OutdoorUAE - July-August 2017 by OutdoorUAE

when it’s 50C?

Hiking

in the Mountains of Tajikistan

Alphonse Island

A Tropical Fishing Paradise in the Seychelles 2WD Onroad: Liwa Crescent

7 Facts About Surfing

that every beginner should know Comparing Fitness Benefits

Running vs Cycling Plenty of

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ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY WHILST MAINTAINING YOUR BEACH BODY

Vol. 7, No. 8 July-August 2017 www.OutdoorUAE.com

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OutdoorUAE Team

Daniel Birkhofer Founder and General Manager daniel@outdooruae.com

End in sight Every summer it isn’t the same game, we somehow act surprised that it is getting too hot and that we are limited with our outdoor activities in the region. Even though streets are busy somehow it feels like the country is in a state of hibernation. Heat combined with summer holidays for kids motivates many people to escape the heat for a few weeks or even months if they can. But every year there is a kind of uncertainty, will the next outdoor season see the same amount of people coming back to the UAE or will we see a decline. The last years we haven´t seen declines and the density of outdoor events increased and the community grew. I am not sure if my feeling is right or wrong but I think this year we will see changes. It has certainly nothing to do with personal preferences or that people lose their interest in outdoor sports and activities, but the influx of people coming to the UAE or leaving for good is linked to the world and local economy. There have always been people coming to the UAE but this summer challenged many businesses (OutdoorUAE included) and people who have been here for a decade are forced to leave. Let’s hope these observations are wrong and we see another booming outdoor season 2017/2018 with adventure hungry people and many events, and that companies will have the budget to support these events and keep them alive! But no matter what the future will bring, we will cover the most exciting and interesting stories you share with us as well as the best shots and we will do our best to get more people outdoors, active. healthy and happy!

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EXPERTS & CONTRIBUTORS

Marina Bruce The Desert Diva and Off-road Expert

David O’Hara Ultra Runner and Extreme Endurance Junkie

Kit Belen Our Fishing Pro

Bandana Jain Outdoor and Lifestyle Contributor

www.OutdoorUAE.com Facebook.com/OutdoorUAE

Nico de Corato Dubai Blogger and Athlete

Twitter.com/OutdoorUAE Instagram.com/OutdoorUAE Youtube.com/OutdoorUAE

The information contained is for general use only. We have made every attempt to ensure that the information contained in this magazine has been obtained from reliable sources. The publisher is not responsible for any errors. All information in this magazine is provided without a full guarantee of completeness, accuracy and chronology. In no event will the publisher and/or any of our affiliates be held responsible for decisions made or action taken in reliance on the information in this magazine. All contents are copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without prior written permission.

Dan Wright Staff Writer and Outdoor Guide

Matt Ficco Adventurer and Thrill Seeker at discoveredtrax.com

Nicky Holland Personal Trainer

WHEN YOU’RE DONE READING, PLEASE RECYCLE!

OUTDOORUAE

MIDDLE EAST’S OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

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CONTENTS

8 HOW FAR CAN YOU RUN IN THE DESERT WHEN IT’S 50C?

10 DUBAI OFFROADERS’ GPS CHALLENGE 2017

26 EXPLORING WATERFALLS & WADIS

EVERY ISSUE

TRAVEL & ADVENTURE

06 EVENTS CALENDAR 07 BEST SHOTS 37 PRODUCTS 63 DIRECTORY

EVENT & ACTIVITY REPORTS 08 HOW FAR YOU CAN RUN IN THE DESERT WHEN IT’S 50C? 10 DUBAI OFFROADERS’GPS CHALLENGE 2017 12 MAURER ON TOUGHEST EVER X-ALPS 4

OUTDOORUAE

22 DAZZLING VIEWS FROM THE ‘TOP OF THE TENT’ 23 OMAN PROMOTES MOUNTAIN TOURISM TO GCC RESIDENTS THIS SUMMER SEASON 24 KYRGYZSTAN WINTER-WONDERLAND 26 EXPLORING WATERFALLS & WADIS 28 MONGOLIA - THE LAND OF THE GREAT GENGHIS KHAN! 32 HIKING IN THE MOUNTAINS OF TAJIKISTAN

14 RUNNING WILD IN BARIO – (50KM TRAIL RACE) 16 BEAT THE HEAT WITH AD 4X4 19 WIND OF CHANGE… MINDFUL RUNNING!

MIDDLE EAST’S OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

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40 ALPHONESE ISLAND: A TROPICAL FISHING PARADISE IN THE SEYCHELLES

52 TRAINING IN THE HEAT

62 NUTRITION

LIFESTYLE

TIPS & TRICKS

34 OFFROADER’S CORNER: AMRO AL TAMIMI 36 HABITUALLY HEALTHY: BREAKING PALEO DOWN, ONE INGREDIENT AT A TIME

52 TRAINING IN THE HEAT 54 COMPAIRING FITNESS BENEFITS: RUNNING VS CYCLING 56 7 FACTS ABOUT SURFING THAT EVERY BEGINNER SHOULD KNOW 58 THREE BROTHERS AND A 1950S WILLS JEEP 59 ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY WHILST MAINTAINING YOUR BEACH BODY

OUR EXPERTS 40 ALPHONSE ISLAND: A TROPICAL FISHING - RASMUS PARADISE IN THE SEYCHELLES 44 2WD ONROAD: LIWA CRESCENT - MARINA 49 SUMMER IS HERE - KIT

PEOPLE 60 IT IS A PRIVILEGE TO SPEND TIME OUTDOORS 62 FIRST EMIRATI WOMAN TO SUMMIT DENALI, HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN NORTH AMERICA

MIDDLE EAST’S OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

EVENTS CALENDAR

JULY-AUGUST 2017 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

STAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LATEST EVENTS

AUGUST

IRONSTAR Indoor Triathlon - Race 2

Ironstar and Fitness First Mudon are happy to invite you to our brand new triathlon summer race season in Dubai. It is a great way to demonstrate your speed and endurance, stay fit during summer and have fun with your friends! Join in now! Ironstar Indoor Triathlon Cup is a series of 5 exciting indoor triathlon races. Rules are simple - swim, bike and run as far as possible within 10/30/20 minutes respectively to win Make your training count and follow triathlon passion with no summer breaks! When: 8th August Where: Dubai Contact: www.premieronline.com

Dubai Sports World

Dubai Sports World turns summer into the season of fitness. Over two months, pro athletes, clubs, active people who enjoy games and spectators are welcome to partake in sporting challenges with celebrity appearances thrown in for extra fun. Friendly matches and champion battles can all be played on this purpose-built pro standard sports venue. Games include tennis, basketball, badminton, table tennis, volleyball, mini-cricket, mini football, touch rugby, skateboarding, BMX, bicycle and motocross. When: 1st June – Sept. 2 Where: Sheikh Saeed Halls and Trade Centre Arena, DWTC Contact: www.visitdubai.com

Abu Dhabi Sports Festival 2017

Abu Dhabi Sports Festival will be hosting your most favorite sports with an aim to bring the community together under one state-ofthe-art indoor arena, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center. Whether you are aiming to keep fit or looking for sports for recreational, professional or simply for a time out purpose, we’ve got you covered. Come with colleagues or friends and connect with your sport from basketball, football, volleyball, badminton, cricket, fitness, running track, CrossFit, Yoga, battle park to a skate park. When: 9th July – 31st August Where: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi Contact: abudhabievents.ae

Oceanic Warm Up Weekend Away

A weekend away at the Oceanic Hotel and Spa, participating in fun fitness challenges to kick-start the new triathlon season. Activities include: A triple supersprint, a Kayak relay race and an underwater challenge. Non-participants welcome. When: 7th September Where: Oceanic Hotel and Spa - Khorfakkan Contact: www.premieronline.com

AUGUST

Abu Dhabi City Indoor Run at Yas Mall

The Abu Dhabi Sports Council City Runs goes indoors to Yas Mall. Run or Walk 2.5k, 5k or 10k in air conditioned comfort. A looped course on the ground floor of Yas Mall starting and finishing in Pearl Court. Cut off time is 1hr 15 minutes. When: 18th August Where: YAS Mall, Abu Dhabi Contact: www.premieronline.com

MIDDLE EAST’S OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JULY-AUGUST 2017 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

BEST SHOTS Here are the best shots sent in by you for our monthly 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 three winners, who will each receive five free copies of the magazine and the Advance Off-road Guidebook: Koh Phangnan, Melissa Mac Bean and Jithesh Sundar. Well done!

To submit your entries, simply email us at competitions@outdooruae.com with the subject “Best Shots.”

Koh Phangnan

A local going out for a fishing trip at sunrise

Melissa Mac Bean

Etosha National Park, Namibia

Jithesh Sundar

Dubai skyline in all its glory

OUTDOORUAE

EVENT REPORT

Words + Photos by: David O’Hara

Testing the Limits ... Safely:

Max Calderan, the organizer of last fall’s “Tropic of Cancer Ultramarathon”, and Servee Palmans of “Hopatec Sports” put forth a challenge to the UAE Ultra-running community:

“How far can you run safely in the UAE desert heat in July?” Together they hosted“100km over 50C”, a running event at the Al Qudra bicycle track.

Preparation:

Most midsummer running events in extreme conditions are announced months in advance, so runners can do event-specific training and preparation. Part of the beauty of this event is that it was announced only two weeks prior, so you couldn’t prepare for it – the aim was for you run it in your “as is” fitness condition. For reasons unbeknownst to me, there isn’t a tremendous audience for running an Ultra in the desert in the middle of summer on such short notice! More than half of the people who signed up cancelled at the last minute, because they probably thought they were signing up for a cycling event at Al Qudra, not an Ultra-running event. Nonetheless the select group in addition to Max (who was race marshall) and Servee included: Mahan (a guy whom I’ve seen at Urban Ultra events), Omaima (a lady who trains with Lee Harris) and me. Pam and

Mary were driving the support vehicle with water. We agreed to meet at Al Qudra at 03:45 for the 04:00 Start.

Start:

The five of us started running in the darkness without much fanfare promptly at 04:00. We ran alongside the cycling track, with little need for head lamps as there wasn’t much really to see anyway! The first cyclists appeared about an hour later, with their distinctive cricket-like clicking on their spokes. We ran at a leisurely pace as a group, just to get a feel for the day ahead. When we started the temperature was a mild 36C with 50% humidity!

Running in the Desert:

We alternated between running on the cycling track and in the sand. The first 17km were smooth and straight with the big thrill watching the sunrise. We gradually felt the heat building up in the air. After the first turn, the route gets a little hilly which adds a change of scenery but not much difficulty. This is where the first hordes of cyclists come whizzing by, somewhat puzzled as to why our running group is out in the middle of nowhere without cycles. At 20km, the support team was waiting for us with cold water, which was a welcome break. When we made the second turn at 22km, we are facing the sun and things really begin to heat up.

Sunny Sandy Sauna:

When I refilled my camel back at 20km, I felt how cold the cold water was through my pack. The sand began to heat up and be uncomfortable on my feet (I run in Luna Sandals). For nutrition, I had to revert to gels because real food doesn’t keep well in these conditions. After meeting the happy support team at 25km, things were seriously hot and the other runners stopped for an

MIDDLE EAST’S OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Running is Easy Until it gets Really Hard!

early ‘lunch’. I continued running, trying to get some distance in before the nasty heat sets in but soon the first three sips of water through the exposed camel back hose were hot water, like tea. Disgusting! My water bottle was too hot so I could only use that water to pour on my head. Running straight into the sun plays optical illusions with mirages on the road straight ahead. After 08:00 all the cyclists had disappeared and were probably back in their cars on the way home, so the place was deserted except for me, Mahan, Omaima, Servee and the sand. I felt like I was experiencing;“The Loneliness of the Ultramarathon in a Sunny Sandy Sauna.”

The Oryx:

You know when you are cycling at Al Qudra and see the Oryx running around? I think they’re almost as cool as camels (camels let runners take selfies, Oryx are too skittery). However, when you are running without the safety of a getaway cycle, Oryx are scary and you notice how huge their horns are!

At 35km, it was hot. Really hot. Since there weren’t any cyclists, I ran on the track, because the sand was burning my feet (we measured the temperature of the sand at 65C). The track feels hotter than the sand and sends burning heat up my legs, but I prefer that heat to the sand blistering my feet. My pace slowed down with the sun starting to cook my shoulders. The awesome support team who also endured these conditions came by and gave me water,I used the water to pour on my head as much as I drankit. I was struggling to run, but kept pushing on. The temperature was 51C and at this point, it was just me, the sun, and the sand.

JULY-AUGUST 2017 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

How Far Can I Run in the Desert When It’s 50C?

I saw the Start point in the distance as a delirious oasis. The support crew stopped by to check on me and offer water. When I walked over, things got a little woozy. I tried to sit on the back bumper of the truck and burned myself – ouch! I was trying to hide how much my head was spinning, but when I started to dry heave, I realized things weren’t going so well. Pam, head of the support team, told me that Max was coming over to check on me. My buddy, Albert – of Tropic of Cancer Ultramarathon fame – was there and caught me as I nearly fell over. I tried to go back to running on the track but then Max looked at me in the eye and told me to stop. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I knew he was right. Continuing would have been a bad idea. I found my limit on running that day. I can run 46km in the heat and no more!

The Big Picture

In the end, Servee, Omaima, Mahan, and I met the challenge. We showed up and ran Al Qudra in July. We all safely (!) pushed ourselves to our limits in the desert in the summer heat. With Max, Servee, Pam and Mary ensuring safety, organization, and support. Testing your fitness on how far you can run is a great adventure under any conditions. Our small group of runners each achieved great success by accepting the challenge and running between 30km to 46km in such brutal heat. In true Ultra-marathon tradition, we all swapped our silly stories after we finished and look forward to more of our Ultra-running buddies joining us next time. While Max presented us with gifts from the sponsors we were already planning our next extreme adventure with Max and Servee! ■

OUTDOORUAE

EVENT REPORT

Words + Photos by: Matt Ficco

The Dubai Off roadersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (DO) inaugural open GPS challenge was a combined effort of many people and clubs. This was not the first GPS challenge that DO held but it was the first GPS challenge that was open to teams from all clubs in the UAE in recent times. The turnout was exceptionally good; there were 20 teams of three cars each giving a total of 60 cars vying to take home the trophy and, more importantly, the bragging rights! The event also had another dozen or so cars, which comprised the sweep & recovery teams, first aid teams, and other event organizer teams. All-in-all there were approximately 75 cars and more than 150 people. It is fair to say that the onset of the summer heat was not enough to scare off this bunch of hardcore desert enthusiasts!

There were some basic rules for the event:

1. Each team should have 1 advanced driver, 1 intermediate driver, and 1 newbie driver. 2. The team who navigates the route in the shortest distance would be declared the winner. There were additional, technical rules with regards to the navigation and calculation of the final track but I will not bore you with these details as only a GPS junkie or

navigational geek would find them interesting! The actual course proved to be quite challenging as only three of the 20 teams managed to complete it. There were a host of reasons why many of the teams did not finish. None of these reasons imply any lack of preparation or lack of skill. All of the teams in fact, were very skilled and quite prepared and most have participated in similar navigational events in the past. The event had a

MIDDLE EAST’S OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

hard cut-off time to ensure all teams were back at basecamp during the daylight hours. Although teams may have been driving well, if they did not reach the designated waypoint by the cut-off they were requested to “Bee-line it” back to basecamp. Most of the teams who did not complete the route in the allotted time either suffered mechanical issues or were delayed due to a late start, helping other teams on the course who needed it (which is great sportsmanship), log jams at a few of the challenge stations, or general driving and navigation issues. Some of the teams were comprised of regular, consistent drivers who drive with each other on a routine basis while other teams assembled together for the first time. Needless to say, there was an array of obstacles and rewards throughout the whole event, which really tested the mettle and character of all the participants! By 4:30 pm the Marshals and sweep teams began waving the teams back to base camp if they had not yet reached the designated waypoint. There was a general sense of personal disappointment for some having not completed the course but in reality, everyone was quite excited and filled with a sense of accomplishment for having come out and tested all of their driving and navigational skills on the dunes. This was

evident by the smiles and friendly discussions taking place back at base camp. Once everyone was safely off the course, it was up to the event management team to analyze the gpx files of the three teams that had completed the course. The distances were very close as all three teams had completed the course within 1-2kms of each other. However, the tracks had to be analyzed to ensure they were compliant with the navigation rules. Additionally, the track distances had to be adjusted for any gains or losses incurred from the various challenges that were part of the event. In the end: • 1st place was awarded to Team Desert Raiders led by Mr. Shibu from Titan Performance garage • 2nd place was awarded to Team Abu Dhabi 4x4 led by Mr. Mohammed Qaruoty • 3rd place was awarded to Team Dubai Off

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roaders led by Mr. Emanuele Gallone In the final analysis all three were within a hundred of meters of each other on an adjusted basis so hats off to all of them! Not only did the winners receive prizes for their rankings but all participants received some gifts or takeaway goodies. This would not have been possible without the great support from the event sponsors. A big round of thanks and appreciation for the support and dedication of everyone involved in the organization of this fantastic and very successful event! Plans are already in the works for the next Dubai Off roaders Open GPS Challenge so stay tuned. ■

OUTDOORUAE

EVENT REPORT

Five-time winner looks back on most challenging victory to date Words + Photos by: www.redbullcontentpool.com

Christian Maurer is an expert in suffering but the Swiss competitor has never known a tougher X-Alps than his fifth victory.

Facing torrential rain and high winds at the start, the route from Salzburg to Monaco took him 10 days, 23 hours and 23 minutes to complete, astonishingly five days longer than his previous best. Twice, he had to fly back on himself, on one occasion adding a further 15 kilometres to a journey which saw him fly 1,736 kilometres and hike 532km in total. Speaking in the aftermath of a fifth win, Maurer, who also suffered with a knee injury on route, said: “It was the hardest one for me as the route was long and the first day was hard rain so I had to walk the whole time. With all that wind and rain, it makes it very difficult. “Twice I had bad experiences and I had to fly back. I had to make the decision whether it was safe for me or not. “So one time I had to fly on the flat 15km back, knowing I’d have to hike that back. It was the only route to safety.” Despite the perils of the route, which saw him drop back to 21st at one point, he managed to take the victory by a margin of a relatively small two hours over nearly 12 days of racing. Since finishing, he admits to resting and

sleeping a lot during the day, struggling to stay on his feet for more than an hour before his knee gets sore and his legs tired. But still fresh in his head is the sensation of victory. It is not something he has tired of, even at the fifth time. “Getting to fly in at the end was a very emotional moment,” he said. “That flight was on high tension but, when I landed, it was the best feeling. I wanted to land on the beach to win and I could do that this year, and I could swim in the sea to celebrate.” Despite his dominance in recent years, Maurer is adamant that it is never easy, even though there are times in favourable conditions when he has made it look so. Having hiked over 500km – usually in the race he averages 300km – the toll on the body was bigger than ever, Maurer eating 10 power bars a day and up to 10,000 calories in any given 24 hours.

But perhaps the surprising factor is in how much sleep he managed to bank on the route. “At the start, we wanted to push so there was not much sleep so I’d go to bed at 11.30 and wake up at 4.45am but, as we went on, I slept more and more, even 10 hours on one night,” he said. “It’s a balancing act. With more sleep, you make better decisions, quicker decisions so that helps on the route.” Despite the attritional nature of this year’s race, Maurer admitted to enjoying it more than any before, a target of his prior to the race start. “This was a big goal because always I’m

suddenly like ‘oh, it’s over’,” he said, “so I said I must enjoy it. I did that more by swimming in a lake, having pizza in a restaurant and talking more with my team.” As for where the motivation comes from having been the dominant force in X-Alps now for so long, Maurer says he breaks it down to small steps rather than looking at the bigger picture. And as for whether he returns to defend his title in two years time is another matter. “Right now, I’m tired and my body hurts,” he added. “I will see if I’m fit and have good enough preparation but it’s an event I love.” ■

OUTDOORUAE

EVENT REPORT

Running Wild in Bario – (50km Trail Race)

The winner of the 2017 Runners Wild Bario Mohd Syamsul Bahtiar posing for the camera. He came close to breaking the course record were it not for the bad weather and very muddy conditions.

Words by: Aida Othman Photos by: Tan Seok Hui and John Huong

being interviewed by the students the day after the race.

A last minute decision introduced me to a remote place in Borneo that I’d never heard of before. My first trail race in Malaysia turned out to be a trip that was both enriching and humbling and at the same time, thanks to the weather and terrain very challenging!

The Race Experience 20th May:

Great Beauty of Bario:

Bario which lies at an altitude of 1000m is cooler than I expected and this is where the smallest ethnic group of the Sarawak, the “Kelabit People” live. It is a wonderful getaway to visit Pulong Tau National Park where Mt Murud (Sarawak’s Highest Peak) and the twin peaks of Batu Liwa are situated. The soil in this area is rich in the nutrients needed for cultivating Rice and sweet Pineapples and the salt springs here produce highly iodized salt for the International market. The Organizer of the race is Called “Runners Wild” and this was the 3rd year of Operation and the aim of the event is to sustain tourism in Bario. In addition to the race they also run the “Bario Experience Tourism Website” and offer a selection of interesting homestay opportunities. Eventually the aim of the Organizer is to hand over the Operations of the race to the local people. 14

OUTDOORUAE

Women’s Category Winner, Reiko Yamashita from Japan manages to flash a smile even with the rainy and wet conditions.

The Junior Journalist Program, run in conjunction with “Bario Secondary School” is an educational initiative for students to tell stories about Bario. A photography workshop was also organized for the day before the race and was led by one of the competitor’s Paun Cher Chin. Personally I enjoyed

• Brief: The Runners attended a pre-race briefing at the Bario Secondary School. After a mandatory gear check we were told about the course condition and terrain. • Start: The next morning at 5am we all set off from the start line at the Bario Market place. • Checkpoints 1 & 2: The first 5km on tarmac before making a left turn onto a muddy trail was an easy warmup run. Following the logging road I had to be careful not to fall into mud holes. I find that running in mud is like running on sand, it drains your energy much faster. When I finally reached Checkpoint 2 at Pa Lungan my shoes were wet and heavy with a mixture of mud and buffalo dung! • Checkpoint 3: As the sun rose higher in the sky it slightly hardened the muddy sections which made life a bit easier. By now I had developed a pain in my back from a water bottle in my pack, I normally carry a bladder but it leaked the night before. I refueled my energy levels with a Cashew Nut and Date bar and by the time I reached Bario Market I was the Leading Lady! I took a quick toilet stop and changed my socks to try to stop a small blister that was forming from the dried mud rubbing against a pressure point. • Checkpoints 4 & 5: After I left Checkpoint

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3 it started to rain heavily. On the gradual uphill section I had to throttle back to a slow hike. By the time I reached Checkpoint 4 at Pa Derong the rain had stopped and as I left the checkpoint the gradient became much steeper as I climbed up Mt Agan covering an elevation gain of 110m in less than 2 km’s. I powered up and reached Checkpoint 5 at the top where I was greeted by a beautiful view! • Finish: Very unluckily on my descent I missed a left turn after the “Bario Asal Longhouse” which cost me an additional 2 km’s. I came in 16th out of 32 runners and 3rd overall in the ladies division. • After Race Party: Finishers were awarded with a Certificate and a beautiful bead bangle crafted by the women from the village of Pa Lungan. We all then feasted over a banquet of delicious local dishes and enjoyed traditional dancing and cultural performances provided by the community of the Ulung Palang B Long House.

Would I do this race again?

Yes – Absolutely! I especially liked how beneficial this race is for the local community. It was a very well organized event, despite the weather conditions and a lot of credit goes to the smooth local community involvement. Bario as a location is guaranteed to soothe the soul, nourish your wellbeing and to challenge you both physically and mentally! If I can advise you in any way for how to run this race then I’d say; “Be graceful as the hornbill dancer and have the courage of a warrior when approaching the tougher trails.” Lessons Learned: 1. Test new equipment prior to a race and have a back-up for important items in case they fail. 2. Prepare suitable shoes for specific conditions – so much mud on the course needed better grip on the soles of my shoes.

