African Dream
The only Skylines you see here are beat up 4-doors that you wouldn’t drive even if someone handed you the keys and said “it’s yours, free of charge”.
It’s no secret that living in Africa has almost killed my passion for automotive photography. The modified cars here are heinous. Cheap bodykits and god damn fake wheels. Urgh. Of course I’m speaking of the vast majority, there are a few diamonds in the rough. Admittedly I’ve seen some nicely modified cars, but I can’t begin to describe the sheer disappointment of living in a lawless country without tastefully modified cars. I mean you don’t need to worry about it being too fast, too loud, too low (caveat, the potholes will kill anything lower than a fourby) I really did expect to see some beautiful machines. And whilst the rich and corrupt do seem to roll around in the latest Bentleys, Lambos and Ferraris, the modified car scene is definitely lacking.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that all JDM legends require modification. What I am saying is, where are all the JDM legends? The ones that you fawn after even when they’re bone stock. I live in a country where I got caught going 188 in a 40 zone and got off with a can of Coke and some Aussie charm. This is the perfect place to have a fast car, and there’s even a handful of roads where you can really use the speed.
This is where TJ comes in. You see, aside from not finding anything worthy of photographing, living here has made me realise just how lucky I am to be Australian. It made me realise that actually, living in a nanny state is better than living in the wild west. So after living the adventure of a lifetime gallivanting all over sub-Saharan Africa, I decided it’s time to come home. I reluctantly listed my W124 300CE for sale, a car so sentimental to me because it was a gift from my Dad. So TJ calls and arranged to come and see it. Much to my surprise, he arrives in an R34 GT-R. I was elated. Absolutely ecstatic. It was hard to contain my excitement as I approached him, I didn’t even greet the guy I just went into full car-nerd mode and started blabbering on and on about how happy I was to see an R34 GT-R in Zimbabwe. The only Skylines you see here are beat up 4-doors that you wouldn’t drive even if someone handed you the keys and said “it’s yours, free of charge”.
TJ and I got talking, as it so happens, he spent a bit of time in Japan where he studied and learned Japanese. Cool, cool cool cool. When we started talking about his experiences in Japan and the cars he drove there, the people he raced, the life he lived, I couldn’t be more jealous. It sounded like the experience of a lifetime. I mean I only spent 3 weeks in Japan, got to hang out with Nakai-San, chill out with Toshi Ichiraku and his balling RWBs, I even went to the D1GP, but this was nothing compared to TJ’s Japanese adventures. More on that another time.
So, I guess I’ll point out the obvious, here I am rambling about modified cars but why am I posting about a stock R34 GT-R? This post isn’t really about the GT-R if I’m honest. It’s about people who love cars and car culture. It’s about our shared passion, it’s about how even in literally one of the shittiest countries in the world happiness is still possible because of our love of cars. It’s something I really took for granted. I mean, being in Melbourne I was out all the time around some of the best cars on the planet and don’t get me wrong I was happy. But this encounter reminded me that I love cars, I love photographing cars, and I really took it for granted. I will tell you what I loved about this stock GT-R, I love that it wasn’t perfect, and even still it had presence. Sure could be a bit lower, could have a few aftermarket bits and pieces, could have a lot of things. Heck the badge in the grille isn’t straight, and I love that because cars are meant to be driven. This car has signs of that, it’s been enjoyed by an enthusiast, it doesn’t just sit in the garage. I love that a car that is becoming increasingly unattainable is being driven hard and I love that something so simple can reignite a passion I thought was lost.
Well, if you made it this far there’s a little Easter Egg for you. In the door sill, I found an import plate. Once upon a time, this car was in Australia!
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