cut vow to explore

A Vow To Explore

Madelyn Holmes and her 2007 Suzuki Jimny are a match made in heaven. This wedding & portrait photographer is an avid adventurer born and raised in Australia, so her 4x4 is the perfect sidekick to keep her running anywhere life takes her—on and off the clock.

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So Long, Sedan

Growing up in Australia, Holmes discovered a passion for the outdoors at a young age. As she chased a career in photography, she was in need of a vehicle that could keep up with both pursuits. Shockingly, her sedan wasn’t up to the task. The Jimny turned out to be the perfect fit: capable, competent and nimble. It also gave Holmes a great way to dive deeper into the world of wheeling and wrenching.

A Blank Canvas

When Holmes brought the Jimny home, it was ready for any and every kind of mod. To start, she added a bull bar and transfer case guard for more protection on the trails. She replaced the back seats with rubber flooring to create extra storage space. Next, Holmes installed some smaller accessories to make life off the road a little easier: additional lighting, a snorkel, a UHF radio, a folding table on the back door, and a second battery under the bonnet for more power. And last but not least, she fitted a two-inch lift and began her search for a tire that could stand up to Australia’s diverse terrain.

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Traversing All Types of Terrain

Holmes knew she needed reliable tires that could get her and her partner (and navigator) home safely from every outing. After extensive research, she went with a set of BFGoodrich® Mud-Terrain T/A® KM2 tires (215/75/15). They took her from second-guessing every suspicious puddle to hardly noticing they were there—and even gave the Jimny enough traction to rescue a few stuck cars.

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Where Passions Collide

Three months after purchasing the Jimny, Holmes and her partner's family went on a week-long camping trip to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. A 45-minute barge trip from the mainland brings visitors to magnificent scenery only accessible to 4WD vehicles. Good thing she ditched the sedan. Holmes and her Jimny trekked through it all: beaches, rainforests and even freshwater lakes. No terrain was off limits to her vehicle or her camera.

A Perpetual Journey of Discovery

Holmes has always been hungry to learn, see and experience as many new things as possible. The Jimny has fed that hunger in more ways than Holmes ever imagined, enabling her to learn how to off-road, refine her navigation skills, gain more mechanical knowledge and become a better problem solver when things don't go as planned. And with a newfound ability to explore remote, breathtaking locations in the Land Down Under through 4WD, there’s no saying what she’ll capture next. But, it probably won’t be a road.

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