The off-roading bug bit me ever since I completed the off-road training course at Mahindra’s Off-Road Training Academy in Igatpuri, not to mention a new found love for the Scorpio and Thar 4x4s. I ended up doing two expeditions as well. The Mahindra Adventure Himalayan Spiti Escape in 2018 and the Monastery Escape earlier in June 2019. Both being epic trips, I was already looking forward to go for the next one, but I knew that wouldn’t happen so soon, since the expedition calendar was done and dusted for the year. But the itch to do some off-roading was strong. One evening as I was sipping a cup of tea, a mail from Mahindra Adventure popped in inviting me to the Desert Survivor course in Jaisalmer over the weekend from 20th to 22nd December. Unlike the Trail Survivor course I did earlier, this one trains you in the art of driving a 4×4 in sand.  Sounds like fun doesn’t it? So bags packed, I was all ready for some dune bashing.

Desert Survivor Day 1

I landed in Jaisalmer at noon on the first day. Since Jaisalmer is a defence airport, you are always welcomed by the sounds of the jets of the Indian Air Force. And they are quite a sight to watch too.  I got into the Scorpio waiting outside the airport and headed to our accommodation for the next two days, which was an hour’s drive away. We were staying at Desert Glamping, a camp resort located within close proximity of the same dunes that we  were going to drive on. I checked into my cottage and then grabbed a quick lunch with chit chat with my fellow participants. There were a few participants who were on their way from Jodhpur due to the limited flights directly to Jaisalmer. I got sometime to rest before we all had to gather for the proceedings to begin.

All the participants gathered in the courtyard at around 5 pm for a theory session. Manish our instructor gave a low down on what to expect over the driving sessions that would follow. A lot of information from techniques to handling the SUV in the sand, gears to be used while driving and managing the throttle. This was going to a whole different ball game from what I did at the Igatpuri course.As we got ready to head out into the dunes after sunset, the first thing we had to do as lower the pressure of tyres. This is very important as a tyre with lower pressure makes wider contact with the surface of the sand. So if the regular tyre pressure is around 33 psi, we brought it down to under 20 psi. We left the resort driving in a convoy towards our playground for the night. All the SUVs were fitted with walkie talkies for communication because the phone network was expected to be weak at many areas. We entered the dunes via a sharp descent and then it was sand all the way. It was pitch black with the only illumination provided by the headlamps of our vehicles. Initially it was smooth sailing because of the flat surface of the sand. But things started getting tricky as we went deeper into the dunes. Once the inclines and declines started, the convoy SUVs started getting stuck at numerous locations along the route. The key to driving in the sand is essentially keeping the momentum of the throttle going without riding the clutch. Also important is that you keep steering left and right as you drive on to avoid the wheels getting stuck. But I have to say driving on the sand dunes in the night is an experience by itself. We metro city dwellers are always deprived of clear night skies and seeing these in Jaisalmer was absolutely surreal. After about an hour and a half of driving, all the SUVs gathered at a designated spot, where dinner was arranged for right there on the dunes. A beautiful set up was laid out with a delicious buffet and a bonfire with ghazals playing in the background. It was a great couple of hours spent getting to know the other participants with the stars above. It was already 2 am by the time we got back to our camp resort, of course with some “getting stuck episodes along the way. It was finally time for a good night’s sleep to get charged up for the next day.

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