We may have, but they are well South of us now! Maybe next trip…Oh you have plenty of time to swing by the Bardenas Reales on your way... It'd be rude not to
Lat: 42.26058897144359
Long: -1.4674464070585003
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The Road to Morocco (2022)
- Thread starter mikeau
- Start date
Frustrating but sounds like you’ve done all you can as a trail fix . Don’t let an oil leak spoil the remainder of your fabulous adventure. At least they’ll be evidence of you being there long after you are gone
I think I followed your write up of you fitting the intercooler and new hoses to the intercooler so it will be interesting to see the reason for the leak when you’re home and can strip it down .
Its the oil/water intercooler that I meant, not the turbo intercooler.. It was fitted around the same time though so may have been in the same thread...
I have a thread adapter M-F for the oil hose threads, so the plan is to fit a (steel) adapter to the ally rad using some thread sealant and connect the oil hoses to that rather than to the ally threads on the rad. Hopefully that will prevent any vibration/movement from causing further leaks...
I have a thread adapter M-F for the oil hose threads, so the plan is to fit a (steel) adapter to the ally rad using some thread sealant and connect the oil hoses to that rather than to the ally threads on the rad. Hopefully that will prevent any vibration/movement from causing further leaks...
And still find time to post , top bloke
I did wonder when I read your first post, lol... im thinking if you have that much oil in an intercooler your engine will be running away
, but thought to myself that folk who know their way round a landrover will likely know what you are on about..
Right... We have wiffy!
I'll bactrack a bit and post some of the stuff that I couldnt while on the road.
Starting with the video of driving from the top of the Todra gorge (where the tarmac runs out) and down into the Dades gorge. Its a bit long so feel free to fast forward and miss out as many bits as you like... Its a shame the dashcam is mounted drivers side as you dont get such a good view of the vertiginous drops the other side...
The topo of the route gives you an idea of the heights from all the contour lines!
I'll bactrack a bit and post some of the stuff that I couldnt while on the road.
Starting with the video of driving from the top of the Todra gorge (where the tarmac runs out) and down into the Dades gorge. Its a bit long so feel free to fast forward and miss out as many bits as you like... Its a shame the dashcam is mounted drivers side as you dont get such a good view of the vertiginous drops the other side...
The topo of the route gives you an idea of the heights from all the contour lines!
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I did wonder when I read your first post, lol... im thinking if you have that much oil in an intercooler your engine will be running away
Yeah, sorry for the confusion!
Bodge job helped
but its still leaving its mark everywhere it stops so a priority job for me is to fix the leak properly and get a large can of Jizer!
I'll back track to a few pics that I couldnt post earlier.
Driving up Dades gorge;
After changing underwear, the valley road gradually changes from stoney track, to potholes linked with bits of tarmac and concrete passing through scatted houses and eventually the bits of tarmac link up form a relatively civilised surface through small villages.
We eventually found ourselves overnighting at the place I posted pics earlier, but heres a few more;
Lot of rain overnight which they welcomed as they have had a drought for the past few years
'Filling station' at the top of the gorge;
you buy fuel by the 3 litre plastic water container full...
Views can be stunning
Coming back down the Dades Gorge we stopped for a brew and saw this being attended to;
One of a number on some kind of rally
and further down the gorge we found the rest of them having lunch;
A brew with a view
and looking down the gorge from another viewpoint
A couple of crazy Germans were driving huge motorhomes up through those bends
And the other half made a couple of friends
more later....
Driving up Dades gorge;
After changing underwear, the valley road gradually changes from stoney track, to potholes linked with bits of tarmac and concrete passing through scatted houses and eventually the bits of tarmac link up form a relatively civilised surface through small villages.
We eventually found ourselves overnighting at the place I posted pics earlier, but heres a few more;
Lot of rain overnight which they welcomed as they have had a drought for the past few years
'Filling station' at the top of the gorge;
you buy fuel by the 3 litre plastic water container full...
