If you wondering what are intrepid adventurers are doing now or would be interested in them speaking at your event please contact emma@profsports.com

It is with mixed emotions that the team approoach Adu Dhabi today.  Relieved, excited and proud to have nearly finished their 1600 km trek, yet melancholy that this once in a lifetime expedition only has 24 hours to run.

The team will be received by expedition sponsors and dignatories on the Corniche beach tomorrow at 2pm. All our welcome to come and join us as Saed, Gafan and Adrain and their six camels take the thier final few steps in the Footsteps of Thesiger.

The party will be on the Abu Dhabi Corniche Beach at 2pm, on the public beach area opposite 30th Street.  Look out for the Bedioun tent – this will mark the official end of the journey…

Wouter Kingma

The Footsteps of Thesiger expedition team will arrive at Al Jahili Fort, Al Ain, this Friday 9th December at 3:00pm.

Al Jahili Fort is open to the public between 3:00pm to 5:00pm .

All members of the public are invited to attend to welcome the expedition team to Al Ain

Come and join us welcoming the team at the home of the Thesiger archives and exhibition

See you there..

Wouter Kingma

The team arrived to edge of Liwa the day before National day and were hosted at the farm of Raschid Al Mansoori. On the 1st of December, the Al Manaseer tribe (Al Mansoori) the biggest tribe in the western region held a national day celebration event in Mizeirah City (Liwa), to which the team were invited and they rode in to the celebrations.

The event was attended by the heads of the tribe and officials from the Western Region Development Council, Western Region Municipality and the Ruler’s Representative Court in the Western Region. The team were invited to celebrate National Day the dignatories and guests and recieved traditionals Arabic hospitality, took part in national dance and listeded to poetry.

On the 2nd December, UAE National Day a celebration was held at the Mizeirah Fort for the explorers.

Under the Patronage of the and Ruler Representative Court in the Western Region and Western Region Development Council, Saed, Gafan and Adrian weere warmly welcomed to the historical “Mizeirah Fort” in Liwa to meet officials from the region. A traditional arabic dinner was served and the officials spoke with the tem about the expedition progress and wished them luck going ahead on their journey to Al Ain.

During the eveninig the team prayed “maghrib” with and were treated to traditional Arabic tea.

Saeed Al Mesafry said “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our leaders and our people for the UAE 40th National Day, we are proud as Emiratis to be part of this expedition and we are proud to make it all this way to Liwa, it’s great to be in the western region, we have learned a lot by crossing the empty quarter we learned how to be more patient, how simple our grandfathers use to live and the magic and the purity of the desert, I think that the company of the camels for 33 days was great and we learned more about the beautiful customs and traditions of our people and tribes in both Oman and the UAE”

Ghafan Al Jabry added “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our leaders and our people for the UAE 40th National Day, I am very happy to celebrate this very special occasion with my people here at the western region, our journey is going well and we are feeling tired but full of hope to complete this expedition to offer our beloved country a card of thanks and gratitude, the last 2 days were amazing, we have felt the spirit of the desert talking to us again”

The team are now on their way to Al Ain – 280 km across the desert, the aim to reach Jebel  Hafeet on 8th December.

The Footsteps of Thesiger team is firmly back on UAE soil. To welcome and ride with the team as they approach Liwa for the UAE’s 40th National day, please find details below Adrian, Saeed and Ghafan, will be riding from Al Nashash – which is located half way between Qasr Al Sareb and Liwa on the Liwa Crescent road – between 9:00 am and approx 12 midday this Friday 2nd December Al Nashash is best reached via the Abu Dhabi – Qasr al Sareb road, GPS coords; N 23..04.30.17 E 54.01.10.57

Two Emirati Nationals and British Explorer Adrian Hayes, reach half way point of epic adventure.

Team to reach Liwa by UAE National Day

Abu Dhabi, 28th November 2011: The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) today announced that the ‘Footsteps of Thesiger’ expedition team has now entered the UAE having reached the half way point of their 1,500km trek from Salalah in Oman to Abu Dhabi. Adrian Hayes, the British explorer, along with two Emiratis, Saeed Rashed Al Mesafry and Ghafan Mohammed Al Jabry, have successfully trekked more than 750km of their expedition which follows a similar route taken by the great explorer, Wilfred Thesiger, Since the expedition began in late October the team has overcome a number of challenges including commencing the trek in tropical cyclone Keila, crossing flooded wadis and coping with limited food supplies. Having experienced a range of terrains including crossing the Dhofar Mountains, Wadi Marhit and to Mugshin, the team is now deep in the giant sand dunes of the Rub’ al Khali. Often trekking in excess of 11 hours per day, covering distances of 40 to 45km, the team is on schedule to arrive in Liwa on December 2nd for UAE National Day.

Emirati team members, Saeed Rashed Al Mesafry and Ghafan Mohammed Al Jabry, have provided Adrian with invaluable camel handling and desert survival training which is needed to complete the journey. Both Emiratis have been humbled by the Arabic hospitality received along the route, with the team frequently welcomed by local villagers who invite them to share a traditional feast of goat or camel. Adrian has become immersed in the traditional Bedu culture that still prevails in modern day Arabia.

Adrian Hayes commented:

“I am overwhelmed by the number of visitors to our
camp who are anxious to learn more about our journey and share with us their
personal stories of Thesiger and his expedition from the 1940s. Just like
‘Mubarak Bin London’, I feel privileged to be seated at a campfire feasting on
traditional food and listening to Arabic poetry and songs with the great people
I have encountered along the way.”

“With each day closer to arriving in Liwa for UAE
National Day, we are ever more proud and humbled to be part of this expedition
which truly embodies the spirit of the Bedu values of generosity, goodwill and
perseverance which are still prevalent in the UAE today.”

The Footsteps of Thesiger expedition team is travelling
by camels and on foot a distance of more than 1,500km, relying on basic
provisions, nature and Bedouin hospitality to survive the estimated 45 day
trek. They left Salalah in late October 2011 and will reach Liwa by National
Day, before completing their journey to Al Ain on 9^th December and
finally, Abu Dhabi, on 13^th December 2011.

The Footsteps of Thesiger team  is  more than half way through their epic adventure from Salalah, Oman to the UAE Capital, Abu Dhabi.

Spending their last few days in Oman, Adrian, Saeed and Ghafan will soon cross on to UAE soil. A particularly solitary section of the expedition, the team has been trekking through the dunes of the Empty Quarter, often covering daily distances of up to 45km.

Saeed and Ghafan are particularly looking forward to entering the UAE, especially as National Day draws near – there is a real sense of pride that they are undertaking this trip as Emirati Nationals.