Questions. The Editor of this fine journal is full of them. For instance.... “You’ve done a few of Greg Paul’s overland trips haven’t you?,” he asked me recently. Got a favourite?”
After considerable deliberation the honest answer is no, each one has been special in its own unique way.
Which requires an explanation, and in doing so MacKay, clever bugger that he is, gets a story. So here goes.
My favourite trip(s) would have to be a series I did with Greg Paul from Rally Tours, now Overland Journeys.
We all have our dreams of course, the real reality of life is the ability or will power to actually make them happen.
One of mine has always been to drive from London to Beijing and then return. I had read lots of travel books and adventure stories over the years, the days of the Silk Road and Marco Polo’s adventures. But it was not till 2009 when I first met Greg on a 4WD Safari up-country and got talking with him about trips around the world, then saw a presentation he gave to my 4WD club in 2010 relating to his Shanghai to Paris trip and first London to Beijing Silk Road adventure, that the possibility of fulfilling my dream presented itself.
And so, the decision was made in 2010 that I would do a back-to-back trip with my son Ross, in 2011 with Greg, driving one of his 100 series Land Cruisers, starting in London and finishing back in London some 110 days later.
Having done the above trip and return to London, it very much increased my want to do more. So when Greg announced in 2012 that he was putting together a trip to South America following the Dakar Rally for 15 days in 2013 (in the 100 series again) I found another way to scratch my overseas 4WD trip itch.
This was totally different as I got to have New Year’s eve in Lima the capital of Peru as we prepared for the start of the Dakar. Then it was to be a different place almost each and every day as we worked to keep ahead of the Dakar for the next day’s viewing.
It also meant camping as there was not always a town or city nearby, along with watching the vehicles involved, up real close at times, visiting Peru, Chile and Argentina, seeing the sights and cities along the way.
Not forgetting, too, the experience of driving on and off road in a New Zealand (i.e. RHD) 4WD on the wrong side of the road.
To read the full story in 2017 NZ4WD Annual & Buyer’s Guide go to zinio.com (December 12) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store
