After two successful drives with a small convoy in this challenging area it was time to up the stakes with a larger convoy.

The first 30 minutes of the drive was smooth sailing with the convoy maintaining excellent following distance and cruising over reverse switches  like there was nothing they couldn’t handle.  But just as luck would have it the sand texture changed and the beautiful flow that was established up to this point just fell to pieces.

For the next hour or so the convoy looked like a flock of tired ducks swimming in molasses. It was not a pretty sight. Thankfully even bad things do come to an end .

Our end came as we approached Super Bowl. The convoy was back in the groove and we were moving through the desert like a freight train.  But all the time that we had lost earlier in the trip eventually caught up with us as we encountered heavy traffic near Iftar Bowl. From that point onwards the drive comprised of dodging oncoming desert Safari convoys and dune buggies.

By the time we approached the last big dune near the exit, we were already behind schedule and the convoy was looking a little worn out. So just to add a little more drama to the trip, Murphy decided to throw in a difficult stuck situation to see if we could exit before sunset with our heads held high. With great coordination and team work from Javier and Zoubeir we showed Murphy that we meant business. We exited the desert at sunset with our heads held high and a sense of accomplishment having conquered some challenges that our Advanced Juniors and new Off-roader had only attempted for the first time.

Conquering challenges is one thing, doing it right is quite another. This group still needs a little practice in doing things right. Hopefully more visits to this area will provide that opportunity.

The support team did an awesome job of keeping the convoy on track and out of harms way at all times. Thanks Senior Javier, Hussam (SL) and Zoubeir (SW trainee) for your tireless efforts on this trip.