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LAND ROVER OWNER ADVENTURE CLUB
Welcome to the Land Rover Owner Magazine Adventure Club, the aim of the club is to encourage owners of Land Rover and other 4x4 products to take part and participate in a variety of off-road events in a controlled environment. To encourage the owners to utilise the true potential of their vehicle ensuring maximum adventure and fun with minimum effort and hopefully no damage to they�re vehicle or themselves.

Membership is free to subscribers of LRO International and offers them various discounts on entry fees to certain events and discounts off of some products. But please remember the club is for you the reader of LRO and the 4x4 owner, anyone is welcome to come along and participate on any of the events. It is there for you to sample and experience off-road driving under the watchful eye of the countries leading off-road instructors in and over a variety of differing terrain.

This year in addition to our already successful driving and training weekends at various locations around the country, and as well as the enormously popular Wild Adventure safaris in Wales and Wiltshire we are offering sanitised adventures in Europe and North Africa. Utilising Vince Cobley�s knowledge of exciting locations in France, Spain, Croatia/Bosnia, Austria and Morocco the club is coordinating various events overseas, from 2-5 day adventures in France to the 12-day tour to the awesome mountains and deserts of Morocco. The trips will be aimed to accommodate people from all walks of life whatever their experience and whatever their vehicle with or without the family! For those who wish to stay closer to home but would like to taste the spirit of adventure in a unique environment we are in the process of organising family fun days with an off-road and cultural theme at previously unused and historic venues.

Please find a brief explanation and schedule for a variety of adventure trips to be planned or all ready in place for this year. Some of these events will have a minimum and maximum number and subject to numbers the club reserves the right to change schedules or cancel events. Visit the club website for more info at WWW.lroac.com

Co-ordinated by: Pro-Trax Off Road Adventures, Cromwell House, 2 Debdale, Stoke Albany, Leic�s, LE16 8NX. Website: www.lroac.com, E-Mail: lroevents@aol.com Phone: 01858 535552 Fax: 08701604729

BRITAIN TO BOSNIA RALLY MAY 19TH-29TH 2005

On June the 15th 2000 the British Embassy in Sarajevo held a festival with a series of linked events to forge closer ties between the two countries and also to celebrate the British involvement in the peacekeeping process. Of course Land Rovers in many forms played a huge part in the war from armoured press vehicles, troop transport, ambulances, fast insurgency and patrol vehicle and many more applications, which have added to Land Rovers multi-faceted rolls. It is because of this roll that the British Embassy in Sarajevo asked Vince to co-ordinate a rally to Bosnia so that Land Rovers could be present at the celebrations.

When asked to co-ordinate the rally in June 2000 we thought a long drive down boring autobahns would not be overly exciting, so we decided to add a fun/competitive challenge to this event. The format for the event was basic orienteering challenges to locate clues in a variety of places from stunning mountain tracks in Austria, forests, lakesides and other similar places of natural, dramatic and outstanding beauty through Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia. After the success of this event and the 2001/2 events we are already making plans for our trip in 2005, do not miss this chance in a lifetime to sample outstanding beauty and visit places and locations only ever seen on TV footage.

Starting in Calais and ending the first day near Strasbourg high in the German Black Forest and then heading for exciting new road trails across the Austrian Alps crossing The Krimml water falls road and the famous Grosslockner mountain road (south west of Innsbruck) where we stay overnight at nearly 10,000ft in a fantastic mountain hotel in full view of Austria�s highest mountain. The next day is spent crossing another memorable mountain road through the Nockstrasse national park, the afternoon we meet up at Afritz to spend the rest of the day on the artificial bobsleigh run! Our overnight camp/hotel is close to Afritz at a wonderful campsite by one of Austria�s many lakes. Day 4 is onto further spectacular roads and the Predle pass between Italy and Slovenia, a relic from the first world war with its forts, caves and incredible terrain, this evenings overnight stop is at Bovec before we climb Kranksa Gora Mountain the following day on our way to Ljubljana via a visit to Bled Castle.

Along the route of the adventure we have located various interesting sites to visit like the world heritage designated site at Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, artificial bobsleigh runs in Austria! underground caves and visiting amazing castles in Slovenia, drive through the front lines of the war near Bosanska Krupa viewing the battle areas via off-road tracks.

Our new friends in Ljubljana at the Land Rover Owner club have again offered a guided tour of this wonderful city. After camping or hotel in Ljubljana we leave for the caves at Prostjona and then to our next over night stay at Plitvice lakes. The following day you are free to explore the lakes until we head for the Croatian coast at mid-day, our final destination will be a small harbour town called Starigrad which will be our base for the next 2 nights. From here on your free day you can explore the Croatian coast, chill out or house hunt!! On the second day we will have a guided tour through mountain tracks and trails with a local guide.

We will not be taking aid on this event (except for special equipment requested�radios & torches, again like last year we hope to buy at a reduced price wind up ones from Freeplay). However this time instead of MAG we may use the adventure as a fundraising trip for a deserving charity, like the Red Cross or Breast Cancer research, I am looking into the various options on this at the moment This is not compulsorary just something that some people may want to do.

OUTLINE ROUTE AND ROUGH SCHEDULE PLUS COSTS
Could be subject to minor changes

The participants will head for Dover and cross to France, we will meet at Calais from where we will head south towards Strasbourg for the end of the first day. The teams will be booked into to either a hotel or a campsite near the rendezvous point (Strasbourg) and we may put in some fun waypoints along the way but we will know more after the first recce.