JULY-AUGUST 2017 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

How the Bario Trail Run Befits the Local Community:

The Race was created primarily as a platform for the local communities to showcase their culture and to attract tourism through the sport of trail running. The aim is to create Bario as a “Must Run” destination for the International trail running community. With the expertise learned from this event the local community will open up other sports in the area in the future and hopefully attract more tourists to provide a sustainable source of income. The Homestay partnerships and the Local Junior Journalists programs are all designed to allow tourists closer access to the local community and to help them to understand the culture of the Bario area. ■

Live To Thrive.x Aida Othman Ultra runner and blogger at www.sliceoftorchginger.com More details www.runnerswild.com

OUTDOORUAE

Beat the Heat with

Words by: Kaylie Thomson

The months of June to September in the UAE are typically the time that most people retreat to the comfort of their air conditioned homes, perhaps with the occasional trip to the shopping mall, or if they are lucky a holiday to Europe to escape the heat of the UAE! However, the members of Abu Dhabi 4X4, one of the longest established offroading clubs in the Middle East (founded in 2006), do not let the high temperatures and humidity of the summer prevent them from doing what they love most! Despite the club’s name being affiliated to Abu Dhabi, they also run many desert trips in Dubai and Sharjah, so there is always an option to suit everyone without having to drive long distances to get there. Throughout the cooler months of the year Abu Dhabi 4x4 will have on average of 10 trips running every weekend, from the absolute newbie introductory outings, up to the advanced level trips which only experienced drivers are qualified to join. Yet now that the mercury is rising, the Abu Dhabi 4x4 Club Marshals continue to run trips every weekend to satisfy the demand of their sand addicted members and, likewise, to feed their own desert cravings – a testament to the enthusiasm one feels when driving in the desert! If you should happen to be passing by the Sweihan ADNOC petrol station at 6am on a Friday morning you will see the colourful

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line up of Abu Dhabi 4X4 vehicles and their owners happily chatting whilst preparing themselves and their vehicles for the drive ahead. During the trips, the convoy will stop for breaks at their favourite Ghaf tree to enjoy the occasional pieces of greenery that dot the landscape and serve as a shaded area perfect for a chit chat and the obligatory feasting on a cool watermelon. These popular morning trips are usually finished by 10:30am which is just in time to elude the real heat of the day. Advice on how to stay comfortable and safe on these trips is

posted on the club website regularly (www. ad4x4.com) during the summer months and is reinforced in the pre-trip safety briefings. As a heads up – do not be under any illusions that it won’t be hot out there! • Your vehicle should be in a robust condition, reliable and regularly serviced – think twice about driving in the desert if your vehicle is showing signs of mechanical issues. And always check your radiator level before setting off as this is a common cause of breakdowns. • Footwear which covers the entire foot is necessary (no sandals or flip flops) to avoid

burning feet in the hot sand. Sand boots are the footwear of choice and can be purchased from the major outdoor retailers. • Sun hats are recommended to combat sun burn as well as heat stroke, and are useful to hide the tidal mark on your forehead where the sweat meets the sand! • Sunglasses are optional as they may diminish the contours and shadows of the sand dunes which can make it more difficult to judge distance and approach angles. • Water, water and more water – keep drinking fluids to stay hydrated and always have spare water stored in your vehicle (overheating engines are a common sight in the desert, but an overheating passenger has even more cause for concern). Coconut water and oral rehydration sachets are an excellent choice for those who want a bit of flavour and can help replace lost fluids. • Don’t be afraid to crank up that AC to keep you and your passengers cool, calm and collected • And most importantly once again, do not forget the water! Another more exciting way to get your sand fix during these hot months without having to haul yourself out of bed at ridiculous o’clock in the morning, is to sign up for one of Abu Dhabi 4X4’s popular night

drives. Granted, desert driving in the night may sound daunting, and hence these trips are posted for intermediate ranked drivers or above but they offer an exhilarating way to see the desert from a whole new perspective. You would be surprised at some of the desert creatures that come out after sundown too– if you have the eyes of a meerkat you can catch wild gazelles or a desert fox flying across the sand dune horizon! Indeed, the visibility in the desert at night is greatly reduced, especially if the moon is not full, so the convoy will drive closer together to take advantage of the lights from the other vehicles and most importantly to be close at hand to take photos of anyone who has the bad luck to get stuck in the very soft sand. The canopy of stars you see in the desert is certainly not something you will see when star gazing from the city – another reason to beat the heat of the summer and enjoy the sublime offerings of the desert!

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For an entirely different style of driving and a more diverse landscape you might be lucky enough to secure a space on one of the Oman Mountains and Wadi trips which are very popular during the summer, due to the much milder weather conditions at the higher altitudes of the Hajjar mountains and the opportunity to cool off at some of the Wadi pools after a day of off-road exploring. The most recent trip to Oman was over the Eid Al Fitr holiday and was attended by at least 30 Abu Dhabi 4X4 members as well as their families. It was a huge success, with many members who couldn’t attend pleading for more of these trips to be announced. Watch this space! If you would like to learn how to drive in the desert with the main focus being safety and fun then do not let the temperature put you off. Simply beat the heat with Abu Dhabi 4X4 this summer – your off-roading family is waiting! ■

ACTIVITY REPORT

Wind of change... Mindful running! Words by: Andrea Colombo and Nico de Corato Photos by: DubaiBlog

It is easier said than done to make a sudden big change in your life however by applying “Mindfulness” you can get an advantage, as demonstrated by the Ultra-runner Nico de Carato for whom this proved to be a big turning point in his life… distance running came from taking part in Andrea:

So do you need to be there “in the moment” when you are running? Or is it better to look outside what you are doing and distract yourself? In reality the longer the distance you run, the more your mind has opportunities to lose focus and wander away. Being a former sprinter I could not fully understand this concept of the mind wandering out of focus from the task in hand. A sprinter focuses all their energy on a short distance and we are usually able to see the end goal to focus on it. As a psychologist the idea of knowing what happens inside the minds of long distance runners interested me. I wanted to discover how they achieve this long distance focus and what experiences they can pass on to others who want to make a change in their training to achieve the same “Mindfulness” of staying focused on being “in the moment.” When we begin with the desire to change something in our lives we often meet lots of internal resistance from our own minds.

Running in the desert may require a special gear, unusual for a road runner bur more appropriate for those temperatures and environment

Briefing after the training

On the one hand this is something we really want but on the other hand we know what a strain it will be to push through that step by step process and this scares us. I learned through my work as a psychologist that if you really want to make a change, you have to really start with your own mind and attitude. Only from inside us can we find the answers that we need to light that fire to trigger a change.

Meeting Nico by Chance…

Quite recently I met the Ultra-runner Nico de Corato quite by chance when he took part in the first two editions of the” Midnight Run” (A race organized by my company Mente Corpo in Milan). Nico lives in Dubai where he has his own Communications and Marketing Company that is a media partner for several sports events in the UAE and other countries. I talked to Nico about my new projects based on “Mindfulness” and I discovered that the source of his personal decision to make changes in his approach to long

the “Midnight 2012” ultra-running event. He explained that the night environment meant that he had to be more focused in the moment for his own personal safety and his mind couldn’t wander so much. It was after this race Nico explained that having that extra mindfulness made such a difference to his performance that he realized he had to continue training with the same mindfulness in the future too. We discussed our mutual passion for running not only to stay fit, not only to get good results but to challenge our bodies in different situations. Running at night, in the Mountains, in the Desert, in extremes of Hot or Cold or under heavy Rain and always being there in the moment with yourself and letting the extreme conditions give you an insight inside yourself. We found that an Athlete Psychologist (me) and an Athlete Entrepreneur (Nico) could sit over a cup of coffee and share the same language, we were always in agreement on the same word: “CHANGE.”

Training in Milan for the Firenze Urban Trail 2017

I found myself interested to learn more about the steps Nico had taken to swap his “stay fit” lifestyle for a new one facing different challenges and goals and what strategies he used to get himself there. Here are some excerpts from our conversation…

The Starting Line…

Andrea: Nico, when did you start running? Running in the desert Nico: As I practiced for a long time combat sports (kick boxing) and martial arts (muay run, called Al Maha Fun Run, organized by Al Thai), running has always been part of my Maha Resort inside the UAE National Park. trainings. But, since I started traveling a lot Not an extreme desert but an interesting for work (the first time in Dubai was in 2004), I environment with a lot of wildlife that I felt couldn’t follow the training. I found in running comfortable in. The result was satisfying but a way to manage my fitness without the conthe huge strain made me consider again the straints: of time, equipment, companions. But difficulties of a desert marathon… I knew I after a while, running just for running was not wasn’t trained! enough and my mind focused on a new goal: Running a marathon. My idea of marathon at Nico’s first solo Marathon that time was that it was a huge event that in the Desert… only a very few people could accomplish. My Andrea: A few months after the Al Maha Fun first attempt was in Milan in 2011, but I had Run you were able to accomplish 42km in the to give up because of being quite ill. So, the desert...how did you make the next step so first 42,195 meters distance was covered the quickly? following year, again in Milan. Nico: It was a goal finally achieved thanks to A few months later I moved to the UAE and Max Calderan, an extreme desert runner and once permanently settled I ran my second explorer. We met at the Spartan Race. He marathon, this time in Dubai, with a slower recognized me as he had just read an article time than in Milan, probably due to the stress I wrote for the OutdoorUAE magazine on of the house move and the different climate. the flight from Jeddah to Dubai. It couldn’t In the following months I committed myself have been a more random and predestined to consolidate my training as a marathon encounter. runner. I undertook training programs, sought I expressed all my respect for someone the most suitable shoes, won medals, and who is planning to train for a race over 100 improved my best time and all whilst trying km run at 50 degrees while I still haven’t not to overdo it (I ran 1 marathon every 6 faced a 42km one. He told me;“Get ready months). But this approach was not for me, and come to train with me in the next few either. So, I started adding bike and water weeks. I am sure that you are already ready trainings, but keeping a big goal in the to face this challenge. Leave behind weights, drawer; “To run a marathon in the desert”. awards, other distractions and anything that My first desert competition was a 15km can affect your mind. You must live in the Few metres after the start

Max Calderan and Nico de Corato before the start of the 42K

desert, be alone, live the experience, walk if you don’t feel like running, stop if your legs are tired, run again when you have recouped energies. You are alone in the Desert.” So then we went, with almost no instructions. He wanted to see how I prepare. The temperature was 46 degree Celsius at 4pm. We walked uphill and ran downhill and on the flat. Gradually after many kilometres my thoughts vanished, the only concern became surviving! I tried to pretend the support car was not even there. I found that I didn’t bring enough water, gel was absolutely useless in that environment, my running gear was completely wrong, my legs were hurting… but I felt the need to manage and make it work. There were also some other strange feelings... Running in complete silence, in complete darkness. Stopping to rest, laying down on the sand and watching the magnificent sky, full of stars. I felt closer to the Universe.

And then the 100km race…

Andrea: So then you decided to go for the 100km challenge in the desert. What Changes did you have to make in your training? Receiving my award by Rashid bin Mohammed al Qubaisi and Arne Silvis, GM of Al Maha Resort

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Down from the dune

Nico: At the end of this first challenge, Max proposed for me to train for a 100km run in less than 6 months’ time. For this I realized that the run training is secondary to other factors. I had to learn to train without water, food, sleep. Max made me experience a sort of Ramadan (no water and food during the day), training in the hottest hours of the day. The last three months before the challenge (December 2nd 2015) I added night trainings. Once a week, instead of sleeping, I went to the desert to train. I put into my training plan more difficult conditions for myself, for example; Carrying a heavy backpack or wearing different shoes or even running in walking boots. After various meetings the project blueprint was set out: “To run 100km for the 44th UAE National Day.” December the 2nd marks the celebration of the unification of the seven Emirates in 1971. This date is celebrated annually and allows the United Arab Emirates to think about it’s Past, Present and Future. The date commemorates the rich heritage, the civilization and perseverance of the UAE to progress in all sectors. This is a special day for all UAE residents. Andrea: After 17 hours and 40 minutes had gone by, Nico had no more than 10km’s to reach the end. Nico was elated. But the last 10 km’s felt endless. A long line of lights that were off due to the hour of the day were separating him from the end. Sometimes he stopped for a few minutes leaning on a palm tree or a rock to rest his legs and back, even just for a few seconds. He was not cramping, but his back had hurt all along. Nico continued walking for a few hundred meters, and he stopped again briefly. Time went by, and he was at 20 hours. Some trucks and cars went by travelling to Bab Al Shams

or towards the horse-riding centre. He was on the verge of asking for a ride. He had no points of reference and he didn’t know how far he was. But suddenly a car driven by Willem Duplooy, the sports and recreation manager of the resort, who had come looking for him, arrived and honked, reached him and screamed, “You almost made it, don’t give up!” At this stage his mind had the spark it needed and Nico started running again for the last 3km’s uphill and he finally saw the sign to the hotel reception a few meters away. He had made it. 100km in 20 hours and 10 minutes. He couldn’t help crying. It’s incredible how this challenge was so... mindful! Nico goes on telling: Nico: What remained also after achieving the goal of running 100K was the passion for extreme environments and new kinds of challenges. That’s why I started testing my mind and my body in different situations. The Cortina Trail (a spectacular 47K trail run with +2800 MT height gain in the Dolomites), Fat bike riding in the desert (thanks to my friend Vittorio Brumotti), and so on. Sometimes after attending anew challenge with a lack of specific training for that kind of event forced me to start pushing my mind towards facing new situations.

Nico’s Training Program…

Andrea: As shown, Nico stabilized his mind. He stopped his old training methods and focused on training in the present moment, using “mindfulness”. This strategy allowed him to reach important results for himself. Now Nico faces a new challenge; “How to continue to steadily train in this new way, without being overpowered by the “duty” to Running in Qasr Al Sarab

Last km before ending at the Bab Al Shams

confirm or improve his goals. What he should do? How can we follow him from his mental perspective?”

Conclusions and the way ahead…

The training program I shared with Nico is a mental coaching method based on awareness. We will train his skills of focusing on what makes his mind calm and steady, in order to let his body understand what it has to do in the right moment. We will work in a step by step way to estrange the ruminant thoughts and create the intention to be “here and now”. We will use some sessions of Mindful Running, a procedure that Nico has already tested, to make real and concrete “in performance” his decision to focus his mind where he wants. This will help him, in each step of his next challenge, to face his competition with the clear purpose to live it step by step in a mentally focused way. Focusing on his body will be the crucial resource to grasp on to every time his mind tries to fly away, especially as it tries to focus on the result at the end and not on the present moment it is in now. As he already did in many other challenges, Nico has to trust himself, leaving any feelings and sensations to flow naturally. We do not want to emotionally pump him up to change his mental condition, instead we want him to cross each obstacle as he reaches it without the expectation of it in advance, we want him to be mindful of the Now only, step by step, km after km, breath by breath. ■

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Dazzling Views

from the

Ras Al Khaimah’s new Jebel Jais Observation Deck, due to open in October, to pique active adventurers’ interest as a base camp for hikers and bikers looking Ras Al Khaimah, the to test themselves on the rugged mountain region’s fastest-growing tourism range. The facility, which will also feature a destination, is upping the ante in multi-purpose events arena, picnic areas, numerous walking paths and a dedicated its quest to be the Middle East’s food truck zone, is due to open to the public adventure tourism capital with a in October. new observation deck close to the “The appeal will extend beyond the very active. The deck will let visitors take in summit of Jebel Jais, the UAE’s stunning sea and mountain views, and the highest peak, which rises 1,934 magnificent sunrises and sunsets which cast metres above sea level. a dancing performance of light and shadow Being developed by Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), which manages, regulates and promotes the emirate’s tourism industry, the Jebel Jais Observation Deck will boast a series of viewing platforms to experience the aweinspiring vistas, bird life, flora and fauna of the emirate’s Al Hajar Mountain range, which borders Oman. In addition to several viewing platforms, the Jebel Jais Observation Deck will serve

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over the area every morning and evening. The Jebel Jais Observation Deck will also include a versatile events arena and a permanent area for food trucks serving members of the public and international guests who want to experience the fresh mountain air in temperatures that are traditionally around 10 degrees lower than the UAE average,” explained Haitham Mattar, CEO, RAKTDA. The deck, which will be lit by solar energy, has been designed by Nagaand is being

built on RAKTDA’s behalf by Botanical some 1,300metres above sea level. With ground work already underway, Mattar revealed the site’s long-term sustainability has played a key role in its design and operational functionality. “Having signed as a sponsor of the UNWTO’s International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development, sustainability is a key component of Ras Al Khaimah’s overall tourism proposition,” explained Mattar. “In addition to solar providing an obvious solution to lighting the facility, we have worked very hard to implement natural, locally-sourced materials into the site – we want the Jebel Jais Observation Deck to blend as seamlessly as possible into the mountain façade.” As part of its Ras al Khaimah’s Vision 2019 tourism strategy, which aims to attract one million visitors by the end of next year, RAKTDA is investing in a range of adventure and wellness products which leverage the emirate’s superb array of natural assets, with a key focus on Jebel Jais and the surrounding area. “For some time, the emirate has been popular with inveterate hikers tempted by the rocky pathways which skirt ancient villages in the mountain ranges; these pathways are also increasingly used by independent organisers of group tours,” explained Mattar. “Jebel Jais has also attracted motorists wanting to drive the newly extended road, which snakes up towards the mountain’s summit. We have also had tremendous success with the Gulf’s only commercial Via Ferrata since it opened last year – the Jebel Jais Observation Deck builds on the emirate’s growing outdoor product portfolio and adventure tourism credentials.” The Jebel Jais Via Ferrata (Iron Path), which sees enthusiasts climb, trek and zipline almost 400 feet above sea level, already occupies second-place ranking on TripAdvisor of the emirate’s attractions – the first going to Jebel Jais as an attraction in itself. ■

Oman Promotes Mountain Tourism to GCC Residents this Summer Season Oman, the jewel of the Arabian Gulf – is getting ready to welcome GCC visitors this summer season. With its naturally-blessed terrain, the Ministry of Tourism, Oman is looking to promote the picturesque mountains of Oman - including luxury stays, hiking and exploring rural villages in the mountains. Located a few hours drive from Muscat, Jebel Shams and Jebel Akhdar make up the most striking mountains of the Al Hajar Mountains range. Jebel Shams is the highest peak in the Arabian Peninsula and is often referred to as the ‘Grand Canyon’ of Oman. It is a very popular sightseeing and hiking area with a number of villages in the vicinity. For luxury stays in the mountains, the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort and Alila Jabal Akhdar and other hotels and resorts offer plush luxury with incredible canyon views. The cool climate makes the resort has

Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort - Cliff Pool Villa Pool View

Jebel Akhdar

Salim Al Mamari, Director General of Tourism Promotion

the ideal location for GCC residents looking for special luxury short stays or to spend time on the hiking trails in Wadi Ghul. The hotel facility is one of the newest efforts in Oman to promote the mountain tourism and promote itself as a year around destination by offering special tariffs for Omanis and GCC residents.

“Oman is the preferred destination for people who wish to escape the desert heat and skip the beaches in the summer months. The country’s mountains - Jebel Akhdar and Jebel Shams offers moderate temperatures in the mountains,” said Salim Al Mamari, Director General of Tourism Promotion at the Ministry of Tourism. Wadi Mastal in Wilayt Nakh allocated 150km from Muscat is another option for visitors looking to explore the traditional Omani way of life. A viewing platform offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. In addition to the moderate hiking trails and the viewing platform, visitors can experience rural Oman as the area is farmed by locals growing vegetables and exotic fruit trees. Visitors also have the unique opportunity to walk among organically grown fruit trees such as pomegranates, apricots and cranberries. ■

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TRAVEL & ADVENTURE

Kyrgyzstan winter-wonderland Words + Photos by: Dominik

2 AM, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: Stepping out of the airport in the middle of the night, fully loaded with ski bags, two heavy trolleys, backpacks and ski boots in our hands, we were cordially welcomed and immediately surrounded by a crowd of taxi drivers who offered their service. They couldn’t believe us not being in need of a taxi- but this was the reality. Instead we were searching for a stranger, who would hand over the keys for the Toyota Hilux, we had rented from a friend’s mother for the next two weeks. After 2h on the road, passing some smaller towns and villages, we made a last fuel stop (knowing that the next gas station is on the other side of the pass), before finally driving up into the mountains. There was no snow on the street of the M41, the Pamir highway, that is leading all the way from Kyrgyzstan via Tajikistan, Uzbekistan to Afghanistan and also the mountains were hardly covered in snow. At the end of the pass there was a small hole in the mountain- the entry to the TooAshu tunnel and the main access to the South of the country. We were excited! What was going to wait for us on the other side of the tunnel? Were we going to find more snow than on the north side of the mountain? The tunnel was quite narrow, but nothing compared to the tunnels we experienced in Albania and Montenegro two years ago. Finally we made it through the 2500m long dark tunnel! Leaving the dark behind us, we had to get used to light again, but then we found ourselves in the most impressive Kyrgyz winter-wonderland. Having a car with four-wheel drive was definitely a good choice, as the road was finally properly snow covered. While going down to the valley of Suusa-

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myr, driving past more broken down trucks with snow chains, we spotted the small Too Ashuu ski resort, with its two chairlifts- but did not stop as we knew that the Suuslodge was near. Finally we arrived and were warmly welcomed by Azret and his family, as well as by a great 3-course meal. In the evening the other group- some friends from Dubai arrived as well. We were really looking forward to spend New Year’s Eve and the next couple of days with them skiing. The next morning we had an amazing and very relaxed three course breakfast, before we slowly packed our skiing gear: The mornings are below-20°C freezing, and everybody was happy not to start before sun was completely out. Finally we started the first run with the snow cat into the mountains. After some

minutes ride through the wide flat land of the valley of Suusamyr, the snow cat slowly started going uphill. In a group of ten we were full of excitement sitting in the cabin of the snow cat, where it was comfortable and warm. After another 20min ride the snow cat had made it to our first starting point- we were even more excited. What an amazing view down to the valley of Suusamyr and to the mountain chain on the other side of the valley. All mountains deeply covered in snow, the whole mountain range untouched. We jumped from the cat into the fresh and fluffy powder and could not believe the beauty of the scenery. Bluebird! The skis were unloaded from the box outside and we were all ready for the first powder turns in this incredible terrain. After a check of our avalanche equipment

we followed Azret and skied down the untracked mountain full of joy! After skiing down 500 meters in height back down to our start point we waited for some minutes, soaking up the beautiful landscape, until the green snow cat had made its way down to collect us again for going up. What a perfect combination: Skiing down in the cold and then coming back into the warm snow cat, for going up again. The day passed quickly and after some great rides a tasty lunch was served. Is there anything better than enjoying burgers, hot tea and chocolate in this impressive landscape? Some more rides, every time in fresh snow, passed quickly and we went back to the Suuslodge to prepare for New Year’s Eve. After relaxing in our cozy rooms, we went into the huge living area, where Aida and the chief had already prepared an impressive amount and great variety of great looking traditional Kyrgyz dishes. We enjoyed different kinds of salads as starters and a great turkey as amain dish. Similar to Europe, the guys had bought fireworks, and at 12 o’clock we went out into the freezing cold to celebrate New Year! What an awesome way to start into 2017! After the flash visit to the Kyrgyz night everyone was happy to be inside in the cozy warmth again and we were very touched by an eastern tradition: After 12 it is a custom to exchange presents and both of us got

presents from the Russian family. The next day, feeling not too bad, we decided during breakfast to drive to Suusamyr, the next village about 30km from the Suuslodge. The landscape with the mountain chains, the suddenly appearing plateaus and the many horses with heads in the snow searching for grass were impressive. Suusamyr instead was a sleepy little village, where there was not a lot to explore. Still it was interesting to see that the people, who live in summer as nomads, settle down in the winter months to withstand the cold. Instead of cars, most people were riding horses, or were using sleighs.

