I have lived in in Bloemfontein for a very large part of my life. My passion for all things off-road was triggered by a love of riding off-road bikes. My best friend and I spent many weekends and school holidays riding the bike his dad had built up for us to use.
We learnt how to fix and service it and to ride it properly. As things go, life happened, and he and his family relocated to Pretoria. We didn’t stay in touch, but the passion never disappeared. We made contact again years later when I did my national service in Pretoria, but he sadly passed away after a serious superbike accident.
Many years later, I had a working relationship with the local BMW dealership and as Land Rover was owned by the German brand at the time, I was asked to drive a Defender 90 to a farmer’s day in Wesselsbron of all places. My love for 4x4 was officially born that day; this was simply something I had to get into! The Continental Off Road Academy, under the guidance of 4x4 legend Von Krause, was still operational and I approached the local instructor. Oom Jannie du Plessis was a legend in his own right, having owned on of
