Big toys for sand boys
Embarking on a desert adventure in a four by four is a rite of passage for many Gulf residents, but aspiring dune bashers would do well to take a word of advice from the experts.
Jeff Keegan reports
Thirty Nine years old Shahid Ahmad has seen it all before. Wide-eyed expat with a spanking new four-wheel drive hits the desert with all the enthusiasm of a round-the-world explorer. Then he gets stuck.
In the worse case scenario, the unprepared dune basher puts more than just the mechanics of his vehicle at risk. The desert landscape is a hostile environment. Taming it might be fun, but it also requires commonsense and preparation.
Based in Dubai for the last 15 years, Ahmad is as at home in the desert as he is in the office of the local FMCG Logistics company he works for. His first off road adventure was at the age of 12 in India, and driving vehicles through rugged terrain has been a passion ever since.
“For me, it started driving hunting vehicles on my family’s land on the banks of the Ganges. During the dry season, we’d go into the river sand beds following the animals – dear, antelope, partridges. That’s where I learned the basics, including how to repair a vehicle. But it wasn’t just about hunting. We’d also bring medicine for the local villagers; we’d take something from the land when hunting but also give something back. I’ve always been an enthusiast for nature. I’ve lived in the Himalayas as a boy, at school in Dehradoon, surrounded by nature. So when I came to Dubai, it made sense to start driving in the desert, and it was a good way to make friends.”
An engineering and management graduate, Ahmad, an ex royal from the Indian state of Bihar sees the Dubai expat urge to explore the great outdoors in a four-wheel drive as a natural progression. The big boy’s answer to a Louis Vitton bag, the fancy off-road vehicle is a status symbol many successful professionals find hard to resist.
While the trend in Europe and other countries is to buy a sports car to display one’s growing cachet, here in Dubai, it is a trip to the four by four showroom. The heavy-duty tyres and four-litre engine provide that extra muscle for shopping trips to Wafi City. And even if you intend never to take your Nissan Patrol further than the tarmac of Sheikh Zayed Road, its elevated driver’s position is great for looking down on all those poor people shuttling around in their Toyota Corollas.
Says Ahmad, “With a four by four, people think they’ve arrived. It’s a prestige thing. They’re aspiring to be like the National drivers. Everybody’s going for it.”
Sarcasm aside, the bug for off roading may reflect superficial instincts but it’s bitten many people hard. Ahmad estimates that there are 70,000 Asian and European families in Dubai and Sharjah alone with a four-wheel drive brooding in the covered parking. But he offers a word of caution to the UAE’s growing band of Wilfred Thesinger wannabes.
“Everyone wants to go into the desert, but it’s not easy. You can get lost after driving just three kilometres in the sand, and there have been cases of people getting stranded after driving just 500 metres.”
And then there are the creepy crawlies. Poisonous snakes and scorpions lurk in the vegetation, making sealed tents a necessity for camping. But with a little homework and sensible investment in one of the many excellent off-road driving courses available, every four by four owner can enjoy a desert adventure in the UAE to its fullest.
Desert driving is a chance to see the country in a different light, its diversity beyond the rapidly growing cityscapes of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The surprising variety of wildlife on view is a major attraction. Gazelles, oryx, rabbits and desert foxes abound, and there is even the remote chance of sighting an Arabian leopard, though Ahmad claims he is one of the few people he knows to have seen one.
A friend from Orient Tours taught Ahmad the essentials of dune driving, and nowadays he spends weekends taking large parties of enthusiasts into the desert on fun drives. The round trip to Al Ain, Hatta and back to Dubai, known as the Golden Triangle, is one of his favourite routes, along with trips into the Liwa desert in Abu Dhabi emirate for those demanding a greater challenge.
Desert driving is still a hobby for Ahmad, but talking to him you get the impression it could just as easily be his livelihood. “My groups can vary in size from 25 to 250, and we often do overnight trips. I do team building exercises for offices. We teach them driving techniques and navigation. The aim is to make sure everyone finishes the route and gets a real sense of achievement. Anyone can get stuck, but we carry all the equipment, and no matter where you head in the UAE, you’re never far from civilization!”
An experienced guide, a GPS and mobile phone, or better still, a satellite phone, are the basic requirements for off road beginners. Arabian Adventures offers courses in driving techniques and safety procedures, and a wealth of local clubs design routes guaranteed to suite your capabilities on the dunes.
The next step for the more determined off road aficionado is buying one of the many fancy vehicle upgrades available. Expenditure can range from AED2,000 to AED80,000, and Ahmad’s shopping list includes higher bumpers for greater ground clearance, special Toyo tyres, halogen lamps, bull bars, a winch (for all those rescue chores), engine and manifold changes to burn more fuel, platinum spark plugs to also increase performance, transmission and radiator modifications, and a snorkel linked to the air intake system to prevent water and sand getting into the engine. The ultimate big boys toy, of course, is a turbo charger, which is guaranteed to attract the girls but also expensive and liable to destroy the engine if misused.
Buying the right four by four in the first place will obviously minimise the expenditure on costly bells and whistles. Ahmad drives a Toyota Prado and a Land Cruiser. He also recommends the Nissan Patrol, Mitsubishi Pajero, Suzuki XS-7, Jimmy and Vitara, and the Jeep Wrangler. American SUVs, according to Ahmad, tend to be too heavy off road, while mechanical headaches are the downfall of the Land Rover Discovery. But regardless of your choice of wheels, a fulfilling life of off road adventure awaits the sensible driver.
Says Ahmad, “The best time to be off road is right now, from October to March. In the summer, the ambient sand temperature can be as high as 60 degrees Centigrade, so venturing into that is madness if you’re unprepared. But it’s still possible, with the right technology. Nobody has crossed from the Empty Quarter in Abu Dhabi to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. That’s 2,000 kilometres, harder then scaling Everest. You’re up against massive dunes, sand storms, shifting sands. But it can be done.”
Shahid Ahmad can be reached at
ahmadshd@emirates.net.ae