And we’re back from another unforgettable Jeep Raid in Morocco. Whilst the format and preparation were familiar to us, the trip itself was a very different experience to the first Raid in April, a good thing as we wouldn’t have wanted it simply to be a repeat.
Our group included 10 Jeeps again, with 7 French-owned Jeeps, 1 Belgian couple, Joe and me in a French-registered Jeep and 2 British guys from the UK. We already knew the French organiser, Guy, and his daughter Manon in one of the Jeeps. 2 of the French Jeeps and the Belgian couple had previously taken part in the first Raid held in October 2023, so already knew each other and there was an air of hyper-excitement on our WhatsApp group as we got closer to the departure date. We had learned from the previous trip to pare down what we needed to take, both in terms of equipment and clothes. With the exception of the British-owned Jeep, our Jeeps were transported to Morocco ahead of us, ready for our arrival near Agadir. The two British guys trailered their Jeep from the south of England to the start point (and back at the end), so it really was a marathon journey for them with two ferries and long road stretches though Spain and Morocco.
Our Jeeps were a mixture of wartime Ford GPW and Willys Jeeps, as well as post-war Hotchkiss Jeeps. The majority were in desert livery with paint colours ranging from pale sand to buttery clotted cream yellows. Only 3 of the 10 Jeeps, including ours and the other Brits, were green olive drab or similar. One of the French Jeeps and the Belgian Jeep were owned by couples who are friends living close to each other near Lille on either side of the French-Belgian border. They enjoy going to military events and commemorations in period costume (as many of the French do) and they have based their Jeeps and personae on SAS Rogue Heroes, with one taking the character of SAS founder David Stirling and the other, Paddy Mayne. They had a done a very creative job fitting out metal storage boxes for their Jeeps and created trunks by welding together old Jerry cans, giving the impression they were carrying lots of fuel – as the SAS would have done. Whist we were not allowed any military uniform or insigniaon the trip, Vincent and Benoit embraced the clothing of the era with their British ‘It Ain’t Half Hot Mum’ style baggy shorts.
One of the reasons we chose to do a second Raid this year was that the route was completely different to the one in April. Our starting point was a beautiful B&B place, Paradis Nomade, outside Agadir where we had time on arrival day to meet all of the group and get the Jeeps ready for an early start the following morning. From there we had to head first south to avoid the Anti-Atlas mountains to the east, before we could start travelling east to the large sand dunes of Chegaga.
Almost immediately, Day 1 turned out to be much more challenging than anything we had done on the first Raid. After fuelling the Jeeps and the mandatory two spare Jerrycans we each carried, we were straight on to off-road pistes, including more sandy pistes than we had done the last time. With temperatures in the high 30C-40C, the day proved to be a real shakedown for most of the Jeeps, in particular those who hadn’t done the Raid before. We were briefly stuck in soft sand, but quickly pushed out by willing helpers in the Jeeps behind us.
Mechanical problems ranged from coils needing to be replaced, vapour lock due to fuel lines overheating, fuel pump problems and punctures. Fortunately, the work Joe had done on the engine over the summer seemed to have made a difference, with no engine smoking and a much-improved gearbox. As on the previous Raid, we had a good number of mechanics among the group and first time Raiders soon realised that everyone was there to help and support them. For the two guys from the UK, it was a bit of a baptism of fire as they had vapour lock problems and were new to driving in the sandy conditions. Neither of them spoke French so I was drafted in during the Raid to help with translation issues where required and to pass on the key points from our briefing sessions.
Day 1 also turned out to be a very long day of 12.5 hours on the road, which meant the last hour or so was driving in the dark – not something you really want to be doing in Africa in old vehicles with small lights. We limped in, dirty and dusty, to our first overnight stop at Fort Bou Jerif with no time for showers before aperitifs and dinner – one of many chicken/camel tagines/couscous to come. Joe was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Generally the days on this trip were longer and we had another day where we ended up driving through a stunning sunset and on into the dark before arriving at our hotel at 8pm at night. This was due in part to ongoing breakdowns where a couple of Jeeps continued to suffer the same problems each day, and partly due to over-optimism on the organisers’ part where the distances between each stage were too much.
