Offroading through the desert

We start our 3-day trip through the desert from Merzouga to Zagora. 280km - 200km of which are offroad; the route is said to be one of the most beautiful in Morocco, leading through the Sahara Desert, always close to the Algerian border.

The region is also known as Petit Sahara because it combines all types of landscapes: rocky desert, wadis, desert mountains, dune landscapes, and plateaus.

According to our off-roading guidebook, it's rated as a level 3 difficulty - we don't want to push ourselves or our car any further than that.

Apparently, the route is quite popular and well-traveled... we only encounter 3 small travel groups with Jeeps, Unimogs & Co. in the 2 1/2 days, and otherwise only a few nomads, goat herders, and various wild camels 🤩.

Thanks to our guidebook, we are prepared for the most difficult passage, a 3.5km stretch of soft sand and a river crossing (dry) with a steep ascent.

Right before this passage (at a small village) - this time we know before - some boys and teenagers approach our car, shout at us, and even hang onto the back of the cabin.

This time, we don't let it bother us and 'shake' them off quite literally, except for two little boys who are simply interested in watching us deflate the tires for the soft sand. We give them some bread and an orange, and they are happy and wave us goodbye.

The Amarok 'surfs' (or at least it feels that way) quite controlled through the sand, and we make it through just fine, until we reach the Qued crossing, at the end of which is a steep incline. Since a car apparently got stuck in two spots earlier, there are two deep ruts in the sloping ascent that worry us a bit.

We play it safe and while I use the (perfectly suited!) avalanche shovel to fill the holes, Basti turns our sand ramps into a ramp.

I'm so nervous about everything going well that I unfortunately forget to film 🙈, but everything works out and we are very relieved... and completely covered in dust 🤣.

We continue driving and the landscape changes... we go for kilometers on a 'washboard road' that we find tolerable with the cabin at only 10km/h. From afar, we see a dust cloud... 3 big Unimogs are coming towards us (of course, Germans 😉) and we briefly stop side by side... they roll down the window and greet us with 'Kölle Alaf!' 🥳... a funny and surreal situation.

The Unimogs continue on, and we make our way kilometer by kilometer, following our track.

Except for a few inns, there is really nothing in the desert, and one of them is near our planned overnight spot - as soon as we park there, the owner comes after us on a moped and offers us breakfast for the next morning in his inn... very friendly and not offended when we decline - we admire his business sense and commitment. A goat herder passes by, greets us very kindly, and continues on... also on a moped...

We spend the night beautifully at a dune, drink our shaken white wine, and enjoy the incredible starry sky... at the same time, we both feel like we have truly arrived in Morocco.

The next morning, we continue early and traverse the most diverse landscapes, only passing by nomads who seem reserved. One signals to us that he is thirsty, and we give him a bottle of water.

At another point, we take a short break near a tree (actually the only one around), and two boys - completely dirty and without shoes - cautiously approach us. They are maybe 7 and 9 years old and offer homemade wool camels.

We give them some water and our last oranges, and they ask me if I have shoes for them. Actually, among the donated clothes, I have a pair of old Vans from Basti... they are obviously too big, but I still give them to the boys (they can at least exchange them) and tell them that they can give them to their father otherwise. They laugh kindly and happily take them.

These moments are really not easy because it's so difficult to gauge what would be 'right' and truly helpful, and it's simply very touching to see and experience (especially) children in this way.

We keep driving, and on an endless expanse shimmering with heat, we see something dark in the distance that we can't identify. As we get closer, we recognize a wild camel, and when we are at the same level, the camel cow suddenly stands up, along with a very young camel... we briefly stop and are all overwhelmed.

A short time later, we encounter a group of 5 off-road vehicles... a guided tour with (of course, Germans 🤣) and we also briefly stop side by side here and chat.

Our tour continues, and we pass through a military checkpoint that checks our passports. According to the guidebook, it is not allowed to stay in the region until the next military checkpoint... unfortunately, we're too early to stop in the heat, but at our pace, we won't make it to the next checkpoint in daylight.

We take a risk and keep driving, and in the evening, we find a hidden corner on a rough mountain pass. The rocky trail forces us to crawl upward, and we rely a bit on the 'kid bonus' in case someone chases us away... but that doesn't happen.

The next morning, we descend the pass at the same pace, and when we pass the waypoint where the military checkpoint was supposed to be, it is abandoned and no longer in operation... so everything went well 😅.

By noon, we have completed the entire route and are back in civilization. We drive to a small campsite in Zagora, surrounded by palm trees and - the best part after the desert - it allows us to use the amazing pool of a beautiful boutique hotel next door for an extra fee. The small campsite mostly has offroaders as guests and has a very pleasant and special atmosphere.

We are parked near a very nice family from Bavaria with 2 children (Mia 2 and Max 5), and everything just clicks immediately.

We spend time by the pool, the children get along great, and when they fall asleep, we have another glass of wine together and all decide to extend our stay at this beautiful place by one more day.

We come from opposite directions and can exchange many tips for the respective onward journey, so we decide to take another trip towards the desert, which we have been thinking about the whole time and should be manageable for us.