Moroccan Rally 2024 Final Route (Posted: Friday 14 June 2024)

Our final route from London through to Morocco and the Sahara saw us travel 5,061 miles (8,098km) over 13 days. The tracker captured over 1800 waypoints during our journey. There are some interesting deviations from our route through the Sahara, perhaps we were lost on occasion!



You can explore a dynamic version of recorded route here.






Moroccan Rally 2024 Completes in 13 Days (Posted: Wednesday 12 June 2024)

We've arrived at our finish point, in Epping Forest which in a way is where it all started for us with mountain biking 30 years ago.

We averaged 389 miles (622 km) per day, largely attributed to the European section of the rally. While Morocco is familiar to us, we took on new segments of off-road, faced different challenges and met some incredible people who helped us throughout our entire journey. This has always been a theme across all our rallies.

Thank you for all your support, both with the generous donations to Crisis as well as the messages of encouragement. 

It's been a fantastic adventure and more photos and videos will be posted later.

Team Rusty Rhinos 
Red, Adam & Alex








Moroccan Rally 2024 concludes in Epping Forest (Posted: Wednesday 12 June 2024)

After 13 days and with 5,061 miles (8,098 km) driven, the Moroccan Rally 2024 comes to a close. It's been a fantastic journey! More to follow.







Towards the Finish Line! (Posted: Wednesday 12 June 2024)

Heading to the ferry to the UK on day 13 of the Moroccan Rally 2024!






Spanish Services (Posted: Tuesday 11 June 2024)

As we drove through Spain last night, we decided around 2am that it was time for a late supper.

The Spanish services always impress with their homely community feeling, excellent food and coffee. We got this spread of Tapas before continuing on with our drive.







Monday 10th June: Morocco to Spain (Posted: Monday 10 June 2024)

We made it to Asilah last night, covering over 400 miles from the peaks of the Atlas to Asilah just south of Tangiers. 


After some quick repairs to Red this morning we continued on to the Moroccan - Spanish border.



We have just crossed into Spain at the port of Ceuta awaiting our ferry to cross back to the European continent.








Sunday 9th June: Atlas, Marrakesh and Beyond (Posted: Sunday 9 June 2024)

We set off through the Atlas mountains this morning and arrived in Marrakesh for a delicious lunch of Tajine, Pastilla and salad.

After wandering through the meandering alleys of the old Medina, we left Marrakesh heading North towards Casablanca and Rabat.

















Saturday 8th June: 9th Rally Day in the Atlas (Posted: Saturday 8 June 2024)

Saturday 8th June: Day 9 of our rally was a combination of a stunning drive through the dramatic Atlas landscape as well as more car repairs. 

The latter part of our drive took us through parts of the Atlas severely affected by the earthquake. Sections of mountain road had disappeared and are being reconstructed. We have stopped in Talat N'Yaaqoub for some rest and good Tagine.













Atlas Night Drive (Posted: Saturday 8 June 2024)

After making it to Foum-Zguid, we decided to press on and drove to Tata, then Akka before heading North to the Atlas. We drove through the night at times navigating the precarious mountain roads before pulling up at the side of a mountain at 3.15am for a short car sleep under the incredible starlit sky.








Thursday 6th to Friday 7th June: Zagora to Foum-Zguid (Posted: Friday 7 June 2024)

Thursday 6th June: We spent most of the day in Zagora with car repairs from 9am to 5pm. Repairs included replacing our rear suspension, cleaning out our filters to resolve our fuelling issue and carrying out a number of other repairs.

We then headed out to Tagounite and started the off-road trail to Foum-Zguid then camped out for the night. 




Friday 7th June: We spent the entire day navigating the rocky off-road trails and sand dunes, going via Iriki across stunning scenery. The trail was hard and slow but we got there in the end!

We got lost a couple of times and briefly were stuck on a sand dune. By 6pm we made it to Foum-Zguid.







Wednesday 5th June: Merzouga to Zagora (Posted: Thursday 6 June 2024)

We drove from Merzouga to Zagora, mostly off-road through temperatures reaching 42c and a sand storm at the start of the day.




In our eagerness to set out, we didn't refuel in Merzouga when we left at 8am. Some 15 miles later we turned back to Merzouga, refuelled and Sahara proofed the car to deal with the high temperatures and sand.


We proceeded towards Ramlia, although we did find ourselves within a few miles of the Algerian border. The Moroccan military intercepted us and were extremely nice and helpful, escorting us out of the controlled zone to the correct track.


Once back at Ramlia, we struggled to cross the sand dunes as soft sand spread across the Ramlia area for around 5 miles. With the help of one of the locals in Ramlia, he showed us a good route through the dunes.

As we continued to Zagora, we stopped a couple of times dealing with a fuelling issue. After the sun had fully set, we were navigating the off-road terrain through the night. Fortunately the last 30 miles to Zagora were paved. We arrived just before 10pm, met Abd Oul who carried our a minor repair on the car and we're booked in tomorrow morning to resolve the fuelling issue.