Coming back to the Suuslodge we took the snowmobile to discover more of the area, driving through untracked snow we found a beautiful river delta, impressive plateaus that from a distance looked like descending fog but coming closer turned out to be elevated plains with more kilometres of length. Just nature and no traces of other living beings except traces of animals in the endless snow. What a beauty this Suusamyr valley in Kyrgyzstan is! After coming back and being chilled through, we were looking forward to a great dinner and to some rounds of PingPong with the Kyrgyz chef- who almost was invincible! We were excited about some more days of skiing. Every morning we woke up in our cozy bed and already could see the sun rise over the mountain, knowing that another great day of skiing in Kyrgyzstan was about to start. Every single run, some longer due to hikes, turned out to be a blast and made us wish to stay longer. For sure we will come back to Kyrgyzstan next winter! We totally fell in love with this landscape and the best powder we had experienced in the World so far! ■ For more information go to: www.fouropeneyes.com and www.suus.kg

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TRAVEL & ADVENTURE

Exploring

Waterfalls & Wadis

Words + Photos by: Matt Ficco

I love exploring new places that I have not seen before; it creates a great sense of adventure and excitement. When I see a graded track off in the horizon I can’t help wondering where it leads and most often I would not think twice about following it. When 50 people in 15 cars are following me however, the sense of calm curiosity goes out the window and is replaced with the sense of “oh God please let this track lead to somewhere relevant!” Executing a smooth weekend trip of hitting four different wadis, passing through international border posts, and accommodating everyone in 20 hotel rooms, at two separate hotels, 50kms apart did require a bit of advanced planning and organization. In the end, we pulled it off without a hitch

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and the weekend excursion was a complete blast and full-on success. I had not been to this part of Oman in many, many years so it is safe to say that the lay of the land was a distant, blurred memory. I knew it had many beautiful sights, scenery, mountains, and wadis teeming with water all year round. I had several wadis in this area on the planning board for quite a while so as the weather in the UAE deserts

was warming up I figured what a great time to go explore them. The whole group met at 7am on Friday morning and proceeded as one convoy through the Hili border post. The Hili border post is not the biggest that the UAE has to offer so needless to say we created a bit of a backlog for the customs and immigration folks. After an hour or so we had all successfully managed our entry into Oman and were on our way. The first stop was Wadi Madbah. It was a 30 minute drive from the border to the entry of the graded track that leads up towards the wadi. We chose not to follow the typical route through the town of Madbah as we wanted to be able to access the top waterfalls. The drive up to the wadi does get a bit dicey at times so having an adequate 4x4 with solid offroad tires is absolutely necessary. It is a great track winding up the mountain and cutting through the wadi with challenging rock crossings from time to time. There are many wonderful camping spots all along the way but I would only recommend camping during the cooler months. Once at the end of the track we parked our cars and walked down the hill to the wadi, which was flowing with water. We

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had to cross deep pools, sometimes just by walking while other times while swimming. We found gorges with flowing waterfalls into deep, crystal clear water pools. It made for a great area to jump, swim, and explore. Wadi Madbah was a great first stop of our tour and we could have easily spent the whole day there. Here are a few more photos of the fun. The kids were great, they were able to play so many interesting games with the various bottles, sticks, rocks, and pieces of rope they found scattered about. Moving on from Madbah we headed up at Wadi Kitnah after passing through the Wadi Jizzi border post. This was the one Wadi that was not so exciting on this particular day. It did have small pools and flowing water but only enough for a few people to swim at a time. We made the decision to not spend too much time there rather head back towards the hotels for the evening to enjoy the hotel swimming pools as well.

After spending a great evening in the hotel, we headed off early to hit our last two wadis for the weekend. The first stop was Wadi Shuwayhan. After a scenic drive of rolling hills and flowing curves through the mountains, we left the tarmac and descended into the wadi via a rugged graded track. We continued on into the wadi, which opened up into an oasis. There were palm trees, greenery, and water flowing briskly over the pebbly wadi floor. We dropped the gears into 4x4 low and began our drive in with water splashing all around our cars and the ubiquitous sound of the pebbles sloshing around under our tires. When we reached as far as we could drive we came upon a large, flowing pool with rocks for jumping off all around us. At the back of the pool was a small passage way that led to a narrow gorge with water flowing all through it. It was a fantastic spot as everyone was able to swim, explore, and relax in the shaded pools. This wadi had it all and then some!

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Back to the tarmac from Wadi Shuwayhan we made our way up towards Wadi Khamis, which would be our last stop. Along the way we passed small hamlets with beautiful watery detours. We were able to take routes that led us up and around the wadis and river beds. We traversed deep pools and drove through rutted tracks of pebbles and flowing streams. It was a treat and delight to drive through the desert mountain oasis. Reaching Wadi Khamis was the pinnacle of the trip. We were welcomed with a large, wide-open beach where pools of emerald green water flowed through deep canyon walls for a far as the eyes could see. Everyone was able to swim, jump, and enjoy nature’s beautiful gem. As the sun grew strong high above, everyone cooled down in comfort and relaxation. It was the perfect ending to a great weekend in some of Oman’s beautiful wadis. Looking forward to going back and exploring more of nature’s less-traveled Omani gems. ■

TRAVEL & ADVENTURE

The Land of the Great Genghis Khan! Words + Photos by: Bishworanjan Das

How often do you hear someone planning a hiking trip to Mongolia during their summer break? These mysterious lands have attracted explorers for decades, but still very little is known to the outside world. Be it the sacred tomb & burial ground of the Great Genghis Khan or the Shaman traditions. The government and the loyalists of Genghis Khan have sworn to protect their sacred lands and traditions. You could be shot for venturing into their scared lands without permission. Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia and the Gobi desert are gaining popularity but most of this country remains unexplored by outsiders. During one of my backpacking trips to Vietnam, I met some hikers who couldn’t stop talking about this great country of Mongols. Until now, I had only heard about this destination in history books. We talked about places to visit, safety and other basic stuff over a few mock tails at our Hostel’s bar. Who knew that the Chinese built a massive wall on the steepest mountain ranges to protect themselves from the mighty Mongols, this is how the ‘Great wall of China’ came into existence. After returning from Vietnam, I immediately began planning for my next journey – of course to Mongolia! The problem with such less travelled destinations is the availability of information online. It took me sometime to research and figure out all possible options for traveling from the UAE to Mongolia. My research took more time as I didn’t want to just visit the capital city or the Gobi Desert which is a bit touristy now. During my research I found out about ‘Tavan Bogdh National Park’ in the Altai Mountain ranges, home to several high peaks and glaciers. That’s where I wanted to go! The western region lies close to the Kazakhstan boarder & Russian Siberia and has an entirely different culture from the central Mongolia. Getting There – There were no direct flights to Ulaanbaatar from the UAE, the only options are either a Turkish Airline Flight with 2 stops or flying in to Beijing on a direct flight and then taking an ‘Aero Mongolia’ flight to the Mongolian Capital. I preferred traveling via China and stopping by to visit the ‘Great Wall’ as well. My final destination was ‘Bayan Ulgi’, a province in the western region of Mongolia, so I had to take another local flight to get 28

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there. From there I had made arrangements for traveling by road further up to the national park. I must admit, this was the smallest plane I ever boarded and was chanting my prayers the entire way due to turbulence. Visa & Stay–There is no Mongolian embassy in the region. Thankfully enough, one of my friends who is in the travel business connected me with a travel company based in Ulaanbaatar, Tsolmon Travel LLC. The travel company was quiet helpful in obtaining a

pre-approval from the local immigration which is needed for a visa on arrival. Being an Indian, the visa was free of cost but I had to pay a 5 dollar visa sticker fee. The Travel Company also helped me out with Hotel bookings in the capital city and local flights, which otherwise could have been a pain. The local airlines have a great reputation of last minute cancellations, delays and sometime being not reachable after bookings. Hiking – The travel company couldn’t

help me with hiking trips in the western region as they were an Ulaanbaatar based company and were seen as outsider in the western region. All the packages offered by them seemed very touristy and expensive. I wanted something more thrilling and with a local flavour. So I found another company based out of ‘Ulgi’ called the ‘Altai Expeditions’ owned by a nice gentleman named Mr. Bek (Bekbolat Bugibay). He is seen as a local philanthropist and supports a lot of schools & other community development projects. He was kind enough to provide me a totally customized 10 days solo hiking trip. I got a young energetic Guide, who doubled up as my cook and I also had a Van Driver, who later became a good coffee buddy! After 3 back to back flights, I arrived at Ulgi Airport where I met my young guide, Bakhu. The town of Ulgi looked like an old soviet era town, full of deserted buildings and people commuting in their Old Russian made jeeps. It was quite a different scene for a guy coming from dazzling Dubai. The hotel had basic but comfortable rooms and after a quick hot shower, I went off to sleep. This was going to be my last night in a hotel room with shower, for the rest of my trip! Next morning our driver arrived in his Old Russian van, we stocked our van with hiking & camping gear, water, food and other supplies. It was going to be a long journey and once you leave town, you’re completely on your own. My guide spoke decent English and I had to rely on sign language to com-

municate with our driver. As the journey began, the mountains grew bigger and bigger and the ride got more and more bumpy. In a country where nearly 95% people still live a nomadic life, you can’t really expect smooth roads. We passed massive Green Steppes, Rocky Mountains and Glacial Rivers. Most of the country’s land is still uninhabited and is completely untouched. In the western region, on one lucky day you would bump into another tourist. After 5-6 hours of traveling on the bumpy trails, we arrived at our Guide’s own house, up in the mountains. This was going to be our first pit stop and I loved the idea of staying with the locals. Since I was a guest, the family prepared a small feast and invited a few relatives who lived in the adjoining houses. Up in the mountains, families stay together in 2-3 close houses and then you won’t see any other settlement for kilometres. Our special dinner included homemade cheese, Kazakh style bread and boiled horse & camel meat. The meat is dried as there is no refrigeration and kept for months, sometimes years. The meat is then boiled with just salt and served with some homemade cheese and bread. Did I mention that I was trying to be a vegan before this trip; my diet was going to take a huge blow with this kind of food. Saying no to this feast which was especially made for me would have been very disrespectful. And believe me; you don’t want to be disrespectful to Mongols who eat boiled meat with their bare hands,

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using just a knife to scrape off every bit of flesh from the bones. The dinner table was not a sight for the weak hearted! Everyone eats straight from the bowl in which meat is boiled. Since I had trouble eating meat this way, one of the elders offered to dip his hand in the meat soup and scrape some meat for me. Who was I to say no to such hospitality! Nevertheless, I survived my first dinner with the locals and learnt a great deal about their culture. My guide also learnt that next time we should just stick to my veggies. On a serious note, these nomads are very friendly people and take pride in their hospitality. We stayed with the family for 2 days; the guide’s uncle showed me how they use giant Golden Eagles to hunt rabbits and foxes. This is considered a great skill in Mongolia and there are several hunting festivals where these men participate to demonstrate their eagles & hunting skills. Wrestling is another such sports, where men participate to earn various titles. Earning these titles in wrestling matches is considered an honour and greatly respected. Men wear a unique top during these wrestling matches, long sleeves and open chest. Some say that once a woman disguised as a man entered the competition and earned some titles which were meant only for men. The open chest tops were introduced soon after. The land of Blue Skies is full of vibrant cultural and rich history.

My journey continued further up in the mountains, towards the Tavan Bogdh National Park and the scenery became more enchanting. I had never seen such vast grasslands and valleys before; it felt like I was in a National Geographic documentary. We made several other stops on the way, it was quite strange how we randomly stopped at the ‘Yurts’ of these nomadic people and they offered a place to stay overnight for nothing in return. I felt obligated to leave some tips next morning but these simple nomadic people expected nothing. Yurts are dome shaped, round tents made of wood, animal skin and other materials. The inside is a huge circular space which is decorated with animal skins and other handicrafts. The entire family shares this space and there is fire place in the centre with a chimney which is used for cooking and keeping the Yurts warm. We shared such Yurts with few families, who allowed us to stay overnight during our journey. We reached the Park Gates and met the Park Ranger, who quickly checked our permits & gear and allowed us to continue. My travel company had secured the permits and knew the Rangers in person so things were quite smooth. You are not allowed to enter the park without a permit, a trained guide and proper gear. The last thing these rangers want is to climb a glacier, looking for lost tourists. The Park is also referred to as the ‘5 Saints’, home to the 5 sacred peaks of the Shaman people. The park also borders Russia on one side and China on the other. I heard stories where some travelers with a dog accidentally went to the Russian side; soon they were picked up by the Russian army but later handed over to the Mongolian Army. If you don’t fancy spending nights in a Chinese or Russian prison cell, plan your route and carry a GPS. We decided to stay for a night near the 30

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park gates and hike one of the peaks closer to the gate. We had to cross a frozen white river to climb the mountain. A massive white river completely frozen due to winter snow. As we began walking on the frozen river, I could hear crackling sounds underneath. My guide assured me it’s just the upper layer and there are several layers of ice on the river. Such a place can be a deadly trap without proper knowledge and guidance. We made it to the peak with no major hassle and had a great view of the frozen river and the 5 saints. We made a quick descent as the daylight had started to disappear. Next morning all our gear and supplies were put on 2 Mongolian horses by the horsemen and we hiked towards the Base Camp. The base camp was roughly 10km away from the Park Gate and it took us 5-6 hours to reach there. The 2 horsemen off loaded all our gear and quickly went back; now it was just the two of us, me and my guide. We were exhausted by hiking in the snow and somehow managed to get our tent up. Our plan was to attempt summiting a glacier peak over the next two days. We had enough food and water to keep us going for 3-4 days, the horsemen promised to return after 2 days to pick us up. It was part brave and part crazy to be in that place on our own, with no working cellphone or satellite phone. A place which was prone to bad weather and frequent avalanches. It kept snowing the entire night and we remained tucked in our sleeping bags inside the two-person tent. I didn’t sleep very well that night, the strong winds kept shaking our tent. Our tent looked

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like an Igloo next morning; everything was covered in a thick blanket of snow. It wasn’t a good day to climb the glacier; clouds could still be seen on the horizon. We decided to climb another nearby peak and return to our tent before dark. Walking on fresh snow was more difficult than I thought. It was hard to differentiate between slopes and trenches, extremely risky but I just followed my guide who knew the region but sometimes just went on his gut feeling. At some points I found myself in waist deep snow, exhausted and short of breath to even pull myself out. What looks near from the base, seems endless once you start climbing. It wasn’t a technical climb; we just used our snow boots and hiking poles. I had never used crampons before so tried to avoid them as much as I could but at some points it was nearly impossible to get a grip without crampons. The peak wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. The view was blocked by clouds and it was very cold & windy. While descending, we took a break and sat down for a while, I nearly fell asleep due to exhaustion. A strong blow of wind woke me up and I knew it’s time to quickly head back. We had spent nearly 10 hours hiking in the snow, losing our way a few times. The guide made us some dinner, we were using a small burner inside the tent to melt the fresh snow for water and keep us warm. I didn’t have any energy to even move an inch. We slept hoping for better weather next morning as it was our last chance for the Glacier Peak. Thankfully enough, we woke up to clear skies and a pale sun; it was enough for making it up to the glacier. There are several high peaks and glaciers in the park which take multiple days and technical gear to climb but we were only attempting the moderate ones. We began walking towards the glacier and after about 2 hours we touched it. This region is influenced by the cold Siberian winds and weather changes rapidly, before we could go any further, clouds came out of nowhere; strong winds and snow forced us to retreat. Quite disheartened, we returned to the base camp and took shelter in our tent. We were too exhausted to make another attempt next morning and our supplies were also running low. The horsemen arrived the next morning as promised and we decided to return. The hike to the gates was another 10km and my entire body was already tired of battling snow for the last 3-4 days. Walking back to the gates, I was a bit sad about not being able to make it to glacier summit but what I had learnt and experienced so far was beyond anything I had ever done. Upon reaching the gates, an old man who lived with his family close to the gates invited me inside his house. I couldn’t understand him initially as he spoke Kazakh and partly because my head wasn’t functioning properly due to exhaustion. He grabbed my hand and took me inside; I was offered some hot Kazakh tea, breads and cheese. The old man kept saying something in his local dialect and I couldn’t understand a thing. I just looked at him and smiled as I sipped my hot tea. After having spent 3 days at the base camp on the snow clad mountains, this was a million dollar experience. Mongolia gave me more than what I expected. I began respecting and appreciating those little things in life that warm your heart. This is my story of life altering experiences, from the Land of Blue Skies! ■

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TRAVEL & ADVENTURE

Hiking

in the mountains of Tajikistan Words + Photos by: Denise Ostermann

My latest adventure took me to the outback of this beautiful and wild natural country called Tajikistan. Loving the nature and trying to spend my free time actively - and as well trying to escape the heat of the UAE summer - I decided to explore a new place this July. As I only had a long weekend for this trip I had to look for something in the area. Tajikistan is easily accessible with direct flights from Dubai to the capital Dushanbe in just 2 Â˝ hours. Tourist visas can be obtained online for most nationalities and it is a very easy and quick process. Decision taken: Tajikistan it is!

Being the smallest among other central Asian countries the Republic of Tajikistan is surrounded by Kyrgyzstan in the north, China in the east, Afghanistan to the south and Uzbekistan to the west. The first day we drove outside the capital Dushanbe to the nature reserve Shirkent Valley where we were on the tracks of the dinosaurs. The 13km hike took us through the valley and up and down some really challenging parts of the mountains. For me as a non-experienced hiker it was a great challenge. Of course I did the typical mistakes of using my newly acquired hiking boots without prior walking them in. The more I was very glad to have bought some hiking poles last minute. After the five hours track my feet were suffering from blisters. The way was our goal. It was a beautiful hike passing and as well trying all those wonderful different kinds of berries on the way. So fresh and tasty, I almost forgot how delicious those things are when you eat them right off the bush. Finally we reached the place where the dinosaur footprints were discovered. Even though they were not meeting our expectations it was an impressive sight. The way back was mainly downhill which I assumed to be easier. But I was proven to be absolutely wrong about that. Finally reaching the foot of the mountain again, a Lake Iskandarkul

delicious lunch picnic was waiting for us on the river bank. A little nap was the reward for the accomplishment. All the more I was relieved learning from our local tour guide that the next day would be less hiking as we were going to the long awaited lake Iskandarkul. It is the biggest lake of the Fann Mountains which are part of the Pamir Range in the northwestern part of Tajikistan. The lake is located at an altitude of 2â&#x20AC;&#x2122;200 meters with snow covered peaks. The colour of this lake is changing with the weather conditions and the time of the day and varies from mirror clear to a beautiful turquoise shade. On the way there, we were

stopping at small local villages for their delicious food. Everything required to survive and to live healthily was cultivated in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gardens. From carrots to potatoes to pumpkins, from apples to cherries, everything was available. It has been quite a while since I ate so fresh, untreated and healthy food! Another stop at an impressive waterfall disappearing in a hole and the drive goes on. With this country being so unspoiled the infrastructure is as well. So the drive took us over more rough than smooth off-road

Pamir mountains crossing

streets. But after a total of approximately seven hours driving and a few stops we finally reached the lake. It was a bit cloudy and rainy on some occasions which nevertheless were a welcomed cooling off from the heat in the UAE. Especially for the hike on the first day it was well appreciated. The stunning view of the lake with the impressive mountains in the background was well worth the uncomfortable ride in our minivan. A short boat ride around the lake was the highlight of the day. Waking up early the

Local boy on car

next morning was definitely paying off. Capturing some nice pictures was possible as we were rewarded with some beautiful sunshine. After breakfast we took a short hike to another impressive waterfall called Niagara. Back at the lake we could take a short dip into freezing water and some lunch before heading back to Dushanbe. All together I was surprised about what this country has to offer and I have to say it was a great decision to come to this place which I had never considered visiting before. â&#x2013;

Shirkent Valley

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THE

OFF-ROADERS corner

Name: Amro Al Tamimi Nationality: UAE Occupation: Operation & Support Manager Vehicle: Nissan VTC Y61 SWB Tell us the background story of the car?

Well, since I was young the Nissan Patrol was our first choice in the family. I grew up seeing this car in our garage and decided once I get a car it will be a Nissan Patrol. Why SWB? Because it’s small and strong and can easily go into technical dunes and areas. Also it’s good for my family size. So yeah I got this car in 2014 and of course due to the diversity of 4WD’s in our UAE Offroaders Family, I have tried nearly all makes of off-roading vehicles, and in my opinion the Nissan Patrol is the best!

What modifications have been made, performance and cosmetic wise?

Okay... This car I can say it’s fully off-road modified! It has the following:

Engine:

Fully customized 6 in 1 headers with a magna flow muffler. Tuned ECU to increase the torque and HP. AFE GT momentum air filter. Exterior and off-road. 2.5 King springs. RADFLO stage 4 shocks. ARB front lockers. ARB DUAL FAN air compressor fixed under the seat. Method 17” beedlocks rims with 285’s tires. Front 8mm skid plate. Rear skid plate. Custom made side steps. Safari snorkel. Customized grill. High led black front lights. Customized front bumper. Off-road front & rear bump stops. 37” led bar. Flag pole. Interior and safety: Certified Roll cage. Custom leather seats. Built-in radio

Do you have something that you consider to be a ‘special feature’ of the car?

Well the whole car is a special edition I have made. So everything in the car is special and but I like most is the power of the car during off-roading and the sound. It’s like a lion roaring!

What were your other options before you bought this car?

I owned a Jeep Wrangler before but didn’t 34

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last three months and decided to come back to the Nissan. Toyota FJ was an option but since I owned an FJ previously, I did my comparison and yet Nissan wins in my opinion.

How often do you use your car, and what activities do you take part in? Well, on weekends we have trips with our wonderful UAE Offroader’s family and most off road activities including mountain cruising and rock-crawling, and lately car shows and events.

Are you planning any future modifications?

Well... Yes but let it be a secret recipe for the future!

What 4x4 do you dream of owning? Well the Nissan is my dream off-road car and I really enjoy driving every km while going off-road and on-road or even doing my weekly run to the supermarket with the family! ■ Want your 4X4 to be the next feature? Just send us an email at editor@outdooruae.com with the subject “Off-Roaders Corner” and you and your car might just be the next one on this page!

$100 Cash REWARD Share your routes with OutdoorUAE and receive a reward of USD100 if we will publish your route.

es Rout ED T WAN

Your routes will be available online for everyone to download for free on outdooruae.com/route. You will be credited as the author of the routes. All we need from you is the GPS (gpx) route file, a few photos and a short description. We are looking for hiking, off-road, MTB, trail running, MX and any other outdoor related routes. Routes should be from the UAE and border regions. Help us to get more people outdoor, active, healthy and happy be able to enjoy the beauty of this region. You can upload your route at outdooruae.com/add-route and we will get back to you within a few days if your route will be published and how to collect your reward. For more details email us at routes@outdooruae.com

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Breaking Paleo Down, One Ingredient at a Time Words + Photos by: Robert Jahn

Being Paleo, is a lifestyle. For us, it’s not one of these fad diets that come and go. Over the past four years of being open, we have attempted to convert many people to following the Paleo principles and we have had resounding success in most attempts with other being far too stubborn to change their ways. The task of turning into a paleolithic being can look daunting from the outside, but is it? Have other people who have previously tried it, but given up, given Paleo a bad rep?

What is it about being Paleo that is so tough for people? First and foremost, people fear what they will eat if they can’t have a sandwich for lunch or a piece of toast in the morning. Bread, is the foundation of so many meals so it’s understandable that people will struggle without it. Our substitute suggestions would be to add more fruit, vegetables and protein to each meal. Instead of a slice of toast in the morning, why not have scrambled eggs with smashed Avocado, or turn that sandwich into a much healthier salad and add nuts to get the similar texture.

