Hatta Pools Strikes Back

Hatta Pools as I have previously mentioned is a place of outstanding and rugged natural beauty. The clear, warm pools attract numerous visitors. On my visit there today I was really shocked to see the litter. Below you can see a group of people have had a barbecue and just left the whole detritus from it in situ....disgusting:



I would urge the local authorities to impose heavy fines on those littering - it is really destroying a great tourist attraction. It was no fun swimming in the pools with my mouth closed in case I swallowed a floating Choitrams bag.

Into The Empty Quarter

One of the nice things about working with a number of rugged South African colleagues is that they all like camping. Every time I talk to them about vacations in Africa I am often told about their time in Mozambique out in the wilderness with nothing but the stars for company. It seems that they often yearn for this type of wilderness and so there are often trips organized to the far reaches of Oman and the UAE.

Last weekend saw us take a trip Liwa also known as the Empty Quarter home of the largest sand desert on the planet. The directions from Dubai are straightforward. Drive to Abu Dhabi then bear left and then drive 200km into the desert (if you reach the Saudi border you have gone too far)

Liwa is the home of some mighty 200-300m sand dunes and as a good friend puts it “Liwa is the proper desert” and as such requires the right amount of respect and safety precautions. Before setting off – I checked I had all my recovery gear, my GPS was working, walkie talkies were charged and I had a car charger for my cell phone. I was also careful to ensure keep my vehicle fueled up at every opportunity. After a long drive (nicely broken up by a trip to the car museum) we arrived at Moreeb Hill.

Moreeb Hill is the home to annual hill climb challenge and on seeing it I can see why people turn up with 1000BHP vehicles. Apparently the hill climb record is 12 seconds. I would love to see that – but have my doubts about being in the vehicle! Here Carol has a go in her Nissan Patrol:



I did not even bother trying it in the Hummer as I had the worlds amount of camping gear in the car – and it is not the most powerful vehicle, even unencumbered. After Carol had finished playing on the hill, we aired down our tires, then drove into the dunes searching for a suitable camping spot. After 30 minutes of the trickiest dune driving I have yet to encounter, we found a fairly flat spot and proceeded to set up camp:


There was no escaping the fact we were in the desert as the sun beat down hard upon us. The temperature was registering 42c with precious little shade available to offer us protection. While setting up I heard a noise that I could only describe as a helicopter. However what crested a dune was something much more impressive. It was a Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 – it sports an EIGHT point one liter engine and with no muffler the awesome engine and exhaust notes echo off the dunes giving an attack helicopter like sound. The Avalanche is owned by a very jovial gentleman called Jamal who is a committee member of the Dubai 4x4 forums. Carol was pleased he arrived as he was able to lead our afternoon drive through the dunes of Liwa.

I had taken one look at the dunes and made the decision that I was not going to drive this time. I felt I still do not possess the desert driving skills yet and the Hummer is not the ideal vehicle for some of the climbs that are required. Also perhaps the more compelling reason was I could get to ride along in the Avalanche!

Once camp was done we set off in seven car convoy. We drove through some very tricky dunes and bowls. The avalanche was so powerful it just ate up steep inclines with ease. However it was challenged by not only its huge weight and long wheel base but the the transfer case would not engage into four wheel drive. Jamal's twenty plus year of desert driving experience soon put pay to these hindrances however we still had a few “stucks”:



Shaukie (another long time Dubai 4x4 member) who drove a heavily modified red wrangler was the recovery vehicle “par excellence” - these guys simply do not hang around. Shaukie shoots up to the scene of the stuck, the recovery rope was out and shackled up. A quick beep of the horn, the tow was engaged and the vehicle was recovered. Average time was probably less than five minutes. One recovery was not quite as smooth:


On one particularly tricky bowl Craig in his diesel turbo Land Cruiser had a nasty stuck with the vehicle in danger of tipping over:


Shuakie and Jamal got on the walkie talkies in a flash and instantly started issuing safety instructions. Four guys provided counterbalance by standing on the running rails of the Land Cruiser while Shaukie towed out the car. Here is the recovery in progress:



Some of the standout moments during the four hour desert drive was descending several 200m tall slip faces:


Seeing a real camel train snaking its way through the desert. A truly memorable site:


A land based oil rig burning off the natural gas in the still of the night:


Once we got back to camp we fired up the barbecue and recounted tales of the day until long into the night. I am no real fan of camping but the stars you can see late at night and the seemingly endless sea of sand dunes that presents itself in the morning makes the discomfort worthwhile.

I was a little disappointed not to be with Chris and the drive through Area 53 – but the pull of seeing Liwa before the summer sets in making it too hot camp was irresistible. Liwa was an unforgettable experience, but it made me realize I am not really a die hard outdoor type – however once a year I will go back and remind myself of the beauty of the desert.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

On the way to Liwa it is only a short detour to Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan al Nahyan's or the Rainbow Sheikh's car museum. I can clearly remember Jermey Clarksons Motor World some 10 years ago and being in awe at the collection that the Sheikh had put together.

As you drive through the desert the first thing you notice is the top a pyramid glistening in the distance. Not what you might expect in the UAE but certainly not surprising for this country. It turns out this pyramid houses the car museum.

Checking in the UAE off-road guide it is suppose to be open 7 days a week – but when our convoy of cars arrived it was decidedly closed. Carol (a British expat who has been here for 17 years) used her jedi mind trick and powers of persuasion on a bored looking Indian chap to let us in. To be honest he would never have been able to disappoint the children we had along for the ride. We were kindly let in and basically had our own private tour of the car museum. It was just great.

Here is the largest pick-up truck in the world which actually contains a house and even is able to be driven short distances:

This more regular sized pick-up sports the Rainbow Sheikh's motif:

As well some sort of moon buggy/car/MPV that the Sheikh designed himself:

Outside was parked a real Mercedes monster truck – which I think would be great fun to ride around:

And for me the signature vehicle the huge globe trailer:

I had always wanted to see this car collection in the “metal” since the Clarkson feature on it. In fact you can watch the original TV show has it has been immortalized on google video. Just a couple of comments on this video:

1. Jeremy Clarkson's buffon hair do is utterly ridiculous

2. Jerermy Clarkson's attempts at driving a wrangler through the desert are hopeless

3. Some of the crazy driving featured in the video has not changed an iota in ten years

Here is the video:

I think it is great gesture that the Sheikh has made this car collection available to the public. I would hope that though that anyone making the long journey from Dubai there could guarantee it being open on their arrival.

Overall – 8/10 – you can not get cheaper than free, would have been nice if all the lights were on when we walked around.

The rest of my photos from this trip can be found here.