This better than National Geographic!.
Those guys on the fat bikes must be in shape and that herdsman on the camel looks like a rugged fellow.

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:
This better than National Geographic!.
Those guys on the fat bikes must be in shape and that herdsman on the camel looks like a rugged fellow.

When my daughter was younger, she used to call our hunting videos HUNTING GEOGRAPHIC!

I think we might call these CAMEL GEOGRAPHIC!

It looks fairly obvious from the vehicle/animal tracks that there is a lot of difference in how soft the sand is. Can you see that before you walk/drive on it?

I saw come trucks in 772 that are obviously used for moving sand. Thank you again.

Saeed: Are there designated sand dunes areas to recreate in, or can you go anywhere to play in the sand?

You can go wherever you like, but these areas are perfect for recreation.

There are areas for the family to go spend the day, restaurants available, lots of shady areas to rest, and out there are big dunes which people like to go on.

Also cyclists love that area because of the very long cycle track, used even at night.

Last week a couple of friends wives came along just to cycle.

They did a 50 kilometer run and then met us for breakfast.

It is a bit strange, as you can go there one day and never see a sole, or an animal!!

Next day it is almost run over with people, and animals.

quote:

You can go wherever you like, but these areas are perfect for recreation.

There are areas for the family to go spend the day, restaurants available, lots of shady areas to rest, and out there are big dunes which people like to go on.

Sounds like a desert paradise!!!

quote:

Originally posted by miles58:
It looks fairly obvious from the vehicle/animal tracks that there is a lot of difference in how soft the sand is. Can you see that before you walk/drive on it?

I saw come trucks in 772 that are obviously used for moving sand. Thank you again.

Sand is very unpredictable, and one can get stuck practically anywhere.

I was with a friend once, driving on the side of a large sand dune on the windward side - which is the right place to be.

Suddenly our Landcruiser just SANK! All four wheels were down to the body touching the sand!

He said "Oh Oh! Are we going to have to walk out of here?"

I said "No. We have to lift the car up. I hope you are feeling strong today!"

He said "You are joking, right?"

"No I am not. Why don't you get us a drink from the cooler, and I will get my Superman bag out"

He still wasn't convinced, but eventually he understood what I meant.

I always carry a lifting bag - you connect this to the exhaust, and it pumps air into it, after it is placed under the car.

It lifts it up, and we can place plastic tracks under the wheels to get us out.

It took us a while, as being on the side of the dune was not very helpful.

Once we got out he said "WOW! That was pretty neat!"

Saeed I have heard/read about those bags and wondered if they actually worked. Brian

I used to carry the plastic tracks in the winter, but now I carry SAND!

I have seen the lift bags used here before, but they are not so useful in snow. Mostly here we have to pull them out and I carry mule tape in my 4WD for that.

quote:

I always carry a lifting bag - you connect this to the exhaust, and it pumps air into it, after it is placed under the car.

It lifts it up, and we can place plastic tracks under the wheels to get us out.

It took us a while, as being on the side of the dune was not very helpful.

Once we got out he said "WOW! That was pretty neat!"

Saeed: Were you a King Scout?

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:

quote:

I always carry a lifting bag - you connect this to the exhaust, and it pumps air into it, after it is placed under the car.

It lifts it up, and we can place plastic tracks under the wheels to get us out.

It took us a while, as being on the side of the dune was not very helpful.

Once we got out he said "WOW! That was pretty neat!"

Saeed: Were you a King Scout?

No.

During my time, only sissies joined the Boy Scouts!

Real Boys went hunting!

Damn, Saeed, I did both!

A friend who was in the boy scouts said they thought we were the uncivilized lot!

And still are!

I am so proud of it!

Reminds me of the song by Hank Williams, Jr. : "A Country Boy Can Survive".

An old falconer who used to work for our Ruler, got mad at me right in the Rulers majlis.

He said I had no brains at all in fact "if we grab him by his feet and shake him, lead pellets would come out of his ear holes".

Everyone had a good laugh!

No PC bullshit here!

Man, we would have had a good time growing up together! Hell and all of creation would have been on the run from the two of us!

Found a creative way of showing the camel's humps!

Those are some stellar shots

Is 770 a desalination facility?

quote:

Originally posted by miles58:
Is 770 a desalination facility?

No

Too far from the sea for that.

Solar plant control unit.

Saeed: You may not be a natural artist like Hannah and Hessa, but you are a "Picasso" with pics. Maybe all of that lead bouncing around in your head did something for your talent with photography. Seriously, you ought to put a together a portfolio of some of them, and enter them in an art show or have them on display in an art gallery. Might even sell some of them. There's some raw, if not real, talent there in your photo compositions! Keep them coming!

Went out today with some friends, and spent most of the morning getting people out of the sand!?

