Landshandy

Active Member
I'm planning on driving from London to Western Sahara for Charity. This is going to be a solo vehicle drive and wanted to speak to some people whom have done a similar trip. I need advice on places to go, contacts in towns and more importantly where best to avoid (don't want to hit a land mine).
 
It's the element of danger that will hopefully raise more cash. As safety I was wanting to get the name of a garage/fixer in each of the nearest towns
 
Where are you planning to aim for?

We have the names of a few garages in Morocco, but it all depends on your intended route. If you're going solo i guess you'll be avoiding most of the dunes and remote areas and sticking to tarmac (mostly) roads.

Cheers
Adam
 
Hi Adam,

I'd like to hit the dunes and remote areas but maybe I'm not aware of what I'm getting myself into. Do you know if it's possible to join a group along the way for these? Anyone whom has done it I would appreciate help from
 
Hi Adam,

I'd like to hit the dunes and remote areas but maybe I'm not aware of what I'm getting myself into. Do you know if it's possible to join a group along the way for these? Anyone whom has done it I would appreciate help from

Having been part of the same group as Adam I share Adams concerns. I wouldn't do it solo, especially going through the dunes. You can hit the soft stuff without any notice.
http://land-rover-discovery-1.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/day-2-morocco-trip.html
The above might give you a feel for what you are in for. See some of the video's Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of videos when we got stuck in a dried river bed. As soon as we got one vehicle out another got stuck and this went on for a while. Oldun who was also with us in the group went on another trip after ours, he is the one who had a complete engine failure without any warning. On his second trip he told us at one point six out of the Severn vehicles were seriously stuck.

Not only do you have to consider getting stuck but also keep in mind what are you going to do if you have a serious breakdown. Like breaking a diff which happen to one vehicle in our group Or a complete engine failure. as happen to one on his way back through Spain. He ended up being relayed back to the UK and had to fit a new engine. His vehicle was well prepared. Also travelling alone you could run into security problems. I read on the Morocco4x4 site before it folded up. A British guy solo was robbed along the Moroccan/ Algerian boarder. They took his Defender, everything. There is safety in numbers, Although the Moroccans are friendly people, they can soon turn if they think they have the advantage.
I know of people who have done it solo but they stayed on t armac and to my mind they missed out on so much.
Navigation can be a bit of a bugger also. We got lost twice.Which is how you can end up in the soft stuff.
You would be wiser to come with us on the 18th March 2016 trip, then once you see what's involved then give consideration to doing it solo.
What vehicle are you thinking of going in?
This clip will give you a feel of how quickly the surfaces can change. If you look carefully you will see me making a comment "its like skiing" you can soon loose the track and end up in soft sand.


Below just a few images of us stuck.
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Hi Adam,

I'd like to hit the dunes and remote areas but maybe I'm not aware of what I'm getting myself into. Do you know if it's possible to join a group along the way for these? Anyone whom has done it I would appreciate help from

Try getting yourself out of this one on your own.
19692510819_a3bd2ddb64_o.jpg
 
Hi Guys,

Hmmmm looks like I underestimated what's required. I have a Disco TD5 2002 GS. Thanks for the invite, where you guys going on your trip? March may be tricky due to work but I'd be keen if I can
 
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I would suggest if you can't come with us, find another group going when is convenient. I wouldn't suggest off road on your own. But do go if you can. We had a great time and I'm sure I speak for most of us when I say "we are counting the days to the next trip"
I think the general plan for this time is we will head towards Agadir then along the Plage Blanch. ( The white beach) Hopefully we shouldn't get lost this time if we keep the sea to our right when going down. We also want to do a gorge through the Atlas mountains that we missed last time. I can't emphasize enough how much fun it is. We have a great group which also made the holiday.
Good luck on what ever you choose.
 
I'm currently on a trip from Vladivostok to London, taking my time and doing plenty of detours. My fiancé was with me for the first month but flew home when we got to mongolia. that was a month ago, I'm solo now. my advice is as follow:

1. Do plenty of small trips. even just driving to the south or up north. Sounds easy, but getting used to packing the landy, living in the landy, and maintaining the landy will mean you travel lighter, happier and longer. I lived in the middle east for 4 years before this trip and constantly went exploring and adventuring, but the value is there even in something small. Camping out of the car and setting up camp every day is a major hassle. get it right with practice. Sounds simple but it's so important to have your setup working.

2. Solo isn't all that fun. I've cycle toured a lot - did 3 months in the states and plenty of round europe rides. I can do that on my own and enjoy it. But being in a car the mind drifts a bit and having someone to talk to and enjoy the adventure with is something i honestly didn't think about. But now I'm arranging friends to fly out along the way as passengers. You don't take too many photos when driving and sometimes the memories get disregarded, having someone else there is a good way of sharing the good moments along the route.

3. Breakdowns. I come from a pro sport background, and I'm used to repairing equipment when careers and prize money depends on it. The saying I live by is, "You only need a few of your spares, but you'll never which ones". I'm amazed at what i've had to use and what is still sitting there untouched. Should have packed a clutch it turned out. But it is an adventure and any problem you get into that you can fix, no mater how difficult, just adds to that adventure. Anything else is a disaster. Sitting in Astana waiting for the ****ing mail order company to pull their finger out and send over the clutch kit is a disaster and it's killing my budget. Spares and how to keep your car running are vital. I'd award myself 5/10 for this, and I think I've done quite well!!

4. Remote regions. Don't **** about! I've done two trip in the empty quarter in Arabia and you really do get that sense of dread that if something was to happen you really would be ****ed. We went in pairs, Split the recovery equipment, Carried 10 litres of emergency water, spares & tools, and a starlight phone. The ability to get into another car and get eventually back to civilisation is the difference between a small injury (a burn, sprain, cut, etc) being nothing, or a seriously dangerous mistake.
DO NOT WORRY - You are not diluting the adventure by going in convoy. No matter how big!

