Dubai - dessert safari
Being hot as it was in Dubai and the fact that nearly all the attractions involved a shopping mall, I went to the Wild Wadi Water Park in the morning. It was really a lot of fun because, in addition to the numerous huge waterslides, they had this surfing pool with powerful jets of water to replicate strong waves. I spent a large chunk of time in there and can happily report that I can now stay upright and avoid having the water wash me away within the first minute!
I had a dessert safari lined up in the afternoon. This involved taking a land rover and going all out in the dunes for the first section. There were numerous occasions where I swore the car was going to flip right over! I think I’ve finally seen an SUV pushed to its limits, and would challenge anyone claiming they NEED an SUV just to drive on paved roads! After that, we got a chance to rent ATV’s and go dune-bashing ourselves, and that was some of the most fun I’ve ever had! Driving on moving sand and over dunes is a completely different driving experience and I actually got airborne a few times hurdling over large sand dunes.
That evening we ended up at a camp where all the safaris met up to enjoy some traditional food and some belly-dancing performances. Because it was in the middle of the dessert, it was pitch black as soon as the lights went out. The stars were so close I swear you can reach up and touch them!
