The Long Way Home

Preparations

After a last week of bedlam we are finally underway. We have made it to Morocco after a dash through France and Spain. It has so far been Rain Rain Rain, oh and the odd bit of Snow near Rouen. Even in Malaga it was raining, boy am I glad I didn’t pay for a charter holiday there that week.

The last few days before we left were spent emptying our house and making final preparations on the car. Michelin had provided new rubber at a very good price and the LandRover had been in for an overhaul with Paul at MRTS in Silverstone. He did a magnificent job and totally rebuilt the drive train on the vehicle. The original list of things to do was only small but soon grew as Paul took things apart. Annoyingly after three years of Land Rover dealership servicing there were some items of work which should have been picked up on those services. Items like front propshaft and steering links seized and some oils which appeared not to have been changed since the Camel Trophy in 1993. The most annoying fault was the drop arm balljoint which had been mentioned to a certain dealership as a possible fault but was supposedly OK. The drop arm would not separate from the steering box for Paul using the normal LandRover separator. After leaving it overnight, still the two would not separate. Paul had to take the complete unit to a press shop. Thirty tons load was applied and still the two would not budge. Apparently a serviceable item!

Neill Brown of the Camel Club kindly gave some of his evening time to allow me to play at making a plywood shelf and cubby box. We also fitted the GPS and stuck the stickers to the doors. Not easy on a road so narrow that you diced with death everytime you stood on the drivers side to do the door.

On the Sunday before we departed a small party was held at our local Pub in Ealing. The local press came and did a feature and friends and relatives gathered for a beer. This was the first time the cars had been together reasonably fully loaded and they looked impressive. Pictures were also taken with the on loan Fuji digital camera to try it out, in fact all the pictures on the website and with this article have been taken with it.

Monday saw me back at Silverstone again for the fitting of some new shocks.

Europe & Morocco
 

Tuesday was a family day for us all and then came the big day.

We drove through horrible London traffic to the Custom House, centre of trade for 400 years. At 12.30 we gathered for a few photo’s in the cold and drizzle. We drove off past the Tower of London, over Tower Bridge and down the A2 leaving family, friends and the London traffic behind.

Eurotunnel kindly provided a good price on tunnel tickets and we were in France before we knew it. It was still raining.

We drove through France over two days and then into Spain to Irun. Still it rained and we were all fed up, this did not bode well for the trip ahead.

The 110 had big problems climbing the mountains in Spain due to the load and the high wind speeds. Dave’s Disco fairly flew up the slopes, in the end we resorted to slipstreaming behind Daves car to help with the headwind.

We reached Malaga through some fantastic views and, yes it was raining. We camped in Torremolinos and checked over the cars in more depth than the normal daily checks. Our two other Camel Club cars were with us and all four vehicles needed some small tweek. My chore was to fit new speakers as we’d blown the old ones with the minidisc. This was also a good time to refine the packing of both vehicles.

We collected Nicki, the passenger in Spencers car, and drove straight for the ferry to Morocco. Driving down the mountains with Gibraltar looming ahead was spectacular and soon we were crossing the straits to Ceuta. Now I know why Gibraltar is such an important part of the region, it dominates the straits. Even on the African side it is still very visible.

Our proposed campsite in Ceuta was closed so we were forced to attempt the border earlier than we wished. Although it took a couple of hours we really had no problems. Our main delay was waiting for the Insurance clerk to return to his booth. Mandy had arranged our CB licences beforehand and also permission for the convoy into Morocco. Any convoy of over four cars needs a permit and although we only had four, originally our number was six. Good thing we had it as it would come in very useful later.

The next day we cruised down to Larache where we were stopped in a huge traffic jam. It soon became apparent that the roads were closed due to the impending visit by the King. We waited a while and then opted to drive the new bypass. This took us to the P2 on the other side of the town where we hoped to continue our journey. No such luck. We were ushered into a service area and shortly after, the King and his 50 car convoy drove by. Finally we were on our way but due to the delays and road closures we were forced to drive the toll road to make our schedualed stop at Meknes.

