We spent the night before the trip frantically over thinking, running around the Villa and try to find, this, that and the other to pack into Bruce and the trailer. We did not finish until nearly midnight so there was no way that we were going to be up early enough to be at the border before lunch time. Well, let’s not get too precious I thought, “this is my holiday and overland adventure so I should not be about the stress and rush”. Let the adventure begin!
So, we set off a little later and headed towards Abu Dhabi and on the Ghuwaifat boarder and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA.
As soon as we got past Port Zayed we felt like just another long wheel base vehicle heading north and once we got past Abu Dhabi we suddenly became only one of three things on the road – one of the many plodding trucks in convoy, super-fast cars that obviously are taking advantage of the 160kph speed limit and yes that is 99mph and there was speedy old us, the overland with trailer in tow. The wind was gusty and it was making Bruce the Jeep work harder, through the sand being blown cross the highway like a thick orange cloud. Passing the trucks it was not great fun. As you entered and excited their slip stream you got this rather nasty whip of suction that made the Jeep and trailer wobble just enough to make you nervous.
So, we pushed through and soon we were at the land border out of Dubai – departures! Al Ghuwaifat port the UAE Border. This took a few minutes and though slick and straight forward, I could not help get a little miffed that after paying for my CDP, my IDP and the tourist certificate, I am still charged 60 plus AED to leave and I do not remember paying the same at the airport. So that goes painlessly and we push through to the KSA border Al Bathe. The first thing I noticed was the road just came to an end and sadly marking the drop-in road standards for sure. When we come to the first KSA border stop, the young guard directed us to park up and head to the office for finger prints and a photo for Becky. I had been to KSA before and this was her first time. Confidently we heading in and though not too busy, each of the gentlemen seem to have a dozen passports in hand for his extended family (this could be a long one I thought). Well no, the border guards made short work of it really even in their fleeces and scarfs and we were dealt with quickly, right up to the point of the guard asking for my passport and telling us to take a seat for five minutes whilst he spoke to his senior. Oh no! He was confused by why anyone would fly into and out of KSA and then drive back in on the same ten days. His Senior quickly rattled something off to him and stamp! I was good to good with a smile. One thing I did not think about to be honest, though I sorted insurance out, was my trailer license and the first thing asked for at security search point was my trailer license. That was not to bad really and after checking if I had any alcohol they were keen to look around the trailer for interest. Smiling they wished us a pleasant trip. We think we also made a mistake then queuing up at the next stop which was for insurance. Well to be honest we had no idea what it was for until our vehicle documents were took again and we drove away 250 riyals less in our pocket. We had already got insurance for the GCC with our insurance company. Never mind, learn by your experiences!
Overall the process seems easy and we there soon snaking our way around the potholes and speed bumps of the journey to Uqair Beach. It was a dog leg to our way but recommended by overland friends in Saudi. After a quick stop at a truck stop for lunch, the truckers were very interested in our rig, but the toilets were by far more interesting to say the least, we then spent the next hour discussing why Google maps and Waze disagreed. Passing the Qatar boarder round about the corniche looked inviting and we were tempted to stop, but we pushed on and found the reason for the SatNav argument! The road just stopped!
So, we had to think quick and revise the plan. We were not going to be able to get to Uqair Beach so where do we go. Think quick the sun is going down. We decide to carry on the alternative route offered by the SatNav, but not go all the way.
We call into a town called Al Hofuf scattered with a number of parks and one that’s on iOverland, which we headed to Al Ahsa National Park.
We arrive to a rather grand park gate that looks very official and more worrying closed. We pull up and speak to the Park Ranger who surprisingly invites us in.
We drive through and pick ourselves a spot in the dark. Slightly unsure if the best place, all I am thinking is can we get out? As we set up a car pulls up and it’s another Park Ranger, this time with a questionnaire.
Thankfully in English, the questions slightly repeated themselves due to the style of written English, I was happy to complete and then share a selfie asked for by the Ranger. He was super friendly even if a word of English was not understood, he was super welcoming and gave us a big thank you for staying with them.
We make dinner and relax. I manage to connect the generator and disappointingly I get no power to the battery what am I doing wrong? I Hope this is not going to be the sign of things to come?