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Adventure
Sweaty Sand School
July 23, 2020 by TLO in Adventure

In case you haven’t ever lived in the Middle East, or accidentally had to leave the airport whilst transiting somewhere in the summer, or made the terrible mistake of coming on holiday during July and August, or you haven’t read all of my blogs. It gets quite hot here.

I mean really, really hot. The thing that always gets me is burning your elbow on the inside of the glass when you are driving. WTF? How is that a thing? It catches me by surprise and I squeal like a little girl every time it happens. But somehow as we head into the middle of our third summer here,  I seem to be getting used to it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no Prince Andrew – I sweat with the best of them, sometimes I worry that my skin is leaking so fast that I may actually reduce down into some sort of hideous paste. But since being here for a couple of summers I have started to work out how to survive, I now can be outside for large parts of the day in July so long as I don’t have to do anything. Obviously, if I have to make even the slightest movement then I am completely saturated in an instant, but I can survive.

Sadly I am not very good at standing still.

Last week was quite a good example of where standing still might have been less sweaty. I booked a 4WD training day for myself and 2 goons (Derrick was going to join but he got a splinter and had to stay at home) to get into the sand with a proper professional and to learn about getting stuck and how to get out. For anyone who has been to Qatar, you will know finding experts at anything, that are genuine actual experts, rather than total charlatans is really quite hard. Through Instagram I found the Desert driving ninja that is Khaled Shash from 4WDTraining, and what an expert he is.

Khaled met us in Sealine as the sun was rising over the dunes and took us immediately to “The Bush” this is the largest bush in the whole of the Qatari desert and is a perfect spot for getting very stuck as the sand is liquidly soft, it also makes for great pictures. Before we knew it we had 3 cars deep into the sand in 50 degrees heat and it was at that stage that we realised digging was Khaled’s preferred method of removing a bogged Pajero. When you are a chiseled athlete like myself the prospect of digging a car out of the sand is intimidating enough, but when the mercury is busting past 50 degrees this challenge suddenly becomes quite horrific.

Sand School

But this was a driving course (I made a little video about it), and before we knew it we had each been taught how to use our 4 wheel drive properly, how to use the tyres, how to use the gearbox (4H on a Pajero is not proper 4WD, it is actually AWD!!! Who knew??), how to use diff locks and how to find the smallest amounts of traction to crawl ourselves out of the impassable sand bog. No screaming engines, no violent metal ripping snatch straps, no pushing, we didn’t even dig. Slow tiny movements, under control, and with the softest tyres you can imagine each of our little Pajeros clambered out of the bowl and onto hard ground. It was something of an epiphany. Don’t get me wrong plucking your mates out on the end of a snatch strap will always be fun, but for really cool steady driving out of situations you just have to hold your head and let the car do all the work for you. 

It was still insanely hot though, and before we knew it a long drive with AC blasting was the only way to recover. Thank God for my fridge and freezing cold drinks.

3 Comments
  • Adventure
  • ARB
  • Desert
  • Equipment
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  • Kit
  • lessons learnt
  • maxtrax
  • Overlanding
  • Pajero
  • Qatar
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  • shovel
  • snatch strap
  • Stuck
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There are 3 comments on this post
  1. Suzy
    July 24, 2020, 9:58 am

    What took you so long!! Tom I thought I would never go back into the desert with you again but now you’ve done this my confidence in you has doubled!!
    I’m up for another trip please xx

    • TLO
      July 24, 2020, 10:59 am

      We can’t wait! Hurry hurry and come and stay.
      We have a small pandemic to deal with and then your room is all made up!
      Xx

