Day 14 - After saying our farewells to Kamal at the campsite we headed back into Tagounite so I could get my hub nut tightened up. Mechanic managed to tighten it slightly but a lot of force and a 3ft bar was needed to get anything extra on.
Over Coffee at the next door café, Chris, Gary and Byron announced that they would miss out the next section of piste and take the tarmac to Erfoud. Chris was also waiting the arrival of a new bump stop as mentioned above.
So Pete, George and I headed off into the desert again picking up one the classic southern pistes. This was my 3rd time on the first half but the area is beautiful so I was happy to be doing the route again. After checking in at an Army checkpoint we were off. The first sections is quite rocky as we ascended over some ridgelines and back
down into the huge crater on the East side. Had to squeeze through a couple of sections as a group of French 4x4's came the other way.
After the second Checkpoint the piste opens up into a lovely fast smooth section and lots of fun ensued as the 90, 80, 70 convoy put the hammer down a bit
P1090399 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
P1090401 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
P1090403 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
P1090415 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
Admittedly we were somewhat more restrained on the speed than another group of 4x4s we passed!
As we approached Tafroute Sidi Ali a Moroccan came speeding towards us on a motorbike, stopped, watched us go past and then sped back past us towards the town. About 1/2km out of the village the biker ad a friend flagged us down
"You cannot go this way river too big!"
"Which River? Oued Rheris or Oued Ziz?"
"River too Big, Piste Ferme follow us"
"We don't need a guide, is it blocked at Taouz? at the Dakar Crossing"
"Yes Much Water"
"OK we're not going that way Bye"
"but you must come with us"
Gotta love the persistence and attempts to make a bit of cash but sometimes its predictable, After running this route previously I know the detours, side routes etc, guides we're definately not needed.
Anyway our planned route, missed the old Dakar crossing of the Oued Ziz and we headed off again. Turning north off the traditional route we headed up towards Gorge Mharech. As we were enjoying ourselves immensely a afternoon tea stop at Riad Nomad at the end of the gorge was a welcome break. One year I'll stop here for a night of luxury in the desert, this year it was just a few coffees.
View from Riad Nomad
P1090419 Panorama 1 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
P1090422 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
From here we headed across Oued Rheris and the feche feche dust it entails towards a POI in the sat nav that had intrigued me for some years.....the Lost City!
P1090425 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
P1090428 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
Having found the Lost City, we felt we'd done our bit for the local infrastructure and decided we needed to be at Erg Chebbi for sunset. This section was new to me as last year I headed further north but turned out to be an interesting route again, with the scenery more savannah like than earlier in the day.
P1090432 Panorama 1 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
The last 20km however and the piste was heavily rutted by trucks running out to some mines and I struggled a bit in the deep ruts, another inch taller tyres would have made all the difference. We hit Tarmac again at Taouz and headed north to the grand dunes of Erg Chebbi, arriving about 15minutes before sunset
P1090437 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
P1090440 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
Whilst we were there watching the sun disappear behind the horizon, we decided to trial different sand recovery techniques
P1090442 by
Trackasylum, on Flickr
Maxtrax won
Today had been hell of a day for the group, the route is possible in a day with an early start but much better with a wild camp, however we didn't start until gone 10am. Tired,, hungry but grinning like idiots we rolled into the campsite outside Erfoud a little after 20:00 for hot showers, BEER, food and BEER.