Publication:The Fearless Times Issue 3 2009/Desert Tours in Dubai
When in Rome, do as the Romans do... so what do Arabs do? Desert Tour. Well that's what I've been told anyway. Apparently everyone's got to go so what the hell, book me in. Little did I know when making the booking that 12 of Toowoomba's finest were also booked in on the same tour!
So there we were, 1600 on the dot and two 7 seater Toyota LandCruisers arrived. I called Shotgun, just a tad too late, oh well, middle seat it was for me, in hindsight not such a bad choice as it provided a maximum crumple zone! We all piled in and buckled up. Introducing myself to the driver, I found out that his name was Cher.
Departing the ship we drove for about one hour, initially working through the busy road network, the familiar skyline of high rise buildings and structures quickly turning into the featureless desert terrain. Upon reaching our destination we were faced with sand dunes reaching as far as the eye could see. We all piled out for a quick leg stretch and a photo as Cher let some air out of the tyres. After a quick photo, we got back in and buckled up ready to hit the dunes. I briefly took a reassuring look at the roll bar and thought to myself, do we really need this?
Initially we started slowly, Cher luring us into a false sense of security. The dunes slowly got bigger and drop-offs increased in size and intensity. Moving delicately like a tight rope walker over fire, the 4x4 tracked along the dune tops. Seemingly accidentally, Cher let rip a loud fearful scream as the LandCruiser skewed off over the side of a steep dune.
Like a surfer on a tsunami, the 4x4 skated down the dunes, many 60, 80, 100 feet high. Like Michael Schumacher at Albert Park, Cher took every turn and obstacle with skill and aggression. Tearing up each sand dune like it was a kids sand castle at the beach whilst we held on for dear life, our knuckles white from clenching the Jesus bar. At angles I thought impossible, we took each sand dune and were left amazed that we didn't roll as we turned at the peaks of each dune, the vehicle seemingly defying gravity.
After about 50 minutes of insane dune bashing, we finally arrived at a sand dune plateau and hopped out for another photo. The view was breathtaking, or maybe I was just puffed from the climb to the top of the dune, but regardless, it was an impressive sight. After a 10 minute break we all piled back in the LandCruiser and continued on our way to the evening camp site.
Arriving at the camp site at sunset we were all impressed at how well the camp was set up and catered for. After a snappy camel ride and a few more photos we took delight in complementary soft drinks and a few puffs of the sheisha. Shortly afterwards we indulged in an Arabic buffet seated around a centre stage where the belly-dancer provided hips of entertainment! As was expected, everyone had to get up for a bit of a dance and generally make a goose of themselves, some more than others, good one Dave!
The night quickly concluded with a few more puffs on the sheish and then it was time to head back to the ship. We all agreed that we had a great afternoon and that it was a must do when visiting the Middle East. When finally we arrived back at the ship I took one last look and thought, see we didn't need the roll bar after all!
So there you go. When in Dubai, do the Desert Tour... you wont be disappointed.
