Morocco Summer 2011 Report(family trip)

Morocco Summer (July) 2011 family trip.
Vehicle : 1990 200tdi 110 SW Defender
Contents : 3 tents & camping gear, compressor fridge, food, loads of wine & beer, tools, spare parts, Garmin GPS with Morocco map, good sound system, high lift, 12v-240v converter,2 x 20 liters jerry cans diesel, 3 x 20 liters of water, 3 kids (6 years, 14 & 16) and a wife!
5954 Km's (3700 miles) in just under 3 weeks.
Average fuel consumption 10.5 liters/100 (29.8mpg)
First jerry can of diesel came in very handy when we (I) ran out on the run through the Pyrenees on our way down to Algeciras. Done this run a few times going to the South of Spain/Portugal and can usually get to a Garage just after Vitoria, obviously due to recent fuel pump adjustments : 1. We were flying & 2. Supping more fuel, luckily didn't run out in one of them 2km tunnels.Otherwise uneventful trip down to Algeciras, straight into the terminal, ripped off for a return ticket Algeciras-Ceuta as they had just put their prices up for the Moroccan rush ! (every Moroccan living in Europe takes anything they can pull out of a skip back home on the top of a van, usually at least doubling the initial height. Wrong turn in port past about 40 cars waiting for our ferry and straight on being one on the last vehicles before they closed the doors-Nicely!
That made up for the 2 hrs nightmare customs crossing over from Ceuta into Morocco- Can only be explained as "Organized Chaos" made worse by some guy that doesn't help you (as we already had all our perso/vehicle documents sorted) asks you for a "Piece pour Mohamed" tip- a taste of things to come.



Got to Chefchaouen in time for the "Apero" and set up camp.


The Next day we set off for Fes but by the "Rif" road "Ketema where they grow all the weed, personally thought it was a hell of a drive and wouldn't have missed it for the world, dodgy characters jump out in the road from behind every tree trying to sell you dope, you just don't STOP,don't you worry they know how much a Defender bumper hurts !! The wife was "bricking" herself, especially when some knobs in a MK11 Golf pulled in front and tried to stop us- No match!! Brilliant drive though, they were still repairing the roads after they got washed away in floods in 2008.
That's not corn, stuff is every where, even people's gardens are full of it !

Some proper dodgy villages, again! don't stop ................. boot down!

We paid a guide to take us to the Medina in Fes, had to throw a "wobbler" though cos he kept taking us from one kin "we are going to scank you shop" to another !!


Foret de cedres, wild monkeys

At the end of that day with no where to camp in view, I was sent off to ask some bods in a field if we could camp under one of their trees, "No problem matey" or at least I think that's what they said

We must have been fairly welcome cos people kept popping up from behind a tree with tea-Fantastic experiance of genuine hospitality-The wife took some off the kids old clothes/shoes to give in return for moments like this.


The main road through Aghbala on our way up to Imilchil (2800m) I later found out that everybody was'nt gay in this village (note hand holding) just a little bit "in need" due to religion un that !


On the way up to Ilmichil, was prepared for this road as the Mitchel map says "Dangerous/Difficult" but it turned out to be easy as, apparently everybody nearly died a few years back in a very severe winter after being forgotten by the governement so they put them a new road in! It's now tarmac & widened all the way down to the Gorges de Todres!



First case of the "squits" eldest son had to jump out whilst driving through a small village to throw up whilst the earth fell out of his backside in the middle of the road, surrounded by small children asking for pens & sweets!!

Todre Gorges

July is "Low Season in Morocco" and as we arrived at at yet another empty (totaly) campsite the otherside of the Todre Gorge I was a bit spooked as we had not seen a single friendly foreign Land Rover since we arrived or any 4x4 for that matter (except for a spanish Guy in a gut Iveco 4x4 mobile home thing) Glad we took loads of booze, even the camsite owner came round after night fall to cadge a bottle of red off us!

Enjoyed the writeup and photos mate, very envious! Looked like you had a great time!

Fantastic that you did such a cool trip with the family, can't wait to do this trip myself one of these days!

Cheers mate We did, roads & scenery that just blow yeh mind away ))))

Not finished yet, will try and get some more pics up tonight

On the Road to Erg Chebbi, Merzouga and the sand dunes, split charger & fridge had been working fine up until now, it was getting hotter and we were drinking more and more, not the moment for the split charger to go tit's up but it did, second battery was flat, temp has risen in the fridge to 9° and was in security mode, changed fuse on split charger but it just melted this time with out even blowing the fuse so that was the end of that!! Managed to bodge a manuel charge system up for the second battery and the fridge saw us proud for the rest of the trip.



And then all of a sudden the tarmac stopped and we encounted our first experience of corrugated sheeting (formation of 3 or 4cm humps caused by vehicles passing along the same piste) feck-me them's things shake yeh to bit's- Thought me dash was going to fall off


The Garmin got us to Merzouga on the piste that follows the dunes, although we did have to use a bit of guess work and zoom the screen out as there was an error of up to 100m betwwen our position and the track!



