OutdoorUAE February 2013 by OutdoorUAE

Price: 10 DHS

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE MIDDLE EAST EAST

Why not Tri? Alternative triathlon training

‘like’ us on Facebook!

+ +

The infamous

Dakar Catching up with Seb Husseini and James West

+ +

Oman Adventure Riding an Off Roading Paradise

+ Reaching + new heights Sean’s thoughts on the 2nd Seven Summits

Mike returns to the impressive Al Maghrib dunes Get to us on Facebook!

WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Issue 26, February 2013

ZSI Trading LLC, Official Distributor of Marmot in the Middle East. Marmot Collection available at GoSports, Mall of the Emirates, Adventure HQ, Times Square Centre, Snow Pro, Ski Dubai Mall of the Emirates. www.zsicorp.com

Photographer Andy Mann

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

On the Cover: Robert Wicks photo by Greg Baker Managing Editor Daniel Birkhofer Editors Kim Perks, Tara Atkinson Designer Oybek Daniyarov Administration Jane Mesina Sales & Marketing (advertisement enquiries) Tara Atkinson Tel: 04-447 2030 Mobile: 055 9398915 tara@outdooruae.com Published by Outdoor UAE FZE P.O. Box 215062 Dubai, U.A.E. Tel. 04-447 2030 contact@outdooruae.com www.outdooruae.com Distributor Tawzea, Abu Dhabi Media Company P.O. Box 40401, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

It’s funny how every year it’s the same old story: people make their resolutions for the New Year as if you really need a new year to make any changes. Even more funny is that it seems like the new resolutions look very similar to those from the year before. So what happened to all this enthusiasm to lose some kilos, to stop smoking, to do more sports, to save some money or to do something really extraordinary? I think it’s just the New Year’s hype that pushes us to commit to things we don’t really believe in or are too challenging. I don’t believe in it! I think one doesn’t need a new year to decide to make a change. I think it is good to set goals whether it’s for your private life, work or sports. It is also good to have short and long-term goals, to keep the spirit up and have the satisfaction of achieving short term goals on the way to the big ones. Crossing the finish line can mean a big relief, but on the other hand it also means the end of your journey. If you are a driven person, it won’t be the end but that start of a new one, and to directly set the next goal to keep going. In this race of achievements, you sometimes forget to look back on how you embarked on this journey, especially if it took years. I think I speak for most of us here in the UAE when I say that we came here for work and to make professional achievements – at least this was the reason for my fiancée and me. We pretty much achieved what we here came for, but we are still in the race for the next goal. Time is against you in this region and many forget that life is not only about work, but also about joy and family (at least in my opinion). Founding a family is the biggest adventure a man can embark on in his life and on top of my bucket list. After being so busy with work, I’m incredibly happy that my fiancée and I didn’t lose sight of this goal in the five years we are together and we’ve finally set a date to get married this year. So I will continue to keep chasing after some of my targets (or call them dreams) knowing they maybe very hard to achieve, and even knowing that some targets or goals are not meant to be. But there are the many smaller ones, daily, monthly and yearly which are being achieved as we speak, and you will recognise them if you follow the progress of OutdoorUAE. A life without targets would be a life without direction. The biggest challenge is to find the right balance in chasing those targets/dreams between your professional and private life.

Daniel

+ +

Price: 10 DHS

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE MIDDLE EAST EAST

Why not tri?

BETWEEN THE LINES

‘like’ us on Facebook!

AlternAtive triAthlOn trAining

+ +

The infamous

dAKAr CAtChing up with seb husseini And JAmes west

Daniel Birkhofer Founder and Editor in Chief daniel@outdooruae.com

Tara Atkinson Sales and Marketing tara@outdooruae.com

Oybek Daniyarov Graphics & Programming oybek@outdooruae.com

+ +

oMAn

Kings of the rocK!

Adventure riding An Off rOAding pArAdise

+ Reaching + neW heights seAn’s thOughts On the 2nd seven summits

MiKe returns to the impressive Al mAghrib dunes

Jane Mesina Administration jane@outdooruae.com

Zaid Adham Arabic Editor

+ +

Get to us on Facebook!

WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Issue 26, February 2013

The information contained is for general use only. While we have made every attempt to ensure that the information contained in this magazine has been obtained from reliable sources, however the publisher is not responsible for any errors. All information in this magazine is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information. In no event will the publisher, its related affiliates or anyone else be responsible for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this magazine. All contents are under copyrights and may not be reproduced in any kind without written permission. © 2013 Outdoor UAE FZE Reg. at Creative City Fujairah P.O. Box 4422, Fujairah, U.A.E.

WHEN YOU’RE DONE READING, PLEASE RECYCLE!

EXPERTS & CONTRIBUTORS

Kit Belen Our fishing pro

Pete Aldwinckle Climber and all-round adventure seeker

Gordon T Smith Desert Diver and wannabe Marine Biologist

Mike Nott The 4x4 expert

John Basson Moto/ATV and all round adventure seeker

Tori Leckie Writer, runner, blogger, adventurer and adidas athlete

Sandy Joy Rubin Pilates and yoga expert and general thrill seeking move-aholic

Darryl MacDonald Photographer, journalist, climbing and hiking junkie currently living in Oman.

Ian Ganderton Kayaker, climber, mountainbiker and snowboarder. Enthusiastic jack of all trades, master of none.

Jim McIntosh Mountain goat Mack and hiking route pioneer

WANT TO CONTRIBUTE? CONTACT US! contact@outdooruae.com

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

CONTENTS

ni 50 Sebastian Hussei

EVERY ISSUE 05 BEST SHOTS 06 EVENTS CALENDAR 32 PRODUCTS 48 PEOPLE 62 DIRECTORY

EVENT REVIEWS

10 The Wadi Adventure Race 2

22 The 2nd Seven Summits:Have they finally been climbed?

44 The DAKAR

12 Two men in a little boat 14 Wadi Bih Mountain Bike Challenge 2013 16 DMX championship update

TRAVEL + ADVENTURE 18 ADVENTURE RIDING IN OMAN 22 The 2nd Seven Summits:Have they finally been climbed?

OUR EXPERTS 38 Rigging Soft Jerkbaits - THE FISHING KIT 40 Exploring dune desert in the UAE - Mike NOTT 42 Adventure Chick gets sandy - Tori

TIPS + TRICKS 56 What are GPS coordinates? 58 Partner s t r e t c h e s 60 Tri it! A quick guide to triathlons

OUTDOORUAE

24 The Mursi Tribe One of the Strangest Peoples on Earth

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

BEST SHOTS WINNER!

Here are The best shots sent in by you for the monthly ‘Want

Fame?’ photography competition! Thank you for all your entries, they were all great and it was hard selecting the best photos this month. Congratulations to the top 3 winners (who each receive Buff headwear and 5 free copies of the magazine) Helen McClure, Dave Beardsmore and Paul Derrick. Well done! To submit your shots simply email us at competitions@outdooruae.com with the subject ‘Best Shots’. You can submit maximum 3 image per month.

WINNER!

Skydiving sunset

Helen McClure

WINNER!

UAQ Marine Club record!

Dave Beardsmore

Fighting Kingfish in Oman

Paul Derrick Note: The fish was caught and released

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

EVENTS CALENDAR Stay up-to-date with the latest events

Tri Yas 2013

February 8, 2:00 p.m., Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi The region’s first and only day-to-night triathlon is divided into three categories: Olympic (1,500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run), Sprint (750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run) and Junior Duathlon (5km bike and 1.5km run for ages 11 to 14, and 11km bike and 3km run for ages 15 to 17) that will have competitors swim in the Yas Marina, bike on the Formula 1 track and run on Yas Marina Circuit roads. For enquiries and more information, visit www.yasmarinacircuit.com.

We Run Wadi Bih 2013 February 8, 6:00 a.m., Dibba, Oman

The oldest running event in the region is back and this time around, an even bigger crowd is expected to join the 72km run through the spectacular Hajar Mountains. The solo race and relay race for teams of five runners will start from the beach adjacent to the Golden Tulip Hotel, up the Wadi Khab Shamsi, past the high point at the top of the mountain, then back down to the starting point. For more information, contact John Young at john@wadibih.com or check out www.wadibih.com.

Coast to Coast Challenge

February 15th, 5:30 a.m., Lime Tree Café Jumeirah Beach Road Dubai The Dubai Roadsters Cycling Club presents their grueling 220km cycle ride from the Lime Tree Café in Dubai to Le Méridien Al Aqah Beach Resort in Fujairah. For participants, after signing up online, get yourself down to Wolfi’s Bike Shop to pay for the BBQ and charity donation. Upon payment at Wolfi’s you will receive a wristband which will allow you access to the hotel grounds. All supporters and cyclists must have one. Registration is until February 9th. For more information, email Helen at helen@dubairoadsters.com or contact Josh at 04 339 4453 or at josh@wbs.ae.

RAK Half Marathon

February 15, 7:00 a.m., next to Manar Mall, Ras Al Khaimah Already in its seventh edition, the premiere road race returns for another challenging 21km course (for individual half marathon and team relay challenge) with the start and finish line located opposite City Hotel at the end of Manar Mall. The RAK Half Marathon has been breaking world records since its inception. In 2011, Kenyan Mary Keitany’s winning time of 1:05:50 was included in the athletics world record list. For more information, visit www.rakmarathon.org

Yogafest

February 22 to 23, sunrise to sunset, Dubai Internet City Amphitheatre Time to practise those “ohms” and poses for this fun, whole-day gathering for yoga teachers and students. Yogafest is a free and sustainable community event held in a tranquil outdoor setting that offers yoga and meditation classes at all levels. Participants get a chance to win free trip for two to Yoga Magic in Goa, India. To register and for more information, visit www. yogafest.me or contact 050 553 7765.

OUTDOORUAE

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

+ +

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

+ +

EVENTS CALENDAR Dubai Desert Road Run

February 23, 6:00 a.m., The Sevens, Al Ain Road, Dubai Get ready for another pavement-pounding run around the Dubai-Al Ain Road. This race consists of 10km two-lap course for adults and teens ages 14 and up that will take them out of The Sevens Stadium, around traffic-free back roads and then loop back to the starting line. There is also the 3km one-lap course Junior Race open to kids ages six to 18 and a 3km fun run open to ages six and up. Register online at www.premiermarathons.com or visit www. dubairunning.com. For more information contact, 04 425 0211 or email info@dubairunning. com.

Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series 2013

February 25 to March 15, Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club Dubai The premiere polo event under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, will kick-off on February 25th and will showcase the world’s best horses and polo teams, battling it out for the finals this March. Buy your tickets at www.timeouttickets.com or from the Al Habtoor Grand Resort Spa Hotel and the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club.

ABRas AC Dubai Running Club 10k Series Race 2 of 3 February 22, 7:00 a.m., Mina Seyahi Hotel & Resort, Dubai

The second leg of the three part race series follows the same three-lap route within the grounds of the Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina and Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi hotels that will take runners out into the marina quay, hotel gardens and then to the Jumeirah beach. For registration, go to www.premiermarathons.com.

AeroFit Sprint Traithlon 2013

February 22, 6:00 a.m., Golden Tulip Bungalows Resort, Abu Dhabi Make a dash for it at the first of this local triathlon race series organised by Emirates Triathlete. It’s a short-distance course of 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run and, in a busy UAE race calendar this year, it fits perfectly for those going for the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon in March. For more information, contact info@emiratestriathlete.com.

The Cycle Hub Cross Country Night Riding and Weekend Mountain Biking Every Monday, Dubai Motor City (night riding) and every Saturday (mountain biking)

Bring your bike and some lights too for the night riding session every Monday from 6:00 p.m., meeting at The Cycle Hub in Motorcity. The group also hosts weekend mountain biking meet-ups from beginners to experts every Saturday morning in varying venues, and the best part is they’re free for all! For more information, get in touch with sam@thecyclehub.com or michelle@thecyclehub.com.

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

NEWS + Comment A New Family-Friendly Recreation Centre In The Uae

Al Tamimi Stables Is Now Officially Open The new Al Tamimi Stables located in Sharjah opened its doors to the public on January 26th with a fun-filled event perfect for the whole family. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and the 30-acre recreational and educational facility was abuzz with animals, activities and entertainment, highlighting Al Tamimi’s unique children’s programme called Hero, which promotes interactive learning, healthy living and an appreciation of nature. Day-trippers were thrilled having their pictures taken with cute critters, joining in the different games and munching on the yummy, healthy treats served. According to Al Tamimi Stables general manager Brian Galligan, the idea behind the project was to create a centre in Sharjah, near Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah where families and the whole community can come together to get active. The focus is on children development and creating an avenue for interaction with animals, nature exploration and personal growth. “It gives an opportunity for families to spend time together outside, something different from the usual trip to the mall,” he added.

In keeping with its vision of sharing an authentic farm experience to a wider community, the sprawling grounds is home to over 500 animals including horses, deers, oryxes, ostriches, emus, tortoises, cows and rabbits, just to name a few. “The highlight of the place has to be the animals; I really love our animals here. Most are imported and some are rescued animals we’ve taken in. We work with the animal sanctuary near Mirdif City Centre,” said Galligan. “We also have a selection of sheep and goats our chairman has imported himself from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Pakistan. Our horses are from, America and Netherlands – they’re really beautiful. We have some Andalusian horses that just came from Spain and we have more coming from the UK too.” The green farm also grows its own vegetables, dates, bananas, tomatoes and also produces by-products of milk and wool. Al Tamimi Stables also hosts a variety of activities for visitors of children and adults alike, such as nature trails, falconry shows, horse shows, pony rides and a petting farm. Built on five pillars – nature, sport, horse, creativity, and animal care – the Hero programme aims to inspire children to work towards an understanding of the world around them while developing themselves as individuals. With its own equestrian facility, football pitch, basketball and tennis courts, the multi-purpose farm is also a great venue for football games, boot camps and team buildings. They will soon be doing

personal training for all ages and are looking into building an indoor sports centre. “We have another plot of land behind that we use for growing grass for the animals and we want to use that area for doing some camping trips in the future. We can probably use this as base for desert exploration or desert hiking. The possibilities of what we can do here are pretty big,” said Galligan. This also a creative hub where in people can enroll for dancing, fencing, cooking, language, arts and crafts classes, or make their own music at the recording studio. Only 40 minutes drive from Dubai on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road (formerly Emirates Road), it’s an ideal destination for family and friends who want to be closer to nature.

Ways Of The Desert Biosphere Expeditions – the international multi-awarded and nonprofit organisation founded by Dr. Matthias Hammer – landed on the emirates’ sunny shores for a weeklong (January 20th to 27th) desert expedition and wildlife conservation project. The group of volunteers led by Malika Fettak teamed up with the scientists from Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve to help study the behaviour and population of Arabian oryxes, Gordon’s wildcat and other wildlife in the region. Through survey walks, desert camping, animal tracking and live camera traps, the project – which doubles as a conservation holiday – is aimed to better understand the Dubai ecosystem and secure the long-term survival of these animal species. 8

OUTDOORUAE

In their online diary entries (biosphereexpeditions.wordpress.com), the team updated the activities onsite as well as their other simultaneous expeditions all over the world. One entry for the emirates expedition read: “After the trap checking, we go on desert survey walks up and down the sand dunes. Three quadrants of 2 x 2km are surveyed per day per team. This may not sound much, but is actually hard work and we suffer for

science here ;) The south group (Bernhad, Hildegard and Liz) encountered gazelles and a few oryx and were lucky to spot an eagle owl. More oryx herds were found in the Northern parts of the reserve, with Lizzy and Sokolov assessing the health status of a lot of oryx individuals and also spotting a ringed Maqueen’s bustard.” Check out their www.biosphere-expeditions.org for their full report and how to take part in these unique environmental expeditions.

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani raises the UAE flag on top of Mount Aconcagua Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah

Al Thani returns victorious after reaching the summit of Mount Aconcagua in South America (6,962m), the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere. The adventure lasted for a period of three weeks and is part of his quest to conquer the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents of the world. His mission is to raise awareness about education in the name of Reach Out to Asia (ROTA), a Qatari non-governmental organisation focused on making high-quality education accessible across Asia. Encouraging travel to ecological destinations, care for environmental protection and discovery of new cultures, Sheikh Al Thani made Rahhalah a top priority when undertaking his trip.

Sheikh Al Thani, co-founder of Musafir.com, was accompanied by his friends Raed Zidan, Ziad Al-Sharabi, Anis Tabka and videographer Elia Saikaly. Together, the group forms “Arabs with Altitude,” a team of adrenaline-rush seeking explorers who trek the globe in search of reaching higher heights. Although climbing this mountain is not considered technically difficult, it subjected them to severe weather conditions with fog, strong winds, snow storms, low temperatures and low visibility, including the high altitude sickness symptoms.

Al Thani said, “This climb requires serious commitment, extensive mountaineering experience and excellent physical fitness – especially when called upon to climb eight hours a day. The summit day was supposed to take eight hours, but it took us 13 hours due to the bad weather conditions. This adventure is a true test of endurance ability. We were exposed to strong winds with a speed of 60km per hour and snow storms with low temperatures reaching to -20°C and poor visibility.” “The most difficult part was the descent from the summit, given the heavy backpacks we were carrying weighing up to 20kg and facing the strong winds with freezing temperatures, while seeking to overcome the psychological stress and the effects of altitude draining our energy as we were descending.” “This new adventure is one among six: Mount Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc, Mount Vinson, Mount Elbrus and Mount Kosciuszko. As I continue to challenge myself to see how much I can attain, I hope others will find inspiration in my actions, pushing themselves to the limits and finding that they, too, can come out victorious if they work hard enough.”

+ +

Q&A

“

Sophia Howe from Dubai sent OutdoorUAE a question about her upcoming trip to Kilimanjaro in March this year.

How do I prepare for Kilimanjaro here in the UAE? Also, what gear would you recommend I buy? First, congratulations on deciding to embark on this great journey and big challenge. Kilimanjaro remains one of the most beautiful trekking mountains in the world and the reward of just trying to climb it is simply amazing. Although climbing Kilimanjaro doesn’t require technical skills, please do not underestimate it, this is a big mountain that almost reaches 6,000m. The effects of altitude are serious and a good climbing program and route that allows better acclimatisation will make your climb safer and will increase your chances of reaching the summit. At least three months prior to the trip, your fitness program should include cardio workouts of five to six sessions per week. The intensity of the training should alternate between average to high (steady cardio within your heart rate zone or as in interval training) for a minimum duration of 45 minutes. Besides a strong cardio, you will also need strong legs – stairs, lunges and squats will strengthen you for this trip. I also recommend one long session of continuous activity a few hours per week, now that the weather is nice it is easier to do this session outdoors. You don’t have to drive far, just go to any area outside the city where you start seeing sand dunes and trek for hours. Make sure you have enough water and sun block. (If you are looking for some ideas of where to trek, look in the 2012 January issue of OutdoorUAE page 54 for the 10 classic UAE treks by Simon Cahill, or in the more recent issues featuring a three-part series of treks by Jim Mcintosh. All old issues can be found online at www.outdooruae.com) I recommend the layering system for clothing. You start with your base layer, then add or remove based on changing weather conditions. I always have my base layer, then if it is a bit chilly, add a light soft shell. If it is colder, I add a warmth layer (down or fleece) and if windy or wet, add a hard shell. It is very important to have a warm core at all times. It is also more important to know your body and not feel hot or overheat as this will dehydrate you and cause you to feel weaker.

Suzanne Al Houby

CEO of Rahhalah Explorers and has climbed Kilimanjaro, Everest and many other mountains

???

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

EVENT REVIEWS

The Wadi Adventure

Race 2

With 62 or so competitors entering into this year’s Wadi Adventure Race 2 in the Al Ain water park on Saturday the 19th of January, both myself and Oybek sat amongst the crowd to receive a briefing from Sean the dry land manager, who explained the course. For a month or so we had been training hard, from mountain biking to CrossFit, surfing to paddle boarding, running to going to the gym. We tried to prepare ourselves as much as possible for what was to come.

From there was the rope climb out of the pool. Luckily, I’d had some practise in the CrossFit gym with head coach Ben so it was a breeze and super happy that I was one of the only women that steamed up it! (I high fived a rather cute competitor on reaching the top, he seemed impressed!) The next challenge was navigating up river through the kayaking course. The water was

Wadi Adventure Pre race meeting

OUTDOORUAE

Tara - Jumping over the rafts at Wadi Adventure- Taken by Brendan Cottle

the machines on the course! In the end, I came 38th place overall and was the 4th woman to cross the finish line with a time of 38.53mins – super happy! Oybek came 50th with a time of 44.20mins. The event was really great, well organised and a blast!

The WAR 2 Winners were: Men

A 1.5km run (outside of the adventure race grounds), followed by a crawl under some nets and sandbag collection weighing around 3kg and a final 1.5km to the surf pool. A quick dip in the freezing surf pool around a buoy (30m in), followed by a run to the balance beam and a jump into the deep end of the pool from the side wall! It was freezing and pretty high, I’m not going to lie!

on mild flow, but still hard on the quads! I was trying to keep up with the others and bouncing on every step to keep moving through the water. After reaching the top, I had some help over a wall and ran down hill to the rafting challenge. The rafting challenge consisted of several rafts turned upside down and strung together with rope, this was a major struggle for some, but it just required a bit of technique. I managed to work out what others were doing wrong and with timing and speed, I jumped right after the raft in front had bounced back and was breezing through it! The only thing which slowed me down was that I couldn’t overtake! After this was another run; which absolutely killed me – uphill to the bag toss, which I was incredibly bad at! I just kept missing, I guess when you are that knackered, your brain doesn’t function. (I felt sorry for the bloke on the other end having to pick them all up!) Getting three in, the next set of tasks included an obstacle course. Overs, unders and a crawl under a jeep in sand trying hard to keep clear off the barbed wire above you with the spider’s web somewhere in between of all of that. To be honest it was a bit of a blur! The final challenge was a 9ft wall climb, I tried once – no luck. The second time, I managed to get a hold of the wall and two burly guys helped me up, thank god I thought, this could have been embarrassing! I crossed the finish line sandy, bruised, sweaty, but triumphant! With Oybek not so far behind me, we did fairly well against all

Womens

Going head-to-head in an individual race, the adventure challenge consisted of a lot more running this year (which was my only major setback!), and was broken down into the following:

1st 2nd

Thomas Koechlin (21.30mins!)

3rd

PA Tillard

1st 2nd 3rd

Sined Taylor

Paul Bouseemart

Amanda Nimon Peters Laura Mathews

Well done to those who won and the guys at Wadi Adventure for running it! I’ll be at the next one for sure which is set to take place around April.

