Rive Maroc Rallye 2024

As written in my last post I will participate in the Rive Maroc Rallye. It’s solely for electric vehicles and will take place in the south of Morocco. For me, it’s mainly a test drive of my new overlanding vehicle and its modifications before the long trip next year.

Here and here you can find some more information about the Rive Maroc.

This blog post is a summary of my daily Instagram posts, combined with some additional information and images.

11.10.

On the first day of my Rive Maroc trip, I traveled from Germany to Genoa, Italy. Charging in Germany and Switzerland was easy and fast. Most of the time I just stopped for 20 minutes.

Close to Genoa, the situation got worse. Four different fast chargers were either impossible to find or in areas that were not accessible at that time of the day. With some in-between AC charging I finally reached a working fast charger with a SOC of only 3%. More stress than needed on my first day.

I knew that the Audi Q8 e-tron is not the most efficient EV when I bought the car. And I know that putting large offroad tires and a fully loaded roof rack on the car won’t improve the efficiency. But the energy consumption was really through the roof. Most of the time I was driving with a max velocity of 110km/h and had an average energy consumption from Germany to Genoa of 30kWh/100km. That’s a lot and it will impact my max range significantly.
But there are no good alternatives. I need robust tires for the roads I plan to drive in the future. I need a full spare tire and I need to be able to sleep in the car. The only option I have is to drive even slower if I need more range in certain situations.

Since it was already after midnight when I arrived in Genoa, I decided to spend my first night on my Rive Maroc trip in my car parked at a service station next to the highway. It was ok, but a bit noisy due to cars arriving and leaving all night.
But my sleeping setup worked really well and was very comfortable.

Insights of the day:

• Leave some additional safety margins for charge planning in unknown regions (some chargers might not exist or are not accessible).
• Putting large AT tires and a fully loaded roof rack on an already not-very-efficient car might not be a smart idea if you have alternatives.
• Sleeping at a service station next to a highway is not the best choice if you are looking for a quiet night.

12.10.

On day 2 of my Rive Maroc trip my destination was the port of Genoa. Getting there was quite confusing. After missing the right exit my navigation system decided to first show me all the historic parts of Genoa before finally turning back to the port 😅.
The check-in at the ferry was easy and there were already many other cars waiting in line. I didn’t see any other EV but of course, there were many ICE overlanding vehicles waiting to explore the Moroccan Sahara: Defender, 4×4 vans, and also some large expedition trucks.

Since it was about two hours until boarding I decided to have a quick walk to the nearby ferry terminal and shopping center.

One of the best things in Italy are the cappuccini. In a small café at the ferry terminal, I got a perfect silky smooth cappuccino (in a real cup) for 1.50€. Last time I was in the U.S. I paid 12$ in Las Vegas for a cappuccino in a paper cup which tasted half as good as this one.

The GNV EXCELLENT ferry from Genoa to Tanger is a bit old but otherwise quite excellent with a couple of nice bars, cafés, and restaurants.

I have booked one of the better cabins with more space and a window. It costs about 100€ more than the standard cabins but I thought if I had to spend two whole days on this ship it might be worth it.

You can already do the immigration and customs check for Morocco on the ferry.
While waiting in line I met a Swiss couple traveling with a 4×4 van. We spent the evening together in the ship restaurant chatting about our travel experiences.

Insights of the day:

• If you love cappuccino come to Italy and avoid Las Vegas.
• If you travel alone you will far more often get in contact with other people compared to traveling with your friends or family.

13.10.

The ferry ride from Genoa to Tanger takes 48 hours. Therefore, I spent the whole day 3 of my Rive Maroc trip on the ship. Most of the time on the sea with a short stop in Barcelona.
The weather was beautiful with lots of sun and nearly no wind.

Insights of the day:

• If the sea is calm a 48 hours ferry ride through the Mediterranean Sea can be very relaxing and joyful.

14.10.

On day 4 of my Rive Maroc trip, I finally reached the port of Tanger in the early afternoon.
The first indication was the stunning mountain of Gibraltar which suddenly appeared out of the clouds on the starboard side.

