Despite spending much of my time travelling solo I've never felt concerned for my personal safety in Morocco. It's always seemed a safe place compared to parts of the UK I could mention. It could also be because before I went on my megadiet this year I was built like a brick sh*t house and felt nobody would mess with me. But having lost 50kg in weight I now feel a bit more frail.

On the ferry back from Santander last October I met another HUBBer who recounted that he had been robbed whilst wild camping in Western Sahara. He was solo, there were two guys. He was concerned they were drugged up. He didn't know whether they were carrying knives but suspected this might be the case, so he let them go through his things and help themselves whilst he stood there watching.

Hearing this made me very angry, and since then I've given a great deal of thought as to how I would react in a similar situation, especially as I'm a bit headstrong.

Pulling a knife on them might just elicit a mad laugh and a taunt to use it, or worse, they could do a 'Crocodile Dundee' and pull out massive machetes. So I don't think that makes sense. A gun is a much better idea but even assuming you'd somehow managed to get it though police and customs checks, would you really use it against some poor drugged up guys.

What I've done for for the moment is to source some 40ml red pepper spray made by KKS in Germany. This is small enough to be carried in my jacket whenever I'm in a dubious area, has a range of six meters with accurate range of three metres. There's a safety mechanism on top to ensure you don't self-administer.

My feeling is that I would be far more prepared to use this (and without warning) knowing the risk of permanent damage to the muggers is small. But then what? You've got two guys rolling around on the floor who in a little while are going to recover and be really peed off, and in the meantime you have to pack up your tent and gear. So the second phase of my draft plan is to use cable ties to handcuff their wrists and possibly their legs. I have some extremely wide and long cable ties secured to the frame of my bike and can whip a couple of these out in just one or two seconds.

The likehood of customs finding the cannister is tiny. As the web site says, this is a personal defence mechanism against wild dogs and other wild animals so that would be my excuse if it was found. You could, of course, remove all the labels from it so there's no clue to the contents and stick it in the toilet bag like a deodorant stick.

I have to say I still don't know whether I would use the pepper spray in anger, but I think that when you have this level or preparedness you 'walk tall' compared to others and your consequential body vibes and confidence mean you are less likely to be targeted.

Does anyone have any alternative suggestions--other than standing back and letting them get on with it?

Tim

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

I think it would be easier to put some weight back on!

I wouldn't take the labels off, what if some customs officer is going through your toiletries and accidently sprays himself in the eye? That might not end well...

I also think the zipties are a bad idea--so you've got one or more pepper-sprayed, pissed off guys flailing around on the ground, and you expect to be able to zip tie them without putting yourself in danger? Stay out of arms reach, I would say. If you use the pepper spray, I would hop on my bike and get the hell out of dodge, unless the miscreants were clearly a couple of harmless punks (but you can never be sure, can you?).

So what do you do? Park somewhere secure (hotel?) or where you won't be seen, don't bring much of value, keep anything of value on your person but don't convince yourself that it is worth getting hurt for. Clearly not a perfect approach, but better than anything else I've heard yet. Travelling solo is just not the time or place to plan on going Rambo.

[EDIT] And as you suggest, a lot of it is about body language...there are probably a fair number of petty thieves that are not willing to tangle with "bad ass" bikers like us...if someone is willing to mess with me (hasn't happened yet), I will probably assume that they are armed/high/drunk/all of the above) and proceed accordingly.

Thanks for sharing your concern. I'm going to Morocco in the spring, and if a Morocco vet like you is concerned, I'm concerned...

I wonder where this Hubber was camped exactly in WS when he got turned over?

As we all know when wild camping it's better not to do so near settlements, not to be seen leaving the highway and then park up out of sight and take it easy with the lights.
Sometimes I wait a while before unpacking to make sure I feel secure, even to the point of not getting a tent/bag out until I'm ready to actually use them. This is usually in the first couple of days when one is nervous.

