No Man's land Morocco-Mauritania - Dangers?

[qwer1234]

After researching a little bit about those 3-5 kilometers, it seems that it is not a 'walk in the park'.
It seems that after the Moroccan checkpoint and the Mauritanian one the piste has lot's of bifurcations and that every year several cars hit a landmine there. I have also heard that if one is stuck in the soft sand there and has to spend the night, he could be attacked by bandits.
It also seems that the Moroccan checkpoint is only open from 09:00 to 17:00 hours and that there is a hotel on the Moroccan side, which is awful.

Can somebody please give me exact information about this border crossing, as in autumn/winter maybe I will drive down (and probably back) alone with my car (an old Opel Astra - normal sedan/city car -not a 4x4-), as I don't want to die by hitting a landmine or getting stuck in a bandit area(actually I am more worried about this than the situation in Mauritania).

Some info that I found:
ARE WE THERE YET? - Buried In No Man's Land!
ExpeditionCamper: Marruecos-Sahara Occ-Mauritania-Senegal.

[Dave The Hat]

Read this entrie thread. It all sounds so shocking, but only when you dont follow all sensible advice. If you follow the main piste it's absolutely no worries. There is a small bit of soft sand, but a decent run up and you'll easily clear it. 2wd absolutely fine if you stick to the main route.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ish-road-25887

[qwer1234]

Originally Posted by Dave The Hat

Read this entrie thread. It all sounds so shocking, but only when you dont follow all sensible advice. If you follow the main piste it's absolutely no worries. There is a small bit of soft sand, but a decent run up and you'll easily clear it. 2wd absolutely fine if you stick to the main route.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ish-road-25887

From what I have read the main route has bifurcations and the one that looks easiest is the one with the most soft sand.

How long is the bit of soft sand?

[DougieB]

given the whole thing is over in 2 km or so, it's really not worth worrying about. just follow another vehicle.

if you are on your own, and you get stuck in the soft sand, then you're going to have to try and get someone else to help you out.

if you take the 'most used' stoney surface you will be fine. camper vans cross it. last time I came through there an articulated lorry (western europe style) was crossing without problems.

[Dave The Hat]

As Dougie says, the mostly used stoney surface was the one I was on, and I'd say about a 200 meter section of softish sand (approx). Decent run up in lowish gear and we were through absolutely no worries.

Yeah, as Dougie says, for peace of mind, just follow another vehicle through (and hope they dont take a wrong turning!).

[Dave The Hat]

I think somebody talked about that Tropic of Capricorn or Tropic of Cancer programme where he crossed no mans land, and he kinda hyped it up a bit making it out to be a life and death situation. Potentially it could be, but he was with a local guide driving the vehicle, they all know what to do.

I think its one of those things that gets blown out of proportion, it's not anywhere near as exciting and dangerous as certain travel bloggers will make out, just as long as you follow the sensible advice. People who come unstuck are usually those who don't follow the advice and stray off the main recongised path.

[qwer1234]

I have also read/watched that there are lot's of damaged/burned cars there, like in a MadMax movie.
Most of them seem to have been damaged because they hit a landmine. It seems that they are just few meters outside the track. Are there lot's of landmines? Are this mines marked?

I am very afraid of landmines.

[Roger Bruton]

I've been through it three times and haven't got blown up yet! And I'll be going again in 2011. Best bet is to follow a big truck. But hang back about 100 metres and watch. The "bandits" will give you a push if you DO get stuck -- for a couple of quid! Most of the wrecks are cars that were stuffed anyway and the owners needed to get them out of Morocco to avoid import duty! (The "bandits" strip them down.)

Roger

[qwer1234]

Dave The Hat,
thank you very much for the link, as I would have taken the red road (as marked by Javier Carrión) and get stuck in the sand.
Actually, it seems that all the area is mine-free for at least 2 kilometers east and west (colored map by Javier Carrión).
If it is so, why are there all this burned cars there? Or they are just cars sold for spare parts, as Roger said?

There is also another thing: on the Swiss forum
www.desert-info.ch :: Thema anzeigen - MA-RIM - Niemandsland/No man's land/Zone neutre
it seems that there are landmines on the sides of the Spanish Road, but you have to take this road for about 50-100 meters (by crossing the sides, obviously).
Are there really landmines?

