UK to Morocco and Sahara with my son

Scott.l.

New member
What an incredible journey and experience. For 3 weeks my son Markus and I lived in our modified Land Rover which consisted of Tent, Cooker, Fridge, Shower and other expedition equipment to explore Morocco and the Sahara and to deliver donated supplies to the under privileged children in the remote areas. We also managed to raise 1600 GBP for a local charity called The Zipper Club who support The Papworth Hospital. Papworth specialize in cardiac surgery and saved my father several years ago. Below is a description of the trip, which I was asked to send to the local paper who did an article on our journey. There is also details of our trip on the Norfolk Zipper club web page- http://norfolkzipperclub.weebly.com/2011-morocco-adventure.html

The web site below Global Adventures has photos of our 2011 Expedition plus photos of other trips we have been on.

After driving from UK and through Spain we met the rest of the team in Malaga and headed to the ferry and onwards to Morocco. Things started to get interesting at the Moroccan border as my son was asked if he was carrying any guns or weapons. He gave a cheeky smile and said “No”. The Moroccan border guard then ruffled his hair and then we were on our way into Morocco!

Our first camp in Morocco was near the ancient ruins of Volubilis - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volubilis

We explored the ruins of Volubilis the next day and my son, Markus, was amazed how they lived back then! We then headed deep into the Cedar forest and climbed up to 7,000 ft in the Atlas Mountains through dense forest, crossing rivers, splashing through muddy puddles and sliding on muddy tracks to reach our next camp. As soon as we made camp high up in the cold Atlas Mountains the heavens opened and we were soaked through to the skin by a tropical storm! Not the Morocco we had imagined..!

As we descended off the mountains we stopped at a very remote school to hand out some of the donated supplies. Several pens, pencils, rulers, note pads and paper were delivered which was gratefully received by the Children. All that was near the school was goats, a water well and several chickens!

We then made our way to the Imperial city of Meknes to stock up on supplies as we were now heading for the Sahara. Markus had great delight in discovering that they could make pancakes in Meknes but soon lost his appetite when he spotted a skinned goat with its head still on hanging outside the café. Our route took us to the Berber town of Tinerhir and over the Jebel Ougnat Mountains and we stopped at an area where they are digging for fossils. This area is littered with Fossils and the Moroccan’s make beautiful ornaments with them and sell in the Souks but not everyone realizes they are dug out by a few guys with nothing more than a pick axe in the middle of the Desert. The tracks were punishing and we soon got into the routine of checking over the vehicles everyday to see what had broken or fell off. Markus and I became slick operators at making camp and preparing the food. Markus even washed the dishes a few times although was not a fan of that chore…

We then entered the gigantic dunes of Erg Chebbi. Erg Chebbi is an incredible place and some local Moroccan’s have built an ‘Auberge’. This is a place with basic amenities but we were shocked and delighted to see a swimming pool in the middle of the Sahara after several hot, dusty and sandy days..!!!!

http://www.aubergedusud.com/

The Berbers then presented Markus with a birthday cake! What a surreal experience to see my son enjoy his birthday cake followed by a dip in the pool in the middle of the Sahara. Tummy’s full, well rested and clean we then set off even deeper into the Sahara and after a day of fighting sand dunes in the Land Rover with our tyre’s deflated slightly to aid traction we arrived at a Berber camp. These are nomadic people and there lifestyle is as basic as you can get. Everything they own they can pack on the back of a camel and move ‘house’. We delivered some clothes to the Berbers, and they were very kind and showed Markus around their ‘home’. To say Markus was gob smacked would be an understatement!

We the fought on for several more days and our next target was the 20th Century city of Zagora. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagora,_Morocco

Zagora has gained it’s reputation of being a good stopping point of any expedition as it has several garages who can jump into action at the drop of a hat (and right price, normally called ‘the diplomatic’ price ). We spent a night here for stocking up on supplies again and took the opportunity to get our vehicles checked over. We had 10 vehicles and 6 of them needed serious attention! One even had a broken chassis….! Disaster we thought! How on earth can we carry on and complete our planned route in time and deliver the rest of the supplies. The 6 vehicles were left at the garage at 4pm and by 11am THE NEXT DAY they were all ready! The garage mechanics worked through the night and waved us good bye the next day. You don’t get that service in the UK.!!!

We were glad we had all our vehicles checked as we were now entering the ‘Western Sahara’ and going further and further from any form of civilization. This was also a dangerous area as this is known as a ‘disputed’ area so it is known for ‘bandits’ to regularly cross back and forth from Algeria. The Moroccan army try to police this area but due to an invasion in 1995 some of the area is littered with land mines.

We always had a briefing by our support crew leader ‘ John’ in the mornings but this one was different. We had strict instructions to stick to the track and stay behind him as he had information of a track which had been swept by the Army and was clear of mines and to put a wheel outside this track may ruin our day. We decided to stay at the back of the convoy for obvious reasons. We battled on through this section which was very rocky with the odd sand dune to surprise us. We then started meeting children towards the end of the route. We had no idea where they had come from as there were no buildings in sight or any signs of civilization. We stopped often to greet them and handed out the remaining donated gifts and supplies and wondered how they knew where the mines were!?