The more vulnerable/exposed you feel the more effort you take over all this, as I learned from my early travels.

I know the feeling of vulnerability when your whole camp is spread out on the desert sand and a couple of drunk guys turn up. Luckily they've just been curious or friendly or scrounging, as is the local way.

My impression is North Africa is a safe place; it's never occurred to me to carry Mace there.

I think you may have dieted too far Tim. Get stuck in this Xmas!

Ch

(I can sense this post is going to be popular)

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

Carry a baseball bat ,then you can whack 'em after you've pepper sprayed 'em .
Unconscious; they can then be cable tied .

A bike of over 1000cc is advisable ,then you can drag 'em out into the desert for the jackals to feast on .

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Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

Blimey Tim that's two small labradors !!

The self protection thing is very difficult.

If you appear dangerous, will the potential mugger stay away or will more initial force be used against you ?

I think to take on two blokes (even pissed / stoned) you’ll need to be handy.

One option is to be to be fairly meek and let them take something (your spare wallet, and some odds and sods) while making sure your important stuff is well hidden.

Another would be to go on a course to learn some self-defence. My brother is a bit of a little squirt, but working as he does in a well-known secure “Hospital” he has been trained in defence and restraint techniques. I doubt there are many blokes who could get one over on him (maybe if they walked up behind and twatted him with a bat or something). He doesn’t do any fancy Nintendo / Origami moves; just a few pressure points and knowing how to use your assailant’s weight.

One of my workmates does Jujitsu and is always trying his moves out on our apprentice “imagine you are coming at me with a sharp piece of mango”

I suppose you have to hope that if you did manage to defend yourself and your attacker runs off, that he doesn’t come back with a few of his mates before you can pack all your stuff away and move on.

Some lessons in something might just give you a bit more confidence so you didn’t feel more at risk than you really are. One of the lads I went to Morocco with was convinced that everyone who looked at him was about to mug / rape him. Mind you he is from Manchester so maybe that’s what he is used to.

Ooops ! I’ve rambled again

Self defence weapons.
Very tricky subject, what is legal in one country is a big no-no next door, what is normal in the hills may be banned in the low country. My personal experience is varied, I have only had a couple of bad experiences wild-camping, and managed to keep my kit and finances intact. I was attacked by a dog pack south of Essouriera in Marroc after getting stuck in sand, but I was in a car; camping on the ground I might have been in trouble.
Rather than specific weapons a powerful and effective spray is probably the best way to go, I have no idea where they are legal/illegal. I use a stout walking stick, because of a plastic knee, and many potential bad guys see that as a weapon, and often comment on it.
”Big stick, mister”
”Yepp”
I have to add that I have only used it a couple of times in anger, and once I provoked a lot of ill-feeling in a crowd of touts in Hampi by giving a bag thief a swift upward stroke to the balls. I think if I had used the handle to catch him by the neck the crowd would have been on my side, everyone likes to see someone else made a fool of.
In towns, where there is always a threat of room theft, mugging, pickpocketing, or assault it’s a different situation, and different precautions. My experience in the countryside is that there are people about, animal shepherds or whatever, so if you really want to be unnoticed you have to be very careful and clever. No fire, no lights, no cooking – not much fun.
Prevention is better than cure, if you look aware, and ”handy” that helps. Driving a bike also gives a lot of cred, but means you have all your kit ”on display”. A lot of items can be used as weapons, as well as their normal use, but unless you are prepared to use real violence and cause serious personal injury I think you might only escalate the situation by threats and counter threats, and lose the element of surprise.
In most countries we travel through we are seen as obscenely rich, natural targets for wealth redistribution, and even though I don’t like it, it is a reality. This thread was about wild camping, and personal protection, no-one to help, but no witnesses either, which can play both ways, and in most remote areas I have been there is no problem. Maybe this changes. If Tim Cullis is worried....
Safe travels
Peter, in Oslo

get ya sen one of those small fire extinquishers.
comes in handy for all sorts of things..
the uk police use em on drugs raids were the scumbags first form of defence is the pitbull.as some one else says out of site out of mind ..

