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morocco
- Thread starter SpinDrift
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Bat21 said:
There are some sand dunes as you head west from Mhamid but they are fairly easy to navigate, one of the differences is that in the Remilia patch the dunes are faily close to each other whereas the Mhamid ones are more paced out. You will encounter sand futher on when heading for Tata and even if you head down towards Smara, but again it is easy to navigate. There are also dunes on the cliffs above the ocean. That is where I assisted the stranded Jeep. Some of the sand is hard packed and you can drive as normal. Where it is looser, the way I tackled most of the sand was with a tyre pressure was 22psi, to increase acceleration to counter loss of momentum in the sand and to turn the steering wheel left and right as I moved forward (I am no expert but it worked). The two times I got stuck was maneuvering in sand and had little momentum.
Just rememder even with small dunes, you need to meet them as close to perpendicular as possible as otherwise there is a risk of faling on your side.
Dark Dude said:
Thanks John. That is quite a complement coming from a professional
Part of the credit goes to my girlfriend - we are both keen on photgraphy. We were carrying two Nikons which we both using (or trying to grab from each other) as one was fitted with an 18-105mm lens and the other with a 70-300mm - this avoided changing lenses in dusty conditions.
By morning the sandstorm had died down. The piste climbed up into a ridge. The view from the top was amazing: below us was a saucer shaped plain surrounded by hills.
[attachment=7:3dilg6nr]DSC_2817.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
We descended onto the plain floor and headed to the hills on the opposite side. Part way across the plain is a well and there we found a big herd of camels and a family tending the camels - if the camels were theirs, they must be pretty rich!
[attachment=6:3dilg6nr]DSC_2852.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
[attachment=5:3dilg6nr]DSC_2859.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
To the left of the piste is a burial ground consising of a series of uprights stones planted on the ground - there are several such burial grounds in the desert and hills. We crossed the ridge on the opposite side and followed the piste to an army check point.
Now the thing about these check points is that the officer on duty copies your details from your passport into a ledger. Some people recommend you carry fisches (slips of paper with your details on them) and hand them out as required. There are various samples of such slips on the internet - but in my opinion there is too much information on them, more than is required at the checkpoints - including home addresses, telephone numbers, parents names etc - and although we carried these fisches, we never used them. Sometime in Western Sahara we had to wait for 10 minutes while they copied the details from the passports, other times they asked for the fische, we said we didnt have any and they just waived us through - Sorry, but I have a thing about volunteering more information than is actually required. In this case the officer handed me the ledger to fill in my details. The pages in the ledger were full of doodles. Very official looking. Someone must have been bored.
We soon joined up with a tarmac road and cut across through the oasis village of El Blida before driving into the town of Tagounite for refuelling and reprovisioning.
[attachment=4:3dilg6nr]DSC_2992.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
[attachment=3:3dilg6nr]DSC_3033.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
From here we headed south along tarmac to Mhamid, where it ended, and then into the sand dunes heading west to and from there we headed in the general direcetion of Tata, a piste of some 311km. We drove through a series of dunes.
[attachment=2:3dilg6nr]DSC_3141.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
[attachment=0:3dilg6nr]DSC_3176.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
When we stopped for lunch I stuck my head under the dash board to try and figure out why, a while back, I had heard the split charge unit cut out and not cut in again. The ground connector had snapped leaving part of the connector still in place. The cable mut have dropped down and snagged my boot. Damn. This would have to be fixed soon. The piste soon took us across part of the dried lake bed of La Iriki and shortly after became very stoney and made for a very uncomfortable drive. We pulled off the piste into a hidden valley for the night. But before I could settle down I had to dismantle the dash to get to the split charge unit to replace the damaged cable and connector.
What was that saying again? The one about how you can go into the the desert with a land rover but if you wanted to come back ...?
[attachment=1:3dilg6nr]DSC_3184.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
[attachment=7:3dilg6nr]DSC_2817.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
We descended onto the plain floor and headed to the hills on the opposite side. Part way across the plain is a well and there we found a big herd of camels and a family tending the camels - if the camels were theirs, they must be pretty rich!
[attachment=6:3dilg6nr]DSC_2852.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
[attachment=5:3dilg6nr]DSC_2859.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
To the left of the piste is a burial ground consising of a series of uprights stones planted on the ground - there are several such burial grounds in the desert and hills. We crossed the ridge on the opposite side and followed the piste to an army check point.
