Overlanding Back to Nature – Getting Out to Chill Out
Overlanding isn’t just about taking the vehicle to it’s limits, navigating challenging terrain and pulling your mates out of trouble when they get bogged down [although that is a whole lot of fun]. Overlanding back to nature is something well worth doing even if it’s just an afternoon or a weekend.
It’s the getting outside that matters, it’s said that the best things in life are free and nature is one of them. The vehicle you drive does not matter, the gear or the Instagram account, what does matter is disengaging from the world even if just for a short space of time where you can get out and chill out – overlanding back to nature.
Even a simple two hours breaks up the day an resets your head, my wife more often than not ends up reading a book while I take a walk with the camera.
Where we live in Andalucia the village is surrounded by a mixture of dusty countryside and wooded hillsides, sometimes we head off into the hills just for a couple of hours to find a spot, have a coffee or make some lunch. Even a simple two hours breaks up the day an resets your head, my wife more often than not ends up reading a book while I take a walk with the camera.
We understand that we are fortunate to have the Spanish countryside on the doorstep and can nip out at pretty much any time however we also have some of strictest and most bureaucracy laden rules when it comes to free camping and vehicle modifications so it’s all swings and roundabouts!
So what is overlanding? Everyone has their own definition, perhaps the question should be what is your overlanding style? Overlanding does not have to be a full on expedition to the far reaches of South America, nor does it have to be navigating boulders bigger than your house, sure, there is a dynamic edge to overlanding which is half the reason we became interested but sometimes it’s good to chillout too.
2021 was a bit of an odd year and there is no doubt that 2022 will throw up some challenges which may well be on a global scale, who knows. There is no better time to switch off occassionally and get out into nature than right now. Watching the news gets depressing and with the media constantly hammering your head at every opportunity the silence at the top of a mountain wins for me every time.
Our Mitsubishi Shogun/Montero Sport gets us all the places we need to go, places off the beaten track where you can spend time and not see or hear anyone for hours or even days. Perhaps the best part of overlanding back to nature is the ability to be able to get to these parts that most others miss due to inability to actually reach them in a modern car.
As mentioned it’s free and you don’t have to wear a mask, something to which we have all become accustomed to, finding a clearing in woodland surrounded by nature and you could almost forget that Covid exists, at least for a short time anyway. There are no pressures being out in nature and all you need is a bit of fuel to get you there and back, it really can be that simple for just a few hours.
Don’t get us wrong, we love the exciting edge to overlanding, planning the trip, navigating up the elevation and all the challenges that overlanding brings, we love getting out on longer trips but when the opportunity arises if we can grab a couple of hours or an evening out in the fresh air with the Andalucian views, Netflix will have to wait until another day.
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