Tim you do know that this sort of spray is classified as a firearm in the UK and posession of some here can get you into deep shit.

Q

Indeed so. In the UK, pepper sprays are classed as prohibited weapons under section 5 of the Firearms Act (1968, as amended). Basically, they are in the same league as machine guns, nail bombs, RPG rocket launchers or weapons grade uranium. Minimum sentence on being caught with a pepper spray - 6 years in jail.

Geoffrey Kolbe

Tim

This is like finding out Father Christmas is a myth.

The reason I kept thinking about the scenario after talking to the fellow HUBBer on the ferry was that apparently we had had some correspondence before his trip and he had taken some of my advice so I felt partly responsible in some way.

Not that he'd mentioned wild camping in Western Sahara.

I ought to stress again that I've never been at all concerned for my personal safety in Morocco in some 40 trips over 37 years. I've solo wild camped without problems and normally choose somewhere not too far from a village.

I bought the pepper spray on a whim whilst in Germany. I won't be taking it on my next trip to Morocco (Feb 2010) but if I head further south again I think it will find its way into my bags.

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

How about a nuclear belt made in Iran? That is a good device for anger bikers. It can keep your back tied when travelling gravel roads, but also if being robbed you can scream “Inschalahh” and send the thieves to their paradise in one bloody second. The bad side effect (or collateral damage) is that everything else in ten miles around (even you) will go to the same place. But for sure the f****g drunk robbers will learn the lesson. Do not bother any biker carrying a big belt!!

Seriously: the last thing I want when travelling is being robbed. But something worst is being in legal problems in that kind of countries we all love to ride. So even in the rare case I can smash, knock or stab the thieves to protect my small luggage, I will be more worried about a journey to the local dirty jail than loosing few possessions. I have been never in that kind of trouble because two reasons: First: Jesus loves me. Second: I am not stupid. I protect my self with common sense.

The worst situation I had was in Volvograd, Russia, with some drunk guys in a crappy hotel. They did not want to rob me, but they wanted a gang bang (sex in group) with me as a guest starring. I am not very good looking and I am also sure that proposal could be fantastic for other guys, but not for me. So I decided stop drinking vodka and leave the place in that right moment. They were shouting at me meanwhile I started my bike. “It is mistake. It is not what you are thinking!”. Probably not, but who in the Hells wants to give them an opportunity to drill your ass?

http://africanmotorcycletrip.blogspot.com/

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www.miquelsilvestre.com

Getting robbed became routine in Colombia. One of my pals with a temper got mad and tried to fight back, which rendered him a few knife cuts. Couple days later he was tetanic.
I would be more worried about causing real harm to someone else in a faraway place than loosing a few earthly possessions. That could mean real trouble, as the locals may not be on your side even if you were actually being robbed. And local law enforcement may very well also not be on your side.
Carrying weapons could easily escalate the violence.
That said I am also thinking about a defense spray...

My friend is a policeofficer in inner city Liverpool. You can imagine its no country lane beat...

Naming no names, many officers use their BIG Maglite torces as very affective weapons when dealing with violent unsaviouries as they don't need to fill in paperwork for using it as opposed to about 20 forms for drawing their truntion.

These things are BIG and HARD and can be used as a Cosh (and are) in many self defence classes.

Obviously, its just a torch, but one that can break bones and certainly the skulls of drugged up crims. Fits nicely on your luggage, is waterproof and is always handy around camp and kept next to your sleeping bag.

As the base is screwed on, you can replace it with many headache making extras like in this picture.

You can also get a Police 6-Cell version which is the real deal peacemaker !!

I'm crossing Africa next year and hoping that my shaved head Scouser appearance while wearing body armour and wielding a large maglite will be enough to put anyone off.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Not a bad call, although kinda big to carry on the bike. I usually carry a min-Maglite but the effect is probably not quite the same...