As I was lead into an office by a police officer, it was clear I was not getting into the country with my drone!
Yep it was DJI’s fault I was in that predicament! There were big signs everywhere :
DECLARE YOUR DRONE!
So I did.
The most annoying thing is : I was sure I’d researched each country’s drone laws! 😫
I was texting Mum to keep her in the loop but turns out she wasn’t getting my texts or the ones from BK’s phone!
So I handed over DJI, got a document and told to come back to ‘the door’ when I fly out. Who knows what would have happened if I was flying out of somewhere else! …and who knows how I was ever going to find my way back to that office in the arrivals part of the airport.

After getting our bags scanned – successfully because there was no drone, I did hold onto the controller and propeller guards though – we found a taxi to our Airbnb and met up with our host. I rung Mum to download my experience onto her….turns out at 40 years old I’m still worth worrying about, aye Mum! 🤪

The following day was pretty much a write-off, we taxi’d out to a big supermarket to stock up on food, got new SIM cards because our euro ones don’t roam here, and generally lazed about. The pool was closed because “it’s Friday – the religious day”.
Our beautiful riad kept out the 40 degree heat effectively but we did turn on our air con units in the bedrooms to sleep. I don’t normally take photos of our accommodation but this one is so unique that I did and have done a quick edit of it which will post to Facebook in the coming days.

After another quiet start, BK and CK ventured into town for bits n pieces. That evening we went to the Medina. It was sensory overload! I’m not sure how to explain it!!! We’d done markets similar to this “souk” in south east Asia so it wasn’t a new experience but woah I’d forgotten the intensity it! The people, the lights, the stuff everywhere, the haggling, the motorbikes zooming through narrow streets, the uneven paths then adding in 40 degree heat, it was quite the experience but oh the thrill, oh the buzz, one not to be missed!
If you know me well you’ll know I’m not a fan of people or noise! So I was completely done after an hour but who knows where we were and how to get out…ahh yes, my trusty Google maps for the win. I bought a few gifts, got a magnet for my collection, had a French crepe for dinner, inhaled a fresh fruit smoothie ($1.60NZD – a vast difference in price to what I pay at tank at home!) and then we called it a night at 8pm before it got too crazy being a Saturday night!

After a rest day of swimming, Bk doing a little work, and that ever pesky washing – turns out washing dries fast in 40 degree heat! Ha! Monday we went on a tour into the Atlas Mountains. 

We were picked up first at 8.30am then after a couple of other stops we’d got our tour group family and we were off. We drove out of Marrakech, little R looks at the mountains “snow!!” I wasn’t so sure, coulda been sand for all I could make out with my eyesight, so I took a photo and text it to the mothership knowledge base back in New Zealand for confirmation….her reply : surely not?
Helpful 😐
Turns out it actually was! I knew the mountains wouldn’t be the 38-40 degrees we had been experiencing in the city but I wasn’t prepared for snow 90 minutes away! We wound our way past Berber villages. Stopped on the side of the highway several times as we all bailed out to take photos. Then we stopped to have a morning tea of Moroccan mint tea, warm Moroccan pita bread and dips – yum! We learnt how argan oil was made too.
Back in the van and up the mountains we went, next stop was a walk to a waterfall – being from New Zealand, I did NOT have high hopes for a glorious waterfall and thankfully I didn’t because we almost walked past it! A local family was there having the time of their lives in the water at the bottom….which was actually more interesting to watch than the waterfall. Spoilt kiwi much?
I really wished I had DJI – it would have been spectacular footage of the mountains, Berber villages, waterfall. Sigh.
A tagine lunch filled us up then the van came and swooped us all up and we drove down the mountain and into the desert to ride camels.🐫🏜️
They made us dress up and put head scarfs on us all. We all looked the part! ‘For Instagram!’ they said.
The boys got their own camels, little R however could not or would not (I can’t remember which!) go by herself so she came with me. It was a rough ride, really hard on my hips. I think it was only 15 minutes but by the time I got off it felt like I’d been riding all day! More mint tea than it was back to Marrakech.
A full day but wonderful to get out of the city and into rural Morocco.
I took a bunch of photos and video on this day and have edited it into a 2 minute video which I’ll post up to Facebook. 

Soon it was time to pack up our riad. We were off to the coast for a couple of days – to a place called Essaouira. A new bus, definitely aimed at tourists, took us the 3 hours west. Local life is always fascinating to drive past, Africa local life even more so.
We found Morocco has a toll road! I was so surprised!! No idea how much it was but probably not the ridiculous prices they are in Europe!
The temperature dropped from 38 degrees to 24! The sea breeze we felt when we got off the bus was glorious!!!!!!! Definitely reminding us of home when the gulls started squawking!
Our apartment was right in the medina but this one was significantly more manageable than Marrakech so we could move around ok with our gear and thankfully the general noise of people in the market didn’t keep us up at night. 

After a couple of nights we bussed back to Marrakech for a night, then taxied back to the airport – it was time to acquire DJI back and I was nervous! Mum was cheering me on from New Zealand. Surely this was a simple process, surely I wasn’t the first or going to be the last in this predicament!! 

I walked round the airport with my drone document showing any official I could find to direct me to get DJI. I finally found ‘the door’ and was escorted round to the correct office. “Checked in?” They asked me, “no” I replied.
So that was a fail, so close, yet so far!
I was shoo’d through the arrival doors to gather up my family and gear. We checked into our flight and then I went back to ‘the door’ for round two of project acquire DJI. The security guard looked at me strangely and says “again?”  Let’s just say I wasn’t very talkative this time round! 🤨
Back to the office, which I got to enter this time, I saw my drone case, I was so close!
Paid my storage fee and expected him to give me DJI but no! That was not the end of it! I was then given a police escort!
“My family” I pointed at my crew as I again went through those arrival doors!
We gathered up our stuff and proceeded through the normal departure’s security. Mr police officer finally handed me DJI then he went to the scanner operator hopefully to say I was a special case 😇and to expect a drone to come through even though there were signs everywhere saying ‘DECLARE YOUR DRONE!’ 

Once through that, then through customs, we’d made it. I gave DJI a good look over then BK took a very happy photo of me….you’ll indeed see that on Facebook! 

Drone in Morocco saga, complete.

 

Onward to the next part of our adventure! 

Till next time,

Claire

Side note – I notice I’ve used ‘who knows’ a lot in this blog. Welcome to Africa.