LIFE IN THE 4X4 LANE
TRAVEL restrictions over the past two years have seen folks, who wouldn’t normally consider owning a 4x4, buying and equipping four-wheel drive vehicles for domestic travel because international travel was effectively banned. However, the border closures within the country have stymied travels at home.
Still, it’s been a good time for the 4x4 accessories industry, stock shortage issues aside, as most of the shops I’ve spoken to have been flat-out during this time fitting out mainly new vehicles.
As we roll in to 2022, it’s easier to travel to the USA than it is to Western Australia, while travel among Australia’s eastern states seems to be a free for all. It has seen a lot of folks out on the roads over the New Year and popular camp spots are filling up fast.
Have you ever considered an overlanding or off-road trip overseas and, if so, where is it you’d want to go? There are some incredible offroad challenges to be had through South-east Asia, endless sand dunes to explore through the Middle East, and an abundance of national parks and natural wonders to explore in the USA.
The USA is a particularly easy one for Aussies, as it’s a single flight from most of our capital cities to Los Angeles, from where you can hit the road and explore for as long as your budget allows.
A few years back, I turned south from LA and headed in to Mexico to explore the Baja Peninsula and it was an epic two-week trip. I wish I had more time there, but after years of watching off-road racing from Baja and reading countless surfing stories from there, I grabbed this opportunity to visit.
The chance was made easier when regular contributor to the magazine, Chris Collard, offered to show me around Baja. Chis has been travelling to Baja for decades and knows the place well, so he was the perfect guide.
After picking me up from LAX, we were across the border in to Mexico and sipping tequila in Ensenada within hours. It was the start of 10 days zigzagging up and down the peninsula, avoiding the sealed roads, chasing race cars, camping on remote beaches and meeting great people.
After being such a great travel companion on this trip, I asked Chris to put together a guide for others thinking about making a similar trip, and it’s here to inspire you in this issue.
Speaking of the great people we met on the trip, two of them were Lucky and Cindy and we stayed at their place on the East Cape. Lucky has a Suzuki Samurai (Sierra) which we took for a run down the beach, while Cindy drives a mint CJ7 Jeep which she has owned since new. The car that wasn’t there when we visited was Lucky’s ex-ambulance Power Wagon and, after he told me about it, I had to see it. A few years on and Chris caught up with Lucky while he was driving it in the USA and photographed it for this issue.
Great people, amazing places and cool 4x4s – there’s so much to see when you travel by 4x4, whether it’s home or abroad. What’s stopping you?