  2. Ian Cormack
    July 24, 2020, 6:37 pm

    A vital skill now mastered. Well done, Tom. I love these posts. Ian

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After a little silence on insta there has been some breeding, now there are three!! Ventura will always have a special place in my heart, but now with Dudley the Series nearing completion suddenly selling him feels very hard, maybe too hard? The newest recruit, Roger the Range Rover is currently undergoing a conversion to become @guinchoracing first race car ready for 2026 inaugural rally season (watch this space) . . . #rangeroverv8 #defendertd5 #series3 #v8 #landroverseries #beachrunner #vintagelandrover #landylove #landroverclub #landroverlove #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #reborn #refurbish #restore #revitalise #guinchoracing
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#series3 #landroverseries #beachrunner #vintagelandrover #landylove #landroverclub #landroverlove #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #reborn #refurbish #restore #revitalise #revive
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Meet Dudley. A new member of the 4 Low fleet. This one getting a full beach runner restoration with the intention of maybe, just maybe being sold in the future. Follow along for all kinds of DIY cock ups as I try and revive this little legend. . . . #series3 #landroverseries #beachrunner #vintagelandrover #landylove #landroverclub #landroverlove #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #reborn #refurbish #restore #revitalise #revive
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#marocchallenge #marochallengespring2024 #landrover110 #td5 #dualcab #defender110 #theadventuretruck #landylove #defender #greenlane #landroverclub #td5mafia #defendertd5 #landroverlove #dcpu #adventuretruck #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #defender_life_style #venturatruck #travel #adventure
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A highlight reel from @marocchallenge in March. An epic week introducing us to the world of racing, rally driving and a whole new world of fun. Full video on YouTube (link in bio) - more of this will be coming soon I am sure!! . . . #marocchallenge #marochallengespring2024 #landrover110 #td5 #dualcab #defender110 #theadventuretruck #landylove #defender #greenlane #landroverclub #td5mafia #defendertd5 #landroverlove #dcpu #adventuretruck #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #defender_life_style #venturatruck #travel #adventure
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3/9
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Day 6 - final race day, a complex day focussed on careful navigation. We started by cocking it up from the start when I entered yesterday’s start line into the GPS…so we were late for the briefing and got penalised before we even began. We set off to be the fastest, as have decided that the rules are for sissies, but still managed to miss a few checkpoints and finish rather unimpressive 30th today. (Still fastest time to finish!) Insane drive North to Rabat, over the snowy Atlas Mountains through a blizzard. Our windscreen wiper broke on day 1 so I had to MacGyver some bungee cord and a rope into a makeshift wiper. Somehow it held and we made it across the mountains and snow storms and into extraordinary rolling green countryside. Breath taking scenery mixed with mental Moroccan drivers skidding into ditches around us. Only a casual 12 hour journey home in the rain tomorrow to finish this epic adventure. . . . #marocchallenge #marochallengespring2024 #landrover110 #td5 #dualcab #defender110 #theadventuretruck #landylove #defender #greenlane #landroverclub #td5mafia #defendertd5 #landroverlove #dcpu #adventuretruck #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #defender_life_style #venturatruck #travel #adventure
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4/9
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Day 5 - a rally special stage around Erg Chebbi dunes. Slightly less challenging terrain meant we had a super fast somewhat terrifying run today. Over taking from 12th all the way to the front, I have never felt closer to being in an actual rally car in my life. Totally awesome and brilliant fun, sideways, jumping, power sliding our way through the dunes and gravel tracks. The car ran beautifully and I can’t imagine how she survived the brutal thrashing the speed we gave her, poor thing! We smashed the competition today finishing a massive 8mins ahead of all cars in the whole raid. Sadly we still got caught speeding 4 times, so placed 13th despite being the fastest. Stupid rules, we obvs win on lad points. . . . #marocchallenge #marochallengespring2024 #landrover110 #td5 #dualcab #defender110 #theadventuretruck #landylove #defender #greenlane #landroverclub #td5mafia #defendertd5 #landroverlove #dcpu #adventuretruck #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #defender_life_style #venturatruck #travel #adventure
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Day 4 - Our fastest day so far, no car trouble, only one pee stop and a great track that took us through mountain passes, gravel plains and soft sandy routes. Superb fun with no wind and no sand storms!

Longest single dune climb I have ever done (7km) of slow incline up a big sand monster, car started to struggle near the top but made it no problem.

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Day 4 - Our fastest day so far, no car trouble, only one pee stop and a great track that took us through mountain passes, gravel plains and soft sandy routes. Superb fun with no wind and no sand storms! Longest single dune climb I have ever done (7km) of slow incline up a big sand monster, car started to struggle near the top but made it no problem. Awesome technical dune section that allowed us to pass the whole pack and meant we finished in first place, but sadly a navigation error (my fault) meant we missed a Waypoint and placed 12th. Maybe tomorrow with a day of dunes might bring a top ten place! . . . #marocchallenge #marochallengespring2024 #landrover110 #td5 #dualcab #defender110 #theadventuretruck #landylove #defender #greenlane #landroverclub #td5mafia #defendertd5 #landroverlove #dcpu #adventuretruck #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #defender_life_style #venturatruck #travel #adventure
1 year ago
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6/9
Day 3 - Billed as a nice easy day, started well with epic landscapes and bone jangling rocks. Within a blink of an eye a wild sand storm enveloped us and reduced our speed to 10kmh for many hours.

We had GPS issues (my fault) and as such found ourselves facing the wrong way into traffic, chilled, and then were forced to always follow someone else to the finish line. We came 17th today, so are improving!

