“Why is it that guys want a lawn but never want to mow it?” Tjitska asks me as I show her my latest project.

I’m re-arranging our back garden to accommodate some green tingling for Marcel’s feet while he’s doing the braai (a.k.a. barbequeing).

“Weirdly enough, … ” I reply “Marcel loves mowing the lawn. He evens goes around to other people’s places to do theirs!” Our neighbour looks at me incredulously. I laugh, Read the rest »

Our weekend plans are somewhat disrupted when Marcel discovers metres of carpet waiting to be laid in Zwolle, some 130 km’s from Vierhuizen!

Then Simon lets us know that a potential buyer wants to kick his tyres early on Saturday morning, so they won’t be able to make it both nights.  Read the rest »

Each year hundreds of 4×4’s descend onto an open field in Axel during the “Pinksteren” [Pentecost] holiday weekend. The reason? Simple. To celebrate everything that is Land Rover.

In the Netherlands, there aren’t a lot of places left for 4×4s to roam; largely due to the size of the country in relation to her population and their needs. So most offroaders head east towards Germany, Poland and Croatia or are southbound towards France, Spain and Portugal. Read the rest »

The idea of angry 4×4’s tearing up ancient forests horrified me. I adore nature and being outdoors. So when we got the chance to attend the Croatia Trophy, I was in a quandry.

On the one hand, not wanting to experience, let alone promote, such destruction … and on the other hand, wanting to know what the 4×4 adventure thing is all about. Read the rest »

A couple of extremely crooked valve-rods ends the Pink Panther’s trail in Poland. We can stand-down. And lie-in. Past the 06h30 plan of getting up to watch the others tackle the “Bandi” course below the house.

We’re simply shattered. So, instead we get up at decent-o-clock and have ourselves some bacon and eggs. We amble down the hill to see who is still riding this track. Not many …

Read the rest »

2 am sees us pulling into the driveway of our rental home. Shattered by a 21-hour journey, but without complaint. Dorota and Anno have been on the road for 34 hours and Wojtek is still en-route.

The Discovery pulling one of the competition cars has developed some issues.   Read the rest »

Joining the Dutch Armed Forces on a Mission

Talk about show-and-tell with an impact! The Dutch Army opened their doors to the Johannes Postkazerne to share their efforts and work methods with us civilian folk wanting to know more.  

Entrance was free, so it was packed!

We were pretty gobsmacked by how professionally it was organised, but then I suppose, what else can/should you expect? Read the rest »

Sunday afternoon…

We’re at the ‘Dutch Armed Forces Open Day‘.

The phone rings and Rob invites us to the RDW Track in Lelystad… Read the rest »

Pink Panther

The Croatia Trophy is a massive challenge, being the toughest 4×4 competition in Europe. Just finishing the race is already a major achievement. Adding to these rigours with extra, unforeseen, problems meant that the days were sometimes rather long…

For ‘Team Tommie’ the predominant feature was, sadly, mechanical failure, but of the kind that you couldn’t predict or plan for, like: a blocked suction tube in the fuel tank? Crown wheel bolts sheared off? Axle halfshaft twisted and snapped? You can’t make this stuff up… Here’s a day-by-day account of our adventure.

Read the rest »

51 km’s … more than most of us expect. The car is running with no front or rear diff lockers, but we decide to start anyway.

Shortly after the start signal, we catch up to Tjarko and Sybolt (team 32) who started 2 minutes before us and decide to drive the stage together. A good thing! Read the rest »

It was the second last day today, but in order to start, we needed to repair the damage from the previous day.

This consisted of a broken halfshaft in the front left and the bolts that had come loose in the crown wheel.

The rear diff housing was so damaged due to these problems that after disassembly the bearings could not be adjusted. Read the rest »

Started really well. Due to our (late) finish in the previous stage, we still managed to get a 24th starting position. Navigation went perfectly and we headed for the first test at checkpoint 1.

This was a creek that we needed to enter and follow about two hundred metres. We got there at about eleven thirty to find a row of cars ahead of us. No alternative but to join the queue and wait for the cars in front to get throught the section. By now the stream had become a serious mudbath.  Read the rest »

What a hectic day! It was 05:30 start for me, driving to the local village to upload pics and updates, then back in time for a quick breakfast and press briefing.

In true Croatia Trophy style, the plans were changed at the last minute and we dashed around trying to find where to go. Exciting once you’re used to it, a little nerve wracking when not. Read the rest »

The front diff has come off and the bolts holding the kroonwiel have all sheared off. The whole thing has to come apart.

