We set of a little later than planned - no surprise there. Soon Ollie realised that he had failed to print out the instructions to get to the site, but as we had the laptop (to experiment with the GPS) we could use the electronic form of instructions. Driving along we tested out the GPS with some success, happy that we could see a little triangle. Due to the age of our maps, the roads were not where they were meant to be! Although not ideal, this was not a real problem as we could just about see where we were. Until, that is, we decided the laptop needed a charge and plugged it into the inverter. Not a single bolt electricity, even when we tested it by pouring some water on it. Nothing. Oops ... The only thing left to do was circle the Seven Sisters area until we reached the campsite. This meant most of our electronics testing had come to an abrupt end.

That night we shared some beers and a couple of sausages with some of the committee members who all made us feel most welcome. We met Mike, Becky, Dan and Jen all of who we spent Sunday with 'greenlaning'. By the time eleven o'clock came around we were shattered and ready for bed, which was going to be the inside of Dino for the first time. We are pleased to report that sleeping inside is lovely and comfy, and takes even less time to set up than the roof tent. We are now very happy that we have a vehicle that covers both eventualities.

The next day we elected to go greenlaning with Dave Lanes the local guide to the site. We were joined by John and Chris a nice couple in a beautiful 90 and we set of for what we thought would be a gentle pootle around the site. After two puddles/lakes we remembered to put our wading plugs in!

Although I'm sure that most of the people who were at the site would have laughed at our timidness, the level that Dave took us to was just right. Challenging enough to make us gulp and squeal at the same time, but so bad as to make us cry! No, I do exaggerate a little, but it was just right, and we spent a great morning getting Dino stuck and figuring how to get him out.

That afternoon we we had a lesson with Richard, who was in in a D-lander, another type of Land Rover that we learnt about (along with Bobcat, Ibex, Dakar and most probably more). We had mentioned that although we had a winch, we didn't actually know how to use it. Richard kindly spent an hour or so showing us how to use it, and also a bit of a safety lesson.

That evening was more beer and sausages, and more Land Rover talk. By the time we crept off for bed we were off roaders! Next day the very friendly Becky (I promise I'll get a winch sail next time) talked her boyfriend into fixing our handbrake, which was just as well, as the previous day Ollie had nearly lost Jenny down what was now known as handbrake hill. We then set of with them, Dan and Jen and Dave for what was to be the highlight, a good two hours greenlaning, interspersed with some top notch help and advise. By the end of this session we were happy crawling up hills, controlling a failed hill climb and taking it easy going down hill. We were just happy :)

Click to see photos of the weekend. Again a big thank you to everyone at Shire Land Rover Club for their welcome and help.

Below a video of Jenny driving through one of the puddles.