Dave, Steffen and I went in Dave's car, while Elizabeth and her dad, Paul, rode in their car. This wasn't something that a bunch of Gringo's like us should do alone. We joined up with a group that goes across the sands like once a month, led by a bunch of locals who know where they are going. In our group we had a few Austrian tourists, a prince from the United Arab Emirates, an Omani general, a super weird Canadian with his weird elderly mom, and about 40 cars of people. The first night we met up at a restaurant on the western edge of the sands. They provided a meal and got everyone set up with radios. We then drove a ways into the desert to camp for our first night.
The next morning we got started on the serious dune bashing. In the picture below you can see us following the La Bella's red Ford.
At first it was just rolling dunes, still pretty hard-packed sand. The driving was almost as smooth as the road, just with more ups and downs. Then the dunes started getting softer and taller, with more and more risk of getting stuck. The guides weren't pulling any punches either, they were taking us on an aggressive course. Instead of always searching for the easiest way, they tended to just try to go up and over everything. Sometimes it went well, sometimes it didn't!
Example of it not going well for Dave.
We took the high side of the dune and ended up going over the other side, getting stuck axle deep. Steffen and I piled out of the car, trying to push from the back while Dave gave her hell. We weren't going anywhere.
But our guides were more than a little experienced getting people unstuck. They dug out our front tire and had everyone push the car downhill. That didn't work at first, so they got the Hummer with the tow cable to pull the car until it was free. Steffen and I got used to this drill over the next few days. If we weren't pushing ourselves out we were trying to help others.
Sometimes it was just a matter of flooring it and hoping that you got where you needed to go, before you got stuck. Even the Hummer had issues. It was one of the original Hummers, like the kinds that the military uses. It belonged to the entourage of the Emirate prince, and it was a beast. Except we found out that Hummers aren't always invincible. In the picture below you can see the Hummer jammed up in a dune (Steffen is waving):
Long story short, the prince's entourage got a little cocky and managed to drive his Hummer directly into the bottom of a dune. In an effort to get out, he floored it and proceeded to tear two of his tires off of the rim. He still managed to get the Hummer out, dragging his torn tires with him. Our trip went on like that, we'd get stuck or someone else would, we'd push them out and keep moving. It was pretty fun, the scenery was amazing, and the driving was unlike anything I had experienced. Just to see SUV's doing what they were designed for - driving offroad in intense situations and not getting stuck - it was pretty amazing. This was the only time I thought it would be cool to own one, otherwise my Saturn is more than enough car for me!
Here are some random pictures of the trip:
A picture of prayer during the trip:
By the end of the trip we had lost a few cars along the way. Even the La Bella's had a close call, when their radiator managed to slip it's housing and their car started to overheat. Fortunately our guides managed to get it back into place with some MacGyver-type maneuvering.
Soon we were out of the sands, and at the ocean. After a few days of not showering, I was happy to get into the water. Steffen, Elizabeth and I swam for awhile in the Indian Ocean, dodging all sorts of trash floating out there. We then drove back down the coast to a little fishing village where our tour guides had one last meal set up for us. From there it was back to Muscat, our adventure was over.
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