With enormous help from our dutch teams we find the knowledge and some spare parts to refit the spacer that holds the kroonwiel.  Read the rest »

Start from eleven pm. Being in last place due to a non-start in the Team Trophy, we are last to start at about 00h30. We head into the darkness and try to follow a track.

Around the next corner we find a traffic jam of vehicles trying to get through a creek that has been turned into soft mud by the cars that had left before. We come across teams that had left an hour before us, heading the other way…  Read the rest »

I’m having a fabulous time with the official press team for the Croatia Trophy, but that’s a whole other story. In the mean time, you can read Rob’s update over today and see the photos of the action.

“Today was double-edged. We couldn’t take part in the Team Trophy because of the technical problems from yesterday, but have managed to sort them all out and can take part in the night stage.
The fuel problems were actually caused by a blocked suction pipe in the fuel tank. We also had the tyre fixed from the flat we had yesterday, by the professional tyre company that is present at the Trophy. It cost 50 Kn, which is approximately € 7,00 …………….. . Read the rest »

We had a relatively good start and caught some competitiors early due to some good driving in some of the testing areas. Navigation a bit difficult at times but getting better.

About halfway at the first check point we had to change a flat tyre. We used the top winch around a tree to lift the car which saved us some time, but still took fifteen minutes to get going again. Read the rest »

During the briefing, Marcel luckily pulls a 10 from the hat thus allowing them to start in the 4th group. No time to rest, back to the tents, teams shirts on and head for the start line. They make a quick recon of the course and get themselves ready.

Rinze and I start walking towards the winching spots, but stand with Carl who´s found a shady spot with great vantage point. My heart is pounding waiting for Team 55 to race by.  Read the rest »

A great vibe at camp. Relaxed but you can feel the excitement mounting. The prologue is a timed route including winching from different angles. This will determine the starting positions for day 1.

I handed over my passport to Igor (event manager) this morning so I could register as “press” and got a great package, including brochures for Croatia, which looks exquisite, a t-shirt, cap and bright yellow anorack so the drivers don’t run us over in the marshy swamps. Rob, Rinze and Marcel were busy with the only pink Landrover in the world. A colour that is causing quite a stir! Read the rest »

Final checks on the Land Rover Discovery (kindly sponsored by Land Rover Centre Jacob Schaap) and we hit the road by 09:30. Slow going at 90 km/hr, but all went smoothly. Stopped briefly to refill the landy and stretch our legs. Before we knew it, we hit the major roadworks in Eastern Germany.

About 12 hours later we got to Passau, on the border of Germany and Austria. Some searching later, we found a guest house that could feed us. Boy did that “weissbier” taste good, as did the goulash soup and “knackworst” (with fresh horseradish). Read the rest »

Croatia Trophy 2010 (29/04-09/05)

4×4 offroading challenge – F1 in mud!

Two weeks before the trophy is due to start, our good friend Rob Mieras drops a little bombshell … his co-driver has to pull out of the competition and is needing a replacement.

Rob asks Marcel to join his 2-man team. AWESOME!!

We’ve had one weekend of 4×4 offroading in Germany, so it should be alright then!! Read the rest »

I care very deeply. About people, nature, wildlife, … and life itself. I burn many a midnight oil contemplating the intricacies of the things we do and how we do them.

New perceptions have helped me resolve deep issues, like conflicts within my marriage (learning how to hear my husband in spite of how much it hurts) and my approach towards global problems highlighted on the ‘net.

Read the rest »

If this was Top Gear, I have no doubt that Jeremy Clarkson would be guffawing at my car history.

First there was an Opel Kadett, a simple sewing machine – no frills, no fuss – got me from A to B. Then a step up, with a gorgeously deep red Opel Astra.   Read the rest »

Instead of eating French loaf on the sidewalk under the Eiffel Tower, our derriéres found themselves ensconced on our sofa for our 9th wedding anniversary. Plans for the 9th of March heading nowhere fast due to lack of funds.

A couple of weeks later though, a work commitment gives us a chance to get creative. There’s a delivery in Belgium and we decide to carry on driving … Read the rest »

It’s her birthday…

We have been in the middle of a dramatic shift in spending patterns this past few months. Consciously trying to move away from the pure consumerism that seems to be the western-way. Buying stuff and things that we don’t really need…

We all know the drill; keeping up with the Jones’s is also part of it. Well; the Jones’s can keep their brand new car, and stereo, plasma, ipod, iphone, ipad, imac, idon’t-care…. Read the rest »