The air at the meeting point of todays drive was filled with a mix of excitement and trepidation, since we had never started a drive from this location and stories about how challenging it could be abounded.

Having a small group of experienced Offroaders meant that we could explore this section of the Sweihan desert to our heart’s content without too much concern for  the rather unpredictable nature of the terrain.

From the get go it was clear that this was not an area for the faint-hearted. Both driver and vehicle had to commit 100 percent to the high climbs and apparently blind crossings on extremely sharp ridges.  Apparently blind because everything became crystal clear once you were high enough. The crossings themselves could be executed safely if the basics were followed well, and today’s convoy did extremely well in this regards.

The first challenge that we encountered got our convoy really pumped. It was a massive wall that had to be approached at high speed in order to get high enough to be able to ride the wall.  It wasn’t long before they realized that there were much more challenging and satisfying bowls along the drive. Some were huge and you could easily get up to speeds of 100km/h while circling them, while others were small with almost vertical wall and needed surgical precision to enter and exit.

The rest of the drive comprised of switching and cresting sharp ridges, some bumpy tracks courtesy of the natural foliage and high climbs. The drive didn’t have great flow on account of undulating terrain and extremely high dunes that had to be scaled in order to get anywhere. But what this area took away  from flow, it more than made up for in splendor.

About 40 minutes before sunset we started to make our way towards the exit. On account of numerous fences which crisscrossed our path towards the exit our progress was hindered. To make up for lost time, the convoy picked up pace and started to move like we were trying to outrun a pack of hell hounds. The sun was setting fast and we had a small technical section to cross before we hit the home flats. Negotiating this section  after dark would be a nightmare. With just 10 minutes of sunlight on the clock we straight crested our way through the technical mine field and arrived on flat terrain just as the big dark orange ball in the sky ducked behind a far-away dune.

Into the sunset convoy exited the desert in a haze of white and amber lights – a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie, and we were the good guys.

It was an amazing afternoon in the desert with plenty of heart pounding action. Thanks for the guided self recovery Malcom. It was a pleasure having Johann and Anders in the posse. Let’s do it again while the cool weather is still upon us.