There are substitutes for everything, all that is required is a bit of creativity and the desire to push through. Eating Paleo is truly phenomenal and the benefits from following it will be truly tremendous. It will help with ongoing sustained weight loss, you will have improved glucose tolerance; decreased insulin secretion and increased insulin sensitivity and help boost your immune system. The Paleo diet is extremely rich in healthy fats and nutrient dense foods such as nuts and vegetables. The Paleo philosophy also encourages grass fed beef, wild salmon and free-range eggs, which are sustainably farmed and ethically sourced. Our dine-in, meal plans and delivery offer you the opportunity to give being paleo a try. Our ingredients are organic and locally sourced where possible, as well as selling Australian Grass-Fed Beef. We have seasonal menu that change every few months to ensure that we keep all our customers interested so give us a visit it Motor City, call us or drop us an email for more information about anything. We hope to see you soon! ■

RECIPE

Creamy Avocado-Spinach Pesto Zoodles Ingredients Serves 4 • 1 avocado, halved and pitted • 3 cups baby spinach • 2 tablespoons almonds • 2 garlic cloves • Juice of 1 lime • ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt • Red pepper flakes (optional) • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved • 2 tablespoons olive oil • 6 medium-large zucchini (or any other pasta you like) Directions Add the flesh of the avocado, spinach, almonds, garlic, lime juice, sea salt, and chili flakes (if using) to a food processor. Process for 2-3 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides as needed, or until smooth and creamy. If it’s too thick add more water, one

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tablespoon at a time. Take a taste and adjust seasoning. Add olive oil and set aside. If you wish to serve the avocado-spinach pesto over zoodles, using a spiralizer create zucchini noodles (always read the directions for your spiral slicer as they vary by brand - I use this spiralizer.) If you don’t have a spiralizer use a regular vegetable peeler to vertically peel long, thin strips of the zucchini. This will form more of a wider “noodle” from the zucchini, like fettuccini. Place the noodles in a covered microwave safe dish and microwave them on high for about 2 minutes. Alternatively, you can cook them in boiling water for 2 minutes. Transfer zoodles to a large serving bowl, add pesto and halved cherry tomatoes and mix well. Serve immediately! Nutrition facts One serving yields 184 calories, 16 grams of fat, 10 grams of carbs, 4 grams of protein.

Located at The Cycle Hub, Dubai Motor City Call: 04 425 3000 Website: www.thecyclehub.com info@thecyclebistro.com facebook.com/thecyclebistro instagram.com/thecyclebistro The Cycle Bistro GPS location: Latitude: N 25° 02.792 Longitude: E 055° 14.384

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PRODUCTS A ROUND-UP OF QUALITY PRODUCTS AVAILABLE RIGHT HERE IN THE UAE

Yamaha Rekluse Clutch for YXZ1000 2,500 AED

• This clutch system allows you to operate the manual transmission on the YXZ1000R with ease. • It allows the driver to operate the vehicle like an automatic. The driver can fully disengage the clutch in first gear without worrying about engine stall. • Gives smooth clutch engagement, comes in very handy when maneuvering at low speeds in technical terrain. • Eliminates engine stall. • The Rekluse® clutch adds convenience without reducing performance. It basically makes any driver look like they’re handling the manual transmission like a professional.

SCOTT Prospect Goggles 395 AED

• Scott Tru-View single lens system with 100% UV Protection. • Largest field of vision in the industry. • Anti-fog Lens treatment. • Big 3 layer face foam for ultimate comfort and protection. • Lens lock system designed to guarantee lens retention. • Removable nose guard. • No-slip silicone strap.

XDEEP NX Series GHOST

XDEEP STEALTH 2.0 TEC Setup

2,320 AED

2,250 AED

For full XDEEP products range please visit wwww.xdeep.eu. For more details on products please contact your local distributor for GCC region: www.eg-gulf.com - info@eg-gulf.com

The GHOST has been engineered to be an integral part of you, the diver in all aspects of your diving. Inspired by the simplicity and function of technical diving systems, the GHOST was created to be very comfortable, extremely light (2.3Kg) and incredibly stable, both at the surface and underwater.

Inspired by the rigorous demands of cave diving, the XDEEP STEALTH 2.0 has become the standard setter for sidemount systems worldwide. The STEALTH 2.0 TEC wing can now be seen in almost every country and its versatility, combined with a very streamlined profile, mean you will see it everywhere from caves and mines to wrecks and reefs.

The GHOST naturally supports a flat, streamlined position in the water with an ample 17Kg of lift, making the dive relaxed and enjoyable. Travelling with the GHOST is equally relaxing as its weight and size mean no more excess baggage charges.

Founded on the XDEEP harness innovations and advanced weight system, achieving the ideal fit and configuration is quick and easy.

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PRODUCTS Seadog

1,900 AED Available at GO Sport stores in UAE The SeaDogout paces most similar kayaks as well as many which are substantially longer and larger. The ride is stable, comfortable and dry. There is lots of space for dry bags, fishing gear and other necessities in the storage compartment behind the cockpit and the deep storage recesses besides it. Ideal for anyone looking to get out on the water! Features: • Comfortable Back Rest • All Round Moulded In Handles • Rear Storage Compartment with Bungee • Forward Storage Hatch with Bag • Drinks Bottle Holder • Paddle Retainer • 6x Scupper Drain Holes • 4x Mounting Points for D-Rings or other Equipment • Hull Drainage Bung

5,495 AED

Available at GO Sport stores in UAE The Tequila! GTX offers a new level of innovation for recreational kayaks. Created by award-winning design engineer Magnus de Brito, Point 65 launches the Tequila! A fun, versatile and high-performance kayak that, due to its modularity, is exceptionally easy to carry, store, and haul. The revolutionary solo or tandem combination is the solution you were waiting for. The Point 65 Snap-TAP technologies are protected under US and European patents. In store special: All kayaks include a free Point 65 2 piece paddle (worth 395) and Jet Pilot Strike life vest (worth 245)

SIC Air-Glide Flow 11.6 (DSC)

WS623 Sport Walkman from Sony

Available at GO Sport stores in UAE

Keep the music going on any terrain with the all-new waterproof and dustproof wearable WS623 Walkman®, now with Bluetooth® Wireless Technology. Built to endure extreme outdoor conditions or any sporting activity, the wearable Walkman® is the ultimate sports companion that brings you music without limits. With improved wearing comfort, the WS623 Walkman® features an ergonomic, slim and light design that stays in place no matter the movement. Newly equipped with Bluetooth® Wireless Technology , you now have the option of streaming music from your smartphone using the convenient Near-field Communication (NFC) one-touch pairing, or simply store up to 16GB of audio within.

3,995 AED

Smaller length and larger width make the Air-Glide Flow a relaxed SUP suitable for any level. It is also a fun all-around board in a small, stable package for paddlers looking to make the most of their experience. Inflatable paddle boards are some of the most durable paddle boards on the market, able to bounce off most impacts, while also being compact and easy to transport. In store special: All SIC SUP’s include a free SIC Flow 90 2pc paddle (worth 725)

Tequila GTX Tandem

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499 AED

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PRODUCTS Quad Lock® Bike Kits 280 AED

Cases for active lifestyles - fits iPhone 6/7 and iPhone 6/7 Plus – from Sport In Life   Quad Lock® are pleased to announce the release of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus series of cases and kits. Made from impact absorbing TPU outer-shell and tough poly-carbonate core, the new cases for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are compatible with the entire range of mounts made for active lifestyles. Quad Lock® is the lightest, strongest and most secure iPhone mount available thanks to the patented Quad Lock® dual locking system.  RIDE - The Quad Lock® Bike kit for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are a safe, secure and easy way for cyclists to mount their device onto their bike. The bike kit is extremely easy to use, simply twist, lock and go. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus bike kits are supplied with everything needed to mount a smartphone onto a bike.  RUN - The Quad Lock iPhone 7 and 7 Plus running armband is the ultimate Sports Armband for runners, joggers and gym goers. With the Quad Lock® Sports Armband runners are only a click away from easy access to their device and can be confident that it is securely attached to their arm. Only 160 AED from Sport In Life.

Introducing the new Polar M430 Designed for Performance 899 AED

Available exclusively at Go Sport stores from 1 August Polar, the leader in wearable sports and fitness technology for 40 years, announces an exciting addition to their running portfolio, the Polar M430. Equipped with Polar’s proprietary wrist-based heart rate technology, integrated GPS, and personalized, adaptive training guidance, Polar M430 is the ideal tool for runners aiming to reach their personal best. The design is fully waterproof and features a lightweight, breathable wristband and vibration alerts to inform runners exactly when they’re hitting goals during training. Polar M430 will soon be available in dark grey and white. Features: • Wrist-based heart rate • No chest strap required • Run anywhere, with accuracy - GPS and accelerometer technology • Smart coaching • Extend your battery life - up to 30 hours of training time

SRS-XB10 Wireless Speaker

Sennheiser Sports Headphones

199 AED

449 AED

A Very Portable Party

OCX 686 SPORTS: Best fit for your fitness routine

Available at at Sony Store, The Dubai Mall and other retailers across the UAE

Available at The Sennheiser Shop-In-Shop at The Jumbo Store in Mall of the Emirates

For those really on the go, the SRS-XB10 offers EXTRABASS™ sound, incredible loudness and punchy bass with a tiny body with a long battery life of up to approximately 16 hours. Take advantage of its super-compact size and portability and enjoy the music anywhere. Two listening styles can optimize the users’ experience. In vertical mode, the omni-directional sound can be enjoyed by a group of friends. In horizontal mode, the music is directed straight to the listeners’ ears. The silicon strap becomes a stand for the tiny speaker to help direct the sound. The same strap can also be used to attach the speaker to a backpack or just about anywhere, so that great tunes are always in reach.

• Inline smart remote and mic on the cable are compatible with most smartphones and portable players (OCX 686G: including Android, Windows Mobile and Blackberry devices; OCX 686i: for apples devices) • Maximum ruggedness and durability – Sweat and water-resistant • Sealed in-ear-canal design for improved blocking of outside noise • Antimicrobial ear adapters (SteriTouch) • Ergonomic ear clips for optimal wearing comfort and a secure fit • Para-aramid-reinforced symmetrical (OCX 686G) or asymmetrical (OCX 686i) cable provides superior strength and reliability • With Angled plug for OCX 686G and straight plug for OCX 686i version • Oval-shaped cable ensures a tangle-free listening experience and reduced cable noise

The XB10 can also be paired with another of its kind, to provide stereo mode, which creates a broader sound space and the impression of hearing music from various directions.

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Alphonse Island:

Words by: Rasmus Ovesen Photos by: Rasmus Ovesen, Martin Ejler Olsen and Keith Rose-Innes

The Seychelles is an archipelago located North of Madagascar, and it mainly consists of small coral islands, atolls and reefs. The Seychelles is known for its beautiful palm beaches, but it is also home to some of the best and most diverse tropical saltwater fly fishing in the world. I’M BEWILDERED and overwhelmed. Dizzy and languid, like a boxer who has just left the ring - humiliated and defeated. The scenes from a full week of hysterically exciting tropical fly fishing flickers before my feverish eyes, while my gazing eyes emptily skirts across the shimmering blue water, which the catamaran transects with surgical precision. We’re in the middle of the Indian Ocean

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on our way to our resort on Alphonse Island in the Seychelles. The shiny white flats, the moonscape-like coral formations and the riveting tidal currents, which - in combination with vast elongated, subaqueous meadows of turtle grass and toothy, weather-beaten outer reefs - constitute the heart and soul of the St. Francois Atoll and its hunting grounds, now unobtrusively fade away behind us – like a bittersweet diminuendo that quietly yields to total silence. All of it stings relentlessly inside the depths of my soul and, as I cast one last glance behind me and take in the scenery for the last time, I suddenly realize that I’ve never been so sad having to pack up and leave a fishing destination as I am now. It’s a veritable tragedy! ”ETERNALLY OWNED IS BUT WHAT’S LOST”, sounds a trite, old proverb, which – unfortunately – makes too good sense now that everything is over. In this very moment I

feel as if it might as well have been the title of the bizarre Film Noir-like drama that I’ve just been through: An anti-climactic drama – hopeless and dark, where I have had close encounters of the third degree with the full St. Francois Atoll villain cast; bonefish, triggerfish, milkfish, permit and giant trevally, and where - in a morass of nerves, failed technique, and misfortunate circumstances I’ve lost everything! EVERYTHING GETS OFF TO A GOOD START. My faithful fishing buddy, Martin Ejler Olsen, and I begin building our confidence by catching a handful of bonefish on the flickering white sand flats of the St.

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Francois Atoll – bonefish in combative sizes that seem completely magnetised by our flies, all the while impressing us with their shimmering pearlescent glow, silvery flanks, iridescent blue fin strokes, and phantomlike runs, which make our fly reels hiss like the hoarse winds. Additionally, we catch a yellowlip emperor, a couple of groupers and a lemon shark of about 90lbs. And I get to cast to a giant trevally along the so-called Lollipop Reef – a fish that turns after the fly with inexorable resoluteness, and - heading straight towards me – inhales the fly at such a pace, that I don’t stand a chance of hooking it. The line goes slack, and the fly is spat out before I ever get to establish contact. ENCOURAGED BY YESTERDAY’S GREAT FISHING we now spend our second day buoyantly scouting and blind-casting along tidal currents, depth curves and reefs in the hopes of hooking one of the atoll’s terrifying giant trevallies: A powerful and lightningquick predator species, which – because of its keen eyesight, bloated ego, menacing mannerisms and inflammable temperament – has risen to near-mythical status among saltwater fly fishermen and come to be known as the ‘gangster of the flats’. Unfortunately, on this particular day they are like flickering, ominous ghosts. They disappear just as abruptly as they emerge – and when we finally manage to get a couple of quality casts in, they display an atypical apathetic indifference with our flies. AFTER A WHOLE DAY with nothing but a few side-catches in the shape of garfish,

grouper and bluefin trevally we revise our plans for the following day. Here, we fish along the western reaches of the St. Francois Atoll where an elongated moonscapelike coral reef constitutes a staunch but scarred barrier against the agitated sea. The tide is high, and our plan is to sightfish for some of the atoll’s numerous triggerfish – a rather goofy looking and incredibly aggressive fish that is equipped with toothy jaws designed for breaking down corals and crushing crustaceans and mussels. The fact that it is capable of chewing flies (and flustered fingers) clean through only serves to further testament its reputation as one of the most exciting game fish in the Indo-pacific Ocean. The combat fishing that ensues surpasses all of our expectations. With great assistance from our guide, Brandon, - who jumps headlong on the fish with his landing net as soon as they’re hooked - we manage to land three out of the five uptight triggerfish that gulp down our crab flies. In addition to triggerfish we also catch three yellowlip emperors, a few groupers, several unidentifiable coral fish, and a couple of solid bonefish. With both triggerfish and bonefish on my scorecard today, Brandon suggests that we end off with half-an-hour’s worth of blind-casting with poppers for giant trevally. If all ends well, I could end up with an Indo-Pacific grand slam. Along a sandy flats bar with a relatively drastic drop off we’re now busy casting and retrieving our noisy NYAP poppers in the hopes of a redeeming strike. There’s plenty of small mullet and other baitfish around, so things look promising. It isn’t me, however, who suddenly experiences the violent burst and tug from a giant trevally. 10 minutes before our guided day session is over, Martin’s popper is brutally torn off the surface and he now feels the weight from a tenacious fish – one that he handles expertly, with full drag power, a low rod angle and maximum pressure. After having jubilantly landed the

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dirty-fighting brute of a giant trevally – and it’s approximately 25lb frame has been photographed and released - I can’t help but mention how it’s a pity that Martin didn’t take time to catch a bonefish earlier in the day. Then it would have been him, who had managed a grand slam. Upon hearing this, Brandon interjects that we still have a couple of minutes on us, and that – although there are no bonefish to be seen anywhere – Martin might as well try blind-casting a bit along the sand bar we’re on, while the boat is prepared for take off. It seems like there’s no real point, but Martin gives it a shot nonetheless. And when he hooks up on the very first cast and shortly after lands a little bonefish, we can hardly believe our own eyes. A small miracle has just happened! THE FOURTH DAY ARRIVES, and we’ve now gone into GT-mode. We see several of them - but out of casting range, and the blind fishing that we do only results in by-catches in the shape of blue-speckled emperors, garfish, groupers, brassy trevally and bluefin trevally. The next day, where the winds have finally died down enough for us to fish the outer reefs, we continue chasing giant trevally - but once again they’re finicky. We see a couple passing through a tidal channel, but they’re gone before we ever manage to put a cast in. Later in the day, the tidal water comes gushing in over the outer reefs. We’re busy carefully scouring one of the flat faults when the perfect opportunity suddenly arrives.

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Three charcoal-black giant trevally - of which the fish in front is a true monster unsuspectingly approach, and this time I manage to place a long cast ahead of them and let the fly sink a little. The suspense is almost unbearable as the fish get closer, and as I start the retrieve and speed up the fly it’s with a galloping heart and feverish hands. One of the two “smaller” fish, which are probably both around 40-45lbs, resolutely chases after the fly in a state of blatant agitation – with flaring fins and flaming eyes, and 10 meters in front of me, it suddenly bursts forward and inhales the fly in an explosion of foam and water. I do as prescribed: I lower the rod tip, pull hard and resolutely on the fly line and start backing up to set the hook, but the fish just opens its bucket-sized mouth and spits the fly. In a state of pure, flustered over-agitation, my nervous hands have lost their grip on the fly line, and all my efforts to hook the fish have been in vain. And before I manage to put in another cast, the fish are gone! Beyond frustrated, I toss the fly rod scornfully into the water, and after having filled the air with all sorts of inappropriate curses and cuss words, I stand there completely disillusioned on the flat in total silence – with the taste of blood in my mouth, trembling nerves, a hoarse staccato-like breath and a heart that rages blindly behind the skeletal bars of my chest. IT’S WITH A SINKING HEART and a minimum of confidence that we begin our last day of fishing. Here, we focus on catching one of the gold bars of the flats – an Indo-pacific permit. These incredibly attractive and challenging fish often forage in the wake of big stingrays, which dig for crustaceans on the sand flats. And during the morning we’re fortunate enough to experience this phenomenon several times. I succeed in hooking one of these shrewd fish twice, and I’m connected with the latter for about 10 minutes before the fly suddenly – and without much cause or occasion – looses its hold. The disappointment is so 42

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intense that I feel like fainting. When, later in the day, the tides have gradually dried up- and exposed many of the sandy flats, there are no more permit to be found, so we head for the outer reefs. Even though it’s still early in the season, and the sea is still relatively agitated, we can’t resist the temptation of locating a school of Alphonse Island’s mythical milkfish – a nervous species of fish that look like over-dimensioned mullets and fight harder and longer than any other fish. If we’re lucky, and the conditions are just right, it’s possible to trick these finicky, vegetarian fish into eating a fly. On this particular day, we’re fortunate enough to find a big school of milkfish lazily cruising along a tidal seam that runs parallel to St. Francois western coral barrier. Our guide for the day, Wesley, shuts off the engine, jumps to the fore of the skiff with an oar, and gets us closer. Shortly after all hell breaks loose! I PLACE A CAST well ahead of the school and keep good contact with the green algae

fly as the school passes. Shortly after, I feel a subtle tug on the line, and as I lift the fly rod, the fly line immediately starts gushing through the guides of my 10-weight fly rod. The fly reel now pitches in with a tormented, flanging squeal as the reel spool spins out of control and raw amounts of fluorescent orange backing cuts through the water surface and disappears into the ocean. Out of the corner of my eye - in a completely different direction than the one my backing has charted – I now see a giant, silvery fish in the vicinity of 50lbs thrusting itself meter-high out of the water with the flyline dragging behind. It’s as if it’s suspended mid-air unnaturally long, and it isn’t until it collides with the water again - making a huge crater in a wave trough – that I realize that it’s the actual fish I’ve hooked. Several meter-high jumps later, and with a backlog of about 150 meters of backing, the pressure on the leader and the small hook become too great. The fly loses its grip in the fish’ soft mouth, and the battle is lost.

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This scenario repeats itself an additional three times, and the toughest blow comes when, late in the afternoon, I loose the last milkfish of the day: a fish of a much more manageable size than the previous ones: One that I fight for a long time – long enough to actually start believing that I’ll be able to land it. When I loose this fish, nothing much is capable of consoling me. Not even the guide’s well-meaning statistic offering when he states that only one in 10 hooked milkfish are actually landed. Statistics don’t mean anything to a defeated and broken man! NOW THAT THE DAY IS OVER, the flats skiff is anchored up, and we’re on board the catamaran slowly headed towards Alphonse Island, a burning sense of failure – of having missed out on a unique opportunity – rages relentlessly inside me. And whilst my fingers minutely work their way across the keyboard as I write these passages – far away from the Seychelles in the cold North – the feeling comes to life again. But now it is diluted by the conciliatory bliss of time and distance - and of a deep-felt gratitude for having experienced such a heartbreakingly beautiful destination and such a unique and breathtakingly exciting fishery. The challenge no longer consists in mending my wounds but finding a way to plan and finance another trip to Alphonse Island

and the St. Francois Atoll. I’m yearning to get back there with all my heart and soul, and I’m confident that I will regain what was lost there! Fact file – Alphonse Island and the Seychelles Alphonse Island is situated in the Indian Ocean some 400 kilometres southwest of Mahé, which is the main island in the Seychelles. The resort caters up to 12 fortunate fly fishing guests – and in addition to being spoiled with service and cuisine in a league of its own, they are treated to some of the world’s best and most diverse tropical fishing. It is possible to fish on your own along Alphonse Island’s flats with good results, but the guided fishing takes place around the St. Francois Atoll, which offers varied hunting grounds in the form of flats, coral reefs, tidal currents, and drop offs. You’re transported to St. Francois on a catamaran and will subsequently get on board one of the flats skiffs that are anchored up there. Once there, you’ll find massive schools of fully grown bonefish, plenty of Indo-Pacific permit, trigger fish (Yellowmargin, Moustache and Picasso), milkfish and giant trevally – in addition to snappers, bluefin trevally, brassy trevally, groupers, bonito, parrotfish, nurse sharks and much, much more. If you’re interested in booking a trip to

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Alphonse Island, or some of the other renowned Alphonse Fishing Co destinations in the Seychelles – including Cosmoledo and Astove, send an email to: reservations2@ alphonsefishingco.com For further information, be sure to check out these links: http://www.alphonsefishingco.com http://www.seychelles.travel/ Fact file – Transport and logistics The transportation to Alphonse Island is usually via Dubai to Mahé and Seychelles International Airport. Here, Emirates is an obvious choice, seeing as they have regular flights with appropriate arrival times in relation to the journey onwards: http://www. emirates.com/no/English/ Depending on your itinerary, you might experience a good deal of layover in Dubai International Airport, and it might therefore be a good idea to get some rest in the Dubai International Airport Hotel, which is conveniently located inside the departure terminal: https://www.dubaiintlhotels.com/ From the airport in Mahé you’ll continue your journey to Alphonse Island on a 1-hour IDC flight arranged by Alphonse Fishing Co. It departs from a hangar outside the International Airport, and getting there involves a five-minute taxi-ride. ■

Med venlig hilsen / All the best Rasmus Ovesen Freelance Fly Fishing Journalist and Photographer

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2WD Onroad: Liwa Crescent Words + Photos by: Marina Bruce

Liwa is arguably the best playground in the UAE for 4x4 owners and many people perceive it as only a collection of sand dunes, albeit beautiful ones. However tucked away here and there you will find a variety of forts, factories and fish farms. Here is the lowdown on interesting things to see, often off the beaten track, but all accessible to everyone. Distance: 134kms approx. excluding Moreeb Hill Detour Remoteness: from 2/10 (not remote at all) to 7/10 (far away from cities)

Getting There

The route can be driven in any direction but the description is based on driving westwards. Almost all attractions lie to the North of the road therefore if you drive in an Eastward direction you will have to u-turn frequently. From Abu Dhabi, Dubai and further north take the E11 towards Gweifat then take the exit towards “Himeem/Hameem – Qasr Al Sarab Hotel” (E65). Follow this road, which has one of the longest “straights” in the country, until you reach the start point which is the where the 2-way road becomes a dual carriageway and changes number (E90). Time to allow: To drive the whole route, visit every fort and attraction including a stop for lunch, you will need a whole day. If you only have half a day to spare then your best option is to start at Liwa City and travel westwards to Arada starting at the Liwa Hotel. Distance from Start: Abu Dhabi 185kms, Al Ain 318kms, Dubai 297kms. Distance from End: Abu Dhabi 243kms, Al Ain 376kms, Dubai 355kms. 44

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Himeem to Liwa City (Mizaira’a)

How about starting your trip with a coffee at the 5-star Qasr Al Sarab Hotel? Relax in sumptuous surroundings sipping your café latte (27aed -2016 prices) while gazing out at the beautiful view from the library. Take some time to look at the many beautiful antiques on display throughout the foyer – there are some very interesting and unusual artefacts. Distance from Start of Route

4.4kms

U-turns required

Yes, at N22.94358° E54.26519°

Hotel Driveway Entrance

N22.94341° E54.26887°

Hotel

N22.90066° E54.33932°

Access

Blacktop road all the way and full disabled access to property.

