Ouarzazate to Zagora to Foum Zguid. Morocco. 2024.
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Jim and Thomas geared up and ready to do their best not to fall foul of Ryanair weight restrictions. Thomas' boots weigh 5kg alone so wearing them rather than packing them saves excess baggage charges. We got through carrying our helmets as carry on without any problems.
The drive back from Ouarzazate airport was somewhat more colourful than Stansted, London. Ouarzazate is known as the 'gateway to the Sahara desert', so it was surprising to see so much lush greenery in and around the town as Sam drives the gang back to his place.
The medina in the old part of town is constructed from a mud/straw mix. It is in a constant state of repair as infrequent but heavy rains slowly wash away building walls.
On the edge of town homes are one or two stories high and have an unfinished quality to them. As families grow, extra floors are constructed on top. The ground floor of this home was also a door fabrication workshop.
No boring square paving slabs in Ouarzazate.
Feral cats and dogs roam the streets. It often feels that they outnumber the locals, especially in the evenings as packs of dogs scrounge rubbish bins for food and defend their territory. It's a risky business being a feline in the back alleys.
Thomas catches the early morning light next to a tomb near Sam's house. The early call to prayer is a wonderful soundtrack to the morning.
The narrow alleyways around the edge of Taourirt Kasbah expertly navigated by Thomas on his rented Chinese Docker motorcycle. The bike is officially a 50cc, but rumour has it there's a whopping 110cc's hiding in the engine. The little bike, used by the locals, was the perfect way to explore the winding streets of Ouarzazate.
Prepping Sam's Landcruiser as the sun breaks on the morning of the adventure ride. Greg, Jim and Thomas had hired Wilderness Wheels to help supply bikes and local knowledge for their journey south into the desert. The plan was to pick up section S of the newly launched Trans Morocco Trail.
Thomas was in charge of shooting for the accompanying film. He used Sony cine-cams rather than the popular GoPro's. Whilst these cameras lack some of the 'clip on and forget' versatility of action cams, the footage they shoot is far richer. It does mean that Thomas had to get creative at times though.
Jim and Sam merge with the locals as the team head out of town and begin to make their way south.
The road south out of Ouarzazate cuts through mountain passes near Agdz. Jim leads that way and chats to the rest of the team using his in-helmet Sena intercom. At times additional hand gestures were essential to convey the joy of experiencing such huge landscapes.
Sam rides the new KTM 890 Adventure R. This mid sized adventure bike uses an unconventional fuelling setup that sees the fuel tanks sit low down on either side of the engine. This helps keep the weight and centre of gravity closer to the ground, improving handling and making the bike feel lighter. Sam wears the new Adventure Spec Gravel Jacket and Pant, one of the reasons for the trip was to shoot the new gear in warmer conditions than the UK in November.
Whilst Moroccan roads can be home to all sorts of exotic motorised adventure vehicles, the humble donkey is still a well used form of transport for those living in rural communities.
Thomas gets ready to shoot Jim and Sam kicking up dust as they ride off into the evening sun. Sena helmet intercoms made co-ordinating these shots so much easier than shouting to each other. Hicham and Jamie wait patiently in the Landcruiser.
On the approach into Zagora the team pulled off the main road to get a shot in the palm groves. Within minutes they were mobbed by local kids in the village, excited to get up close to the bikes and try their luck with the western tourists. There are complicated ethics about whether to leave money or sweets for the kids in rural areas like these. Greg had planned ahead and brought with him a small polaroid camera, the idea being to take photos and leave memories behind rather than money or food.
Sam warned to keep the bike engines off as the kids have a tendency to 'rev the nuts off them'. All the kids wanted to jump on the bikes and it wasn't long before total chaos erupted. Jim did his best to try and bring some calm and order, but not speaking French or Arabic he found limited success.
This part of Morocco is popular with Hollywood film studios, and riding across the desert tracks it was easy to see why. At times it felt like the 'wild west' of America, more than north Africa.
Thomas, Sam and Jim take a moment to check the route while Greg gets the shot. Greg's KTM 450 EXC is loaded onto the back of the Landcruiser. This allowed Greg and Thomas to take turns shooting out of the 4x4 in order to get shots of the riders that would have been very difficult to achieve had all camera opps been on bikes.
Jim uses the T665 nav phone mounted on his Adventure Spec Mini Fairing to navigate the Trans Morocco Trail (TMT) using Drive Mode Dashboard (DMD) software. The TMT appears as a line on that Jim follows as he is riding. Unlike in Europe where off road riding is very limited, in Morocco you can almost ride wherever you like.
Greg shoots Jim who shoots Thomas who shoots Sam. All captured on the huge dry lake bed of Lake Iriqui. The scale of the flat surface allowed the rider to go around in large circles giving the team plenty of opportunity to shoot different angles. The shots with the sun behind the camera are great at showing the new Mongolia Jacket and Pant, the shots shooting into the sun are great at creating a mood.
