Well we survived the Jeep Raid (rally) and what an unforgettable experience it was. Difficult to know where to start with describing what we did as we have so many amazing memories, so this is an extended and perhaps more rambling blog, but we wanted to capture our impressions as an aide-memoire for ourselves. The blog is split into three parts to make it more manageable for uploading and reading.
Background
Some background first on how we got involved in the Raid in the first place. Joe saw a post in a Jeep enthusiast group with details of the Raid and we asked the organiser for more information and found some information online about previous Raids. The rallies are organised by two private individuals – Guy who is a Jeep enthusiast, restorer and involved in various military vehicle organisations in France and Jean-Michel, an Agadir based French national and long standing friend of Guy’s. Both have done many Jeep trips in Africa previously and now organise annual rallies for other Jeep owners. It’s essential to have a Morocco based contact to arrange, check and reconfirm everything constantly, in a country where arrangements don’t get written down. Guy and Jean-Michel do all of the reconnoitring and planning of the routes, arrange all of the accommodation and meals, arrange the transport of the Jeeps from France to Morocco, sponsorship for some of the costs including some branded clothing and arrange the support vehicles that accompany the Jeeps and provide the lunches en route. So a huge amount of organisation all done on a non-profit basis. Once the 10 Jeeps and their pilote/copilote teams were confirmed lots of guidance was provided via a WhatsApp group to get us prepared.
Preparation
In the months prior to the Raid all Jeep owners were busy ensuring the mechanical soundness of their vehicles. They were advised to reroute fuel lines away from the engine to prevent overheating and to fit radiator expansion tanks to assist with cooling and avoid having to top up with water frequently. Another major piece of work was removing the rear seats and fitting metal storage boxes in the Jeeps to ensure security of all belongings during the transportation of the Jeeps. At certain points of the journey the vehicle transporter is a target for migrants, who will snatch anything that isn’t secured or locked away. Jeep owners hate to make additional holes in the chassis of their vehicles so there were lots of ingenious solutions for fitting the boxes and every Jeep had a different configuration and solution for storage. Most of the storage space in the trunks was taken up by the spare parts each vehicle was required to carry, some clothing, camping type cutlery, crockery and chairs for lunches and equipment to get you out of trouble, such as shovels, sand-tracks and tow ropes. Seats and seat cushions were protected with black bin liners and tape to protect them from the dusty conditions en route to Morocco.
The Vehicles
The majority of WWII Jeeps were made by Willys MB and Ford were also contracted to make the same vehicle, the Ford GPW, with fewer of the Ford being made. In France, the French manufactured the Hotchkiss M201 Jeeps between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s based on the WWII Jeeps and they were used by the French military until the 1980s. They are very prevalent in France and although they are not a WWII Jeep, French owners often give them the markings of a wartime Jeep and dress in period wartime clothing for military events. Our group included 4 early 1940s Ford GPW Jeeps (of which Joe’s was one) and 6 Hotchkiss Jeeps. It’s the first time the Raid han’t included any Willys Jeeps and quite rare to have 4 Fords. When we were in Provence last year, out fo 40 Jeeps there were only 2 Fords.
Every Jeep owner is in love with their own Jeep and at each stop every owner would be taking photos of their own vehicle or parking to ensure a scenic background and the ‘money shot’!
The Group
Our arrival night in Agadir was the first chance to meet all of the group participants in person. We had the opportunity to meet some of the group earlier in the day for the flight from Perpignan to Agadir when we dropped our campervan at Guy’s house. Our group of 20, plus local support of 2, ranged in age from early 20s to late 70s. Apart from we two Brits and a Belgian couple, all of the other group members were French. Guy had 3 of his own Jeeps taking part driven by various members of his own family. He has two daughters in their early 30s who have obviously grown up travelling in and driving the Jeeps and who were very proficient and confident in all terrains. They were joined by one of the daughter’s fiancé and two other cousins, all Jeep enthusiasts and drivers. We were in the group of 4 ‘mature’ couples (British, Belgian, 2 French) where the husbands drove and partners were copilots, with 3 other Jeep occupants in their 30s/40s – a father and son duo (father a mechanic with the firefighters, son in the military), a Jeep enthusiast since a young age with his female friend who stood in at late notice after girlfriend departed, and two Paris based guys, friends since childhood growing up near Biscarosse. It’s great to see that there is interest in these vehicles across a range of generations. Most of this information we didn’t glean until later in the trip as everyone warmed up and got to know each other better, with everyone finding their own ‘tribes’. French was, of course, the language for the Raid, so quite a challenge for Joe but he got more confident as time went on and some of the French knew a few words of English. The Belgian couple both spoke English and the wife also did not speak much French, so was glad to be able to converse with Joe.