Since Markus had been so good at helping with everything, I asked him if he wanted to drive. He sat on my knee and drove through the mine field area for 30 minutes. I don’t think there are many 10 year old boys who can say they have driven through a minefield in the Sahara..! Thankfully we got through without loosing anyone and we headed for Taroudant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taroudant

If we thought we would be arriving in a city full of glittering lights, cinemas and McDonalds then we would be wrong! Taroudant is a Berber market town and is full of character. Markus and I sat in the town and just watched everyday life go by. We had a competition to see who could spot the craziest thing, I am not sure who won. We could not be further from what we consider our ‘normal’ life back home! Markus and I walked around the Souks and investigated all the different arts, crafts and dried fruits. Even though Markus had been given a cake earlier in the trip, this was his actual birthday, and he put his hand in his pocket and bought me a drink to celebrate him turning 10 years old.

Once at Taroudant our off road section of the trip was over and all our donated supplies had been handed out. It was tarmac all the way back to Spain, so nice easy drive, so we thought……

The road twisted and turned over spectacular cliff tops and sweeping bays. We stopped at the delightful fishing port of Essaouria which is fast becoming busy with surfers due to the Atlanic coastline. The homeward journey took us via the coastal lagoons of Moulay Bousselham. However, our thoughts of a nice easy drive on tarmac was shattered when another tropical storm developed and washed the sides of mountains onto the roads. Roads were flooded and became slippery so we had to drive carefully through the floods, avoid the washed out roads and also keep an eye on the normal Moroccan motorist, who are not used to such slippery road surfaces. This can be confirmed by the amount of holes there were in the stone barriers on the side of the mountain passes.

Tired and dirty we fell back into our hotel in Spain and enjoyed a full nights rest, hot shower and a few celebratory drinks. We had done it! Over the 3 weeks we had been to some incredible places, seen amazing things, met some fantastic people and had managed to deliver some donated supplies to make a small difference to a few children in Morocco.

The one single thing that stands out in my mind is just how friendly the Moroccan people are. Everywhere we went we were greeted with huge smiles, the shout of ‘Salam’ and frantic waving as we drove past.

We have raised over 1,600 GBP for the Norfolk Zipper Club which both Markus and I are very grateful. Just goes to show with a little effort you can make a difference and no matter where you come from, what your religion is or what you believe in, a smile is the same in any language!

Scott Laddiman – Driver, Cook and Bottle washer

Markus Laddiman – Navigator, Camp Guru, Souk price negotiator.

http://global-adventures.webs.com/
 

timaus13

Observer
Amazing Father Son Experience

Wow what an amazing trip to B able to share with your Son, Very Glad to hear it was a safe Trip thankyou for sharing.

Cheers:coffeedrink:
 

Scott.l.

New member
No problem!
The trip was an amazing experience for my son, and being at such an impressionable age, it changed him. He now appreciates that not everyone lives in a nice comfy house and can nip down to the shop for food and water. Where some kids want an X box or new trainers, my son now understands how lucky he is...! :)
It was great that we managed to raise 1600 GBP for the local charity, but the best thing was seeing the smiles on the children when my son was handing out the items and clothes....
Morocco is a fantastic place and everyone is so friendly.
Im heading off over the French, Swiss and Italian Alps in 3 weeks with both my kids. So my son has to put up with his 6 year old sister for the next trip.. :)

If all goes well then all three of us may head off further away for 2013....

Scott.
 

Hatech

New member
Its great that you and your son had such an experience, i was surprised when i read "10 year old"! Thumbs up i enjoyed reading. Great service from those Garages!

I am working to get my truck to go on some of my first adventures and its only been the time i have been interested in overlanding and adventure travel that i have leant more (or rather opened my eyes) about geography. It might sound silly but it still surprises me that i can drive from UK to Africa. Growing up and seeing pictures of other countries i always thought it would take a lifetime to get there. When my friend once said "yeah im going to Germany with my parents, only takes a day to drive there" I was like hang on, are you actually serious :). I am going to travel to Scotland first then venture further out as i feel comfortable. Do you mind telling me how long it takes you to drive to Spain and then to Morocco?
 

Scott.l.

New member
Hi Hatech,
That's great that you are planning to explore the planet :smiley_drive:
This was my second trip to Morocco. The first trip I did was with a mate of mine, and we drove from UK down through France, over the Pryenees and then headed East over to Valencia in Spain. We then followed the coast road all the way down to Malaga to meet the rest of the team, before heading over to Morocco. That route took us 4 days, but we did it at a leisurely pace. On the way back up we drove directly from Malaga to Santandar to meet the ferry which took us back to UK. The drive driect from Malaga to N.Spain takes about 2 days.
The trip with my son, we took the ferry from UK to N.Spain and back. I took the ferry since my son had limited time allowed out of school, and I knew he would not enjoy days of motorway driving.
Google is an excellent tool, so if you use Google map directions it will give you approx timings..... :)
I did exactly the same as what you are planning. I did a Scotland trip before my first Morocco Overland expedition, just to check out everything and get use to living out of the Land Rover for days on end. We did Aberdeen, Inverness, Fort William, Glen Co route.
Im lucky that I live 3 hours from Euro Tunnel, so often 'nip' over the other side of the water.
One weekend I decided to head over the water, so booked Euro Tunnel on the Thursday, picked my kids up from school Friday at 3pm and by 7pm we were camped in France. Saturday we were in Belgium enjoying the chocolate shops, and were back home by Sunday night so the kids could go to school Monday.... :)

If you haven't already I suggest you read Chris Scott's Overland Handbook. Its packed with great info for preparing a vehicle to trip planning and techniques.

You can see some of my past trip here - http://global-adventures.webs.com/

Me and the kids are off over the French, Swiss and Italian Alps in one week time...... :wings: So will update the web site with photos once we are back.

Happy travels.....
 

Hatech

New member
Thanks for a great reply! Your first trip sounded great, 4 days at a leisurely pace sounds more than manageable. This excites me :jump:

I do use Google maps... alot :) I just wanted to have some info from a person haha.

Great, you did as i have been planning. I practically live outdoors already as I live on a farm so i know ill enjoy being in my rig. You made me curious and it turns out live even closer to the Euro Tunnel :Wow1::safari-rig:
As I said I never thought trips like that would be accessible to me. Sounds like a winning weekend, I bet your kids must enjoy themselves and learn a great deal.

Thanks for the head ups, I have not read it and I will make sure I check it out. There is so much I need to know.

Oh wow the Alps, sweet! Ill check out the site later on and keep watch. Enjoy yourself!
 

Gren_T

Adventurer
Glad you enjoyed your trip Morocco is a terrific place, so close geographically and yet so different culturally.
you can bet the trip will live with your son for a very long time & will provide the best education money can buy.

regards

Gren
 

Scott.l.

New member
Hi Gren,
My parents said to me..... '' You left with a child but you returned with a young man''. Yes, the whole experience was just great for my son. The best thing was just watching his face. Just classic..!! LOL...
By the end of the trip he even got very good at bargaining and always got the price down in the markets.... His face when we visited the Nomad's, and could see how they lived, was just priceless.
He had great fun shouting 'Salam' at all the kids who came running out of the huts as we drove past. When we drove back to UK he said in a cheeky voice '' why is nobody waving at us ''.....

Hatech,
Alps next week, but am already in the process of planning 2013...... In May 2013 I am doing a self drive Safari in a hired 4x4 around Botswana with my 72 Year old Father. Im now looking at a trip with my kids later in 2013, which may be Portugal or possibly back to Morocco in my own Land Rover.....
Keep me posted with how you get on, and would love to hear about your Scotland trip.
 

Scott.l.

New member
Cheers Merv,
Yeah really looking forward to it...! Im use to high temps as I have worked a lot around West Africa and am currently working in India. We had 48 Deg C here last month..!! Just need to keep an eye on my Father as at 72 he will not cope as well as me in the heat. The hired 4x4 has Air Con...

Plan route is as follows-

29 April: Waterberg Wilderness Reserve
30 April: Khama Rhino Sanctuary
01 May: Central Kalahari
02 May: Central Kalahari
03 May: Makgadikgadi
04 May: Maun
05 May: Moremi GR
06 May: Moremi GR – Third bridge campsite including Mokoro trip
07 May: Moremi GR – Khwai Northgate
08 May: Chobe NP
09 May: Chobe Riverfront
10 May: Kasane
11 May: Kasane – Chobe Safari Lodge B&B including unguided Vic Falls trip
12 May: Nxai Pan NP
13 May: Nata
14 May: Tuli Block
15 May: Tuli Block
16 May: Mapungubwe NP
17 May: JHB
 

rallygabe

Observer
Whoops, I was looking through your 2010 album instead of your 2011. :D

Hey Scott,
I realize this is an older post now, but I was curious if you know anything about the Jeep that was in your group?
I assume diesel but there are so few of these WK jeeps it is both nice to see another and always curious about others setups/equipment.
cheers,
Gabe J
 
Last edited:

Scott.l.

New member
Hi Gabe,
I cannot remember the exact specs of the Jeep. However the couple who had it were new into Overland trips, and did very little modifications to it. The Jeep coped very well indeed, with the only slight exception that they had 2 burst tyre's in the space of 1 hour along one particular rocky route. They had elected to just use low profile road tyre's which kept getting 'nipped' between the tyre side wall and the wheel rim. I have their contact details somewhere, but I believe the sold the Jeep soon after the trip.

Sorry I can't help anymore.

Scott.
 

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