Views can be stunning
Coming back down the Dades Gorge we stopped for a brew and saw this being attended to;
One of a number on some kind of rally
and further down the gorge we found the rest of them having lunch;
A brew with a view
and looking down the gorge from another viewpoint
A couple of crazy Germans were driving huge motorhomes up through those bends
And the other half made a couple of friends
more later....
You can see the drop I wouldn’t fancy a mishap .
Amazing
Got to be my favourite super car Lamborghini Muira god I love the shape so sexy .see one a while back at a Sunday breakfast meet at Goodwood in orange .my OH said it’s only a car as I was drooling over it wash your mouth out I saidI'll back track to a few pics that I couldnt post earlier.
Driving up Dades gorge;
View attachment 299568
After changing underwear, the valley road gradually changes from stoney track, to potholes linked with bits of tarmac and concrete passing through scatted houses and eventually the bits of tarmac link up form a relatively civilised surface through small villages.
We eventually found ourselves overnighting at the place I posted pics earlier, but heres a few more;
View attachment 299566
Lot of rain overnight which they welcomed as they have had a drought for the past few years
View attachment 299567
View attachment 299569
'Filling station' at the top of the gorge;
View attachment 299570
you buy fuel by the 3 litre plastic water container full...
View attachment 299571
Views can be stunning
View attachment 299572
Coming back down the Dades Gorge we stopped for a brew and saw this being attended to;
View attachment 299573
View attachment 299574
One of a number on some kind of rally
and further down the gorge we found the rest of them having lunch;
View attachment 299592
A brew with a view
View attachment 299575
and looking down the gorge from another viewpoint
View attachment 299576
A couple of crazy Germans were driving huge motorhomes up through those bends
View attachment 299577
And the other half made a couple of friends
View attachment 299578
more later....
…few quid there @mikeau didn’t want to swap one then 
Love those roads up and down the mountains always amazes me how they build them …better than some around where I live .
Just goes to show how a well prepared land rover needs to be to do what you have done …great stuff fab pictures along the way ..
Ouarzazate is know by some as the gateway to the Sahara.
Since deserts have no actual border I suppose its entitled to, and a desert is defined by lack of precipitation rather than an abundance of sand and camels, so perhaps its technically correct...
Its an interesting place anyway and has a few things worth seeing/doing.
Since deserts have no actual border I suppose its entitled to, and a desert is defined by lack of precipitation rather than an abundance of sand and camels, so perhaps its technically correct...
Its an interesting place anyway and has a few things worth seeing/doing.
Yeah... I'm actually quite glad my wheel came off on the autoroute and not up there...
Amazing pictures , thank you for posting them so I can enjoy your adventure from a grey and wet SW England
Those roads are interesting to say the least !! How high were you at the top of the switchback route ?
Those roads are interesting to say the least !! How high were you at the top of the switchback route ?
Kept on expecting that car to pull in and let you past lol... at one stage I thought he was going to..
..And yes..I thought I was seeing things when I saw rain and puddles...
It was wet at times for us in Wales.. ill see if I've got the vid still...
good point mind you would have been great video footageOuarzazate is know by some as the gateway to the Sahara.
Since deserts have no actual border I suppose its entitled to, and a desert is defined by lack of precipitation rather than an abundance of sand and camels, so perhaps its technically correct...
Its an interesting place anyway and has a few things worth seeing/doing.
Yeah... I'm actually quite glad my wheel came off on the autoroute and not up there...
good point mind you would have been great video footage
Only if they had retrieved the camera from the mangled wreckage..!
Right, back to Ouarzazate...
or is that on to Ouarzazate? Anyway, heres some more pics...
On the way down Dades Gorge, you find these incredible rock formation, known as the Pates des Singes (Monkeys paws/fingers).
As with many things, you lose the sense of scale and perspective in photos a bit
so heres a Defender to give it some perspective
We found a half decent (well, it was half finished) campsite near Ouarzazate and were given tea
Previous days rain had left it quite muddy and the only place we could find that was level enough to pitch was a bit muddy
We decided next day to not drive too far and headed for the Cascades de Tuzgui, having previously visited another cascades (waterfall) and been quite impressed.