Shortly after, Tanger was visible on the port side of the ship.

In Tanger unloading, customs, and immigration took more than 5 hours. Despite, that I had already spent two hours in a line on the ship for customs and immigration. The ferry arrived at the port around 2pm and I left the customs area at 8pm. Waiting in line for nearly 6 hours was definitely not an enjoyable experience but it‘s sometimes unavoidable and part of international overlanding.

After changing some money at the port I drove an hour to the Hilton Resort west of Tanger where I had planned to spend my first night in Africa (on this trip, altogether it‘s my fifth trip to Africa). I know that the Hilton is not the typical overlanding location. But the border crossing was stressful enough to justify a nice hotel for this first night.

The whole Morocco trip will be a mix of raw adventure and car camping on the one hand and the occasional luxury accommodation and nice restaurants on the other hand.
I enjoy both worlds although the adventure part is far more important to me than the comfort and luxury part.

At the hotel, I found a 32A CEE connector for charging my car. Since my Q8 e-tron can charge AC with 22 kW, in less than two hours the SOC was back to 80% (using my Juicebooster for charging).

Insights of the day:

• Borders crossing can sometimes be a nightmare. I dream of a world without borders.

15.10.

Day 5 of my Rive Maroc trip was the first full day in Africa and it started with some serious stomach cramps after breakfast. I had food and water only at the Hilton. Even a 4-star resort is no guarantee to be trouble-free. A European stomach is just not used to the African bacteria.

Otherwise, the Hilton was extremely nice and I did a short walk to the beach after breakfast in the morning.

On my way from Tanger to Rabat my energy consumption was through the roof. I had a
short-term average value of 40 kWh/100km.
Yes, it was windy but the temperatures were very mild with 23 degrees Celsius and I was driving at only 105 km/h.
This will just not work for the Panamericana next year, where it is often very windy, especially in Alaska and Patagonia. Especially in these regions, the distances between chargers are often very large.
There is nothing I can do about my tires. I need robust ones. But I have to improve the aerodynamics of my car and have to rethink my roof setup.

My first charging stop, halfway between Tanger and Rabat, was a bit more complicated than expected. It was a FastVolt charger and I tried to start it by using the app but it didn’t work. A call to the support hotline quickly solved the problem. If you have a foreign credit card you should not register the card in the app but instead choose to pay with an unregistered card on a case-by-case basis.
The hotline was extremely efficient: no waiting in line, perfect English, quick solution. Much better than most customer hotlines in Europe.

I charged there for one hour until SOC 87%. By the way, CCS charging stations in central Morocco are nearly always 50 kW DC. Therefore charging takes a bit more time compared to Europe. The main exceptions are the Tesla Super Chargers but they can’t be used by non-Tesla EVs in Morocco.

My second charging stop was at a Kilowatt charger near Casablanca. Kilowatt is one of the supporters of the Rive Maroc Rallye. The activation via the QR code didn’t work since my German phone number wasn’t accepted. But a call to the support hotline quickly solved the problem (by remote starting the charger).

Since I was not feeling well (in addition to my stomach problems I also got a fever in the afternoon) I decided to change my plans and book a hotel in Ben Guerir to rest there for two nights instead of continuing to the cool campground in Marrakech as originally planned.

Insights of the day:

• Stomach problems are often unavoidable in Africa even if you stay in a 4-star resort.
• An average energy consumption of 40 kWh/100km on windy days is too much and not feasible for my trip next year. I have to rethink my roof setup.

16.10.

Rive Maroc trip day 6:
As written in my last post this was mainly a rest day to recover from my stomach problems.

Nevertheless, I left my hotel for a couple of hours to charge my car. In the hotel, the only option was a wall plug. Since my SOC was down to around 20% the car would not be full until the next morning. Therefore, I decided to drive to a nearby AC charger which was shown in the PlugShare app.
It was located at the Green Energy Park, a very interesting location.