Tara

TRAVEL + ADVENTURE

Two men in a little boat Finale of the east to west UAE kayak challenge

Words + Photos: John Weston & Dan Wills

Kayaking from the northernmost point of western UAE, around the coast of Oman, through the Strait of Hormuz, and down to the northern tip of eastern UAE! A total distance of 160km in five days, armed with just fishing gear, cameras and as much water as our kayaks can carry. Actually finishing and feeling it all come together after six months of consideration and training, was out of this world! A part of me was relieved that we had actually done it and survived. Another part was amazed at the maps we had made and the distance we covered in such a small amount of time. And a part of me was glad that I wouldn’t have to sit in a kayak again for a while. One of things we noticed, very quickly on our first day, was

OUTDOORUAE

that although we had both completed challenges before – hiking mountains and running long distances, – kayaking is unique because when you sit in that little plastic boat with a 30km distance to cover, you start to realise how restricting it is. Knowing that there is no place or time to stop, it gave it a whole new meaning to the words backache, knee pain and cramp. Day one was fairly uneventful. We soon adjusted to the high waves and strong current, and due to restrictions on the border at Dibba, we were delayed a bit, so we didn’t cover the distance we had hoped to. We also didn’t have time to stop and fish, so we didn’t eat that night – a small sacrifice. We pitched up on a small beach of rocks, and by the time we had washed the salt off of us and made a fire, it was already dark. When we laid down and watched the blanket of stars above us, we wished we actually knew more about astronomy. We were two small

human beings in a vast ocean under an even vaster universe. With legs, arms and shoulders aching, and the thought of another four identical days in front of us, we finally fell asleep. A log fell out of the fire during the night and to my horror (and Dan’s delight) it set fire to my dive boots. That left me with only a pair of flip-flops for the remainder of the trip. Not a huge set back, but it did prove to be painful. We were up before the sun and set about loading the kayaks. We were travelling in a tandem kayak with pedals as well as paddles, which gave relief to tired arms. We carried a bottle of water each and a small dry bag with cameras, passports, a knife and enough kit to survive if we were capsized and separated, including a two-way radio. Inside the kayak we stored a bag of firewood. We tied a rope to the back of the kayak and connected a smaller single seat kayak. On this one, we had our cooler, two fishing rods, a large dry bag of clothes each, and another large dry bag containing our cookers, first aid and other bits. In the storage compartment on the rear kayak, we had loaded 36 1.5l water bottles. We had arranged for Extra Divers Musandam to cache another 36 bottles and a bag of firewood, and they had graciously agreed. There’s no way we could have carried the quantity of water we would need for the entire trip, and we figured if we didn’t catch fish, we could fill up on water. We could not have picked a worse week to attempt the trip. Off shore winds hit a record high and although they were easterly winds, and we started off the trip being fairly protected by the mountains, it didn’t take long for the weather to have a serious effect on our plans. At times, we were going nowhere or we were both hanging on to the kayak while the swells from the wind were

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

lifting the kayak up and down and smashing us around. By the end of the day, we were battling to get to the beach we had chosen on the map. Since the seas were calm during the morning, we did actually manage to catch some fish, so after the tiresome day, we had something to look forward to. Unfortunately, the beach we chose was not actually ideal. The first thing we noticed was that the water line was above our heads, which meant that we would have to hump the kayaks up onto the rocks 10ft up. After a long day, that was definitely not a happy moment, but we soon had a fire going and gutted the fish. We made camp on a rock. Not the most comfortable night I had ever experienced, and each time I woke up every 10 minutes, the water was lapping closer to us. It wasn’t the most relaxing situation, but at least we were stretched out, not sitting in the kayak and we had eaten. Day three actually turned out to be one of the hardest. We immediately ran into big swells and currents, making our way slowly, hugging the coast to the safety of the fjords. We lost the trawling rod, which was a major setback. It fell off the kayak into the water

and sank, but we made a joke of it and kept morale up. We had to make 30km per day to make the trip on time. In the rough conditions, this meant we had to kayak ten hours a day, which left no time for fishing. We both looked forward to the calm fjords, we knew we still had to cart all of the kit over a small land crossing, but the water in the fjords is stunning. It’s clear, safe and has hardly any current, so kayaking very quickly improved and we made excellent speed. The original land crossing we had identified on Google Earth proved to be impossible to actually get onto the land. So we spent time hunting for somewhere we could actually get out of the kayaks and take the kit out of the water. We eventually found a

spot and unloaded all of the supplies and got ready to cover a 1km hike four times – one trip each for the kayaks and two more for the cooler and bags. Unfortunately, during the first trip up the mountain whilst carrying a kayak, my left flip-flop broke. Not a good place to be! The terrain was awful and very rocky with sharp thorny desert scrub poking through and attacking your feet with nasty sharp spikes. Dan found some gaffer tape and I had to tape my flip-flop back onto my foot praying it would

hold. Bruised feet, four hours and around 8km later, we had carted all of our kit to the other side of the land crossing and made ready to kayak another hour to the beach where Extra Divers Musandam had stashed our water. We prayed they actually left it there as we had ditched our remaining wood and most of the spare water before the hike to save weight and time. The beach we had agreed for the drop was actually the largest beach we had seen. It was covered in even more sharp rocks. The light was fading and we had to hunt for the stash, and then carry it to a small disused goat pen where we decided to camp. Then we had to go back to the kayaks and unload what we needed for the night, and then go and make camp. We just stared at the fire and laughed at the ridiculous situation we had gotten ourselves into. We were both hungry, in pain and knew that we had passed the point of no return – we couldn’t go back now even if we wanted to. We came out of the fjords on the fourth day feeling fresher from the calm waters the previous afternoon, we felt more positive and determined to reach the last beach for our final night. On the way we stopped at Extra Divers Musandam, firstly to say a massive thanks to Kurt Bonami and his team. Secondly, we needed to check the weather and wind conditions around the peninsula. Kurt’s first words were, “You won’t be going to Ras Al Khamiah in a kayak today.” The wind had gotten worse whilst we had been in the protection of the fjords. Breakers several meters high could be seen from the beach next to the diver centre all the way across to the peninsula. We could head out to the tip of Musandam, but there was no way we could get around it with 200kg of kit in a plastic kayak. Even the big ships were waiting it out. We waited and thought that maybe if we can get around the tip, we would be okay. Kurt came through for us a second time. He arranged a truck to take us around the corner, so we could start our journey again. We landed on our last beach as darkness fell. The winds were high and the sea was just row after row of breakers. Getting in the water would be impossible in these conditions. Kurt had mentioned that the winds were due to die down at around noon the next day. So once we were dropped at the beach, we holed up, sat and waited. All night long the wind was incessant. I woke every 30

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

minutes or so hoping it would be at least calm enough for us to get in and further out. By noon the next day, the wind showed no signs of dying down. The waves crashed every few seconds and all hopes of kayaking south across the border to the UAE were gone. Bad news. We had waited over 24 hours and eventually we made the call and decided to hitch a lift on a truck. Two smelly, unshaven, badly dressed guys on the side of the road with two kayaks and a pile of kit are not the most attractive travelling companions for anyone. Around two hours into our “thumbs out” approach, I was on the sat phone talking to my friend Matt, asking him to come and collect us. Dan managed to convince a nice Pakistani driver to take us across the border to a gas station, where Matt would pick us up in my truck. An hour later, we were on the Emirates Road heading south. I have no idea how badly we smelt or looked. I was just happy to be back in the UAE, on solid ground and heading home to a shower, a warm comfy bed, and a pile of takeout menus.

So far, people have asked me how the trip was, when can they see the video, and how much did we raise for charity. I’m aware most people want to see us being thrown around by the rough seas, but during those moments all we were thinking about was staying balanced, holding on with two hands and trying not to capsize! So we did not get as much footage as we’d hoped for, but what we did get, tells a great story and something I will never ever forget! Although Mother Nature beat us on the last leg of the trip, we still consider it a success, we raised nearly 2,000 GBP for Cancer Research, so thanks to everyone who donated at www.justgiving.com/jdweston, the page will be open until 10th February. Thanks to Kelway International for a large donation and for allowing me the flexibility to plan and make the trip. Thanks to Extra Divers Musandam for their continued and much needed support and, of course, to OutdoorUAE magazine for the coverage.

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

EVENT REVIEWS

Wadi Bih Mountain Bike

Challenge 2013 Words By: John Young

The third edition of the Wadi Bih Mountain Bike Challenge was held on Friday, 11th January 2013 in the Musandam mountains of Oman starting from Dibba. There was a great turnout of about 100 people, who came to escape the skyscrapers and hustle and bustle of the cities of the UAE to test themselves against gravity and experience the fresh mountain weather and the great outdoors. There were very strong winds that day with rain at higher altitudes resulting in riders descending coated in mud and shivering. One of the few days in the UAE when one is looking forward to some sun. Luckily, the rain was not severe to start a flash flood, which could have washed out the wadi! The grassroots event could not take place without the input of help from a number of companiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; organisations and individuals that all deserve many thanks: The Golden Tulip Hotel in Dibba, Absolute Adventure, Adventure HQ, Wolfiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bike Shop and OutdoorUAE magazine did a great job this year at helping support the event. The individuals that need a mention are Helen Rodd for maintaining the website for the event and providing some rational sane advice. Louise Galbraith is a stalwart supporter of both the Wadi Bih run and the Wadi Adventure race, and a big thank you is due to Louise and especially for all the help on Thursday and Friday. It was the second year for the 30km Out and Back cycle, which proved a success and

encouraged some mountain bikers and less competitive extreme mountain bikers into the wadi. One small glitch was the fact that the distance was actually about 18km to the turn, for a total of 36km. The 1,000m hill climb event was held for the third year and the previous course record was broken by four riders. The gradient is fairly steady in the wadi until just before the end when there are a series of steep hairpin bends, which is a brutal test of stamina and endurance. Well done to all the riders, and hope to see you next year!

Winners 35km Hill Climb 1st 2nd 3rd

01:43:10 01:43:13 01:45:00

Dave Shennan Martin Kooistra Toufic Hobeika

30km Out and Back (male) 1st 2nd 3rd

01:25:29 01:36:28 01:38:18

Tom Little Jim Sullivan Kyle Dawson

30km Out and Back (female) 1st 2nd 3rd

OUTDOORUAE

01:42:48 01:50:22 01:51:01

Lena Willoughby Katherine Clarke Michelle Guerin

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Dubai Marathon 2013 A View from the Back of the Pack Words By: Stephen Turner

GOOD Privilege

And

TIMES

license

YOur PaSSIOn

just Got riGht reasons

nOW WITH KaWaSaKI

rIDInG ClaSSES Free oF cost*

800 LIBERTY kawasaki@liberty.ae

OUTDOORUAE

Apply

my legs moving today. I chat to a co-worker who is enjoying her first ever marathon. She steadily maintains her pace to a record 5hrs 22mins. Respect! A runner stops to hold his little daughter’s hand and is photographed by his family, whilst friends cheering on his progress. A bearded man is sat at a bus stop, I think he will have to wait several hours. We saluted the elite runners returning home behind the travelling cameramen.I doubt that I could match the leading group’s speed for 100m. Later, I spot another friend looking in great condition who completes his run in 3hrs 30mins. Magnificent. Sunshine bursts onto returning to

* Te r m s

Only a few comedy runners had entered the marathon compared to other races. One couple were clad in green Lycra one-pieces – “Morphs?” – one man ran in a suit and tie and several men wore pink breast cancer charity shirts. Most runners used branded trainers, some five-finger shoes, a few in just sandals and one was completely barefoot. Ouch. The route aimed for Burj Al Arab and as Al Wasl-Al Mina crossroads approached, police kindly withheld hundreds of stationary vehicles. Some drivers vacated to view the scene, some miserable because of the delay. Didn’t they read the road closure signs? The course took us onto Jumeirah Road via a U-turn at 9km where runners shouted encouragements over the dividing wall. Hmmm. I am already 10 minutes behind people I normally run with. I can’t seem to get

Jumeirah, which feels longer than outbound. A knocking pain behind my right knee has developed. I encouraged my co-worker to keep running to the finish however much it hurts. A Sikh competitor nods his agreement. A Polish runner adds, “Just keep moving.” I swap notes with two German ladies in my schoolboy German. They seem relaxed. “Ja, we have done many marathons. No problem.” An Italian lady cramps up in front of me and uses the kerb to stretch her leg. A South African guy begins to walk. “Just run baby steps, don’t walk.” Spectators encourage us with cries of “not far to go.” Yes it is, I scream in my head, its 15kms. At Satwa, I want to rest but a lady from the cycling club sees me so I can’t. Approaching the Trade Centre, 50 per cent of the runners are now walking. I am reduced to a jog as we completed the perimeter of the mall. The last kilometre takes an eternity with medal-wearing finishers applauding, so I muster a smile. This marathon business is tough. They call it a “sufferfest.” When will the endorphins kick in? After that, I slept all afternoon. It’s 200,000 USD to the winner and 200,000 smiles for everyone else.

Conditions

Adrenalised runners formed on EMAAR Boulevard excitedly sharing high fives and “have a great run” with each other as they inhaled wet fog. The early kilometres were punctuated by toilet stops due to the cold and consisted of avoiding faststarting hand-bikers who slalomed their way through the pack of runners, and the elite 10km-ers overtaking us to the whoops and cheers from everyone.

REPORT

DMX championship

update Photos By: Wayne Gray

Satisfy your need for speed and get yourself and the family down to the DMX (Dubai Motocross Club) in Jebel Ali bright and early on a Friday to check out some thrilling and exciting motocross and quad biking action starting from 8:00 a.m. With classes ranging from cadets all the way to masters, this is a fun event where different classes and ages race on the recently revamped track. Not to mention the great atmosphere, great food and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s free for everyone! With nine races this season, including the UAE National Championship and the first round of the Arab National Championships being hosted, you can witnesss all the action up close and see how you can get involved. We are now half way through the MX season and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s now where points really matter! Check out the full championship standings.

181

Fraser Rose

172

110

Tom Hudson

133

Khalifa Al Kumati

Nicolas Kefford

Ethan Lane

Emily Mann

218

Alexander Mortada

198

Godefroy Buisson

OUTDOORUAE

Masters

187

Jessie Lee Davidson

250

Abdulla Al Nuaimi

125cc

Samuel Porter

Eugemio Barbaglia

85cc

65cc

MX Championship Standings Brent Gregson

188

Sean Holder

174

Shannon O'Conner

168

Lee Corby

162

Nic Bac

137

124

Tom Burke

100

Enrico Barbaglia

Ryan Wynn

197

Darren Berry

182

Eric Landgren

141

Alex Malpass

138

Reagan Laue

124

Dean Jullien

Harry Suddards

Ramond Brand

178

Ross Runnalls

209

Mohammed Al Balooshi

187

Abdullah Nusser

147

Oliver Eveleigh

185

Sebastian Husseini

124

Clynton Wynguard

Alex Macfarlane

Mohamed Al Shamsi

MX2

230

Nick Black

MX1

Pro Quad

Mansoor Al Suwaidi

Ross Runnalls

195

Dale Jullien

180

Mitchell Malpass

153

147

Eric Delleuse

152

Jinan CD

122

Ryan Wynn

145

Sean Gaugain

119

Birgit Schelkle

125

Daniel Duke

Ben Menzies

102

Sean Gaugain

123

Obaid Al Kitbe

Shannon O'Connor

Moath Al Ansari

109

Mohamad Abu Issa

Jimmy Jonsson

Joshua Brodalka

105

Jeff Bays

Sultan Al Balooshi

Mohammed Jaffar

105

If you are interested in finding out more about DMX events or how to join the DMX club, get in touch with Laura Wojciechowski on 050 452 6489 or visit the www.dubaimotocross.com.

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

TRAVEL + ADVENTURE

ADVENTURE

RIDING IN OMAN hors, Adventure motorcycling auter, have Robert Wicks and Greg Bak ng just returned from the off-road ridi an Om is t tha e adis par

This was an adventure that nearly didn’t happen. A week before fellow author Greg Baker and I were due to set off for Oman on a carefully planned research trip, I inadvertently tore my calf muscle and was forced onto crutches and several early morning physiotherapy sessions in the hope that the leg would heal. Then the day before departure, British Airways (BA) decided to cancel our flight to Dubai and I was beginning to wonder if we were doomed as we were on a very tight schedule to collect our bikes and there was a public holiday looming in the UAE. Luckily the swelling went down enough to get into my riding boots and BA got us onto an overnight flight at short notice so it seemed we were on our way. “Passports please,” said the smiley Filipino lady at the hotel check-in desk. But alas, Greg’s passport had done a disappearing act. Now, we had a real problem. We cleared immigration and it wasn’t at the hotel or in the gear, so it could only be at the airport. A mad dash back, plus a visit to the airport’s police station and a call to the lost

OUTDOORUAE

Tips

Words By: Robert Wicks Photos By: Robert Wicks and Greg Baker

property office and Greg was reunited with his passport. It seemed like the adventure had started a little earlier than any of us had expected. It had been a while since our last decent adventure together, so six months ago, Greg and I started planning an adventure in Oman. I had been spending a lot of time in the Middle East on business and it didn’t take long to realise Oman’s potential as an adventure riding destination. The country has one of the most spectacular scenery in the region and consequently offers some outstanding off-road riding. With the support of KTM in Austria and their distributor in the United Arab Emirates (KTM Middle East) confirmed, we began planning a route that would offer us a real flavour of Oman, and before we knew it, we were packing our gear. A day was spent in KTM’s workshop to prepare our bikes, a KTM 990 Adventure and the “beast,” a KTM 450 Rally bike that had competed in the 2012 Dakar Rally. We had just over a week to cover a circular route starting in Dubai and heading north towards the impressive Omani enclave of Musandam with its jagged peaks and azure water located on the Strait of Hormuz just 40miles (65km) from the coast of Iran. From here we headed east along the coastal plain to Muscat and beyond to Ras al Hadd, before heading inland to the desert of Wahiba Sands and the spectacular scenery of the Al Hajar Mountains in central Oman, where we enjoyed some of the best riding of our lives.

At the first sign of wet weather, it is highly advisable to find high dry ground, shelter and stay put – flash floods move quickly and it is very easy to get trapped by washed out roads. Consider fitting mousses to your tyres. If not, then maintain normal to slightly higher tyre pressures when riding in the wadis to prevent sidewall damage and punctures from sharp rocks. Riding in the mountains and wadis of Oman is an unforgettable experience. The tracks are generally in good condition although they can be challenging if there has been a lot of rain. Always test the depth and strength of any water crossing. If safe to cross then use a low gear, slightly higher revs than normal and a steady speed. Oman is famous for its historic forts which are some of the country’s most striking cultural landmarks. Don’t miss Bahla Fort at the base of the Jebel Akhdar highlands – it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When riding along rocky wadi beds, negotiate your path carefully so as not to leave the underside of your bike exposed (even with the benefit of a good sump guard).

Camping in Musandam – the ideal way to experience Oman.

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Known as the “fjords of Arabia,” the route offered breathtaking scenery throughout. From the jagged cliffs that plunge into the Gulf of Oman to the resulting hidden inlets, each new corner on the road made us gasp for breath. Khasab was a good place to stop for fuel and food. The road to the top of the hills surrounding the Musandam Peninsula and down the other side to the fishing village of Khor Najd was the highlight of the first two days of riding. A close second was the picturesque campsite in an Acacia Forest.Campsites are neither prominent nor plentiful, but if you’re happy to forego the typical amenities of a shower block and a convenience store, then camping rough is the best option – and the cheapest too. Guest houses in the smaller towns and desert camps offer some respite from tented accommodation.

Oman is an adventure riding paradise – just thousands of miles of uninterrupted off-road riding heaven.

We left the isolated area of Musandam and re-entered the UAE before heading south to the Oman border crossing at Khatmat Milaha, just a short run from Fujairah on the east coast. Visas can be acquired at the point of entry into both the UAE and Oman. In addition to your UK licence, an International Driving Permit (IDP) is advised and available while you wait from selected post offices. You will need to purchase insurance at the border when entering Oman – not particularly expensive or time consuming. Officially a carnet (custom documents for goods or vehicles) is not needed for Oman. KTM had kindly prepared a carnet for each bike, but it was never asked for. If you are heading further afield and a carnet is needed, it can be purchased in Muscat. The run down to Muscat gave the clearest indication of just how much money is being

Information

Heading up the road to Musandam in the late afternoon light.

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Distance: You’ll want a minimum of a week to cover a circular route starting in Dubai, taking in the impressive Musandam Peninsula, heading east along the coastal plain to Muscat and beyond to Ras al Hadd, before heading inland to the desert of Wahiba and the spectacular scenery of the Al Hajar Mountains in central Oman. We covered 1,620miles (2,600km) in seven days of riding. This circular route will certainly give you a great flavour of the country and a diverse set of terrain to negotiate. Add 1,250miles (2,000km) and you can build in a run to and from Salalah – the “perfume capital of Arabia” and Oman’s second largest city – in the far south. When to go: Given the oppressive heat between April and September, it’s best to travel between October and March when it’s cooler. Where to stay: Campsites are neither prominent nor plentiful, but if you’re happy to forego the typical amenities of a shower block and a convenience store, then camping rough is the best option. Paperwork: Visas can be acquired at the point of entry into both the UAE and Oman. In addition to your UK licence, an International Driving Permit (IDP) is advised and available while you wait from selected post offices. You will need to purchase insurance at the border when entering Oman. Bikes: Rentals for this sort of adventure seemed to be few and far between for the moment so until this takes off. In case you want to find out more, get in touch with OutdoorUAE. Alternatively shipping your bike over is also an option with a reputable supplier. Riding Conditions: Oman is an adventure riding paradise – there are no fences, just thousands of miles of uninterrupted off-road riding heaven. The smaller roads between rural towns are all in very good condition and often very scenic though you do have to be on the lookout for goats and the odd wandering camel.

Riding on the beach with the Indian Ocean in the background is an exhilarating experience.

Prices: Fuel is dirt cheap – it cost us less than 6 GBP (34.60 AED) to fill both bikes. There are nominal charges for camping and a hotel rooms start at 15 GBP (86.49 AED) a night.

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

pumped into the country’s infrastructure. The road is significantly congested by extensive road works that look to be there for a while, but unfortunately it’s the quickest way to Muscat and the mountains. Muscat is worth a visit though we spent more time in the adjacent area of Muttrah. Before the discovery of oil, Muttrah was the centre of commerce in Oman. Take time to visit the scenic port, the corniche road and extensive souq. With the countless villages and towns along the coast, one got a real sense of the importance of the sea for Oman and how much the country depends on it, both now and in earlier times. Some 93miles (150km) beyond Muscat lies the picturesque village of Sur – renowned as a major dhow-building town, the very same vessels that were used for trade two centuries previously. By the 6th Century, Sur was an established centre for trade with East Africa, with local dhows setting sail for destinations as far as China, India, Zanzibar and Iraq. Be sure to drop by the shipyards who welcome visitors with great pride. Beyond Sur, also make time for a stop in either Ras al Jinz or Ras al Hadd – the last point in the east of Oman – where the beaches are a well-known breeding ground for green sea turtles. Our next stop and an opportunity to do some great desert riding, was at the Wahiba Sands. The region is named after the Wahiba tribe and it stretches to a boundary of 110miles (180km) from north to south and 50miles (80km) from east to west – an area of some 4,800sq miles (12,500km) of rolling and shifting dunes. We entered the desert at Al Mintarib and spent a night at the Al Raha Camp, which comes highly recommended for its great food and friendly service. There are other camps and these can be used as a great base for exploration of the desert, sand boarding, star gazing, meeting local desert folk and even testing your ability as a camel jockey! If you’re feeling really adventurous, it is

We met this father and son pair in their tent in Wahiba Sands.

OUTDOORUAE

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

A quick stop for a photo opportunity with the Omani khanjar emblem in the background.

possible to cross the desert, but this will need some considerable preparation and unless you are a confident desert rider with good navigational skills, you will invariably need a local guide. A north/south crossing is advised as an east/west crossing is particularly challenging given the geographic layout of the dunes. The desert lies at the south easterly tip of Oman’s famous Al Hajar Mountains (Arabic

for stone mountains). This is the highest mountain range in the eastern Arabian Peninsula. They separate the low coastal plain of Oman from the high desert plateau, and lie some 30 to 60 miles (50 to 100km) inland from the Gulf of Oman coast. The mountains start where we began our journey, in Musandam and run southeast parallel to the coast, but moving gradually further away as it goes. The central section

mate the time it takes to complete the route and how quickly the light fades during the winter months.

of the range is the Jebel Akhdar, the highest and wildest terrain in the country. As we passed through the foothills, the dramatic scale of the surrounding mountains was clearly apparent and we knew we were in for a treat. There are countless routes to consider, so it’s worth taking some time to research what you’d like to see and how best to make the most of your time in the mountains. Our two favourite routes were: • Jebel Shams – this 32miles (52km) route takes you to the highest point in the country at 9,872ft (3,009m) and the views of Oman’s own “Grand Canyon” are some of the most stupendous in the sultanate. It’s an incredibly rewarding ride up a fast-flowing piece of asphalt that seems to get steeper and steeper with every turn. Early on in the ride where the tarmac ends and the gravel begins, be sure to look across to your right for the abandoned village of Ghul, which sits partly camouflaged against the rock. Beyond this point, it’s a well-graded gravel road with wonderful views all the way to the summit. • Wadi Bani Awf – there is not a lot that can prepare you for the start of this ride. Think Stelvio Pass (Italy) on steroids! This was by far our favourite ride and undoubtedly one of the most spectacular rides in Oman, with the picturesque village of Balad Sayat as a must-see sight. If you start the wadi from the north, stop by at the Al Hoota Cave with its massive subterranean chamber. Riding conditions are challenging in places with sheer cliff faces and it’s difficult to keep your eye on the road given the amazing vistas. At 36 miles (59km) in length and given the undulating terrain, don’t underesti-

Bike Profiles

After some of the best riding of our lives we reluctantly pointed the KTMs away from the mountains and towards the border crossing at Khatam Al Shikhla near Al Ain. In a stark contrast to the sights and sounds of the past week, we headed north and finished the journey with the sun setting on the spectacular Dubai skyline. We cannot recommend Oman highly enough – people are welcoming, the food is great, the fuel price is astonishingly cheap and most importantly, the riding is out of this world.

The good folks at KTM in Austria hooked us up with their dealer in the Middle East and it has to be said that the team in Dubai were very supportive. On the set-up day before leaving, we had full access to their workshop to prepare the bikes. A huge thank you to Mark Montecillo and the team KTM crew in Dubai. The 990 was a standard production bike while the other was a rally-prepared 450 and ridden by the United Arab Emirates’ Mohammad Balooshi in the 2012 Dakar Rally.

alers e D r o f g n Looki gion e r C C G in the

KTM 990 Adventure Engine:

Liquid cooled, four stroke, twin cylinder

Drive:

Chain

Front Suspension: 48mm WP USD forks, 210mm wheel travel Rear Suspension:

WP-PDS rear shock, hydraulic spring preload, 210mm wheel travel

Front Tyre:

Pirelli Scorpions – tubed 90/80 – 21

Rear Tyre:

Pirelli Scorpions – tubed 150/70 – 18

Seat Height:

860mm

Dry weight:

209kg

Fuel Capacity:

19.5l

Navigation:

Garmin 60CSX

Like us on Facebook for a chance to win a TRIKKE T67

KTM 450 Rally Engine:

Liquid cooled, four stroke, single cylinder

Drive:

Chain

Front Suspension: WP-USD Ø 48 mm, 300mm wheel travel Rear Suspension:

WP-Monoshock with Pro-Lever linkage, 310mm wheel travel

Front Tyre:

Michelin Desert with mousse 90/90 – 21

Rear Tyre:

Michelin Desert with mousse 130/80 – 18

Seat Height:

980mm

Dry weight:

150kg

Fuel Capacity:

35l

Navigation:

Garmin Zumo 550

www.facebook.com/trikkemena

Please contact us for details +971 4 508 1202 +971 55 609 6757 info@trikkeme.net www.trikkeme.net

TRAVEL + ADVENTURE

The 2nd Seven Summits:

Have they finally been climbed? The Seven Summits

To climb the highest mountain on every continent is a challenge that inspires many mountaineers. There are seven continents and the challenge is to climb the seven highest peaks on each. If you do this, you are entitled to enter the Seven Summits club. It is an exclusive one but growing. At present there are less than 350 people who can claim the set.

The Seven Summits was first completed by Dick Bass in 1985. Bass was a successful businessman and at the time was owner of Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah. His influence and wealth allowed him to put the logistics and framework in place to not only travel to these remote places, but also to take with him the most gifted climbers of the time. Bass literally forged a way to the top of each summit. Now seen as one of the symptoms of a midlife crisis, the entry requirements of the Seven Summits club are being meet more by middle agers looking for something extra to satisfy their passions. The Seven Summits club can now be grouped together in the same category as finishing an Ironman Triathlon, buying a fast motorbike or finding a younger partner. Make no mistake, being a member of the Seven Summits club is hard. To qualify, you still need to stand on the top of Everest. For that reason you would think the Seven Summits challenge is one of the hardest in mountaineering. It is not. The mere fact that the summits are the highest makes it at-

Words + Photos: Sean James tractive for many, but in the climbing world, highest does not mean hardest or most difficult.

The 2nd Seven Summits

The 2nd Seven Summits is so called because it is the collection of second highest summits on each continent. Thirty years after Dick Bass became the first man to climb the seven highest continental summits, the challenge of climbing the second highest mountain on each continent had not been completed. Finally, that may have changed this year. But why did it take so long? Is it purely because they are less glamorous? Thirty years is a long time and you would think that climbing mountains that are lower would be easier and someone would have tried. However, out of 2nd Seven, six are without a doubt more difficult. To understand why, we must look at the easiest route to the top. The table below makes it easy to compare:

Africa

Highest Mt Kilimanjaro

5,895m

2nd Highest Mt Kenya

5,199m

Asia

Everest

8,848m

8,611m

Europe

Elbrus

5,642m

Dychtau

5,204m

Antarctica

Mt Vinson

4,892m

Mt Tyree

4,852m

North America

Denali

6,194m

Mt Logan

5,959m

South America

Aconcagua

6,959m

Ojos del Salado 6,893m

Oceania

Carstensz Pyramid

4,884m

Puncak Trikora

OUTDOORUAE

4,730m

So as a rule, the 2nd Seven are arguably more difficult. Their geographical position, remoteness and inaccessibility make them harder to climb and more expensive to get to. As an example, to arrange a trip to Antarctica, the cost of climbing the highest, Mt Vinson is approximately 50,000 USD. This is high, but still low in comparison to giving yourself the opportunity to stand on top of the second highest, Mt Tyree, a more

Result - Hardest Kilimanjaro is a trek rather than a climb. The summit of Mt Kenya is a serious multi-pitch rock route requiring a rope. The statistics for both summits and deaths clearly show K2 as being harder. The standard route is steep, hard, technical and dangerous. Elbrus is high and long but has easy angled slopes and a high hut. The easiest route on Dychtau is graded at Russian alpine 4B and involves steep rock sections and 55째 snow and ice slopes Basecamp at Vinson is accessible by plane and the route is a slope of 40째. The only way to Mt Tyree is to ski and there is no easy way. All ascents are virtually new routes. To show its difficulty, Mt Tyree has maybe been climbed only 10 times. Logan as it is more isolated and the objective dangers such as crevasses and avalanches, and technical difficulties are far higher. Ojos del Salado is less than 100m lower but the fact that it is possible to use motorised transport to over 5,000m means it may be easier than Aconcagua. Both mountains are isolated rock climbs requiring long treks through inhospitable jungle. There is a standard route on Carstenz Pyramid which makes it easier at present to climb.

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

isolated and committing climb. Mt Tyree has only had eight ascents ever and five of those people are no longer living.

Controversy and claims

Just as there was controversy and mystery surrounding the first ascent of Everest with George Mallory, there has been similar in the case with the 2nd Seven. In August 2011, Christian Stangl, an Austrian climber and mountain guide claimed to have summited K2. The 2nd Seven Summits were part of a massive media campaign for him and he was supported by a major gear manufacturer. His efforts were widely reported in the climbing press. There was apparently no reason to doubt him. His previous successes and climbing CV could easily justify his success, and the public did not question him. Others closer to the scene, including some on K2 at the time, knew differently. Rumours spread that he had spent the time sat in his tent and could not possibly have reached the elusive summit. The rumours were substantiated a few months later when he broke down and confessed publicly, stating that his claim was false. So in January 2012, Hans Kammerlander from the South Tyrol finally claimed to have climbed the last on his list when he summited Mt Tyree in Antarctica. Everybody was happy and accepting until March, when the statisticians and record keepers started looking at his pictures. There was doubt over Mt Logan that Kammerlander claimed to have Global Climbing (Dubai) Hummvee Jersey Jan 2013.pdf 1 1/28/2013 summited in low visibility in 2010. From his

Note : The author has a personal interest in the 2nd 7 summits as he has climbed four himself as a guide. He has photographic and satellite tagging to prove it and has also taken along a client each time. He hopes to be able to complete the challenge soon with more clients.

descriptions and photos, some suggested that he may even have climbed the wrong peak. No conclusion was reached and the discussion was dropped. So for now it is now accepted that Kammerlander is the first to climb the 2nd Seven summits. Incidentally, Kammerlander climbed Mt Tyree with the infamous Christian Stangl, surely something to be avoided if you are looking for credibility. To add further spice, their respective websites dispute which peak is the second highest in Oceania. So after all that, no one may have climbed all 2nd Seven. 2:37:32 PM

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

TRAVEL + ADVENTURE

The Mursi Tribe One of the Strangest Peoples on Earth My curiosity, love for discovery and seeking knowledge has driven me to travel various regions around the world. I’d watched many a film about tropical rain forests and their dangers, including cannibals! Were these stories real? This was the catalyst to documenting my travels around the world. My latest trip was to a tribal region hidden far away from the eyes of the world in one of Africa’s most isolated corners, where the native Mursi tribe conduct their lives in the most primitive of manners, away from modernism and with a will for life and persistence despite the harsh nature of their surroundings. I’d read of the imprisonment of journalists and news of the death of several people in southern Ethiopia. Political instability was now at hand due to the country’s leader falling to ill-health. I had two weeks to go to the beginning of my journey, but I wouldn’t let that faze me. I put my trust in god, and set out on the journey south to Omo River Valley before things became much worse. This was the first trip I’d taken a video camera to shoot a YouTube documentary. The video, which is in Arabic, is extremely popular and garnered much respect and attention for the wealth of information it contained about the region and the lifestyle of several tribes there. One may search for it by typing “Ethiopia Tribes Journey” in the search window. I was immediately in for a surprise upon my arrival into Ethiopia. Addis Ababa lies 7,500ft (2,300m) above sea level, and I was immediately greeted by massive amounts of rainfall and the cold weather. Nevertheless, I immediately set out to explore the sites and relics of one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Ethiopia, is widely considered the site of the emergence of early Homo sapiens in the Middle Paleolithic period of history. It’s worth mentioning that there exist tribes that still live very much in the same way their ancestors did thousands of years ago, including the Mursi tribe. However, before travelling south to visit the tribe, I decided to dedicate a day to head north to the source of the Blue Nile.

OUTDOORUAE

Words + Photos: Yasir Albehzad The views were certainly awe-inspiring, from the amount of greenery, water and quality of rural roads. Along this journey, I also stopped to pay a visit to a family in one of the small villages in the region and was met with nothing but graceful hospitality. After sipping genuine Ethiopian coffee, the family elder took his time in explaining to me their lifestyle and how they built their mud homes using certain types of plants for support.

The Mursi Tribe - One of the Strangest Peoples on Earth. Of the many tribes that I have visited until now, the one that has intrigued me the most has been the Mursi tribe and all those residing on the Omo River. Mysterious and intriguing as they were with their peculiar lifestyles, I was looking for answers to my curiosity and a chance to introduce them to my own culture and religion. And so after three days of journeying from tribe to tribe along the river, we now reached the borders of the territory occupied by the Mursis. We hired the services of a guard with an old AK-47 assault rifle, the same type used for protecting residents of the region from wild animals and tribal tensions. We were told that things may turn from good to bad at any moment for any reason. Perhaps one of the reasons for this polar shift was inebriation, as we’d witnessed an armed man drinking very early in the morning! Our first surprise upon entering the area was seeing a pride of lions out on the hunt! The sight of the king of the jungle with his family in their natural habitat gliding gracefully through their domain towards the river was truly astounding. With the sounds of birds and monkeys in the background, as well as hippos far away in the river, we went on.

The Mursi tribe is a strong and fierce tribe composed of many skilled warriors that other tribes fear. They are a tribe known for their attention to aesthetics and colour, with their women known to don plates of

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

clay or wood on their lower lips. You may be surprised of their small eyes, peculiar scent and the amount of weaponry they carry, but it is fairly normal to see the men of the tribes in this region armed to the teeth. They do, after all, protect their lands and cattle from other tribes, and cattle in particular are quite important for their material and marriage value. The tribe lives in a protected territory classified as a UNESCO Heritage Site in the Omo River Valley in the south of Ethiopia, close to the Kenyan border. UNESCO protects this area because it contains archaeological evidence of human evolution and development. The region is rather hot compared to the rest of the country and is primarily a savannah upon which the tribe depends for agriculture and feed. The males of the tribe decorate their bodies with white mud, carving designs into it at certain parts of the body, while the women use dry plants, dead insects and animal parts as headdress – a rather colourfully strange decoration. The tribesmen from time to time also rub their body with natural scents, similar to the scent of perspiration mixed in with the scent of animal skins. This is said to protect them from germs and insects. One of the most peculiar pieces of jewellery that the women wear is a necklace made of 28 pieces of bones and human fingernails. Considered nomadic, the Mursis travel to the shores of the Omo during the dry season from September to February, and return to their farm lands and livestock between March and August. The Mursis farm for corn, sorghum, beans and sometimes pumpkins. Livestock are considered an important part of the tribal life, as they are the only item that can be traded for currency in the seasons of drought. These are especially harsh for the Mursis and Southern Ethiopia in general, leading to pressures to turn the region into protected territory to prevent hunting. As a result, tribes in the region engaged in a struggle for the ownership of the largest available agricultural areas, leading to a rise in tribal feuding and the ownership of automatic weapons in the 80s and 90s.

The lip plate

The lip plate is one of the more famous of the tribe’s traditions. When a girl reaches the age of 15, her mother pierces her lip with the help of her kinswomen and a small piece of wood is placed in the piercing. Usually, the front two or four teeth are also removed and, with time, gradually larger pieces of wood or clay are placed until the desired size is reached. Some Mursi women wear ones with a diameter of 15cm. Considered an attractive piece of jewellery, the lip plate attracts the attention of the young men of the tribe, making the girl’s dowry of cattle or livestock larger. A Mursi girl is given the choice of whether or not to pierce her lip, but if she cannot bear the plate, the dowry for marriage is less. Interestingly enough, the presence of these plates have made the Mursi tribe unaware of kissing! There are several theories as to the reason for the lip plates, the dowry being one of them. This, however, has been said to be untrue as most tribes agree on the dowry for the girl prior to her reaching the age of 15. Another reason has been linked to the slave trade, as it has been theorised that this was a deliberate deformation of the tribes’ women because slaves transported to Yemen at the height of the age of slavery were chosen based on their attractiveness. Other members of the Mursi tribe believe that these plates protect their women from evil spirits. Another peculiar decoration habit of the Mursis is the deliberate cutting of the stomach or the chest, and insertion of small

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

maggots therein. After closing the cut, the body fights the maggot until it dies and leaves a scar where it lay as a prominent mark on the body. The Mursi tribe believes that women are the priests of death and there are several rituals that are practised by wedded couples, but I did not see them nor understood them when they explained to me. These matters could be strange to us, but they see them as mercy, including the ritual of the wife poisoning her husband. Many of the Mursis medical beliefs are based on the environment and nature surrounding them. They, however, believe that illnesses are caused by tensions between the sick person and someone else or due to social issues the person is dealing with. The tribe has its own priests, as well as appointed political leaders. Women are never elected as leaders and there is no electoral or voting system for a leader’s appointment. Until recently the tribe had no written language. Now, however, writing is a mixture between Latin and Amharic letters. Unfortunately, many of the tribes in Southern Ethiopia are being eradicated by the government for financial or developmental projects in their regions, and there are drives to erase their cultural identities. These mainly come under the guise of modernisation.

Yasir Albehzad www.trips.ae yasiruae@gmail.com

OUTDOORUAE

‫‪February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM‬‬

‫‪THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST‬‬

‫و الحشرات الميته وذيول الحيوانات وجلودها في تزيين‬ ‫رؤوسهن وبذلك تكون زينة ملونة وغريبة‪ ،‬بإمكانك تخيل‬ ‫رائحة هذا المزيج أيضاً‪.‬‬ ‫يقوم سكان القبيلة من فترة وأخرى بفرك أجسامهم بمواد‬ ‫طبيعية ذات رائحة مميزة مشابهة بروائح تعرق ممزوجة‬ ‫برائحة جلود الحيوانات وهذة المواد تحميهم من الطفيليات‬ ‫والحشرات‬ ‫من األمور الغريبة أيضا ً أن بعض نساء القبيلة يضعن‬ ‫قالدات فيها ‪ ٢٨‬قطعة من العظام واألظافر البشرية‪.‬‬ ‫تعتبر قبيلة المرسي من القبائل الرحل حيث ينتقلون‬ ‫إلى ضفاف نهر أومو في مواسم الجفاف من سبتمبر‬ ‫إلى فبراير‪ ،‬ويعودون عند موسم األمطار ألراضيهم‬ ‫للعيش عند ماشيتهم والتمتع بحليبها الطازج بين مارس‬ ‫وأغسطس من كل عام‪ .‬تعتبر الماشية جزء مهم من حياة‬ ‫القبيلة حيث تكون هي السلعة الوحيدة التي يمكن تبادلها‬ ‫بالنقود خالل أيام الجفاف القاسية‪.‬‬ ‫لديهم الكثير من القصص المتناقلة من األجداد واآلباء‬ ‫ولكنها ليست موثقة‪ ،‬يحكون بالكثير من الحكم والقصص‬ ‫األخالقية والفلسفية‬ ‫واجهت قبائل جنوب إثيوبيا مرحلة صعبة في فترات‬ ‫الجفاف الطويلة وزادت على هذه الضغوطات تحويل‬ ‫مناطقهم إلى محميات ومنع الصيد‪ .‬وبدأت القبائل تتنافس‬ ‫المتالك أكبر مساحة زراعية مما أدى النتشار الخالفات‬ ‫واألسلحة األوتوماتيكية في الثمانينات والتسعينات‪.‬‬

‫المنطقة متنوعة بالطيور والحيوانات حيث ترى أنواع‬ ‫كثيرة من الطيور والحيوانات‪ ،‬عند زيارتي للقبيلة‬ ‫شاهدت عائلتين من األسود تجوب المنطقة ويمكن أيضا ً‬ ‫مشاهدة فرس النهر والتماسيح والجواميس والفيلة‪.‬‬ ‫محاصيلهم الزراعية تكون من الذرة والذرة الرفيعة‬ ‫(‪ )surghum‬والفاصوليا وفي بعض األحيان القرع‪.‬‬ ‫لوح الشفاه‪:‬‬ ‫من أشهر عادات القبيلة تزين النساء بوضح لوح خشب‬

‫أو فخار في شفاههم السفلية حيث يتم قطعها من قبل‬ ‫أمها أو النساء المقربات عند بلوغ البنت ‪ ١٥‬سنة ويتم‬ ‫وضع قطعة خشبية صغيرة حتى يلتئم الجرح‪ .‬ثم يتم‬ ‫تركيب قطع أكبر فأكبر على فترة زمنية حتى الوصول‬ ‫إلى الحجم المرجو‪ .‬هناك بعض نساء القبيلة يضعن‬ ‫لوحة قطرها ‪ ١٥‬سنتمتراً! كلما كبر حجم اللوحة تكون‬ ‫أجمل في نظر شباب القبيلة ويكون مهرها أكبر من‬ ‫البقر والقطيع وتكون بنت قبيلة المرسي مخيرة في قطع‬ ‫اسفل شفها ولكن إن لم تحمل اللوح فسيكون مهرها قليل‬ ‫جداً قبل الزواج‪ .‬ومن الجدير بالذكر أيضا ً بأنه تتم إزالة‬ ‫األسنان األمامية لتفادي احتكاكها باللوح‪.‬‬ ‫مع وضع اللوح الطيني فإن شعب المرسي ال يعرف القبلة‬ ‫وما معناها رغم انهم يزيلونها وقت النوم‪.‬‬ ‫هناك غموض شديد لسبب وضع هذا اللوح ولكن هناك‬ ‫فرضيات كثيرة‪.‬‬ ‫هناك من يعتقد بأن حجم اللوح له عالقة بشروط ارتباط‬ ‫الزواج ولكنه اعتقاد خاطئ حيث يتم االتفاق بين العائلين‬ ‫في الزواج على المهر قبل بلوغ البنت سن ‪ ١٥‬سنة في‬ ‫الكثير من األحيان‪.‬‬ ‫هناك من يعتقد بأنه تشويه متعمد لنساء القبيلة حيث يتم‬ ‫اختيار النساء في أيام العبودية على جمالهن وال يتم‬ ‫اختيار النساء ذوي عيب شكلي أو خلقي فقد كان يتم‬ ‫تصدير النساء في ذلك الوقت إلى اليمن‪ .‬وبعض أفراد‬ ‫المرسي يعتقدون بأن هذه األلواح تحمي نساءهم من‬ ‫األرواح الشريرة‪.‬‬ ‫ومن المظاهر األخرى الغريبة للتزين أن يقوم بعض‬ ‫األفراد بشق الجزء األمامي من جلد البطن أو الصدر‬ ‫والقيام بإدخال يرقات الحشرات وثم إغالق الجرح‪ ،‬بعد‬ ‫فترة من مقاومة جسم اإلنسان لهذا الشي الغريب‪ ،‬تموت‬ ‫اليرقة وتترك قبرها كعالمة بارزة في الجسم‪.‬‬

‫يعتقد المرسي بأن النساء هم كهنة الموت وهناك عدة‬ ‫طقوس يتم ممارستها من قبل الزوجين ولكني لم أرها ولم‬ ‫أفهمها جيداً فلن أكتب عن أي تفاصيل‪ .‬أمور قد تكون‬ ‫غريبة جداً بالنسبة لنا ولكنهم يرونها رحمة لهم من بينها‬ ‫طقوس تسميم الزوجة لزوجها‪.‬‬ ‫حتى فترة قريبة لم يكن هناك لغة مكتوبة للمرسي ولكن‬ ‫اآلن تتم الكتابة عن طريق مزج الحروف الالتينية‬ ‫واألمهرية‬ ‫ترتبط اعتقادات المرسي كثيراً بالمعالجة وغالبية اعتقاداتهم‬ ‫تكون على حسب البيئة والظروف حولهم والتوجد لديهم‬ ‫عقيدة صارمة‪ ،‬تعتقد قبيلة المرسي بأن سبب األمراض‬ ‫هي توتر العالقة بين المريض وشخص آخر وأيضا ً تكون‬ ‫لظروف اجتماعية يمر بها المريض‪ .‬هناك كهنة للقبيلة ولهم‬ ‫منصب قيادي في القبيلة وهناك القائد السياسي للقبيلة ويتم‬ ‫تنصيبه بسبب مواقف مرت عليها القبيلة‪ .‬من المستحيل أن‬ ‫يتم اختيار النساء في مناصب قيادة القبيلة وال يوجد نظام‬ ‫انتخابي لتنصيب القائد‬ ‫تتم هذه األيام إبادة العديد من هذه القبائل الحامية‬ ‫لتقاليدها عن طريق الحكومات لمصالح مالية أو مشاريع‬ ‫تطويرية وأيضا ً من خالل الحمالت المختلفة التي تنهي‬ ‫جميع مظاهر العادات والتقاليد األصلية لكثير من قبائل‬ ‫العالم والقيام بتغييرهم باستخدام كلمة (التحضر)‪.‬‬ ‫ياســر البهـزاد‬

‫‪Yasir Albehzad‬‬ ‫‪www.trips.ae‬‬ ‫‪yasiruae@gmail.com‬‬

‫‪OUTDOORUAE‬‬

‫‪26‬‬

‫‪February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM‬‬

‫‪THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST‬‬

‫‪The‬‬ ‫‪Mursi‬‬ ‫‪Tribe‬‬ ‫‪One of the Strangest Peoples on Earth‬‬ ‫حبي لالستكشاف والفضول والبحث عن المعرفة دفعني‬ ‫للسفر لمناطق مختلفة حول العالم‪ ،‬شاهدت الكثير من‬ ‫األفالم عن الغابات االستوائية ومخاطر األدغال والقبائل‬ ‫آكلة لحوم البشر! فهل هذه القصص واقعية؟ هذه البداية‬ ‫لتدوين رحالتي في مناطق متنوعة في العالم‪.‬‬ ‫رحلتي األخيرة كانت في منطقة قبلية مختفية عن أنظار‬ ‫العالم في إحدى زوايا إفريقيا النائية‪ ،‬يعيشها السكان‬ ‫األصليين من قبيلة المرسي بالطرق البدائية في معزل عن‬ ‫عن الحداثة ورغبتهم في الصمود والعيش رغم طبيعة‬ ‫أراضيهم القاسية‪.‬‬ ‫على الرغم من قراءة أخبار سجن الصحفيين وأنباء عن‬ ‫مقتل العشرات في مناطق جنوب إثيوبيا وعدم االستقرار‬ ‫السياسي بسبب مرض الحاكم قبل موعد رحلتي‬ ‫باسبوعين ارتأيت التوكل على هللا وشد الرحال إلى‬ ‫مناطق الجنوب وبالتحديد وادي أومو قبل تحول الظروف‬ ‫لوضع ممكن يكون أسوأ مما هو عليه‪.‬‬ ‫كانت هذه أول رحلة لي استخدم بها كاميرا فيديو لعمل‬ ‫فيديو وثائقي عن هذه الرحلة التي عرضتها في موقع‬ ‫يوتيوب وحصلت على رواج ممتاز لما فيه من معلومات‬ ‫عن المنطقة وبعض طرق العيش لعدة قبائل في مناطق‬ ‫الجنوب‪ ،‬ما عليك إال كتابة “رحلة القبائل اثيوبيا” لمشاهدة‬ ‫التقرير كامالً‬ ‫وصلت إلى عاصمة إثيوبيا “أديس أبابا” وتفاجأت بكمية‬ ‫األمطار وبرودة الطقس حيث تقع العاصمة على ارتفاع‬ ‫‪ ٧٥٠٠‬قدم‪٢٣٠٠/‬متر عن سطح البحر وبدأت بجولة في‬ ‫معالمها وآثارها فهي من أقدم الدول على وجه األرض‬ ‫حيث تم اإلثبات علميا ً بأن إثيوبيا تعتبر من أوائل مناطق‬ ‫نشأة اإلنسان عن طريق اكتشاف أقدم آثار بشرية هناك‪،‬‬ ‫والجدير بالذكر أن هناك عشرات القبائل تعيش بنفس نمط‬ ‫الحياه القديم منذ مئات السنين من بينهم قبيلة المرسي التي‬ ‫قمت بزيارتها‪.‬‬ ‫قبل بدء الرحلة جنوبا ً للقبائل قررت أن أستغل يوم كامالً‬ ‫لالتجاه شماالً إلى مصدر نهر النيل األزرق وانبهرت‬ ‫بروعة المناظر على الطريق وكمية الماء والشجر‬ ‫وجودة الطرقات الخارجية‪ ،‬ثم قمت بزيارة عائلة في‬ ‫إحدى القرى بطريقة عشوائية ولم أرى إال كرم الضيافة‬ ‫والترحيب الحار وبعد احتساء القهوة اإلثيوبية أخذني‬ ‫كبير العائلة في شرح نمط حياة العائلة وطريقة بناء‬ ‫مساكنهم حيث تبنى الجدران بالطين واستخدام نوع من‬ ‫األعشاب للتثبيت‪.‬‬ ‫قبيلة المرسي ‪ -‬أحد أغرب قبائل العالم‬ ‫من بين الكثير من القبائل التي قمت بزيارتها حتى اآلن‬ ‫فإني جذبت للمرسي والقبائل القاطنة على نهر أومو‬ ‫بسبب غموضهم الشديد وعاداتهم الغريبة فإني أبحث عن‬ ‫أجوبة لفضولي وفرصة لتعريفهم بديني وبلدي‪.‬‬ ‫بعد ‪ ٣‬أيام من الترحال من قبيلة إلى قبيلة ومن منطقة‬ ‫إلى أخرى حان وقت الوصول بالقرب من حدود مناطق‬ ‫قبيلة المرسي‪ ،‬استأجرنا حارسا ً يحمل سالح أوتوماتيكي‬ ‫‪27‬‬

