English offroad journalist and Land Rover fanatic Matt Ross covered Sweden Offroad Tour 1999 for several offroad magazines, including Land Rover World. Now you can also read his text on www.swedenoffroad.com and get an objective view from an Europan on Swedens longest offroad aventure. The text is written by Matt Ross, pictures and picture texts by Peter Öjerskog.
Swede dreams
Sweden is a huge and fascinating country - the lungs of Europe, where endless pine and birch forests are studded with lakes and red-wood farmhouses. Matt Ross joined the Sweden Off-Road Tour, a 1500-mile, 16-day off-road odyssey which explores the nation from the Baltic Sea to far-flung Lapland. Beneath the hot sun of a Scandinavian summer's day the open-topped Series IIA bucked and bounced along a rock-strewn trail, its tailgate chains rattling as it scrambled up slab-sided boulders and chugged down steep embankments. In the front sat a pair of young, rugged-looking Swedes, John Düsing and Michael Söderqvist, as tanned and muscular as all their countrymen and with the same open faces and ready smiles. Soon the 1969 88-inch ducked beneath the tall pine of the endless Swedish forests, navigating a muddy, sunlight-dappled track to trundle into the foliage. "We know a perfect track," grinned John. And they did: before them lay a morass of deeply-rutted mud, a narrow trail set about by silver birch which disappeared into the thick forest. John revved the 2.25-litre diesel, pumped the ailing clutch until the gearlever slipped into second low, and charged headlong into the mire. Mud flew, a tidal wave splashed into the deep piles of fallen branches, and the vehicle reared as it slid along the track. Twenty yards later, Michael was splashing about in the deep water, jamming rotting logs under the wheels and grinning wildly at John's increasingly frantic attempts to escape.
Thick moss
The Kungsängen Military Off-Road Area is just 20 miles west of Stockholm, but it could be 1000 years away. The woodland is undisturbed and totally natural, the huge pine guarding a forest floor of low scrub, thick moss, jutting rocks and springy heather. Normally, only deer, and the occasional tank patrol this area, but today 50 off-road vehicles of every description were growling around the woods, a chaotic and jolly mix of Dutch, Brits, Germans, Danes, Norwegians and, of course, Swedes. This disparate group had come together for the Sweden Off-Road Tour, a 1,500-mile, 16-day odyssey which offers off-roading activities throughout the length of this massive, amazing country. No other European off-road event covers such huge distances, or lasts so long; no other includes 14 days of off-roading through sand, mud, rocks, hills and bogs. Completely non-competitive, and organised to please both hard-core mud-pluggers and families with a standard 4x4, the Tour has been run since 1995 by Peter Öjerskog. A genial off-road journalist who enjoys bringing different nationalities together to explore the endless forests of his surprising and beautiful country, Peter seems to pop up everywhere you go. One minute you'll hear his softly-spoken tones guiding an uncertain newbie through a rocky descent, the next he'll be chatting happily with a local enthusiast in a pumped-up, V8-engined Willys Jeep. "For me, the most fun is to arrange and develop off-road meetings, you know?" he says: "To try to get into new military off-road areas, try to get in new people from other countries. I want to create a good, well-known, international off-road event in Sweden." And this, many would argue, he's already achieved. This year the tour welcomed drivers from eight different countries, and the total number of vehicles attending reached 300 - nearly double last year's total.
"Ketchup effect"
After four annual events which drew around 150 4x4s, why such a sudden leap? "It's the ketchup effect," he smiles. "You have the ketchup bottle, you shake it but no ketchup comes. Then suddenly everything comes! It's been word of mouth, the internet, and some articles in German magazines. I'm very lucky that the internet arrived; it's an incredible means of communication." Certainly, the word has spread - to the extent that some of the smaller off-road sites were absolutely awash with four-wheelers, ploughing along the tracks on a hundred different courses. Inevitably, the result was occasional traffic jams, but the atmosphere remained genial. Indeed, considering the huge areas of terrain and the severity of some of the obstacles, many drivers were glad that help was never far away. The Tour's success may be partly due to the growing internationalisation of the off-road scene, as European drivers escape restrictive off-roading legislation by joining an organised event. But it also demonstrates the demand for non-competitive, holiday-style tours - all too often, European off-roading favours heavily-modified vehicles crewed by mechanically-skilled, male and rather macho drivers. "My key aim is to have maximum freedom and fun, with minimum cost and bureaucracy," says Peter. "I'm very keen on the freedom factor - there is no pre-registration, and you can go on and off the tour whenever you want. People don't have to tie themselves to the tour, they can leave for a little tourism then rejoin us later."