They are developing innovative solar panels and other interesting green energy components there. I was even talking to someone who developed the charger which was plugged into my car. There was also an impressive huge display that could show information and collect solar energy at the same time.

And different kinds of solar panels can be seen there.

The charging to 90% took nearly 3,5 hours (at 19 kW), but it was free and I even got a free coffee. Very nice and friendly people at this location.

Afterwards, I went to the large Marjane supermarket in Ben Guerir to buy some food and large water bottles. Yes, I know, it‘s not the most sustainable idea to buy water in plastic bottles but after my experience in the last two days, I didn’t want to take any additional risks for new stomach problems. At least they were large 5 liter bottles reducing the waste slightly.

The remaining day I stayed at my hotel to recover. I was already feeling a bit better compared to yesterday. I‘m optimistic that I won’t miss the official start of the Rive Maroc on Friday.
The hotel is located directly at the university.

It’s a very modern building with a clean architecture. There even was a conference about green energy concepts for Africa taking place at the hotel. I was probably the only male guest in the hotel not dressed in a men‘s suit 🙈. Feeling a bit underdressed, I’m really looking forward to the campground now 😂

Insights of the day:

• In Morocco, there are far more activities about green energy than I had thought.

17.10.

Today was a short 2 hours drive from Ben Guerir to The Ranch south of Marrakech. I charged my car at a 50 kW DC FastVolt charger west of Marrakech in 30 minutes. This time the activation via the app went smoothly.

Around noon I arrived at The Ranch, the official starting point of the Rive Maroc Rallye.

The ranch is beautifully designed and has a couple of different indoor and outdoor pools.

If you want, you can stay in one of the domes.

I chose a normal room instead because I had a problem with the chemical smell in the dome. But otherwise, it’s a really beautiful location with very friendly people.

Most of the participants of the Rive Maroc Rallye arrived in the early afternoon of that day.

Some welcome drinks were served and tents were set up.

And we chatted about our experience at the border crossing in Tanger. Some people needed just one hour but others had to wait for more than 7 hours, even longer than myself.

In the afternoon I charged my car at The Ranch in 2.5 hours with 10kW to 90% using the Juice Booster and a CEE plug.

At 5:30 pm the official part of the event started with a quick introduction and an outlook to the route and the challenges of the next day.

Afterwards, we had dinner together.

The official start will be tomorrow morning at 9:00 am.

Insights of the day:

• The wind has a huge impact on the energy consumption. Two days ago I had a short-term average of 40 kWh/100km, today I had 30 kWh/100km. Road, velocity, and temperature were all identical. The only difference: the wind.

18.10.

On the morning before the start of the Rallye, we had a beautiful sunrise while the full moon was still visible above the horizon.

Some last-minute preparations like charging to 100% or putting the official stickers on the car were done parallel to the breakfast.

At 9:00 everybody was ready for the start.

A few minutes after 9:00 am the first car started. Since I had the number 1, it was me. Every 5 minutes followed the next car.

Altogether 9 teams were participating this year, 8 Teslas and one non-Tesla (my Audi Q8).
Today’s route leads from Marrakech to Quarzazate with some stops in between.

It is already the 5th Rive Maroc. The first one was in 2017. The Rive Maroc is not a Rallye in the sense that the fastest car wins. It is more comparable to some of the Oldtimer events. You have to find the right waypoints and certain landmarks and stay within a certain time limit. And you gain extra points for fulfilling tasks.
One of the tasks today was to find certain places shown in pictures and replicate this situation with your own car in the frame. Two examples from today are shown below (a specific small gas station and an overloaded truck).

Our first waypoint today was the Tizi n’Tichka pass in the High Atlas Mountains. It has an altitude of 2260m. From our starting point, we had to drive 121km to reach Tizi n’Tichka. At the pass, we also had a quick lunch break.

