Making it through the wadis was challenging and we had to leave a vehicle behind in order to make it though to the first wadi pool. The first pool was full of people and we thankfully were given some local advice/directions to another wadi pool which was located much further into the mountains. It was definitely worth the journey! We had the wadi pool all to ourselves and two men of an undisclosed ethnicity who were hilariously under the influence.
This desert driving lesson with Emirates Driving Institute was some of the most fun we have had in Dubai! This half a day lesson started out with an informative PowerPoint presentation and ended with us bashing up and down dunes in a way I thought I never would. At the beginning of the drive, our teacher was scaring us, okay maybe just me, with his skilled driving; driving along the top of pointed dunes, sliding down tall bowls of sand and at impressive speeds. Our teacher managed to bury the wheels of the truck and we were taught how to get ourselves unstuck. I highly recommend this class to anyone who wants to drive in the desert with confidence. I also recommend you pack your own lunch. 
For a guy who said he would never buy an SUV, Barry certainly signed up for the Explore Dubai event quickly. For AED250 Barry and Todd signed up for a day of 4x4ing which included breakfast at Hatta Fort Hotel, lunch in the desert, dinner and show at Jumana. Not going to get a better deal than that! Fire twirling and belly dancing too. Above are a few pictures of our truck in action and the last one is not our SUV but an example of desert driving gone bad.
First stop, Falaj Al Moalla for some driving in the desert. We haven’t taken our desert driving course yet but the track seemed fairly easy so we gave it a go. As the desert is always changing and the different tracks can be difficult to decipher, we ended up heading straight towards a farm – a farm that wasn’t on the map! Almost getting stuck, we contempled our situation and another SUV pulled up behind us. Together we caravanned through the desert, each armed with our “UAE off-road” guide and walkie-talkies. After running into a couple more farms and unsafe passages we almost gave up to head back the way we came but decided to give it one more try. Success – we will not be eaten by desert goats after all. The last picture is my favourite - an oasis. Mental note: come back to this spot to camp.
Wadi driving is cautioned against after or during rain because a Wadi is a natural catchment for rainwater in the mountains and they can flood quickly – our off-road book actually states “be prepared to abandon your vehicle for high ground”. SO we were rethinking our route when we saw rain clouds over the mountains. Dibba is very “small town” which was demonstrated on our way to fill our tank where we were passed by a young boy driving an SUV (apparently getting gas for his parents). Again, very happy to see tourists and waved at us as he passed. Wadi Bih was not originally part of our route but it is apparently one of the best off-road routes to take and it turned out to be very picturesque. To check out the pictures, locate the album called "Wadi Bih Route" on the sidebar under "Photo Albums" and you will see stone houses, mountain roads, wadi paths and amazing views.
I like our car but I think we'll need something a little more rugged to take that mountain. This mountain caught my eye because it looks like the wind was blowing and blew all the sand against the side of it. It's hard to tell but that mountain is VERY big and yes, those are sand dunes decorating it.
