As part of the preperations for our summer expedition to Africa, we’ve had a brilliant day getting to grips with our new wagon and learning how to drive it off-road. We’re going to be on a climbing road trip through the desert lands of Namibia in just over a months time and although the mountains of north Wales are not quite comparable, the Hilux 4×4 is exactly what we have hired for our journey.

Our instructor, Hannah was brilliant and after a bit of classroom stuff to explain various gearing techniques, she got us straight behind the wheel to experience what the Toyota Hilux was capable of!

It was pretty terrifying at first as we went up and down some alarmingly steep slopes on the hillsides above Bala. But Hannah’s calm and patient explanations and demonstrations made things really clear and put us both at ease. Muddy rutts, open grassy slopes and wet sections – it could seemingly go anywhere!

We took turns behind the wheel to practice various driving techniques and strategies, and after a wet start, things began to brighten up a bit.

Gradually, we built up confidence (and at times speed), as we worked through the different 4×4 settings.

Some of the uphills seemed so unlikely, but we just cruised up them without an issue.

Here’s a little video of Clare driving….

Aterwards, we took a short walk to Bala Lake – mostly to calm our nerves and shake out the adrenaline! Then an afternoon lunch at the new Swallow Falls Hotel near Betws, made for a fine day out…