Must be a record, as we have never had to get 4 different cars unstuck in one day.

It is Friday, and everyone was out, got a few shots of the camels and people driving on the dunes, but no time left to go look for gazelles.

Will post more photos later on.

quote:

Went out today with some friends, and spent most of the morning getting people out of the sand!?

Saeed: You lie! You indeed WERE a Scout! You were following the Scout Slogan and you were doing your good turn daily! You were also following the Scout Motto: Be Prepared! Looking forward to more pics! Those camel shadows would look cool on a T-Shirt! I still say you are a Picasso with pics!

By the way, what kind of poisonous snakes, or what type of insects, if any, do you have there?

An article in our local paper about snakes here

Being prepared I was not yesterday.

We were supposed to meet out there at 6.

I got there a bit earlier, and got out of my car to let some air out of the tires.

I almost froze to death!

It was 12 degrees C, and I don't feel comfortable with any temperature below 24!

I was actually shaking deflating the tires!

My friend was late, and I wanted to take some pictures of the sun rise, so I drove over the dunes alone.

Set up my camera and a few minutes later he called.

I was not too far in, and could clearly see the main road.

I gave him directions, but he said he would rather I pick him up because he did not want to go through letting air out of his tires and then pumping them up again - he does not have a compressor, my car has one built in.

I left the camera on a tripod on the dunes, and drove over to get him.

Driving back, I said to him "Look for my big camera. It is on a tripod. I am not sure we would find the bloody thing now"

He burst out laughing, saying "wait till I tell everyone you lost your camera in the desert!"

I knew exactly where it was, so he was disappointed.

We could see all sorts of 4 wheel caravans gathering, to go dune bashing.

Then we see this car topping a sharp sand dune, and get hung right at the top!

And from the looks of it we could see those in it have no desert experience at all.

I watched them from the drone, and could see all their efforts were doing was digging them in deeper.

To get to them with my car would have entailed driving in a long detour, so I walked to them and got the driver back and gave him tracks and instructions on how to use them.

They got themselves out.

Our other friends were cycling, and said they would join us later on.

We drove to another place to look for the camels.

Saw them heading in another direction, so drove ahead of them.

We saw two cars, with one stuck in the sand.

This one was well and truly stuck.

All wheels were under!

gave them our tracks and instructions, and stood by laughing!

My friend said "this is very exciting entertainment! Now you know why I asked you to pick me up"

The guys kept driving off the plastic tracks by turning the front wheel!!

Worse thing to do in trying to extricate yourself!

So I thought we might add a bit more for our entertainment.

I gave them the balloon to put under their car to lift it up.

Their car exhaust pipe had a cut out, which made most of the air escapes, instead of blowing the balloon.

But, they solved that problem by tying a towel around it.

My friend was a Frenchman with a sense of humor. He said "the longer they take, the more entertainment for us!"

After a while I saw that they were not going to get out very soon.

So I got my tow rope out and pulled them out.

We left them and drove over the dunes to the camels.

Had breakfast, took some footage of all the cars bashing the dunes.

Our other friends finished cycling, and drove over.

We could see them far away before the dunes.

We told them where we were, and directions how to get to us.

It was not too difficult to get to us.

We were wrong!

They took the wrong sand dune, and got stuck!

I could see them from the drone, watched as they tried to get out, and saw that we better go and help.

I had to drive there and pull them out.

As we were doing that, the car we pulled out earlier arrived.

The people in it asked if they could follow us into the desert to the camels.

We all drove over to the camels.

Had more breakfast and drinks.

Our new visitors had a call, apparently their other friend was stuck!

They asked to borrow my tow rope.

They took that and drove off.

A while later they came back back with it!

We all packed up and everyone headed home, except me because I had to stop and pump my tires up!

6 hours of pure entertainment, and all I really wanted was to take photos!!

quote:

6 hours of pure entertainment, and all I really wanted was to take photos!!

And, you just keep on providing that same entertainment to all of us here through your posted 'adventures'! I'm surprised that someone hasn't posted signs and pictures in the desert of you and your car that says: If you get stuck-no worries! JUST FIND THIS CAR AND ASK FOR SAEED!"

Thanks for the article on the snakes of the UAE. Very informative. Scary that some of the venomous vipers have been found in some of the new residential communities!

We actually find some of these snakes in our backyard.

Once I found one right by our back kitchen door.

One time I had a man going down the tunnel to put up some targets.

Suddenly he changed course, came back screaming as if he had seen Godzilla!

He found a snake half way down the tunnel!

It must have come with the sand in the sand bags!

By the way, the normal advice given to people around here is to avoid Saeed!

Doesn't seem to work. I always find the useless ones!

