In the first of two blog posts, our resident road tripper Ben Coombs describes the Sandstorm Rally – Pub2Pub’s first foray onto the African continent…
From where I’m currently sat in southern England, as autumn rolls across the landscape, Africa feels a long way away. But really, how far away is it? As I found out in October, it’s much closer than you might think.
In fact, it’s only 600 miles of driving away. Or a mere ten hours, if you find yourself behind the wheel of a 26-year-old Range Rover, as I was last month.
Okay, so there’s a little bit of creative odometer work going on here. As the trip got underway in Portsmouth, the sixteen cars which made up the inaugural Sandstorm Rally were very much parked and not recording miles as they took their first leap south, crossing the Bay of Biscay to the port of Santander.
After rolling off the ferry into the Spanish sun, we spent two days heading south towards Gibraltar. Just across the bay from the famous rock is the port of Algeciras, from where, with 600 miles notched up so far, we boarded the second ferry of the trip, to Africa.
And so, for the second time in the trip, our cars rolled off a ferry into sunshine. And what a selection of cars it was! For the Sandstorm Rally, we took an ‘anything goes’ approach to the choice of vehicle, and the resulting variety was a great reflection on the variety of people who come on our trips. From a couple of diminutive MX-5s to a chunky Freelander, and from a Fiat Panda to a Porsche Boxster, the entry list was as individual as the people behind the wheels. It’s a good reminder that there’s no such thing as a typical car enthusiast – and why specialist classic and modern classic car insurance needs to cater for all sorts of cars and adventures.
With the roads of Africa awaiting just outside the port, it promised to be one unforgettable adventure.
Once on the road, we headed down the coast to a hotel located between the cities of Rabat and Casablanca, arriving in time to watch the sun set over the Atlantic. Our first day on the road in Morocco had proved to be one of adjustment. While driving styles are pretty relaxed by African standards, they still seem rather frenzied to a group of newly-arrived Brits. Meanwhile, the roads were better than most of the group expected, a toll-motorway speeding our progress on this first day of the trip.
Day two in Africa began well. The cars were running fine, the sun was once again shining, and the road to Marrakech beckoned. And so, on we rolled. On to the stirring city of Berbers and snake charmers, souqs and minarets. As a warm, velvety dusk settled over the city, the Sandstormers lost themselves in the exotic swirl of the old town, energised by the thought it had only taken four days’ driving to reach there.
However, day five promised to be the one on which the fun really started.
Marrakech nestles at the foot of the High Atlas – the loftiest mountain range in north Africa. Several passes rise to the south of its suburbs, and we made a beeline for the Tizi n’Tishka, which soars to over 2,200 metres above sea level. The pass has seen much improvement in recent years, and now forms a smooth and flowing route from Marrakech to the Sahara, its sweeping tarmac favouring the range of sports cars which were along on the adventure. However, for those more adventurous members of the group, 2,200 metres was just the beginning.
Rising from near the high point, of the pass, a gravel track continued upwards to over three kilometres above sea level. This proved an unmissable challenge for the more adventurous members of the group, and so on they went, onwards and upwards. This first bit of off-tarmac action showed just how capable some of our cars were, as while you’d expect the likes of our Range Rover and Freelander to acquit themselves well, it was the achievements of the likes of a Mercedes SLK, and Renault Twingo, which really impressed. It’s amazing what can be achieved with a fairly regular car and a sense of adventure, as our group of Sandstormers found out as they pushed on towards the 3,000-metre mark.
After dropping down off the pass, we found ourselves in a sandy world of crags and kasbahs. First on the ‘to visit’ list was the kasbah of Alt Benhaddou, a fine fortified village clinging to a hillside in a most photogenic manner. Which is probably why it seemed strangely familiar to many of us, as the movie industry had taken note of its style too, most famously using it as the backdrop to various scenes in Gladiator.
That night, we stayed in Ouarzazate, a town with yet more connections to the movie industry, thanks to the biggest deal in town – the Atlas Film Studios. Here, further familiar backdrops lurk, from The Mummy, to the Living Daylights, this is a place where even the dusty desert landscapes have that star quality.
But really, the blockbuster landscapes were just beginning, as we rolled out of town to join the Desert Highway. From dune driving in Erg Chebbi to fighting the floods back north, we’ll be covering the Sandstorm Rally’s adventures in the Sahara in the next blog post…