[markharf]

You are presenting a classic case of over-research, in which the more you read on the internet the more you've got to worry about. That's not because it's dangerous; it's because the internet is ideally suited to spreading worry, whether justified or not.

On the other hand, what you're hearing in this thread is a resounding chorus of "don't worry, no big deal," from people more reliable than the ones spreading their tales of death-defying adventure elsewhere. So why doesn't this seem to be helping?

[backofbeyond]

Originally Posted by qwer1234

I have also heard that if one is stuck in the soft sand there and has to spend the night, he could be attacked by bandits.

I spent the night there when I took the wrong route and broke down in the soft sand. (kickstart only bike and the kickstart snapped). I didn't see any bandits or anyone else for that matter. Next morning I had to walk 2km onto the main piste and then wait a couple of hours to find anyone to lend me a hand hauling the bike out.

If you're worried (and I wouldn't be) just make sure you arrive at the border early in the morning so you can see where you're going. I set off in half gloom about 6.00 in the evening (start of Jan) and lost my way in the dark.

[Jose Brito]

Hi,

The border and the No Man's Land are crossed every day by dozens of Moroccan trucks that go to Nouadhibou or Nouakchott to buy fish. The best option for you is to just wait for one if this trucks (tipically Isuzu with frigo back) to pass and follow it. The trucks will drive slow and pick up the less damaged sections of the route connecting the border posts.


Cheers,
José

[janeiro]

Originally Posted by qwer1234

After researching a little bit about those 3-5 kilometers, it seems that it is not a 'walk in the park'.
It seems that after the Moroccan checkpoint and the Mauritanian one the piste has lot's of bifurcations and that every year several cars hit a landmine there. I have also heard that if one is stuck in the soft sand there and has to spend the night, he could be attacked by bandits.
It also seems that the Moroccan checkpoint is only open from 09:00 to 17:00 hours and that there is a hotel on the Moroccan side, which is awful.

Can somebody please give me exact information about this border crossing, as in autumn/winter maybe I will drive down (and probably back) alone with my car (an old Opel Astra - normal sedan/city car -not a 4x4-), as I don't want to die by hitting a landmine or getting stuck in a bandit area(actually I am more worried about this than the situation in Mauritania).

Some info that I found:
ARE WE THERE YET? - Buried In No Man's Land!
ExpeditionCamper: Marruecos-Sahara Occ-Mauritania-Senegal.

Hi there
We were stuck in the no mans land on Christmas eve 2011. We were refused on Mauri side to enter because we had no visas, in the mean time the Marocco border was already closed! So we make a tent near the Marocco border Point and slepped there. (ok, nobody can sleep - there was a lot of "traffic" during the night- People everywhere, cars with no lights etc). Maroccan soldiers brought us a nice dinner, we opened a bottle of champaigne which was brought from home - Slovenia and it was an unforgetable Christmas ever !!!!

[Dave The Hat]

As Jose says, if you are unsure about the route through the landmine zone, just follow the large trucks. They will most likely not deviate from the main track as they are so large they don't want to get stuck in the soft sand.

The main track is hard piste, pretty awful rocky bumpy piste in places, but firm and compact.

It is alot more simple than it used to be. The main track is pretty obvious, I am actually surprised when people can't figure it out (I don't mean that to sound offensive, but it is pretty straightforward).

Don't listen to the touts, they will offer to guide you through and will quite likely take you on the wrong path!

As for reading travel blogs about how death defying and dangerous the crossing is, don't believe the hype! It really isn't like it would have been 20 odd years ago and actually not that exciting. Yes there are burnt out car wrecks, but goodness knows how long they have been there. Mines are still present but just stick to the now very obvious rocky piste and head towards the Mauri flag!

[thejointmaster]

I have driven through six times now. this January will be number seven.
I have found that if there is a choice of route, always take the left one and you will miss the soft sand. But if in doubt follow someone else.
All the wrecks in no mans land have been transported out of Morocco to avoid paying customs duty. If they had hit a land mine they would be even more wrecked than they are.
Last year there was a nice looking Discovery with plenty of parts, probably stripped bare now.
Richard