Thank you for the pictures of the desert that show the desert for it's own beauty.

The picture of the solar plant building has a different kind of appeal for me. Living here I get to see enough of Frank Lloyd Wright's work to appreciate some of what he did. That building is far more modern than host of Lloyds\'s work, but there are echoes there.

quote:

Thank you for the pictures of the desert that show the desert for it's own beauty.

This area is relatively small, but apart from certain land marks, any time we go into the dunes, regardless if we are only a 100 yards away from a previous visit, we see things in a completely different perspective, especially from the air.

quote:

any time we go into the dunes, regardless if we are only a 100 yards away from a previous visit, we see things in a completely different perspective, especially from the air.

That's the fascinating thing about all of the pics that you've posted. They all have a different take or perspective. No two are alike!

By the way, your personal snake stories sound a little too close for comfort!!

Should be fun this weekend.

A few nuts decided to go to the desert to play badminton’s!

I have to provide the catering services.

Walter and Walter are coming too!

quote:

Walter and Walter are coming too!

WHAT?! THERE'S TWO OF THEM??!!

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:

quote:

Walter and Walter are coming too!

WHAT?! THERE'S TWO OF THEM??!!

Yes.

We are so blessed.

A father and son team.

Walter, both, have dual nationalities.

Chilean and German.

We were at Dubai airport flying to Zimbabwe.

Walter gives the immigration officer two passports - of the same person.

The officer notices this, gives the passports back.

Walter gives him two other passports - of the other person.

The officer looks totally stumped.

Then he explains to the officer that they are a father and son, and they both have the same name.

We all laughed.

Walter then says "my father is called Walter".

The son is a not a hunter, but he went out with us every day.

He normally stayed with his father in the truck.

One day we got ready to follow some buffalo bulls - they were nine, I think.

He asked if he could join us, and we all took off after them.

Several hours later - the kid was knackered! - we found only six.

The other three got separated, and the big bull was with them.

Went back and told Walter what had happened.

A few days later we got ready to follow some elephants.

Both Walters stayed by the truck.

Again, several hours, and no elephants were found, and we lost our game scout!

A few days later we got ready to follow more elephants.

Walter says "Saeed, don't go with him - meaning Roy - one time he lost 3 elephants. Another time he lost his game scout. This time he will loose you"

One day we took a day off hunting and went to a water hole to shoot doves.

The birds were coming from the left, and I was shooting and Walter Junior was picking the birds.

I asked him if he wanted to shoot some.

He said yes.

I told him to aim in front of the flying dove.

He fired a few shots, all misses.

Then I said "aim a meter to the right of it" as they were all flying in that direction.

Again, a few shots all misses.

Then one lands on a tree.

I said shoot that one.

BANG!

Dove takes of unscathed.

"How the hell did you miss that one? Where did you aim?"

"One meter to the right of it"

Now you might get the idea of what we have to put up with,

Holy cow! Are you serious? And, for the last 15 years we have all thought that you had the one and only anomaly known to mankind! Now, you suddenly reveal to us that there are TWO of them perpetuating the DNA? Is there a fourth generation little Walter too that we don't know about? After the upcoming Badminton in the desert classic, we MUST see pics of those two together! I am still in a state of shock!

Young Walter likes cars, and he managed to get a very old Audi Quatro.

The original one.

He spent all his money fixing it, as it required constant attention.

We had elephant skin, which we covered some of the settees in our house with.

He asked if he could have some for his Quatro, so I gave him some.

That car was bankrupting him.

One day he came with one of his friends, and asked if he could take him back to see the animals.

I was working in the workshop, chambering a barrel.

I use a lubricant I mix myself.

Cutting oil mixed with Molly.

It is black in color.

I took my spray gun and went underneath his Quatro, and sprayed some on the junction of the engine and gearbox.

Some dropped down on the floor.

When they came back, I told Walter that there seems to be some oil leaking from his engine.

He said that could be just water from the air conditioner.

I said you better look, as it looks shiny.

He went under, got some on his finger, and came out pure white!

No blood in his face.

He said "It is coming from the gearbox!"

We let him simmer for a bit before telling him it was a joke!

Is young Walter sly enough to be getting even with you for the Audi trick by pulling the bird trick on you?

quote:

Originally posted by miles58:
Is young Walter sly enough to be getting even with you for the Audi trick by pulling the bird trick on you?

I doubt it.

My IQ is not that great, but compare to those two I am an Einstein!

OK. I had to check. I didn't think anyone who'd buy an ancient Audi and then go broke buying parts for it would be much given to deep thought and consideration, but being unfamiliar with the car markets in UAE I couldn't be sure.

quote:

My IQ is not that great, but compare to those two I am an Einstein!

Like father like son! Damn, the DNA appears to be strong!