U-turn required to return to route

Yes, at N22.96524° E54.29733°

Al Jabbanah Fort Distance from previous point

U-turn after QAS visit – 29kms

Turnoff Point

N23.05988° E54.07256°

Signpost

Liwa Art Hub

Fort location

N23.06254° E54.07164°

Access

Hard packed track all the way, but if your car is very low then it’s possible to park it at the shop car park and walk the 300 metres on foot. Disabled access to ground floor of fort.

Liwa Art Hub

Al Meel Fort

Distance from Al Jabbanah Fort

400 metres

Liwa Art Hub Location

23.06414 54.06856

Access

Road/track as for fort. Disabled access to premises.

Distance from Al Jabbanah Fort Exit

23kms

Turnoff Point

N23.13678° E53.89450°

Fort location

N23.14115° E53.89660°

Access

Full road access and parking at fort. Disabled access to ground floor.

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Liwa City to Arada The area to the west of Liwa City is more remote than the eastern section of the Liwa crescent; there isn’t a hotel or a restaurant for over 100kms in this direction so stock up on snacks and drinks before heading west.

Liwa Date Factory

Liwa City Distance from Al Meel Fort turnoff

10.5kms

Signpost

Liwa City (also Mizaira’a)

Amenities

ADNOC Oasis, restaurants, car washes, repairers and tyre shops.

Liwa Exhibition Centre Home of the Liwa Date Festival and occasional other events, this is located behind the ADNOC. Location: N23.14617° E53.79650°

This interesting factory shop is a few hundred metres along the road from the Exhibition Centre and there you can purchase some of the wonderful dates prepared in their factory. Dates were traditionally the lifeblood of Liwa and even today they are a very important crop. The factory manufactures everything from date paste through to mahmool and the most amazing chocolate/nut/date combinations. Location: N23.13692° E53.79832°

Al Dhafeer Fort Distance from roundabout

350 metres

Signpost

None

Turnoff point

N23.13557° E53.78402°

Fort location

N23.13877° E53.78029°

Access

Blacktop road and full parking. Disabled access to ground floor of fort.

Liwa Hotel

Return to roundabout and take a right to head west

Muqib Tower

Distance from Liwa City roundabout

1.8km

Distance from turnoff to Dhafeer

3kms

Signpost

Liwa Hotel

Tower location

N23.12676° E53.75478°

Turnoff

N23.12450° E53.77580°

Access

Leave your car by the side of the road as there is a steep concrete step just through the gate.

Return to the road where you must head eastwards until you reach a roundabout where you should do a u-turn.

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Moreeb Hill Detour

When in Liwa City, you might like to consider making a detour to Tal Moreeb, site of the annual Moreeb Festival and one of the highest dunes n the UAE. The top is 300 metres above sea level and each year in January it hosts a much anticipated drag race /hill climb. The original event has now expanded to become a festival of motorsport and Emirati Culture. After u-turning at roundabout near liwa

hotel, continue a further 4.5km, turning left at the roundabout ( 23.11919 53.75254) then following the signs to Tal Moreeb. The road to Moreeb is paved and is a great chance to take your 2WD right into the dunes, whilst remaining on blacktop. Distance from ADNOC Liwa City

28kms

Location

22.97245 53.78946

Onroad: Liwa Crescent B

Khannour Exploration Distance from Qutuf turning

14.3kms

Turnoff point

N23.08658° E53.60293°

Signpost

Khannour, Al Mariah

Al Hayl Tower

Qutuf Fort Distance from Muqib Tower exit 3.6kms Turnoff

N23.10928° E53.73162°

Directions

Take the slip road down a steep hill, then take the second opening on your right.

Fort location

N23.11082° E53.73007°

Access

Road and carpark at fort. There are two large steps up to the fort entrance so limited disabled access.

4x4 required?

No, blacktop all the way

Directions

At the first roundabout turn right, then proceed for just over 1km.

Turnoff point

N23.10663° E53.61525°

Tower Location

N23.10998° E53.61535°

Access

Park your car at the turnoff and walk 400 metres to the tower. (4x4s can get closer). You walk through a plantation with sand and some rubble so unfortunately there is no disabled access. This is on private land so permission should be sought if there is anyone around.

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Onroad: Liwa Crescent B

Umm Al Hisn Fort

Onroad: Liwa Crescent

Directions

Retrace your steps back to the E95 then turn right to head further westwards for approx. 21kms.

Turnoff

N23.00275° E53.42885°

Signpost

Al Hisn

Fort Location

N23.00275° E53.42885° follow the tarmac road for around 800 metres and park up near where it curves right into the plantation, at the top of the track.

Access

It is a 400m walk to the fort (4x4s can get closer). The fort is fenced off just now but it is possible to walk near the fence on a gravel base.

Note

There is a recently constructed tower around 500 metres away, which marks the end of the Liwa Crescent.

Al Mariah Al Gharabiya Fort Directions

Viewpoint 1 Directions

Return to roundabout beside Grocery shop. Turn right here, and the next four roundabouts. You will find yourself on a road on the edge of a group of mainly disused houses. This spot affords a fine view of the Liwa crescent and the tower below.

Viewpoint

N23.11412° E53.61233°

Access

Blacktop all the way and parking at the viewpoint.

Backtrack by taking the third exit at roundabout one and two, the second exit at roundabout three, and the first exit at roundabout four.

Turnoff Point

N23.10385° E53.58912°

Fort Location

N23.10314° E53.58436°

Access

Park on road and walk 150 metres to fort. (4x4s can get closer). There is a step and a gate so unfortunately no disabled access.

Return to main road; if you wish to proceed to Ghayathi then turn right at the roundabout or to return to Liwa City do a u-turn at the roundabout and drive approx. 49kms eastwards.

Petrol Stations

Viewpoint 2 Directions

Viewpoint

Retrace your steps to the second roundabout and turn right. Drive to the northernmost corner of the “plateau” to view a beautiful dunescape, dotted with date plantations. N23.11783° E53.60522°

Fish Farm

Liwa’s original fish farm, try to go on a Saturday when the supervisor is more likely to be there. Directions

Continue along the road from Al Maria Al Gharabiya Fort for a further 3.3 kms.

Fish Farm Location N23.08443° E53.56113° Access

Park on road alongside farm. Disabled access to some areas.

ADNOC Himeem - N22.94702° E54.28846° ADNOC Tharwaniya - N23.07960° E54.01365° ADNOC Liwa City - N23.14193° E53.79650° (Oasis, selling snacks and coffee) ADNOC Al Mariah - N23.08760° E53.60735° Liwa Police Station - N23.13361° E53.79851° Liwa Exhibition Centre - N23.14617° E53.79650° Grocery Shops/Restaurants (out with Liwa City) Himeem - N22.95228° E54.29177° Al Jabbanah - N23.06025° E54.07125° Khannour - N23.10308° E53.60517° Route file including above waypoints can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/LiwaOn2017

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PHOTO OF THE MONTH

The Pearl Dubai Rider: Robinson “Flame” Photographer: Glen Grixti Camera: Canon 5d Mk3 Lens: 16-35mm F4.0L IS USM F: 10 S: 1/800s

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Summer is here Words by: Kit Belen Photos by: Kit Belen & Rasmus Ovesen

Summer is always a tricky proposition. Although there are fish about, the heat puts a lot of people off and those that do fish these days are quite often miserable if they don’t plan wisely. There are a handful of anglers (myself included) that are too hard headed to give up to the confines of air-conditioned spaces especially in “fishable” hours of the day. Summer is also the time when most fishing spots are almost devoid of traffic, the heat after 8:00am is something not a lot of people can stand. If you get a chance to speak with those that fish the summer, one of the first things they tell you is to stay hydrated; this doesn’t need an explanation. A pretty good trick kayak anglers use is to freeze bottles of water the day before and use the ice to keep in their fish box, as soon as the ice thaws, they become ice water. I typically take two litre bottles and two Gatorades for myself each trip. I don’t freeze the Gatorade because the frozen bottles keep them nice and cold.

Summer Strategies

Fishing is difficult in the summer – when I

Very thin Braided lines such as the Nanobraid from Sufix are needed to cast or get deep with such lightweight lures

This Abu Garcia Reel is made especially to cast tiny lures - paired with a Rapala Finesse Series baitcasting rod, I use this to cast jigs of 3.5 and 4g in deep water especially when I'm on a kayak and when there are bigger fish around.

was heavily fly fishing in previous years, we looked forward to summer because there are fish species that are most abundant in summer, because of their spawning habits, these fish even go real shallow, kind of surprising because some shallow areas almost always have the temperature of warm soup. However, this is not really the same for most fish species and you don’t really see a lot of activity save for a few that are still around. I mostly fish in the early hours of the day, or the last few hours of the afternoon. In the morning, launching a kayak at around 4:00am gives you enough time to paddle out to your spot and by around 4:30 when the sun starts rising, you get some pretty good fishing in some spots. I mostly concentrate my efforts in places where there is consistent current because this is where you will find cooler water temperatures. The same is the case from shore. Fishing where there is some water flowing, like channels, beach coves and bays and rips often circulate the water enough to drop it down a few degrees. The most important thing to remember is

this – the cooler the water, the more oxygen it contains. Current brings circulation of water from the deep that is cooler and contains more oxygen, the closer you are to moving water, the more fish you will find.

Sizzling Size

It’s not a secret – summer time is ultra light time. The bigger fish move deeper because of their oxygen requirements, so you don’t really see a lot of big fish around, except for grouper, sharks and queenfish that can tolerate the temperature and oxygen level. There are of course exceptions to this, when you see a huge variance in the tidal difference, you get trevallies and other sought after species roaming about. Summer is also the time when the hatchlings from the tail end of winter start heading to deeper water – the next time you go out, watch what that grouper coughs up before you land it – most likely, you will see tiny baitfish of about 2.5cm – 4cm (1 - 1.5 inch), another useful piece of information. This is the reason why using lures that match the size, are so effective in the summer months.

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Ulralight rods such as the lightest Vaaksy rods and Rapala RFS are best paired with size 1000 reels.

Summer Gear

Scaling down is something almost too difficult for most people. The culture predominant in the region is still in the game of numbers and big tackle. While there are a lot of big fish caught, most of the time, the gear used for them are gear mostly used for bigger game. We still see a lot of fish being landed with tackle designed for marlin – you don’t have to look far, most of the boats you see at the marinas would have two things consistent from one boat to the next –30-80 sized trolling reels loaded with 25-40kg monofilament and diving boards. Although jigging have been making waves lately, the majority still catch their fish using the same tried and true methods mentioned above. Even when catching smaller fish (which is often), the technique remains the same. Live baiting is also practiced however; the gear used is still too heavy for it to be called “sport fishing”. The reason why I mentioned the way people fish here is because Ultra light fishing is the exact opposite of the above; dealing with weights 3kg (6lb) and below and casting lures and soft plastics/jigheads from 5g and below. I have quite a few combos for Ultra light fishing because I did quite a lot of it in past years and picked it up again a year or so ago, parking my fly gear for the meantime. What I noticed with the more recent ultralight rods is the obvious departure from the soft and flimsy backbone to a stiffer backbone with a softand thinner than a toothpick tips. This gives the rods more sensitivity and more importantly, the backbone is stiff enough to land some pretty big fish. In a recent trip to Singapore, I was introduced to a use of these rods for fish that were traditionally targeted with medium powered gear. The fights are longer and you almost always think you would get spooled Rapala's Finesse Series rods are designed specifically for Ultralight fishing in deep water, dropping jig heads of 4g and under in deep waters with swift currents.

Soft plastics such as these are very effective, especially in micro sizes

out, but with at least 200 meters of 2-3kg braided line on a size 1000 or 2000 Shimano reel, it does a very good job of landing very decent fish in deep water. As mentioned, reels of size 1000 and 2000 from Shimano are the reels I pair with these rods, while the American models are equally nice, I often buy the Japanese Domestic Market models for the shallow spools. You only need 200 meters of line spooled in the reels because we are not fishing extreme depths. The most important thing with this whole system is the drag; so higher end models like the Stradic CI4+ and the Soare are great reels for the job. The drags on the reels are quite reliable and consistent, this comes into play when you hook into something substantial that will make that long run, a smooth and strong drag eventually stops them. For my line, I use 4 types of braid – and they all come from Sufix. Rapinova is available from Rapala SEA, I tried a couple of

Jigheads in the 2.5-4g range are the most useful for me, even when I'm on the kayak

spools when I visited Singapore and have been quite happy with them, Sufix 832 is also a very good line and is very thin. SufixNanobriad is what I have been using a lot of lately and as the name implies, it is a fishing line geared towards this kind of fishing. The last is something I haven’t had the chance to really test out a lot, but with the couple of outings I have with it, I have been quite happy – Sufix pro8 in size PE. 4. Unlike Rapinova and Nanobraid, Sufix 832 and Pro8 have 8 carrier fibers – of the two, pro8 has pure dyneema fibers for all 8 strands, 832 has one fiber of GORE for extra abrasion resistance. I have been quite happy with these 4 lines, before getting access to the other 3, I have been using 832 for a long time and have gotten good results with them. I don’t really use leaders over 4kg (8lb) for my ultralight setups SufixInvisiline in 8, 6 and 4 have been my go to leaders for a while now and have worked very well for me.

This reel is filled with Sufix 832 braid - the CI4 construction makes it a very light weight reel that makes the combo more sensitive - I use this in deeper water mostly with 2.5g jigheads.

Lures for the summer

Summer is probably the only time in the year when I can “travel light”. Often times, I almost go with a tackleshop in my car – but in the summer, fishing is relatively simple and predictable, it’s also the time where you can be actively mobile, covering a huge area with only a handful of lures and gear with you. Of all the lures under 5g, the most versatile are the soft plastics. I know I have been harping about this for years, but one cannot discount the effectiveness of these lures – and they are deadlier in micro sizes. There

are a lot of soft plastics out in the market, and there is a ton of jig heads to choose from, however, only a few of these jigheads can stand the punishment of bigger fish, so choose carefully. I stay with pretty basic shapes for my soft plastics, straight tails, micro swimmers and prawn tail types are my top choices and in pretty basic colors, mostly natural colors – when the water is murky, I have an assortment of bright “attractor” colors that I turn to. Honestly, almost any shape tail in this size produces fish, so it’s a good idea to take a few types with you and see what the fish

like at that particular time. There are times that they hone in to specific tails, but that is quite rare. I am not fussy with colors; it’s the action I’m always after! Fishing these lures is quite easy – straight tails can be worked fast, twitching the rod tip and letting it fall to the bottom again, swimming tails can be slow rolled on or near the bottom – shrimp tails like the Storm Bulky Ring can be drifted and slowly reeled in on or close to the bottom – the magic of this lure is the tail – it doesn’t take a lot to move it, so it swims like a little shrimp or fish even without the added motion from the rod. The most important thing to consider is the weight of the jighead, I have found the most effective weights to be 2-3.5g. Which, lucky for me, VMC makes with very strong hooks in 2.5 and 3.5g weights. As summer seems to be going strong with cooler weather still pretty faraway, the opportunities despite the heat are still around – we just have to make things work and enjoy this type of fishing.

Till The Next Tide change,

Kit

The tips of rods made for ultralight fishing are made with very thin tips, making them more sensitive.

Our fishing pro who shares his experiences and expertise with OutdoorUAE through his regular column. thefishingkit@gmail.com

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TIPS & TRICKS

Words + Photos by: Pedro Silva Gomes

Having lived in Phoenix, Arizona, for the past three years and recently being in the Middle East, I have had my fair share of training/living in the heat. And while we all are affected by the heat differently, there is some information I’ve gathered that could help you deal with the heat better and maybe even take the benefits of extended periods of exposure to it. The benefits

There have been numerous different studies regarding training in the heat, one that got a lot of attention, showed a 5% jump in VO2max when measured in cool conditions and after 10-day exposure to heat (University of Oregon study on cyclists, 2010) that seemly proved there was some benefit to it but no real follow up was made as if that protocol was ever adopted. In 2012, they put elite rowers through a 5 day protocol at 40 degrees Celsius and 60% humidity – something that you will likely get exposed more often in the Middle East than in Arizona where humidity is usually very low – and they got a 1,5% improvement on their 2K rowing performance (study: https://www. 52

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ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21915701). The improvement here seemed to be a result of their body reacting to heat stress by producing more plasma, something that they had also monitored on the Oregon, 2010, test. This same study seemed to point out as moderate dehydration to be a key factor to promote this amp up on plasma production. As a FYI, higher plasma volume leads to better cardiovascular fitness, just like higher

blood cell count would if you undergo an altitude training protocol. While it seems like there’s research to back up actual benefits out of training in the heat, consensus is that training in the heat will indeed help you massively if you are preparing for a hot weather race. Yet, dehydration is something you should never force upon yourself and training in the heat requires extra attention to it. On all these studies,

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athletes were doing relatively short workouts (90-100 minutes max) and some relatively light, and knowing how we triathletes think, going for a 5 hour ride with only one bottle is always a bad idea.

Fluid needs

This is something very specific to each individual as we don’t all handle heat the same way. Always think of heat as extra stress applied to the body and every time you are exposed to it, your body has to spend extra energy and water cooling off the core temperature. How much fluid (and minerals) you lose per hour of effort also depends on how hard you are going – the harder you go, the more heat you generate added to the external one. Here is a general idea of what is average, for average conditions: • Harder, shorter efforts, the average person would be able to handle about 15oz/450ml of fluid per hour and 300mg of sodium; • Longer, more mellow efforts, you could aim for 30oz/800ml of fluid per hour and 600mg of sodium. Why more fluid+sodium when you go slower? Well, it’s all about how long you actually go and how much stress you can handle. It’s very unlikely that you keep up with 100% of your fluid losses (ever!), but the harder the effort, the harder time your body has processing fluid in your stomach. Harder intervals/races, add more stress to the body and you do have a ‘stress budget’ that you need to juggle. So, longer and slower intervals, you could tolerate more fluid and more sodium because you are applying less stress through intensity and you will likely be exercising for much longer (meaning you will be in deficit for a longer period). This values

for fluid and sodium go up quite a bit if you are training/racing in a hot environment and that’s why you train your gut to tolerate the amount of fluid and sodium you will need to ingest to keep up with the loses. As a rule of thumb, you should always think that is very, very unlikely that you overdo fluid intake, unless you drink a gallon at a time. Even then, it may take your body a while to process it but it’s still unlikely you overdo. It’s likely tho that your gut can’t handle too much to begin with but the more you practice (in training), the better you get at it, the less dehydrated you get and, ultimately, the better you perform. If you want to know exactly how much sodium or fluid you need, I’d strongly encourage you to do a sweat test with your coach or at a nearby facility. As a coach myself, and following the QT2 Systems guidelines, we would do it in a form of an 1hr bike hard(ish) test.

The tricks

There are a few tricks you may adopt if you are going to expose yourself to heat training that will help you tolerate it better. First off, be aware that it takes days (likely 8-10) to acclimate to any massive weather change so if you are going to race in hot weather like IM Kona or IM Texas, either you start preparing for it in advance or you get to the race venue with at least 10 days to work with before you have to go hard. Some examples on how to prepare at home (if it’s cold): shutting down the fan on the trainer, doing your easy sessions with a bunch of layers of clothing even if it’s not too cold outside, exposing yourself to sauna, etc. If you are not going to race but you will join a training camp or period in hot weather conditions, give yourself a little time before you go zone-all-out on the workouts. Use your heart rate monitor to track your efforts, and you may observe a 5-10 beat drift out of

JULY-AUGUST 2017 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

the normal zones (higher that is). Perceived effort will also feel harder so never look at pace or it will drive you nuts. Pace is actually the worse metric you can use under the extreme hot conditions (see example below). Re-enforcing: use your heart rate monitor at all times if you are going to run under extreme heat – it not only will help you control the effort as it may well help you.. stay alive. No joke. When trying to keep up with hydration it’s quite hard to keep up with the amount of fluids you lose under extreme conditions – even more if you are running – so always get a head start and re-hydrate post workout. Keep in mind that plain water is likely not the best to make up for deficits as it has zero electrolytes. By drinking just water you may actually be diluting the current concentration of those electrolyte on your blood stream which will force your body to flush out water – to maintain proper concentration – instead of keeping it. Pairing that plain water with a high electrolyte drink or tablet such as Nuun, will be a better way to make up for any deficit. Sports drink is still the best option since most have a good concentration of electrolytes already in it and the sugar will help effort (if you are exercising). Needless to say, you may even use sports drink for the post-workout re-hydration phase but eventually cut it down as sitting on the couch, once done, doesn’t require much carbohydrates. Lastly, I know you as a cyclist or a triathlete, will love that coffee at the end of the workout. If you feel dehydrated, pair it or opt for a 100% Orange Juice. I could go for another page about this, so I guess you will just have to trust me here. I know that coke will sound amazing as well, but also keep it mind it has zero electrolytes and (if it’s the regular one) too much simple sugar than you don’t exactly need. ■

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TIPS & TRICKS

Comparing Fitness Benefits: Words by: John T Lyons

When you compare the fitness benefits of running and cycling you must consider your own needs. Although many specialists might recommend a particular activity, the truth is that you have to take your own needs into consideration. This might mean you need to think of equipment, injury risks, your local solutions and even the time you can dedicate to each activity. Since both activities are great for a healthier lifestyle, you will need to consider what types of benefits are of interest to your own needs. The main indicators such as required equipment, weight loss, muscle gain and injury risks can give you a better understanding with what types of benefits come with running and cycling.

Basic equipment

If you`re looking to keep costs as low as possible you might be better off with running. All you need is a good pair of shoes and you are ready to go. For cycling, you will obviously need a bike and a good helmet. The latest helmet technologies for improved protection are really adding to safety. But most of the time, each sport comes with additional equipment. Both runners and cyclists need good nutrition with healthy food sources and vitamins or supplements, especially if they exercise every day. A runner might also invest in good clothing which comes with breathable materials. But cyclists also need dedicated clothing which can dry quickly as this might be a good solution for any weather condi-

tions. If you prefer to cycle indoors, you will still need some good clothing which can keep your body cooler with constant elevated heart rates.

Weight loss

There is a constant debate on which sport is better for weight loss. Even research has some conflicting results. But one study from 2014 made an interesting discovery. Although running might be better for burning calories in a short interval, cycling is better for prolonged physical activity. This is because running causes higher muscle fatigue and doesn`t allow you to keep going as much as cycling. Cycling benefits don`t stop here. The study recommends cycling as superior to running for beginners because it is easier

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on the muscles and the joints. So if you are new to these sports, you may want to start with cycling which will increase your chances of long term performance in weight loss. You can learn more about elite level cycling here.

Building muscle

Building muscle with running or cycling can be very hard to achieve if not impossible. Since exercises need to be kept in a lower repetitions range and assisted by weights to build size, trying to use running or cycling for this purpose is not recommended. If you want to build muscles you need to increase weights and keep a limit on repetitions, unlike with running, where you have thousands of reps with each movement. The same applies to cycling. You will,however, get the opportunity to tone the muscles and exercise endurance. But neither activity can be really recommended for building muscle.

consider cycling as a better alternative for minimizing these risks. Since your weight is supported by the bike, the impact on the joints is significantly reduced. This is why cycling is better if you are worried about the health of your joints. It seems that both running and cycling have good health benefits. The evidence we have thus far suggests that both should be done in moderation to avoid any longterm problems. But each sport has its own benefits. Running is easily accessible and doesn`t require too complicated equipment. Cycling is better for sustained weight loss efforts and reduced impact on mobility and joint stress. But at the same time, it is not so easily accessible if you decide to cycle outdoors. Running may seem simpler

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as you can jog around your local area or at the gym. Regardless on your chosen activity, you will have to consider that weight loss can be achieved with the right planning. Building muscle,on the other hand, is not easily achievable with either of the sports. When it comes to injury risks, cycling seems to be the recommended alternative. But whichever sport you choose, you will need to inform yourself on the basic best practices and recommendations so that you can enjoy the activity for years to come. â&#x2013;

Injury risks

When comparing the benefits of running and cycling with injury risks, you really have to think of long term impact. The immediate benefit comes with the increased joint stress, especially on the knees, with running. Many studies show the long-term impact running has on the joints of the legs. However, cycling can also have an increased injury risk, especially if you use your bike every day. As with any top level sport, there is an impact on the bones and joints. But cycling is generally considered to be safer than running. A study published in New Zealand brings an important topic into consideration. It recommends runners to learn and recognize the early symptoms associated with running injuries. This is why, if you prefer running, you need to have a minimal understanding of the associated injuries. If you feel discomfort or pain, it is time for a break from running. You may also want to

John T Lyons grew up riding the canyons of San Diego on his single speed Huffy. After a stint working for Shelby American in automotive and then in the Aerospace industry, JT started Moment Bicycles. He developed a "better way to buy a bike" using his engineering problem-solving skills. Learn more at http://momentbicycles.com

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7 facts about surfing that every beginner should know Words by: LUEX LineUpEXplorers

When you start surfing, this new universe is a huge mystery with many unknown things. You cannot imagine how you could ever paddle out when it’s pumping, catch waves, do turns or at least get shacked. But don’t be scared – every surf rookie feels you! Besides having fun, you should know some facts about surfing from the beginning. I will tell you what you should think about when you first kick things off. (Photo: Lotta and the Waves / Surfless)

spots. Once you’re hooked, there is no coming back. You will be on the search always and everywhere. Keep in mind that being landlocked is the worst thing you will ever feel.