Big day of off-road with over 220 rally miles driven, lots of fun action and adventure, finished off with a late dinner in Zagora.





Saharan off-road route from tomorrow (Posted: Tuesday 4 June 2024)

After a delicious dinner in Merzouga, we're ready for the desert adventure ahead starting tomorrow morning.

As a reminder, while we're likely to have limited connectivity, you can continue to track our location live on our website.

We're raising awareness and fundraising for Crisis. You can donate at https://www.justgiving.com/page/moroccan-rally-2024






Our compass has been found! (Posted: Tuesday 4 June 2024)

While undertaking some oil leak repairs at a workshop in Merzouga, we found our trusty old compass friend. Navigation across the Sahara tomorrow is now possible!








Chefchaouen to Merzouga (Posted: Tuesday 4 June 2024)

Monday 3rd June was our 4th rally day. A day that began in Chefchaouen and can only be described as epic.

We drove 422 miles (approx. 680km) and passed 2000 rally miles overall.

Our day started with breakfast in Chefchaouen and our first obstacle, convincing one of the Chefchaouen cats to leave the roof of our car so we could drive off.





By 2.30pm we reached Fes, we stopped for a rather unexpected and unplanned spread for lunch.




We managed to find a map of Morocco in the meandering alleys of the old Fes medina.


As reached the outskirts of Fes, we investigated a knocking noise that was bothering us. Our exhaust rubber mount had melted, possibly due to the weld nearby the previous day. That was fixed in the petrol station within 30 minutes.



We then continued on this extended adventure with an evening and night drive through the staggering landscapes and mountains from Ifran through to Erfoud via Midelt and Errachidia. Eventually we stopped for a short car sleep around 3.40am some 18 miles out of Merzouga.




The 4th June, our 5th rally day, we have stopped in Merzouga for a recovery day. The day started with breakfast overlooking the sand dunes and a rather long nap shortly after.






The cats of Chefchaouen (Posted: Monday 3 June 2024)

Breakfast and a walk in Chefchaouen before heading to Fes. Here is a sample of the many cats in Chefchaouen.











Next stop Fes (Posted: Monday 3 June 2024)

We managed to repair our exhaust system in Tetouan, this was a 6 hour job that included welding and gasket replacements. 

After the repair, we managed to get some maps printed offs from a search engine to get us as far as Fes. Not the best day for navigation, our original maps were confiscated at the border and we somehow lost our primary compass.

After a much needed dinner in Tetouan, we commenced a night drive to Chefchaouen that ended with a split radiator hose that resulted in us dumping our entire coolant on the road, all while searching for somewhere to stay.

Radiator hose now replaced. Time for some rest ahead of our journey to Fes tomorrow!














Arrived in Morocco on the 2nd June! (Posted: Sunday 2 June 2024)

We're in Morocco! After completing a 1600 mile drive in 40 hours, we stopped just outside of Algerciras on the night of the 1st June and crossed into Morocco on the morning of the 2nd June.

Spent time in Tetouan acquiring local maps, local currency and some car repairs. 






Fuel problem solved! (Posted: Saturday 1 June 2024)

Problem solved. Fully refuelled both tanks and back on the road. About 250 miles away from the ferry terminal.







Fuel situation (Posted: Saturday 1 June 2024)

First tank has run out of fuel, second tank is approaching low so we decided to refuel. This is what we were greeted with...






Breakfast in Barcelona (Posted: Saturday 1 June 2024)

We had a great breakfast stop in Barcelona with a bit of fun parking between some roadside bins and a skip.

The delightful staff at La Esquina served up a tasty Spanish omelette for us.








We're in Spain! (Posted: Saturday 1 June 2024)

Our long drive continued until 3am before stopping for about two and half hours. 

Apart from one exhaust repair, fairly uneventful although we're slightly down on power due to our exhaust manifold leaking. 

We're now about an hour and a half away from Barcelona where we'll stop for some breakfast. Spanish omelette? 

We've just reached our 1000 mile (1600km) milestone after 27 hours!










Driving through France (Posted: Friday 31 May 2024)

We're somewhere Southeast of Paris heading towards Dijion. 

After a large amount of rain earlier, which with Red means it was also raining inside the car, we now have some bright dry weather as we cruise.






Moroccan Rally 2024 launches! (Posted: Friday 31 May 2024)

Moroccan Rally 2024 launches at 6.06am from Tower Bridge on the 31st May.

We're thrilled to be back on the road after a 10 year gap. 








We’re ready! (Posted: Thursday 30 May 2024)

Final preparations are complete. Supplies and snacks are all packed.

Departure tomorrow!










Camo net in place (Posted: Monday 27 May 2024)

The iconic camo net is in place.

4 days to launch!







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