The Second Desert Drive of ORUAE

 

DATE:  11th June 2004

EVENT: The Second Desert Drive of ORUAE

The Old Royalists in UAE, organized it’s second successive desert drive this year for its members & friends. The date was planned for 11th of June; just before most of us would be whizzed off for our summer vacations.

The project chairman, Roshan Kariyawasam again did a wonderful job organizing a fun filled desert drive. This year, the charge per head for the members & their immediate families were further subsidized to encourage more participation. Sujith Jayawardhana was assigned to keep a control record of the income, expenses & participating 4 WD’s.

There was a very encouraging response from the membership & their friends to do this fun drive. There were about 16 Four- Wheel drive vehicles, which took part in the drive. Some of them were experiencing their first OFF –ROAD stint .As usual, the participants were asked to ensemble at the Dubai exiles car park in their vehicles. It was around 4 pm. that the convoy started to roll out. We had the privilege of the servitude of two well-experienced desert drivers in our membership. They were Saliya Jayaweera & Niluka Jayasinghe. Saliya’s presence was an absolute surprise for us with his high-powered Toyota Land cruiser specially made to tackle the tough dessert terrains. Without reservations we put him upfront to lead the convoy.

The convoy consisting of 16 ; 4 x 4 vehicles , another 10 cars & small size jeeps arrived to a point in Al Aweer area in Dubai around 5 pm. from where every body had get on to their big jeeps to trek across a service road. The desert camp was located about 3 kms into the desert. Unlike the previous year, we were impressed with the guide who was contracted to take us to the dunes. Since there were a good number of big jeeps; every one who came on smaller vehicles could be comfortably accommodated in` one go’ to the camp, which made the things easy for the organizers.

It was a fantastic feeling when one goes off road, winding thru the service road, which lies between the medium height sand dunes. It took us about 20 minutes to reach the camp and it was like seeing an oasis in the desert! Perhaps this could have been the feeling when lone camel convoys meet an oasis in the middle of the desert; in the good old days.

The camp was full of other tour parties brought in by tour operators and looked a popular spot among the visitors. And we knew that the evening was going to be a thrilling one with people of many nationalities around. The Old Royalists & their friends did not waste much time before jumping back in to the big jeeps to set off to do some SAND BASHING! It means that you try to tackle the steep & deep sand dunes. Every one enjoyed the rides to the maximum and our guide showed us some skills of sand bashing with some dare devil stunts in a small size 4 x 4 vehicle!!(We never thought it could tackle the tricky dunes) At the same time a disaster struck! When Madhava’s newly acquired Range Rover had a tire burst!! Oh boy, this was where the real drama in the desert unfolds, with a heavy vehicle embedded in light sand; every one was breaking their nerves to see the possibility of positioning the hydraulic jack on the sinking sand?? That’s where the experience of the seasoned desert dweller came to the rescue. Saliya came up with his desert rescue tool kit and with the help of so many Royalists; lifted the vehicle and jacked it up with the trick of the trade!! So, it was a real experience for all of us and also showed the brotherhood of the Royalists who didn’t budge an inch off the scene until the vehicle was back on track!!

Once the darkness fell across the desert dunes; it was the time to return back to the camp & enjoy the camaraderie with a taste of little Royal spirits!!! The lovely belly dancer gave an exotic dance to the tune of Arabic music to thrill the audience. After the sumptuous BBQ dinner was served & enjoyed by all of us; it was the time to present a farewell memento to Brian Perera; our Ex President, who left the UAE. Once the belly dancer cleared off the podium in the middle of the camp; it was the Royalists who took over the mantle from her. We forced some Baila music to be played in the camp music system and every body joined the fun.

It was almost 12 o’clock in the mid night when we left the camp with great memories of another ORUAE event completed successfully for this year.