Fiona Easterby first combined her passion for travel with her love for cars in 2006 when she bought a ‘72 Beetle for £99 and drove it across the Sahara desert on her way from London to Africa as part of a banger challenge for charity! Her latest trip tops that though – she’s driven a Baja bug overland to Singapore and has written about her mega motoring sagas in a new book, Beetle Drive…
Fortunately, having previously completed several epic roadtrips, Fiona was already pretty clued up as to what such a challenge would involve – and also the best type of vehicle to make it all possible…
“We were looking for a cheap car, which would be easy to get parts for anywhere in the world and would run on low grade petrol if need be. It would need to survive the extreme heat of Iran and Pakistan and also the freezing temperatures of the Himalayas but above all it should have the ability to make even the sternest border guard smile,” said Fiona. “Which gave us only one option; it would have to be another Beetle.”
Deciding that it would be useful if her next Bug had a tad more ground clearance, she decided that a Baja style Beetle would be a good option and started searching on the internet for a suitable candidate. “The problem was, every car I looked at in the UK was rusty!” said Fiona, which made her turn to cars in the US instead. “With the dollar at two to the pound at the time, looking at cars in the States was like a half price sale and there was a lot more choice.”
Eventually she came across a rust-free 1969 example in California and arranged for a friend in San Francisco to go and buy it. The car was duly shipped to the UK where Dreamshack in Southampton sorted out the paperwork, got it MoT’d and fitted a roofrack, extra spotlights, nudge bars incorporating jerrycans in preparation for her adventure. Fiona would do the driving, accompanied by another lass called Rica who would offer the necessary moral support.
Needless to say mechanical gremlins struck on day one; which inevitably led to the crew questioning how on earth they would make the 22,000 miles across deserts, rivers, mudslides and mountains if they couldn’t even get out of the country without breaking down!
As Fiona told us: “I have learnt that the best way to deal with breakdowns is to accept that they are inevitable. Once you do that then you aren’t phased when it happens and can better deal with the situation. All the same, breaking down before I got out of the UK was still a bit of a blow! The starter motor packed up at the Channel Tunnel terminal. I wasn’t prepared to turn back on day one so, once the recovery guys had shown us where to hit it with a hammer, we continued on to the European Bug In at Chimay where the Crazy Canuck drag race team found and fitted a new starter motor for us. That was by no means our last breakdown but wherever we went ‘Pedro’ as the car was now called, attracted helpful people who got us back on the road.”
Nevertheless, Fiona never doubted that she picked the right vehicle. “I was very apprehensive as I drove across the border into Pakistan but was immediately faced with three smiling policemen admiring my Beetle, calling me a crazy lady, offering me tea and chatting about cricket. I loved every country I visited in its own way but Pakistan will always hold a special place in my heart. The hospitality I received came as such a surprise given the bad press the country receives. The kindness of strangers turned what could easily have been my worst experience into one of my best. My American co-driver couldn’t get an Iranian visa so had flown ahead to Lahore, on the other side of Pakistan. So I was alone when fording a river something underwater caught the front edge of my sump guard and bent it backwards under the car. I limped up the opposite bank with it dragging beneath the vehicle. When I got out to assess the damage I spotted a group of bearded men with pick axes and shovels approaching me! They were absolute sweethearts and quickly removed the sump guard, bent it back into shape and replaced it. When I thanked them their answer was ‘No thanks neccessary; it’s our duty to help travellers.’ A beautiful attitude which really touched me.
Concluding, Fiona reflects on her achievement: “People often refer to my journey as a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience; to which I would say, I hope not! I have lots more adventures trying to make it out of my head and into reality. Next up, the length of the American continent, from Alaska to Argentina!”
If you’re into Veedubs, and love travel, Beetle Drive is definitely worth a butchers… To find out more, see Fiona’s facebook page here, or visit her website.
Ian
The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage