Dan was over for some sun and rugby 7’s but I had to take him out and see the UAE proper. So it was a glance at the UAE off-road book and off we went Hatta to Al Ain via the border fence.

Then we came to the sand. We were in just one car. I had somehow not noticed how much sand there was on this route. We faced a decision whether to go on with just one car or turn back. So we went on blasting up on to the dune and continuing from dune to dune and Dan loved it. It was with some relief that we made it back on to scrub. We continued on over another dune and to our camp near Jebel Qatar (hanging gardens).

The next day we explored the short Hanging Gardens route taking a look at some caves, bats and gardens, all very nice! And finally over to fossil valley for some fossils. It was a nice well balanced trip.

NB Dan was on  a tourist visa (It’s ok for residents) so we had to blag to get him back through the Hili Boarder Crossing but we  made it.