Military land
In essence, the Tour simply consists of 14 off-road play-days held on military land through the length of Sweden. There are suggested campsites, and some 4x4 fans arrive in fair-sized national groups to drive the whole tour, but many European families simply drop in for a few days' off-roading as part of a Swedish camping holiday, and other drivers arrive alone to hang out with the crowd before leaving for the Norwegian fjords or Nordkapp. At each site, the group is joined by local 4x4 enthusiasts driving a motley assortment of huge-tyred Jeeps, 1960s Forward Control Volvos, well cared-for Land Rovers and massive American Chevys, and the ever-changing mix of people, vehicles and terrain keeps the Tour varied throughout its enormous length. In its zig-zagging course through Sweden, the Tour touches on most of the nation's biggest towns and explores its vast countryside. Starting in Simrishamn, at the country's southern tip, it journeys north to Jönköping and Karlstad before striking east for Stockholm. Here, the countryside is restful and comparatively open, dotted with red-painted, wooden farm buildings and studded with vast lakes. As the vehicles head north for Falun, though, they enter the sparsely-populated forests of northern Sweden, where the rolling hills are covered with tall pine and shy deer populate the forests. The distances grow longer and the trees shorter as the Tour hugs Sweden's east coast through Sundsvall and Umeå, and as it wanders inland to Arvidsjaur, Boden and, finally, Kiruna, it enters the heart of Lapland.
Untouched wilderness
In this vast, untouched wilderness, the woods stretch for hundreds of miles, interrupted only by the hayfields which surround each isolated farmhouse. Reindeer wander the long roads which curve through the hills, and the trees are stunted by the incredible cold of winter within the Arctic Circle. The flies are replaced by huge clouds of voracious mosquitoes, and the bright blue lakes, sunny summer climate and gentle hills give way to depthless bogs, dark mountains and cool, rainy weather. Kiruna is truly the centre of nothingless: the province is the size of a small European country, but it's almost completely wild and only the indigenous Lapps, or Sami, live outside the far-flung mining towns. By the time the drivers gather for a dinner in Kiruna - which is followed by a drive up Mount Luossavaara to view the midnight sun - the frontier atmosphere has brought the whole group together. When outside help is so far away, the drivers know that if something goes wrong, they only have each other to rely on. It's areas like this which attract many of the drivers. Mike Miles, from Shoreham-by-Sea, was completing the tour for the second time in his VM diesel-engined Range Rover. "Up north you can drive 100 miles and not see another car, when in Britain you drive 100 yards and you're stopped," he says, with a rueful grin. "I like the lack of people, the freedom here." This is truly Europe's last great wilderness, where a 300-mile drive along these lonely roads leaves you feeling like a true adventurer: hills and pine, mosquitoes and reindeer, bogs and lakes, as far as the eye can see.
