Abu Dhabi: The peaceful Liwa desert and its stunning terrains played host to a convoy of 4x4 cars that dared to take on its mighty dunes.
Even the chilling temperatures of Friday morning or the early start did not seem to put off any of the drivers of 850 vehicles that had travelled from around the UAE to participate in the annual Gulf News Overnighter Fun Drive.
Around 3,000 off-road enthusiasts eagerly lined up at the meeting point, at Al Fathiya, to fuel up on breakfast, finalise their registration and pick up their goody bags and lunch boxes for the day. And as the organisers filled the air with music, you could feel the excitement all around.
Gulf News met the participants to catch their excitement at this most eagerly awaited outdoor adventure in the UAE.
Friends Jhuma Biswas and Komal Singh, who had participated in the event a number of times in previous years, were enjoying breakfast with their families and slowly getting their large group ready to head over to their cars for the flagoff.
“This is my sixth year [in the Fun Drive] and my husband’s eighth time in the event. It’s really fantastic” said Singh.
“We like it all — the atmosphere, the drive and the sand dunes. It’s amazing,” added Singh.
Biswas said, “The children enjoy it. We see camels on the way and we stop, take pictures and we love the dune bashing, as do the children.
“The most exciting part is when we get stuck and are waiting for the marshals to come and get us out,” added Biswas with a laugh.
As the planned 9am flagoff approached, participants rushed to take their place in the line-up.
This year’s Fun Drive was led by a special guest, Shaikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Bin Mohammad Al Nahyan, who is known for his love of cars, specially 4x4 vehicles.
Shaikh Hamad’s presence got the already excited crowd more enthusiastic and some even gathered to greet and welcome the shaikh to the event.
Shaikh Hamad, who owns some of the world’s most unique cars including a modified Mercedes monster truck and a Dodge Power Wagon eight times its original size, was driving a customised Jeep Wrangler which awed the car lovers in the convoy.
“We have put this car together in a month and a half. Usually, we take around six months to make the cars,” Shaikh Hamad told Gulf News as he was making his last-minute preparations before getting the event started.
“It’s really good to see so many people at this event,” Shaikh Hamad added.
He also said he was very happy to be at the event for the first time and looked forward to testing his new car.
Shaikh Hamad’s was the first car to be flagged off and start the day’s adventure by Rajeev Khanna, commercial director of Gulf News.
“We were honoured to have Shaikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Bin Mohammad Al Nahyan with us at the Gulf News Fun Drive,” Khanna said.
“He is well known for his love of cars and it was a great privilege to have him with us today. We were extremely delighted to see Shaikh Hamad bring such an exotic car on the drive and to test it for the first time. His presence added a whole new level of excitement to the Gulf News Fun Drive,” Khanna added.
We caught up with Shaikh Hamad later on in the drive and he could be seen enjoying driving his car and getting through the challenging Liwa dunes effortlessly, a testimony to his experience of off-road driving.
As the convoy made its way through the first part of the 240km course, those who had come in groups of cars could be seen encouraging each other to have a go at the dunes while trying to stick together.
One of the largest groups that we encountered had arrived in 10 cars and were so organised that they even had walkie-talkies in each car.
“We have been doing the Fun Drive for the past 10 years,” Imran Khan told Gulf News. “People are so friendly and they help each other when needed, it’s really fantastic,” Khan added.
One of the few woman drivers at the event was Tejal Gupte from India who was joined by her Sri Lankan friend, Nelusha Silva.
Although it was Gupte’s third time at the event, it was her first time driving. “One of my friends encouraged me to actually drive this year,” she said. “I have been practising off-roading and getting training. I am not sure how much I can implement it here, but I will try,” Gupte said.
“It’s okay if we get stuck, we are ready for that. We love the excitement and the spirit of the event,” she added.
Gupte was being pulled out of the sand not long into the drive, however she was still in high spirits. “I love it, I’m gonna keep going,” she said.
First timers Dhiraj Lochani and Bobby Cherian, like so many others, found themselves stuck in the sand during one of the earlier parts of the course.
“It’s my first time off-roading. Our friends used to go and they convinced us to take part too,” said Lochani.
“Yes, we are stuck but we are absolutely looking forward to the rest of the day,” he added.
After the marshals helped them get their car out of the sand, they spent some time with the pair to offer them some advice.
“When you go down a hill, don’t turn the wheel fully, only turn your wheel half way,” one marshal could be heard saying.
About half way through the journey, between check-points three and four, the desert’s bowl-shaped areas offered people the chance to really have a go at dune bashing. The stunning and unique colours of the sand also inspired some amazing photo opportunities for families, especially those with children.
Amit Soni and his family of 10 from India could be seen chilling out at the top of one of the dunes and enjoying the scenery. They had travelled from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to take part in the Fun Drive for the first time.
“We have been thinking of doing this for the last two to three years, so finally we made the decision to take part this year,” said Soni.
Soni admitted that they had been stuck a few times and had to be helped out of the sand by the marshals.
“It was exciting being stuck because everyone was laughing at us. The marshals helped drive the car out. They are fantastic and very helpful,” said an upbeat Soni.
“Definitely coming back next year,” he added.
It was not difficult to see why the Soni family and so many other participants were so fond of the marshals.
They could be seen across the course helping people out by pulling, pushing or even digging their cars out of the sand.
“I love helping people,” said Jasim Al Zarouni, a 33-year-old marshal from Sharjah. “I have been a marshal with Fun Drive since 2005. I like it, it’s my favourite event,” he added. Al Zarouni said he had pulled out about 20 cars up to that point and most people had only completed about half of the course at that point.
“Yes, it’s tiring, but at the end of the day when you look back, it’s a great feeling knowing that you helped so many people,” he said.
The set-up of the Fun Drive is appealing to novice drivers as well as expert off-roaders.
Emad Haq, who said he loved off-road driving, has been taking part in the Fun Drive for the past 21 years.
“There is no other event of this scale anywhere in the country, I love it,” said Haq.
The 38-year-old from Pakistan who was participating with his brother and 10 other friends had opted to remove the bumpers from his car.
“I removed the bumpers this year because over the years I learnt that you could really damage them, so I just take them off now,” explained Haq.
He and his friends were in a hurry to rush off as they hoped to complete as much of the course as possible in the time provided.
The first cars started to arrive at their destination, the campsite at the base of Moreeb dune, by about 4pm.
Although people clearly looked tired, it did not stop them from quickly getting cleaned up, settle down at the camps and be on their way to enjoy the evening’s festivities.
Most participants will camp at the site tonight (Friday) and enjoy breakfast at the camp on Saturday morning before heading back home.
Sponsors
The Fun Drive has been growing every year and its success would not have been possible without the support of all the sponsors and organisations.
These include:
The main sponsor of the event is Al Futtaim Motors (Toyota).
Checkpoint sponsors are BF Goodrich, Dubai Duty Free, Orient Tours, Pringles, The Off Road Company (TORC), TOTAL and V Tools.
Support sponsors are Byrne, Miraclz by Danube, Dunkin Donuts, Emirates Water, Medeor Hospital, Nature Valley, Liwa Hotel and Wildcraft.
TOTAL are the Lubricants Sponsor and vehicle numbers are sponsored by Amity University.
The event’s catering is by JA Resorts & Hotels, Mafraq Hotel and Emirates Flight Catering.
The event is also supported by Al Gharbia Sports Club and International Automobile Touring Club