‫‪OUTDOORUAE‬‬

‫كالشينكوف ‪ 4٧-AK‬قديم للحماية شبيه باألسلحة‬ ‫المنتشرة بين أفراد القبيلة للحماية من الحيوانات المفترسة‬ ‫وأيضا ً التوترات القبلية حيث أن المنطقة تشتعل أحيانا ً‬ ‫بالخالفات بين قبائل المنطقة فالسالح هذا مع الحارس‬ ‫يزيد من احترام القبليين للمستكشف أو الزائر‪ .‬فمن‬ ‫التحديات أنه من الممكن أن تنقلب األمور إلى السيء في‬ ‫أي لحظة ألي سبب‪ ،‬ربما يكون بسبب شخص سكران‬ ‫حيث رأيت أحد الرجال المسلحين يشرب الخمرة في بداية‬ ‫الصباح!‬ ‫كانت المفاجئة األولى عند دخول المنطقة هي مشاهدة‬ ‫عائلة من األسود في جولة للبحث عن الطعام وكانت‬ ‫لحظات رائعة لمشاهدة ملك الغابة مع ابناءه وزوجته‬ ‫في بيئتهم الطبيعية يمشون بكل ثقة عابرين الطريق‬ ‫الوعرة باتجاه النهر‪ ،‬أما الخلفية كانت في سماع زقزقات‬ ‫العصافير وقفز القردة من شجرة ألخرى وسماع أصوات‬ ‫فرس النهر من بعيد‪.‬‬ ‫قبيلة المرسي قوية وشرسة تحوي مقاتلين ماهرين تهابها‬ ‫جميع القبائل األخرى!‬ ‫قبيلة معروفة باهتمامها بالزينة واأللوان وتتزين نساء‬ ‫القبيلة بلوحات من الخشب أو الفخار في شفاههم السفلية‪.‬‬ ‫هناك الكثير من األمور الغريبة “بالنسبة لنا” سأتحدث‬ ‫عنها‪.‬‬ ‫قد تشعر ببعض الخوف عند مشاهدتهم بعيونهم الصغيرة‬ ‫وعظامهم الكبيرة ورائحتهم الغريبة وكمية األسلحة‬ ‫بحوزتهم‪ ،‬ولكنه منظر عادي أن ترى رجال القبائل‬ ‫مدججين بالسالح في هذه المناطق‪ ،‬فهم يحمون أرضهم‬ ‫ومواشيهم من القبائل األخرى حيث أن للماشية قيم مادية‬ ‫ومعنوية أيضا ً خاصة للزواج‪.‬‬ ‫تعيش قبيلة المرسي في منطقة مصنفة كمحمية من قبل‬ ‫اليونيسكو للتراث العالمي في وادي أومو جنوب إثيوبيا‬ ‫بالقرب من الحدود الكينية‪ ،‬تحمي اليونسكو هذه المنطقة‬ ‫ألنها تحوي على آثار تؤدي إلى دراسات أعمق في تطور‬ ‫اإلنسان ونشأته‪ .‬المنطقة حارة مقارنة بوسط وشمال‬

‫إثيوبيا وهي مليئة بحشائش السافانا إذ يعتمد سكان القبيلة‬ ‫بشكل كبير على الزراعة ورعاية الحيوانات‪.‬‬ ‫يقوم ذكور القبيلة بتزيين أجسامهم بالطين األبيض وعمل‬ ‫بعض التصاميم الفنية في مناطق معينة بالجسم‪ ،‬أما‬ ‫بعض نساء القبيلة يستخدمن النباتات الجافة واألغضان‬

PRODUCT REVIEW

Valoriani Wood

Fired Ovens

Living in a place with weather as beautiful as Dubai means that cooking outside is always a pleasure. Having family and friends around for a garden party or lazy, al fresco evenings in the garden is the perfect way to spend time – but it needs good food too, and that’s where Valoriani ovens come in. Barbecuing is a beautiful and exciting way to cook, but wood-fired ovens take al fresco dining to a whole new level. You get all the gorgeous smoky flavours of a barbecue, matched with the reliability and versatility of a conventional oven. Valoriani’s terracotta dome ovens are handmade in Italy, from clay quarried in the Tuscany hills. They’re fuelled by a fire lit a few hours before cooking, and can reach temperatures higher than 400°C and stay hot for days. For the first time ever, Valoriani ovens are available in Dubai. So, at your next garden party, you could be turning out everything from moist marinated chicken and juicy burgers to crispy pizzas, or even slowcooked stews and fresh bread, all tinged with unique, delicious flavours that come from cooking next to an open fire. Jamie first fell in love with wood-fired cooking on holidays in Italy when he was young, but it was while working at Michelinstarred Italian restaurant the River Café that he understood their real magic, using them to create all kinds of delicious slow-cook dishes. Years later, after having one installed at his home in Essex, he teamed up with Valoriani to bring these ovens to the UK, and ultimately the rest of the world. He’s also installed them at several of his restaurants. So Jamie would be the first person to tell you that building a wood-fired oven in your garden is the start of a new lifestyle. It will get you cooking outside at all times of the year and for all different meals, and open your eyes to new flavours and recipes. “The smokiness from the wood and charcoal gives every type of food incredible flavour and personality. Once you get a feel for cooking this way you’ll absolutely love it,” he says. With Valoriani you’ll be getting quality and a piece of history and too. A century ago, many Italian communities were reliant on communal wood-fired ovens, cooking their meals and baking bread all in the same one. It came to embody the family spirit and shared love of food that Italy is famous for, but sadly most of them were destroyed during World War II. Knowing the ovens’ importance to communities, when the war was over, the Italian government turned to Sylvio Valoriani, the

OUTDOORUAE

president of Refrattari Reggello and a refractory clay specialist. They asked him to design an oven that could be quickly assembled to replace the damaged ovens. His solution was a family-sized wood-fired oven made from the Tuscan terracotta clay he knew so well. They were quick and easy to build, cheap to run and had exceptional heat retention. Today, Sylvio’s design is recognised as the original Italian wood-fired oven, and his Valoriani ovens are still handmade by his family in Tuscany. When they get to Dubai they are in kit form, and can be delivered and assembled at your home by specially trained builders from Dubai Garden Centre. There are so many options for how you want them to look, with all sorts of finishes to the oven, from rendered domes to brick cubes. The design is up to you, so you can make it fit your home perfectly. Valoriani ovens are exclusive to Dubai Garden Centre in th e UAE and you can view two different designs that have been constructed in their new extension.

AVAILABLE AT QUALITY OUTDOOR AND SPORT STORES

Global Climbing

LOWEALPINE.COM

The go anywhere and do everything vehicle ! In January, Al-Futtaim Motors

launched the brand new RAV4 and we had the pleasure to be one of the first to drive this crossover between 4x4 and road car. Makoto Arimoto, RAV4 chief engineer of Toyota Motor Corporation was present at the launch

and called the car a “go anywhere and do everything vehicle.” This is reason enough to take a closer look at it since this would be what every outdoor lover would call his vehicle. With this multi-purpose car, Toyota and Al Futtaim hopes to reach a wide market of young and young-at-heart people. There

is not a real sharp definition of the target group, rather it’s more a common mind set. TThe six speed transmission and the 2.5l 4 cylinder petrol engine with 176HP provide the RAV4 with enough power to ensure dynamic driving on the road and strength off the road. The new engine is five per cent more fuel efficient, yet it accelerates 10 per cent faster than the previous one. Dynamic torch control, traction control, downhill assists control and stability control ensures a safe and more dynamic drive. The design from exterior to interior is contemporary and elegant. Toyota is claiming to be best at the class with the new RAV4. It is available across all Al-Futtaim Motors showrooms in two grades for the 2WD model EX at 89,900 AED and EXR at 95,900 AED. The new RAV4 also comes in three grades for the 4WD model: GX at 109,900 AED, GXR at 114,900 AED and VXR at 124,900 AED. The test drive The RAV4 offers enough space for the front and the rear. The front seats are comfortable and allow different adjustments to individual needs and preferences. Everything you would wish in a car of this class is available and the finish is looking even better than

OUTDOORUAE

you might expect for the price. On the road, the car drives smooth the 176HP – a good horsepower to weight relation, giving the car the promised dynamic on the road. The suspension is soft enough to be of high comfort even driving over humps, yet hard enough to steer safely though curves even at higher speed. A crossover SUV can never be a full-fledged 4x4 and it should be seen more as “you can leave the road, but should stick to gravel roads rather than going dune bashing.” On loose gravel and small rocks uphill, the RAV4 seemed already challenged, which would have been a piece of cake for a 4x4. (here should be the image gravel) But with some driving experience, the RAV4 can also take this little hurdle easily. Another thing which needs attention is the clearance. As mentioned before, dynamic drive and the road and full off-road capabilities do not go together, and so the clearance to the road is too low to go off-road. I was especially concerned of the exhaust pipe, which is very close to the ground with no re-enforcement or protection like an engine shield for the underside of the car. Hitting rocks could cause major damage on the car and the engine. One of the features that stood out is that you can adjust the backseats angle, making it very comfortable for the passengers in the back. Most important for us outdoor people is loading space, a class-leading cargo capacity. The backseats of the RAV4 can be made completely flat and there are also carabiners to fix your load securely. The space will be good enough for two bikes or any other bigger outdoor gear

you have to transport. The spare tyre is now hidden in the trunk and not fitted to the rear allowing a better rear visibility. Test Point

Ranking

In each category five camels can be achieve with five as best

Price Value Off-road Ability Turning Circle Loading space (trunk) Overall Drive Comfort Interior Fuel Consumption Stand Out Factor

The OutdoorUAE and my personal verdict: The price value is great. If you have to compromise on the car because of your budget and don’t want to give up some off-road abilities, while using it for all daily needs and weekend adventures, it’s definitely a good choice. Using a 4x4 daily, I know that 90 per cent are usually driven on the road and the choice of a crossover car with driving abilities focused on the road is definitely a rational decision. I would even choose the cheaper 4x2 version above the 4x4 since the region requires a full-fledged off-road car because the terrain outside of the city is immediately challenging. The 4x2 will just do fine on the road and gravel tracks. Back home in Germany, I would choose the 4x4 version only for the better abilities to drive in snow, which will not be the case for us over here in the next decades even with the global climate change.

Daniel This article shows only our opinion during the test drive of the model we drove. Your opinion and experience might differ from ours. We recommend that you do a test drive with any car before you consider buying, this review should just highlight some points you might want to look at.

SEA SPORTS & SAFETY

Your Life is More Important than the Unsafe Adventures!

Going outdoors is an

adventure and now is the time to get into some exciting sea activities. Let’s do kayaking... what about surfing... No, no, we should do wakeboarding or may be rafting..! We are loaded with options! Hey wait for a while, have you prepared yourself for sea uncertainties or you are about to risk your life? Oh, what are the safety measures? Hmmm, let’s explore some: Kayaking:

Kayak is the perfect option to roam on sea, fishing, and exploring new exciting places. It’s a paddle supported boat with a capacity to hold 1 or 2 persons. Boat safety: Before getting into your kayak check your kayak & paddles thoroughly for any repair and maintenance requirements. Personal Safety: Life Jacket / PFDs, Helmet, wetsuit, gloves, shoes

Wake Boarding or Surfing:

Wakeboarding, surfing or even wake surfing is thrilling face-to-face fun with the sea while ruling on waves or wake. It’s fast, easy & can be done around any water location with suitable waves. Wakeboard Safety: Check your bindings and the tow row are safely secured, and that you have a life jacket if you are behind a boat. Board Safety: Wax your board properly & check the Leash with other parts. Personal Safety: Wetsuit, Gloves, Boot and Bindings

Towable / Inflatable

With towable you can share the fun together while keeping yourself close to water. Through this activity you come across to various faces of water with thrilling experiences. Towable Safety: check towable for possible leakages, breakage and other maintenance requirements Personal Safety: Life Jacket, Wetsuit, jacket, gloves, helmets, shoes If you are planning to spend more than few hours in water than it is recommended to keep the following items with you because weather conditions can change so quickly!

• Visual Signals (e.g: flash lights, flares) • Navigation Equipment (e.g: campus, GPS) • Storage bags with shorts & extra cloths • Sunscreen, sunglasses, cap etc • Drinking water and snacks • Tool Kits and Spare Parts • First Aid It is always recommended that you should chose quality safety items through the authorized dealers such as Al Yousuf Motors where not only quality is good but also you can find their price very competitive, above all, you can find Al Yousuf Showrooms throughout UAE.

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

PRODUCTS A round-up of quality products available right here in the UAE

Penny Orignal and Nickel Marble Skateboards

Penny Orginal (22”) at 595 AED and Penny Nickel (27”) at 665 AED Available at all Quiksilver and Billabong outlets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Plus, down on the beach at Surf Dubai. Penny is the first and original plastic skateboard from Australia. The original is smaller in size, but strong and great for more experienced skaters and for younger kids. Meanwhile, the Nickel range is larger in size, which is great for beginners and adults. Both are available in the regular and Marble range that features swirling colours with no two decks looking alike. Also look out for the new Penny Organic with its biodegradable plastic deck that eventually breaks down when completely immersed in soil sold at 645 AED.

OZtrail Festival 15 795 AED Available at Adventure HQ in Times Square Center. This light and easy to assemble and dismantle shade shelter is ideal for group gatherings, camping, the beach or sporting events. The heavy-duty legs and long lasting silver coated UVTex sun tough fabric with water repellant treatment is ideal for a range of weather conditions.

ENDURA Women’s Xtract Short 195 AED Available at Adventure HQ in Times Square Center and from specialised outdoor and quality cycle retailers. • • • • •

Available in black Ultra-fast wicking 280g Xtract® fabric for fast drying performance Selected seams flat-locked for toughness and comfort Externally printed silicone leg grippers Available with 400 Series gel pad

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

LOWE ALPINE Expedition Pack (TFX Kongur 65:75) 775 AED Available at Go Sport The Dubai Mall and Adventure HQ in Times Square Center The Kongur is a fully featured entry-level backpacking pack. With a front entry and bellows side pockets, it is perfect for overnight camping trips, travel and multiday treks. • • • • •

Fully adjustable TFX 4 back system for carrying comfort Bellows side pockets for additional storage Large zippered front panel allowing easy access to contents of pack Additional lash points that allow you to add items to outside of pack With additional features of rain cover, two compartments with zip out divider, mesh water bottle pockets, hydration compatible, SOS panel, key clip, mitt friendly zip pulls, unique walking pole tip grabbers for secure storage, pole and ice axes are clear of lower compartment allowing access, secure internal lid zipper pocket. • Load zone: 15-20kg • Weight: 2.10kg • Back system: TFX4, 40.6 to 53.3cm

Casio Pro Trek PRGS 1,995 AED Available at G-Factory, Al Ghurair (04 252 5217) and all other leading watch outlets in UAE From Pro Trek, the watch trusted by outdoor adventures everywhere, comes the second watch of the collection featured in the OutdoorUAE Magazine. The watch features big, Neo Bright coated analogue hands to indicate time, direction, altitude differential and barometric pressure changes. The simple design of the face makes measurement data easy to read, and a Tough Solar power system helps to ensure uninterrupted operation. • • • • • • •

Compass, barometer/thermometer and altimeter Low temperature resistant (-10°C/14°F) 100m water resistance World time with 29 time zones Carbon fibre band Full-auto calendar Battery level indicator

Saris Solo 1-Bike Rack 249 AED Available at Go Sport The Dubai Mall, Bawabat Al Sharq Mall Abu Dhabi and City Centre Doha. Whether you need to safely transport your bike to your local shop, the annual charity ride or across the country – all while keeping the inside of your car clean – Solo™ is a convenient solution. Just place it, tighten the straps, secure your bike, and go! Its compact uni–body frame fits a variety of vehicle makes and models, just like bigger bike racks do, minus the adjustments. It also fits neatly in a trunk or closet, making Solo™ as easy to store as it is to use. • Low cost, easy installation, convenient size • Built with 100% recyclable, non-rusting materials • Carries one bike up to 35lbs.

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Bontrager Aeolus D3 Carbon Wheels 4,500 AED Available at Trek UAE in Oud Metha, next to Lamcy Plaza, contact 04 335 0399 or visit www.trekbikes.ae. Hand built in USA from Bontrager’s exclusive OCLV aerospace-grade carbon, these wheels are stiffer, stronger, lighter and better. The revolutionary 27mm wide D3 rim shape of the Bontrager Aeolus wheels is so aerodynamic that it beats competitors’ deeper rims at almost every yaw angle by reducing drag on both the tire-leading and rim-leading edge. This not only makes you faster, it gives you more control in a crosswind • Available in tubular and clincher, in rim depths of 35mm, 50mm, 70mm and 90mm • Includes skewers, wheel bags, Carbon Stop brake pads (required) and alloy presta valve extenders • No rider weight restrictions

Marmot Fusion Jacket 757 AED Available at Go Sport. With winter in full swing, the Marmot Fusion Jacket is perfect for early morning runs, cycles or even for a trip to the gym. Fusing together flexibility with solid wind and moisture protection, this water-resistant outer layer has a weather-adaptive hybrid fabric construction ideal for fickle conditions. Ultralight Pertex® Woven fabric protects the front torso from wind and wetness. The durable stretch nylon in back and side panels keep you charging ahead. • • • • • • •

Ultralight Pertex Quantum GL fabric Stretch knit for increased mobility Abrasion-resistant nylon Flat-locked seams for added comfort Zippered hand pockets and secure sleeve pocket with zipper Closure Thumbholes Reflectivity

Yamaha WaveRunner Tube (Special Offer) 850 AED Available at Al Yousuf Motors showrooms in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Al Ain, Fujairah and Ras al Khaimah. Enhance your family fun with this towable which can easily be attached to your Wave Runner. Designed to look like famous Yamaha WaveRunner, this exhilarating to ride and will certainly get heads turning. • • • • • • •

Five air chambers Two molded handles at the front, two molded handles at the back Two drain floors Foot wells Boston valve for quick inflation and deflation Size: 214cm x 142cm/85” x 56” Rider capacity: two persons

OUTDOORUAE

Truck y M g n i l B

ew i rev ent T p o T Roof Originally intended for the African outback, most people argue that the complete lack of dangerous wildlife in the Middle East means that a roof top tent is a bit of a ridiculous investment. The fact that roof top tents have caught on in Australia (where there is also a complete lack of lions) shows that the concept of sleeping in a solid, good quality tent mounted on your car or trailer actually has little to do with staying above the wild animals. It is simply a matter of convenience

and comfort. Gone are the days of struggling to put bendy poles through flapping tent material; no longer do you have the tent sides pressing down on your face in a strong wind; and the integrated foam mattress means that you don’t have to worry about waking up at 3 o’clock in the morning with a rock imprint in your kidney because your air mattress has a hole. Once you have seen the light and realise that it is actually rather nice to be able to sleep as soundly in your tent as you would in your own bed, you then have to make a decision about the type of roof top tent you are going to go for. There are ones with soft covers, such as the Epic Adventure Equipment roof tents, which you pull open using the ladder as a lever and take up about half of the roof area of the car when closed. These fold out to make a bed size of 1.4m by 2.4m, which is plenty of space for two large adults. They also come with a fully enclosed skirt and floor, which zips onto the base of the tent, so that you can actually sleep another two adults

underneath the tent porch area. The XXL model has a bed area of 1.8m by 2.4m, which is good enough for three adults, or a family with a small child or two. The other type has a hard shell where you crank open the roof, or it pops up on gas struts. The manufacturer of these is Autohome of Italy, who makes the famous Maggiolina and Columbus tents. They come in various sizes and colours, and due to the fact that they take up the whole roof area, some of the models allow you to mount things on top of the roof tent shell. Bundutec of South Africa makes an aluminium version which opens up using an electric motor. Very swish. For those who balk at spending 4,000 AED and upwards on a tent, consider the fact that the roof top tent will always have a second hand retail value, and that you won’t be spending a few hundred dirhams on replacing your ripped dome tent and holey air mattress after every sandstorm or rocky mountain camp. Sitting back with a sun downer and watching everyone else struggling to find their tent pegs is in any case a priceless experience. Epic Adventure Equipment has three types of roof top tent: the Desert Adventurer for 3,950 AED; the Desert Expedition for 4,350 AED; and the XXL for 5,250 AED. Autohome tents are available from 9,200 AED and Bundutec tents are available from 15,000 AED. All of the above roof top tents are exclusively available from blingmytruck.com.

Desert Expedition roof top tent 4,350 AED Available at www.blingmytruck.com or call 050 554 8255. Fit this desert expedition roof top tent and skirt to any vehicle with two cross bars or a roof rack. Sand colour canvas with waterproof, rip-stop and rot-proof canvas. Enjoy a fantastic night’s sleep on the built-in mattress. The tent also comes with a skirt and floor providing loads of extra space below, ideal for changing or showering. • Three windows and one entrance all with mosquito netting • Capacity: Two persons • Sleeping area: (W) 140cm x (L)240cm • Closed dimensions: (H) 38cm x (W) 140cm x (L) 120cm • Weight: 54kg

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

PRODUCT REVIEW

Tempo Hoody and Jacket With winter in full swing now,

we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let a chilly morning or a windy afternoon prevent us from enjoying the outdoors, whether it is an early morning run, an afternoon hike or perhaps cycling. Marmot has two great items available this winter to ensure we can still enjoy spending time outdoor with this cold weather. You can set the pace with the versatile Tempo Hoody, a stretchy softshell with wind protection for fast hiking, backpacking or backcountry skiing. Marmot M3 softshell fabric is air permeable, while the attached, adjustable hood and elastic draw

OUTDOORUAE

cord hem seal in warmth. Marmot M-series fabrics are designed for moving light and fast, combining stretchable, water-repellent, abrasion resistant and highly breathable shell materials with insulating buffer materials on the inside. The Tempo Jacket is perfect for trail runners, climbers and anyone who thrives in the outdoors, this stretchy and highly breathable jacket is a terrific solution for trail or town. The elastic-bound cuffs and hem comfortably hug your body while youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on the move. It also includes a zippered chest pocket for small necessities. Both items from the Marmot M3 shell collection are the most breathable in the M-series. They are best for high aerobic use in mild conditions. Tempo Hoody (670 AED) and Tempo Jacket (530 AED) are available at Adventure HQ and Go Sport.

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

TPG Graphics Service Available at www.tpg-graphics.com, email hello@tpg-graphics.com or call 050 452 6489 Our graphics are designed and manufactured to order and can be fitted within one week from order. We are the only MX graphics supplier in the Middle East using a thermal print transfer process, which means we can print reflective foils, silver, gold, etc. We can add your name, number, logos. We also offer preset, background, semi-custom and full custom designs. We use premium quality cast vinyl that is imported from the UK. We then use the thickest/toughest layer of scratch-proof clear vinyl over laminate for an armour-like layer of protection. We will design, proof, print, cut and fit your graphics to your bike or quad at a convenient time and place. We can also quote for full rally kits for the desert challenge. We also cater to any type of outdoor sport that requires graphics such as Jet-Ski’s, cycling, go-karts, sand buggies, car stickers and the list is endless.

TRIKKE uPT from 599 AED to 9,999 AED Available at Bond Group (visit www.trikkeme.net or contact info@trikkeme.net or 055 609 6757 or 04 508 1202) The TRIKKE uPT (ultralight Personal Transporter) a patented three-point carving vehicle, is a green transportation choice that is extremely lightweight, requires very little maintenance and is easily collapsible for transport and storage. Coming in both manual and automatic the range includes trikkes for kids to adults.

Naish Bullet Kite Board 3,995 AED Available at Ocean Sports FZE – www.kitesurfsup.com Kiteboarding in light to moderate wind. The Bullet is the perfect kite board for riders that want the directional board feel to cruise or go in light wind. Strapless riders will enjoy its early planning and flat-water tricks appeal while strapped riders will appreciate its early planning, easy upwind and overall cruising characteristics. Board: Bamboo and carbon construction Sizes: 5’0”x 20.5” (152cm x 52cm), 5’4” x 21.5” (162cm x 55cm) Fins: Quad Set G-10 fins

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

OUR EXPERTS

Rigging Soft Jerkbaits A Technical Cheat Sheet of rigs There is more than one way to skin a cat and even more ways to rig soft plastic baits. The following are some of the rigs that I use and have been successful with. Our fishing pro who shares his experiences and expertise with OutdoorUAE through his regular column. thefishingkit@gmail.com

Some are traditional, while others are not so traditional.

If you want your bait to sink straight down head first, put the weight near the eye of the hook.

Jighead The most common way to rig a soft jerkbait and the easiest to work, rig the head the fits the conditions at hand and you are almost certain to attract a fishy situation.

Flutter Jig The flutter jig hook is a jig with its weight on the shank of the hook. It keeps your jerkbait tracking straight and upright. It gives the jerkbait a bit more action and is weedless. The best choice if you are fishing shallow and around snags.

Deepwater Slide Boom Jerk I’m sure I did not invent this rig – I came across this rig when I wanted to fish deeper water, but my jighead was not heavy enough. Fishing with 20lb (10kg) braid around drops, I have caught some nice

fish with this rig. A leader of about 1 meter is attached to a swivel, and your mainline is attached to the other end of the swivel after passing the mainline inside the tube. The spreader boom helps prevent tangles by separating your mainline and your leader. The jerkshad can also be changed to a normal curly tail and reeled in slow.

OUTDOORUAE

Heavy Hitch Hiker Rig The hitch hiker rig has been around for some time and is one of the best rigs to use for pelagic species. The circle hook is optional, although I almost always use this rig with it. The addition of a ball sinker makes it a long casting and fast sinking rig. For top water applications, take off the sinker and fish it with just the hook. This gives the jerkbait an insane action!

Adjustable Ninja Weight Rig I honestly don’t know what the name of this rig is, I just thought of it one day (although I’m sure that someone thought of this way before I did).

Putting the weight centered on the shank will make it sink with a forward sliding motion – great for a slower presentation.

Here’s a closer look at the centre weight position.

Putting the weight near the bend of the hook gives the bait extreme darting action. The weight can be adjusted to suit your needs. It is nothing just soldering wire.

