Desert time!

Darrell finally got me to go camping in the desert. I had been avoiding it (for a year), but eventually got trapped - all my usual excuses failed. Darrell's company is building a luxury hotel resort in the middle of NOWHERE. While the staff is busy on the job, the company has to provide accommodation as the place is about 2 hours drive from Abu Dhabi - awful drive along a dead straight road through the desert, it's a bit like driving through the FreeState, except the FreeState looks lush in comparison. Anyway, there is a little staff village, comprising huts with kitchens, bathrooms and air conditioning, set around a swimming pool and club house... all my objections to desert camping scuppered at one blow.

We set off fairly early Weds morning and met up with other families coming from AD or Dubai at the Rainbow Sheikh car museum and then travelled in convoy. We settled into our very basic accommodation and then converged on the pool and clubhouse where we spent a lazy afternoon. As the afternoon lengthened, we left the pool, piled ourselves and braai equipment into the cars and set off into the desert for a braai and dune bashing.

There were 8 cars in all, quite a respectable turnout. The dune riding was fun, except for the learner drivers (learners on dunes, not genuine learner drivers) getting stuck quite a lot. My boys are now very keen on getting quad bikes as a result of seeing what fun the quad bikers had on the dunes - I am concerned that my boat has lost serious family votes...

Darrell got to try out his new toy and seemed to be quite pleased with the way it handled in the desert - he had been concerned that it wouldn't cope as well as the Prado. I'm pleased he's happy - I really didn't want him selling his car again JUST yet! Anyway, that was the pattern for the 3 days we were there - swimming, dune bashing and eating. Oh yes, and camel riding. We all had a go, and Darrell excelled himself, even taking the camel for a little outing by himself. All he needed was a dishdash....

Oh yes, and on the last day, I must just mention this, Darrell got his LR3 stuck. However, as he is VERY quick to point out, he self-recovered and didn't need a tow or any help at all. My man!