2. Surfing needs time – a lot of time

As a beginner you should know this: Surfing is one of the most complex sports in the world. It is quite a challenge to enjoy first achievements. A ‘wipe-out‘ is what surfers call it when you don’t succeed at catching a wave and you fall. This can be totally frustrating. In surfing, you will wipe-out again and again. Even the best surfers get hit by unexpected, huge waves and wipe-out. But always remember: Never give up. Surfing will hurt you once, it will hurt you twice – but one day you will have a smile on your face that cannot be removed. You will be stoked! You will have the best feeling when you surf that one wave you will never forget. Stay positive, patient, be passionate and practice hard.

your body, thrust out your head and chest. It is very important to be flexible and powerful in the water. With this pose you just need to paddle strong and stay calm.

4. Every wave is different, you have to learn how to read them

When you make it out to green waves, there are several facts you definitely should know. The ‘line-up‘ is the place where surfers wait for waves. Always face the ocean’s horizon! There are sets, set breaks, clean up sets and usually a lot of surfers. It’s important for you to know: your playground is constantly changing. Waves have a life of their own, never controllable, just rideable. Learn how to read them, learn where you need to sit with your board and when it’s the best time to paddle further out so the set won’t hit you. Tides, wind and swells affect the waves. Make sure you know what is under you and your board. Sand, reef or rocks make different breaks for different levels of surfing. And if you don’t know – just ask. There are several apps and websites where you can check conditions and beginner friendly spots. Keep in mind that wave theory is a complex physical field, but it’s better to know at least a few basic facts.

Wipe-outs are part of the deal when learning to surf. Photo: Chill In Ericeira / E. Dibiasi

3. Cut a fine figure in the water Surfing will change your attitude. Photo: Ferrel Surf House

1. Surfing is a way of life, it’s not just a sport

When you learn to surf, you should know that it’s not just waves that will float in your way. More so, your entire attitude to life will change immediately. You will find yourself in different places looking for waves, heading to different countries, searching for perfect 56

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Surfing is not just about tanned bodies or stylish swimming costumes. When you make your way from a beginner to at least an intermediate surfer you should know how to position your body on the surfboard. First of all, close your legs. Most beginners just hang their feet next to the tail – wrong! Watch the other surfers, do it like them, put your feet together. Another mistake is posture – don’t lie on your board like a flat pancake. Tense

Every wave is different. Photo: Ferrel Surf House

5. Ignorance is dangerous

As mentioned, waves are natural, strong and wild entities that have their own rules. Always be aware that surfing is one of the most dangerous sports in the world. I don’t want

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to tell you all the stories about wipe-outs or getting kinda lost in the ocean. Even if you won’t see it from the beach, most of the time there are currents inside the water, moving in different directions. Sometimes they are very strong. In a worst case scenario, you will lose your way back to shore. Make sure your arms are strong enough so your paddle technique will bring you back again. One of the first mistakes is overestimating oneself. Little by litte, surfing needs time. As a beginner, the best thing you could do is find a surf teacher! They will tell you everything you need to know for your first sessions. Stay at a surf camp to get the most information during a short time. Portugal would be the perfect place to start your surfing career or to improve your surfing skills. If you make your way to Ericeira, you will find yourself with a range of beautiful spots for different levels. The ‘Chill In’ will guide your way during your surf holidays and will make sure that you won’t get lost in the ocean, just get lost in the place. The Surf Camp works in cooperation with Luex and is located close to Praia do Sul and Foz de Lizandro. The hosts provide you with expert local knowledge that guarantees you’ll be surfing the best waves available on any given day. If you want to go to world famous Peniche, which is known for Europes best waves, stay with the ’Ferrel Surf House’ Team. Just in case you want to watch real big waves, the guys from Ferrel will take you to the world-renowned big wave spot Nazaré. This is where surfing takes on a whole new

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level. Watching surfers charge this unimaginably huge break will give you a new found respect and appreciation for the sport and the ocean. All in all – don’t be scared, don’t lose your head, but don’t forget the risks; stay focused!

strong enough, you won’t make it to even one wave.

7. Choose the right board

Photo: Chill In Ericeira / E. Dibiasi

6. Hang loose, but remember the rules

Don’t drop in! The worst thing you could do in the water is steal someone’s wave. If you don’t have priority on the wave, stop going for it. There are some rules in the water, which you could call surf ethics. When you start surfing on your own, study and honour the surfing rules. Waves are normally meant to be ridden by only one surfer, who catches the wave closer to the peak than the others. Look right and left before you do your ‘takeoff‘. If you won’t be the one with the longest ride, you are not allowed to get in the wave. In some spots the line-up is crowded with combative surfers. In that case even free surfing becomes a competition. If you’re not

The right surf equipment is very important. Different kinds of waves demand different kinds of boards. Mellow waves, steep waves – for every undulation there is a perfect shape. As a beginner choosing the right surfboard can make the difference between having 15 or 0 waves during your session. As a beginner, you should rent a soft top with a lot of volume. Bigger boards don’t need to be paddled hard and it is easier to catch waves. Your core will find a better balance because the so called ‘foamies’ have great stability in the water and are the perfect surfboards for beginners. The knowledge about length, width and thickness will guide your way to a suitable board. Take care of your surfboard because fiberglass is very sensitive. Last life hack for today – when walking along with your board hold your leash in your hand, don’t let it drag along the ground behind you; do it properly, do it with style! ■

The perfect board for your first time. Photo: Chill in Ericeira / E. Dibiasi

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Visitors enjoying seeing a piece of history at Custom Show Emirates 2017

3 brothers (from left) Suhail, Samir and Zuhair Baluch with the “Best Military Style” trophy.

Words + Photos by: Samir Baluch

I have been restoring classic cars as a personal hobby along with my two brothers (Suhail & Zuhair), for the last five years. We three brothers have been in love with cars from quite a long time back. The first car we modified was my father's 1989 Nissan Altima. We installed body kits, replaced the engine with a Skyline RB20 engine and added in a loud sound system! During those days we were also members of the “Umm Al Quwain Motorplex.” Later in the mid 2000’s, along with my cousins we formed an off-road group called the“Al Baloushi Team”. As a team we explored almost all the deserts and wadis of the UAE. Every person owned on our team a 4x4 and we used to modify them ourselves. Every trip was an extreme adventure! The idea to get a classic car, first came to my younger brother, when he found a 1970 Datsun on an online website. At that time we had no information on how we could import the car to the UAE and by the time we did have all the required information, the Datsun was sold! Then we took more interest to search for a project which could be fun as well as challenging. We first purchased a 1975 Mini Cooper, at a very cheap price as it was totally dead and had a lot of parts missing. The previous owner had given up trying to make it run. We took the risk, purchased it and then started looking for the fault. It

took more than a month to discover it had a vacuum leak. Luck was with us and we got the Cooper running smoothly. Then we started to import parts and this increased our passion more for classic cars. A little later we came over an auction site, and found a 1950’s model Willy’s Jeep at a very reasonable price. We registered and bought the Jeep, taking on another challenge. But what we didn't know was the amount of work it needed! The whole deal was made upon a couple of images. Once it arrived we found out that the Jeep had a dead engine, a mud crusted transmission, lot of missing parts, the wrong paint job and was filled with dents all over! During weekends we all would get together for a full day enjoying playing with tools and dirtying our hands! It took us two months just to overhaul the engine. All original parts were imported from the United States for the build. Most of the time gets consumed in waiting for parts to arrive from abroad. The remaining interior and exterior had a lot of missing parts too. 80% of the parts were all imported. For the paint work, I had to get it done outside at a garage, due to safety and environmental issues. This whole project took us 7 months to complete. The whole restoration process was not only expensive but also required a lot of interest and dedication. It’s not a one man job. A lot of research was done through online forums, as we had to download maintenance manuals, refer to videos and images, take tips from people working with similar projects and we had to go through a couple of online stores, to source parts. The second expensive part is importing stuff from abroad. Getting the correct post war military tires was close to impossible!

For the paint work, I had to go through 7 paint samples just to get the matching military colour. The whole Jeep was disassembled and sand blasted. Work started off from bare metal. Every single part, including the nuts and bolts were painted to bring back the original look. A total of 9 litres of paint was consumed on the whole Jeep. Apart from this Jeep, we have successfully restored a 1975 mini cooper, a 1960 Tuktuk (rickshaw), a 1962 Vespa scooter and we are ongoing with a 1977 Toyota Celica lift back and a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1. Hopefully will have both completed before November and will have them on display at the Dubai International Motor Show in November 2017. My visit to the Custom Show 2016 in Abu Dhabi inspired me to participate in the competition. Custom Show Emirates 2017 was held from 31 March 2017 to 1st April 2017 at Abu Dhabi International Motor Show and there were more than 500 vehicles competing in different classes and people had come from different regions to participate. This show is the biggest Custom Show within the Emirates held every year. This was the first major event we had participated in and we won the "Best Military Style" trophy! The judges were walking all around the Jeep and inspecting every single thing in great detail. Looking for any flaws, but overall they left being really impressed with the complete restoration process. Then at the award ceremony, there was intense pressure as every classic enthusiast had restored their vehicle to the best of their ability and everyone had their fingers crossed. But when we were called upon the stage to receive the trophy, it was just amazing, an exciting moment. All the hard work had really paid off. We three brothers have an ambition to take this passion into a more professional level. Insha’Allah if all goes well, soon we will be opening our own Customs & Restoration workshop. ■

Enjoy your holiday whilst maintaining your beach body Words by: Nicky Holland

Many people leave the Middle East at this time of year as the temperatures soar to 50 degrees and above. As it is the summer time, you still want to look in shape and feel confident with your body right? In this article, I will give you tips and advice on how you can enjoy your holiday whilst maintaining your physical beach body appearance. The main topic I want to discuss here is calories. Each macronutrient consists of calories. Below is a quick break down: • Carbohydrates 1g = 4kcal • Proteins 1g = 4kcal • Fats 1g = 9kcal With that said, you are able to calculate your total daily intake of food and convert it into calories. The speed in which our body breaks down the calories, to be stored or used as energy depends on our individual metabolism and daily nutritional intake. When going away or travelling, many of us will relax and be more laid back with our food. When really our food is the main reason we put on weight or lose weight. We might settle for a sandwich or a burger from the service station just because we are hungry. With your goal in mind, you need to understand your macro nutrients and have an idea how many calories you are consuming on a daily basis.

The term BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate. This means how many calories your body will burn at rest. Therefore you can calculate how many calories you eat, followed by your BMR to see if you are in a positive or negative state. If you are positive, you will maintain or gain weight (depending how much) and if you are negative, you will lose weight. By knowing this, I hope it will add value and educate you when you travel to be more mindful of the calories you eat on a daily basis. Some of the options for food

aren't great when travelling so think about the calories first before you consume. The average sandwich has around 300 kcals. To burn that off alone equates to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise. Remember there are 3,500 cals in 1lb of fat. So that’s approximately 300 minutes of exercise to burn 1lb of fat. Now ask yourself, do you still want that sandwich? Think of the healthier options such as fruit or low calorie foods as a replacement. Enjoy your travels and stay fit and healthy for when you return. Nicky Holland Personal Trainer, Instagram, nicky__fitness

OUTDOORUAE

PEOPLE

Name: Zsolt Siklodi Age: 34 Nationality: Hungarian Profession: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Executive Words by: Bandana Jain Photos by: Supplied

“It is a privilege to spend time outdoors, but with every privilege comes a sense of responsibility. We need to ensure that our future generations can enjoy the only planet that we have, "opines Zsolt Siklodi, a keen trekker and at the same time, an ardent supporter of sustainability. A strong believer in the ‘leave no-trace’ policy, he stresses that whatever we take outdoors should be imperatively brought back and recycled. How did you get into trekking?

Trekking is something that started as a hobby and down the years, it became a lifestyle. At a very young age, I joined Outward Bound Romania – an outdoor com-

pany, which educates through experiential learning. After volunteering for four years, I started working full time in their office and during the weekends as an assistant instructor. This lifestyle became my passion and led me to have a profound appreciation for the great outdoors, nature and related education. This passion followed me everywhere and has become an integral part of my core being. Relocating to Dubai was a strategic move for many reasons, one of them being close to Asia, which I wanted to explore. Since December 2016, I have been volunteering at a local outdoor company, “Adventurati Outdoor” where I learn new skills and meet like-minded people.

What factors have kept you hooked to trekking all these years?

Trekking, gives me the time to savour every step on the way, where I can slow down and absorb my surroundings, it is an amazing feeling to be in unison with nature. This is very special for me as I spend most of my time working in an office and as soon as I am outdoors I can start enjoying what I am passionate about.

Which has been your most memorable trek and why?

All routes have been unique in their own way. Even if you re-do a previous trek, the weather, nature, surrounding, people would still be different. If I need to choose an alltime favourite, it would have to be this year’s Nepal trek - my first visit to Nepal (hopefully, many more to come), where we trekked to an altitude of 4200m with friends from Vietnam. Having had the chance to get into the ‘backyard’ of the majestic Himalayan range was a rather empowering and fulfilling experience.

What does your training involve?

Having time for several activities requires dedication and this challenges me in several ways. My ideal week consists of swimming, cycling, running, gym and yoga. Depending on time and energy, I incorporate a session

to climb Mt. Elbrus in Russia and Mt. Kazbek in Georgia are also in the pipeline in near future. My long-term goal however, is to climb all seven summits in the world, leaving Mt. Everest for the last, which will require a lot more experience and financial commitment.

How do you intend to take your enthusiasm further?

of stair climbing(going up and down 40 flights of stairs) with weights in my backpack. I try to make my training sessions interesting by combining two or more types and also by training in different surroundings. Nutrition forms an important element of my training. I feel the connection to my body and listen inwardly, thereby consciously making the right food choices. I have discovered all these years that it is not the quantity, but the quality of the food that makes all the difference.

What challenges have you come up against? How have you kept yourself motivated despite these challenges? My biggest challenge at present is ‘time’, with most people having the same issue. Juggling a full-time job and a consultancy

business with a voracious appetite for outdoor activities calls for great managerial skills and an efficient balancing act. The challenge, therefore lies in striking the right balance between my professional life and my passion for adventure. Sometimes, when I need a greater push, it does help having like-minded friends who give me that extra energy.

What is next on your cards?

My next trek destination is Everest Base Camp (5380m) in September. This incorporates a fundraising event where we need to raise 20,000 AED each for two charities, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which aims at helping Syrian refugees and the second one, Mission Himalaya Children's Eco Farm Home. Plans

Whilst I am working towards my targets, I would also like to inspire the younger generation to spend more time outdoors, something that can be referred to as ‘learning through experience’. I intend to share my experiences through my travel blog www. travelntell.net which is currently in the final stages of development. Travelers, hikers, enthusiasts will be able to use this platform to share their experiences with the world. One of my other passions is photography, which enables me to capture moments that I can share with my followers – images that might inspire people to visit these places.

Has trekking brought about any positive changes in your personality?

Trekking for me, has opened doors of a different dimension, where I have met interesting people from varying cultures. I feel inspired by nature- may that be alone or with friends. Whilst working at the outdoor company, we organized one to two day treks with children, wherein we slept in a cave or under the stars. Observing them work together towards a common goal was one of my favourite exercises. This is when I realized that helping others reach their potential makes me truly happy.

You are a firm believer in the 'leave no trace' policy. What efforts do you make to achieve this?

In my full-time job I am part of the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) committee, where I learn a lot about the environmental challenges that humanity faces. I feel the need to share my learning with my colleagues and friends. Educating my friends and colleagues to change their day-to-day habits is one of the challenges. Even a small change, like eating less take-away or paying more attention to which vendors use paper instead of plastic does make a huge difference. In the outdoors, I brief friends and participants that whatever we take with us needs to come back with us. In addition, I usually have an extra bin bag with me, which I use to collect rubbish that other people have left behind. ■

OUTDOORUAE

First Emirati woman to summit Denali, highest mountain in North America Words + Photos by: Hanady Al Hashmi

In June this year, I embarked on an Alaskan expedition in North America to climb Denali, meaning “The Great One” in the Native Indian Language. Formerly it was named Mt. McKinley after the former U.S. President William McKinley, it was later changed in 2015 back to Denali. Denali is a very sought after mountains as it is the highest summit in North American, standing at 6,190 meters above sea level, and is one of the Seven Summits of the world (The Highest Peak on each of the 7 Continents). Known for its unfriendly and unstable weather conditions, from cold and dry to very wet, people can get anything from sun burns, wind burns to frostbite and hypothermia. The expedition started at Anchorage, where we met the guides and other team members for a briefing to discuss expectations and safety guidelines while on the expedition. Boxes of snacks were also laid out on tables for us to compile our daily lunches and snacks. A gear check was also done in our rooms to make sure we had all that we needed and we left anything we didn’t need behind. Next day we drove to Talkeetna, a small Alaskan village, where we would take a small sea plane to the base camp located at Kahiltna Glacier. Weather was bad this day, so this was a no fly day, we booked into a cabin and slept the night waiting for the go ahead the next day. This is very common, they call it the “Talkeetna hang”. Once we got the go ahead, we went to the small air base and loaded up the plane with all our personal gear, food and group gear. The plane took us over the Alaskan range, and we could see from the top all the green turn into white with lots of snow and crevasses! It took 30 minutes till we landed at the base camp, where we were greeted with our first views of other people’s tents set up, and people waiting to take the plane back to Talkeetna. We set up our tents and took a nap before we had to wake up at 11pm to walk through the glacier to our next camp (Camp 1) on our snowshoes. Our guide wanted to wait until it got a bit colder so that the snow bridges were firm enough to walk over and not collapse and have climbers fall into crevasses. This also happened for the following night up to our next camp (Camp 2). During these two past days we had to pull a sled, which weighed about 40 kg and another 20 kg on our backpacks. These with the days, become

less, as we ate the food and thought of ways to get rid of items we don’t need because as it becomes steeper, it gets harder to carry so much of a load. We then do “carry days”, where we carry some of our loads that we don’t need immediately, bury them closer to the next camp and then come back down. We then pick them up later once we reach the next camp. A week into the expedition, I got a chest infection, which made it really hard to breathe and walk up the mountain, especially with the altitude, my chest was heavy and I coughed endlessly. The guides checked on me to make sure it wasn’t HAPE(High Altitude Pulmonary Edema – Fluid on the Lungs). I had a hard time sleeping at night, I got a fever, but I tried to drink as much fluids as I can and I was given a course of antibiotics for four days, however, it wouldn’t get any better until I got off the mountain. I was fortunate and strong enough physically to continue with the expedition. Luckily, we had great weather in the upper camps, so warm actually that one layer was enough. We had a well-deserved rest day and sat outside and overlooked the other peaks and glaciers around us and even had a small snowball fight with another team one day! Finally, what I had been waiting for, getting rid of the snowshoes and sled and climb up the head wall using fixed lines, from this point on, we wore our crampons and we used an ascender to climb higher-up the fixed ropes. We did this twice, one day to bury our snacks higher up and then again to move to High Camp, which was the last camp before our summit push. We reached High camp a day later and had a rest day before summiting, preparing mentally and physically for the long summit push. The next day we woke up early and started moving at 9:30am, we started off by traversing an area called “The Autobahn” which is very much exposed and steep and had to clip in to fixed snow pickets to avoid falling. In the beginning, it was a bit cold and we had to make sure to keep our hands warm and face protected from the wind, it took about 4-5 hours for the weather to get better. After about 10 ten hours we reached the summit. We took some quick pictures and started our descent down, the journey was not over. I took 200mg of caffeine to stay focused while

coming down as I still had to secure myself using the pickets. The descent took about 4 hours. Upon reaching my tent after such a tough day I had some dinner, drank water and fell into a deep sleep! After the summit we still had three more days to get back down to the glacier and get a plane out back to town. The snow wasn’t that firm and we fell countless times in deep snow, luckily not in any crevasses. It was snowing one day, so we took a break, it was pointed out that my down jacket was wet, I didn’t even realize, not only mine, but everyone else felt cold and wet and we decided to spend the night and set up camp, I slept in wet clothes so that they would dry from the heat of my body, it worked but it was still very hard to sleep. Finally, we reached base camp and we found lots of people waiting for their flight out of there. It was such a joy to see our plane arrive, pack the plane with our loads and takeoff from the glacier, all the white and crevasses below us turned to green, lots of trees and water and finally the air base. First thing we did once in town was take a shower, have lunch then book a cabin for us to stay.

