Our second day in began at a leisurely pace. The lovely Radisson Blu breakfast followed by watching the Geelong verses Hawthorn match. The best $40 we spent…the international AFL streaming option. It allows us to be on holidays and still watch the football…..as long as we have wifi.

Our guide to the desert, Shisas, picked us up at 3:30 in his Land Cruiser. We picked up an Italian couple on their honeymoon and headed out to the Dubai Conservation Park. The drive was about 45 minutes. The highway was full of 4 wheel drives carrying tourists. Once we hit the sand Shisas let the air out of the tyres and we made our first stop which was the falcon hunting display. They explained how the Bedouins captured the Peregrine falcons and kept them for a season and then released them.

Next was the dune bashing. Lots of fun – a rollercoaster ride in the sand. Along the way we stopped for photgraphs and ended up at the camp. Our tour was run by Arabian Tours which is owned by Emirates and was extremely well organised. Stan posed for a photo holding a falcon. We were then invited to taste some Arabian coffee and dates. The dates were yum, the coffee was very gritty so we settled on the beer and wine instead. The food was awesome – traditional and tasty. Stan settled in to enjoy the peace pipe – alias shisha.

A wonderful day….Another drive on the highways and another near death experience. They all drive, even the professionals, like we are in a Grand Prix.