NOT SO CLOSE TO HOME
IN THIS, THE LAST IN THE CURRENT SERIES OF ‘NOT SO’ CLOSE TO HOME 4X4 TRAVEL FEATURES FROM EUROPE, RICHARD SOULT AND PARTNER ANDREA HEAD BACK TO FRANCE!
W e arrived in the UK at the beginning of June last year and by the end of the month, had bought and built a Mitsubishi Pajero, suitable for sustained Overlanding. . The first route that we logged took us down through France, into Italy and finally to the French Riviera. Our last article left us having lunch in an Italian mountain restaurant, having failed to drive the magnificent Maria-Stura due to its annual closure.
At the restaurant we had met a French couple, new to Overlanding, who had recently bought a truck and this was their first ever trip away. They were basically doing the same route as us and were unsure where they were going to end up that night.
I told them that we would be staying at the Col de Tende on the French border and showed them some photos from a previous trip. We left them to have lunch and carried on.
The last two days of the trip are a couple of the best on the route. Dropping down from the High Alps, the scenery and vegetation changes as you approach the Mediterranean is absolutely incredible.
LAST TOWN, LAST SUPERMARKET
Inevitably, with a route this long, there are sections of tarmac to be driven and this we did until we reached Limone Piemonte, which is the last town in Italy and the last supermarket.
We’ve done this route a few times and it’s become a bit of a tradition to stop there to stock up on all the last minute Italian goodies that we couldn’t buy in France. I don’t know why, but the pasta always tastes so much better in Italy!
Shopping done, our last Italian coffee drunk, it was time to head up the ski field road to the Central Fort at Col de Tende, 1870m. This fort is part of a series of forts, which were built in 1881 to protect Italy from invasion from the South. Whilst the approach from the North is relatively easy, the view that it commands over the valley on the French side is impressive and prior to a tunnel being built under the Col, it is unimaginable that anyone unwelcomed could have succeeded in crossing.
Being right on the border, my kids used to love coming here, continually walking across a path from France to Italy and back.
Knowing that we were going to light a campfire that night, we had stocked up on firewood during the earlier forested sections.
BEST PIECE OF KIT BOUGHT IN CHCH
One of the most essential pieces of equipment for sustained Overlanding is a bag that fits onto your spare wheel. The one that we use is produced by Ironman4X4 and is extremely durable. It’s so good in fact that we bought it in Christchurch and shipped it to Europe. It’s still on the Europe truck and we’ll definitely be buying another for this summer in NZ. I have seen cheaper models on the market but seriously doubt that they would survive the treatment ours gets.
Ours serves a variety of purposes. When we’re in NZ and hitting harder tracks, it’s used to keep recovery kit, because it is easily accessible and saves having dirty, wet straps etc in the truck.
I also love cooking and there is nothing worse than having a rubbish bag with onion skins and other cooking scraps in the truck, particularly on a hot day. Plus we also often pick up other people’s rubbish along the way and it’s easy just to pick it up and throw it in the back.
On this occasion though, we filled it up with firewood, again keeping all of the mess out of the truck.
POPULAR SPOT
The Fort Central at Col de Tende is a very popular spot for Overlanders, either heading North into Italy or South into France. On both sides of the Col, the views are impressive. To the North the Alps look amazing with the towering 3841m Monte Viso dominating skyline whilst to the South the view is just as impressive.
On this evening we had the place to ourselves, or so we thought… With dinner out of the way and darkness falling, a series of cars began arriving. In the end there were about a dozen people all gathered round on the side of the hill. Must be a popular evening spot for Italians, I thought to myself.
A little while later, out of the darkness appeared an Italian lady who explained that they were a bunch of medics from the local hospital and one of their colleagues was a keen astrologist and had invited them for an evening stargazing. An invitation to join them followed and I didn’t hesitate.
Now I know nothing about planets and stars apart from the Southern Cross and the Pole Star, but what I saw that night was amazing! There were planets with rings and moons. Quite an eye opener!
GEE, THANKS
As they were packing up, a bottle of homemade Génépi came out of a bag and was offered as a gift. Génépi is a wild flower found high in the Alps and when mixed with alcohol makes a fantastic nightcap!
Having said goodbye and thank you to my new Italian friends, I headed back to the truck and the dying campfire. I was wondering where our French friends from the restaurant had got to, when I saw headlights heading up the ski field road. It was well past 22.00 and I couldn’t believe it could be them, but it was!
They had finished their lunch late and then proceeded to get lost. Maybe my first sale of the new 4X4Explorer Europe Routes?
MIXED FEELINGS
The next day, we packed up and left the fort with mixed feelings. Happy to be heading to Nice to stay with old friends, but sad to be leaving the Alps. The great thing about mountains, of course, is that they’re always there when you come back.
The route from Tende to Nice takes you through beautiful foothills and amazing gorges and quickly we were in the South of France with olive trees, rivers and fantastic little villages with great restaurants.
We ran a competition to see who would see the Mediterranean first and just before entering L’Escarene, there it was, shimmering turquoise blue and full of yachts.
THE REAL JOY OF OVERLANDING
It was amazing to think that we had started this journey near Chamonix, had travelled over 1000km through two countries, climbed to over 3000m and now we were descending to the French Riviera.
We also thought about all the amazing people that we had met along the way and all the great experiences that we had had. That’s the real joy of Overlanding!
The hard work now begins. Putting all the information that we have gathered onto https://www.4x4explorer.co.nz/?aff+2818 . Hopefully we’ll have it all up and running before the next European summer season. Remember that there are nearly 800 routes already on https:// www.4x4explorer.co.nz/?aff+2818 to help you discover New Zealand.