Day 7 (2023) Abu Dhabi: Hudayriyat Island & Desert Overnight Adventure

April 11, 2023

In the morning, we spend time on the Hudayriyat Peninsula, where you can actually use free sunbeds and umbrellas. The beach 'Marsana Beach' on Hudayriyat Island and the water resemble those of the Corniche. Artificially created, white sandy beach, turquoise water, and after a few meters in the water, it becomes muddy. Just like at all artificially created beaches. Unfortunately, we catch the lowest tide, so the water is very shallow and not suitable for swimming. Still, a nice way to cool off and a nice view of the oversized HUDAYRIYAT letters. The whole area is surrounded by a nice promenade with a water park, restaurants, and shops. Next to the parking lot, there are surely 10 different food trucks with seating, but the trucks are still closed. We have lunch at the 'Café' (the name is misleading, as they serve excellent salads, burgers, and pizzas) For me, I have a super tasty burrata pizza.
Construction is going on like crazy around the beach. I'm curious to see what will be built there.
After a short stop at the house, where we change and pack our suitcase, we continue to Etihad Plaza. Today we have booked a desert tour - with an overnight stay 🤩
I'm curious. Especially, we can't estimate what we need at all. In the end, each of us ends up with a thick jacket, pajamas, sweater, sweatpants, thick socks, and toothbrushes in our suitcase. Embarrassing, we are probably the only ones rolling up with a suitcase.
The driver is supposed to pick us up at Etihad Plaza at 3:30 PM, but he is still not here at 3:45 PM. Just when we start to worry that we are at the wrong pickup location (since we are not staying at a hotel, I suggested Etihad Plaza as the pickup location), a huge white Toyota SUV comes around the corner: that's our 'taxi'.
The driver explains to us that we will now be driving towards Al Ain, where we will stop at a camel farm. Then it's off to dune bashing. When we have trouble finding the seat belts, he just laughs and says 'No problem, you can buckle up later'. But when he enters the highway to Al Ain, we have all found our seat belts 😉
After 80 km and about an hour later, we reach the camel farm. Simple paddocks with wire fences keep the camels apart, and the camels' front legs are tied together. This seems to be common practice here. When we ask for what purpose these camels are bred (racing or milk), the simple answer comes: 'Meat'.
Oh... OK, all slaughter camels. Well, different countries, different customs and eating habits 🙈
We feed and pet a few camels, then more jeeps with vacationers park in the courtyard. The drivers greet each other and start deflating the tires of the jeeps with a loud hissing sound. We are about to go dune bashing in the dunes directly behind the farm.
The other vacationers also come to the camels, and we retreat to the air-conditioned jeep. My son and I take a Vomex tablet. Since we both tend to get sick even during normal car rides, I'm afraid of the worst.
Once all the vacationers are back in the jeeps, we start. A caravan of 5-6 vehicles drives into the desert. As soon as our driver has sand under the tires, he floors it and races up the first small dune. Oh dear. We still find it all funny...
We continue over dunes, up and down, sometimes we are leaning so much in the sand that I'm afraid the jeep might tip over 🙈🫣
We go down so steeply several times that we can't even see where we're driving. When we stop for a photo session on a dune, it happens. I feel nauseous. My son doesn't look any better. Oh no...
I'm not even able to take pictures of the amazing dunes. My legs are trembling, I'm sweaty, dizzy, and just feeling sick. When the photo session is over, I sit in the front passenger seat and ask the driver to drive very slowly to the camp, without climbing any more dunes. He laughs and promises to drive very 'slow'. Unfortunately, even the 'slow' driving causes problems. My son has to get out and walk a few meters, and I struggle with the nausea. Eventually, we make it to the camp, and with wobbly legs, I step out of the jeep and lie down on the ground in the tent that has been assigned to us for the night. Just lying down and doing nothing. My husband brings me a tea, I swallow another Vomex tablet, and hope for improvement. My son is feeling better again, tries sandboarding from the high dune, and then the whole family takes photos in traditional attire with a falcon. Too bad, I miss all of it - everything is spinning for me.
After 30 minutes, I manage to get up again and watch the family go on a camel ride. A campfire is lit in the camp, and you can smoke shisha around it.
While the sun sets, we find a spot near the stage for dinner. For dinner, there is salad, rice, curry, chicken, pasta with tomato sauce, flatbread, hummus, eggplant dip, and a kind of bread pudding for dessert.
The evening show consists of a dancer with a colorful skirt, we already know him from Egypt. After the show, the lights go out, and we are asked to do some stargazing again. Unfortunately, it's heavily cloudy, and we can hardly see any stars.
After the lights come back on, an announcement is made that all guests should pack their belongings and go to the jeeps. We learn that we are the only overnight guests in the camp tonight. Oh, how cool is that???
Our driver comes with another employee to us and explains that his colleague has prepared our sleeping tents and that he will spend the night outside the camp in the jeep in case we need anything. Oh, okay... got it.
Once the camp is empty, we hang out at the campfire, ride sandboards, and climb the highest dune. At 10 PM, we are brought giant flashlights, and we are told that the power will now be turned off - it will be completely dark everywhere. Exciting. We settle into our two tents, each with 2 mattresses, comforters, and pillows. We split up - my daughter and I in one tent, my husband and son in the other tent. It's still very warm, but we only have long sleepwear and thick jackets for sleeping. But it's still around +26 degrees Celsius. So my daughter just keeps her clothes on, and I change my T-shirt. We don't need a blanket. Breakfast will be served at 6 AM, and since we want to watch the sunrise anyway, I set the alarm for 5:30. So, good night from the desert!