EDITORIAL
TRAVERSE:
I Liked That Comment ...
W
ith a couple of trips
planned to Birdsville
(western Queensland,
Australia) over the next
few weeks I became
obsessed following a
Facebook group dedicated to a recent
music festival in the small desert
town.
The many members often
discussed the dangers of travelling
by anything other than a four
wheeled drive vehicle that’s been so
heavily modified it more resembles
something driven by The Humungus
while hunting down Max Rockatansky
… no wonder he was mad.
I couldn’t help myself, I had to
comment, and asked “what about the
people who travel by motorcycle?”.
Silence. I added that people often
do it on ‘postie’ bikes, some even on
‘road’ bikes. Silence.
Had I hit a raw nerve, or did they
think I was crazy? I didn’t mean to
insult, intimidate or taunt, my point
was to show that any vehicle can take
on an adventure of any sort, and it
got me thinking. What was the most
unlikely of ‘adventure’ vehicle I’d
seen?
TRAVERSE 5
A few years back, I came across
a group of Citroens’, all models, all
vintages, but it was a handful of 2CVs
that grabbed my attention. The group
were in Marree, the town that sits at
the convergence of the Oodnadatta
and Birdsville Tracks, not easy
country for such gormless looking
machines. Oh, how I was wrong.
I was soon told that the 2CV was
built especially for such conditions.
Conceived as a utilitarian vehicle for
French farmers, its suspension was
long travel and flexed in a way that
suits rough, corrugated roads. The
2CV is light and easy to fix … despite
its looks it is perfect for off roading
adventures.
A lesson was learnt; never judge a
book … oh, sorry … a car by its panels
… anything is capable of adventure.
Someone eventually replied to my
comment on the Facebook group, she
said, “What the hell are they talking
about? I went up the Birdsville Track
in my 20-year-old Toyota Hiace and
had no problems at all.” I liked that
comment …
Leigh