Hi there we are team Denali Duo, Jack (driver) and Paula (other half/co-driver) from Cambridgeshire. We have chosen the Burma Star Association as our charity in memory of my late Uncle Dusty who served in the Far East during WW2.
First things first, let’s introduce our vehicle. It’s an ex-Environment Agency 200 Tdi Defender 110 with many modifications for comfortable and reliable extended travel. Vehicle modifications include swapping rear drum brakes for discs, adding a second fuel tank to extend our range to over 1000 miles, in addition to the installation of side windows and screens, a dual battery compartment, snorkel, spare wheel carriers and awnings. Inside are wooden lockers to stow personal kit, cooker, refrigerator, diesel driven heater, and seating that converts to a comfortable bed.
Jack has undertaken all alterations himself, as he is pretty handy with a set of spanners. He used to be a REME mechanic in the British Army for 14 years, so there isn’t much he doesn’t know about Land Rovers. He has a general life long interest in Land Rovers starting from early childhood memories of off-roading in his dad’s Series 2A. Currently he works for the Highways Agency so even gets to drive the new Discovery 3 and get paid for it !!
Both of us love travelling and have spent time exploring the delights of many countries. In 1999, we toured Europe for nine weeks in a Series 3 Carawagon, borrowed from Jack’s parents, which had been sitting idle on their driveway for many years. In 2002, we covered 18,000 miles around Australia over six months in a rented Toyota Land Cruiser (we didn’t have our own Land Rover at the time). Being so far from home, for an extended period of time, only fuelled our wanderlust and the trip made us determined to come home and build our own expedition prepared Land Rover. So we saved hard, brought our own Defender 110 and the rest is history.
In 2004, we shipped our 110 from Southampton to New York for a much-anticipated six-month trip around North and Central America. Our motto is ‘One Life Live It, One World See It’. This is our philosophy on life, there is a wonderful world out there, get out and explore it, and if you can do it in a Land Rover even better.
We toured independently all over the USA and Canada, travelling up into Alaska (my favourite place in the world, hence the team name) and the Arctic Circle. We also drove down through Mexico and into Southern Belize, with a side trip to the Tikal Mayan ruins in Guatemala.
Our trip also enabled us to go to the annual US Land Rover National Rally in Moab, Utah, a five-day event organised by the Solihull Society of Colorado. We met some really great people from all over the states, with a like-minded passion for Land Rovers and adventure. Moab is an off-roading mecca, with its numerous desert rocky tracks, as well as outstanding scenery. The driving was challenging and fun, providing a welcome change from the muddy green lanes of the UK.
Overall, our trip was fantastic and in six months we covered a total of 32,754 miles around North and Central American and the Land Rover never let us down once. We would recommend it to anyone.
Last year we brought our first house together so we haven’t travelled far recently, hence we are really looking forward to the rally in September. We have itchy feet and the vehicle needs to blow out a few cobwebs, so see you all in Calais.
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Subject: Denali Duo 
Wed Feb 21, 2007 1:53 pm