DAY 2
We will make our way towards Kitzbuhel, Innsbruck and the Austrian Tyrol, at the morning start teams will be giving road books, which will contain the route to our meeting point at the end of the day, various clues and directions to various checkpoints. This will not be an off-road event in the true sense of the word but we will use locations on mountain tracks, by lakes and in areas of stunning natural beauty. Indeed places that you may never think of visiting or would have a problem locating if you were to travel alone. The Glockner Mountain at 3797m is the highest mountain in Austria and it is in the area of the first days exercises so expect to be close or up it somewhere! Another place of outstanding beauty on the day�s route will be Krimmler falls, which at 380 m-high is Europe�s highest waterfall. Again on the second evening we will overnight around the Zell a. See area, the road book will contain directions, clues and time schedules as to where and when to be at the endex of the day.

You will be given a 30-minute period to check in at the given location (penalties will be awarded for late or early arrivals) which will probably be a hotel in a unique location. Before the event the teams can decide upon their own accommodation requirements but we will try and locate campsites and various standards of hotels for those on differing budgets.

Day 3
The teams will once again explore the Austrian Alps and surrounding Tyrol around Badgastein, Spittal, Judenburg and down to Kalgenfurt, in their search for clues and locations. This area with its glaciers, valleys and mountains can best be seen from spectacular tracks high on the mountain toll roads and then down into the valleys to beautiful Alpine lakes and reservoirs. South of Klagenfurt on the way to the Slovenian border is where we will have our day 3 check in. An afternoon of excitement and adventure can be had at Afrtiz where there is a 2km long artificial bobsleigh run!!

Each waypoint will be worth a number of points; these will be decided on the level of difficulty required to locate each waypoint. The easier the waypoint the lower the points and vice versa, on some you will take Polaroid pictures to prove you have visited the location and on others you will be expected to provide proof by a means of your choice.

DAY 4
From Klagenfurt we head southwest to cross the border into Italy via mountain roads and trails which our friends from the Austrian Land Rover club showed us a few years ago. Today we will be a convoy and we expect to cross the area where Slovenia had its avalanche disaster in 2000, here the mountains moved and part destroyed a small village. This area is close to the Predle pass a very spectacular �gap� in the mountains that in the First World War was a strategic military position. We will have time to explore the old fortifications and tunnels, which are still in excellent condition. After lunch we will continue on our route to Bovec a water sports town. We will be staying at a hotel in Bovec but others can camp at the nearby Auto camp, which is a very good standard campsite with some chalets available or hotels near by.

DAY 5

We leave Bovec on route to Bled via Kranksa Gora Mountain, at one point here the road climbs and twists and turns for approx 4 mile, which means first gear in high box for about 20 minutes!! But the views are spectacular. We will meet up with The Ljubljana Land Rover club who will arrange various visits and tours to spectacular sites while we are here as well as arranging a short forest safari drive of the nearby area. One of the visits will be to the incredible caves at Prostjena where we go down into the caves via a small train.

DAY 6
From here we head towards the border of Croatia via Novo Mesto making our way to the Plitvice lake area. We will stay the night at a hotel on the shores of Plitvice lakes or again at a nearby camp site, the next day you will have a few hours to explore this wonder of the world before we leave for the Croatian coast

DAY 7

Over winding mountain roads and through battle scared towns we will make our way towards Starigrad on the Croatian Coast.

DAY 8

Free day

DAY 9
The owner of a local hotel/restaurant we use knows of some very exciting and wonderful mountain trails he will guide us over. The views are stunning and the history and information on various films made in the area is very interesting.

DAY 10

Time to say good byes before heading north to Trieste, here we will part company as some may wish to travel further a field or even cross by ferry to Italy, those who want are welcome to follow us homeward bound!

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

An entry fee of �530 per vehicle will be charged to cover all admin. costs, logistics, guides in country, rally door stickers, road books and a support vehicle and the local guides. A non-refundable deposit of �50 is required with the entry form to reserve entry

�	No visas are required by British citizens for Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia. Insurance may be difficult for Croatia

�	No specific jabs are required.

�	The approx. mileage to Trieste via Strasbourg. Innsbruck, Graz, Ljubljana, and Starigrad is 1,500 miles (3000 mile round trip, but fuel in certain countries is cheaper than UK!)

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Accommodation, the organisers will be using moderate hotels in the �20- �40 per night bracket for B&B per person, we will pass on hotel details at a later stage but we will be locating campsites and cheaper hotels close to each nights over night stay. In Croatia expect to pay around �22pp for a room with B&B.

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Owners are entirely responsible for their vehicles, themselves and their personnel effects while on the tour. The organisers will be exempt from all liability in respect of loss damage, sickness, injury or death howsoever caused occurring to persons or vehicles whilst on the tour. Participants will be expected to sign a disclaimer before the start of the event.

�	Ensure all insurance�s and personnel AA style assistance requirements are up to date and cover the countries to be visited (if possible), make sure each vehicles carries the equipment required by law to travel through the countries on route. Green card recognised in all countries.

�	I have written to P&O to ask for reduced rates but will have to wait and see, approx cost per vehicle for a return will be �195?.

Please feel free to contact us anytime for help or advice, Vince on Tel 01858 535552. Fax 08701604729, mobile 07973 116681, e-mail: protrax@aol.com or visit the club web site for further info and updates at www.lroac.com

�Pro-Trax
Vince Cobley
Managing Director
Pro-Trax Off-Road Adventures.