Mesaieed Desert, Qatar 2021

Mesaieed Desert, Qatar 2021

Off-Roading and Off The Beaten Path In The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council)

Mention Qatar, UAE, Oman, KSA, Bahrain and Kuwait to anyone, and they will likely say there is little to do there. Shopping malls, skyscrapers, indoor theme parks and maybe a fort will come to mind. Excuses will include I am chicken, it is too hot, or I am not adventurous. Visiting such typical sites will mean you have little else to do.

I am known for my adventurous spirit and have little fear when travelling, especially when in a car. -10 or +40 I will still drive or walk for a few kilometres, and I’ll be the only person on the road or pavements. Atlas Obscura is my go-to app to find unusual things to do and in the GCC many locations are deserts or ghost towns. Like the very cool and allegedly haunted: Buried Village of Al Madam of Sharjah.

The photos in this article are from Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman.

What about my car?
Many of these places are based on dirt tracks, rocky deserts or full-blown sand dune deserts. Either an average car will suffice, something entry level like a Mitsubishi Outlander AWD, or Toyota Prado, Suzuki Jimny, Mitsubishi Pajero or Montero Sport will be needed.

What about preparation for off the grid trips?
Many folk will think I will be out of phone coverage and in the remote deserts of Qatar the signal is still strong. Of course, take water, food, a full tank of fuel & jerry cans and a car pump to inflate/deflate your car tyres. Tyre pressure should vary depending on what you will be driving on and a good place to see suggestions for PSI depending on the scenario is https://skippaoffroad.com/suzuki-jimny-tyre-pressures/. In some desert start points there are men who inflate/deflate tyres at start and end of the trip to sand dunes.

What can go wrong?
  • Running out of fuel - top up before you go off road and bring a jerry can if the journey is long
  • Getting stuck - bring a spade, traction mats and try to go in a micro convoy. Another three tips I learnt the hard way: 1. do not stop on an incline as you can get stuck. 2. If you think you are struggling do not slow down and continue in a low gear till out of danger. 3. If you drop down into mud or wet sand it can affect steering or acceleration. Best to clean this off once you find a manual car wash
  • Crashing - follow well-trodden paths with plenty of car tyre tracks on
What happened to me?
Being a newbie in 2020 myself and a colleague would go out not knowing the routes nor terrain. Winter or in extreme heat we would venture out when even the locals were absent.
  1. A puncture near an abandoned village and luckily, we found a tyre shop to fix it fast
  2. Getting stuck on the first expedition ever whilst going the wrong route which was next to a water source hence why the ground was wet sand. We self-rescued by digging with our hands and using rocks. After this we invested in a spade
  3. The ground was solid next to an inland sea beach, and I went to U-turn then hit mudflats only three metres from the safe route. Self-rescued in extreme heat by getting wooden planks from a few hundred metres away. The cars steering and performance was down after this till it was cleaned by lifting it up and pressure washing
  4. Getting stuck whilst worrying about a car noise and this was on a slight incline near a river. We tried to rescue ourselves but failed and a man going to a desert camp pulled us out. Tip as mentioned above never slow down especially on an incline if you are unsure
  5. Cracking the front bumper by going a few metres from where tracks were on a small dune. The other side was steeper than the entry side. No harm to people nor did the air bags go off. Another worry is hitting someone whilst going up/down a sand dune since you cannot see what is coming on the other side

Oman - Madha Enclave

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Qatar - Al-Shahaniya

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Qatar - Al Khor

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Qatar - Al Wakrah

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Qatar - Al Shamal

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Qatar - Al Rayyan

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United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi

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United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi

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United Arab Emirates - Ras Al Khaimah

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United Arab Emirates - Sharjah

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Contact Me

Thoughts, questions or do you want a review written?
Please do email me at: graeme@bumpytravels.com.

Who Am I?

Graeme of London who's main interests include:
Bunkers, castles, fortresses and communist relics.

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