Saturday 12th December 2009

[17:23 EST]

Back at the Villa to update you both on our goings on!

Before we'd flown out here, Linda had booked us on an activity half day via Attractions Direct to do some ATV (All Terrain Vehicles - Quad Bikes to you and me) and also to drive some dune buggies. Weather looked good (it's warming up again today, mid 70's) so we set of with eagerness. The satnav estimated a 45 minute trip, but it seemed much quicker and we arrived in the middle of nowhere just after 9am. Aside from a small sign at the head of a dirt track, there wasn't much else to point to where we wanted to go. We headed off down the dirt track into rows of orange groves. Eventually, we reached a gate that, on first inspection, appeared chained and locked. However, looking closer, it was merely latched. We took the car through and headed on further into the groves, past a group of bee hives. Things were turning very Deliverence-y. :)

Finally, we spotted a large container in the distance, on the side read the company's logo - Revolutions Off Road. A man approached, his name was Kevin and he used to live near Milton Keynes...

[21:25 EST]

Kevin explained that we were waiting for one other to join us. After which we would then start. Whilst we waited we read and signed the waiver that's usual for these events. Although the blurb was almost a page long, it could be summed up in just a sentence - "It's your fault, not ours!!!" Hmm.

Once the other guy arrived, we were taken through the first event which was the Quad Bikes. We were shown through how to use them (a first for both of us, although the other guy had ridden them before). We then got kitted out with the safety kit - that included a rather fetching hair net. I also noticed that they had to go back into the container to search out a special safety helmet that would go over my head! Luckily, one was found.As we had no experience as such, we were given our own guide and taken for a quick circuit of the training area before going out into the smaller off road track that runs through the 200-odd acres that the grounds cover. The track consisted of various lanes of dirt with the odd puddle (there had been rain over the past couple of days). We wove around the edge of the lake and skirted around the orange groves. Linda was following the guide and I was bringing up the rear. I seemed to get the hang of the controls fairly quickly, but I could see that Linda was having issues keeping the steering correct as these machines aren't power steering. This route lasted about 25 minutes I think.By the time we got back to the start point, Linda wasn't keen to carry onto part two - despite the guides readiness to take her out again on a one to one basis. So she sat out part two. This meant that I now became the learner as I was paired up with the guide and the other guy. This time we were taken over the more advanced course - up hills, through what looked like dry stream beds, in and out of various groves and eventually back to the start point. It was quite hard work, trying to handle a machine that looked like a bike, but didn't tilt like a bike. I was often having difficulty in sharp bends as I expected the quad to turn some just with me leaning into the corner. It was only then that I remember to turn the handlebars too!

After a short break. We got back into the safety gear and this time we were strapped into a dune buggy. As these were two seater vehicles, we could ride together. This car was very tricky to drive. This was mainly due to the fact that the car was left hand drive and it was manual, that in itself wasn't an issue, the main problem I had was that the gear stick was under my kneecap - literally! The gear stick and steering wheel were so close together that changing gears meant I had to grab the stick under my leg to shift!Happily, the course that we were driving around wasn't too challenging so I could drive around it in second gear pretty much all the time.The buggy itself was pretty much a shell, four thick wheels and a 600cc engine strapped to the back. It was as noisy as hell which had the benefit of it being so loud I couldn't hear Linda asking me to slow down! :)We made it back in one piece and sat and had a quick drink before leaving the area and heading back to the villa. On the way back through the big swing gate I couldn't resist plucking one of the oranges from a nearby tree. Although it looked a bit yellow on the outside, I've just eaten the insides and it was very nice indeed. Let's see if I get the stomach ache tomorrow!!!

We stopped at WalMart on the way back to the villa and grabbed something for lunch. We had that back at the villa then decided to have a splash in the pool for a hour.

Finally, we went off to try to complete Operation Ugg. Sadly, despite coming up trumps yesterday, we were denied in four different shops. We will continue the struggle at a later date...

Remember you can always click on the slideshow to view the photos one by one.