It’s become a national sport for tourists visiting Dubai – a drive out to the sand dunes where caravans of 4×4 vehicles circle the tops of shifting sand dunes, charging up one side and sliding silently and softly down the other.
It’s like skiing through drifts and mounds of powdered snow, without the cold and without having to worry about where your feet are planted. Just leave it all to the experienced drivers who know how to judge the slope of a sand dune to get you the best drift and slide.
As you ricochet from dune to dune, some passengers may experience motion sickness from the slides and shifts but for those who want to feel they are treading on slightly dangerous ground, dune bashing is as fun, and as safe, as it comes for thrill-seekers in Dubai.
Our guided Collette tour encompassed about 140 people, so to get that many people out into the desert meant lining up 35 vehicles. All the dune bashing companies in the area pooled their vehicles to accommodate our group. Sorting that many people into vehicles at the front of the hotel was a chore in itself but all our guides jumped in to get us corralled into SUVs and on our way out of Dubai, headed for the desert.
A half hour ride brought us to a place where we left the tarmac of the highway to follow a beaten track into the sandy terrain. Within minutes we were swallowed up by the dunes with no sign of civilization or landmarks – just a stream of cars moving further into the unknown depths of the desert.
Suddenly we came upon a camp of Bedouins and camels. In the middle of what felt like nowhere was a herd of mangy camels, young and old, in a rickety corral surrounded by shabby tents. As we were entertained by the livestock and the Bedouin herders, our drivers let some air out of the vehicle tires, giving the treads more surface for traction in the sand.
After the short stop we headed back to our vehicles (try to find yours among 35, all painted white!) Once sorted again into our right vehicles and seats, we set out to do some serious bashing. Within moments the first thrill was upon us as we zoomed straight up the side of a steep dune, turned slightly and slid down the other side. Over and over, this pattern of partly summiting a dune and sliding our way down the other side was repeated – the occupants of the car daring the driver to go a little higher each time.
While it felt like we were near tipping or out of control, the vehicles were immensely stable. The drivers knew the limits of the SUVs and so after a few dunes we just relaxed and went with the flow – accelerate up, turn and slide down. The smiles on the faces of the people in our vehicle told the whole story – we were beaming from ear to ear.
After what seemed like too short a time, our caravan of dune bashing SUVs came to a stop, giving us a chance to dash off into the dunes ourselves, to bare our feet and wade through acres of sand. What an exhilarating feeling to find oneself in the middle of nowhere – just hills of sand as far as we could see. Some raced to the summit of the nearest dune to try to get a view.
As the sun dipped toward the west horizon our drivers began the departure from the dunes. They used the batteries of our SUVs to run small air compressors, filling the tires back up in preparation for highway driving. A short drive on a well packed track led us back to the highway and the end to our dune bashing adventure.
While you can drive your own vehicle into the desert, I don’t recommend it. We saw several vehicles stuck, or on the verge of toppling over due to the inexperience of the drivers. Dune bashing isn’t dangerous if you know what you’re doing but you can quickly find yourself in an awkward position with no one around to assist. It can be a long, hot wait until someone comes to your rescue. Avail yourself of the services of someone who knows what they are doing and enjoy your dune bashing experience to the fullest.
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