Old blighty

A TALE OF LOVE, LOSS, AND LAND ROVERS.

- DAN EVERETT

THE yearning for freedom isn’t something you can buy. It doesn’t come free with a Chinese swag, you won’t find a subscription for it online, and you certainly can’t download it on the app store. It’s engrained in us, an all-consuming hunger deep within. Those endless outback plains, the morning mist rolling in through the high-country valleys, the setting sun bathing the inland lakes of Fraser Island in pinks and oranges while the campfire cackles behind us.

That call of the wild was something Jamie couldn’t pass up. The idea of loading his family into their very own adventure machine, setting off for the horizon and never looking back held more appeal than a thick wallet.

The build was meticulously planned. The starting platform, one of the most iconic 4x4s ever built and the very embodiment of continent conquering adventure, the Land Rover Defender. Starting with one of the last models rolling off the production line came with a bunch of positives. It’s one of the most customisable vehicles on the planet, with a huge aftermarket helping you produce the Defender of your dreams. It’s also one of the newest vehicles you can buy with live axles at each end, and coil springs holding them in. Of course, it also came with a few negatives.