Josef surely has the best job in the world.

We cross over the Slovakian border, drive past sparse housing and through vast farmland, before pulling into a small clearing at the edge of dense bushland. Josef stands there grinning and waving as our 40 strong tour group scuttle excitedly toward him, our eyes cast over his head to not one, but two ex Soviet tanks parked proudly in the thick mud.

Hello, boys!

He's removed the turrets, so what we have are convertible tanks, with standing room for about 15. Four metal bars run across the cavity for us to hold on to - this is the closest we'll get to seat-belts, while the two helmets we are given between us are intended only for our posed photos with the second tank. I look around the landscape and assume that we must be running a straight track through the adjacent farm - I can see no where else to go. I picture the usual video footage you see of tanks trundling as slowly as turtles across flat desert terrain, heavy and indestructible.

We climb aboard and Josef gives us a safety brief that goes like this: "Don't touch the sides, arms in, hold on, it's just like skiing, let's have some fun!". And then we lurch forward with violent power, drift in a giant doughie around the clearing spraying mud at our onlookers and then barrel into the bushes.

We enter the most extreme four wheel drive course you could imagine. The trampled trees along the edges of the 'path' are testament to the power of this vehicle, but what surprises me more is the speed and agility. You do NOT want to mess with a tank. We careen effortlessly through rivers of thick mud that cover the wheels and threaten to pour over the sides like wet concrete, never losing traction. We splash through the quick current of a river like a child paddling in a bath. We teeter on the side of steep hills, looking over to my left is an almost verticle drop into a rocky creek. We all squeal, because our instincts tell us that surely we are about to roll, but Josef just laughs and guns through to the next precipice that has us holding our breath in suspense, perched on the edge with our nose pointed straight down. It's the most intense rollercoaster I've ever been on (and trust me, I was a roller coaster junkie kid!).

All the while we are being thrown against each other, our feet becoming airborne, our hands gripping like vices to the metal bars - each one of us with eyes wide, faces strewn with mud and plastered with giant grins.

Josef pulls to a stop at the top of a hill, a magnificent view over the Slovakian countryside.

"Everyone ok?" he says in his deep accent.

We nod.

"Great - now we go faster!"

The waiting crowd in the clearing eye each other off, wondering what they are in for as our screams and Josef's maniacal laughter floats across in the wind.

Best. Day. Ever.