Occasionally small shacks emerge in the barren landscape. Whilst they feel incredibly remote, they are actually located on what is a well used moto-tourism dirt track. The team stop and take a minute to see what is on offer, and pick up some souvenirs to take home. Within minutes the lady taking shelter under the shade had offered traditional Moroccan tea, though tradition dictates that it is made properly and thoroughly which can take some time. On this occasion it was politely declined.
On offer were small fossils. A clue to the ancient origins of this dry dusty track and a reminder that it was, once upon a time, a lake bed teeming with life.
Jim takes a minute for a mid-day soaking from an oasis well.
The Titanic, a restaurant shaped like a boat in the middle of a desert that was once a lake. This also doubles as a fuel station, though there are no pumps. Petrol and diesel are distributed from large plastic bottles at the back of the compound.
Hicham makes traditional Moroccan tea. Large amounts of sugar are added to the tea pot, and the tea is poured from a height into the glass to aid aeration. The tea is then poured from the glass back into the tea pot and the cycle is repeated four or five times until the sugar has dissolved and the tea reaches maximum sweetness. Delicious.
No desert story would be complete without a camel photo. Whilst it may be true that in the wilder reaches of the Sahara, camels may roam free or be used for transport, here, on this stretch of the TMT near Erg Lehoudi, the camels are purely a tourist attraction. Sam and Jim push on into the fresh desert sand.
Jim rides his Husqvarna 701 into the first dunes of the trip. Having never ridden on sand before, and on a heavier bike riding into the setting sun, Jim's skills were pushed to the limit. The saying goes, its easier to ride fast on sand. But then again, they also say that sand riding is the land of broken collar bones.
With the sun almost past the horizon, well past golden hour, Sam points the way and urges the team on to the evening rest stop at the nearby bivouac.
Hicham uses his sat nav to check he is on the correct track. With few landmarks it would be very easy to get lost.
The Erg Lihoudi Bivouac is a traditional Moroccan style camp, with a semi-luxury twist. Whilst the canvas tents look rustic, inside they house bedrooms, bathroom, shower and running water. It's certainly not roughing it, but also an enjoyable end to a long and hard days riding.
The clay oven is stoked before daybreak, ready to bake the days bread.
Thomas is up and filming at first light. He's holding a microphone with wind muff that makes for high quality audio. Sunrise over the dunes is a magical experience worth getting up early for. Which is handy as whoever has the responsibility of shooting the trip is always the first up and last to bed!
Despite the availability of luxury tents, Jim opts to sleep 'cowboy style' under the stars. The temperature hovered at about 10°C which made for a very comfortable night. The dunes catch the golden morning light of sunrise creating an unforgettable morning wake up call.
Thomas and Sam remove the rear wheel of the Husqvarna 701. The plan had been to wait for a mechanical mishap but the bikes were so well prepped that the team didn't suffer a puncture. This was one of the only occasions that were 'set up' to get the shot.
Jamie makes tracks with his KTM 450EXC on the wide open dry lake bed. There are few places in Europe that grant the freedom to ride unridden ground so being able to just point your front wheel and twist the throttle is a special feeling in Morocco.
Under that helmet is a huge smile as Jim pauses on the edge of Erg Chegaga. The dunes rise out of the flat lake bed and are a playground for moto enthusiasts. The tallest are an extreme challenge of man and machine to get to the top of.
One of the main aims of the trip was not to play in the dunes, but shoot the new Adventure Spec Mongolia Jacket and Pant. The more experienced riders, Hicham, Sam, Jamie and Thomas took turns riding different machines up and over the smaller dunes while Greg snapped away with his Canon R5 camera in burst mode. By shooting on the smaller dunes, it made sure that the larger dunes were in frame in the background.
Thomas and Jim watch the pros do their work. Riding big bikes well in the sand is a real skill. The trick is to not slow down.
As the sun begins to dip towards the horizon the light hitting the sand takes on a special quality. It would be easy to imagine 'spice' floating in the air in the vibe of the Dune books / films.
Jim and Sam make camp. The team pulled off the main track and headed over two or three dune crests until they were out of sight of any passing vehicles. For this trip Sam's business, Wilderness Wheels provided tents and sleeping kit which had allowed the team to fly over with less camping gear and more riding gear to photograph.
All the lessons we are taught as childern about how not to start a fire are set aside as Hicham gets his Tagine seat cook setup going the Moroccan way. All eyebrows escaped without a singe.
Tom captures some end of day reflections as the sun puts on its final show. It wasn't long before the sky was filled with stars.
The fire is stoked and allowed to burn down to embers, which are then moved into a 'seat' to the side. The tagine is placed ontop and allowed to stew for an hour or so. The result was delicious.
Thomas rests his head on the morning of the end of the TMT adventure. Being responsible for the camera and telling the story of the expedition is no easy task. A holiday it is not. The team may have spent less than a week out in the desert, but the memories made will leave a lasting mark.
The riders: Greg, Jamie, Sam, Hicham, Thomas, Jim. The vehicles: Husqvarna 701, KTM 890, Toyota Landcruiser, KTM 450EXC x 2.