15 Dec 06
Away from the dunes, the Freelander performed pretty well on everything that Morocco threw at it, which, in the southern Berber part of the country, includes numerous donkeys, camels and goats.
The area around Essaouira is very different to the capital Marrakech. There you can't move for carpet shops and tourists reps, whereas on the coast, things are much more laid back. The people are more welcoming and let you go about your day without trying to pull you into a shop to barter over the prices of a leather satchel over a nice cup of sweet mint tea.
Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley used to holiday in this area back in the day and local restaurateurs and hoteliers will tell many a story of what they did when they were in town. It's only when you realise that a) the guy recounting the story is in his 30s and b) the restaurant only opened in the 80s that you have to take these stories with a large chunk of salt. Still, what with EasyJet soon to start flying into the one-building airport, I'm sure those stories will get churned out again many times over.
At the end of the day, although the Freelander's not the cheapest small 4x4 by a long shot, it is the most capable off-road. An X-Trail or Rav4 would have struggled to get over a mound of sand, let alone a beach full of it, and a Defender would have I'm sure sailed over the dunes without breaking sweat, the Freelander proved to be a great all-round package.
