national park. Humans have settled
here since the Stone Age and Neolithic
times, with evidence of their existence- tombs, dolmens and forts – scattered
throughout the park. One of these well-
preserved tombs is the Poulnabrone
dolmen, which dates back before the
pyramids of Egypt.
After spending a couple of days in the
Burren, it was time to point the Land
Rovers towards Galway and the next
section of the Wild Atlantic Way.
Arriving in Kinvara, near the Galway
and Clare border, I knew we were close
to the home and birthplace of Robert
O’Hara Burke – the Irishman who led
the ill-fated expedition across Australia
in 1860.
Having had the opportunity to take
my Land Rover along part of this route
in the Australian outback, I was keen
to see where he was born and visit the
house he grew up in. We couldn’t get
into the privately owned house, but we
did get a chance to talk to the caretaker
who told us there was a plaque on
the wall of the mansion documenting
Burke’s achievements in Australia.
After enjoying another great
campsite close to Burke’s home, we
packed up early and decided to head
towards Maam Cross. Here we picked
up the coastal track at Killary, Ireland’s
only fjord.
We were one week into the trip as
we entered County Mayo, which has
often been described as the heartbeat
of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, and
our first port of call was to see Dun
Briste, Ireland’s largest sea stack. This
spectacular site is also the location of
one of World War II’s stone aerial letter
markers, which was placed along the
Irish coast to identify the land below
as neutral. It was inscribed ‘Eire’, for
American bomber pilots crossing the
Atlantic Ocean.
Achill Island, connected to the
mainland by a small bridge, boasts great
4WD tracks, pristine unpolluted waters
with five Blue Flag beaches, and great
wild camping sites.
If you’re into sea angling – or any type
of fishing for that matter – you will not
be disappointed, with the island’s waters
holding a number of sea angling records.
The most notable record took place in
1932, when a porbeagle shark weighing
365lb was caught with a rod and line by
a man called Dr O’Donnell Browne. You
can still see the head of this specimen
mounted and displayed on the wall atA 5000-year-old tomb
in theBurren National
Park, County Clare.One of Ireland’s most
famous explorers,
Tom Crean.Fishing in Easkey, County Sligo.Ireland’s largest sea stack, in County Mayo.Greenlane track, on Achill Island.134 http://www.4X4australia.com.au
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