Now the thing about these check points is that the officer on duty copies your details from your passport into a ledger. Some people recommend you carry fisches (slips of paper with your details on them) and hand them out as required. There are various samples of such slips on the internet - but in my opinion there is too much information on them, more than is required at the checkpoints - including home addresses, telephone numbers, parents names etc - and although we carried these fisches, we never used them. Sometime in Western Sahara we had to wait for 10 minutes while they copied the details from the passports, other times they asked for the fische, we said we didnt have any and they just waived us through - Sorry, but I have a thing about volunteering more information than is actually required. In this case the officer handed me the ledger to fill in my details. The pages in the ledger were full of doodles. Very official looking. Someone must have been bored.
We soon joined up with a tarmac road and cut across through the oasis village of El Blida before driving into the town of Tagounite for refuelling and reprovisioning.
[attachment=4:3dilg6nr]DSC_2992.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
[attachment=3:3dilg6nr]DSC_3033.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
From here we headed south along tarmac to Mhamid, where it ended, and then into the sand dunes heading west to and from there we headed in the general direcetion of Tata, a piste of some 311km. We drove through a series of dunes.
[attachment=2:3dilg6nr]DSC_3141.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
[attachment=0:3dilg6nr]DSC_3176.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
When we stopped for lunch I stuck my head under the dash board to try and figure out why, a while back, I had heard the split charge unit cut out and not cut in again. The ground connector had snapped leaving part of the connector still in place. The cable mut have dropped down and snagged my boot. Damn. This would have to be fixed soon. The piste soon took us across part of the dried lake bed of La Iriki and shortly after became very stoney and made for a very uncomfortable drive. We pulled off the piste into a hidden valley for the night. But before I could settle down I had to dismantle the dash to get to the split charge unit to replace the damaged cable and connector.
What was that saying again? The one about how you can go into the the desert with a land rover but if you wanted to come back ...?
[attachment=1:3dilg6nr]DSC_3184.JPG[/attachment:3dilg6nr]
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The next morning we drove down to the dunes to take some photos.
[attachment=8:25gbrnhe]DSC_3296.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
[attachment=7:25gbrnhe]DSC_3297.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
[attachment=6:25gbrnhe]DSC_3313.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
In order to avoid the very stoney piste we cut picked up a minor track that cut directly across the dried lake bed. Dried mud turned to sand in places, but hey, give me sand any day, it is a lot more comfortable to drive across than stoney tracks or corrugations.
[attachment=5:25gbrnhe]DSC_3368.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
We turned south and then west. We came across two trucks - one Hilux with a camper on the back and a 7T truck. They were looking for a third truck - a 14 tonner. How do you lose a 14 tonne truck? It seems the 14 tonner was scared of venturing into sand and was not following his friends. Anyway he showed up shortly after and I pointed them in the right direction across the lake bed. We were now on an old Dakar piste and there were markers, in the form of mounds of stone, every few hundred metres.
[attachment=4:25gbrnhe]DSC_3400.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
Again the landscape was wide open hamada with occassional hills in the distance. Sometimes there would be small stunted trees and clumps of grass.
[attachment=3:25gbrnhe]DSC_3435.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
At one point we decided to make a bush washing machine - must have spent too much time in the sun!
[attachment=2:25gbrnhe]DSC_3436.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
[attachment=1:25gbrnhe]DSC_3439.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
After driving for several kilometres we paased through Foum Tangarfa and reached Oued Zguid. At one point we saw water a few hundred metres away from the piste and decided to take a look. As we returned to the piste we hit a patch of very lose sand, and sunk straight in. After lowering the tyre pressure, digging and with the help of waffle boards out we got out.
[attachment=0:25gbrnhe]DSC_3453.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
We continued along the piste for a couple of hours more to reach the tarmac N12 just short of Tissint. We drove to Tata with the intention of stopping over at the Camping Municipal. This turned out to be absolutely packed with OAP camper vans, but we still managed to get in. The next morning a shower and laundry, and visits to a coffee shop and local market were the order of the day.
[attachment=8:25gbrnhe]DSC_3296.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
[attachment=7:25gbrnhe]DSC_3297.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
[attachment=6:25gbrnhe]DSC_3313.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
In order to avoid the very stoney piste we cut picked up a minor track that cut directly across the dried lake bed. Dried mud turned to sand in places, but hey, give me sand any day, it is a lot more comfortable to drive across than stoney tracks or corrugations.
[attachment=5:25gbrnhe]DSC_3368.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
We turned south and then west. We came across two trucks - one Hilux with a camper on the back and a 7T truck. They were looking for a third truck - a 14 tonner. How do you lose a 14 tonne truck? It seems the 14 tonner was scared of venturing into sand and was not following his friends. Anyway he showed up shortly after and I pointed them in the right direction across the lake bed. We were now on an old Dakar piste and there were markers, in the form of mounds of stone, every few hundred metres.
