POSTED: 31 OCTOBER 2010

Destination: Dubai

ANN RICKARD takes to the dunes for a desert safari ... and shares a hookah in a Bedouin camp

There are moments, many of them, when we are certain we will tip right over and land upside down.

The driver of the 4WD obviously knows this won’t happen, but we don’t.

He deliberately drives the vehicle to the top of a sand dune and balances it on the very precipice until even the blokiest of all the macho men in the vehicle screams girlishly.

As we teeter in this precarious position for far too long, the driver laughs and makes silly jokes. He knows his passengers want a thrill and he intends to deliver.

While we clutch overhead straps or the arm of a fellow passenger — someone we met just half an hour ago — the driver sets the vehicle careering down the sand hill at impossible speed. Once again the car fills with screams.

Before we’ve had a moment to recover we are roaring to the top of another sand dune, this time to balance sideways upon it, all of us in the car sliding to an almost horizontal position.

Only our seatbelts prevent us from piling in layers on each other. We are certain this time we will tip over sideways. But we don’t. In a flash we are upright again and flying down the sandy hill.

It’s all part of the Dubai desert experience and while all of us in the car are confident the driver is experienced, professional and has our safety in mind, it’s still a heart-in-mouth experience.

The Evening Desert Safari Drive is a group tour. Once the driver had picked us up from our hotel in his brand new (everything in Dubai is brand new) air-conditioned vehicle (everything in Dubai is air-conditioned) and driven us out of the city past the building site of the enormous Dubailand theme park (everything in Dubai is enormous), and given us chilled bottles of water and informative commentary, he joins up with a fleet of other 4WDs.

After some mysterious manoeuvrings of the tyres to ready the vehicle for desert driving, it is off the road in convoy into the vast enigma of the desert.

Scorching heat, gusting sand and scorched dunes to the horizon have you feeling very Lawrence of Arabia. There is potential death by dehydration out there should you somehow find yourself alone with the just the burning sand.

But the comforting convoy of expensive 4WDs behind us is reassuring and, and when we stop for sunset and camel photos, punters pour out of vehicles and a giant esky filled with icy drinks appears. Safety lies in numbers amid the red sandy nothingness.

After the last half hour of frantic sand dune driving, the sunset stop is welcome. A frosty can of Coke and several dozen photos of camels later, it is time to go quiet and respect the raw beauty of a desert sunset.

Back in the 4WDs — we’re very chatty with our fellow passengers by this stage — we drive in a more genteel manner to a nearby Bedouin camp where we know good things await to reward us for all that careering about in the sand.

The camp is lined with tasseled Arabian carpets; cushions are scattered by low tables under the stars. Camels wait patiently outside the camp for those inclined towards more desert adventure, but for us, it has to be a sprawl on the cushions with a glass of wine from a well-stocked bar. The heat is intense. We love it.

 After our first glass of wine, we’re game enough for a puff on one of the nearby hookah pipes — quite the experience for non-smokers — and then it’s a spot of henna painting on the ankles by one of the local women sitting cross-legged beneath a lean-to.

Soon the lip-smacking smell of roasting meats outdoes the smell of sheesha from the hookah pipes and we gather around the barbecue, piling our plates high with smoky delicacies and fresh salads.

A little more wine, another round of barbecued meats, a reverential gaze up to the myriad stars, and out comes the belly dancer to shake her booty. It’s a little surreal, more than fabulous.

This five hour tour flashes by all too quickly. The desert driving, the blazing sunset, the endless sand, the dry heat, the overpowering silence of the desert leaves us enchanted.

Disclosure: Ann Rickard was a guest of Tempo Holidays.

IF YOU GO

§ For bookings, contact your local travel agent or Tempo Holidays (phone 1300 558 987 or visit www.tempoholidays.com).

§ Emirates operates 70 flights per week to Dubai from Australia — a double-daily service from Brisbane and Perth and a thrice-daily service from Melbourne and Sydney. One service daily from Sydney operates via Bangkok. One service daily from Brisbane operates via Singapore. One Melbourne service daily operates via Singapore, with another daily service operating via Kuala Lumpur. Economy return fares to Dubai from Brisbane start at $1814, inclusive of taxes and charges. Visit www.emirates.com.

§ For travel information about Dubai, visit www.dubai.com.