Driving test in the desert at Erg Chebbi

When you are in Morocco , friends immediately ask you whether you would like to test your four-wheel drive in the sand...

Yes, we have now implemented that because I was very curious, it is rare in Northern Europe that you can drive into the dunes by car.

So we booked a tour around Erg Chebbi, our host Hassan was also our tour guide. We set off with plastic sand sheets and a compressor to inflate the tires, because for beginners like Christian and me, deserts and sand tracks mean that we are bound to make mistakes.

First we went to the oasis itself, where Hassan explained to us that every family here in Merzouga and the surrounding villages has a piece of land, every 12 days they get water via a sophisticated canal system, for about 12 hours, so that they have their own Be able to grow vegetables. Tomatoes and other varieties that require a lot of water come from Agadir, they are not grown here. Next to it was the well from which the families get their water for the day or, if they are traveling with handcarts or donkeys, for the week. The spring is considered to be very pure because the water has to run through sand and thus has a natural filter .

Then we really went into the desert, first on a normal driving track, then came the endurance test, first the air was let out of the tires, then came the instructions that you should drive in 2nd gear with constant throttle. PLEASE LISTEN TO YOUR GUT FEELING, because a Toyota or Mitsubishi Jeep has a different gear ratio! You know your cars better than your guide...

The first kilometers of sandy slopes were magical. I then switched off the assistance systems because they get irritating when the ABS kicks in or the ESP thinks there is ice and snow here. In general, driving in the sand is like driving in slushy snow, it's a lot of fun! Basically accelerate up to the dune, slow down at the crest because you don't know what's behind the sand hump.

I then got stuck in the sand when I didn't take the Hassan channel fast enough, FIRST GEAR WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER HERE! However, I can't say whether we wouldn't have floated one way or the other because of insufficient ground clearance, because it's really like being in the snow, if the ground clearance isn't there, it can sometimes be problematic.

If you get stuck, you have to shovel the tires free, then back away and be pushed if you have grip on the metal, because moving forward you usually end up in the same dilemma again.

Christian then drove on a less sandy road to the Berber tents, which now consist of several tents, because since the border with Algeria has been permanently closed, they can no longer live their lives as nomads, but are now more or less forced to settle down. The dromedaries provide food and sustenance, the animals roam freely and are considered retirement provision in a financial sense because they bring a good price. The government also provides food in the form of goats and education for the Berber children, a bus comes for the collection school, the men work as tour guides or in the mine, while the women then look after the tent, weave, bake bread, cook and so on have small children around you. Nevertheless, life is very simple here, little children run after a car for sweets, every stop immediately attracts someone trying to sell their homemade goods.

We stopped at a fountain to water the migrating dromedaries, it was amazing how loud the animals can sip and how majestic they are up close! The wells are currently not full because, according to Hassan, the last heavy rain was in 2017...

In between, we went for a ride in a palm grove with our two black guys, who weren't so enthusiastic about swinging over the sandy slopes and driving slopes with waves. They only feel comfortable in the sand if there are trees nearby, so far they've been really lucky here!

We drove to the other end of the dunes for a break to eat, where the Algerian border was in sight, a fence and wall in the old river bed ensures that no through traffic can take place, the Algerians are monitored up on the plateau, Of course there are also Moroccan border guards who keep a lookout, but we stayed at a safe distance from all of this. Hassan led us to a beautiful dune away from it, where we then had a desert picnic. There was a traditional baguette with tuna and cheese, plus fruit and green tea, which Hassan cooked in style on the fire with withered branches of bushes. It was a great snack, we all contributed something, be it the chair or something for the picnic and we also had a little chat with Abdul, who was there as Hassan's helper.

I was glad that Hassan immediately picked up all the rubbish, because the desert doesn't lose anything; on our walks with the black people we often see tuna cans or drinks cans, some of which look new, and some of which are already old and rusty.

After the picnic we went to look at fossils and perhaps do some knocking ourselves. Hassan had to be a little careful about our ground clearance and then failed because of a deep sand drift. BUT thanks to a different gear ratio he was able to get out of the treacherous sand on his own with his studded tires, he said that I could get through it. UNFORTUNATELY NOT! We floated up again because the tire pressure had been filled up again in between because of the rocky desert, there was a crunching sound again and woof, standstill!

So we took out the plastic sand trays again, including our own trays, then went backwards and then took the path next to it where the sand wasn't so deep. From then on it was easy, I switched to first gear if necessary, but that wouldn't have helped me in the sand bath!

We saw the fossils, picked up a few, but didn't really hammer any out because Christian and I found enough rocks with remains. Hassan then "planted" something for us so that we could find something nice....

The journey home was again with sand, but now I had my method and although I swam a little, I didn't go into the deep sand anymore, but instead looked for my own path if necessary.

CONCLUSION: At Labrabulli, all-wheel drive means dynamic all-wheel drive, it's not permanently switched on, but it was still gigantic! I had fun, Christian, to whom I gave this as a gift, finally didn't have a hand on a handle, but was able to steer and have fun, even if it rocked a lot... I THOUGHT IT WAS GREAT.

(I am aware that this also pollutes the environment and that I blew fine dust into the air, it wasn't environmentally friendly, sorry, mea culpa!)