Whilst Joe fortunately did not suffer any mechanical problems, testament to his preparation on the Jeep and modifications to avoid fuel and overheating problems, the hard stony pistes took their toll on the Jeep, causing him to break two of the shock absorber fixing plates on separate days. Apparently these were thinner on Ford wartime Jeeps to keep down weight and fortunately are not fatal if they break. Our UK compatriot happened to have a spare plate with him – no-one else did as it wasn’t suggested as a spare part to carry – and was able to fix the first failure when we arrived at camp. When the second plate went, he was also able to effect a repair. We carried on without one shock absorber, but the pistes were so bumpy I don’t think we noticed the difference!
One other consequence of the high temperatures – up to 45C on one day – was that we drove with the hood up on the Jeep for some of the time, a rare occurrence for us. Whilst it’s great to have the hood and windscreen down, the relentless sun, sand and wind on the hottest days would not have made it an enjoyable experience, despite the various types of headwear we had to use.
We noticed early on that many of the women in the Jeeps also did some of the driving, something I haven’t done before, not really wanting to try for the first time on UK or French roads with other traffic. One of the women said she would take me out for a drive, but we then arrived at our hotel too late to give it a go. As our first stretch the following day was going to be on roads (long, straight and pretty much empty), Joe suggested I have a go, which I did, hoping not to strip his newly refurbished gearbox in the process. All went well and over the next few days I drove some of the road stretches to give Joe a breather from the arduous stretches of sand and stone. I don’t think either of us would want me driving the pistes, but I certainly do the admire the other women who do.
Our route continued eastwards, driving across the dry bed of Lake Iriki to the Erg of Chegaga, one of the large sand dune areas of Morocco. We had expected to be spending some nights under canvas, as in April, but our accommodation in the dunes was at a wonderful bivouac with fixed bedrooms and proper shared showers and toilets. Those who chose to sleep in their rooms left the doors open to get cool air and a number of people chose to sleep on mattresses under the stars after the evening entertainment in the sand dunes. A magical evening.
The following morning there was an opportunity, for those who wanted, for some ‘playtime’ in the sand with the Jeeps. It’s not without risk and very hard going on the Jeeps so, with many miles to cover that day, about half the group took part.We chose to watch from the dunes whilst other Jeeps played, got stuck and then extricated themselves from the sand. It was amazing to be in such a wonderful place.
The contrasts of terrain and scenery continued to enchant us over the following days with huge vistas of mountains, canyons and vertiginous drops as we crossed the mountains, stopping at the walled town of Taroudant before arriving back at our starting point for our final gala evening. So, another wonderful adventure that challenged us and the Jeeps in lots of different but exciting ways.
We are always bowled over by the generosity of French friends who are keen to show us their region of France and to showcase local specialities. As in April, we had decided to stay down in the Perpignan area to await the return of the Jeeps a couple of days later, and to save another 8-hour round trip. Hugo, one of our fellow Raiders who lives at Argelès-sur-Mer near Perpignan suggested we meet up the day after we got back to show us around. We expected he might have better things to do, having been away from home for nearly 2 weeks, but we met up the next day with Hugo and his wife for a tour in his own Jeep, styled on a wartime US Navy Jeep.
They took us into the terraced back hills of the Collioure and Banyuls wine regions to look down on amazing views over the coast. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Port-Vendres, a fishing village we haven’t visited previously as the campervan area was full when we tried a couple of years ago. From there back via Collioure, one of our favourite villages, stopping atthe Banyuls cave co-operative for a tasting and some purchases, and then back to Hugo’s for dinner, joined by Guy and Manon. What a great way to round off the trip with old and new friends.
