families brought their little ones along for a day of fun and frolic. Erin, Fern and Flaii, aged 14, 11 and 4 respectively, were thrilled about the experience. The cousins from Sharjah have been regulars at the Fun Drive for the last few years and consider it an amazing experience. “I got to see the desert closely and my dad did take us over the turns and curves of dunes,” said an excited Erin. Duleep George said the teamwork paid off as everything went as planned. “The main success factor is that every single part of the organisation took active interest in making The Gulf News Fun Drive happen. “The fact that we were full up within the first few hours of opening the registration makes all our trouble worthwhile,” he said.

www.DuneGuide.com

Dune-bashing in Abu Dhabi

December 9, 2008

ABU DHABI - Our driver and guide, Sultan, steered his 4WD up a steep, 40m-high sand dune then at the peak swung it sharply to the right, defying gravity which threatened to crash the vehicle on its side as it headed downwards.
His six Australian passengers prepared for their doom in different ways - screaming, closing their eyes, wishing they hadn't had a fried breakfast and/or gripping their seatbelts as if on a fairground rollercoaster.
The serene and smiling Sultan kept his cool and his firm grip on the wheel as the 4WD remained upright and slowed as it slid downhill and sideways through the soft surface, churning up clouds of sand until it safely reached the foot of the slope.
It was the first of more than a dozen speed-then-slide experiences, lasting a total of about 45 minutes, and known in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as dune-bashing.
The sport leaves scars only on your nervous system, nothing external.
This was on the first of six days touring booming, oil-rich and tax-free Abu Dhabi.
It's a perpetually sunny land, largest of the seven UAE members located on the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula with Abu Dhabi City as the Emirates capital - a 14-hour nonstop flight from Sydney by Etihad Airways.
Sultan drives for the Phoenix Touring and Desert Safari company, the safari commencing with dune-bashing about 85km east of Abu Dhabi City along one of the Emirates excellent freeways of six or eight lanes, largely through desert which occupies more than 70 per cent of the land.
Leaving the highway, we drove into the dunes where Sultan stopped to let some air out of the cars tyres, necessary when driving over soft sand.
Here also we rendezvoused with another company 4WD, provided so we could not only experience the lurching thrills of dune-bashing but also stop and take photographs of the action from a spectators viewpoint.
Sultan gave no precise warning of what we could expect - he just sped off over well-worn tracks into the desert before initiating us into the thrills in the hills.
For the record, the car was a 4.7-litre Toyota Land Cruiser V8, seating the driver and one passenger in front and five others in the two rear seats.
"Ever roll one of these?" we asked Sultan.
"Never," he replied - not even when he was learning to master the tricky manoeuvres of dune-bashing.
We had no real reason to doubt him, although the thought did cross our minds: "There's always a first time."

Full Article:

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2008/12/09/1228584808429.html

Other Information:

• Dune bashing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• YouTube - FJ CRUISER DUBAI UAE, DUNE BASHING, WALLING
• Satellite Image of Moreeb Hill, UAE - Google Maps