Off-road holiday
Other groups have come for a more conventional, off-road holiday. The Dutch group, for example, totalled 11 vehicles from the Kangaroe 4x4 Club, which aims to offer Holland's 4x4 enthusiasts sociable, convoy-oriented holidays with loads of muddy action. The aim, says member Roin Grabijn, is "to have a nice holiday, with a good team spirit. In Holland we would say: We all go, and we all come back." After this the whole group will go to Norway. All the members said to each other: What do you want to do? Everybody has a say in it." Roin was navigating for Marcel Verdoorn, the owner of a 1990 200Tdi Discovery fitted with a home-made snorkel, mud-terrain tyres and a Ramsey winch. "I wanted a car with room to sit - there's no room in a Defender," says this immense Dutchman. He'd previously squeezed his lengthy frame into a Daihatsu Sportrak, but found that it was "too light for the heavy stuff. I wanted a bigger car, and a diesel." Just as happy with his Land Rover was Louis Riynders, who'd brought a new 110 Station Wagon. This vehicle's only modification was a home-made radiator protector, a mesh grille set in a wood surround which Louis had fabricated to keep the legions of flies from blocking up his rad on the long, on-road hauls. Yet both Land Rovers made it back from their 2500-mile adventure in one piece, proving that it was possible to spend 14 days off-road on the Tour without causing any damage.
Less lucky
Less lucky was Martin Kimkaet, part of the substantial German contingent, who was driving another 110. His alternator gave up the ghost half-way through the tour with bearing failure, so he arranged for the German Automobile Club to send a new one to a campsite a few days down the line. However, when the part arrived, it proved to be the high-powered version designed for a 110 fitted with air conditioning. The new alternator wouldn't fit on Martin's vehicle - but, with much help from the Tour's attendant Mitsubishi promotional crew, the Germans removed its bearing and fitted it to the damaged alternator. It wasn't a perfect repair, but it would get him home, and it demonstrated the team spirit which developed over the weeks. "They have been very friendly, helping us," smiled Martin's friend "Harry" Staack. "I think we couldn't have done it here in the field without them. It's a nice atmosphere of doing small things of help for each other, which are great for the people who receive them." Most of the vehicles completing the Tour were basically standard, apart from camping equipment, mud-terrains and the occasional lift-kit. But that certainly didn't apply to the off-roading Swedes who whooped it up at almost every site. Kristian Johansson, for example, joined the tour at Falun in a pumped-up Range Rover decorated with eagle logos and flashing recovery lights. "Some of the Swedish Land Rover Club think I'm sick in the head," grinned this cheerful and dedicated enthusiast. "But in my local 4x4 club, I'm the only one with an English car. The others have Volvos, Toyotas…" Kristian's 1975 Range Rover was certainly equipped to lead the monster pick-ups which followed his fierily-blazed trail. Under the bonnet a 5.2-litre Chrysler V8 muttered happily, replacing the worn-out, 2.4-litre Volvo diesel which had filled its place when he bought the vehicle 18 months ago. A Warn 8274 winch sat high up at the front - high up, because the truck (yep, it certainly deserved the title) rode on 35-inch BFG tyres which supported heavy-duty Range Rover springs, a 5 cm body lift and a 4 cm suspension lift. To accommodate the axles' endless travel, the wheelarches had been cut back to the bone, and it certainly made a fitting leader for its pack of V8-powered bog-hackers. Yet Kristian wasn't simply a rev-head: he's previously owned a Series II and a 109-inch Series IIA, and he's a proud member of the Swedish Land Rover Club. "It's very nice to meet people and talk about our hobby, and you always feel that you're welcome," he says. "The club is all over the country. If I'm anywhere in Sweden and the car breaks down, somone will always help you. It's not like that with other cars." Land Rover fans are the same the world over.
Modified trucks
But on the Sweden Off-Road Tour, such modified trucks were largely the preserve of local enthusiasts - the vast majority of foreign drivers piloted standard four-wheel drives. "I want ordinary people with ordinary 4x4 cars, day-by-day cars, you know?" says Peter. "We have some education in the mornings, because for many people this is the first time they've done some off-road driving." The sites all included obstacles capable of stopping the most highly-modified 4x4s but, thanks to the "free driving" format of most days' activities, less well-equipped vehicles could keep to the gentler of these highly scenic trails. The Sweden Off-Road Tour is no Trannsylvania Trophy or Croisiére Blanche; the event remains largely unstructured, and there's no hint of a competitive element - indeed, the comradely relationship between the different national groups and individual parties was one of the Tour's greatest pleasures. In many ways, it's more like a group expedition, a joint exploration of the wild and beautiful Scandinavian countryside. With no specific objective to the off-roading, the atmosphere was 100% holiday, and the local 4x4 club members we met on the way offered a great chance to meet the welcoming - and frequently nutty - locals. "The fun is this mixture - you have our European foreign guests, mixing with the local people," says Peter, in his quiet, languid way. "The good thing is: every day a new town, a new area, new cars and new people. If you go all the way, it's quite a heavy off-road adventure: 16 days - 14 of them off-road - and 2500km. But everybody can take part - you have your shiny, brand-new 4x4 which has never driven off-road, and you have your little, old Suzuki or Land Rover."
