This page will give you the lowdown on my incredible adventure in Morocco
Day 1
The event kicked off from a Meknes campsite, where many competitors eagerly awaited the start. Day 1 was a lengthy drive from Meknes to Midelt, 125 miles in all, and with an expected speed average of 30mph, it was going to be a long day.
After we dealt with the laborious sponsorship stickers and the compulsory safety briefing, we drew our starting positions from a hat. With everyone’s number drawn, final preparations began as teams started to leave the camp. We were given 3 minute intervals between each team’s departure, so as to give us enough time to not all rush to the same waypoint at the same time. This didn’t prove as successful as Protrax hoped it would be.
Finally our time came, 4th to leave the starting blocks, we were handed our expected arrival time at the next camp, and our set of coordinates for the day. In total we had to take six pictures and find 12 waypoints including a number of checkpoints. We hammered them into the GPS and away we went. We had almost conquered the labyrinth of winding one way streets, roundabouts and psychotic Moroccan drivers when our vehicle was suddenly stopped by 2 traffic cops. Claiming that we like to drive quickly, their words not mine. This is with blatant disregard to the obvious speeders that were all around us. They saw we were foreign and they saw we had an expensive car; they were like moths to a light bulb. They tried it on for 500 dirhams but we had every right to drive away, as we told them that seemed to ignore every other car on the road, including our team mate. We finally made our way out of Meknes, no thanks to Allah’s Law.
Our first picture was of the ‘Grande Cedar’ (a big tree) to which the forest owes its name. But for the bonus points you needed to convince one of the local monkeys that your car was good enough for them to sit on, so you could get that 50 point picture. At the time the monkeys were having none of it, bribes of nuts just didn't cut it for these chaps. The team agreed that it was taking too long so we sped off into the forest, a wise decision as no one managed to catch that snapshot. Everyone except Sally Povoltsky, the event’s paramedic, got the seemingly impossible shot. She devoted an hour to bargaining with the chimps.
After leaving the photo shoot with the monkeys, we took the first track we saw into the forest, this wasn’t the smartest thing to do. We in the thick of the forest, when we realised the point was still 3 miles away from us. A complex and well navigated u-turn put us back on the right track. A 5 minute drive up the road and we picked up where we should have started. The following hours saw some of the most competitive and extreme off-roading I had ever seen. Vehicles being damaged, rock crawls, mudslides, cheating. Splitting up is against the rules by the way. For me this was a great start to the event, the future of the event looked promising. It was some of the most intense off-roading I had ever experienced, and I thought it was brilliant. I couldn’t wait for Day 2 to begin. Especially when you have to spend the night in a room where the bed sheets smell as if someone has used them for toilet paper. Not Pleasant.
Day 2
Today’s proceedings kicked off from timnay camp. A quick briefing and results announcement, left us ready for another exhilarating day of extreme off-roading. Sitting in 3rd place we were happy with yesterday’s performance, but we knew we had to get our act together if we stood a chance of winning the competition there were some very tough teams in our way though. Today’s pictures, waypoints and punches were strewn across the magnificent Todra Gorge, along the riverbed. This area was just a mass of photo taking opportunities. The views were spectacular, and if the mind-boggling scenery wasn’t enough we battled with time to escape sudden flash floods. The river wouldn’t make it’s mind up.
All was going well until we reached Checkpoint 2, we had our punch card signed and then made our way to take the two pictures in the vicinity. The first was no problem, but the second was another matter. We faced a lengthy rock crawl and a very tricky climb to navigate. We sent in the Range Rover to get the points. Getting to the picture was fine, but the exit wasn’t as smooth. Co-driver Charlie Walton, was making his way out of the gulley, but a clunking noise could be heard as he left, it didn’t sound good. Charlie had somehow managed to turn the compressor and both lockers on, through shunting the gear stick around. Yesterday almost ended in disaster, he left the Range Rover in low box, and put his foot to the floor. He got away with it yesterday, today he wasn’t so lucky. As we pulled away we saw his car come to a halt, and driver, Simon Walton dive under the vehicle. 15 minutes of fumbling with bits and bobs, showed us what was wrong. The halfshaft was gone and a CV joint was in pieces on the front right wheel. A quick call for help across the CB, and we were aided within minutes. Using the knowledge and expertise of Ed Cobley, we got the CV joint off, and the halfshaft was no problem. The elements were against us throughout. It rained, it hailed, it snowed and the and the wind could rip your face off. In a desperate bid for shelter, we grabbed a groundsheet, 4 bungees and 3 Land Rovers, to provide a flimsy shelter for our team. A gruelling hour and a half later we were off again with too many waypoints and too little time. We battled on and did what we could, we went for the most points possible, and in the end it paid off. We didn’t drop as many places as we thought we would, we finished in a comfortable 4th.
Day 3
Today’s proceedings began with another briefing. Then it was all systems go with teams leaving in quick succession. Due to our mishap yesterday, an hour and a half sat on the roadside repairing our team mate’s shattered CV joint, we had dropped to 4th. We had to get it together, to get back on track. This was going to take some effort as one of our vehicles was now in 2 wheel drive.
