Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 38

S TA R C U S T O M E R S
LOOKING GOOD
CANADA
BY S I X S TA R S TA FF
What better way for adventure-loving
Subaru owners to show off their
vehicles and tell their stories than
through the #LookingGoodCanada
Contest? Earlier this year, some
1000 images were tagged, liked and
shared in celebration of our nation’s
150th anniversary.
We received some fantastic stories
documenting all the many ways that
Subaru owners have experienced
this country and, at times, beyond.
When the public votes were tallied,
four winners from the four different
corners of Canada were awarded a
very Canadian long weekend in our
nation’s capital, Ottawa. Here are the
stories behind the winning images.
36 six star magazine
ONTARIO
ZACH JANSEN AND ERIC VANDERWAL
This adventurous team, consisting of self-proclaimed car enthusiast Eric Vanderwal and
photographer Zach Jansen, is no stranger to the Subaru family. Eric grew up with a top-of-the-line
2003 Outback VDC as their family’s daily driver. As expected, this Outback powered many family
journeys, endured few trips to the shop, and even survived being the vehicle with which he first
learned to drive.
Fast forward to 2016: Eric began planning an epic six-month cross-continental road trip and
he invited Zach to join in on the adventure. When it came time to purchase a vehicle that would
overcome both the expected and the unexpected, Eric’s choice was, of course, a Subaru—in this
case, a 2005 Subaru Forester XT.
Beginning in Toronto, they headed north, hitting the chilly but beautiful James Bay as the first
of many remarkable destinations. Easing into slightly warmer venues, they moved through Quebec
and over to our spectacular East Coast, before crossing our nation fully, conquering the rustic
Prairies and the rugged West Coast along the way. (On this most westerly segment, Zach captured
this winning image.) As a final drop in this bucket list, the dynamic duo, accompanied by another
friend, Matt Gatt, forged on to the Yukon, dipping a toe and a tire into the Arctic Ocean before
finally heading home.
Tallying up the entire adventure, it was six months, 53,000 kilometres, dozens of national parks,
a 70-degree temperature swing, three Canadian coasts, one complete continent, a few windshield
dings, and one victorious image. It was the trip of a lifetime for the friends—and a worthy winner
in the #LookingGoodCanada Contest!