Thick woods
Back in the thick woods near Stockholm, John and Michael finally freed their aged 88-inch from the muddy trail's rutted clutches. However, the exertions had taken their toll on the little truck, which John rescued last year from its job "working at a farm, like a tractor." Though there were just 20,000 miles on the clock, the pair had already had to rebuild the chassis, fabricate floor panels, patch the bulkhead and sort the wiring: "There were only two fuses on the whole car!" grins Michael. But in his shuffling attempts to flee the mud, John had found his clutch less and less willing to respond - by the time he was free, the left pedal was flatter than a steamrollered pancake, while the dirt-encrusted regulator had also breathed its last. He wrestled with the gearstick as he bumped across the forest floor, finally coming to rest when he collided gently with a large tree. "Now everything is broken!" he laughed. But, of course, this was a Land Rover. Half an hour later, with the regulator given a once-over and some air drained from the dodgy clutch, John and Michael were off again. Grinning happily, gripping the dashboard as they crashed their way off to find another mud-run in the heat of the afternoon, they disappeared into the primaeval forests. And our convoy saddled up, the sound of half a dozen languages and 50 different engines mixing in the shimmering air as we prepared for the evening's long drive north. We had a long, long way to go before we reached the brooding mountains and hardy tundra of Lapland, and the journey would be an eventful one. A week into the tour, the roads were growing more interesting, the vehicles increasingly capable, the terrain wilder and wilder. The adventure had only just begun.
Travelling in Sweden
The most relaxing and enjoyable way to reach Sweden from England is by sea: Scandinavian Seaways run regular ferries from Newcastle to Gothenburg, on a 24-hour crossing with clean, comfortable cabins and a brief stop-over in Norway. Call them on 0990 333000. Stock up on food before you leave and alcohol while at sea, as both are very expensive in Scandinavia. But leave the fuel till you arrive - it's marginally cheaper than in Britain. You'll get around 13 Swedish Krona to the Pound: expect to pay 85-130Kr for camping, 120-160Kr for a hostel, and silly money for hotels. Few documents are required: a green card for vehicle insurance plus travel insurance, an E111 and breakdown cover. Major credit cards and Cirrus/Maestro are accepted in most places, though Traveller's Cheques are probably the cheapest way of spending money. You'll find the Swedes warm, hospitable and almost universally fluent in English. However, you'll find their insect life numerous and vicious: take plenty of mosquito repellent and bite relief gel. Expect sun in the south, rain in the north, and constant daylight throughout June and July. You'll also need a good range of tools and spares - Land Rover parts are rare and expensive, and it's best to order secondhand parts from a British exporter such as Paddock (01629 584499) and have them delivered to a campsite a few days down the line.
