Can you really drive a Motorhome up the Dades Gorge?

You’ve heard of the Dades Gorge in Morocco, you’ve googled it, it looks amazing! But probably quite gnarly to drive up right? Now imagine attempting to take a motorhome and 2 caravans up and down it. Multiple times.

That’s what happened on my first day taking part in Bailey’s Sahara Challenge!

I would like to point out here, I didn’t actually drive any of these vehicles up the Dades Gorge. I was running on about 3 hours sleep and had been in the country less than 12 hours at this point.

I was offered the chance to drive but politely declined. I know I was grabbing this opportunity by the balls, but I wasn’t ready to be grabbing anything in 30 degree heat at 8.30am with little to no ZZZ’s in the bank.

I am a kick-a** co-pilot though so I slipped in to that role with ease.

I would also like to point out that being a passenger is equally as hair raising as driving. Especially as I had the fun of peering over the edge of the death drop in the right hand drive vehicle.

A surreal 24 hours from London to Morocco

The Sahara Challenge was waiting for no-one so I had to get up to speed real quick. The drive up to the Dades Gorge just happened to be on my first full day so it was all systems go.

After a typical Moroccan breakfast of boiled egg, pastries, honey and jams, I set off for the campsite with the rest of the team.

In case you haven’t read the first Sahara Challenge blog, my first 2 nights of this adventure were in a hotel. This was because there was a team changeover. Other media guests and ambassadors would be leaving the day after I arrived. This would then free up space in the motorhome, and I would be moving in for the remainder of the trip.

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To be perfectly honest, I still felt like I was in a bit of a daze. Lunchtime Friday I was checking in at Gatwick Airport. Lunchtime Saturday, I was sat at the top of the Dades Gorge having lunch. An absolutely delicious lunch by the way.

It was a baked egg tagine, with peppers, tomatoes and spices. When we ordered, the server said it was an omelette but it is what we would recognise as a shakshouka. Apparently it used to be a traditional breakfast dish in Morocco but is now served throughout the day.

Anyway, back to gorge road trip.

The charm of Morocco was obvious straight away

I was with the very lovely Becki Biggins on the drive from the campsite to the gorge. Award winning jazz singer, song writer and saxophonist and Bailey ambassador alongside her equally lovely husband Andy Torbet.

Becki definitely made me feel at ease straight away and we had a lovely 3 hour drive. It turns out, she is from the little town where Jon works when he’s working with The Motorhome Man. What a small world!

Driving through the drylands of Morocco was incredible. I was kind of glad I wasn’t driving as it gave me a chance to try and take it all in. The orange and brown colours of the landscape were exactly what I had expected. What I hadn’t expected were the rugged land and rock formations.

I was instantly feeling the charm of Morocco as we drove past donkeys, through remote villages and took in the contrast of extravagant buildings next to incomplete ones.

Fancy a bite to eat? How about at the top of that tight switchback road?

As we neared the Dades Gorge, I could tell we were coming to a tourist spot. The presence of road side shops was becoming more frequent and it started to get more built up. It was still absolutely stunning, with some really impressive hotels built in to the rock face.

We all pulled over at the side of the road, at the bottom of the famous switchback route leading up to the top. This was so the videographer and photographer could capture the vehicles driving up. We waited our turn and as soon as we had the all clear, me and Becki started our ascent.

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As I mentioned before, being a passenger is equally as thrilling and terrifying as being the driver. Hats off to everyone for some superb driving, navigating those hairpin turns is quite something. I’m glad we had lunch after a few turns up and down the road because I definitely felt like my stomach wanted to exit my body when I looked over the edge of the road.

When the content capture was done, stopping at the Café-restaurant Timzzillite Chez Mohamed was perfect. The sun was shining, everyone was thirsty and hungry and the views from the terrace were incredible. I’ve already said how lush the food was but it’s worth mentioning again. The food was delicious! Washed down with some mint tea, it was the perfect afternoon stop.

If you visit this same spot, just note they charged us for parking next to the cafe.

So, can you really drive a motorhome up the Dades Gorge?

In a word, yes! You can also tow a caravan up there apparently.

If you are thinking of attempting it yourself, I have a few pointers.

Firstly, the hairpins are super tight. The team navigated a 7.5m metre motorhome around absolutely fine but I would be unsure if anything bigger would be able to get round.

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Even though the team managed to tow a caravan, that outfit can bend in the middle which definitely helped on those turns!

I would also say take your time and use the whole of the road when going round the bends. Think about your positioning.

Be mindful that there are cars and locals using the road all the time so it can become congested easily.

The great thing is because of the nature of the road and the view points, you can see up ahead (or down below, depending on which way you’re going).

All in all, it is such a fun road and definitely worth the drive! Treat yourself to a mint tea at the cafe up top. Take in the incredible views from the terrace as you sip your tea!

Tagines, Tagines everywhere!

Once we were done with lunch, it was time to head back to the campsite. We had dinner plans there for the whole team, plus those leaving the trip had an early departure the next morning (4am, no thanks).

This was my second night in the hotel but it wasn’t far from the campsite so after a quick freshen up, it was off to the site. The onsite restaurant was a beautiful, cosy place. We had quite a large group but they couldn’t have been more hospitable.

We hadn’t been seated long when dishes started to arrive at the table. To start, we were served a traditional soup. Apparently, it was a Ramadan soup that people have when they break fast at sunset.

Then, huge bowls of salad were brought to the table, accompanied by fresh bread. I turned around to see lots of tagines now being placed along the serving tables behind us. There was beef, goat, meatballs, lemon chicken, roasted vegetables and to go with them, huge bowls of couscous.

The food was out of this world! All washed down with some Rose wine.

Its safe to say my first day on the Sahara Challenge was sublimely surreal. My nerves were disappearing and the excitement of the adventure was starting to take over.

My nerves hasn’t totally disappeared though. Stage 1 was done. I had successfully flown out to Morocco, by myself, and now met the team. I still had my first ever driving experience in a foreign country to tackle!

More on that in the next instalment. Make sure to subscribe so you’re notified when it goes live!