DUBAI: When the 35th Gulf News Overnighter Fun Drive starts early on Friday, January 15, it will be the lure of Liwa that will launch a thousand vehicles.
The 240km off-road extravaganza spanning seven gruelling stages this year will start at Al Fathiya on the Hameem Road in Abu Dhabi and end at the camp located at the foot of the spectacular Moreeb Dune in the Liwa region.
Close to 1,000 4WD cars and over 100 personnel on duty, including marshalls and volunteers, will man the route that will trace the edge of the famed Empty Quarter before winding up at what is believed to be the UAE’s tallest dune and among the world’s steepest hill climbs.
“The scenery is indeed spectacular, especially at daybreak and dusk when the colour of the desert changes and it’s a terrain with varied features - from graded tracks to wide open expansive deserts leading into small dune ranges.
So for a novice, it’s a real challenge because as we progress, the dunes get higher and higher but never to the extent that they are insurmountable,” says Gary Wheeler, one of the project leaders of the Overnighter Fun Drive. “It will be a real delight for a toughened desert driver and a drive with plenty of spectacular scenery for someone who hasn’t driven much outside of Dubai,” adds the 61-year-old from Nottingham, England who has been involved in several local and regional desert rallies for years.
Singaporean Kenneth Wong, 42, says he can’t wait to get started once the rally is flagged off at 7.30am.
“It’s a beautiful place, I have heard, and the dunes are really tall, but I am really looking forward to not just having a challenging drive from start to finish but also a fun journey overall,” says the customer experience director of a Dubai company who has been a marshall in several desert rallies in the past.
Shamsuddin Bawary, 37, says he is happy to be back where his ‘love affair’ started as the event returns to Liwa after a gap of three years.
“My first ever Fun Drive was in Liwa and it took me no time to fall in love with the natural desert scape of the place. There has not been a single route like the one in Liwa since and I can’t be more excited to be back there,” said the man from Karachi, Pakistan who will be headed for his fifth Gulf News Overnighter Fun Drive this year.
THE 2016 FUN DRIVE
The Fun Drive will start at Al Fathiya on the Hameem Road in Abu Dhabi and participants will depart after breakfast on an 8-hour-drive through the desert to eventually reach the camp located at the base of Moreeb Dune in the Liwa area.
The Event
Starting Friday, January 15, the Fun Drive will see participants arrive at the starting point from 6am after parking in the designated slots. They will then walk over to the check-in counters to complete formalities, have breakfast and collect goody bags that will include lunch boxes for all passengers in the car. They will then line up for departure after deflating tyres. The lead car will be flagged off at 7.30am and convoys will follow. The first vehicles will start arriving at the campsite by 4pm for an evening loaded with entertainment and a lavish dinner.
Origin
In 1986, off-road driving was a leisure activity, enjoyed by a limited number of residents. The desert was a mystery and not many dared to venture into it. Gulf News came up with the concept of the Fun Drive that year. The objective was to give people an opportunity to experience the desert. The first fun drive was held in March 1986 as a Day Drive with 75 four wheel drives.
The event became an overnight success. In 1989, Gulf News added another dimension to the Fun Drive - the Overnighter, and made it a two-day event with an overnight stay in the desert.
This change was received with overwhelming enthusiasm. In 1997, over 750 four-wheel drives and over 2,500 persons took part. Gulf News has restricted the cars to this number in subsequent Overnighters since.