For anyone who hasn’t been to Meknes I can thoroughly recommend it. We took a well earned rest day and explored the old town. It was a maze of alleyways and shops selling all manner of goods, including Camel meat. Later we drove out to Volubilis a 2200 year old roman ruin. The site covers 4Ha and is amazing to see. There are superbly preserved mozaics and remnants of the whole town.

After a couple of days drive through the Atlas mountains we embarked on a Sahara drive. On the way we were stopped by the Police and a man from the Minestry. He checked that we had the prerequisite permits and produced his copy of all Mandy’s paperwork. We were free to go. Less fortunate was a party of Dutch off roaders who had preceeded us from Meknes. They were fined for driving a convoy without a permit. It pays to do the research before you leave.

We arrived in Erfoud, the last town before Erg Chebbi at noon and stopped for a well earned Mint Tea break (Also known as Moroccan Whisky!). Erg Chebbi is the area of the northernmost dunes of the Sahara. We were confident of our route and GPS but still collected a guide for the crossing. He really wanted us to stop at his guest house for the night so we were happy to go along and at least check it out. The crossing was fairly strait forward. Using high box and second gear we gently made our way across the shale precursor of the dune system. A few places required more care due to the soft sand. This was brought home all too clearly when a local in a Fiat Uno was very stuck in the soft stuff. With low third selected two of us went over to offer assistance, being careful not to be victims ourselves. The sand dragged at the wheels and sapped the power alarmingly. Just as we reached the Uno, from nowhere locals appeared and pushed the hapless driver out of the san

d.

The crossing to the Dunes proper is 20 miles and it took an hour to reach the guest house. Surprisingly the route was a maze of tracks. We elected to camp around the back and rest for the afternoon. Some of us took the opportunity to introduce the Camel Land Rovers to their namesakes and then take a ride into the heart of the dune system. It was so peaceful with just the wind and the steady plod of the Camels footsteps in the sand to keep us company. An experience not to be forgotten.

We stayed in Erg Chebbi for just one night, watching as the tourists flocked in across the desert to ride the Camels at sunset. They woke us the next morning with the land Rovers and a fresh band of sunseekers this time for a sunrise.

Our drive that day was to the Todra Gorge where Dave and Mandy had a special Hotel in mind for the stop. One which they had visited on a previous trip. When we arrived at the bottom of the gorge we were greeted by hundreds of tourists, all new since Dave was here two years ago and a little disappointing. We managed to secure a few rooms with a teriffic view of the gorge for the night and ate heartily for there was to be a long day ahead.

We rose early and straight away the driving was interesting. We drove in low second over large boulders for the first three miles. Slowly the road became more manageable but still tricky in places, especially where the road slipped away towards a three thousand foot drop. We drove through Berber villages where children of all ages chased us for pens. “Stylo, Stylo” was the cry.

After 150 miles of off road driving in three days we ended up dusty but happy in our campsite. The ritual lighting of the Volcano kettle was enacted and a hot brew followed to warm our weary souls. At one point a day or so later we raced the Volcano’s with Spencers stove prepared kettle and the volcano’s won! We got to the stage where we were boiling 5 litres of water at a time once the fire was going.

A rest day in Fez followed. This turned out to be a battle of the elements, it rained all day and we ended up walking with the Medina streets in full flood.

Rabat was a little too civilised for us and we made our way to Spain.

All in all a great holiday and one that everyone can do with a little planning.

Morocco was a land of variety, we were lucky to meet all walks of life from Diplomats to nomadic Berbers. Away from the cities the locals are friendly and eager to help for a Dhiram or two. Some will even trade souveniers for clothing. Wages are small and your weekly budget will usually be their monthly wage. As a result expect to be ripped off a little, but barter hard and don’t feel bad about doing it. It is expected.

The wildlife and Birdlife is superb and well worth the trip even if you don’t feel up to the off roading. We regularly saw Cranes, Buzzard, Kite and Falcons of all types without even trying. One Campsite had a resident Little Owl. The Lonely Planet guide has a section on the Birdlife if you are interested and tells you where to go to see them.

A good Michelin Map will prove invaluable. We also backed this up with a Pilots TPC Navigation Map which we found marginally more accurate in some instances.