Hujambo! I'm Henry Cole Stage, my friends and family call me "Cole". I have a few miles of overland expeditions under my belt and am currently planning more. A LOT more! I'm retired US Navy intel CPO and lived in the UK for 15 years. I retired out and stayed on there as a contractor on my base. From there I have done long distance overland expeditions, off-road racing, and general 4x4 mayhem on several continents. In 2002 I did an overland expedition in a 1992 Hummer H1 that I bought from a shaykh in Bahrain all the way to London. That trip included Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, ending in Britain. It was the event that got me nominated for and selected as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, London.
Since then I have raced that same H1 (much modified!) in two Tuareg Rallye races in Morocco. I have also raced down the length of Baja in the NORRA Mexican 1000. That is a five day rallye style race, not the current point to point SCORE Baja 1K. I've owned many Series Land Rover 109's and 110's and used them in expedtions large and small. Currently, I am vastly modifying and preparing a 1987 LR 110 V8 station wagon in the UK for a year-long expedition in southern and eastern Africa. I have spent a great deal of time in Africa and it's my favourite place in the world. That trip will start in approximately 2.5 years and cover South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania and possibly Kenya.
Current Rigs include 2013 Jeep JKU, 1989 Ford F350 Ex-USAF 4x4 ambulance motorhome, and the aforementioned LR 110 in the UK. My baja race is recently no more and much missed! Pics below are from (in order) Baja, Morocco, Bahrain (that's the Tree of Life in the background!), Saudi Arabia, France, and lastly, the Mojave Road head towards the Colorado River in SoCal.
I'm looking forward to meeting new friends here in SoCal who are also interested in weekend camping trips, holiday excursions, and all the way up to major global expeditions. Cheers!