Off-Roading in Sweden
Since 1975, recreational off-roading has been forbidden in Sweden. There are no unsurfaced vehicular rights of way, and very few landowners with a licence to hold off-roading days on their land. This limits off-roaders to the vast tracts of military land scattered across Sweden, where permits are regularly granted for 4x4 meets. Despite these problems, there are around 60 broad-based 4x4 clubs catering to a hard-core of 1000 off-roaders. The vehicles are largely either heavily-modified Willys Jeeps fitted with American V8s, lift kits and huge tyres, or Forward Control military Volvo trucks with 1.8- and 2.0-litre petrol engines. Events tend to follow the 'play day' format and, when the army does grant access to its huge resources of land, the terrain is great: muddy, boulder-strewn trails; massive sandpits; soft, peaty bogs; tall, trail-ridden forests; and steep, challenging hills. Many of these modified vehicles are built to cope with broad rock slabs and wet marshes, and are transported two and from events on trailers. The Swedish off-road scene is small by British standards, perhaps thanks to the country's traditional emphasis on off-road motorcycle sport and, of course, snowmobiles. During the winter months most of northern Sweden remains completely snowbound, and there's a huge snowmobile tradition here. Interestingly, the laws against off-roading don't apply to snow-covered terrain, and throughout the dark winters the hills are alive with the buzzing of revving snowmobiles. The off-road scene in Sweden may be small, but there is an exception: the Swedish Land Rover Club. With 1500 members, it's huge in comparison to all the other 4x4 and marque clubs, and its regional groups regularly organised social, trialling and off-roading events. With such huge distances dividing different areas, there are few national events, but the club acts as an essential centre for members to source parts, seek help with mechanical problems, and meet like-minded enthusiasts. The regional groups organise some motorsport events, in which natural obstacles (largely trees!) are used as trialling gates, and organise land for play-days. The club's main role, though, is as a catalyst for social events. In Sweden, just as elsewhere in the world, Land Rover owners enjoy few things more than a good natter about their vehicles.
A piece of history
Ulric Jarhl's Land Rover is completely unique, a relic from the history of Land Rover's development with its own fascinating tale to tell. It's a prototype Stage One V8, built at Solihull in 1977 and used with two others on evaluation trials in West Africa. Its twins, however, are long gone: one crashed on the difficult journey through the Sahara, and the other was destroyed during safety tests: basically, Land Rover crashed it into a barrier to see what happened. With the Stage One's trademark 109-inch wheelbase, leaf-springs and carb-fed, 3.5-litre Rover V8, PAF 424 looks much like its descendants. As in the production model, the Series III chassis has been mated to the bottle carb-fed Range Rover engine, four-speed manual LT95 gearbox, axles and differentials, and as a result its transmission is permanent four-wheel drive with a manual diff lock. Clearly, the production vehicle's design differed little from the original prototypes - yet its date of manufacture precedes the Stage One's introduction by some two years. PAF 424 was shipped to Sweden by a British enthusiast, and was later used in the filming of a Swedish thriller film. The film-makers added 'Swedish North Research Institute' stickers to the doors, and thousands have watched the vehicle in action in dramatic chases through Lapland. Even when Ulric bought the vehicle in October 1998, it was still in good condition - in this harsh climate, a tribute to its owners' care and attention. Fuel consumption is excellent despite the elderly engine's problems with low oil pressure, and only the cooling system is really showing its age - in the heat of a July day, Ulric had to give the machine lengthy breaks from the tough woodland trails at Falun, central Sweden. With such an interesting history, a few months ago Ulric deservedly won a competition held by Rover Sweden to find the country's 'Most Unique Land Rover'. His prize was a trip to Eastnor Castle, to drive the Td5 90, Freelander, Range Rover and Discovery. He was very impressed with the Td5 and Range Rover's capabilities, and found that Eastnor's trails presented even the road-biased Freelander with few problems: 'The gears were the most difficult thing, using the left hand.' Only the Discovery test drive was denied him: 'The guy from Rover Sweden put a tree branch through the radiator before it was my turn to have a go!'
The Sweden Off-Road Tour
The Year 2000 Tour will be held July 1-23, and Peter is adding some extra dates and locations to bring it up to 21 days. In '99, the tour cost 300Kr (around £25) per vehicle per day (same price for 2000).
Further details from Peter Öjerskog, Långgatan 14B, 371 38 Karlskrona, Sweden.
Tel: +46 708 529913. Fax: +46 455 379349.
Email: peter.ojerskog@swedenoffroad.com
300 cars on Sweden Offroad Tour 1999!