En route there we got flagged down by a couple of guys with a broken down coach. Presumably these were the driver and the tour guide, but the passengers must have been rescued (or not yet collected), and there were two pairs of legs sticking out from under the rear with an expanding pool of oil or fluid of some kind.
One of them asked for a lift to Agdz (nearest town about 20k) but since we have no spare seating capacity we were asked to deliver a note to his 'family'.
This took us about an extra 20k of steep mountain roads, but you cant refuse can you...
More on this story later...
Returning from Agdz and following the road to the cascades gave us nice views over the river valley, looking very dry after several years of drought
We took a wrong turn or two, but eventually found the parking area with one other vehicle on it and found the (unsigned) pathway leading down into the canyon
Which eventually led to the mini oasis at the base of the 'falls'
occupied by a couple of guys lounging on a rug and four others sitting eating.
We were invited to have tea with them and got introduced to Omar (on the right) who tells us in broken french that hes 67 years old and has lived there for 37 years.
I have a feeling there is some poetic license but he does look like he owns the place.
He sits smoking a splif while throwing chunks of bread into the pool of water (despite the drought, there is still a little water flowing down) where fish fight over it.
Feck knows what the fish eat if Omars not throwing bread...
Glasses are washed in the greenish water and a metal teapot filled from a hose which runs from a higher pool of water (where there are no fish and the water is apparently cleaner). I watched a frog hopping up the wet rock to the higher pool. I guess 'clean' is a relative term...
We drink tea, chat for a bit, say our thanks and climb back out.
Then drive back to Agdz to find a campsite.
The one we find is empty. We ask if its closed? No, we're open, but the showers dont work... Park where you like...
spoiled for choice, we park up and a cat arrives on cue for feeding
Its not a bad place, there is a cafe/restaurant on site which appears to be popular with the locals (mainly men, you rarely see women in cafes etc unless as part of a family group), or doing the cleaning and carrying..
That evening we find out why it may be empty...
The camping is next to a public park, which is apparently where the local drumming group meet in the evenings to pound out rhythms on various djembe...
The natives are restless tonight...
But the rhythms are surprisingly soothing and we get to sleep around 11PM...
only to be woken at 7AM by a number of yoofs playing football and shouting... ah well...
Heading out to find the Hills Have Eyes gas station as thats been on my list of places to visit for a while now.
On the way we stop to photograph some ancient kasbahs and mud brick buildings
Some still occupied and at least one boasts to be a restaurant...
and find another camel by the roadside
Then following the satnav, we find ourselves driving up some extremely narrow tracks and around a little village of surprised looking Berbers and over-excited kids and find... nothing...
I resort to booting up Google Maps on the phone and it gives the location as being about 15k away... so down past the villages again (who all turn out to watch the show) and trying to discourage the braver of the kids from riding on the back of the landy... not that Im a spoilsport, but Im a bit concerned who might get blamed if one of them hurts himself...
Found the gas station...
Ive posted some pics before, but heres a few more;
Theres a sign saying paid visit, but we just sauntered in, and there are some guys making and decorating pieces of film/tv set.
They seem unbothered by two people just walking about and one of them even lets us inside the gas station set which is still fully decorated with the film props.
We are encouraged to poke around a bit and use the props...
More to follow...
or is that on to Ouarzazate? Anyway, heres some more pics...
On the way down Dades Gorge, you find these incredible rock formation, known as the Pates des Singes (Monkeys paws/fingers).
As with many things, you lose the sense of scale and perspective in photos a bit
so heres a Defender to give it some perspective
We found a half decent (well, it was half finished) campsite near Ouarzazate and were given tea
Previous days rain had left it quite muddy and the only place we could find that was level enough to pitch was a bit muddy
We decided next day to not drive too far and headed for the Cascades de Tuzgui, having previously visited another cascades (waterfall) and been quite impressed.