Give these rigging options a whirl and drop me a line on how you get on. Till next tide change,

Kit

OUR EXPERTS

st and largest Exploring the- be the Al Maghrib dune desert in the UAE

Having just read the title, you’re now probably asking yourself, “where?” The Al Maghrib is something of a well-kept secret, though once you realise it’s as far from Dubai as you can get in the UAE, you may begin to understand why. If you are reading this, you will probably have a penchant for the outdoors and the associated activities that take you there and, no doubt, you will have heard of Liwa. You may have visited and even driven through parts of it, or even all of it. Undoubtedly, the dunes of Liwa are the most imposing in the UAE, but Liwa is no longer the place it used to be. Oman Ras Al Khaimah Dibba

Umm Al Quwain Ajman

Great dunes

Sharjah Dubai Fujairah

Ghayathi

Hatta

Abu Dhabi

Habshan Al Ain

Bid Al Matav’ah

Junction

M-1

Route 218 Route

M-2 M-3 M-4

M-6

M-8 M-7

M-11 M-10

M-9 M-12

M-14

Mike

Madinat Zayed

(Though my experiences of the Al Maghrib did not get off to an auspicious start). My first attempt to cross the Al Maghrib was from bottom to top, a straight line a Mezaira distance of about 150km along the Khannur reasonably direct route I’d planned: starting Umm Hisin at Al Birer, near the UAE-Saudi border, and finishing at Um Al Ishtan in the north. If I’d been cleverer, I would have realised that we’d be heading into the leeward side of the dunes and that by doing so, would encounter less than favourable driving conditions. Driving up, or trying to avoid ascending, slip faces is not a great plan. In fact, it was a terrible plan. There were 10 cars in total, which I’d split into two groups and after eight hours of driving we’d covered 4.5km! The sand conditions

United Arab Emirates

M-5

is an avid adventurer. He is also the expert behind the ME4x4 supplements that we have shared with you over the year. We will also be bringing you his ‘opus’, if you will, in the form of a book entitled ‘Advanced Off-Road Adventure Routes for the UAE and Oman’. Available now at www.outdooruae. com and Adventure HQ, Times Square Mall, Dubai.

Oman

United Arab Emirates

M-Start

Umm Al Ishtan

i Cothron, Shaun Ellis, Photos By: Alf Wild, Heid Mike Nott and Susie Harris

M-15

Finish

M-16

Saudi Arabia

M-13

If you decide to head down there for a bit of off-roading you will encounter some testing and sublime dunes, but if you want to do more than have a blast in a localised area, you will encounter recent developments that have rendered – in my eyes – Liwa a little bit passé now. Major road and track developments, oil and gas infrastructure and the new impenetrable fence-lines, including the forth coming railway is reducing Liwa to a shadow of its former “emptiness.” So, where should off-roaders go now in the UAE if they truly want to get away from it all? The answer to that is the Al Maghrib. The Al Maghrib is the expanse of desert to the west of the Liwa crescent road. It is enclosed by the UAE-Saudi border to the west and south, by the Ghayathi to Arada road to the east and the Ghayathi to Um al Ishtan road in the north. It is a couple of times larger than the Liwa area; I have driven for over 200km in the Al Maghrib dunes and not seen another tyre track in the sand. This really is the place to get away from it all.

OUTDOORUAE

Early morning line-up

were atrocious. Sand that more closely resembled talcum powder was met at every turn and we had multiple bogg-ins. We traversed a dune bowl, from which three cars couldn’t get out. Another car burnt out its clutch and we had numerous cars with tyres off their rims – in short, something of a small disaster. And to add insult to injury, we camped on the first night almost in sight of the main road we’d left that morning. The following day, I scouted out a route through the dunes on foot that

Al Maghrib dunes

Avoid the sandstone!

Leading into the tricky dunes

was as simple as I could find back to the road. I marked the line of the route by drawing direction arrows in the sand and eventually reached the main road. I walked back, doing a final check of the route and then led everyone out. Ironically, we reached the road again in about 30 minutes. We then needed

Great slip face

Plantation halt

to rescue the car with the burnt out clutch. Towing was considered, but the intricacies of the dunes meant that that method was going to be the very last resort. Fortunately, this was the time when the road from Arada to Al Birer was being built and there was a lot of heavy plant being used. We managed to persuade a nearby road construction team to lend a hand and they drove their CAT D9 bulldozer the 4.5km back into the dunes to tow him out, for which we were very thankful. Needless to say, I just had to go back and complete this crossing. Several months later I went back but with a smaller and more experienced group. This time we started from Um Al Ishtan, in the north of the Al Maghrib and headed south, which was a much better plan. On the first day, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d covered 120km, camped in among some spectacular dunes and by the next day we had knocked the route off the list without any hiccoughs. There were some sights to be seen on that crossing. The dunes were stunning, but during the early stages, we encountered sandstone outcrops at the bottom of slip faces and these needed to be carefully avoided. We also encountered some stunning and lengthy dune plains separated by sublime dunes ridges, concealing long slip faces and tricky bowls. We happened upon some isolated plantations, one in particular was memorable. It was in the bottom of a large bowl and had an enormous Ghaf tree to one side. The diameter of its trunk must have been at least four feet and in its shadow a very deep and active well. We even came across a buried Towed out

GMC pick-up truck, which was way beyond help. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t encounter anybody else, any tyre tracks, any roads or tracks along our route, not even into the plantations. From that first crossing I realised that this was the best desert area in the UAE and wished to see more of it. On subsequent trips, the routes became bigger and more tortuous in order to cover as much of the Al Maghrib as possible. Consequently, the planned route for the final exploration was over 230km of dune driving and was a series of ever increasing zigzags.

Huge ghaf tree

Well!

This is an area that is well worth the extra effort required to visit it. You can manage it in a weekend, but you will be driving for many hours and an extra day would make the whole experience more relaxing. The newly refurbished Ghayathi Guest House (02 874 1003) is near to the start point at Um al Ishtan, and the Liwa Hotel (02 882 2000) is not that far from the finish, but the best bit is the excellent camping in the dunes of the Al Maghrib. You are advised to take extra fuel, be prepared and be able to rescue yourselves if it all goes pear shaped. In fact, why not have a look in the guidebook, and do either Routes 1 or 2, depending on your ambitions.

Mike OUTDOORUAE

OUR EXPERTS

e r u t n e v i h d C ck A gets sandy

Campfire magic

Tori

writer, runner, blogger & adidas athlete PS. My email address is tori@fitchicksandfastwomen. com for thoughts, ideas, and suggestions… or just to say hello!

have spent the entire last month here in the UAE. Really! After a 2012 full of non-stop travels, I’m back to hanging out in this amazing country of ours and despite having had to reach one too many deadlines and squeeze in an overdue apartment move, I’ve still managed to find time for a few little adventures.

erns

Setting off our sky lant

OUTDOORUAE

Out with the old and in with the new The question was raised in early December regarding how to spend New Year: an over-priced, bling-tastic, loud and arguably ostentatious city-based affair or a fabulously chilled escape to the desert for a spot of camping? Naturally, the latter option won hands down. A pre-trip reccie confirmed our spot and so on New Year’s Eve, we had just 50km to drive to our super secluded and utterly peaceful campsite. We set up tents, tables,

chairs and a BBQ before sundowners at sunset. Darkness fell as did the temperature and we lit a fire. We spent the remainder of the year eating, drinking, chatting and laughing. Bliss. We also wrote our 2013 Dusk in the desert wishes on sky lanterns before setting them strength and balance.Throw in yoga free into the abyss. At midnight, we on the boards and you take it up a toasted to the New Year and stood whole notch higher on the fun and on top of a dune whilst watching the fabulous factor – the world becomes Burj Khalifa and Atlantis fireworks from your studio and all the elements are afar, with Auld Lang Syne blaring from invited. the car stereo. We met at a secluded and sheltered On the 1st of January, we awoke to secret beach and started off with a glorious sunshine, brilliant blue skies, little paddle around, just to warm up some wandering camels and a brekkie and get confident on the board. We of hot coffee and bacon butties. I said then lined up aside each other,threw when leaving, “within an hour of the our anchors in and moved on to some concrete jungle we have this amazbreathing exercises. ingly expansive giant sandpit to play Moving onto our asanas, we did in, yet too often we get caught up in a series of stretches, twists and hip our every day lives and don’t make openers before a few rounds of sun the effort. It’s so worth it though. It salutations. It was bliss. The deck of really is.” the board is the perfect non-slip yoga Downward dog meet stand up paddle boards Back in the sandpit, I headed to the beach to check out the latest waterbased offering in Dubai. I met Emily, the very fit chick behind stand up paddling (SUP) Yoga at a dinner party in the end of last year. At the time, she was just setting up the first company of its kind in the UAE and I promised I’d be down to give it a shot sooner rather than later. SUP is pretty big business now. Feeling like you’re walking on water, it’s a wonderfully therapeutic activity and pretty good for cross-training too. It’s low impact and great for core

mat so whilst balance is harder on a moving board, it was definitely easier than I anticipated. The trick is to find that sweet spot on the board (right in the middle) where you can balance best. SUP Yoga brings in a whole new dimension to regular ground-based yoga. The core strength and balance required is immense and the intense focus required allows for not a glimmer of monkey mind. I even pointed this out during the class – it’s not often I spend an hour really present and mindful without finding my mind drifting off to today’s training, tomorrow’s deadline or next weekend’s dates.

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

We finished the session with sublime savasana and on opening my eyes, I felt energised and truly amazed by my surroundings. Straight ahead, the effortlessly elegant Burj Al Arab shone in the sunlight, behind, the glistening skyscrapers of Dubai Marina stood tall and our azure ocean waters lay like glass, as far as the eye can see. I totally recommend SUP Yoga, as a oneoff, occasional dalliance or a regular weekly fixture. Combine a stunning backdrop with the joys of paddle boarding, the sheer mental and physical rewards of yoga and the kind instruction, easy laughter and positive energy of a beautiful teacher and you can’t fail to finish all smiles. And on to 2013… As of this writing, it’s already mid-January and I’m nearly done with the race research for the coming year. Just a quick Google search and you’re overwhelmed with races and events in all four corners, regardless of your chosen sport. Every registration completed gives me an innate sense of satisfaction, not exactly because I can’t wait to get in training, but because I thrive off having a goal in sight and nothing tickles fit chick Tori more than an adventure on the horizon. Because that’s what life is all about isn’t it? Best wishes for 2013 and may you have a year full of physical adventures and personal growth.

Love Tori x

The

Welcome to the next generation of inflatable stand up paddling

ONE 12’6 x 30 x 6 in cm 381 x 76.2 x 15 vol 265 L fin Slide in center fin weight 24 lbs/10,8kg Dropstitch Inflatable Construction

Photos: JDPhotofairy

The Naish ONE design is the perfect recreational touring board for paddlers of all ages, weights and skill levels. Featuring a refined performance outline, this board is fun, stable and unbelievably fast.

Ocean Sports FZE +971 (0) 55 935 2735 enquiries@kitesurfsup.com • kitesurfsup.com

>NaishStandUpPaddling

naishsup.com

OUR EXPERTS

The DAKAR John Basson interviews James West

Day 1:

There is no bigger name in offroad motorsport than the Dakar. This is by far the most demanding and gruelling event on the annual rally and endurance calendar. This year saw the 26th Dakar Rally start in Peru on January 5th 2013. Each day consists of several hundred kilometres of riding including a special stage. During these special stages, the riders are timed and these contribute to the overall standings. Take note that some special stages were in excess of 300km and the total riding for some days were as far as 850km! To see these professionals race during these stages is unbelievable and not many riders can stay on a off-road bike whilst navigating at speeds in excess of 150km/h! This year there were 449 cars, 183 bikes, 153 quads and 75 trucks. Those who regularly read OutdoorUAE magazine would be aware that Sebastian Husseini from Seb Sports was going to participate on his custom-built quad, and has kept us up-to-date with his training and preparation for this big event (See story on page xxxx). Lesser known to most readers is James West, the 37-year-old British rider who resides here in the UAE and runs Emirates Bike Tours. James is well known for his ability to ride very fast on sand and some big names in the industry have come to UAE to be coached by James. (Some reckon James might very well be the fastest rider in the world on sand.) James managed to obtain a sponsorship with Sherco Rally Factory Components this year and his lifelong dream to ride the Dakar became a reality. Here is James’ take on his first Dakar adventure:

OUTDOORUAE

Finally after mounds of paper work and checks, we were off to a podium start. We were told to take off our helmets and enjoy the view on the podium, but all I wanted to do was ride the bike. It was a 250km liaison to the start which was lined with people all waving and cheering. The prologue was only 30km and then it was time to think strategy. I wasn’t going to go crazy, the special stage was 30km and the first time on the bike in sand. At the start off this first special stage, I saw all the other world-renowned riders and my heart was doing its best not to bounce out of my chest. Then the countdown and I drop the clutch! The bike felt good and for the 30km I didn’t see any other riders and my start position was in the 30s, which was comfortable for me.

Day 2:

It started easy with lots of big open gravel sections and small patches of fesh fesh (fine sand) before we entered the dunes. I made good time in the dunes and overtook many riders, but then the bike started giving me problems. I had to do several stops for “makeshift repairs” and during the last 170km, I had no exhaust. This lost me a lot of time and many riders overtook me as the bike had limited power. My ears also took a tremendous beating and they only stopped ringing eight days later! The meals, refreshments and the other bivouac facilities were excellent and in abundance – very well-organised.

Day3:

I was ready to get moving up the ladder, but 20km into stage, the bike started losing power. My mechanic told me if this happens, the fuel injection is blocked, so I needed to stop and change the

injector, of which I had spares on the bike. The blockage is due to getting fuel from the drums on some stages and sometimes there is crap in the bottom of the drum. I had to do this twice on the stage and each time was almost a complete strip down just to reach the fuel injection system. The terrain on the stage was mountain trails, dunes, through a pass, and followed by a huge descent down on to the beach. The descent was sand, but rocks where everywhere at the bottom. You just pick a line and hope the rider who went through first chose well. I was again passing lots of riders, but as we hit the last 20km of the stage my bike was cutting out again, and rather than replacing the injector, I pressed on burning the clutch which nearly overheated the bike. Once out of the stage, I had to stop again and clean the injector.

Day 4:

It was a dusty start. You could not see more than 2m in front of you and to go fast would have been crazy. You only saw riders that had fallen in corners ahead of you when you actually crash into them. After the dust, it was similar to the Abu Dhabi desert and I started making good time, passing many riders.

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

This stage also had a breathtaking drop from a plateau to lower ground. Luckily, the base of the descent was a smooth run out and I was doing 100km an hour as I levelled out. Now, we were in riverbeds with big rocks everywhere. I had to react quickly to avoid the rocks and was then followed by a staggered climb out of this canyon and back into the open desert trails. My bike’s gremlin returned on the special stage and whilst changing the fuel injectors, I saw that the main tank had a fuel leak. Having to improvise by utilising the different tanks on the bike and transferring fuel without pumps was frustrating. Seeing all the riders overtake me and realising that this cannot continue for two weeks was very demoralising. The bike was running again, but with limited power and for the first time in the race, cars started to overtake me. I finally reached a steep hill and due to the lack of power I was unable to climb it. I was forced to strip down and replace the injector again. It felt like my bike was cursed and losing so much time was not a good feeling. The support from the spectators however was unbelievable and one guy even had lens cleaner with him and cleaned my goggles whilst I was again replacing the injector. Finally the bike started and I was off with a bang! Then with only 20km to the end of stage, the problem returned. I can’t describe the feeling I had as the bike just died. I sat for five minutes doing nothing and then hit the starter and she fired up! I got going, but only for about a kilometre then it was the same again. By now the beasts of the rally were coming, I could see the double stacks of smoke heading towards me as the first trucks were approaching. I was in a pipeline track in the sand, barely wide enough for a car, with 4ft high sides of soft sand. Then my sentinel buzzer (warning system fitted to vehicles) shouted and as I looked back, there it was, a Tata truck at full power heading towards me. I started waiving my hands frantically as there was no way I could move. They got to around 5m from me and without even letting off the power, they blasted through the sand’s side walls and out of the track. I was ready to ditch the bike and run! After that episode, the bike started and I managed to have a “good” run to the finish of the stage.

Day 5:

Through the night, the team completely stripped down my fuel system and replaced everything and also fitted a second fuel pump to the tank system. The stage was only 136km today as we had to cross into Chile later. The stage was very fast and technical with rock climbs surrounded by fesh fesh and then twisting valleys of more fesh fesh. Visibility was so bad and I came to the conclusion that when you can’t see anything, you should just stop. It wasn’t a great stage for me in the way of speed, but I had zero bike issues and had high hopes for the next day.

Day 6:

The stage started with lots of dust and other tracks as this area was used by lots of people on dirt bikes and quads. Just as the trails opened, I turned a corner and there was my teammate Alan Duclos, who had been running in the top 15. He stood with no helmet and a chain in his hand. He has snapped a chain and had no link splitter. As this race is about getting everyone to the finish, I stopped to help and get the problem sorted. We used what we could to break open the links, but it took time and eventually we were good to go. The rest of the stage was a mix of dunes and fast open tracks into twisting river beds, but we both made it. The Dakar was already taking its toll and by the end of day six, more than twenty riders were already out of the race.

Day 7:

The start of our marathon stage, and this meant that we had to do it on our own with no afterhours assistance from the pit crew. We crossed into Argentina passing over the Andes at more than 13,000ft. We started the 417km liaison at 4:30 a.m. and prepared for the cold crossing, not one part of any rider’s skin was showing with everyone the size of a Michelin man due to the warm kit. By 10:00 a.m., we had to remove 70 per cent of our gear as the temperature increased as we descended down the Andes. The 218km stage started with wide open gravel tracks at full throttle and speeds of 140km/h, followed by slower twisting and very rocky trails. I was having a good stage until around 200km when, coming into a corner, I lost the front of the bike as I was breaking hard. The fall was okay as I landed on top of the bike, but it was the momentum that carried us over an edge into a 15ft gully. I was lucky to be lying on the bike like a surf board as we went over and landed unscathed. My road book tower was a little bent, but the bike started and I rode back onto the stage. I finished 37th on the day, after losing 17 places due to fall. After dinner, we were given the very sad news that a young French rider was killed on the liaison section.

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

During the night, the heavens opened and between the pounding rain on the roof, mobile phones going off, farting and snoring of 150 riders in a confined space, you can imagine how much sleep we had. The next morning, the bags under my eyes looked like I had been on a two-week blow-out in Vegas.

Day 8:

We had news that the first stage of the day had been cancelled due to the heavy rain; as the route was impossible. My bike was running fine, but a bee sting under my chin strap gave me something to think about for the rest of the day. On all these liaisons sections, there were people everywhere cheering you on and waiving as we passed. You just had to wave back as there were even people in the dark early hours, that could only see your light, but they still cheered as you go past. It was amazing! The day’s special stage included some riverbeds that were easy till the rain came. I got lost and ended up on a football field and was amazed to see several of the top riders with me. I did some re-calculations and got back on track riding down mountain sides where only mountain goats would dare to wonder. I was lucky to stay on the bike and managed to end 33rd for the day. The sad part was that by the time I got lost, after the last checkpoint, I was 7th overall for the stage. One of our teammates, Frank, had bike trouble and was towed in the dark for 220km with his brakes overheating on the twisty downhill causing him to crash a few times. He managed to make it to the bivouac by 1:00 a.m. I take my hat off to Frank for being a true warrior! The reward for us in Tuchman was that we would not be in the bivouac, but our team had arranged for us to overnight in a hotel! I think I used all the hot water in the hotel just for my shower.

Day 9:

The rest day went by very quick but it was great to catch up with other riders and drivers to hear their stories. By now thousands of books could be written on tales of this Dakar.

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Day 10 (Stage 9):

We started in the dark at 4:30 a.m. The liaison was a 176km with the special stage of 593km followed by an 83km liaison to the bivouac at Cordoba. This would be our longest day – a whopping 852km! About 120km into the special stage, I was behind a quad and waiting for a safe place to get past him. Then I saw my chance, the trail went sharp left and there was a big grass section between the trail that I could cut and get in front. Wrong! There was a huge gully and it was in the road book, but I was more concentrated on the getting past him that I did not pay attention to it. I hit all anchors and nearly stopped the bike. I just needed another foot or so and I would have been okay, but I dropped sideways into the gully. It was a slow drop so the bike and I were okay. The only problem was how to get out. I made over a dozen attempts to get out and it just wasn’t happening, then a quad pulled up and looked down, it was fellow rider from the UAE Sebastian Husseini! He asked me if I needed help and I told him I’m okay and that he was to carry on. I think Sebastian could see that it wasn’t going to happen without help and he jumped down and grabbed the bike. We managed to drag the bike out on a section that was “not too steep,” so a big thanks to Sebastian for this! If not, I might still have been down there!

Day 11 (Stage 10):

The first 20km were open fast gravel roads then we got back into the twisty narrower trails, the dust was crazy and you had to be crazy to try and overtake. 120km into the stage, my front brake had gone. I carried on with caution but my heart rate must have been off the scales with the speed I was coming into corners, it wasn’t long before I had overheated the rear brake and that was gone too. I had no option but to cruise the rest of the 357km stage. I made it back and the last two days were full of stories of riders crashing, bad overshooting corners, fellow countryman Stan Watt had a big crash knocking himself unconscious and destroying the front of the bike and dislocating his shoulder. But he finished the stage and was to carry on, another true Dakar hero! It was a bad day for David Castau who hit a cow on the stage, dislocating his shoulder and ending his Dakar.

OUTDOORUAE

Day 12 (Stage 11):

I was told this year was the year of desert and dunes, but so far I hadn’t seen much. This is because I live in the land of neverending dunes. However, today’s stage was to be “the dune stage.” I was pumped at the start of the stage and ready to make up some places as I was in the 60s and it would be great to get below 50. The stage started in deep soft shale like gravel with lots of round boulder type rocks dotted around. Navigating through it was tricky and you had to keep speed. I had just passed one of the top riders when bang, I had hit a rock hidden under the gravel. It flicked me sideways into the path of the other rider who had no way of avoiding me. We were both at speed when it happened and a collision was inevitable. We were both thrown from the bikes and they barrel rolled into the rocks. We were both okay, but my bike was not so lucky, I had smashed the carbon fiber tank badly on the right and fuel was pouring out. I quickly disconnected the tank and tried to limit the loss of fuel. I got back on the bike, but it wasn’t long before she died again. What I did not realise was that I had damaged the left hand tank too and all the fuel had gone from that one. I racked my brains thinking of ways to sort the problem, but the tank would only hold around a litre of fuel before spilling out of the hole. I had 200km of the stage to do and getting towed through dunes was not possible on a bike. I was gutted, I turned the tap on for 20secs and it would get me around 10km before cutting out, I did not dare fill more than that

for the risk of the bike catching fire. I made it to a road and called the organisers to find out where I was and they directed me to the bivouac as my only option was to retire. My head was going crazy with the thoughts of letting the team, my friends and family down. I had had so many text and emails about forgetting about my result and just finishing the race. I had so wanted to complete this race and have a finisher’s medal, but it was not meant to be this time! I had a few aches and pains starting, so I visited the medical tent. I didn’t know it, but I had hit my chin hard in the crash and sliced through my tongue resulting in three stitch-

es. My hip and leg were x-rayed and I had big hematoma in them. My leg had started to seize up and was getting difficult to bend and straighten. There was also a problem with my shoulder which is being sorted in Dubai as you read this. So I didn’t get into dunes and my race was over, 6334km completed out of the 8,420km race. Even with all the problems I had, I still enjoyed the race and it was great to be part of a great team like Sherco Croco Aventures and to have been part of this amazing race. Hopefully I will be back next year, but for now it is back to my wife, who is about to go into labour any day now. From all of us here in the UAE, well done James and we’re proud of you! Ride safe

John Basson

People

Harry Snowden Age: 16 Occupation: Student Nationality: British

His goal was to climb 828m, the equivalent height of the iconic Burj Khalifa, up the Adventure HQ wall on January 19th to raise money for the JESS Gold International Award Vietnam trip. It was a pretty big challenge for an ordinary teenager, but it turned out to be an extraordinary day for Harry as he conquered the wall 91 times and finished in 1hr 9mins 60secs. How long have you been here in the UAE? I’ve been living here with my family for seven years now and I am in year 12 at Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS) Arabian Ranches doing the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Tell us more about this wall climbing challenge for Vietnam. We wanted to raise money to pay for materials and equipment needed to build houses in Vietnam as part of JESS International Award. We also sold sweets around school and other simple activities. We raised around 5,000 AED for this climb. We got donations and sponsorships from people and friends, and all the money is going to that project. The opportunity to raise money for this was a great task, but through this fundraising challenge, we raised a lot. We’re really thankful for all the support. I’m looking forward to getting out to Vietnam and start building for the people that need it the most and to see the whole project finished. What’s the itinerary for this trip? There are 65 people going from the school and we’re split into groups. We’re there from January 26th to February 7th. Basically, we walk for four days and sleep for three nights in the forest, trekking and camping. We’ll also visit an orphanage, spend a couple of days there and we’ll do our house building project in the Mekong Delta area.

How did you prepare for this climb? I’ve been ill for the past couple of days, so I needed to do all the preparation while being ill, but it’s been all right. I constantly climb, twice a week, at The Wall and I do a lot of other sports to work on the fitness side. I sometimes do cycling, I also play rugby and football – these activities obviously helped build up my strength. How did you feel about your performance for this climb? It’s not bad. My older brother Jack did it before for the same International Award and his time is 1hr 50mins. So yeah, it’s good to beat his time and all for a good cause. How did you get into climbing and the outdoors? My dad [John Snowden] sort of got me into the outdoors. He’s really into climbing and that’s how I got into it as well. For holidays, we go for walks and stuff like that. He, my brother and I recently went to Thailand to climb. I’ve been to Thailand – in the Koh Samui and Krabi area – three times before for climbing, and sometimes we go out to climb in Al Ain. What’s your best outdoor experience so far? My best outdoor experience yet has been travelling from the north of New Zealand to the south and then back up to

OUTDOORUAE

the north in three weeks. I enjoyed this a lot as New Zealand was full of fun activities like ice climbing, rock climbing, snowboarding and many more, as well as the outstanding environment and surroundings. What’s your advice to teenagers who want to take on the great outdoors? For children out there who want to take up an outdoor activity, you just need to get up and go out there. Open yourself up to other challenges and opportunities. Instead of staying in your house all weekend, make an effort to try new activities that could easily become a hobby. Through climbing I have seen parts of the UAE that I would not normally visit. I have been able to set myself goals each week to improve my climbing standard. It gives me something to look forward to each time we go to the climbing area or the climbing walls.

