A Day on the Dunes

Last weekend Kris and I decided to take a trip out to the dunes. We've been talking about it since we got here, but have been so busy that we kept pushing it back. It also requires near perfect weather conditions if you want to enjoy yourself and not be furiously pelted in the face with sand, so you always have to factor that into the equation. Luckily the conditions were perfect on Saturday with sunny skies and a light breeze, so we decided to go for it. 

From our house it only takes about 45 minutes to drive South to Sealine. Once you get out of Doha, the drive consists of desert... and more desert... and a few oil refineries. You also have to be alert for the random wild camels. I have to say that it's strange going from "Deer Crossing" signs to "Camel Crossing" signs. I really need to get a picture of that next time.

Once you get there you can choose from quite an assortment of ATV's and dune buggies lined up at one of the many makeshift shacks set up in the desert. Our strategy was to drive straight down the line and find our best price on a vehicle that looked sturdy and safe. But our first line of business was to take advantage of the camel rides! You can't go to the desert and not ride a camel. As you can see by the look on my face, I was quite amused at the idea of mounting this two humped animal (which Kris likes to refer to as "Nutcracker"). The ride was actually smoother than I had anticipated. Luckily they padded the camel with plenty of blankets for a more enjoyable ride. 

Our camels were quite fond of each other, just like their riders. Although this is more action than we can get in public for fear of being thrown in jail. Public display of affection is illegal and limited strictly to holding hands (and that's only if you're married). I often catch myself going in for a kiss or a little bum squeeze. Kris constantly has to remind me of the consequences of this Arabic felony. But we were able to sneak in a quick kiss on the top of the dune when no one was in sight. =)

Falconry is a highly respected sporting activity in Qatar, as well as around the entire Arabian Peninsula. We didn't get to see this particular falcon in action, but it was a treat to see such a beautiful creature.

Our first view of the gulf after we threw the Jeep into 4 wheel drive and made our way through the desert. What a gorgeous site! The water is such a brilliant blue.

This custom dune buggy was equipped with a Corvette engine. We watched him speed up a dune and almost flip backwards from the amount of power. Good thing he had a flip-preventer-contraption (my technical speak) on the back end.

We went with the dune buggy over the ATV's so we could enjoy the ride together. Kris is an experienced driver so I sat back and enjoyed the ride. By the end of the excursion I had my hood up, scarf over my face and sunglasses on. You can reach decent speeds on the open plains and the sand in your face doesn't feel great. Although I consider it a natural exfoliant for my skin and now I don't have to splurge for the facial.

Take note of that gaping hole in the center of the picture below. As we approached this huge crater I said, "Let's not get stuck at the bottom of that!". Well we didn't get stuck at the bottom, but we did have a slight incident attempting to make our way out. We must have caught the loose sand awkwardly, because we tipped the dune buggy onto it's side. Luckily we weren't going very fast at the time and we were both strapped in very tightly. We figured it was a good time for a Kodak (or in our case "Sony") moment. So we flipped the dune buggy back on it's side and snapped a few shots of the gorgeous surrounding areas.

This was the scene of our second "incident". The view of the gulf in the distance was the perfect backdrop for another photo session. This is a picture of me about 5 minutes before I had flashes of myself being interviewed on "I Shouldn't Be Alive" on Discovery Channel. We stopped here for a short break and when we attempted to restart the dune buggy we got no response when turning the keys. After a few tries my heart starting beating faster, I started breathing a bit deeper, and I began taking note of how much water we had, where the sun was in the sky, and if there were any signs of people within a reasonable radius. I realize that's a bit dramatic, but I'm new to the desert and the 5 story sand dunes can seem quite daunting when thinking about trekking back to civilization on foot at sunset. My cool, calm and collected husband wasn't phased in the least. We flagged down a nice Arab man and his son and they got us started in no time. Somehow we overlooked the fact that we had to put the vehicle back in neutral before we started up. Woops!! Live and learn. =)

The two black dots in the picture below are actually vehicles. It's difficult to tell the depth, but this was a pretty steep hill.

My first desert experience was amazing. You can't even imagine the size of the dunes until you're enjoying the view from the top or staring up from the bottom. For all of our future visitors.... this is one activity at the top of the list!!!