“We are literally on top of a mountain!”

So having bought a 4WD car we thought it might be a good idea to make sure that the 4WD actually works. We had obviously tested that the switch worked but hadn’t taken Totty over anything higher than the odd kerb or two. After a bit of internet research we found a 4WD centre just an hour or so from Tokyo. We decided to book a place and also to take advantage of the camping that they offered too. The place is called Bronco (ブロンコ) (http://www.bronco4x4.net).

It was a beautiful sunny day when we set off and, after a leisurely drive, we made it to the first reference point on the map that Bronco provided. This proved to be a very windy and steep mountain road that twisted and turned for a few miles. I was driving and, I must say, it was fun; but the numerous lycra-clad cyclists bombing down made for an extra element of danger. We then arrived at the entrance of Bronco…

Basically the drive, for want of a better word, was a 1.5 km long ‘track’. I use the words ‘drive’ and ‘track’ lightly as it literally looked like a digger had just scooped a channel into the mountain side. It was little wider than the car; had several hair-pin bends; protruding rocks, branches and roots; some sheer drops; lots of large bumps and only two passing points.

Don’t get me wrong it was super fun! It was just that it suddenly dawned on us that we are setting off in less than 9 weeks to drive across ‘the world’…..and so our only thoughts were making sure that we didn’t damage the damn car! In someone else’s car we would have raced up there: gleefully scrapping the car’s undercarriage, knocking off this and that and scratching the body paint. Let’s just say that on the way down we took 22 minutes to drive the 1.5 km – possibly a new record for the descent!!

Anyway…we made it up to Bronco to be met by Takemura-san; a lovely man with the loveliest smile. We booked in and then drove up around the outer ring of the course to the camping spot – right at the top. After a nice calming cuppa we went round the upper part of the course which was great and much less challenging than the drive. There were some hardcore parts – huge water-filled holes with practically sheers sides and extremely uneven uphill stretches. It would be fair to say we merely pottered around for a bit and then decided to set up camp 🙂

We were the only ones staying at the small campsite as the other cars had left by 5pm. And so it was we started on several large gin and tonics and then polished off two bottles of red wine. In typically ‘modern day’ style my daughter face-timed and, being rather drunk, I just kept loudly exclaiming that: “We are literally on top of a mountain,” several times until she hung-up! At 660m it was kind of true….

So all in all…Totty’s 4WD works and Captain got some really useful driving experience in. Oh……and did I mention that we were literally on top of a mountain?