People

The Dakar dream Sebastian Husseini conquers wild terrain and the infamous race

It was a long time coming for

Sebastian Husseini, but as the engine of his Honda TRX 700 XX quad roared at the starting line of the Dakar Rally 2013, it was just meant to be. The Dubai-based rider has dreamt of the legendary off-road endurance race ever since he could remember, and it seemed like this was really his year as he rode with the Maxxis Super-B GoKobra/SebSports Dakar team and finished in 6th place overall in the quad bike category. The gruelling race had him traversing through sand traps, raging rivers and bushes with thorns as big as nails; in Peru, Argentina and Chile, from January 5th to 20th, so it was a relief to see him up and about at the SebSports HQ with an easy smile. Congratulations! How does it feel to be back home? I only started work today. I’ve been gone for almost a whole month because I left Dubai before the New Year. The welcome back was fantastic. All my family and friends surprised me at the airport with big banners and balloons. I had a bit of shock, but it was nice. Knowing that there are so many people supporting you gives you a lot of drive to do better. It’s like flying the flag for the emirates, for your family and

OUTDOORUAE

team. I’m just catching up on sleep and eating properly. I lost about seven kilos in two weeks. I’m just rebuilding the energy levels and enjoying some food other than pasta. How did you prepare for such an epic race? Four or five months before Dakar, I was training heavily. I was in the desert on the bike every weekend and three or four times a week, I was in the gym three times a week too and was eating healthy. I knew it was going to be long in the Dakar, so I prepared here and did long days. I would start at 5:00 a.m., drive to Ras Al Khaimah, then from there through the mountains to Fujairah, and then back to the desert, so I was able to simulate a Dakar day. We practised and spent a lot of time testing the bike to make sure everything was okay. I also trained with a company called International Sports Expertise; they offer a tailor-made solution for athletes in the UAE. They’re one of my sponsors for the Dakar and Fabien Rabeau actually came to South America as a physiotherapist and supported the team. You started off at 2nd place in the first four stages and then dropped 31st place on the 5th stage, what happened? Everything was going well at the beginning as I was able to push quite hard from the start and get a good position. Then I had bad luck, my bike gearbox broke. It’s not a problem we’ve ever had before; it was something completely new, so nothing could have been done to avoid it. We were 20 or 30km into the stage when it happened. I tried to repair the gearbox, but I really couldn’t do anything, so I waited for my teammate. He came along and towed me 120km through the rocks and sand. They have this very thin, fine dust there called fesh fesh and it’s like powder. If you stand on it or ride through, you’ll sink down – very, very horrible stuff. At one point, we had to

push the bike through the fesh fesh and it took us about two hours to cover 100m. At the last minute, the final motorcycle rider to pass through stopped, gave us the final push and we were able to keep going. We started off at 5:00 a.m. and reached the camp at 11:30 p.m., so we were on the bikes for quite a long time. That night, I was able to get two hours of sleep, had a bit to eat and at five, I was off again. My mechanics changed the engine so I was able to go out and race. What was your game plan to catch up with standings? From there on, I rode a little bit faster to get back in front of the pack. I think if I didn’t have any issues I would have finished in the top two positions, but this is how it goes. I felt comfortable on the bike and we had no other problems, so I pushed on every day and eventually caught up. In some of the stages, we went up very high to almost 5,000m and I struggled a little bit with altitude. You’re riding the bike and then all of a sudden you’re falling asleep – you can’t control it. When we dropped back down to regular level, things started to go better, so I started to push a little bit more. How intense was it out there? Technically, the riding wasn’t hard, but just the length of everything. For two weeks straight, you wake up at 4:00 a.m., eat something, start riding until five in the afternoon, and then come back to the camp. You have to shower, eat, put your tent up and then make your road book, which is in preparation for the next day, then you to go to the drivers’ briefing.

“We had one day in the area called Fiambala in Argentina where we were riding through the dunes. It started off very well and then it began to started to rainrain in the middle of the stage and the rivers that were like 2m and up started swelling. We were completely soaking wet. The water got deeper and the current started to push me and bike further down. I made it to the other side but my navigation system was filled with mud and water, so I didn’t have a way of navigating thereafter. I ended up following a track and thought it was from another racer, it turned out to be somebody just riding there. I got lost and lost my first place that day.”

By the time you’re finished, it’s midnight again. That was the challenging part of it – the fact that day after day, they were slowly wearing you down. One day they’d put you in a difficult mountain and the next day you’d go up to high altitude, in the dunes or through a river. They were throwing everything at you and if you weren’t prepared for it, you’d be out. The biggest enemy there was time. You were literally racing against the clock. A lot of people were not able to do this and that’s why the race ended for them. More than 50 per cent of the people didn’t finish Dakar. I’m sure you had plenty of safety concerns... It’s a dangerous sport and every year peo-

ple die in the Dakar. Some parts of the rally I was thinking, “If I didn’t see that crevice... it’s a 300m drop, I’ll never survive that.” I had a few scary moments, but nothing too bad. Every time you see an accident it’s a wakeup call, and it’s not easy. It takes you a while to get into the rhythm. What was your mindset throughout the race? It is a long race, so you try and pace yourself. For the first week, I was quite cautious; you don’t want to push too hard, too

early and then have problems. Unfortunately, even though I was being cautious as it was all new for me, I did still meet some problems along the way. The first objective was to finish the race and secondly, to do well. Some days, I was really missing home. After you only have two hours of sleep, wake up to a freezing 5°C and taking an ice-cold shower, you miss sitting on the sofa and watching TV. But once you start riding, you look around the corner and it is such a beautiful place. You really start to appreciate that you’re there. Coming from the sandpit, do you think that you had an advantage? A lot of the riders don’t have the same opportunity to test their vehicles in the dunes every day, unlike here in the UAE. A lot of them were breaking and overheating their engines. Whereas we knew exactly what was coming. If your bike can survive it here in the desert, in the middle of summer, it can survive anywhere. As for the bike, it’s the same quad we used in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. We tested it quite a lot, built it exactly like the Dakar bikes, and then sent it to South America. I think it was the right thing to do. It cost us a little bit more money, but we were much better prepared than many teams. The bike was almost scrapped after [laughs], but we’ll rebuild it and use it again next year.

We heard you met your buddy there? Yeah. On one of the days I was leading the stage, I come around the corner and there was a friend of mine from Dubai who was also racing, James West. He was in the bottom of a ravine, so I stopped, climbed down, helped him push his bike up and he got out. I lost my first place, but it was okay, I’m sure he would’ve done the same thing for me. What was your best moment in Dakar? It was when I came over the top of this huge sand dune – it’s 3km high. I rode down it and below were two helicopters flying to give you an idea of just how up high I was. So I was going underneath these helicopters, it was crazy. South America is so beautiful. Riding through all these amazing places, this was the main highlight for me. The people there are great too. You go to Argentina, and there are thousands of people, a huge amount of spectators, people who spend the whole night there just to see you pass by for few minutes. They were so enthusiastic and supporting everybody, it’s amazing. When you’re riding and thousands of people are cheering you on and shouting your name, you do better. I had two mothers fighting because they wanted me to hold their babies, so while putting petrol in the bike, I held one baby and she took a picture, and then took another baby for another shot [laughs]. What did you take out of this Dakar experience? You learn so much from an event like this and you meet the worlds’ best out there, so I picked up a lot of knowledge from just being there. Every opportunity I got I tried to take in as much information from all the top riders. You gain a once in a lifetime experience and it’s really worth all of it. Riders go there and we torture ourselves for two weeks, but if you ask us, we will do it all over again; in a heartbeat. I’m satisfied with 6th place and I think that I’m the first rider from the UAE to finish in the quad bike category, but once you’ve tasted a bit of it, you want more. I think I’ve shown that I have enough speed and endurance, and I’ll be back next year with all this experience. We need to do some fine tuning on the bike and I also need to improve and work on my navigation. I have unfinished business, so I’m going next year and will try to win it.

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

LOCATIONS

Oman escape s

Words + Photos: Darryl MacDonald

Since arriving in Oman, one thing that has continually astonished and surprised me is the sheer number of easily accessible, quality places available to explore. I’m talking about truly amazing, beautiful and seemingly remote locations. I come from one of the largest countries in the world. We have some truly amazing places there as well, but what’s the difference? If it’s amazing and accessible, it’s also teeming with people. If you want beauty and remoteness in Canada, you have to work for it. You have to hike, climb, kayak or 4x4 for hours to escape the crowds. Here in Oman, it’s a different story. Within an hour of leaving my house in Muscat I could: be hiking past an ancient abandoned village in the mountains with absolutely no indications that you are near the city; find a desert island and have it completely to myself; or be sitting on a mountain top with a view of the coastline completely free from towns, villages or any other signs of human intervention. Those are just a few examples of things in close proximity to Muscat, so you can imagine the potential if you’re willing to drive or 4x4 a short distance. A few weeks ago, my wife and I were sitting around on a Wednesday night (Thursday and Friday is our weekend) wondering what to do for the weekend after our previous plans fell through. We thought, “Hey, let’s go camping on a desert island!” The following morning we enjoyed a little lie in before packing up the camping gear and food. We stopped for a leisurely lunch at the marina, where we met up with our camping friends before hopping in our boat and heading out to sea. First, we headed straight out from Marina Bandar Al Rowdha about 10km off-shore where the ocean floor plummets well beyond 1,000m deep. During the winter, this

OUTDOORUAE

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

is a great place to see pods of female sperm whales cruising along the surface or, if you’re really lucky, you can spot a lone male sperm whale, which is a spectacularly mammoth creature and a much rarer sight. Unfortunately, as it turned out, luck wasn’t with us that day, so no whales. But as we headed towards our destination, a pod of bottlenose dolphins appeared! Slowly cruising alongside the dolphins, we were fortunate to have a few of the more playful ones launching in and out of the wake and bow riding close enough touch. Then after about 45 minutes, the dolphins became bored with us and continued on their way, so we did the same. After arriving at our destination in Bandar Khayran, we took our friends to one of my favourite snorkelling spots for a quick dip before setting up camp for the night. This particular snorkelling site, as it happens, is a shark nursery where it’s possible to see baby black tip reef sharks most of the year. Luckily, it was breeding time. So as we hovered motionless in the water, we saw up to 10 sharks, some of which were nearly three metres long. It was incredible to see these beautiful creatures in such close proximity. They were certainly aware of our presence, but didn’t seem to mind as long as we stayed where we were. Sadly, these types of encounters have become shockingly less frequent in recent years as Oman is one of the major exporters of shark in the Middle East. As the sun dipped on the horizon, we decided to head off to find our home for the evening. Bandar Khayran is a series of small islands and shallow inlets with a number of coves and sandy beaches fringed by mangrove forests. The mangroves provide a nursery for many fish and bird species throughout the year, and the beaches are important nesting grounds for hawksbill turtles during the winter months. Most of the area is very well protected from the rough seas, thus

providing smooth water all year round, making it a popular place for camping and water sports. But even on a weekend, we had no problem finding an empty beach on our own little island to set up camp. We watched the sunset, ate supper and chatted the night away in front of the fire. My wife insisted that we not bring the tent and camp out on the deck of the boat under the stars instead. This seemed like a great idea, and it was, but I do admit to a little griping and moaning on my part about leaving the warm fire to put my cold, wet bathing suit back on before completing the lengthy swim back out to the boat for bed. However, the evening stars as we drifted to sleep were the pay off and worth the chilly swim. The following morning, we had a leisurely breakfast and finished our trip with a few hours of wakeboarding before heading home. Not bad for a last minute trip.

Bandar Khayran can be accessed by both road and water. There are several companies who offer a variety of trips from evening dinners on the beach to snorkelling, diving, camping combinations. This area has been designated as an environmental tourist location. As with all the places we love to use as our playground, leave it as you found it for future visitors to enjoy. This means the “leave no trace” policy, ensuring that you pack away any garbage and don’t take any souvenirs from Mother Nature. As we like to say in Canada, get out there, have fun and “keep your stick on the ice.”

Darryl MacDonald OUTDOORUAE

LOCATIONS

Get Them Off That

Game Controller THE NEXT STEP!

Route 4 – Hard 750m 4 to 4.5 hrs

(Part 4)

Jebal Jedi’s Jebal Hushuwat

Jebal Hushuwat is a cheeky little climb at the beginning, but well worth the effort when you get to the summit to bask in the 360°view of the Siji and Shawka area. On a clear morning, you can see Jebal Rawdah, Fossil Rock and north to Jebal Yibir from the top. This route also sits next to the new oil pipeline well over 300km that runs from the south of Abu Dhabi to Fujairah. Jebal Hushuwat is a cheeky little climb at the beginning, but well worth the effort when you get to the summit for the 360° degree view of the Siji and Shawka area. On a clear morning, you can see Jebal Rawdah, Fossil Rock and north to Jebal Yibir from the top. This route also sits next to the new oil pipeline well over 300km that runs from the south of Abu Dhabi to Fujairah. This being route number four in the series, you should be happy following the advice and guidance of the three previous routes. And you should also be pretty confident in yours and the group’s ability on the hills. That said, it is essential that you do not get complacent at this point in your planning and preparation, as this is when accidents can occur. Before setting out on this 8km hike, you should unpack and check all your equipment. Check if it is all still serviceable,

Words + Photos: Jim McIntosh

waterproofed and food has not gone out of date. Just because you have not worn your waterproof jacket does not mean you should ditch it to reduce weight! Once your kit is packed and checked, get yourself online and research the route (area in detail) and route to it (route in general). Now that these two are checked off, once again go through the process of “what if?” Like I have said before, I cannot answer all these questions for you and if you require me too, then maybe you should not be venturing on to these more demanding routes. February tends to be one of the wetter months in the Jebal area, so ensure you check weather reports before walking as rock can become loose under foot. But don’t let a little rain put you off because all your planning will ensure that you are fully prepared and good to go.

The route (4x4 required)

There are two ways you can get to Jebal Hushuwat, either head out on the Sharjah Al Dhaid E88 road turning right at the closed Eppco garage to Grid UTM 40R 341303E 2788012N (MGRS 40R 41303 88012) and right again towards Shokah. Turn left at a T-junction just before Kadrah or you can use the Kalba Road E102 passing Fossil Rock

OUTDOORUAE

This mountain walk is part of a series of routes and should be used in conjunction with the advice covered in routes 1, 2 and 3 (November, December and January issues of OutdoorUAE). Do not attempt this route if you are a beginner or inexperienced in mountain walking.

and use the new Sheikh Kalifha highway to Fujairah. Whichever route you use, you will need to pass through the T-junction near Kadrah at Grid 40R 400356E 2787868N then follow the road east to the pipeline crossing at Grid 40R 407704E 2786785N. Head east along the track that handrails the oil pipeline to the parking spot at Grid 40R 412080 2786410.

Using the sketch map and route card

From the start point, head across the open area that gently rises to the small knoll. From the top of this knoll, head down the back right side into the wadi. Follow the wadi up to a faint track wadi junction and turn slightly right and start the climb up towards the ridgeline and cairn, then follow the ridgeline all the way to the summit. Along this ridge there are a number of small flat areas where you can take a breather. Once at the top, there is a circle of rocks that have been piled up to form a shelter. I have placed a small geocache (a logbook) in a green tub where you can record the details of your visit. From the top, simply follow the ridge down the north side of the Jebal until you reach the saddle (CP10) with the large wadi running away to the east. From here, there is an op-

Leg From

Magnetic Bearing

Distance

Description

40R DN 12088641

40R DN 12308685

025

480

Track pipeline to small hill 420m

N25°11.475, E056°07.643

N25°11.714, E056°07.772 015

250

Track wadi junction

057

220

Ridge 500m high

000

270

Bend in ridge

306

200

Bend in ridge

333

280

1St summit 700m

013

220

2Nd summit top 750m

330

380

Ridge 650m

345

300

Saddle 570m

073

520

Track wadi junction

085

380

Wadi junction

187

400

Track wadi junction

128

350

Track wadi junction

145

620

South east corner of fenced area

195

1500

Track/ pipeline junction

275

850

To start, take lower left track

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

40R DN 12308685

40R DN 12368710

N25°11.714, E056°07.772

N25°11.849, E056°07.807

40R DN 12368710

40R DN 12598720

N25°11.849, E056°07.807

N25°11.904, E056°07.944

40R DN 12598720

40R DN 12608749

N25°11.904, E056°07.944

N25°12.062, E056°07.949

40R DN 12608749

40R DN 12418760

N25°12.062, E056°07.949

N25°12.120, E056°07.835

40R DN 12418760

40R DN 12358782

N25°12.120, E056°07.835

N25°12.239, E056°07.798

40R DN 12358782

40R DN 12418809

N25°12.239, E056°07.798

N25°12.386, E056°07.833

40R DN 12418809

40R DN 12208840

N25°12.386, E056°07.833

N25°12.553, E056°07.707

40R DN 12208840

40R DN 12118870

N25°12.553, E056°07.707

N25°12.715, E056°07.652

40R DN 12118870

40R DN 12658881

N25°12.715, E056°07.652

N25°12.777, E056°07.973

40R DN 12658881

40R DN 13058884

N25°12.777, E056°07.973

N25°12.795, E056°08.211

40R DN 13058884

40R DN 12958845

N25°12.795, E056°08.211

N25°12.583, E056°08.153

40R DN 12958845

40R DN 13158815

N25°12.583, E056°08.153

N25°12.421, E056°08.274

40R DN 13158815

40R DN 13428760

N25°12.421, E056°08.274

N25°12.124, E056°08.436

40R DN 13428760

40R DN 12918665

N25°12.124, E056°08.436

N25°11.608, E056°08.136

40R DN 12918665

40R DN 12088641

N25°11.608, E056°08.136

N25°11.475, E056°07.64

Coordinates are given in MGRS from the author and have been converted into our standard format of degrees and decimal minutes, the conversion might result in little conversion errors and the reference points are not 100% exact. (for more details see also page 58&59)

tion of an escape route down into the quarry if you had any problems. Now you follow the wadi keeping to the right side looking for the faint track and cairns until the wadi turns south. Follow the wadi up hill and over the saddle and keep on the right high ground following the track to the square fenced off area. Once at this fenced off area, follow the graded track south back to the main oil pipeline junction and turn right. Head west along the track and take the lower track to

the left of the very steep track/hill in front of you, this will bring you back around where you will be able to see your start point.

GPS settings, WGS 84 MGRS

and cairn, then follow the ridgeline all the way to the summit. Along this ridge there are a number of small flat areas where you can take a breather. Once at the top, there is a circle of rocks that have been piled up to form a shelter. I have placed a small geocache (a logbook) in a green tub where you can record the details of your visit. From the top, simply follow the ridge down the north side of the Jebal until you reach the saddle (CP10) with the large wadi running away to the east. From here, there is an option of an escape route down into the quarry if you had any problems. Now you follow the wadi keeping to the right side looking for the faint track and cairns until the wadi turns south. Follow the wadi up hill and over the saddle and keep on the right high ground following the track to the square fenced off area. Once at this fenced off area, follow the graded track south back to the main oil pipeline junction and turn right. Head west along the track and take the lower track to the left of the very steep track/hill in front of you, this will bring you back around where you will be able to see your start point.

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Tips & Tricks

Partner stretches

This month, we look at partner and individual stretches that can benefit anyone but are particularly geared towards what your body may need after off-roading. Driving can take its toll on your joints and muscles, especially if you are encountering rough terrains, high speeds and a bumpy ride. When your body is being thrown around a lot, it is important to find a way to give the spine some traction to gently pull the vertebrae away from each other again. This will give you instant relief and a feeling of length and decompression. In the long term, keeping up simple and easy-to-do exercises like these are great for the overall health and flexibility of your body and can avoid back injuries in the future. Flexibility refers to the range of motion about a joint, meaning the more flexibility you have in your muscles, the more streamlined the body becomes, moving painlessly through your full range of motion. Flexibility is crucial to your long-term health and your body’s ability to absorb shock in your joints, as is necessary in a lot of outdoor sports. It’s important to keep talking to your stretching buddy through the sequence. Be careful not to make assumptions about how it feels to your partner as all bodies are different.

Leg Pull. Gives traction to the receiver. One partner lies on the ground as the other picks up the feet and holds behind the ankles. The partner standing up comes into a wide legged squat, with elbows on the knees for support. Inhale to prepare and on the exhale lean backwards with your full body weight. As you inhale, release and repeat three to five times. When giving traction, it’s important you only give small amounts at a time and never hold for too long. The traction should follow the rhythm of your breath. Bus Driver. From the Leg Pull position, stand up straight and walk towards your partner’s hips. With your own knees, encourage their knees to fall out to the side. From here, just sway your hips from side to side gently. This provides a lot of freedom in the sacrum of the receiver and can also be an inner thigh opener. Child’s Pose Traction. One partner comes into Child’s pose, the other places one hand on the shoulders and one hand on the lower back and gently leans onto the partner and energetically moves the hands apart, allowing traction in the spine and a deep bend in the front of the hips. Creepy Crawly. Sit in any comfortable position to have your back straight. Reach your arms behind you and take a hold of your forearms, slowly crawl your hands towards your elbows.

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

When you cannot go any further, draw your upper arms bones towards each other.

Pec Stretch. From the Creepy Crawly, release your arms to straight and interlace your fingers, releasing your index finger (“Charlie’s Angels” hands). Reach both arms over to the right and try to hook them to the side of your waist. Draw the upper arm bones towards each other.

Tricep and Lat Stretch. Reach your right arm up and bend your elbow, reaching the hand down between the shoulder blades. Take your left hand onto your right elbow and gently press it down. At the same time, press your head back slightly into your right arm. Be careful you don’t press your ribcage forward, keep your ribs gliding down towards your hips.

Downdog Traction. Hamstring stretch and decompression of the spine. One partner comes onto all fours on the ground, tucking toes under and pushing up into an inverted V shape. The second partner places the heels of their hands just below the back of the pelvis of the partner. Come into a lunge and pour your weight into your partner and then up towards the sky. The partner on the floor should then lean towards the hands. Shoulder Opener. Stand facing each other and place your hands on your partner’s shoulders. Step back as you start to lean forward from your hips and then gently move your hands onto your partner’s shoulder blades. Gently pour your weight down into your partner.

OUTDOORUAE

Upper Back Opener. One partner sits on the floor. The other reaches and holds their hands, taking a “dude” grip – thumb to thumb. The partner giving the stretch places one foot just below the shoulder blades and one foot on the sacrum, feet are slightly turned out (Charlie Chaplin style). Inhale together and on the exhale, the partner at the back straightens their top leg. Folded Leaf. The base (partner on the floor) places their feet turned out in the groin crease of the flyer. The flyer places their hands on the base’s shins, their shoulders in the base’s hands. The base bends knees in and extends arms and legs to 90°. The flyer releases their arms and the base removes their hands from the shoulders and gently places on their back. This should only be done with a spotter.

10.

Sandy

Tips & Tricks

What are GPS coordinates? A short guide to a better under-

standing of GPS coordinates and their different formats

Global Positioning System (GPS) are getting more popular nowadays that even mobile phones are capable of GPS navigation. Even photo cameras are now able to receive GPS coordinates and add the location to the photo meta data. In the outdoors, GPS is a great additional tool to your old-fashioned paper maps. If a GPS is used properly, it is certainly the most accurate and safest way to navigate, but you should not solely rely on your GPS. Out there, you usually use raw coordinates rather than saved streets or other points of reference (note that there are no topographic maps of the region available to load on your GPS). Here in the region, where addresses are commonly described by landmarks rather than street names, city navigation can get challenging even with a handheld or built-in GPS in your car. With the ever-changing infrastructure, maps are already outdated before you can even load them on your GPS. But if you work with raw coordinates, they will last forever. GPS is able to give you the exact* location or destination you want to reach, but this does not mean it also provides you the optimal way to get there. Especially if you use the GPS outdoors and not based on a saved road system, the GPS will always give you the direct and straight way to the next waypoint no matter if there are mountains, cliffs, wadis or any other obstacles in your way. So good route planning and ideally a map are still essential when going outdoors. Unfortunately as mentioned earlier, there are no paper maps for the mountains or desert available, so you need to rely on visual planning on-site or advanced planning using a satellite map, which might be very inaccurate. Currently, your very best source of information is, if you can get, the whole route files plotted with the track and the waypoints from someone who made the trip before. If you go on a hike, the GPS will plot your route even if you don’t save waypoints, this route can be exported and shared with others. (The advanced guide book “OffRoad Adventure Routes, UAE and Oman” written by Mike Nott is based on GPS route files). Even if you attempt a route for the first time, this tracking can be a lifesaver since you will be able to retrace your exact* way back. At the mountains of the region, this can be essential, since a few metres can make a difference between life and death.

OUTDOORUAE

*Certain atmospheric factors and other sources of error can affect the accuracy of GPS receivers. Official accuracy is 3m to 15m for public use, but usually the accuracy is much better than 3m. Let’s get back to the technical side. To use

car without external antenna. GPS is an electrical device which needs batteries and can also get broken especially in the outdoors. Therefore, you should be familiar with your surroundings and ideally have an alternative map and compass as backup with you (and also need to know how to use them).

Types of coordinates systems:

raw coordinates, you type in a set of numbers rather than street names or landmarks. You should have some little knowledge about the coordinate system and how it works since there is no uniform standard for providing GPS coordinates.

How it works:

GPS is based on the mathematical theory of triangulation. The GPS, no matter if in a phone, handheld or built-in, acts as receiver at an unknown location. To calculate the location (theoretically), three known points in space are required. Satellites, which are circling on fixed orbits, send their exact positions to the GPS receiver. The GPS then calculates based on the distance and locations of each satellite (practically, a GPS needs at least five known spots or satellites to work accurately) its own location. That’s the very basic explanation, and there is a bit more behind it, but that will do for now to get a better understanding of the system. Therefore, GPS systems only work under open sky. In a deep and narrow valley, you might not be able to catch the signal of enough satellites and the GPS might not work. But the signals are still strong enough to go through the windscreen of a car and it’s possible to use even handhelds in the

Latitude and longitude The most common coordinate format and also the format we use in the magazine are based on latitude and longitude (in degrees and decimal minutes). Since we are not in aviation, the elevation is not so essential as we are bound to the ground. But the elevation is actually the third component to give a three-dimension exact location. There are 180 latitudes from 0° to 90° north to 0° to 90° south (Equator = 0) and 360 longitudes (meridians) from 180° in east and 180° in west. The zero meridian was defined in 1883 as Greenwich UK.

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

There are three ways in giving these coordinates: 1. In decimal degrees: hddd.dddd° e.g.

coordinate system. In summary, since there are currently no proper or detailed maps (UTM or MGRS) for the region (UAE) available, it is best to use your GPS based on longitude and latitude in degrees and decimal minutes. In case you have other coordinates, you need to change the coordinate system in your GPS settings or you can also convert coordinates online into other formats (check http://www. earthpoint.us/Convert.aspx) but be aware that with conversion some accuracy might get lost and wrong entries may generate completely wrong results. Google maps also shows locations if you enter coordinates in degrees and decimal minutes, if you type them like this: N25°08.509, E055°11.123.

N25,1418167° ; E055,1853833°.

2. In degrees and decimal minutes: 3.

hddd°mm.mmm (one degree equals 60mins) e.g. N25°08.509; E055°11.123. In degrees, minutes and seconds: hdd°mm’ss.s (60secs equal one minute) e.g. N25°08’30.54 ;E055°11’07,38.

UTM system

The UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) system is based on a metric Cartesian grid laid out on a conformal projected surface to locate positions on the surface of the Earth. The latitude longitude format has the disadvantage of distance between the longitudes decreasing from the equator to the pole since the earth is round. To avoid distortion, grid projections on defined areas were developed where all lines are parallel or in a 90° angle. Therefore the grid has a mesh of equal-sized squares so that the distance between the grid lines can be given in metres or kilometres. You will be familiar with these grids from paper maps. The challenge is to flatten the globe into planes and avoid distortions. The UTM grid is the most popular and international recognized format and standardising different local grids. It is also defined as the international standard for GPS navigation. The globe is separated into 60 north-south orientated meridians which include six longitudes. In very simple words, the globe is sliced up into 1,197 zones which are defined by the zone number (one of the 60 meridians) and the latitude (limited to 84°N and 80°S since the distortion close to the poles would be too big). There are some more irregularities, but since we are not using UTM for the magazine and our books, we will not enter further into details. UTM is useful if you use it together with paper maps based on the UTM grid. Since there are no such maps here (at least for public use) we base our navigation on the easy to understand and apply latitude and longitude format. UTMS coordinates are given in grid zones with the length and height coordinate value (easting / northing)

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Editor’s Note: This article simplifies many topics to give a very basic understanding. This might lead to false interpretation or misunderstandings. There is plenty more scientific and accurate information available in numerous books or online.

references. The scientific base for this referencing system is again very complex and it’s enough to know that if you work with GPS and paper maps, you need to ensure that the datum on the map and the GPS matches (don’t confuse datum with date, there is no relation between it even if the words might indicate it). With the introduction of the GPS as an international standard, the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) was also introduced. This makes it much easier since most modern maps are based on WGS84. So if your GPS is set to WGS84 (as it should be) generally you should be fine if you enter coordinates extracted from a paper map. But you should double check with the map especially if it’s an older version or country specific map (e.g. there are maps in Switzerland based on the CH-1903 datum). Lastly, in case you recognise that entered coordinates seem to be wrong, check the datum. Most GPS devices have more than 100 different map reference systems (datums) installed. If you copy route files on the computer or through digital transfer, the datum of the routes is usually included and will automatically be transferred into your

MGRS

An example of an MGRS coordinate or grid reference would be 40R CN 12346789, which consists of three parts: - 40R (grid zone designator, GZD), - CN (the 100,000meter square identifier), and - 1234 6789 (numerical location; easting is 1234 and northing is 6789, in this case specifying a location with 10 m resolution). (Coordinates with a resolution up to 1m are given 12345 67890) There is one more thing which might be confusing especially if you work with paper maps. Since UTM, as mentioned, might not be adaptable for all maps, other grid systems might be used. To be able to use the map accurately with the GPS, the GPS needs to adjust to the map. Datums are giving these

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

! t i i Tr

Tips & Tricks

s n lo h t ia r t o t e A quick guid

Words By: Thomas Woolf

There are many theories on

how to prepare for a triathlon, and a great deal of it is tied up in dogmatic thinking. Let’s attempt to break that down – this is the adventurers’ guide to training for a sprint triathlon.

disciplines and the facilities at The Address Hotel, Dubai Mall are perfect for this with a 36m lap pool. Getting time on the bike is important, and I am usually struggling to breathe post swim, so it’s a chance to quickly catch my breath and then regain some momentum. I love the ‘run’ leg and I will normally run on the treadmill in my Nike+ Free 5.0 or barefoot on the pool deck and despite a few strange looks it really is a great way to simulate race day within the confines of the working week.

Weekend warriors

•

• • The upcoming Tri Yas in Abu Dhabi on the 8th of February is the perfect opportunity to get out there and have a go at it. The weather and the course are perfect for beginners and the Yas Marina Circuit adds a little “x factor” to the event. Another option is the Abu Dhabi Triathlon taking place on the 2nd of March. We have listed out several workouts that will avoid the monotony of the usual triprep and give you the needed aerobic and strength platform. There are two weekend workouts and two weekday alternatives designed to keep you mentally and physically stimulated within the constraints of the time or available resources in the UAE.

Do open water swimming for 500m. Mark out 50m between two buoys and do constant shuttles close to the shoreline. The swimming will allow you to build your endurance, as well as strength and confidence in the water. Paddle board hard for 30 minutes. Run on the sand at a good canter and barefooted for 25minutes. The barefoot beach run will increase your aerobic fitness, as well as strengthening your legs, glutes and core from the extra challenge of being on sand.

Mountain interval madness

• • • It is also always important to remember that if it is your first or your 31st Triathlon getting your body used to completing the different disciplines of SwimBikeRun is essential. I like tend to aim for 30% of my chosen triathlon distance and ensure that I replicate as close to race conditions as possible within a ‘training environment’. I love being able to set up the Turbo Trainer by the pool so I can transition swiftly across the

OUTDOORUAE

•

Aim for a 1:2 climb-descent ratio to allow yourself the correct recovery time. Uphill cycling. Pick a dirty, great big hill or series of hills and ride hard up, pause at the top for ten seconds and dismount. Run downhill. Gather your ride and place it on your shoulder, and run with purpose downhill. The climbing work will develop stronger, more powerful pistons, whilst the anaerobic loading will provide your body with the juice it needs for that sprint finish come race day. Your quads will get a real kicking on the way down, so be careful on the descent and move swiftly, staying light on your feet. Remember to carry plenty of fluids and aim to complete one hour of intervals.

Workday gym workout

We are often tied up with work commitments during the week that it prevent us from getting outdoors and doing what we love. So here are two short intense workouts that will get you stronger and enhance your performance significantly on race day. Do each of these challenges once during the work week:

• • •

2,000m row 10km on static bike 4km run on treadmill

One round for each time. Push yourself hard during this challenge; you should aim to improve your individual and accumulative time each week.

For strength and power: 500m row 20 x barbell bodyweight squats 20 x push-ups 20 x deadlifts 20 x tricep dips 20 x jump squats Three rounds. Focus on quality and Intensity. As a footnote, you should aim for four good quality workouts each week as you are likely to have plenty of other calls on your time. The only areas where you should avoid compromising are on sleep and nutrition. Aim for seven hours of good quality sleep per night, eat clean and avoid any food that doesn’t resemble its original form. Never eat food-like substances! Thomas Woolf is an athlete, coach and mentor. Follow him on Twitter @NikeCoachTom.

+971 4335 0399

www.trekbikes.ae

The Trek Madone 5.2 C H2 As a relative new comer to endurance cycling I had often viewed the technology that went into Racing bikes as an ‘anorak’ infused cacophony of needless tech chatter that confused rather than enlightened, and wouldn’t make one iota of difference to the performance of its rider. Who more often than not was more interested in looking cool rather than riding harder and becoming better. How wrong could I have been? Now I am not going to rattle on about all of the techy stuff as for the majority of us it is rather meaningless what we want to know is how does the bike feel, move and handle. Carbon is cool. No seriously, the term carbon fibre is thrown about all the times these days and is often used in motoring terms to improve the price tag and kerb appeal of sports cars. However, in this case the benefits of the OCLV Carbon Fibre frame are evident from the moment you pick up the bike in the showroom. It is so light you thinking that it might well be missing some of its vital organs! The Shimano Ultegra drivetrain is super smooth and as a result any power that you generate gets transferred efficiently and

smoothly. You really do feel connected to every element of this bike. The shifting for a layman such as me is effortless, intuitive and flows really nicely. Super-aero brakes are integrated into the frame for minimum drag and maximum efficiency, eliminating the mounting plates and

bolts and saving weight. Madone’s integrated brakes allowed Trek to redesign the seatstay, eliminating the brake bridge and removing reinforcing layers to shed weight without compromising performance. As for the handling of the bike then I feel really connected to the Madone 5.2, it provides the structure and stiffness when I need it, but it’s featherweight feel means you can throw it around confidently. In September 2013 I will be cycling from London to Dubai covering 9000kms in 40 days (www.oneridetochangelives.com) to raise $1 Million to educate children in Africa and I know that this ‘ride’ is more than up to the task. Now I have to ensure I can match the quality of the Madone 5.2 with my performance on it. You can follow Tom and the OneRide team via Social Media @TeamOneRide

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Tips & Tricks

, n a D the Desert Gardener

loves

Wrightia There are not many plants in Dubai that flower all year round, but Wrightia is one of them.

The white flower is so pretty and delicate that some of the plant’s common names are “snowflake,” “arctic snow” or “winter cherry

tree.” There are five clearly defined petals with yellow stamens and they appear in clusters all over this shrub. Complimenting the flower, nature has made an abundance of leaves glossy and dark green on the top with a lighter green underside, together this produces very lush foliage. Wrightia is an extremely attractive evergreen, an all-year flowering, perennial shrub with many erect, short branches. It is fast-growing and usually grows up 1.5 to 2m in height and has a 1.5 to 2.5m spread. It’s perfect for the UAE as it loves full sun and partial shade. An increase in shade means fewer flowers and darker leaves. It thrives in humidity and in sandy soil. Wrightia will benefit from fertilizer mixed into the sand and likes to be moist, but not waterlogged, on a daily basis. Digging in a mulch when planting will help keep the roots cool and the soil moist. You can use it in your garden as a hedge or background plant. The roots are noninvasive, in fact they are almost succulent roots, so Wrightia is also great in pots and planters positioned on patios, balconies or around pool areas. This flower is easy to prune for shape and size, so it makes amazing topiary as well as a good bonsai. Wrightia was named after Willam Wright,

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

a Scottish botanist (1735-1819) and originally was found in India, Burma and Sri Lanka. In the past its leaves, roots and seeds have been used by different cultures for medicinal purposes. This is another must-have in your garden or on your balcony.

Final Thoughts

A** behind the steering Inspired by Ian Ganderton’s “commuting to work by bicycle” final thought from last month, combined with the need to burn some extra calories after I’ve gained some kilos over Christmas and New Year, I thought what a great idea it is to go to work by bike. From the age of 10, I professionally road-cycled for almost a decade. Since university didn’t leave enough time to continue cycling, I shifted to other sports. When I moved to Dubai in 2005, I brought over a road bicycle, but never enjoyed the rides because of the terrible traffic and sold it a year later. Now with new facilities and great MTB route development, I made the decision to get a simple MTB after I hadn’t done much cycling in the past years in order to get back on track. I’m fully aware of what traffic is like here and I try to avoid it as much as possible. Luckily, I can avoid most of the roads from my home in the Springs to Al Barsha using pedestrian crossings, service roads or gravel tracks and reaching the office and back safely on my bicycle. After a few rides to work filled with confidence and mostly enjoying the weather, I think I pushed it too far and was too optimistic. My car needed a service and I didn’t want to bother anyone with picking

OUTDOORUAE

me up, so I put the bike in the trunk of my car and dropped the car in Al Quoz to cycle back to the office. No matter where you drive a bike in traffic, I think you should always be extra careful and aware of other vehicles, since you are the weakest in the food chain. As mentioned before, I’ve spent tens of thousands of kilometers cycling when I was young and had close calls, as well as accidents with cars, which were in all cases based on the car driver not paying attention. Now in this instance, the whole picture of riding 5km from Al Quoz to Al Barsha turned into a terrifying nightmare. The main problem is that people don’t pay attention, and whilst not seeing you is bad enough, but almost running you over deliberately is madness. I felt like an escaped prisoner on the run, chased by delivery vans, big buses (also yellow school busses), actually by almost any vehicle with four wheels and an engine. Looking straight into the eyes of people, I was hoping they would give me way or at least not try to run me over. I have learnt that this is exactly what they do, they

look you straight in the eyes and then they push you off the road not wasting a single thought on how serious their actions could be for a cyclist, and on the whole, this is a bad and very disappointing experience. The terrible accident of Richard Holland made me very aware of how fast things can turn into a horrible situation, affecting people you know and showing us that we are not unbreakable as some of us want to believe. Unfortunately, I know everyone who reads this will agree with me, since most have had or are regularly having the same bad experience with traffic. The people I’m addressing unfortunately will never read this. With this in mind, I’m sometimes very close to getting these guys out of their cars at the next traffic light to give them some educational lessons. I’m not very optimistic that this disrespectful and egoistic traffic behavior will change soon. I will continue trying to avoid roads and look forward to my first rides in wadis. Anyone who enters into the madness of traffic here should be very much aware of a** behind the steering wheel. Please be careful, wear a helmet and other safety gear. I hope all of you have a safe ride and enjoy cycling away from traffic. If there is anything that bothers you, or you want to share your opinions, feel free to send us an email and we will be happy to share them in one of the next issues. contact@outdooruae.com

Daniel

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

DIRECTORY General Sports Equipment Megastores

Adventure HQ, Dubai Times Square Center, Sheikh Zayed Rd, toll free: 800-ADVENTURE, www.adventurehq.ae Decathlon, Dubai, Mirdif City Centre, +97142839392 Go Sport, The Dubai Mall: +97143253595; Ibn Battuta Mall: +9714368 5344; Mall of the Emirates: +9714341 3251; Mirdif City Centre: +97142843034 InterSport, Dubai, Times Square Centre and Dubai Festival City, +97142066587, www. intersport.ae Sun and Sand Sports, most shopping centres, +97143504444, www.sunandsandsports.com Sport in Life, Nad al Hamar Rd., Ras al Khor, Dubai, +97142896001, www.sportsouq.ae

Adventure tours and desert safaris

MMI Travel, Mezzanine Floor, Dnata Travel Centre, Shk Zayed Road, Dubai, +97144045888, www.mmitravel.ae Alpha Tours, +97142949888, www.alphatoursdubai.com Bike and Hike Oman, PO Box 833, Ruwi, Postal Code 112, Oman, +96824400873, www.bikeandhikeoman.com Cyclone Tours & Travels, Abu Dhabi, Khalifa Street, +97126276275, www.cyclonetours.com Dadabhai Travel, Sama Bldg. next to Al Mulla Plaza, Dubai-Sharjah Road, Dubai, +97142209393,www.dadabhaitravel.ae Desert Rangers, Dubai, +97143572200, www.desertrangers.com Desert Road Tourism, Al Khor Plaza – 503, Dubai, +97142959429, www.arabiantours.com Dream Days, +97144329392, www.dreamdays.ae Dream Explorer LLC, Dubai, +971433198801, www.dreamexplorerdubai.com Dubai Relax Travel, Dubai, +97144221776, www.dubairelaxtours.com Element Fitness, Dubai, +971502771317, www.element-fitness.net Explorer Tours, Umm Ramool, Dubai, +97142861991, www.explorertours.ae, Gulf for Good, Dubai, +97143680222, www.gulf4good.org Gulf Ventures, Dnata Travel Centre +97144045880, www.gulfventures.com Net Group, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, +97126794656, www.netgroupauh.com Oasis Palm Dubai, Dubai, +97142628889,

GoSport The Dubai Mall Tel: 04-3253595 Fax: 04-3253590 gosport_dubaimall@almana.com

www.opdubai.com Rahhalah, Dubai, +97144472166, www.rahhalah.com Relax Tours Travels, Dubai, +97144221776, www.dubairelaxtours.com Wild Guanabana, Dubai, +971567954954, www.wildguanabana.com Clubs Abu Dhabi Fishing, Camping, Kayaking, & Adventure Club, +971504920860, mohammed.almahrouky@gmail.com

Air

Ballooning Adventures Emirates, Dubai, +97142854949, www.ballooning.ae Jazirah Aviation Club, Ras Al Khaimah, +9716139859, www.jac-uae.net Seawings, Dubai, www.seawings.com Sky Dive Dubai, Dubai, +971501533222, www.skydivedubai.ae

Boating & Sailing

Manufacturer Al Fajer Marine, Dubai, Al Quoz, +97143235181, www.alfajermarine.com Al Shaali Marine, Ajman, +97167436443, www.alshaalimarine.com Gulf Craft, Ajman, +97167406060, www.gulfcraftinc.com Distributors and Dealers Art Marine, Dubai, +97143388955, www.artmarine.net Azure Marine, Dubai, +97143404343, www.azuremarine.net Leisure Marine Beach Street, Dubai, The Walk JBR, +97144243191 Luxury Sea Boats, Dubai, +971505589319, www.luxuryseaboats.com Macky Marine LLC, Dubai, +971505518317, www.mackymarine.com Nautilus Yachts, Sharjah, +97165576818, www.nautilusyachts.com UAE Boats 4 Sale, Dubai Marina, +97144471501, www.uaeboats4sale.com Western Marine, Marina Yacht Club, Dubai, +97143039744 The Boat House, Dubai, Al Quoz, +97143405152, www.theboathouse.ae Equipment Ali Khalifah Moh Al Fuqaei, Deira, Dubai, +97142263220 Al Masaood Marine, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, +97143468000, www.masaoodmarine.com Blue Waters Marine, +97142232189, Dubai, www.bluewatersmarine.com Extreme Marine, Dubai, +97143992995, www.extrememarine-me.com Rineh Emirates Trading LLC, Dubai, Al Quoz, +97143391512, www.rinehemiratesme.com Repairs and Maintenance Extreme Marine, Dubai, Dubai Marina, +97143992995, www.extrememarine-me.com Rineh, Al Quoz, +97143391512, www.rinehemiratesme.com The Boat House, Dubai, Al Quoz, +97143405152, www.theboathouse.ae Cruise Operators 4 Yacht Arabia, Shop No. 5, Dubai Marina Yacht Club, 800 92248, www.4yachtarabia.ae Al Bateen Marina, Abu Dhabi, +97126665491, www.marinaalbateenresort.com Al Marsa Travel & Tourism, Dibba, Musandam, +96826836550, +97165441232 Leisure Marine Beach Street, Dubai, TheWalk JBR, +97144243191 Bateaux Dubai, Dubai Creek opposite the British Embassy, +97143994994 Bristol Middle East, Dubai Marina, +97144309941, www.bristol-middleeast.com Captain Tony’s, Yas Marina, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, +97126507175, www.captaintonys.ae Delma Industrial Supply and Marine Services, Al Bateen Jetty, Abu Dhabi, +97126668153, www.delmamarine.net Eden Yachting, Dubai Marina, +971504586171, www.edenyachting.com Emirates Yachting, Dubai, +97142826683 El Mundo, Dubai, +971505517406,

www.elmundodubai.com Four Star Travel and Tourism, Dubai, +9714 2737779, www.fourstartravels.net Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa, Al Aqah Beach, Fujairah, +97192449888, www.rotana.com Ghantoot Marina & Resort, Abu Dhabi, +971529933153, www.ghantootmarina.com Happy Days Sea Cruising LLC, Dubai, +971558961276, +971503960202, www.happydaysdubai.com JPS Yachts and Charter, Room 225, Emarat Atrium building, Sheikh Zayed Road,

+97126503600, www.noukhada.ae RAK Marine LLC, Ras Al Khaimah City Hilton Marina, +971504912696, +97172066410 Sea Hunters Passenger Yachts & Boats Rental, Dubai Marina, +97142951011 Sheesa Beach, Dibba, Musandam, +971503336046, www.sheesabeach.com Smoke Dragon Of London Yacht, Abu Dhabi International Marine & Sports Club, +971507011958/+971504546617 Summertime Marine Sports, Dubai, +97142573084

Visit us at Dubai Motor City NOW for our special opening offers!

+971 50 552 8872 sam@thecyclehub.com www.thecyclehub.com

Dubai, +97143437734, www.jpsyachts.com Khasab Divers, Oman, +97156 7255889, khasab.diver2@gmail.com Khour Shem Tourism, Oman, +96826731919, www.khourshemtours.com LY Catamaran, Dubai, +971505869746, +971566506683, www.lycatamaran.com Marine Concept, Dubai, +971559603030, www.marine-charter-concept.com Nautica1992, Dubai, +971504262415, www.nautica1992.ae Noukhada Adventure Company, Villa 332/7, Al Meena Street, Abu Dhabi,

The Club, Abu Dhabi, +97126731111, www. the-club.com The Yellow Boats LLC, Dubai Marina Walk – opposite Spinneys, Intercontinental Hotel Marina, +8008044, www.theyellowboats.com Marinas Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club, Abu Dhabi, Breakwater, +97126815566, www.adimsc.com Abu Dhabi Marina, Abu Dhabi, Tourist Club Area, +97126440300 Al Jeer Marina, RAK Border, Musandam

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

climbingdubai.com E-Sports UAE, Dubai, +97142824540, www.esportsuae.com The Club, Abu Dhabi, +97126731111, www. the-club.com Information UAE Climbing, +971506456491, www. uaeclimbing.com

ZSI Trading LLC Exclusive distributor for Marmot

Cycling

www.zsicorp.com Currently Available at Adventure HQ( Time Square Centre), Go Sports (Mall of the Emirates) and SnowPro, SKI Dubai (Mall of the Emirates) +971 7 2682333 or +971 50 4873185 www.aljeerport.ae Al Mouj Marina, Muscat, Oman, +968 9423 9777, www.mourjanmarinas.com Dubai Creek Marina, Deira, Dubai, +971 4 380 1234, www.dubaigolf.com Dubai International Marine Sports Club, Dubai Marina, +97143995777, www.dimc.ae Dubai Marina Yacht Club, Dubai, +97143627900, www.dubaimarinayachtclub.com Dubai Maritime City Harbour Marina, Dubai, +97143455545 Dubai Offshore Sailing Club, Dubai, +97143941669, www.dosc.ae Emirates Palace Marina, Abu Dhabi, +97143388955 Festival Marina, Dubai, Festival City, +97144498400, www.igy-festivalmarina.com Festival Marina, Dubai, Festival City, +97142085100, www.mourjanmarinas.com Four Seasons Marina, Doha, Qatar, +97444948899, www.mourjanmarinas.com Fujairah International Marine Club, Fujairah, +97192221166, www.fimc.ae Intercontinental Abu Dhabi Marina, Al Bateen, Intercontinental Hotel, Abu Dhabi, +97126666888, www.intercontinental.com Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa Marina, Jebel Ali, Dubai, +9714814 5555/5029, www.jebelali-international.com Lusail Marina, Lusail City, Qatar, +9745584 3282, www.mourjan-lusailmarina.com Marina Bandar Al Rowdha, Muscat, Oman, +96824737286 (ext 215), www.marinaoman.net Pavilion Marina, Dubai, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, +97144068800 The Pearl–Qatar Marinas, Doha, Qatar, +9744965801, www.ronauticame.com Umm Al Quwaim Marine Sports Club, Umm Al Quwaim, +97167666644, www.uaqmarineclub.com Dragon Boat Groups Dubai Dawn Patrol Dragon Boating, Dubai +971508795645 (Michael), www.dubaidawnpatrol.org Dubai Diggers, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, pier

bli ON BU ng LI Y my NE tru ! ck .co

Free UAe delivery | GreAt PersonAl service online PAyment FAcility | rUn by 4x4 exPerts

• storage solutions • recovery Kits • Picnicing & Kitchen • Pretty much everything else...

For all enquiries: info@blingmytruck.com or 050 554 8255

OUTDOORUAE

next to 360, Dubai, +971501547175 (Nick Hando), www.dubai-diggers.com UAE Dragon Boat Association, +971507634008 (Jason), www. dubaidragonboat.com

Camping & Hiking

Equipment Blingmytruck.com, +971505548255, www. blingmytruck.com Jack Wolfskin Mirdif City Centre Dubai, +97142840228; Al Wahda Mall Abu Dhabi +97124437802 Picnico General Trading, near Sharaf DG Metro Station, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +97143951113 Tresspass, The Dubai Mall, 2nd floor above ice rink, +97143398801 Tour Operators Arabia Outdoors, Dubai, +971559556209, www.arabiaoutdoors.com Absolute Adventure, Dubai, +97143459900, www.adventure.ae Libra, +971559228362, www.libra-uae.com Mountain High Middle East, Dubai, +97143480214, www.mountainhighme.com Sheesa Beach, Musandam, Dibba, +97150336046, www.sheesabeach.com Desert Road Tourism, Al Khor Plaza – 503, Dubai, +97142959428, www.arabiatours.com

Caving

Muscat Diving & Adventure Centre, Oman, +96824543002, www.holiday-in-oman.com Mountain High Middle East, Dubai, +97143480214, www.mountainhighme.com Oman World Tourism, Oman, +96899431333, www.omanworldtourism.com

Climbing m

• roof top tents • Awnings • roof racks • Jerry cans

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Equipment Global Climbing Trading LLC, Dubai Investment Park 1, Dubai, +97148829361, www.globalclimbing.com Adventure HQ, Dubai Times Square Center, Sheikh Zayed Rd, toll free: 800-ADVENTURE, www.adventurehq.ae Barracuda Fishing and Outdoor, Dubai, Street 13A 1, Al Safa 1, +97143466558, www.barracudadubai.com Jack Wolfskin Mirdif City Centre Dubai, +97142840228; Al Wahda Mall Abu Dhabi +97124437802 Services Absolute Adventure, Dubai, +97143459900, www.adventure.ae Adventure HQ, Dubai Times Square Center, Sheikh Zayed Rd, toll free: 800-ADVENTURE, www.adventurehq.ae Al Shaheen Adventure, Abu Dhabi, +97126429995, www.alshaheenme.com Arabia Outdoors, Dubai, +971559556209, www.arabiaoutdoors.com Dorell Sports Management, Dubai World Trade Centre, +97143065061, www.

Equipment/Dealers Cycle Sports, Shop No. 1, Al Waleed Bldg., Al Barsha 1, Dubai, +97143415415, www.cyclesportsuae.com Micah’s Bike Shop, Warehouse no.4 6th st. Al Quoz 3, Dubai, +97143805228 Probike, Dubai, Al Barsha 1, +97143255705, www.probike.ae Rage Shop, Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Festival City, +97143369007, www.rage-shop.com Ride Bike Shop, Dubai Mall, Festival City, Oasis Centre, Mirdif City Centre, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +97143750231, www.ridebikeshop.com Revolution Cycles, Shop G05, Apex Atrium, Motor City, Dubai, +97143697441, www. rcdxb.com Sportz Unlimited, Sheikh Zayed Road & Jebel Ali, Dubai, + 97143388644 Tamreen Sports LLC, Khalifa Street, Abu Dhabi, +97126222525, www.tamreensports.com The Cycle Hub, Motor City, Dubai, +971505528872, www.thecyclehub.com Trek Bicycle Store, 1a Sultan Business Centre, Oud Metha, Dubai, +97143350399, www.trekbikes.ae Fun Ride Sports, Rm no. 4, Mezzanine flr, C-13 bldg. Khalifa A City, Abu Dhabi, +97125566113, www.funridesports.com Peak Performance, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Mall, Dubai, +97143413056/+97143308023 Wolfi’s Bike Shop, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, +97143394453, www.wbs.ae Clubs Abu Dhabi Tri Club, www.abudhabitriclub.com Cycle Safe Dubai, Dubai Autodrome www.cyclechallenge.ae Dubai Roadsters, www.dubairoadsters.com

Diving

Equipment Al Boom Marine, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, +97142894858, www.alboommarine.com Al Masaood Marine, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, +97143468000,www.masaoodmarine. com Blue Waters Marine, +97142232189, Dubai, www.bluewatersmarine.com Gulf Marine Sports, Abu Dhabi, +97126710017, www.gulfmarinesports.com Premiers for Equipment, Abu Dhabi, Sh. Zayed 1st. Road, +97126665226, www.premiers-uae.com Al Hamur Marine and Sports Equipment, Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai, +9714 3444468 Scuba 2000, Al Bidiya Beach, Fujairah, +97192388477, www.scuba-2000.com Scuba Dubai, Al Barsha, Al Khail Road, Dubai, +97143414940, info@scubadubai.com Diving Centres 7 Seas Diving Center, Khorfakkan, +97192387400, www.7seasdivers.com Al Boom Diving (equipment), Dubai, Al Wasl Rd, + 97143422993, www.alboomdiving.com Al Jeer Marina, RAK Border, Musandam, +97172682333, www.aljeerport.ae Al Mahara Dive Center, Downtown Abu Dhabi, +971501118125, www.divemahara.com Al Marsa Musandam, Dibba Harbour, Musandam, Oman, +968 26 836550, www.almarsamusandam. com Arabian Diver, Hilton Marine, Ras Al Khaimah, +97172226628, +971502428128 www.arabiandiver.com Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters, Al Bateen Marina Resort, Abu Dhabi, +971506146931, www.fishabudhabi.com Deep Blue Sea Diving, Dubai, International City, +97144308246,

www.diveindubai.com Divers Down, Fujairah, Rotana Al Aqah Hotel Resort & Spa, +97192370299, www.diversdown-uae.com Emirates Divers Centre, Abu Dhabi, near Meena Fish Market, +97126432444, www. edc-ad.ae Euro-Divers Oman, Muscat, Oman, +96895035815, www.euro-divers.com Extra Divers Ziggy Bay, Oman, Musandam, +96826735555, www.extradivers.info Free Diving UAE, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, www.freedivinguae.com Freestyle Divers, Dubai, Al Wasl & Dibba, Royal Beach Hotel, +97143944275, www.freestyledivers.com Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa - Al Aqah Beach, Al Aqah Beach, Fujairah, +97192449888, www.rotana.com Global Scuba Dive Center, Civil Aviation Club, Oman, +96899317518, www.global-scuba.com Khasab Divers, Oman, www.khasabdiver.com Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, Dibba Road, Fujairah, +97192449000, www.lemeridien-alaqah.com Moonlight Dive Center, Madinat Qaboos, Oman, +968 99317700, www.moonlightdive.com Muscat Diving & Adventure Centre, Oman, +97150 3289642, www.holiday-in-oman.com Neptune Diving, +97150 4347902, www.neptunedivingcentre.com Nomad Ocean Adventures, www.discovernomad.com, +971508853238, Dibba, Oman Oman Dive Center, Muscat, Oman, +96824284240, www.omadivecenter.com Pavilion Dive Centre (equipment), Dubai, +97144068828 Scuba Oman, Oman, +96899558488, www.scubaoman.com Sharjah Wanderers Dive Club, Sharjah, +97150 784 0830, www.bsac406.com Sheesa Beach, Dibba, Musandam, +971503336046, www.sheesabeach.com Sky &Sea Adventures, Dubai, Hilton, Jumeirah Beach Road, +97143999005, www.watersportsdubai.com The Pavilion Dive Centre (equipment), Dubai, +97144068828 Clubs Atlantis Underwater Photography Club, Dubai, +97144263000 Desert Sports Diving Club, Dubai, www.desertsportsdivingclub.net Emirates Diving Association, Diving Village, Al Shindagha, Dubai, +97143939390, www.emiratesdiving.com Filipino SCUBA Divers Club (FSDC),

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Run by riders, for riders! Online shop for power sport accessories and equipment. Full-fledged workshop for services and customisation. Al Quoz Industrial Area 1 Dubai, U.A.E, Tel: +9714 3393399 GPS: N.25.09.602 E.055.14.338

Dubai, UAE, +971 56 6952421, www.thefilipinoscubadivers.com Sharjah Wanderers Dive Club, Sharjah, +971507840830, www.bsac406.com

Fishing & Kayaking

Equipment Al Boom Marine, Abu Dhabi & Dubai, +97142894858, www.alboommarine.com Al Yousuf Motors, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Rd, +97143390621, www.aym.ae/yamaha Al Hamur Marine and Sports Equipment, Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai, +9714 3444468 Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters, Al Bateen Marina Resort, Abu Dhabi, +971506146931, www.fishabudhabi.com Blue Waters Marine, Dubai, +97142232189, www.bluewatersmarine.com Al Masaood Marine, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, +97143468000, www.masaoodmarine.com Barracuda Fishing and Outdoor, Dubai, Street 13A 1, Al Safa 1, +97143466558, www.barracudadubai.com Global Climbing Trading LLC, Dubai Investment Park 1, Dubai,

Al Hamra Marina and Yacht Club, Al Hamra, Ras Al Khaimah, +97172434540, www.alhamramarina.com Al Mahara Dive Center, Downtown Abu Dhabi, +971501118125, www.divemahara.com Al Shaheen Adventure, Abu Dhabi, +97126429995, www.alshaheenme.com Al Wasl Charter & Fishing (Al Wasl Passenger Yachts and Boats Rental LLC), Airport Road, Al Owais Building, Dubai, +97142394761, www.cruiseindubai.com Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters, Al Bateen Marina Resort, +971506146931, www.fishabudhabi.com Arabia Outdoors, Dubai, +971559556209, www.arabiaoutdoors.com Barracuda Diving Centre, Fujairah International Marine Club, +9719222558 Belevari Marine, Abu Dhabi,+97126594144 Captain Tony’s, Yas Marina, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, +97126507175, www.captaintonys.ae Fun Beach Water Sports, Dubai, +97153244550, www.funbeachsports.com Happy Days Sea Cruising LLC, Dubai, +971558961276, +971503960202, www.happydaysdubai.com Hiltonia Beach Club, Hilton Abu Dhabi Hotel, Abu Dhabi, +97126811900 Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, Dibba Road, Fujairah, +97192449000, www.lemeridien-alaqah.com Nautica 1992, Dubai, +971504262415, www.nautica1992.ae Noukhada Adventure Company, Villa 332/7, Al Meena Street, Abu Dhabi, +97126503600, www.noukhada.ae Ocean Active, Dubai, Garden Centre, +971502898713, www.oceanactive.com Sheesa Beach, Dibba, Musandam, +971503336046, www.sheesabeach.com Summertime Marine Sports, Dubai, +97142573084, www.summertimemarine.com Soolyman Sports Fishing, Dubai, Umm Suqeim, +971508866227, www.soolymansportsfishing.com Xclusive Yachts, Dubai, Dubai Marina, +97144327233, www.xclusiveyachts.com Clubs Abu Dhabi Camping, Fishing & Kayaking Club, mohamed.almahrouky@gmail.com Dubai Surfski & Kayak Club, Kitesurfers’ Beach, Umm Suqeim 1, Dubai, +971554986280, www.dskc.hu

General Sports Equipment Distributors

800 Sport, Al Quoz, Dubai +971 4 346 7751 www.800sport.ae Adventure HQ, Dubai Times Square Center, Sheikh Zayed Rd, Toll free: 800-ADVENTURE, www.adventurehq.ae Flip Flop Arabia, flipme@flipfloparabia.com, www.flipfloparabia.com Global Climbing Trading LLC, Dubai Investment Park 1, Dubai +97148829361, www.globalclimbing.com Goal Zero, +971509128353, www.goalzero.ae Jack Wolfskin Mirdif City Centre Dubai, +97142840228; Al Wahda Mall Abu Dhabi +97144437802 Ocean Sports FZE, +971559352735, www. kitesurfsup.com Sakeen General Trading, +97147094224, www.sakeen.ae Tresspass, The Dubai Mall 2nd floor above ice rink, +971 4 339 8801 +97148829361, www.globalclimbing.com Leisure Marine Beach Hut, Dubai, The Walk JBR, +97144243191, www.leisuremarine-me.com Ocean Active, Dubai, Garden Centre, +971502898713, www.oceanactive.com Operators Al Boom Diving, Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, Fujairah, +97143422993 Absolute Adventure, Dubai, +97143459900, www.adventure.ae

Horse Riding

Equipment Al Asifa Horse Equestrian & Requisites Trading, Al Khawaneej 1, Dubai, +971554733110, www.asifa.ae Black Horse LLC, Abu Dhabi, +97126422237, www.blackhorseuae.com Cavalos Equine Care and Supplies, 16th Street, Al Khalidiyah, Abu Dhabi, +9172 2222433, www.cavalosuae.com

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Emirta Horse Requirement Centre, Sheik Zayed Rd, Dubai, +9714 3437475, www.emirtahorse.com Horse & Carriage Equestrian Equipment LLC, Dubai, +97142895069, www.horseandcarriageuae.com Mirzan Equestrian Equipment, Dubai, +971 4 4472808, www.metdubaihorse.com Equestrian Clubs/Centres Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi, +97124455500, www.adec-web.com Al Ahli Riding School, Al Amman Street, Dubai-Sharjah Rd., +97142988408, www.alahliclub.info Al Forsan International Sports Resort, Abu Dhabi, +97125568555, www.alforsan.com Al Sahra Desert Resort Equestrian Centre, Dubai, +971 44274055, equestrian.centre@alsahra.com Dubai Polo Academy, Dubai, +971508879847, www.dubaipoloacademy. com Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, Dubai, Arabian Ranches, +97143618111, www.poloclubdubai.com Desert Equestrian Club, Mirdif, Dubai, +971503099770, +971501978888 Desert Palm Riding School, Near Al Awir Road (going to Hatta-Oman), Dubai, +97143238010, www.desertpalm.peraquum.com Emirates Equestrian Centre, Dubai, +971505587656, www.emiratesequestriancentre.com Ghantoot Polo & Racing Club, Exit 399, Abu Dhabi/ Dubai Highway, Abu Dhabi, +97125629050, www.grpc.ae Golden Stables Equestrian Club, Al Khawaneej, Dubai, (Nouri) +971555528182, www.goldenstables.ae HoofbeatZ, located just inside the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, Dubai, +971501810401, www.hoofbeatz.com Mushrif Equestrian and Polo Club, Mushrif Park, Al Khawaneej Road, Dubai, +97142571256, www.mushrifec.com Qudraland Community, info@qudraland.com, www.qudraland.com Rahal Ranch, Al Wathba Racing Area, Abu Dhabi, +971566127914, www.rahalranch.com Riding for the Disabled, Dubai, lessons@ rdad.ae, www.rdad.ae, Sharjah Equestrian & Racing Club, Sharjah, Al Dhaid Road, +97165311188, www.serc.ae Racecourses Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi, +97124455500, www.adec-web.com Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club, Exit 399, Abu Dhabi/ Dubai Highway, Abu Dhabi, +97125629050, www.grpc.ae Jebel Ali Racecourse, off the main Abu Dhabi - Dubai Highway (Sheikh Zayed road) beside the Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, +97143474914 Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse,

Dubai - Tel: 04 3390621 | Dubai Auto sport 04 3388822 Abu Dhabi - Tel: 02 5588890 | Abu Dhabi - Buteen - 02 6660591 Sharjah - Tel: 06 5388066 | Ajman -Tel: 06 7410004 Al Ain - Tel: 03 7211444 | Fujairah - Tel: 09 2221188 Ras Al Khaimah - Tel: 07 2351592 Al Meydan Road, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, +97143270000, www.meydan.ae Sharjah Racecourse, Al Dhaid Road, Sharjah, +97165311155, www.serc.ae Equine Hospitals/Clinics Dubai Equine Hospital, behind World Trade Center, Zabeel 2, Dubai, +97143178888, www.dubaiequine.ae Gulf Vetcare, Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi, +971508617590, www.gulfvetcare.com Sharjah Equine Hospital, Bridge no. 6, Al Dhaid Road, next to Sharjah Equestrian & Racing Center, Sharjah, +97165311881, www.seh.ae Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, next to Dubai Equestrian Hospital, Zabeel 2, Dubai, +97143375165, www.cvrl.ae

Jet Ski

Dealers Al Masaood Marine, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, +97143468000, www.masaoodmarine.com Liberty Kawasaki, Dubai, Interchange 4, Sheikh Zayed Road, +97143419341, www.libertykawasaki.com Al Yousuf Motors, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Rd, +97143390621, www.aym.ae/yamaha Rentals Fun Beach Water Sports, Dubai, +971 5 3244 550, www.funbeachsports.com The Cove Rotana Resort, Ras Al Khaimah, +9717206000, www.rotana.com Xventures, Dubai, +971555404500, www.x-ventures.ae

Motocross & ATV’s

Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club Opposite Arabian Ranches P.O.Box 7477, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 361 8111 Fax: +971 4 361 7111 Email: info@poloclubdubai.com www.poloclubdubai.com

Dealers Al Badayer Rental (Rental), Dubai-Hatta Road, +971507842020, www.albadayerrental.com Al Yousuf Motors, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Rd, +97143390621, www.aym.ae/yamaha KTM, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, exit 42, +9714323151, www.ktm.com Golden Desert Motorcycles Rental (Rental), Dubai-Hatta Road, Dubai, +971551532550, www.goldendesert-dubai.com Polaris UAE (atv’s), Ras Al Khor, Nad al Hamar Road, Al Ghandi Complex, Dubai, +97142896100, M4, Sector 13, 10th Street, Mussafah Industrial, Abu Dhabi, +97125555144, www.polarisuae.com Liberty Kawasaki, Dubai, Interchange 4, Sheikh Zayed Road, 04-3419341, www.libertykawasaki.com Sandstorm Motorcycles (Rental), Al Quoz, Dubai, +97143470270, www.sandstorm-motorcycles.com Sebsports, Al Quoz Industrial Area 1 Dubai, +97143393399, www.sebsports.com Wild X Adventure Shop, Dubai, +97148321050, www. wildx.ae Equipment Desert Road Tourism, Al Khor Plaza – 503,

OUTDOORUAE

THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

February 2013 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

CMY

www.element-fitness.net Dubai, +97142959429, www.arabiantours.com 2XWheeler, Motorcity Dubai, +97144548388, www.2xwheeler.com Sandstorm Motorcycles (Rental), Al Quoz, Dubai, +97143470270, www.sandstorm-motorcycles.com Sebsports, Dubai, Al Quoz Industrial Area 3, +97143393399, www.sebsports.com Wild X, Dubai, Um Al Ramoul Industrial Area, +97142852200, www. wildx.ae

+97143392449, www.offroad-zone.com Icon Auto Garage, Dubai, +97143382744, www.icon-auto.com Saluki Motorsport, Dubai, +97143476939 www.salukimotorsport.com Equipment Advanced Expedition Vehicles, Dubai & Abu Dhabi, +97143307152, www.aev.ae Bling My Truck, +971505548255, www. blingmytruck.com Icon Auto Garage, Dubai, +97143382744, www.icon-auto.com Wild X Adventure Shop, Dubai-Hatta Road, Dubai, +97148321050, www.wildx.ae Yellow Hat, Nad Al Hamar, and Times Square Center, Dubai, +97142898060, www.yellowhat.ae Tour Operators Desert Road Tourism, Al Khor Plaza – 503, Dubai, +97142959429, www.arabiantours.com Arabian Adventures, Dubai & Abu Dhabi, +97143034888, www.arabian-adventures. com Oasis Palm Dubai, Dubai, +97142628889, www.opdubai.com Clubs Abu Dhabi Off- Road Club, www.ad4x4.com ALMOST 4x4 Off-Road Club, +971507665522, www.almost4x4.com ME 4X4, www.me4x4.com JEEP Wrangler JK Fun Club, suffian.omar@ yahoo.com, www.jk-funclub.com Dubai Offroaders, www.dubaioffroaders. com

Running

Clubs ABRasAC, Dubai, www.abrasac.org

Motorcycling

Distributors and Dealers Al Yousuf Motors, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Rd, www.aym.ae/yamaha Duseja Motorcycles, Dubai, Al Quoz, +97143476712, www.dusejamoto.com Liberty Kawasaki, Dubai, Interchange4, Sheikh Zayed Road, +97142822144, www.libertykawasaki.com Polaris UAE, Al Ghandi Complex, Nad al Hamar Road, Ras Al Khor, +97142896100, www.polarisuae.com Tristar Motorcycles, +97143330659, www.tristaruae.com Workshops and Services 2xWheeler Adventures, Dubai, +97144548388 Dune Bike, Dubai, Al Khail Road, +97143272088, www.dunebike.com Duseja Motorcycles, Dubai, Al Quoz, +97143476712, www.dusejamoto.com Gecko Motorcycles, Dubai, Al Quoz, +97143413550, www.gecko-moto.com Sebsports, Al Quoz Industrial Area 1 Dubai, +9714 3393399, www.sebsports.com Clubs Dubai Motocross Club (DMX), Jebel Ali, Dubai, +971506950764 (Tom Wynn) www.dubaimotocross.com

Motorsports

Al Ain Raceway International Kart Circuit, Al Ain, +97137686662, www.alainraceway.com Al Forsan International Sports Resort, Abu Dhabi, +97125568555, www.alforsan.com Dubai Autodrome, Dubai, +97143678700 www.dubaiautodrome.com Emirates Motorplex, Umm Al Quwain, +97167681717 Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, www.yasmarinacircuit.com

Off-Road

Dealers 4x4 Motors LLC, Shk. Zayed Rd, Dubai, +97143384866, www.4x4motors.com Liberty Automobiles, Dubai, 8005423789, www.libertyautos.com Repairs and Services Off Road Zone, Dubai, Al Quoz,

OUTDOORUAE

kawasaki@liberty.ae Abu Dhabi Tri Club, Abu Dhabi, www. abudhabitriclub.org Mirdif Milers, Dubai, www.mirdifmilers.info Abu Dhabi Striders, admin@abudhabistriders.com, www.abudhabistriders.com Dubai Creek Striders www.dubaicreekstriders.org

Stand up Paddling, Kite & Surfing, Wakeboarding Equipment Al Boom Marine, Abu Dhabi & Dubai, +97142894858, www.alboommarine.com Al Masaood Marine, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, +97143468000, www.masaoodmarine.com Leisure Marine Beach Street, Dubai, The Walk JBR, +97144243191 www.leisuremarine-me.com Picnico

Jumeirah, +97144260000, www.atlantisthepalm.ae Dreamland Aqua Park, Umm Al Quwain, Emirates Road, +97167681888, www.dreamlanduae.com Wadi Adventure, Jebel Hafeet, Al Ain, +97137818422, www.wadiadventure.ae Wild Wadi Water Park, Dubai, +97143484444, www.wildwadi.com

Walltopia’s ME Sales Showroom will be opening in late April ‘13. Climbers’ training memberships for Out of Working Hours bouldering, now available. Discounted ‘Early Adopter’ membership closes on 28 February ‘13. facebook.com.rock.republic.dubai or info@globalclimbing.com

04 3941653 Jumeirah Beach Road Opposite Sunset Mall, Dubai Pearl Water Crafts, Dubai Marina Yacht Club, +971553749398, www.pearl-watercrafts.com Surf Dubai, Dubai, Umm Suqeim, +971505043020, www.surfingdubai.com Surf Shop Arabia, Building 1, Al Manara Road (East), Interchange 3, Dubai, +97143791998, www.surfshoparabia.com UAE Kite Surfing, +971505626383, www. ad-kitesurfing.net Distributors Ocean Sports FZE, +971559352735, www.kitesurfsup.com Kitepeople Kite & Surf Store, International City, Dubai, +971504559098, www.kitepeople.ae Operators Al Forsan International Sports Resort, Abu Dhabi, +97125568555, www.alforsan. com Dubai Kite Surf School, Dubai, Umm Suqeim Beach, +971 504965107, www.dubaikitesurfschool.com Duco Maritime, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi, +971508703427, www.ducomaritime.com Dukite, Kitesurf Beach, Umm Suqeim, Dubai,+971507586992, www.dukite.com Kite Fly, Dubai, +971502547440, www.kitesurf.ae Kitepro Abu Dhabi, Yas Island and Al Dabbayyah, Abu Dhabi, +971505441494, wwww.kitepro.ae Kite4fun.net, Abu Dhabi, +971508133134, www.kite4fun.net Nautica1992, Dubai, +971504262415, www.nautica1992.ae Shamalkitesurfing, Umm Suqueim Beach – Dubai, +971507689226, www.shamalkitesurfing.com Sky &Sea Adventures, Dubai, Hilton, Jumeirah Beach Road, +97143999005, www.watersportsdubai.com Surf School UAE, Umm Suqeim Beach and Building 1, Al Manara Road (East), Interchange 3, Dubai, +971556010997, www.surfschooluae.com Watercooled, Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa, Dubai, +97148876771, www.watercooleddubai.com Clubs Abu Dhabi Stand Up Paddle, www.abudhabisup.com, abudhabisup@gmail.com UAE SUP www.uaesup.com

Water Parks

Aquaventure Atlantis, Dubai, Palm

Other leisure activities

Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, + 97125588990, www.adgolfclub.com Dolphin Bay Atlantis Dubai, +97144260000, www.atlantisthepalm.ae Dubai Dolphinarium Dubai, Creek Park Gate No. 1, +97143369773, www.dubaidolphinarium.ae iFly Dubai, Dubai, Mirdif City Centre, +97142316292, www.iflyme.com Sadiyaat Beach Club, Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, +97125578000, www.sbgolfclub.ae Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club, Sharjah, +97143999005, www.golfandshootingshj.com SkiDubai, Dubai, Mall of The Emirates, +97144094000, www.skidxb.com Spacewalk Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, +97124463653, www.spacewalk.ae

Health, Safety & Training

Safety Lessons Marine Concept Yacht Charter & Sea School, Rania Business Centre, Dubai, +971559603030, www.marine-charter-concept.com Safety & Leisure Training Middle East, Dusseldorf Business Point, Al Barsha 1, Dubai, +97144502418, www.sltme.com Sport and Health Centres The Physio Center, Suite 405, Building 49, Dubai Healthcare City, Dubai, +97144370570, www.physiocentre.ae

To list your company for free or to advertise, please contact us: 04 4472030 contact@outdooruae.com

Dubai. Tel: 04-2896100, Fax: 04-2894914 Abu Dhabi. Tel: 02-6441478, Fax: 02-6443531 Bada Zayed. Tel: 02-8844200, Fax: 02-8848322 Al Ain. Tel: 03-7219999, Fax: 03-7210267 Mussafa. Tel: 02-5555144, Fax: 02-5555299

Email. sse@polarisuae.com Web. www.polarisuae.com