Our final destination today was the lost city; historic ruins in the middle of nowhere. Today we moved away from civilization and into the desert, it was rocks and sand. Roads were scarce; you either stick to the dirt tracks or make your own. First half of the day was spent in the mountains, clambering up rocks and scaling cliff faces. The second half was spent on the beginnings of the desert. Our first experience on the sand was a good one. Our vehicle was running Kuhmo KL 71s. These were just the ticket for the sand and they were brilliant on the rocks too. Our team mate however, was on BFGoodrich All-Terrains, which struggled in the sand and the 2 wheel drive didn't help either. After our first few battles in the sand we knew momentum was key to getting anywhere.
All was going well until we came to picture E. We reached the exact coordinates, but from what we could see the picture did not exist. Half an hour of frantic searching and still nothing eventually we gave up and moved on, by the looks of it no one had discovered the location of the sacred E. We were getting very close to the end and our final punch was ahead of us. When we arrived we were surprised to see many teams all on this sandy mountainside. Apparently the punch, much like the previous letter, was nowhere to be seen. After scouring the area yet again; no luck yet again. After wasting more time we did what teams before us had done, photographed our GPS, and moved on. Being behind on time, we needed to make it up, so we wouldn’t be penalized for being late. So we sped off to the finish line, a dangerous track of ups, downs and sand, we were airborne twice. Our efforts paid off we came in early, and plenty of time to admire the sights of the spectacular Lost City and set up our wild camp for the night. Throughout the night we endured hellish thunderstorms, grim rain and beastly sandstorms. It still continued in the morning to make packing up an excruciatingly difficult task.
Day 4
After braving the elements last night, we woke up to face our tent collapsing around us. We crawled out to see the rest of the group suffering the same fate too. Teams grappled with their tents, as the wind ripped them apart. Awnings and roof tents were being crumpled by the brutal weather. After enduring the seemingly never ending storm we strapped everything down, and huddled together for our daily briefing. The officials could see everyone was feeling the force of the awful weather, so teams left straight away.
After our departure we made haste for the first few photos. Punches were next on the list, so our team trekked across the sandy wasteland in search of the few punches that were available throughout the entire event, available throughout the entire event, due to the risk of the locals misplacing them. With the punches out of the way we had to make our way back to the main track. This proved harder than we imagined.
We decided to follow the team in front of us. As soon as the team in front lodged one of their vehicles deep in the sand, we knew something was wrong. We passed the team and saw their was no longer any tracks. They were making their own. The next 20 minutes were spent manoeuvring our way across the lumps and bumps the terrain threw at us. Eventually we found the track and continued recovering letters and numbers for those crucial points. The race for places was going to be tight.
The day drew to a close and teams pulled into the final destination, or so it seemed. Apparently there was no room in the inn, and obviously nobody wanted to go through the ordeal of the night before, so the group decision was to head to Mazouga and find a decent hotel. Yet again this proved harder than we all imagined. Upon leaving we managed to divide the group into 3. Only one of the groups managed to find the right way out, and luckily found the main road straight there. The other groups however managed to get the on the wrong side of the untraversable riverbed. The evening that followed was a struggle of teamwork and patience. The two unfortunate teams regrouped, after our battle with the river, and set off on our journey to Mazouga, the long way round. This is extremely hard, when you continually have to squint to find the track, stop for refuelling and travelling at a dull 5mph, in convoy procedure. We were constantly stopping and starting, going in circles and waiting for others to catch up. We continued long and hard in to the night. Keeping the team spirit alive with beers and wisecracks over the CB, we eventually reached Mazouga after a gruelling however many hours, and got a well deserved rest.
Day 5
With our overnight expedition behind us, we were treated to a lie-in. We had a late start at Nomad’s Palace (not exactly what you think it is: a big mud hut and living space made of rugs). With plenty of time to get to the start, we decided to get the truck washed. It was that bad! The mixture of sand, water and mud, was caked on. The doors wouldn’t open without a shove, you couldn’t see out of any of the windows and we couldn’t even lock the doors properly. Other teams had followed our example, and cleaned their motors too. It made driving a whole lot easier.
Upon reaching Nomad’s Palace we were told we didn't have long considering that we were starting at around 2 o’clock. We had until 5 o’clock to round up the photos, letters, numbers, punches etc. And then spare enough time to get back and find two marshals who had hidden themselves among the dunes. We started off well enough until we reached the 3rd letter. Yet again the marshals had pulled a fast one failing to give us the correct coordinates, for a letter by which the looks of it was nowhere to be seen.
All was going well until we were faced with the obstacle of several very steep, rocky hills in between us and 3 photo opportunities. My dad and I headed up the hill, but with our team mate in 2 wheel drive he was struggling at the first hurdle. He turned round and told us on the CB we would meet him on the other side. Upon meeting up with him he told us we would have to call it a day. He had pushed the car to the limit, continuing would be pointless; it would be stop-start all the way. The journey was over for Team Panel Damage.
After our upset in the desert we spent the next couple of days in Fes, Estepona and finally Bilbao. We then embarked on the ferry journey back to Portsmouth. My experience in Morocco is one I will never forget. Protrax made it the trip of a lifetime and I strongly recommend it to any of you who think they’ve got what it takes to take on the desert storm challenge.
Going to Morocco was great but coming home to my mum, brother and 3 sisters was always going to be good.