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SpinDrift · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 0:25 Post subject: Morocco photos

I have finally sorted out the photos from my trip to Morocco in April. We travelled solo. We did not have any problems and travelling on our own was fine. Although I will admit that we did get stuck in mud - yes, thats right, mud - in the desert and were grounded. The owner of an LC100 (fortunately not an LR) interrupted our digging and gave us a tow. In all we covered 7430 kms and used 1045 litres of diesel, which cost around STG700. We also spent STG800 on ferries from Portsmouth to Bilbao and from Algeciras to Cueta: LC + 4 persons going out and LC + 1 coming back - and no, I didn't abandon my family in the desert, they flew back half way though as planned and I was joined by my brother and his son for the second half.

We had a great time and I highly recommend the trip. Enjoy the pics ...

http://s439.photobucket.com/albums/qq118/SpinDrift/Morocco%20April%202009/?albumview=slideshow

Now, where am I going next?

cheers

Reinhard

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leon · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 0:45 Post subject:

sweet did you bring the monkey on the road back Razz

any problems with the Lc ?
was the laptop satnav better then say a tomtom with the maps added then ?
how did you conect to the www. in other coutrys or did it have bilt in GPS ? ?
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SpinDrift · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 9:50 Post subject:

The laptop was connected to a Garmin GPSMAP60 - low spec gps - by cable. It was running a Garmin program called nRoute. I had the Olaf Morocco maps (quick search on google) loaded on the laptop and on a Garmin Nuvi770 both with the waypoints for the routes we planned to take. I don't know if you can load the Olaf maps on a TomTom. The biggest difference between the laptop and the nuvi is the size of the screen. You get to see more detail on the laptop, and also can fit in a longer range. We tended to use the laptop to show maps with a range of 30 to 40km while the Nuvi gave us a closer view. In reality the laptop was sufficient for navigtion, but if nothing else having a second gps provides peace of mind. We also had a stack of maps and a compass in case the technology failed. We used the maps for route planning and the compass as a paper weight Smile

We didn't connect to the www at any point during the trip, although I did have a wifi card for the laptop. Oh, and btw, the laptop is an eight year old machine. You don't need the latest, and if it gets trashed, as long as you have a backup, its no big deal. It was more than capable on the navigation front but not much use for backing up photos - too slow.

We didn't have any problems with the LC. It was pretty amazing actually - you start the engine in the morning and it would go all day over rough and smooth, sometimes for 12 hours at a stretch. Fantastic.

The monkey gave us one look, thought 'tinned food on wheels' and turned away in

Actually you don't want to mess with them as they can be pretty agressive and a bite could give you a nasty infection - even the circus act ones in the souqs.

cheers

Reinhard

TobyJug · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:14 Post subject:

very very nice....
some really nice pictures there....
can't wait to take the 80 there...

Looks like you had an amazing time...
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24Seven · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:22 Post subject: Re: Morocco photos

Fantastic Reinhard, what a wonderful place Morocco is Smile

TobyJug · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:26 Post subject: Re: Morocco photos

24Seven · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:37 Post subject:

I will PM you.

Do I sense you're getting excited Laughing

TobyJug · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:44 Post subject:

SpinDrift · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 11:09 Post subject:

Yes, we had a fantastic time.

regarding the battery isolation - yes and no Smile

I installed the isolators on both batteries in the engine bay and disconnected the batteries every night - being on our own I could not risk draining them through use, by accident or even worse through some electrical fault. But I also fitted a leisure battery in the back with a split charge unit and ran a supply to three power sockets in the front console for gps, laptop etc and to two sockets in the rear for camp lights. When the voltage to the starter batteries is over 13 (13.4?) volts the split charge unit connects the the leisure battery to the charging circuit. It then cuts out once the voltage in the circuit drops below 13v. The beauty of the unit is that you dont need to cut any of the exisiting cabling to fit it, you just connect an extra wire to the postive terminal of the main battery and a second wire to ground. It was very convenient being able to run the camplights without any worry that the starter batteries could drop and for the laptop and gadgets to remain on once the ingnition was switched off - especially when there are frequent stops and starts. Actually, I also disconnected the leisure battery overnight.

