Western Sahara Charity Drive 2016

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
Went with one car to Morocco and slightly nipped into Western Sahara and it was brilliant. Lots of off-road. The mines are no joke - plenty of villagers with missing limbs and cars (or bits of) that have clearly gone ka-boom. What is it? 16 million estimated mines still out there? Figure out the notorious areas and make sure that you stick to tracks (night driving proves to be a bit tricky and concerning!) and don't stray off to dig for a dump.
 
Lots of sound advice from those who've done it, but it doesn't have to be a nail-biting experience. A recent poster hired a guide for the trickier bits and survived the expedition with a smile, it seems.
We (wife and I) did 4 weeks of wandering around earlier this year: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/one-ten-to-tan-tan/. While we didn't go deep into the dunes, we did get to some remote places and the element of uncertainty added a bit of spice to the experience. Some might call us foolhardy, but attitudes to risk and the ability to calculate them is a very subjective thing. Sure, we could've come unstuck several times, but we made careful assessments of the risks vs the gains and decided, sometimes, to turn round and go back. Sometimes, too, we might've wished we had...but always found a way through in the end, learned a bit more about lots of things and fell in love with the country.
If the photos have put you off, perhaps these guys are only in that position because they've got backup. I doubt they'd be up to the axles in pink dust if they didn't have the safety net of at least one mate with a towrope.
As for the locals, we found them to be almost always friendly, helpful and never far away....that was sometimes a little annoying :confused: but it's their culture. The only times we felt uncomfortable, if that's the right word - were in towns, where some local lads could get very pushy and occasionally abusive. Helps to know a little street Arabic....
We're going back next year. About the same time as you. What's your route plan? PM if you like.
 
Landyshandy it sounds awsome but it needs a bit more thought and planning, why not drive it solo but think about a support vehicle with a couple of mates or sponsors if someone cares to pay to go along or sell spaces on the trip to other vehicles and people thinking of going on a similar adventure.

Hi Jason,

Yeah that's what I'm thinking, problem is I have a lot of dull friends who's idea of a sense of adventure is going to a different pub. I'm finding I'm even having to convince my brother to come and he's getting the entire trip paid for (madness). I'm half tempted to buy a D1 and get a friend to drive it as a support vehicle! It all depends tbf. The main objective is to do this for sponsorship for charities so it has to be something 'adventurous'. open to ideas from you guys.
 
Not that we have raised mega money (10K since we started) but I have found that people are more sympathetic to giving money if they really do see it as a challenge rather than sponsoring a holiday! - That is one of the reasons why we used a SWB Series 2A and gave ourselves a short time scale given the speed of the car - we end up doing lots of overnight drives to make up the miles, including off road. The blog does help to get interest sparked up for the fundraising I have found - and we get the odd donation on the back of updates we make on the road...so it certainly pays off. I don't see the need for a support car to be honest - for the most part you are going to be in Europe and Morocco, and I am guessing parts of Western Sahara rather than getting too deep into it? - You are never going to be *that* far from civilisation and you will be surprised what you can sort out by asking around (helps if you have a simple vehicle). As a *just in case* measure you could hire (or buy, as we did in the end) a Satellite phone for that re-assurance that if you really were stuck in the middle of no-where you could contact someone and give them the situation and GPS co-ordinates. Have enough water and food on board that you could survive for a while. We also fitted a tracker which sends co-ordinates of our car to our website - meaning that people at home can spot anything odd (even if we have no clue where we are).
 
Lots of sound advice from those who've done it, but it doesn't have to be a nail-biting experience. A recent poster hired a guide for the trickier bits and survived the expedition with a smile, it seems.
We (wife and I) did 4 weeks of wandering around earlier this year: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/one-ten-to-tan-tan/. While we didn't go deep into the dunes, we did get to some remote places and the element of uncertainty added a bit of spice to the experience. Some might call us foolhardy, but attitudes to risk and the ability to calculate them is a very subjective thing. Sure, we could've come unstuck several times, but we made careful assessments of the risks vs the gains and decided, sometimes, to turn round and go back. Sometimes, too, we might've wished we had...but always found a way through in the end, learned a bit more about lots of things and fell in love with the country.
If the photos have put you off, perhaps these guys are only in that position because they've got backup. I doubt they'd be up to the axles in pink dust if they didn't have the safety net of at least one mate with a towrope.
As for the locals, we found them to be almost always friendly, helpful and never far away....that was sometimes a little annoying :confused: but it's their culture. The only times we felt uncomfortable, if that's the right word - were in towns, where some local lads could get very pushy and occasionally abusive. Helps to know a little street Arabic....
We're going back next year. About the same time as you. What's your route plan? PM if you like.
Hi ogb,

Good advice, still working the route out but I'm looking to go for a practice run in Morocco in April June.

When you going?
 
Not that we have raised mega money (10K since we started) but I have found that people are more sympathetic to giving money if they really do see it as a challenge rather than sponsoring a holiday! - That is one of the reasons why we used a SWB Series 2A and gave ourselves a short time scale given the speed of the car - we end up doing lots of overnight drives to make up the miles, including off road. The blog does help to get interest sparked up for the fundraising I have found - and we get the odd donation on the back of updates we make on the road...so it certainly pays off. I don't see the need for a support car to be honest - for the most part you are going to be in Europe and Morocco, and I am guessing parts of Western Sahara rather than getting too deep into it? - You are never going to be *that* far from civilisation and you will be surprised what you can sort out by asking around (helps if you have a simple vehicle). As a *just in case* measure you could hire (or buy, as we did in the end) a Satellite phone for that re-assurance that if you really were stuck in the middle of no-where you could contact someone and give them the situation and GPS co-ordinates. Have enough water and food on board that you could survive for a while. We also fitted a tracker which sends co-ordinates of our car to our website - meaning that people at home can spot anything odd (even if we have no clue where we are).

What was the tracker you used?
 
Also, tell your brother to man up or find someone else. You don't want someone that isn't committed as a passenger or co-driver. Just my opinion.

One of the chaps from work who just joined is really keen. He knows his way around an engine too so with our powers combined we may be half way there. The disco is in the shop next week to get the dual battery, lights and final bits done then should be all ready. I'm still aiming for late October however I'm hoping to get a couple of weeks in Morocco to practice in July/August. I know it's not the ideal time to go but I'm limited with my job when I can.

If anyone fancies a ball sweatingly hot trip then let me know. Still toying with the idea of buying a second disco as a support vehicle and letting my friend drive it.
 
Back
Top