Weather and Clothing
The preparation details provided included information about the clothing we would need for the trip. The sponsors, a specialist French supplier of spare parts for Jeeps from whom most participants would have bought parts to prepare their Jeeps, provided logo-ed t-shirts and fleeces for everyone, handed out when we met up on the first evening. Military clothing (e.g camouflage) was not allowed because of political sensitivities but we were strongly encouraged to stick to neutral desert colours ,sand and khaki, to ensure that photos to be taken throughout the trip wouldn’t be spoiled by Hawaiian shirts, colourful florals, etc. So of course it had the effect of making us look like we were in the military! We were given advice on boots, headwear, goggles, cheche (the local scarf) and we did wonder if it was a bit over the top but, in fairness we did end up wearing everything we bought. Space in the Jeeps was obviously limited by the metal boxes, jerrycans and other equipment so only bare essentials could be taken and there was definitely no dressing for dinner!
The weather throughout the trip was very clement ranging from mid-20C to low 30C with cooler mornings and nights and some windy days, but all in all a great temperature for the Jeeps and us. On some Raids they have experienced temperatures in the 40C which starts to become challenging for overheating vehicles. A variety of headgear was needed each day to cope with sun protection as well as face and eye protection from sand and wind.
Accommodation
Our accommodation en route was a mixture of hotels in towns, in fort locations and two nights in bivouac tents. Our first and last nights were spent at beachside hotel in Agadir and we also chose to stay on for a few days at the end of the Raid whilst the Jeep was being transported back to Perpignan. Several nights were spent at fort hotels, remote hotels built in the vicinity of former military forts that were abandoned when the French forces left Morocco on independence in 1955. The military wouldn’t allow the original forts to be converted into hotels, so they have mostly fallen into ruin, but did allow the nearby development so the hotels are in fabulous locations.
A few nights were spent at campsite locations, based on French style campsites with mobile-home bungalows and pitches for campervans or tents. In such remote locations nothing is luxurious and we had to contend with cuts in the water supply, electricity cuts and even restricted hours for electricity supply but everywhere had a charm and some interesting features. Our bivouac tents were certainly at the more basic end of the scale with each large tent shared by 4 people, mattresses on the ground and festival type showers and toilets, 3 of each for the group. The tents, in a beachside location, had more of the look of a refugee village rather than the Berber tents we might have had in mind. Glamping (which some participants had expected) it was not, but we all coped. Interestingly we were told that the nightly rate for the tents was more than for the hotels because it took locals two days to set up the tents, sanitation and cooking facilities and then time at the end to take it all down again.
Arrival in Agadir
So finally after the planning, preparation and anticipation the day arrived when we were reunited with the Jeeps which had arrived 5 days earlier in Morocco. Because the transporter had delivered them earlier than expected, we were taxied (in 4 taxis) into the hills to the east of Agadir where the Jeeps were securely parked up. It was not an auspicious start as the taxi we were travelling in broke down about 1 km after leaving the hotel! Another one was quickly dispatched and we were soon on our way.
A quick pit stop to dump bags in the Jeeps, rip off seat protection and get underway to the originally planned rendez-vous at Crocoparc, just outside Agadir, where there would be time to get the Jeeps checked over and set up properly with any kit that had been locked away. Walkie-talkies (or talkie-walkies in French!) we’re issued to each Jeep to keep in touch en route, pass on instructions and information.
Crocoparc itself is an impressive landscaped park housing a huge number of crocodiles, snakes, turtles and reptiles and we had time to visit and look around, with lunch at the park before we got into the Raid proper.
In Part Two – we’re in the desert!