At the end of the day the better prepared you are to deal with unpredictable things (convoy, recovery equipment, spares, etc) means you can go a little further and push harder.

When I get back from this trip I may feel differently, but at the moment, I'd team up with another car if I could.

Either way, enjoy!!!
 
Sometimes when you hit the soft sand you loose your steering. You can put a lock on and you just keep heading straight ahead. You keep hoping the tires will bite in and you know if you stop your stuck. That one wasn't mine but the same thing happen to me in my Defender. I ended up hitting a tree in the middle of the desert. Not many people can say they have done that.
DSC_6614.JPG
 
I'm currently on a trip from Vladivostok to London, taking my time and doing plenty of detours. My fiancé was with me for the first month but flew home when we got to mongolia. that was a month ago, I'm solo now. my advice is as follow:

1. Do plenty of small trips. even just driving to the south or up north. Sounds easy, but getting used to packing the landy, living in the landy, and maintaining the landy will mean you travel lighter, happier and longer. I lived in the middle east for 4 years before this trip and constantly went exploring and adventuring, but the value is there even in something small. Camping out of the car and setting up camp every day is a major hassle. get it right with practice. Sounds simple but it's so important to have your setup working.

2. Solo isn't all that fun. I've cycle toured a lot - did 3 months in the states and plenty of round europe rides. I can do that on my own and enjoy it. But being in a car the mind drifts a bit and having someone to talk to and enjoy the adventure with is something i honestly didn't think about. But now I'm arranging friends to fly out along the way as passengers. You don't take too many photos when driving and sometimes the memories get disregarded, having someone else there is a good way of sharing the good moments along the route.

3. Breakdowns. I come from a pro sport background, and I'm used to repairing equipment when careers and prize money depends on it. The saying I live by is, "You only need a few of your spares, but you'll never which ones". I'm amazed at what i've had to use and what is still sitting there untouched. Should have packed a clutch it turned out. But it is an adventure and any problem you get into that you can fix, no mater how difficult, just adds to that adventure. Anything else is a disaster. Sitting in Astana waiting for the ****ing mail order company to pull their finger out and send over the clutch kit is a disaster and it's killing my budget. Spares and how to keep your car running are vital. I'd award myself 5/10 for this, and I think I've done quite well!!

4. Remote regions. Don't **** about! I've done two trip in the empty quarter in Arabia and you really do get that sense of dread that if something was to happen you really would be ****ed. We went in pairs, Split the recovery equipment, Carried 10 litres of emergency water, spares & tools, and a starlight phone. The ability to get into another car and get eventually back to civilisation is the difference between a small injury (a burn, sprain, cut, etc) being nothing, or a seriously dangerous mistake.
DO NOT WORRY - You are not diluting the adventure by going in convoy. No matter how big!

At the end of the day the better prepared you are to deal with unpredictable things (convoy, recovery equipment, spares, etc) means you can go a little further and push harder.

When I get back from this trip I may feel differently, but at the moment, I'd team up with another car if I could.

Either way, enjoy!!!

I would like to do Mongolia, but wouldn't even think of doing it alone. Have you kept a blog of your trip? I'm sure it would make interesting reading. One guy in our group did one of our Morocco trip (Chris Suddell ) Good way to relive the trip again especially with the video clips. I wish we had done more.
 
Guys fantastic advice, I am now confident I massively underestimated the trip. I'm now going to do a group trip before the big trip to the Sahara.
Even so I'll see if anyone wants to go on the trip with me (more people means more money raised). I'll still do my planning but will post the plans over the next few months
 
Guys fantastic advice, I am now confident I massively underestimated the trip. I'm now going to do a group trip before the big trip to the Sahara.
Even so I'll see if anyone wants to go on the trip with me (more people means more money raised). I'll still do my planning but will post the plans over the next few months
Hi Landyshandy . Just putting this as a option for you.
www.dakarchallenge.co.uk . I am doing the timbuktu challenge in a disco 1 .Several people do the trip as a fund raiser
 
I would like to do Mongolia, but wouldn't even think of doing it alone. Have you kept a blog of your trip? I'm sure it would make interesting reading. One guy in our group did one of our Morocco trip (Chris Suddell ) Good way to relive the trip again especially with the video clips. I wish we had done more.

Not doing a blog - not any good at that kind of thing. But I will do a write up for LRzone with some photos and that way people can benefit from the lessons learnt.
 
Not doing a blog - not any good at that kind of thing. But I will do a write up for LRzone with some photos and that way people can benefit from the lessons learnt.

Do keep me posted when it comes out. I would love to read up on it as I still have a Mongolia trip in the back of my mind.
 
The border along Algeria was one of the best bits of the trip, but is very remote with some hard terrain, I really would not suggest to anyone that going solo would be safe, as there are quite a few nomadic people and roaming groups of folk out there, we encountered them and they were friendly enough, but a person in one Landy,
with foreign plates, I could see that you might find yourself in trouble. Morocco doesn't look very big on a map, get down into the Sahara and you discover that its actually quite large and its not all sand!

I did a lot of work to my 110 before I when in March, covered all the bases, and yes, it went 6000 miles there and back perfectly, only a couple of weeks after getting back the ECU died suddenly without any warning, no fixing that, even the Land Rover assist guy ended up shrugging. I'm taking a spare coded up ECU next time.







 
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Landyshandy it sounds awsome but it needs a bit more thought and planning, why not drive it solo but think about a support vehicle with a couple of mates or sponsors if someone cares to pay to go along or sell spaces on the trip to other vehicles and people thinking of going on a similar adventure.
 

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