Ventura running smoothly with her new heart pumping diesel, just an increase in squeaks, bangs, knocks and pieces falling off. She still goes one! Tomorrow we aim for top 10.
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#marocchallenge #marochallengespring2024 #landrover110 #td5 #dualcab #defender110 #theadventuretruck #landylove #defender #greenlane #landroverclub #td5mafia #defendertd5 #landroverlove #dcpu #adventuretruck #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #defender_life_style #venturatruck #travel #adventure
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Day 3 - Billed as a nice easy day, started well with epic landscapes and bone jangling rocks. Within a blink of an eye a wild sand storm enveloped us and reduced our speed to 10kmh for many hours. We had GPS issues (my fault) and as such found ourselves facing the wrong way into traffic, chilled, and then were forced to always follow someone else to the finish line. We came 17th today, so are improving! Ventura running smoothly with her new heart pumping diesel, just an increase in squeaks, bangs, knocks and pieces falling off. She still goes one! Tomorrow we aim for top 10. . . . #marocchallenge #marochallengespring2024 #landrover110 #td5 #dualcab #defender110 #theadventuretruck #landylove #defender #greenlane #landroverclub #td5mafia #defendertd5 #landroverlove #dcpu #adventuretruck #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #defender_life_style #venturatruck #travel #adventure
1 year ago
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7/9
Bivouac - God knows how many people in one tented camp for the night. Maybe 400 people, 200 tents, amazing food, ice cold beer and a welcome retreat from the endless Sand storm that raged all night.

Garage Iriki set themselves up in support of @marocchallenge and do the most incredible job of piecing all the broken wagons back together. I needed only the smallest assistance to fit a new fuel pump. I’d liken it to heart surgery in a sand storm…I was the anaesthetist, I thought it best to let the pro do the technical stuff. We nailed it and the car was back in the road in a blink of a sand filled eye.
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#marocchallenge #marochallengespring2024 #landrover110 #td5 #dualcab #defender110 #theadventuretruck #landylove #defender #greenlane #landroverclub #td5mafia #defendertd5 #landroverlove #dcpu #adventuretruck #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #defender_life_style #venturatruck #travel #adventure
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Bivouac - God knows how many people in one tented camp for the night. Maybe 400 people, 200 tents, amazing food, ice cold beer and a welcome retreat from the endless Sand storm that raged all night. Garage Iriki set themselves up in support of @marocchallenge and do the most incredible job of piecing all the broken wagons back together. I needed only the smallest assistance to fit a new fuel pump. I’d liken it to heart surgery in a sand storm…I was the anaesthetist, I thought it best to let the pro do the technical stuff. We nailed it and the car was back in the road in a blink of a sand filled eye. . . . #marocchallenge #marochallengespring2024 #landrover110 #td5 #dualcab #defender110 #theadventuretruck #landylove #defender #greenlane #landroverclub #td5mafia #defendertd5 #landroverlove #dcpu #adventuretruck #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #defender_life_style #venturatruck #travel #adventure
1 year ago
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8/9
Day 2 - A day of exciting sand rivers, fast tracks and huge distance. We found ourselves pushing as far south as the rally goes, and heading into a tented camp (Bivouac) for the night.

Ventura let us down despite looking amazing with an over heating fuel pump that needed to be swapped out that night, so we placed a casual 24th (better than last!)

Lada Niva in final shot is coolest car in the race. They are winning their class and beat us on day 2!
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#marocchallenge #marochallengespring2024 #landrover110 #td5 #dualcab #defender110 #theadventuretruck #landylove #defender #greenlane #landroverclub #td5mafia #defendertd5 #landroverlove #dcpu #adventuretruck #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #defender_life_style #venturatruck #travel #adventure.
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Day 2 - A day of exciting sand rivers, fast tracks and huge distance. We found ourselves pushing as far south as the rally goes, and heading into a tented camp (Bivouac) for the night. Ventura let us down despite looking amazing with an over heating fuel pump that needed to be swapped out that night, so we placed a casual 24th (better than last!) Lada Niva in final shot is coolest car in the race. They are winning their class and beat us on day 2! . . . #marocchallenge #marochallengespring2024 #landrover110 #td5 #dualcab #defender110 #theadventuretruck #landylove #defender #greenlane #landroverclub #td5mafia #defendertd5 #landroverlove #dcpu #adventuretruck #landroverlifestyle #landroverphotos #landroveroflisbon #defender_life_style #venturatruck #travel #adventure.
1 year ago
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9/9
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