[attachment=4:25gbrnhe]DSC_3400.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
Again the landscape was wide open hamada with occassional hills in the distance. Sometimes there would be small stunted trees and clumps of grass.
[attachment=3:25gbrnhe]DSC_3435.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
At one point we decided to make a bush washing machine - must have spent too much time in the sun!
[attachment=2:25gbrnhe]DSC_3436.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
[attachment=1:25gbrnhe]DSC_3439.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
After driving for several kilometres we paased through Foum Tangarfa and reached Oued Zguid. At one point we saw water a few hundred metres away from the piste and decided to take a look. As we returned to the piste we hit a patch of very lose sand, and sunk straight in. After lowering the tyre pressure, digging and with the help of waffle boards out we got out.
[attachment=0:25gbrnhe]DSC_3453.JPG[/attachment:25gbrnhe]
We continued along the piste for a couple of hours more to reach the tarmac N12 just short of Tissint. We drove to Tata with the intention of stopping over at the Camping Municipal. This turned out to be absolutely packed with OAP camper vans, but we still managed to get in. The next morning a shower and laundry, and visits to a coffee shop and local market were the order of the day.
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SpinDrift said:
reading back I found that I had said that my tyre pressure as 12 psi - it was 22psi throughout the trip, except when I got stuck in sand - I then lowered the tyre pressure to 10 psi
must have been a typo - clumsy fingers
OK - I'm packing now 
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Excellent.... really looking forward to this section next month nowSpinDrift said:From here we headed south along tarmac to Mhamid, where it ended, and then into the sand dunes heading west to and from there we headed in the general direcetion of Tata, a piste of some 311km. We drove through a series of dunes.
And await with anticipation your next installment on this thread
Dark Dude
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- Feb 28, 2011
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- 655
SpinDrift said:Dark Dude said:
Thanks John. That is quite a complement coming from a professional
Part of the credit goes to my girlfriend - we are both keen on photgraphy. We were carrying two Nikons which we both using (or trying to grab from each other) as one was fitted with an 18-105mm lens and the other with a 70-300mm - this avoided changing lenses in dusty conditions.
Reinhard
I say it like I see it and what I see with some of your photography is bloody good irrespective of the fact that you guys use Nikons. Personally, I'd think long and hard before taking any of my DSLR's along with their accessory of lenses on a trip like that. I'd downsize my entire photographic kit, camera, lenses, flash even laptop. The following would be my expeditionary photography wishlist.
1. Canon G12 Compact Digital Camera (fitted with a LA-DC58K Lens Adapter)
2. A Wide Angle Converter Lens Canon WC-DC58B Original
3. ST-E2 off camera wireless flash transmitter
4. Yongnuo YN560 II Flash Speedlite x2
5. A cheap light stand, with brolly adapter
6. A shoot through brolly
7. A gorilla grip
8. A PDA running Resco Photo Manager Pro.
9. And a couple of large capacity data sticks to backup all your pictures.
This kit is nice, small, flexible and robust. It also shouldn't attract too much of the wrong kind of attention. Better still, it's cheap as chip to put together. You could pull the same trick with Nikon, if that's your bag. That's my two cent.
Keep up the good work
John
Now that work hand the real world has caught up, the write up is progressing a little slower. But I guess you have you pay for it all somehow 
Back to the hills
We left Tata headed out on N12 in the direction of Akka with the intention of making a loop along a piste through the hills before heading back into the desert. The first part of the piste took us into Oued Akka and turned out to be a graded gravel road running along the valley floor - not very exciting after the desert, but the landscape was interesting with a lot of canyon like rock formations.
[attachment=9:135fsdo3]DSC_3605.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
We then climbed into some hills with swirly rock formations. Very soon we were back on tarmac (R109) before turning off on to a piste heading towards the village of Sidi Al Haj Ou Ali in narrow valley. We were instantly impressed by the size and construct of some of the houses in the valley. This seemsed like an affluent area and it soon became apparent why ... the valley was well watered and very fertile. It was full of fruit trees, especially almond and palm trees.
[attachment=7:135fsdo3]DSC_3660.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
[attachment=8:135fsdo3]DSC_3644.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
The houses and villages clung onto the rock faces at the side of the valley - the valley floor was obviously too precious to waste on houses.
[attachment=5:135fsdo3]DSC_3747.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
At one point we came across this calling card. Make of it what you will ...
[attachment=6:135fsdo3]DSC_3680.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
That night we wild camped in the narrow valley by the piste - there was nowhere else to go. We woke to a crisp frost and headed up a steep concreted track up to the hills above the valley and descended into the valleys beyond.
