WE bought our 2011 Defender 110 TDCi – christened Wallie – in the summer of 2022, lured by its promise of adventure and a rediscovery of the great outdoors.
It was not a rash purchase, especially given the eye-watering prices of Defenders in recent times, but a deliberate lifestyle change. We simply felt that there was a more fulfilling way to experience the world around us – and that the answer, at least in part, lay in a Land Rover. However, we would not be undertaking these adventures alone: the intention always was to drag our rambunctious little boy, Kai, along for the ride as we fulfilled this newfound desire to explore and experience life off the beaten track.
Keen to crack on, a quick online search of ‘off-road holidays with a toddler’ brought us to OneLife Adventure, run by Paul and Anne Blackburn. They organise serious overlanding trips all over Europe and Africa, but were incredibly supportive of us bringing Kai. So, before we talked ourselves out of it, we booked a two-and-a-half week overlanding and wild camping expedition with them to Iceland.
Despite our initial gung-ho enthusiasm, it didn’t take long for doubts to set in. As a couple with regular desk jobs, our
