With only four cars in the convoy today, this was sure to a “driver’s’’ trip.

Shorty after the safety briefing the convoy started cresting at every possible opportunity. It wasn’t long before the lead got stuck on a crest, and was skillfully guided through a self recovery by our Sweeper Trainee (Zoubeir), under the watchful eyes of Marshall Marc. Thereafter, a deathly silence fell over the convoy and driving got really intense. At one stage Lucas, who was the acting Second Lead on this trip, actually did a radio check to see if he was on the correct frequency.

The first break came after an hour and a half of driving and it was well deserved. From there on the drive just got better, as the convoy winded it’s way from one bowl into another – all the way up Big Red and then all the way down again.

It wasn’t long before the convoy arrived at Pink Rock. To our surprise, ours was the only convoy there. But that didn’t mean that the sand was pristine – far from it. It looked like all the traffic in the UAE had been diverted through Pink Rock on a National Day Parade. There were tracks everywhere, which made the ride so rough I was afraid someone was gonna lose a tooth filling.

The trip ended half an hour before the scheduled finishing time but nobody minded. It was a satisfying drive that demanded all the skills that were learnt from Ab Initio all the way to Advanced Junior.

Thanks to Marshall Marc for making this trip possible. Congratulations to Zoubeir on his first recovery today – the first of many. Lucas did a great job second leading and coped well with the pressure of a demanding drive