Wheeling in the Land of Icebergs, Caribou and Vikings
"We're in a bit of a storm, and the ship's engine is having some problems, Elfstrom explained. "It's beautiful out here, isn't it?" he added. Beautiful, I had to agree. Not that I was enjoying the choppy seas, but, I was in the midst of a yet-another great adventure that used 4WD vehicles as a way to see and learn more about the world. The 14-day-long trip, dubbed OEXBYOVEXPNA (short for Overland Expert's Bring Your Own Vehicle Expeditions-North America), had begun in Quebec and traversed the land of the Inuit through Labrador, tracing the history of the Vikings in Newfoundland. And, along the way was plenty of great four wheeling.
Not a poseur or a Sunday afternoon enthusiast, Elfstrom holds instructor level certifications for Land Rovers and all other 4WD vehicles in England, and the US. He trains newbies, as well as other driving experts, but what he really loves is trips just like the one we were on, where the venue included plenty of opportunity to drive on unique and out-of-the-way 4WD trails, learn and perform 'trail fixes' on vehicles, to study history, and even participate in some type of community service project along the way.
Earlier that evening, we had driven our vehicles onto the ferry and while a few members of the group performed trail fixes in the belly of the boat, the remainder of us had stood on the ship's deck, waving goodbye to our local guide in Goose Bay, Labrador. The ship motored east northeast, casting off under calm conditions, with the early evening light painting its rouge and tangerine shadows over Lake Melville, and on the rugged and earthy Mealy Mountains, as we passed through the straits by Rigotet and the Hamilton Inlet.