Next stop was the Ighram Nougdal Eco-School in the High Atlas not far from the Tizi n’Tichka pass. It‘s a primary school of 330 pupils up to the age of 14.
One very important feature of the Rive Maroc is that it supports local social activities and projects.
There is a long-term partnership between Rive Maroc and this school in the Atlas Mountains. Rallye participants gain trophy points for donating useful stuff like school equipment or warm clothes to the school and at the same time learn a lot during the visit about the local culture. The interaction with the kids and also the adults from the school administration was fascinating. It‘s a win-win situation where both sides clearly benefit from the exchange. We spent a couple of hours at the school and thoroughly enjoyed it.

From the Eco school at Tizi n‘Tichka, we drove to the Eco Lodge near Quarzazate, where we had dinner and charged some of our cars.

Before dinner, we had a short walk together at sunset through the beautiful garden of the lodge and up to a small hill offering a nice view of the surrounding landscape.

That was the end of a beautiful day with many new impressions.
Altogether we drove about 230 km on that day. I had an average energy consumption of 25kWh/100km. Not bad for my car, considering we went up to a high mountain pass.

Insights of the day:

• Meeting local people, getting insights into their lives, and sharing parts of your own life with them is always one of the absolute highlights of international travel. And nearly always the experience is that although we live sometimes under very different conditions we have far more things in common than not. I‘ve never understood racism or nationalism and I‘m really sad that the world is currently moving in the wrong direction in that regard.
  Maybe people should just travel more to open their minds.

19.10.

The start of day 2 of the Rive Maroc Rallye was at the Winxo Station in Quarzazate. Most participants also spent the last night in the Safari Hotel next to the station. It‘s an interesting place with lots of nice decorations.

Our first stop of the day was at the beautiful Kasbah Oulad Othmane. It was built in the 18th century out of clay, wood, and straw. We got a guided tour by the current owner of the Kasbah. One of his great-grandfathers was the founder of the Kasbah. We also had lunch at the Kasbah.

We also got a guided tour through the date palm oasis at the Kasbah Oulad Othmane.

The day 2 of the Rallye ended in Zagora. Altogether we drove about 170km on that day and my average energy consumption was around 23 kWh/100km.

For the next two nights, we will stay at the Oasis Palmier Campground. I tried to charge my car at the campground but more than 1kW was not possible. And even then the Juice Booster often switched completely off after a few minutes due to an unstable earth/ground. If I set the Juice Booster to any higher Amp values the fuse would blow immediately. Charging my car from 0% to 100% would take more than 3 days on this campground.

Luckily, we had dinner at the nearby Sirocco Hotel and the Rive Maroc charging team installed a temporary 40 kW DC charger there. It didn’t work at the beginning but after solving a couple of problems with the electronics it finally started charging.

Insights of the day:

• If you plan to rely on a wall plug on a campground for charging your electric car bring lots of time.

20.10.

I slept very well in my car during the last night at the campground in Zagora.

There was a small restaurant directly at the campground which served breakfast in the morning.

Day 3 of the Rive Maroc Rallye was mainly a rest day with some optional activities for the participants. More about this in the next two posts.

The first program of the day was a visit to the local market in Zagora.

It is far less chaotic and exotic than some of the other markets I‘ve visited in the past but nevertheless worth a short visit. Especially the quality of the fruits and vegetables was very impressive. I bought 2kg of dates at the market as provisions for the next days in the Sahara.

In the early afternoon, we visited the Iriki Garage in Zagora and got a guided tour by the Owner.

Before 2008 the garage was supporting the Dakar Rallye for many years. Nowadays it‘s a well-known and highly regarded place for fixing any problems with overlanding vehicles.

Insights of the day:

• If you want to learn something about the local culture it‘s always a good idea to visit the local markets.

21.10.

The start of the 4th day of the Rive Maroc was at the Sirocco Hotel.

It was the day of the Sahara eChallenges. South of Tagounite was the starting point of the first challenge.

The task was to find a blue house located about 7km west of the starting point. We had one hour of time to reach the house and had to find our own way across the rocky plains and sand fields. At the camp next to the blue house we also had our lunch break. Three out of nine teams managed to arrive within the time limit and got the points for this challenge. I was one of the three teams.