You can just make out the leisure battery in the bottom right hand corner - fits perfectly in the space behind the wheel arch

As to where next, I've got plans - or dreams as my wife calls them - in no particular order:

Nord Kap
Iceland
Morocco, Mauritania and Mali
Turkey
Syria and Jordan
Southern Africa - I did a 3 week road trip in South Africa and would really want to go back at some point.

All I need to do is win the lottery!!!!!

Morocco is great and is easy for us to get to. I wouldn't mind visiting again.

regards

Reinhard

SpinDrift · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 11:11 Post subject:

Tobyjug,

go for it. You'll have a great time.

cheers

R

24Seven · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 11:58 Post subject:

Being with three others meant I had less to worry about, but if I was on my own as you details would need far more consideration.

I used a Laptop with nRoute and Olaf Morocco maps also, so the Garmin Nuvi 770 can load the same map? Do you know the cheapest Garmin (TomTom like) which can load this map?

Out of you're whole trip, which remote place did you enjoy the most, I'm looking for advise on a change of route next year, I'm sure we will cover some of the same route but a route near the coast maybe nice?

My best bit was a track from Erg Chebbi to Zagora with goes through two militiry check points and is close to the border with Algeria, stunning views Smile

TobyJug · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 12:35 Post subject:

I will do.... hehe

I was going to go this year but with the baby coming along this had to be postponed...

Will take a holiday trip that way soon tho.....
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Early K-reg (UK truck) Landcruiser Amazon 4.2 TD VX

SpinDrift · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 13:44 Post subject:

We did the Algeria border route the other way round - Zagora to Erg Chebbi - defintiely one of the highlights. We bush camped in the desert and it was great.

Another favorite, in fact I did the first time with my wife and children and a second time with my brother, was up the top end of the Todra Gorge to Agoudal then back down through Valle de Dades. The first time round we got caught out and spent the night sleeping in the car at 3000m. There were patches of frozen ice on the moutains and the condensation froze on the windscreen overnight. The view from up there were amazing.

Again the views in the Sarhro mountains were great. But I think the other really good stretch was the piste from Tata to Foum Zguid, quite stoney and along one stretch we must have crossed the same dried stoney riverbed about 7 times. The there was a nice stretch from Foum Zguid to Mhamid that also involved some sand driving.

On last few days in Morocco I drove to Essaouria then up along the coast as far as Rabat before turning inland. I didn't do any off road driving in this area but the scenery here was fantastic. Mile up mile of sandy beaches and cliffs. This area is beginning to get developed, I suppose in a few years when property picks up again it might end up looking like the south of Spain.

I think the Olaf maps can be loaded onto any Garmin with mapping capability - but I am not 100% sure about that. I managed to load the maps onto the basic GPSMAP60 which has only 24MB of memory (believe me, its not much) and no expansion slot (make sure you get a unit which has one). Best thing would be to select a model then post a message on the Hubb asking if anyone has loaded the Morocco maps on it before. Its worth getting one that has maps for the whole of the EU preloaded, rather than just the UK, as that will take care of Spain and France, depending on your routing. You would need MapSource to load the maps directly onto the gps or onto a memory card.

When did you go to Morocco? We left Portsmouth on the 1st of April and I got back on the 28th.

24Seven · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 15:22 Post subject:

We left Portsmouth on 18th of April and arrived in Morocco 21st of April and back in England 16th of May about 4 week in total, basically we spent the bare minimum time in Spain each way, guess our paths crossed, we could of had a beer Very Happy

Thanks for the advise, I will study the maps later.

This was our route roughly, although there is a few option bits showing to reduce the trip if needs be. It was a figure of eight.

SpinDrift · Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 15:41 Post subject:

We probably did cross paths at some point. A beer would have been good Smile

There were a few things I didn't do that I would have liked to. The piste from Midelt to Ilmilchil is one of them The other thing I would have liked to do is the coast down south of Agadir towards TanTan and possibly further south.

This was our route: