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6 years ago

March 2016

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Meet Ratan Tata | Travel through the Outback in a Discovery Sport | Head to California in search of the Lost Coast | Sir Paul Smith and his bespoke Defender | Grass roots Rugby

20 With thanks to: Rick

20 With thanks to: Rick Miller, Julien Brightwell, Buzz Steussy, Richard Flores, Tony Caputo, the Inn of the Lost Coast

EVOQUE CONVERTIBLE OPENING UP – THE LOST COAST It’s easy for anyone on the 101 highway to keep going north after Leggett. If you didn’t know about the Lost Coast, you’d blithely drive past the turn-off to Redway. Since leaving Los Angeles, the road surface has varied between good and excellent, with several opportunities to use Terrain Response’s Dynamic Mode to hug the sharp switchbacks on the 101. Past Redway and Briceland, the roads get rougher, but it’s when you take the Shelter Cove road that things get really interesting. Engage Mud and Ruts and let Hill Descent Control take over as you work your way down the side of a mountain. Jack and Autumn run The Fish Tank, Shelter Cove’s only coffee shop. They are straight-talking, look-youin-the-eye, instantly likeable people. Despite feeling like you’re in the middle of nowhere, they receive even the trickiest coffee order with a calm nod and a “yes, ma’am”, and when I ask how far it is to Needle Rock in the south, Autumn tells me “we measure distance in hours, not miles, so give yourself an hour and a half”. The map tells me it is 30km. After last night’s journey, this seems reasonable. In The Fish Tank, one visitor is recounting how he could smell the smoking brakes on his truck as they made their way into Shelter Cove and his navigator, a burly smooth-talker with Aztec tattoo sleeves, chips in: “I recorded a goodbye message to my girlfriend on the way down, I didn’t know if we’d make it”. Both say it was worth it. Despite both driving Highway 1 numerous times, this is the first visit for both of them. Shelter Cove (population 805) sits between the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park in the south and the King Range National Conservation Area in the north. It’s the best base for exploring the Lost Coast, the largest span of pristine coastline in the USA. And what a coastline it is. Black sand beaches contrast with the rough Pacific, the greens of the coastal scrub and thick forests and navy mountains in the distance. A few hotels perch on the edge of cliffs that the ocean has gnawed chunks out of. Talking about the impending wild weather, Jack nods in the direction of the window and says, “on the East Coast they name their hurricanes, over here it’s just another storm”, before handing a customer an almondmilk decaf flat white. I spend the day exploring Sinkyone’s rutted tracks, hoping to see a bear, but consoling myself with sightings of enormous elk. Towards the afternoon, the fluffy white clouds have turned a foreboding grey and as I park outside the Inn of the Lost Coast, for the first time on this journey, I put the convertible’s top up. 21

 

Land Rover Magazine

 

Land Rover Magazine showcases stories from around the world that celebrate inner strength and the drive to go Above and Beyond.

In this issue, New Defender is put through its paces by two inspirational young adventurers as they prepare for an expedition to the South Pole. We also celebrate 50 years of Range Rover by taking a journey of discovery to Dubai. As well as looking back, we look to future as a group of visionaries explain the technologies that could change the future for all of us.

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