EDITOR’S COLUMN: IT’S OFFICIAL… I LOVE FOUR-WHEEL DRIVING!

By Unsealed 4X4 5 Min Read

 

As I write this, I’m sitting at a campfire just outside of Birdsville tapping away on my laptop. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, we’re at the Big Red Bash. And let me tell you, if you weren’t out here with me you need to put this event on your list. Despite the recent heavy rains, the last couple of days have been an absolute blast – checking out everyone’s touring setups, catching up with some old mates and chatting with heaps of our readers from all walks of life… not to mention all the entertainment on offer.

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For the full Unsealed 4X4 experience, read this in our online magazine.

 

It’s actually really made me appreciate how much our readers make this mag great. The feedback, positive comments and constructive criticism have all been fantastic! In fact, I should let you guys know about our audit.

 

These things are put out from independent industry watchdogs every now and then and basically tell us how we’re stacking up in terms of our competition, our readership numbers and page views. Thanks to all of you, the numbers blew us away! We’re talking 260,000-plus readers, over seven million page views… long story short, no other off-road mag comes close. And y’know what? It’s thanks to you guys. So from the entire team here at Unsealed 4X4 I’d like to say a massive cheers to our readers for every ‘like’ and ‘share’ and for simply taking the time to check out our little slice of the Internet.

 

The other big revelation that’s struck me on this trip is how great four-wheel driving is. And yes, I can hear the responses to that last sentence already… “Wow, the Editor of a 4X4 mag who loves going off-road, whoop-dee-doo!” Yeah, fair call, it does read a bit like a billionaire telling you he loves money, so let me clarify.

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The thing is, there’s so much that I don’t appreciate about 4WDing until I’m actually out in the bush and doing it. There’s something about sitting next to a campfire in one of the most amazing locations in the world (and let’s face it, Australia has thousands of these – I’m overlooking the Diamantina River right now and its magic) that just makes you relax like you can’t in cities and generally just puts life into perspective. To me, this is what it’s all about.

 

The other thing I realise when I’m out exploring this great country is that no matter how good a driver I think I am, there’s always more to learn about life in low-range. Whether it’s learning just what your vehicle is capable of, refining your line selection technique, working out at which speeds and loads your vehicle is at its most efficient, perfecting your driving skills over any number of obstacles, or any other dozens of little techniques, I’m always amazed at how much I’m still able to learn as a driver even though I’ve got decades of bush motoring under my belt. For me that’s a terrific feeling.

 

Then there are the folks you meet along the way. I’ve heard more fantastic yarns and been told more hilarious anecdotes over the past few days than you’d get in a year at an inner-city bar. I’ve had plenty of laughs and learned heaps from the thousands of years of collective experience from the people here at the Bash. It’s been a truly humbling and awesome experience. So once again, thank you.

Like that famous 40 Series LandCruiser-driving legend Aristotle said: “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” Four-wheel driving is a constant journey of discovery, reflection and refinement. That’s why I’ll be doing it for the rest of my life.

 

Dex.

 


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