Yesterday I was involved in a convoy of seven 4WDs, filled with expats who came together to achieve a single aim. To bash some dunes. The mission was a tremendous success. However we failed to find and reach either of our two destinations, despite a guide book, co-ordinates, GPS technology x 2, and plenty of blokes trying to look like they know what they’re doing. Camel Hump, and Fossil Rock will need to be a follow-up mission. Actually we think we may have seen Camel Hump – that is, if it’s a big rocky range that looks like a camel’s hump.
I was picked up at my apartment around 9am, and while I was waiting outside it began to rain. It was only occasionally drops, but it was definitely rain. So much for only 5 or 6 days or rain each year. Apparently they exhausted that in the week before I arrived.
We initially met a petrol station – where one of the guys got humorously dissed by the console operator. Jay is a young stylish guy, and consequently has his hair impressively messed up, going every which way. Apparently the console operator was staring at Jay’s hair, and asked him what the style was called. Jay said, it’s the “Just got out of bed” style, and said to the guy why, don’t you like it? The guy responded, “It’s just that it’s very terrible”. HA!
It was interesting to see the camels seemingly roaming wild. There’s actually no wild camels in Dubai – they are all owned by someone. But given the great expanse we covered with very extreme undulations, I’d hate to be the guy to herd those camels. Actually, that job would be pretty tops!
It’s funny cause we didn’t see any for quite some time, but then, all at once they seem to be co-ordinating an attack. They decided against it, when they saw the horse-power on display.
I still don’t have my Dubai driver’s license. It requires a passport, which has been worryingly held by work to organise my Visa. So the trip turned out to be a good research activity, for when I am in a position to buy a car. The Prado is a superb vehicle. I have known this for some time, as my father-in-law solely purchases them for work. But it was truly awesome to see it effortlessly speeding through the sand, up and down hills like they don’t even exist.
On the other hand, the Jeep Wrangler on show was a huge disappointment. This is a good thing for me, as a mate of mine in .AU and my former director both had Jeeps which I would give them plenty about. I must forward them the pictures of the Jeep getting pulled around first by a Land Rover, then the Prado. Apparently the driver had quite a bit of off-road experience, so perhaps to the Jeep’s defense, it was not at full strength. By the end of the day, the engine was all but dead.
Also, probably not quite up to the task was a Hummer H3. It’s a pretty awesome vehicle, but way too heavy for driving around in sand.
Other cars that performed well were the Toyota FJ and Nissan X-Terra. I hadn’t seen these cars in Australia, but they are both serious machines – made specifically for this sort of action. But the Prado was in a league of its own, and provided more comfort than the other two combined.
The only other car I am considering is the Nissan Pathfinder, but there was no one on the day with one. Hmm… decisions, decisions.
On the day there was another case of unbelievable consequences, and proof that it’s a small world. One of the Aussie guys we met on the day happened to be from Brisbane, when we talked about which suburbs. It turns out he’s from Indooroopilly, and he just happened to go to the same Lutheran school as one of the other guys. He was around the same age, and knew, the guys brothers.