Well now, just back from a couple of weeks in Greek Cyprus. Stayed in Latchi ( one of several spellings ) which lies just to the east of the Akamas peninsula, a conservation area famous for its turtle breeding beaches. The Akamas region is mountainous, more or less deserted and criss-crossed by winding and variable quality dirt roads.
We hired, from a local firm, an old, fairly careworn, but perfectly servicable Suzuki Grand Vitara 1600 petrol convertible which handily enough came equipped with newish Yokohama Geolander tyres and a selectable 4wd gearbox with a low ratio option. The 4wd was useful at times on soft sand and some of the steepest roughest sections but we never found a use for the low ratio.
The little car proved very capable off road and took us to and through places I would prefer at least not to attempt with a conventional vehicle. We did visit the same area some 15 years ago (pre-parenthood) on off road motor bikes and I'm pleased to report that little has changed once you get off the beaten track. Sadly, the same can not be said for the towns which have expanded dramatically and fairly tackily in that time.
The Suzuki was about perfect for the job despite its lack of AC which didn't seem to matter with the lid off. Its short wheelbase, light weight, good ground clearance and OK power were ideal for bashing around even the rock-strewn dried up riverbeds etc we found to explore. On the road though it was fairly compromised. It never felt happy at speed and on road handling was a bit woolly.
I became quite fond of the Vitara though as the days passed. Never having been a thing of great beauty, it gradually became even less picturesque as the the thicknesses of dirt and dust built up on it both inside and out. We did try to clean it once ( not quite sure why ) using bottled tap water and a sponge but in that heat all we achieved was a redistribution of the muck. I even began to justify to myself the notion of buying one back here but came to realise that it was a bit like considering buying a lizard as a pet. Certain things suit certain environments etc.
Mrs D' and my son took to standing up in the back of it like something out of Daktari and clinging on to the rollbar while encouraging me to find "big bumps" to traverse at speed. This became a bit of a habit and I often had to remind them that it was prudent not to do it when back on tarmac in case the Plodos got a bit sniffy about it.
Oh, and we got to swim with turtles and caught some fish which was rather good.
Last edited by: Humph D'bout on Mon 14 Jun 10 at 20:08
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