En route there we got flagged down by a couple of guys with a broken down coach. Presumably these were the driver and the tour guide, but the passengers must have been rescued (or not yet collected), and there were two pairs of legs sticking out from under the rear with an expanding pool of oil or fluid of some kind.
One of them asked for a lift to Agdz (nearest town about 20k) but since we have no spare seating capacity we were asked to deliver a note to his 'family'.
This took us about an extra 20k of steep mountain roads, but you cant refuse can you...
More on this story later...
Returning from Agdz and following the road to the cascades gave us nice views over the river valley, looking very dry after several years of drought
We took a wrong turn or two, but eventually found the parking area with one other vehicle on it and found the (unsigned) pathway leading down into the canyon
Which eventually led to the mini oasis at the base of the 'falls'
occupied by a couple of guys lounging on a rug and four others sitting eating.
We were invited to have tea with them and got introduced to Omar (on the right) who tells us in broken french that hes 67 years old and has lived there for 37 years.
I have a feeling there is some poetic license but he does look like he owns the place.
He sits smoking a splif while throwing chunks of bread into the pool of water (despite the drought, there is still a little water flowing down) where fish fight over it.
Feck knows what the fish eat if Omars not throwing bread...
Glasses are washed in the greenish water and a metal teapot filled from a hose which runs from a higher pool of water (where there are no fish and the water is apparently cleaner). I watched a frog hopping up the wet rock to the higher pool. I guess 'clean' is a relative term...
We drink tea, chat for a bit, say our thanks and climb back out.
Then drive back to Agdz to find a campsite.
The one we find is empty. We ask if its closed? No, we're open, but the showers dont work... Park where you like...
spoiled for choice, we park up and a cat arrives on cue for feeding
Its not a bad place, there is a cafe/restaurant on site which appears to be popular with the locals (mainly men, you rarely see women in cafes etc unless as part of a family group), or doing the cleaning and carrying..
That evening we find out why it may be empty...
The camping is next to a public park, which is apparently where the local drumming group meet in the evenings to pound out rhythms on various djembe...
The natives are restless tonight...
But the rhythms are surprisingly soothing and we get to sleep around 11PM...
only to be woken at 7AM by a number of yoofs playing football and shouting... ah well...
Heading out to find the Hills Have Eyes gas station as thats been on my list of places to visit for a while now.
On the way we stop to photograph some ancient kasbahs and mud brick buildings
Some still occupied and at least one boasts to be a restaurant...
and find another camel by the roadside
Then following the satnav, we find ourselves driving up some extremely narrow tracks and around a little village of surprised looking Berbers and over-excited kids and find... nothing...
I resort to booting up Google Maps on the phone and it gives the location as being about 15k away... so down past the villages again (who all turn out to watch the show) and trying to discourage the braver of the kids from riding on the back of the landy... not that Im a spoilsport, but Im a bit concerned who might get blamed if one of them hurts himself...
Found the gas station...
Ive posted some pics before, but heres a few more;
Theres a sign saying paid visit, but we just sauntered in, and there are some guys making and decorating pieces of film/tv set.
They seem unbothered by two people just walking about and one of them even lets us inside the gas station set which is still fully decorated with the film props.
We are encouraged to poke around a bit and use the props...
More to follow...
(I seem to spend a lot of time leaning or sitting on things)
while we were there a couple more of the workers arrived in a van and released a couple of cats from some tied-up sacks... as you do...
I guess they have a rodent problem..?
Anyway the two dogs they had with them immediately set off in hot pursuit of the cats.
When we left one was still up a pole, looking down and wondering how his life had led to this moment..
So all fired up with enthusiasm for moviemaking, next stop was Atlas Film Studios...
Stunning pictures…pretty remote place to live always makes me wonder what people do to make a living .
Unsure, but not as high as the rocky track across the top as we were about half way down the gorge by then!Amazing pictures , thank you for posting them so I can enjoy your adventure from a grey and wet SW England
Those roads are interesting to say the least !! How high were you at the top of the switchback route ?