Logistics:

• It took us 15 mountain days to reach the summit and another 3 to get back down. Total 18 mountain days. • This season saw very tough weather conditions and storms over camp 3. Summit success this season was about 30%. We were very lucky with the weather. • Throughout the expedition, we always had to be roped up unless in camp, this was in order not to fall in crevasses. • There was always sunlight, this was because of being so close to the Arctic Circle, it was hard to sleep at night sometimes, and I didn’t bring an eye mask, so I’d use my buff as one. • Every day was tough, from the loads we had to carry, from the windy and cold weather, afraid of frostbite, we had to shake and swing our hands to warm them up. • It took me 5 months of training to get me physically fit for this mountain, I did everything from stair training, pulling tires in the desert, both while carrying a 20 kg backpack, wall climbing, weight lifting, cycling, swimming, running, hiking in the weekends etc. Some days I would training before work and after work for 2-3 hours. ■

MIDDLE EAST’S OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JULY-AUGUST 2017 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

UAE DIRECTORY General Sports Equipment Megastores

Adventure HQ, Dubai Times Square Center, Sheikh Zayed Rd, toll free: 800-ADVENTURE, +971 43466824; The Beach on JBR, Dubai: +971 44304419; Dalma Mall, Abu Dhabi: +971 24456995, www.adventurehq.ae Decathlon, Dubai, Mirdif City Centre, +971 42839392, www.decathlon.com Go Sport, The Dubai Mall: +971 43253595; Abu Dhabi Mall: +971 26454595; Bawabat Al Sharq Mall, Abu Dhabi: +971 25868240; Yas Mall: +971 25650812; MOE: +971 4395 8951, www.go-sport.com Peiniger BMT Est., CBD, Khalifa Street, Yateem Optician Bldg., Abu Dhabi, UAE, +971 26262332, www.peiniger.org Sun and Sand Sports, most shopping centres, +971 43599905; Online store: +971 43149001; Retail store: +971 43504400, http://en-ae.sssports.com

Adventure tours and desert safaris

Alpha Tours, P.O. Box 25718, 27th Floor, Burlington Tower, Business Bay, Dubai, +971 47019111, www.alphatoursdubai.com Dadabhai Travel, SR 1&2, GF, Gulf Towers, Oud Metha Rd. Dubai, +971 43885566, www.dadabhaitravel.ae Desert Rangers, P.O. Box 33501, Dubai UAE, +971 44569944 or 507035111 www.desertrangers.com Desert Road Tourism, Office 503, 5th Flr., Al Khor Plaza, Dubai, +971 42959429, www.desertroadtours.com Dreamdays, First Floor Rm. 107 Ibn Battuta Gate (Offices) Sheikh Zayed Rd., Dubai +971 44329392 or 44329393, www.dreamdays.ae Dream Explorer LLC, JLT, Dubai, P.O. Box 214576, +971 44563390 www.dreamexplorerdubai.com Dubai Relax Travel, P.O. Box 37459, National Towers: Churchill Tower Suite #614, Business Bay, Dubai, +971 528996307, www.dubairelaxtours.com Explorer Tours, Umm Ramool, Dubai, +971 42861991, www.explorertours.ae Gulf for Good, P.O. Box 506006, 1/F, Building 4, Dubai International Humanitarian City, Dubai, +971 43680222, www.gulf4good.org Gulf Ventures, Dnata Travel Centre, +971 44045880, www.gulfventures.com MMI Travel LLC, Mezzanine Floor, Dnata Travel Centre, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 4 4045999, www.theemiratesgroup.com Net Group, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, +971 26794656, www.netgroupauh.com Oasis Palm Dubai, P.O. Box 181258 Dubai, Office 404, Royal Plaza Building Al Rigga Street, +971 42628889 or 42686826, www.opdubai.com Rahhalah, Shata Tower – 27th Floor, Office No. 2711, Media City, Dubai, +971 44472166, www.rahhalah.com Clubs Abu Dhabi Fishing, Camping, Kayaking, & Adventure Club, +971 5 04920860, mohammed.almahrouky@gmail.com

Air

Balloon Adventures Emirates, Office 123 Oasis Centre, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43884044, www.ballooning.ae Dubai Paragliders, +971 552120155 or 552250193, www.microaviation.org Jazirah Aviation Club, Ras Al Khaimah, +971 72446416 or 555531318, www.jac-uae.net Seawings, Dubai,+971 48070708, www.seawings.ae Skydive Dubai, The Palm: Al Seyahi St, Dubai Marina, +971 43778888, www.skydivedubai.ae

Boating & Sailing

Manufacturer Al Fajer Marine, Dubai, Al Quoz, +971 43235181, www.alfajermarine.com Al Jeer Marina, RAK border Musandam, +971 72682333 or 504873185, www.aljeerport.ae Al Shaali Marine, Ajman, +971 67436443, www.alshaalimarine.com Al Yousuf Industrial, LLC, +971 4 3474111, www.aym.ae,

yamboats@alyousuf.com Elite Pearl Charter, P.O. Box 214173, Saeed Tower 1, office #3102, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43889666, www.elitepearlcharter.com Gulf Craft, P.O. Box 666, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street, Ajman, +971 67406060, www.gulfcraftinc.com Distributors and Dealers Art Marine LLC, Al Quoz Industrial Area, Sheikh Zayed Road, 3rd Interchange +971 43388955, www.artmarine.ae or www.artmarinechandlery.com Azure Marine Dubai, +971 4 3706886, www.azuremarine.net Luxury Sea Boats, Showroom #8, The Curve Building, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 4 3284629, www.luxuryseaboats.com Macky Marine LLC, Box 37594, Ground Floor, Marina Yatch Club, Office # 5, Dubai Marina, Jebel Ali, Dubai, +971 505518317, www.mackymarine.com Nautilus Yachts, Sharjah, +971 553419494 or 503419494, www.nautilusyachts.com The Boat House, P.O. Box 71628, Al Quoz, Dubai, +971 43405152, www.theboathouse.ae UAEBoats4Sale, Dubai Marina, +971 42932465, 567001801, www.uaeboats4sale.com Western Marine, P.O. Box 52938, Sheikh Zayed Road, Knotika Marine Mall, Dubai, +971 44327870 Equipment Ali Khalifah Moh Al Fuqaei, Ground Floor, Tara Hotel Building, Abdul Nasser Square Street, Dubai, +971 42263220 Al Masaood Marine, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43468000, www.masaoodmarine.com Blue Waters Marine, Shop 11, The Curve Bldg., Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43808616 or 553899995, www.bluewatersmarine.com Extreme Marine, Dubai Marina Branch, +971 43992995, www.extrememarine-me.com Japan Marine / D1 Marine, WS # 110, Dubai Maritime City, +971 4 4426395 or 55 1666035, www.japanmarine.co Rineh Emirates Trading LLC, Al Quoz, Dubai, www.rinehemiratesme.com, +971 43391512 Repairs and Maintenance Extreme Marine, Jebel Ali Branch, Jebel Ali, Industrial Area, P.O. Box 97705, Dubai, +971 48830777, www.extrememarine-me.com Rineh Emirates, Sheikha Sana Warehouse 1, Al Quoz, +971 43391512, SNS Marine, Dubai Creek & Yacht Club, Dubai, +971 501405058, www.snsmarine.ae The Boat House, P.O. Box 71628, Al Quoz, Dubai, +971 43405152, www.theboathouse.ae Cruise Operators Al Bateen Marina, Abu Dhabi, +971 26665491

Al Marsa Travel & Tourism, P.O. Box 32261, Sharjah, UAE, +971 65441232; Dibba, Musandam, Oman, +968 26836550 Bateaux Dubai, Dubai Creek opposite the British Embassy, +971 48145553 Bristol Middle East, Marina Heights Tower, Dubai Marina – Marina Walk,Dubai, +971 4368 2480, www.bristol-middleeast.com Captain Tony’s, Yas Marina, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, +971 26507175, www.captaintonys.ae Delma Industrial Supply and Marine Services, Al Bateen Jetty, Abu Dhabi, +971 26668153, www.delmamarine.net Eden Yachting, Dubai Marina, +971 43282930, 50 3716377, www.edenyachting.com Emirates Yatching, P.O. Box 8380, Dubai, +971 42826683 El Mundo, Dubai, +971 505517406, www.elmundodubai.com Four Star Travels and Tourism, Dubai, +971 561012599, www.4startravels.com 4 Yatch Chartering LLC, Toll Free: 800 YACHT (92248), Office #4, Dubai Marina Yatch Club, Dubai, www.4yachtchartering.ae Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa, Al Aqah Beach, Fujairah, +971 92449888, www.rotana.com Ghantoot Marina & Resort, Abu Dhabi, +971 529933153, www.ghantootmarina.com Happy Days Sea Cruising LLC, Dubai, +971 48706668, www.happydaysdubai.com LY Catamaran, Bur Dubai, +971 566506683, www.lycatamaran.com Marine Concept, P.O. Box 282586, Office 611, Al Barsha Business Centre, Dubai, +971 43958022, 559603030 www.marine-charter-concept.com Nautica1992, Habtoor Grand Beach Resort & Spa, Autograph Collection, Dubai Marina, +971 504262415, www.nautica1992.ae Noukhada Adventure Company - P.O. Box 73373, C/O Ali & Sons Real Estate LLC, Plot No. 29, Abu Dhabi – Al Ain Rd, Um Al Nar, Abu Dhabi, UAE - +971 25581889 www.noukhada.ae RAK Marine LLC, Ras Al Khaimah City Hilton Marina, +971 72066410, 504912696, 507682345 Sea Hunters Passenger Yachts & Boats Rental, Dubai Marina, +971 42951011 Smoke Dragon of London Yacht, Abu Dhabi International Marine & Sports Club, +971 507011958 or 504546617 Summertime Marine Sports, Dubai, +971 42573084 The Club, Abu Dhabi, +971 26731111, www.the-club.com The Yellow Boats LLC, Dubai Marina Walk – opposite Spinneys, Intercontinental Hotel Marina, 800892, www.theyellowboats.com Marinas Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club, Abu Dhabi, Breakwater, +971 26815566, www.adimsc.com Abu Dhabi Marina, Abu Dhabi, Tourist Club Area, +971 26440300 Al Jeer Marina, RAK Border, Musandam +971 72682333 or 504873185, www.aljeerport.ae Al Wasl Charter & Fishing, Airport Road, Al Qwais Bldg., Off. 207, Dubai, UAE, +971 42394760 or 42959477, www.cruiseindubai.com Dubai Creek Marina, Deira, Dubai, +971 43801234, www.dubaigolf.com Dubai International Marine Sports Club, Dubai Marina, +971 43995777, www.dimc.ae Dubai Marina Yacht Club, Dubai, +971 43627900, www.dubaimarinayachtclub.com Dubai Maritime City Harbour Marina, Dubai, +971 43455545 Dubai Offshore Sailing Club, Dubai, +971 43941669, www.dosc.ae Emirates Palace Marina, Abu Dhabi, +971 26907725 Fujairah International Marine Club, Fujairah, +971 92221166, www.fimc.ae Intercontinental Abu Dhabi Marina, Al Bateen, Intercontinental Hotel, Abu Dhabi, +971 26666888, www.intercontinental.com Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa Marina, Jebel Ali, Dubai, +971 48145555 www.jebelali-international.com Pavilion Marina, Dubai, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, +971 44068800 Umm Al Quwaim Marine Sports Club, Umm Al Quwaim, +971 67666644, www.uaqmarineclub.com

Dragon Boat Groups Dubai Dawn Patrol Dragon Boating, Dubai, +971 508795645, www.facebook.com/DubaiDawnPatrol Dubai Diggers, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, pier next to 360, Dubai, +971 501547175, www.dubai-diggers.com UAE Dragon Boat Association, +971 507634008, www.dubaidragonboat.com

Camping & Hiking

Equipment Blingmytruck.com, +971 505548255, www.blingmytruck.com Gulf Camping, Dubai, UAE, +971 551222252 or 502550666, www.gulfcamping.com Jack Wolfskin, Al Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi, +971 24437802 Tresspass, 2nd floor above ice rink, The Dubai Mall, +971 43398801 Urban Peak, PO Box 9587, Office 502E, Ibn Battuta Gate Offices, Dubai, +971 44548805, www.urbanpeak.com Tour Operators Arabia Outdoors, Dubai, +971 559556209, www.arabiaoutdoors.com Absolute Adventure, Dubai, +971 43926463, www.adventure.ae Desert Road Tourism, Al Khor Plaza – 503, Dubai, +971 42959428, www.arabiatours.com Libra Travel & Tourism LLC, +971 43397700, www.facebook.com/ LibraTravelDubai Mountain High Middle East, Dubai, +971 506595536, www.mountainhighme.com Sheesa Beach, Musandam, Dibba, +971 50336046, www.sheesabeach.com

Caving

Mountain High Middle East, Dubai, +971 43480214, www.mountainhighme.com

Climbing

Equipment Adventure HQ, Sheikh Zayed Rd., Dubai Times Square Center, toll free: 800-ADVENTURE, www.adventurehq.ae Barracuda Fishing and Outdoor, Street 13A 1, Al Safa 1, Dubai, +971 43466558, www.barracudadubai.com Global Climbing Trading LLC, Dubai Investment Park 1, Dubai, +971 48829361, www.globalclimbing.com Jack Wolfskin, Al Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi +971 24437802, www.jack-wolfskin.com Services Absolute Adventure, Dubai, +971 43926463, www.adventure.ae Adventure HQ, Dubai Times Square Center, Sheikh Zayed Rd, toll free: 800-ADVENTURE, www.adventurehq.ae

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MIDDLE EAST’S OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Diving

T&C Apply

Al Shaheen Adventure, Abu Dhabi, +971 28137444, www.alshaheenme.com Arabia Outdoors, Dubai, +971 559556209, www.arabiaoutdoors.com Dorell Sports Management, Dubai World Trade Centre, +971 43065061, www.climbingdubai.com E-Sports UAE, Dubai, +971 43697817, www.esportsuae.com The Club, Abu Dhabi, +971 26731111, www.the-club.com Information UAE Climbing, +971 506456491, www.uaeclimbing.com

Mountain Biking & Cycling

Equipment/Dealers Bikers JLT, Unit H6, Cluster H, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, UAE, +971 526221888 Cycle Sports, Shop No. 1, Al Waleed Bldg., Al Barsha 1, Dubai, +971 43415415, Fun Ride Sports, 301, 3rd floor, Mushrif Mall, Abu Dhabi, Rm. 4, Mezzanine floor, C-13 Bldg., Khalifa City A, Abu Dhabi, +971 24455838, www.funridesports.com Micah’s Bike Shop, Warehouse No.4 6th St. Al Quoz 3, Dubai, +971 43805228 Probike, Dubai, Al Barsha 1, +971 43255705, www.probike.ae Rage Shop, Al Ghurair Centre: +971 4294 8634; MOE: +971 43413388; Al Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi: +971 24437617, Dubai Mall: +971 44341549, www.rage-shop.com Revolution Cycles, Shop G05, Apex Atrium, Motor City, Dubai, +971 43697441, www.rcdxb.com Ride Bike Shop, Sheikh Zayed Road: +971 43395602; Mirdif City Centre: +971 42840038; Al Seef Village Mall, Abu Dhabi: +971 26337172, www.ridebikeshop.com Sportz Unlimited, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, + 971 43388644 or 43391333 Tamreen Sports LLC, Khalifa Street, Abu Dhabi, +971 26222525, www.tamreensports.com The Cycle Hub, Motor City, Dubai, +971 505528872 or 44256555, www.thecyclehub.com Trek Bicycle Store, Seih Al Salam, Al Qudra Road, Dubai, +971 48327377; Shop #5, Reemas Building Al Quoz 1, Exit 46/47, Sheikh Zayed Road Dubai, +971 43211132, www.trekbikes.ae Trikke UPT, P.O. Box 53527, Dubai, + 971 43434499; P.O. Box 33869, Abu Dhabi, +971 26333377, www.trikkeme.net Wolfi’s Bike Shop, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43394453, www.wbs.ae Operator Absolute Adventure, Dubai, +971 43926463, www.adventure.ae, info@adventure.ae Clubs Abu Dhabi Tri Club, www.abudhabitriclub.com Cycle Safe Dubai, Dubai Autodrome www.cyclechallenge.ae Dubai Roadsters, +971 43394453, www.dubairoadsters.com

OUTDOORUAE

Equipment Al Boom Marine, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, +971 42894858, www.alboommarine.com Al Hamur Marine and Sports Equipment, Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai, +971 43444468 Al Masaood Marine, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43468000, www.masaoodmarine.com Al Yousuf Motors, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43390621, www.aym.ae/yamaha Blue Waters Marine, +971 43808616, Dubai, www.bluewatersmarine.com Gulf Marine Sports, Abu Dhabi, +971 26710017, www.gulfmarinesports.com Premiers for Equipment, Sheikh Zayed 1st. Road, Abu Dhabi, +971 26665226, www.premiers-uae.com Dive Shop.ae, Building #123, Street 26, Area 369, Al Quoz Industrial Area 4, Dubai, +971 43414940, www.diveshop.ae Scuba 2000, Al Bidiya Beach, Fujairah, +971 92388477, www.scuba-2000.com Diving Centres Al Boom Diving (equipment), Dubai, Al Wasl Rd, +971 43422993, www.alboomdiving.com Al Jeer Marina, RAK Border, Musandam, +971 72682333, www.aljeerport.ae Al Mahara Dive Center, near Muroor St. across from main bus terminal, +971 26437377, info@divemahara.com, www.divemahara.com Arabian Diver, Hilton Marine, Ras Al Khaimah, +971 72226628 or 502428128 www.arabiandiver.com Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters, Al Bateen Marina Resort, Abu Dhabi, +971 506146931, www.fishabudhabi.com Coastal Technical Divers, glenn@coastaltechnicaldivers.com, www.coastaltechnicaldivers.com Deep Blue Sea Diving, International City, Dubai, +971 44308246, www.diveindubai.com Desert Islands, Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE, +971 28015454, www.divemahara.com Divers Down, +971 559888687, Dubai; Fujairah, Rotana Al Aqah Hotel Resort & Spa, +971 92370299, www.diversdownuae.com Emirates Divers Centre, Abu Dhabi, near Meena Fish Market, +97126432444, www.edc-ad.ae Freediving UAE, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, +971 506130486 contactus@freedivinguae.com, www.freedivinguae.com Freestyle Divers, Al Corniche Street, Dibba, Fujairah, +971 504514259, www.freestyledivers.me Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa - Al Aqah Beach, Al Aqah Beach, Fujairah, +971 92449888, www.rotana.com Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, Dibba Road, Fujairah, +971 92449000, www.lemeridien-alaqah.com Neptune Diving, +971 504347902, www.neptunedivingcentre.com Pavilion Dive Centre (equipment), Dubai, +971 44068828 Scuba 2000, Al Bidiya Beach, Fujairah, +971 92388477, www.scuba-2000.com Scuba UAE.com, +971 502053922, www.scubauae.com 7 Seas Diving Center, Khorfakkan, +971 92387400, www.7seasdivers.com Sharjah Wanderers Dive Club, Sharjah, +971 506683430, www.bsac406.com Sheesa Beach, Dibba, Musandam, +971 503336046, www.sheesabeach.com Sky & Sea Adventures, Dubai, Hilton, Jumeirah Beach Road, +971 43999005, www.watersportsdubai.com Clubs Atlantis Underwater Photography Club, Dubai, +971 44263000 Desert Sports Diving Club, Dubai, www.desertsportsdivingclub.net Emirates Diving Association, Diving Village, Al Shindagha, Dubai, +971 43939390, www.emiratesdiving.com Filipino SCUBA Divers Club (FSDC), Dubai, UAE, +971 566952421, www.facebook.com/FSDCuae Freediving UAE, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, contactus@freedivinguae.com, www.freedivinguae.com Sharjah Wanderers Dive Club, Sharjah, +971 507840830, www.bsac406.com

JULY-AUGUST 2017 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Fishing & Kayaking

Equipment Al Boom Marine, Abu Dhabi & Dubai, +971 42894858, www.alboommarine.com Al Hamur Marine and Sports Equipment, Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai, +971 43444468 Al Masaood Marine, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43468000, www.masaoodmarine.com Al Yousuf Motors, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Rd, +971 43390000, www.aym.ae/yamaha Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters, Al Bateen Marina Resort, Abu Dhabi, +971 506146931, www.fishabudhabi.com Barracuda Fishing and Outdoor, Dubai, Street 13A 1, Al Safa 1, +971 43466558, www.barracudadubai.com Blue Waters Marine, Shop 11, The Curve Bldg., Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43808616 or 553899995, www.bluewatersmarine.com Challenging Adventure, Wadi Al Bih Ras Al Khaimah, +971 561060798 or 44538386, contactus@challengingadventure.com Global Climbing Trading LLC, Dubai Investment Park 1, Dubai, +971 48829361, www.globalclimbing.com Ocean Active, Dubai, Garden Centre, +971 502898713, www.oceanactive.com Operators Absolute Adventure, Dubai, +971 43926463, www.adventure.ae Al Boom Diving, Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, Fujairah, +971 43422993 Al Hamra Marina and Yacht Club, Al Hamra, Ras Al Khaimah, +971 72432274, www.alhamramarina.com Al Mahara Dive Center, Downtown Abu Dhabi, +971 501118125, www.divemahara.com Al Wasl Charter & Fishing, Airport Road, Al Qwais Bldg., Off. 207, Dubai, UAE, +971 42394760 or 42959477, www.cruiseindubai.com Al Shaheen Adventure, Abu Dhabi, +971 26429995, www.alshaheenme.com Al Wasl Charter & Fishing (Al Wasl Passenger Yachts and Boats Rental LLC), Airport Road, Al Owais Building, Dubai, +971 42394761, www.cruiseindubai.com Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters, Al Bateen Marina Resort, +971 506146931, www.fishabudhabi.com Arabia Outdoors, Dubai, +971 559556209, www.arabiaoutdoors.com Barracuda Diving Centre, Fujairah International Marine Club, +971 503366224 Belevari Marine, Abu Dhabi, +971 26594144 Captain Tony’s, Yas Marina, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, +971 26507175, www.captaintonys.ae Fun Beach Water Sports, Dubai, +971 507050433 or 506947764, www.seaworlddsf.com Happy Days Sea Cruising LLC, Dubai, +971 48706668, 503960202, www.happydaysdubai.com Hiltonia Beach Club, Hilton Abu Dhabi Hotel, Abu Dhabi, +971 26811900 Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, Dibba Road, Fujairah, +971 92449000, www.lemeridien-alaqah.com Nautica 1992, Dubai, +971 504262415, www.nautica1992.ae Noukhada Adventure Company, Villa 332/7, Al Meena Street, Abu Dhabi, +971 25581889, www.noukhada.ae Ocean Active, +971 504592259, www.oceanactive.com Sheesa Beach, Dibba, Musandam, +971 503336046, www.sheesabeach.com Soolyman Sport Fishing, Umm Suquiem, Fishing Port No. 2, Jumeirah Beach, +971 508866227, 508866228 or 503402379, www.soolymansportfishing.com Summertime Marine Sports, Dubai, +971 42573084, www.summertimemarine.com Xclusive Yachts, Dubai, Dubai Marina, +971 44327233, www.xclusiveyachts.com Clubs Abu Dhabi Camping, Fishing & Kayaking Club, mohamed.almahrouky@gmail.com Dubai Surfski & Kayak Club, Kitesurfers’ Beach, Umm Suqeim 1, Dubai, +971 554986280, www.dskc.hu

General Sports Equipment Distributors

Adventure HQ, Dubai Times Square Center, Sheikh Zayed Rd, Toll free: 800-ADVENTURE, www.adventurehq.ae

Al Yousuf Motors, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43390621, www.aym.ae/yamaha 800 Sport, Al Quoz, Dubai +971 43467751, www.800sport.ae Flip Flop Arabia, +971 556881793, 501084010, www.flipfloparabia.com Global Climbing Trading LLC, Dubai Investment Park 1, Dubai +971 48829361, www.globalclimbing.com Highbury Trading FZE LLC, P.O. Box 16111, RAK Free Trade Zone Authority, Ras Al Khaima, +971 526799506, www.highburytrade.com Jack Wolfskin, Al Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi, +971 24437802 Ocean Sports FZE, +971 559352735, www.kitesurfsup.com Picnico General Trading, near Sharaf DG Metro Station, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43951113 Portable Shade UAE, Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE, +971 508897125, www.portable-shade.net Sport in Life Distribution, Nad Al Hammar Rd., Ras Al Khor, Dubai, UAE, +971 42896001 or 42896002, info@sportinlife.ae, www.sportinlife.ae Tresspass, The Dubai Mall 2nd floor above ice rink, +971 43398801

Horse Riding

Equipment Al Asifa Horse Equestrian Equipment & Requisites Trading P.O. Box 77282, AL Khawanij 1st , Dubai, +971 554733110, www.asifa.ae Black Horse LLC, Baniyas West, Near Empost Abu Dhabhi, +971 25866205, www.blackhorseuae.com Bonjour Equestrian Supplies, Nad Al Hammar Rd., Ras Al Kho, Dubai, UAE, +971 42896001, +971 42896002, info@bonjourequestrian.com, www.bonjourequestrian.com Cavalos Equine Care and Supplies, 16th Street, Al Khalidiyah, Abu Dhabi, +917 22222433, www.cavalosuae.com Emirta Horse Requirement Centre, Sheik Zayed Rd., Dubai, +971 43437475, www.emirtahorse.com Equestrian Clubs/Centres Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi, +971 24455500, www.adec-web.com Al Ahli Riding School, Al Amman Street, Dubai-Sharjah Rd., +971 42988408, www.alahliclub.info Al Forsan International Sports Resort, Abu Dhabi, +971 25568555, www.alforsan.com Al Jiyad Stables, Behind Dubai International Endurance City, Dubai, +971 505995866, info@aljiyad.com, www.aljiyad.com Al Sahra Desert Resort Equestrian Centre, Dubai, +971 44274055, equestrian.centre@alsahra.com Desert Equestrian Club, Mirdif, Dubai, +971 503099770 or 501978888 Desert Palm Riding School, Near Al Awir Road (going to Hatta-Oman), Dubai, +971 43238010, www.dubaipoloclub.com Dubai Polo Academy, Dubai, +971 508879847, www.dubaipoloacademy.com Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, Dubai, Arabian Ranches, +971 43618111, www.poloclubdubai.com Emirates Equestrian Centre, Dubai, +971 505587656, www.emiratesequestriancentre.com Ghantoot Polo & Racing Club, Exit 399, Abu Dhabi/ Dubai Highway, Abu Dhabi, +971 25629050, www.grpc.ae Golden Stables Equestrian Club, Al Khawaneej, Dubai, (Nouri) +971 555528182 Hoofbeatz, located just inside the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, Dubai, +971 569424551, www.hoofbeatz.com Mushrif Equestrian and Polo Club, Mushrif Park, Al Khawaneej Road, Dubai, +971 42571256, www.mushrifec.com Rahal Ranch, Al Wathba Racing Area, Abu Dhabi, +971 565066741, www.rahalranch.com Riding for the Disabled, Dubai, lessons@rdad.ae, www.rdad.ae, Sharjah Equestrian & Racing Club, Sharjah, Al Dhaid Road, +971 65311188, www.serc.ae

