Sand Sherpa launches self-drive camping activities in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve

For the first time because the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve was established more than twenty years ago, visitors should be able to drive their own cars into the park, within the new Sand Sherpa Special Reserve experience.

Sand Sherpa, an operator of camping events and off-road driving courses, was founded in 2019 by Rob Nicholas. He has lived in Dubai for 35 years - “when the desert used to be on our doorstep” - and has always spent time exploring the UAE's unique natural landscapes. But realising that an increasing number of the emirate’s residents were not doing the same, he made a decision to turn his passion into a business and help persons experience “the very best of the desert” in a safe, sustainable and responsible way.

The Sherpa Special Reserve experience allows participants to enter the 225-square-metre protected reserve in their own vehicles and camp overnight, accompanied by the Sand Sherpa team.

The excursion is bound to five vehicles at the same time, with up to two adults and three children per vehicle. The trips are available for general booking on the weekends and bespoke bookings through the week. Each experience begins at 2.30pm on day one, with departure from the camp at 10.30am on day two. Packages begin from Dh1,950 ($530) per couple.

The overnight trips get started with a briefing on driving etiquette within the reserve, with information on the skills required for people to safely navigate their own 4x4 vehicles through the desert while leaving a minor imprint on the environment.

This is simply not your standard dune bashing expedition, Nicholas is quick to indicate - it really is more akin to a normal safari. Throughout a scenic drive to the campsite, participants will be able to ingest the UAE’s indigenous nature, which includes Arabian oryx, gazelles, foxes and lizards, as well as a host of migratory birds between November and April.

The campsite itself is located deep in the desert, amid a historical ghaf forest. It’s far enough from civilisation to take pleasure from some quality star-gazing and truly immerse yourself in your surroundings. Concurrently, the site has communal bathroom and shower facilities, whilst every vehicle will get its camping trailer, built with a Sand Sherpa Rooftop Tent, fridge/freezer and an environment-friendly low-emissions Lotus BBQ Grill with charcoal, utensils and camping accessories.

Tables, chairs, lights, sleeping facilities and normal water are provided, so participants are just necessary to bring their own food, beverages and bedding.

Sustainability reaches the core of the Sand Sherpa ethos, even right down to the dedicated fire pits, which ensure that there is no burning on open ground, which can be hazardous to camels and other mammals that may traipse over hot coals and injure themselves.

The following morning, visitors can join the camp leader in a hawk walk through a ghaf forest, identifying tracks that contain appeared overnight and gaining a greater understanding of the topography, while you're watching the bird of prey flit from tree to tree.

“A lot of people think the desert is uninhabited,” says Nicholas. “But there are a wide variety of microcosms to explore.” That is accompanied by a demonstration by the falconers from Royal Shaheen, which ends with visitors walking and flying the trained birds of prey themselves.

The whole experience was created to teach participants about the desert and help them are more familiar with considerate camping practices.

“We want to educate people and suggest to them the best experience they are able to have in the desert. We want to open them up to a new lifestyle option that they can then enjoy themselves and may maintain for the rest of their time in the UAE," says Nicholas.