A lot of the time "camping" is just a pitch in a Hotel/Auberge car park, so a mud hut looked like a welcome change (on our own again), big mistake!! Hot?? Was like slepping in Hell, the bed was like a radiator on full blast,impssible to sleep, spent all night slowly cooking.


I was a bit concerned about the next leg, Merzouga to Zagora, 220km of piste, along the Algerian border,I had all the GPS points out of "Chris Scott's" book but the GPS would reconise some but not all "no road". It was bloody hot, probably about 70° C, the heat was dry and was'nt a real problem, it was the thirst, we were drinking about 4 litres each/day, only had one spare wheel and normaly every campsite takes all your passport details, where you have come from and where you are going, except this one! So nobody new we were here or where we were going and we still had'nt crossed one single 4x4, every where was as dead!The next morning after much discusion, full tank of diesel + jerry cans (there is a petrol station just outside Merzouga now) 80 liters water, food un fags off we went.



"Blessing in disguise"
After about 30 km's I pulled over to let a on coming truck through, the only vehicle that we had seen all morning and pooooshhhhhh, a sharp stone went straight through my rear off side tyre (through the tread not the side wall) Bollocks!! Although I had a tubeless tyre repair kit it was far too big a hole, with no spare left and haveing only just seen "Flight of the Phenix" a few weeks ago I bottled out and went back the way we had came :-(

As soon as we got back onto some tarmac I stopped and realised that I had a hole in my radiator and was ****ing coolant everywhere, air horns were rubbing on radiator and had worn a hole in it, as you might well know with the temp sensor being at the highest point on a tdi you lose your coolant, the gauge does'nt budge because it's in thin air and you blow your head gasket/feck your engine.

Composite putty stuff- sorted !

So off we shot by road to Zagora (by road )

HeHe.. pretty damn eventfull so far, look forward to the rest

Good to see someone else has experienced the "run you off the road" kiff sellers

Actually, now that you are a Vet of the Riff Road, I can show you the town where I got my gearbox from....

You may have actually driven through, lots of white land rovers....

Nice looking landy. And nice write up.

Know what you mean about not seeing other 4x4s. Makes you feel pretty exposed at times.

Hi
Nice holiday, I wish I was in Morocco again. The Rif mountains are always fun and glad to hear you didn't stop for anything (they always rob tourist)
We always head down the cost motorway (if you can call it that with cows, sheep etc on it) to Marrakesh and then to Quarzazate. There's some fantastic gorges on the way and once you get to Quarzazate the off road is just the best. The people this far south try and rob you less and everything is just nicer.
Keep the great photos coming.

Excellent stuff, enjoyed reading that, appreciate you posting up

And then all of a sudden the tarmac stopped and we encounted our first experience of corrugated sheeting (formation of 3 or 4cm humps caused by vehicles passing along the same piste) feck-me them's things shake yeh to bit's- Thought me dash was going to fall off

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This made me chuckle...the car that came with us (RRC) was shaking like a good-un - they also too thought their dash would simply fall off at some point. Did you try the speed tactic? The faster you go, the better! Dont have that problem at all though in a leafer...it just coasts over it

Superb, great looking land rover....

Mineleakstoo said:

Superb, great looking land rover....

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Thanks

Great write up - I did a similar trip 3 years ago, about to go round lake victoria later this year after I have finished my 110 - any idea what orange your orange is? Big fan.

P.s next time your in Morocco check out cascades d'ouzoud great place.

Huffi said:

Great write up - I did a similar trip 3 years ago, about to go round lake victoria later this year after I have finished my 110 - any idea what orange your orange is? Big fan.

P.s next time your in Morocco check out cascades d'ouzoud great place.

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Thanks Huffi

I think that it is "Tangier Orange" (G4 Colour) but it was badly done by a garage in the U.K long before I bought it and seems to go more matt year after year !

We have been to the cascades d'ouzoud, did'nt rate it, it was heaving with Moroccains on Holiday camping on every possible scrap of land & there were so many people in the river the water was brown !!

All the best and have a great trip !

Jason2 said:

Thanks Huffi

I think that it is "Tangier Orange" (G4 Colour) but it was badly done by a garage in the U.K long before I bought it and seems to go more matt year after year !

We have been to the cascades d'ouzoud, did'nt rate it, it was heaving with Moroccains on Holiday camping on every possible scrap of land & there were so many people in the river the water was brown !!

All the best and have a great trip !

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Oh well, when I went it was me and 3 mates and that was it for the whole place for two days. Must have been lucky! Nice thread anyway.

Great thread! Looks like you had a great time. I love Morocco; I've travelled there in my 109" on the way to Timbuktu (1988), in a 127" (1986) and mountain bike (1994). I will be in Fez and Marrakesh at the end of next week but very sad that I won't be in my Land Rover - too far to drive from here!

Baloney999 said:

Great thread! Looks like you had a great time. I love Morocco; I've travelled there in my 109" on the way to Timbuktu (1988), in a 127" (1986) and mountain bike (1994). I will be in Fez and Marrakesh at the end of next week but very sad that I won't be in my Land Rover - too far to drive from here!

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Thanks ! And we did

Sounds like you've been about a bit too !