MIDDLE EAST’S OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Jet Ski Dealers

Al Masaood Marine, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, +971 43468000, www.masaoodmarine.com Al Yousuf Motors, Sheikh Zayed Rd., Dubai, +971 43390621, www.aym.ae/yamaha Japan Marine General Trading, Al Garhoud Road, Liberty Building, Dubai, +971 44426395, uday@japanmarine.jp, www.japanmarine.co Liberty Kawasaki, Interchange 4, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, Direct: +971 45019442, 45019412 or 43419341, www.libertykawasaki.com

Dealers Al Badayer Rental (Rental), Dubai-Hatta Road, +971 68861161 or 507842020, www.albadayerrental.com Al Shaali Moto, Ras Al Khor, +971 43200009, www.alshaalimoto.com Al Yousuf Motors, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Rd, +971 43390621, www.aym.ae/yamaha Golden Desert Motorcycles, P.O. Box 47912, E-44 Hatta road, Al Badayer Madam, Sharjah, +971 529484616 or 505 033 800 Just Gas It, Hatta Rd., Al Aweer, Dubai, UAE, +971 559031664, www.JustGasIt.net KTM, Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, exit 42, +971 43468999, www.ktm.com Liberty Kawasaki, Interchange 4, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, Direct: +971 45019442, 45019412 or 43419341, www.libertykawasaki.com Motoventure, Hobbies Club, Al Awir, Hatta Road, Dubai, +971 555437392, www.motoventure.net mxDubai, Al Ain Road Dubai, +971 55 2090832, www.mxdubai.com Polaris UAE (atv’s), Ras Al Khor, Nad al Hamar Road, Al Ghandi Complex, Dubai, +971 42896100, M4, Sector 13, 10th Street, Mussafah Industrial, Abu Dhabi, +971 26441478, www.polarisuae.com Sebsports, Al Quoz Industrial Area 1 Dubai, +971 43393399, www.sebsports.com Equipment Sandstorm Motorcycles (Rental), Al Quoz, Dubai, +971 43395608, Sebsports, Dubai, Al Quoz Industrial Area 3, +971 43393399, www.sebsports.com 2XWheeler, Motorcity Dubai, +971 44548388, www.2xwheeler.com

Motorcycling

Distributors and Dealers Al Yousuf Motors, Sheikh Zayed Rd., Dubai, +971 43390621, www.aym.ae/yamaha Ducati, Al Salam Street, Abu Dhabi, +971 24918593, www.ducati.ae Duseja General Trading Co. LLC, Warehouse No: B3, Alquoz Ind Area #3, Umm Suqeim Road next to Max Garage Diagonally opposite Lulu Hypermarket Al Barsha, +971 43476712, www.dusejamoto.com Harley-Davidson, Mussafah 4, Street 10, Abu Dhabi, +971 25540667, hd.auh@harley-davidson.ae, www.harley-davidson-abu-dhabi.com Liberty Kawasaki, Interchange4, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, Direct: +971 45019442, 45019412 or 43419341, www.libertykawasaki.com Polaris UAE, Al Ghandi Complex, Nad al Hamar Road, Ras Al Khor, +971 42896100, www.polarisuae.com Tristar Motorcycles, Al Awir Road, Nr Oman Transport, +971 43330659, www.tristaruae.com Workshops and Services Al Forsan International Sports Resort, Abu Dhabi, +971 25568555, www.alforsan.com

JULY-AUGUST 2017 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

www.yellowhat.ae Tour Operators Arabian Adventures, Dubai & Abu Dhabi, +971 43034888, www.arabian-adventures.com Desert Road Tourism, Al Khor Plaza – 503, Dubai, +971 42959429, www.desertroadtours.com Oasis Palm Dubai, Dubai, +971 4 2628832 or 4 2686826, www.opdubai.com Clubs Abu Dhabi Off- Road Club, www.ad4x4.com ALMOST 4x4 Off-Road Club, +971 507665522, www.almost4x4.com Dubai Offroaders, www.dubaioffroaders. com JEEP Wrangler JK Fun Club, suffian.omar@yahoo.com, www.jk-funclub.com ME 4X4, www.me4x4.com

Racecourses Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi, +971 24455500, www.adec-web.com Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club, Exit 399, Abu Dhabi/ Dubai Highway, Abu Dhabi, +971 25629050, www.grpc.ae Jebel Ali Racecourse, off the main Abu Dhabi - Dubai Highway (Sheikh Zayed road) beside the Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, +971 43474914 Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse, Al Meydan Road, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, +971 43270000, www.meydan.ae Sharjah Racecourse, Al Dhaid Road, Sharjah, +971 65311155, www.serc.ae

Motocross & ATV’s

Running

Dubai Autodrome, Dubai, +971 43678700,www.dubaiautodrome.com Emirates Motorplex, Umm Al Quwain, +971 67681166 2xWheeler Adventures, Dubai, +971 44548388, www.alainraceway.com Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, 800 YAS (927) or +971 26599800, www.yasmarinacircuit.com

Off-Road

Dealers Bling My Truck, +971 503634839 or 505548255, info@blingmytruck.com, www.blingmytruck.com 4x4 Motors LLC, Shk. Zayed Rd, Dubai, +971 43384866, www.4x4motors.com Liberty Automobiles, Dubai, 800 5423789, www.libertyautos.com Repairs and Services AAA Service Centre, Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE, +971 4 2858989, www.aaadubai.com Icon Auto Garage, Dubai, +971 43382744, www.icon-auto.com Mebar Auto, Al Quoz, Industrial Area 2, Dubai, UAE, +971 43469600, www.mebarauto.com Off Road Zone, Dubai, Al Quoz, +971 43392449, www.offroad-zone.com Saluki Motorsport, Dubai, +971 43476939 www.salukimotorsport.com Equipment Advanced Expedition Vehicles, Dubai & Abu Dhabi, +971 43307152, www.aev.ae Al Yousuf Motors, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43390621, www.aym.ae/yamaha Bling My Truck, +971 503634839 or 505548255, www.blingmytruck.com Heartland UAE, Al Mafraq Industrial, Abu Dhabi, +971 569796524 or 506472447, www.heartlanduae.com Icon Auto Garage, Dubai, +971 43382744, www.icon-auto.com Mebar Auto, Al Quoz, Industrial Area 2, Dubai, UAE, +971 4 3469600, www.mebarauto.com Wild X Adventure Shop, Dubai-Hatta Road, Dubai, +971 48321050, Yellow Hat, Nad Al Hamar, and Times Square Center, Dubai, +971 42898060,

Clubs ABRasAC, Dubai, www.abrasac.org Abu Dhabi Tri Club, Abu Dhabi, www.abudhabitriclub.org Abu Dhabi Striders, admin@abudhabistriders.com, www.abudhabistriders.com Al Ain Road Runners, Abu Dhabi, +971 504188978, alainroadrunners@yahoo.co.uk Mirdif Milers, Dubai, www.mirdifmilers.info Dubai Creek Striders www.dubaicreekstriders.org Desert Road Runners www.desertroadrunners.club

Stand up Paddling, Kite & Surfing, Wakeboarding

Equipment Al Boom Marine, Abu Dhabi & Dubai, +971 42894858, www.alboommarine.com Al Masaood Marine, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43468000, www.masaoodmarine.com Kitesurf Dubai, Kitesurf Beach, Umm Suqueim and Jumeirah 3 +971 505586190, www.kitesurfdubai.ae Picnico, Al Fairdooni Building, Sheikh Zayed Road, Near Sharaf DG Metro Station and Mall of Emirates, +971 43951113 Surf Dubai, Umm Suqeim, Dubai, +971 505043020, www.surfingdubai.com Surf Shop Arabia, Building 1, Al Manara Road (East), Interchange 3, Dubai, +971 564716180, www.surfshoparabia.com Surf School Arabia, +971 556010997, www.surfschoolarabia.com UAE Kite Surfing, +971 505626383, www.ad-kitesurfing.net Distributors Kitepeople Kite & Surf Store, International City, Dubai, +971 504559098, www.kitepeople.ae Ocean Sports FZE, +971 559352735, www.kitesurfsup.com Operators Al Forsan International Sports Resort, Abu Dhabi, +971 25568555, www.alforsan.com Dubai Kite Surf School, Umm Suqeim Beach, Dubai, +971 504965107, www.dubaikitesurfschool.com Duco Maritime, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi, +971 508703427, www.ducomaritime.com Dukite, Kitesurf Beach, Umm Suqeim, Dubai,+971 507586992, www.dukite.com Kite Fly, Dubai, +971 502547440, www.kitesurf.ae Kitepro Abu Dhabi, Yas Island and Al Dabbayyah, Abu Dhabi, +971 505441494, www.kitepro.ae

Nautica1992, Dubai, +971 504262415, www.nautica1992.ae Shamal Kite Surfing, Umm Suqueim Dubai, +971 507689226, www.shamalkitesurfing.com Sky & Sea Adventures, Dubai, Hilton, Jumeirah Beach Road, +971 43999005, www.watersportsdubai.com Surf School UAE, Umm Suqeim Beach and Building 1, Al Manara Road (East), Interchange 3, Dubai, +971 43791998, www.surfschooluae.com Watercooled, Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa, Dubai, +971 48876771, www.watercooleddubai.com Water Cooled, Watercooled Sports Services LLC, Hilton Beach Club, Abu Dhabi, +971 26395997, www.watercooleduae.com Clubs Abu Dhabi Stand Up Paddle, www.abudhabisup.com UAE SUP and Surf Association, +971 26665588, www.ridersuae.com

Water Parks

Aquaventure Atlantis, Dubai, Palm Jumeirah, +971 44260000, www. atlantisthepalm.com Dreamland Aqua Park, Umm Al Quwain, Emirates Road, +971 67681888, www.dreamlanduae.com Wadi Adventure, Jebel Hafeet, Al Ain, +971 37818422, www.wadiadventure.ae Wild Wadi Water Park, Dubai, +971 43484444, www.wildwadi.com

Other leisure activities

Abu Dhabi Golf Club, P.O. Box 51234, Sas Al Nakhl, Abu Dhabi, +971 28853555, www.adgolfclub.com Al Tamimi Stables, Sharjah, +971 67431122 or 44370505, www.tamimistables.com Blokart Sailing, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, +971 556101841, www.blokartme.com Children’s City, Creek Park Gate No.1, Dubai, +971 43340808, www.childrencity.ae Dolphin Bay Atlantis, Dubai, +971 44262000, www.atlantisthepalm.com Dubai Dolphinarium Dubai, Creek Park Gate No. 1, +971 43369773, www.dubaidolphinarium.ae iFly Dubai, Dubai, Mirdif City Centre, +971 42316292, www.iflyme.com Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, +971 25578000, www. sbgolfclub.ae Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club, Sharjah, +971 65487777, www.golfandshootingshj.com SkiDubai, Dubai, Mall of the Emirates, +971 44094000, www.skidxb.com Spacewalk Indoor Skydiving, Abu Dhabi, +971 26577601, adcountryclub.com/ spacewalk/about-spacewalk/

Health, Safety & Training

Safety Lessons Marine Concept Yacht Charter & Sea School, Rania Business Centre, Dubai, +971 559603030, www.marine-charter-concept.com Sport and Health Centres Bespoke Wellness, Dubai, +971 553724670, www.bespoke-wellness.com

OUTDOORUAE

MIDDLE EAST’S OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JULY-AUGUST 2017 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Original Fitness Co., C6 Tower Al Bateen Bainunah St, Abu Dhabi, +971 2406 9404; P.O. Box 126469, Office 508 The Fairmont

Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, +971 43116571 www.originalfitnessco.com Orthosports Medical Centre, 5B Street,

Jumeira Beach road, Dubai, 800 ORTHO (67846), www.orthosp.com The Physio Center, Suite 405, Building 49,

Dubai Healthcare City, Dubai, +971 44370570, www.physiocentre.ae

OMAN DIRECTORY

Al Sawadi Beach Resort, P.O. Box 747, Barka - Al Sawadi, Oman, +968 26795545, www.alsawadibeach.info Diving UAE & Oman, www.dive-uae-oman.com Euro Divers CAYC Oman, Marina Bandar Al Rhowda, P.O. Box 940, Muscat, Oman, +968 97899094, www.euro-divers.com Extra Divers Musandam, PO Box 498, PC 811 Khasab, Musandam, Oman, +968 99877957, www.musandam-diving.com Global Scuba LLC, +968 24692346, www.global-scuba.com Khasab Musandam Travel & Tours, P.O. Box 786, PC No. 811, Khasab, Musandam, Sultanate of Oman, +968 91713449, info@tourkhasab.com Al Mouj Marina, Muscat, Oman, +968 24534554, www.almoujmarina.com Moon Light Dive Center, P.O. Box 65, Madinat Qaboos, Muscat Oman, +968 99317700, www.moonlightdive.com Nomad Ocean Adventures, +968 26836069, Dibba, Oman; Fujairah, +971 508918207, www.discovernomad.com Diving Centres Euro-divers Marina Bandar Al Rowdha, P.O. Box 940, Postal Code 100 Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, +968 98194444, www.euro-divers.com Extra Divers Zighy Bay, Oman, Musandam, +968 26735555, www.extradivers.info

Moonlight Dive Center, Near Grand Hyatt Muscat, Shati Al Qurum, Oman, +968 99317700, www.moonlightdive.com Oman Dive Center, Muscat, Oman, +968 24284240, www.omandivecenter.com Oman Dive Center Resort, P.O. Box 199, Medinat Sultan Qaboos, Oman, +968 24824240, www.omandivecenter.info Omanta Scuba Diving Academy, Al Kharjiya Street, Al Shati Area, Muscat, Oman, +968 99777045, www.omantascuba.com Oxygen Diving and Adventures, P.O. Box 1363 PC130 Alazaiba, Muscat, Oman, +968 92537494 or 9723 2661, www.o2diveoman.com Scuba Oman, Oman, +968 99558488, www.scubaoman.com Seaoman, P.O. Box 2394, RUWI PC 112, Oman, +968 24181400, www.seaoman.com

Camping & Hiking

Stand Up Paddeling, Kite & Surfing, Wakeboarding

Boating & Sailing

Equipment, Operators Kiteboarding Oman, Sawadi Beach, P.O. Box: 133, PC 118, Muscat, Oman, +968 96323524, www.kiteboarding-oman.com Oman’s Kite Center, +968 94006007, www.kitesurfing-lessons.com

Manufacturer Saphire Marine, PO Box: 11, Post Code 118, Muscat, Oman, +968 24568887, 24566566, 24561619 or 24568881, www.sapphire-marine.com Marinas Marina Bandar Al Rowdha, Muscat, Oman, +968 24737286 (ext 215), www.marinaoman.net

Clubs

Horse Riding

Fishing & Kayaking

Adventure tours and desert safaris

Bike and Hike Oman, P.O. Box 833, Ruwi, Postal Code 112, Oman, +968 24400873, www.bikeandhikeoman.com Dolphin Qasab Tours, P.O. Box 123, P.C. 811, Khasab City, Musandam, Oman, +968 26730813, www.dolphinkhasabtours.com Go Dive Oman, Marina Bander Al Rowdha Dive Center, +968 9548 3813 or 98194444, www.godiveoman.com Khour Shem Tourism, Oman, +968 91713449, www.khourshemtours.com Nomad Tours, PO Box 583, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Oman, +968 95495240, www.nomadtours.com Oman Trekking Guides, PO Box 917, NIZWA, Oman, +968 95741441, http://omantrekkingguides.tumblr.com Cruise Operators Sheesa Beach, Dibba, Musandam, +968 26836551, www.sheesabeach.com

Diving

Equipment Al Marsa Musandam, PO Box 44, Dibba, Sultanate of Oman, +968 26836550; UAE: +971 502124100, www.almarsamusandam.com

QATAR DIRECTORY Adventure tours and desert safaris

Al Mulla Travels, P.O. Box 4147, Doha, Qatar, +974 44413488, almullatrvls@qatar.net.qa Alpha Tours, P.O. Box 13530, Doha, Qatar, +974 4344499, info@alphatoursqatar.com Al QAYED Travel & Tours, PO Box: 158, Doha, Qatar, +974 44072244, www.alqayedtravel.com Arabian Adventures, PO Box 4476, Doha, Qatar, +974 44361461, www.arabianadventureqatar.net Black Pearls Tourism Services, P.O. Box: 45677, Doha, Qatar, +974 44357333 E2E Qatar Travel and Tours, PO Box 23563, Doha, Qatar, +974 44516688 or 444515995, www.e2eqatar.com Falcon Travels, PO Box 22031, Doha, Qatar, +974 44354777, www.falcontravelqatar.com Gulf Adventures Tourism LLC, P.O. Box 18180, 29 Aspire Zone Street, Aspire Zone Al Ryyan City, State of Qatar Switchboard: +974 44221888, www.gulf-adventures.com Net Tours Qatar, P.O. Box 23080, Doha, Qatar, +974 4310902, www.nettours.com.qa Regency Travel & Tours, +974 44344444, www.regencyholidays.com Qatar Adventure, P.O. Box 13915, Doha, Qatar, +974 55694561, www.qataradventure.com Qatar Inbound Tours, P.O. Box 21153, +974 77451196, www.inboundtoursqatar.com Qatar International Tours, P.O. Box 55733 Doha, Qatar, +974 44551141, www.qittour.com Qatar Ventures, Barwa Village Bulding #12 Shop #33, Doha, Qatar, +974 55776679, www.qatar-ventures.com

Cycling, Running & Triathlon Qatar Chain Reaction, www.qatarchainreaction.weebly.com Qatar Sandstromers, +974 77775207 or 77776634, www.facebook.com/ QatarSandstormers Velostar Doha, https://www.facebook.com/ groups/587539064642288/ Doha Bay Running Club, www.dohabayrunningclub.com TriClub Doha, www.triclubdoha.com

General Sports Equipment Megastores

Galaxy Sport, City Centre Mall, 3rd Floor, Qatar: +974 44822194; Villagio Mall, Qatar: +974 44569143; Ezdan Mall, Qatar: +974 44922827, The Pearl(Parcel 9) +974 40027513, Souq Jabor +974 44430322. Office: +974 44417935, www.galaxysportqatar.com GO Sport Qatar, City Centre Mall, 3rd Floor, +974 44631644; Villaggio Mall, +974 44157463, www.facebook.com/gosport.qatar Sun & Sand Sports Qatar, City Centre Mall, +974 44837007; Dar Al Salam Mall, +974 44510179; Mustafawi Exhibition, +974 44935183, en-ae.sssports.com

Boating & Sailing

Equipment Regatta Sailing Academy, Katara Beach +974 55503484 www.regattasailingacademy.com Distributors and Dealers Speed Marine, Speed Marine, Museum Road, P.O. Box 9145 Doha, Qatar, +974 44410109, www.speedmarinegroup.com Marinas Four Seasons Marina, Doha, Qatar, +974 44948899, www.mourjanmarinas.com Lusail Marina, Lusail City, Qatar, +974 55843282, www.mourjan-lusailmarina.com The Pearl–Qatar Marinas, Doha, Qatar, +974 44953894, www.ronauticame.com

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OUTDOORUAE

Equestrian Clubs/Centres Al Shaqab, P.O. Box 90055, Doha, Qatar, +974 44546320, www.alshaqab.com Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club, Racing and Equestrian Club, P.O. Box 7559, Doha, Qatar, +974 44197704, www.qrec.gov.qa

Diving

Equipment/Centres Al Fardan Marine Services, Najma Street (near Al Fardan Exchange), Doha, Qatar, +974 44435626 Doha Sub Aqua Club, Doha Sub-Aqua Club, PO Box: 5048, Doha, Qatar, +974 50483794, www.dohasubaquaclub.com Extreme Adventure, P.O. Box 33002, Shop 3, 4 Ahmed Bin Ali Street (Bin Omran), Doha, Qatar, +974 44877884, www.extreme.qa GoSport, City Centre Mall, 3rd Floor, Qatar: +974 44631644; Villagio Mall, Qatar: +974 44517574, www.facebook.com/gosport.qatar Pearl Divers, P.O. Box 2489, Doha, Qatar, +974 44449553, www.pearl-divers.org Poseidon Dive Center, P.O. Box: 11538, Ras Abu Abboud Street, Al Emadi Suites, Showroom #2, Doha, Qatar +974 66084040, www.pdcqatar.com Qatar Scuba Center, 187 Al Mansoura Street, Al Mansoura Area, Doha, Qatar, +974 66662277, www.qatarscubacenter.com Q-Dive Marine Centre, Souq Al Najada cnr of Grand Hamad and Ali bin Abdulla Street; +974 55319507 or 4375065, www.qdive.net World Marine Centre, PO Box 6944, Doha, Qatar, +974 44360989, www.worldmarinecenter.webs.com Qatar Divers, Marriott Hotel Marina Near Old Airport, Ras Abu Aboud Area, Doha, Qatar, +974 55246651, 40405156, www.qatardivers.com Qatar Marine, Go Sport City Center West Bay, P.O. Box 16657, Doha, +974 55319507, www.qatarmarine.net Qatar Scuba Centre, 187 Al Mansoura Street, Al Mansoura Area, Doha, Qatar, +974 66662277 or 44422234, www.qatarscubacenter.com

Tour Operators Safari Desert Camp, P.O. Box 117, Postal Code 421, Bediyah, Ghabbi, Oman, +968 99310108, www.safaridesert.com

Caving

Muscat Diving & Adventure Centre, Oman, +968 24543002, www.holiday-in-oman.com Oman World Tourism, Oman, +968 24565288, www.omanworldtourism.com

Fishing & Kayaking

Equipment Az’Zaha Tours, +968 99425461, www.azzahatours.com Water World Marine Oman, P.O. Box 76, Muscat, 113, Sultanate of Oman, +968 24737438, www.waterworldoman.com

Equipment Al Kashat, Fishing and Hunting Equipment, Souq Waqif, next to the Falcon Souq, +974 70057489 Al Mamzoore Marine Equipment, P.O. Box 6449, Old Salata, Doha, Qatar, +974 44444238, almamzoore@qatar.net.qa Extreme Adventure, Shop 3,4 Ahmed Bin Ali Steet, Doha, +974 44877884, www.extreme.qa Fish World, P.O. Box 1975, Doha, Qatar, +974 44340754 State of Qatar (QatarSub), Souq Waqif, next to the Falcon Souq, +974 4431234, www.stateofqatar.com Operators Paddle Qatar, +974 55490895, www.paddleqatar.com

Stand Up Paddeling, Kite & Surfing, Wakeboarding

Equipment, Operators Fly-N-Ride, Ras abu Aboud, Doha, +974 33117089, Flo Kite School, Westbay, Doha, +974 33155628, www.flokiteschool.com Kitesurfing Qatar, +97430179108, www.kitesurfingqatar.com QSUP, Qanat Quartier, Costa Malaz, The Pearl-Qc, Doha, Qatar, +974 66602830, www.qsup.me

Cycling (Road & Off Road)

Bike Servicing, Equipment Carbon Wheels Bike Shop, Al Maha Center 10, Salwa Road, Doha, +974 44419048, www.facebook.com/CarbonWheelsQTR Flash Bike Shop, Mesaeed New Souq, Shop C.06, +974 6600 9116, www.flashbikeshop.com Skate Shack, Salwa Road, South Doha, +974 44692532, www.skate-shack.com Galaxy Sport, City Centre Mall, 3rd Floor, +974 44822194; Villaggio Mall, +974 4456 9143; Ezdan Mall, +974 4492 2827, www.galaxysportqatar.com Sportswell, Salwa Road, South Doha, +974 44151687

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