[attachment=3:135fsdo3]DSC_3799.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
[attachment=4:135fsdo3]DSC_3801.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
[attachment=2:135fsdo3]DSC_3805.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
Again, these valleys were marked by fruit trees.
[attachment=1:135fsdo3]DSC_3842.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
We picked up a tarmac road and headed for Tafroute for refueling. We had keftas for lunch, which involved buying meat from a butcher and taking it to the restaurant next door to be cooked.
[attachment=0:135fsdo3]DSC_4004.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
Back to the hills
We left Tata headed out on N12 in the direction of Akka with the intention of making a loop along a piste through the hills before heading back into the desert. The first part of the piste took us into Oued Akka and turned out to be a graded gravel road running along the valley floor - not very exciting after the desert, but the landscape was interesting with a lot of canyon like rock formations.
[attachment=9:135fsdo3]DSC_3605.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
We then climbed into some hills with swirly rock formations. Very soon we were back on tarmac (R109) before turning off on to a piste heading towards the village of Sidi Al Haj Ou Ali in narrow valley. We were instantly impressed by the size and construct of some of the houses in the valley. This seemsed like an affluent area and it soon became apparent why ... the valley was well watered and very fertile. It was full of fruit trees, especially almond and palm trees.
[attachment=7:135fsdo3]DSC_3660.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
[attachment=8:135fsdo3]DSC_3644.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
The houses and villages clung onto the rock faces at the side of the valley - the valley floor was obviously too precious to waste on houses.
[attachment=5:135fsdo3]DSC_3747.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
At one point we came across this calling card. Make of it what you will ...
[attachment=6:135fsdo3]DSC_3680.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
That night we wild camped in the narrow valley by the piste - there was nowhere else to go. We woke to a crisp frost and headed up a steep concreted track up to the hills above the valley and descended into the valleys beyond.
[attachment=3:135fsdo3]DSC_3799.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
[attachment=4:135fsdo3]DSC_3801.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
[attachment=2:135fsdo3]DSC_3805.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
Again, these valleys were marked by fruit trees.
[attachment=1:135fsdo3]DSC_3842.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
We picked up a tarmac road and headed for Tafroute for refueling. We had keftas for lunch, which involved buying meat from a butcher and taking it to the restaurant next door to be cooked.
[attachment=0:135fsdo3]DSC_4004.JPG[/attachment:135fsdo3]
Attachments
From here we drove past some painted rocks (don't ask) along tarmac for quite a long strech till we reached a wide shallow canyon. The canyon floor was mostly pebbles and rounded rocks and was littered with debris from a flood that must have take place in the last few years. We searched for a suitable place to camp on higher ground. Unfortunately we did not find anywhere suitable and ended up camping on the canyon floor - not ideal - next to some kind of pen.
[attachment=6:2hjdalyt]DSC_4054.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
[attachment=5:2hjdalyt]DSC_4081.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
The next morning we drove out of canyon and rejoined the tarmac at Kasba Nait Herbil. Shortly after we left the tarmac again to join a piste that would take us to Assa.
[attachment=4:2hjdalyt]DSC_4110.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
The piste took us onto a plain surrounded by gentle hills. There were scattered accacia and other trees and the occassional well on the plain.
[attachment=1:2hjdalyt]DSC_4150.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
Every few kilometers we would see herds of goats, mostely tended by children.
[attachment=3:2hjdalyt]DSC_4113.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
[attachment=2:2hjdalyt]DSC_4138.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
[attachment=0:2hjdalyt]DSC_4166.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
Once we reached the tarmac again we sped towards Assa for refuelling and revictualling. We mamanged to find fuel and water but the shops turned out to be closed because of a festival that took place the day before.
[attachment=6:2hjdalyt]DSC_4054.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
[attachment=5:2hjdalyt]DSC_4081.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
The next morning we drove out of canyon and rejoined the tarmac at Kasba Nait Herbil. Shortly after we left the tarmac again to join a piste that would take us to Assa.
[attachment=4:2hjdalyt]DSC_4110.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
The piste took us onto a plain surrounded by gentle hills. There were scattered accacia and other trees and the occassional well on the plain.
[attachment=1:2hjdalyt]DSC_4150.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
Every few kilometers we would see herds of goats, mostely tended by children.
[attachment=3:2hjdalyt]DSC_4113.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
[attachment=2:2hjdalyt]DSC_4138.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
[attachment=0:2hjdalyt]DSC_4166.JPG[/attachment:2hjdalyt]
Once we reached the tarmac again we sped towards Assa for refuelling and revictualling. We mamanged to find fuel and water but the shops turned out to be closed because of a festival that took place the day before.
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Some great pics and a nice report. Id love to do something like this at some point in the future
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