The second Sahara Challenge on that day was to find a certain camp in the dunes. This time the GPS coordinates were known but the route was far more sandy compared to the first challenge.
The third Sahara Challenge was to drive back to the first camp but on a different route north of the dune field.

On both challenges, 4 teams reached the camp within the time limit

After the third Sahara challenge, the participants had the option to try out some drifting on sand.

After the drifting, we drove to the Desert Camp Erg Lihoudi where we spent the night. The landscape around the camp was stunningly beautiful.

At the desert camp, we hiked up to the highest dune in that area to watch the sunset.

I spent the night in my car about 1km away from the camp in one of the nearby dunes. It was stunningly silent there.

22.10.

The sunrise the next morning in the desert was absolutely spectacular.

After breakfast, 3 teams decided to make a one-hour guided tour through some very challenging dune sections. It was really fun and extremely impressive what’s possible with modern EVs. Most of the time we were able to easily follow the modified Hilux.

In the afternoon we were charging at the Sbai Palace in M‘Hamid where we also had our dinner.

23.10.

The start of the 6th Rallye day was at the Riad Sbai in M‘Hamid.

The main task for today was to drive as efficiently as possible to Quarzazate by using the Route de la Ktawa east of Beni Hnit.

The car with the least average energy consumption would get 9 points, the next best one 8 points, and so on. Everybody knows that an Audi e-tron is not as efficient as a Tesla. It was very clear that I would get the last place on that challenge. Nevertheless, I tried to drive as efficiently as possible and reached in the end an average energy consumption of 24.5kWh/100km. Not bad for my car considering there was significant altitude gain and also some gravel and sand tracks during the day. But all Teslas stayed well below 20kWh/100km, even the Model X. No chance for me on that challenge.

In Quarzazate I charged at the Winxo station (AC 22kW) and also cleaned my car from the Sahara sand and dust.

In the evening we had dinner at the beautiful Oscar Hotel next to the Atlas Filmstudios.

24.10.

This was the last day of the Rive Maroc Rallye. The first destination of that day was the Noor solar power station in Quarzazate. Normally you are not allowed to enter this plant in your private car. But for the Rallye, we got an exemption. This power plant can produce up to 580 Megawatts. It is one of the largest solar power stations in the world and uses a combination of thermal solar and photovoltaic facilities.

Next, we went to the Atlas Filmstudios. It‘s a really interesting location. It was founded in 1983 and is now one of the largest in the world.

We got a guided tour through the Atlas Filmstudios. Some well-known films were produced there: Gladiator, Viking, Got, Asterix, Prison Break, Black Hawk Down, Ben Hur, James Bond: The Living Daylights, The Mummy, Cleopatra, The Grand Tour, and many more.

The final evening event of the Rive Maroc Rallye with the award ceremony and a very nice dinner took also place at the Atlas Filmstudios in a beautiful setting.

There was even a local barber service available at the event for the brave ones.

All points were counted together and the rankings of all participants were determined. The winner of the Rive Maroc 2024 was the Norwegian team (Mira and John Otto with their Tesla Model S). The 2nd place went to the team from Switzerland (Hans and Tom with their Tesla Model X). I reached the 3rd place with my Audi Q8 e-tron.

Of all the dishes at dinner, the most interesting one was the sweet pastilla filled with chicken and topped with sugar and almonds. Mira from the Norwegian winner team called it a chicken cake. A perfect description. It took some time to get used to it, but in the end, I really liked it.

It was a very nice evening and a worthy finale of the Rive Maroc.

25.10.

The official part of the Rive Maroc Rallye is over now. But I‘m not going directly home now. The three winning teams have decided to drive back to M‘Hamid and try the challenging desert crossing from M‘Hamid via the Lac Iriki to Foum Zgouid along the Erg Chegaga dune field together. But this new adventure will be described in a different post.

Altogether the Rive Maroc Rallye was a well-organized event and a fantastic experience. It can be highly recommended. The registration for the 2025 event will start soon here.