"It always rains on the Easter weekend in Australia" stated a friend of mine as we discussed the various options for the long weekend. Traffic chaos was guaranteed if we opted for the rural campsites along the NSW coast line, so we decided on a route heading inland towards the Blue Mountains, in particular, the Newnes State Forest bordering the Wollemi National Park.
There are not many roads left in Australia that the Google Street car has not visited and I wanted to make sure we evaded those roads and followed alternative routes inland. 4x4 Earth Australia was my starting point. The website allows people to upload and download GPS routes across the country. I spent a few hours searching all the tracks until I had successfully downloaded a few that intersected my journey to the remote campsite. The route I opted for covered unsealed roads, fire tracks and potentially a few minor tracks linking the various fire roads.
Time for a cuppa? The freedom of overland travel is the ability to stop anytime, anywhere. Having the ability to make a quick cuppa tea or coffee makes the experience that much worthwhile whereas faffing about in the rear of your vehicle to find the dual fuel stove, kettle and cups can often lead to a rather frustrating experience.
Introducing a neat idea from Piranha Offroad in Australia. I first saw this product advertised during a 4WD TV show and immediately liked the concept. I will admit that I have not seen it, or had the ability to test the durability however the concept is unique and makes life on the road that much easier. The concept is fairly clear: a small kitchen and table mounted next to the fridge which can be setup in minutes allowing for easy access to the cooker, crockery and cutlery.
I think this type of kitchen will only work well with vehicles that either have a tailgate or a full rear door (like a Land Cruiser or LR Discovery). My feeling is that a LR Defender and Jeep won't have sufficient space due to the size of the rear door i.e. access to the rear will be cramped with the fridge and table taking up more than half the available space.
In summary, I think its a unique idea and would consider adding a unit to the rear of my Discovery. If you own a 30-second kitchen and have any feedback, please let me know.
Wollongong to Woolwich is the overland motorcycle adventure of Will and Kate. Departing Australia and heading for the UK via Asia.
The book is an interesting read. It's not melodramatic, self-confessing travel book, and not technical for the avid motorcyclists. This overland ebook is styled as a personal diary, often highlighting blog entries to enhance the mood of the moment. The pace is quick, which often leaves you wanting to know more details.
You will enjoy this book if you are considering an overland trip using motorbikes as it highlights aspects of travel that make motorcycle travel interesting and challenging. One simple example is the daily endeavour of finding accommodation whilst on a motorbike compared to simply pulling over in your overland camper.
A few interesting paragraphs from the book:
Re. the City of Kathmandu:
The whole city was fantastic. I won’t go into a long-winded description to rival a tourist guidebook, but I will use some key words to paint a picture: Noisy, Hectic, Crowded, Vibrant, Friendly, Safe, Polluted, Ancient, Crumbling and yet so ALIVE
A quick update on overlander Oisin Hughes - he completed two epic overland motorcycle rides across the Americas and Asia and has published two ebooks detailing his trip. The reason for the mention is that he has been uploading new video content highlighting his adventures.
As I write this, his blogs and photographs are currently unavailable however the videos are enjoyable and give a real sense of the adventure and journey of overland travel.
The most recent videos from his 'Not Dead Yet' trip:
Embarking on any extended overland adventure can be quite daunting... opting to do so with your 17year son adds that extra layer of anxiety. Opting to use a 16year old 1981 Yamaha XT 500 to do the trip on, makes for one major adventure.
"Trans-Africa by Motorcycle: A Father's Diary" is the story of Lawrence & Gareth Bransby and their overland adventure from South Africa to the United Kingdom.
Overland routes varied considerably in the mid 1990's compared to what we have these days. Central Africa was an option to transit from West to East, along with the option of shipping from Eritrea to the Middle East and heading North into Europe. Lawrence and Gareth opted for the latter route.
Lawrence & Gareth Bransby
An extract from the introduction:
We opted for Yamaha XT 500's, 1981 models which we bought cheaply and which are renowned for their robustness and simplicity of design. They have points and coil ignition, easy to repair along the side of the road, easy to find spares for. The engine has about 5 moving parts, the gearbox said to be so over-engineered it could be used to drive a tractor... We couldn't afford expensive aluminum panniers so made one from galvanised sheeting. We constructed carriers from angle iron for the jerry cans, water bottles and thousand and one other things necessary for the trip.
A few months ago I stumbled on the website of Ben Coombs - an adventurer dedicated to driving unusual vehicles across some of the most famous overland routes. His first epic driving adventure was in a team as part of the Mongol Rally. His vehicle of choice: an old Mini.
Since then he has undertaken a few more unique trips, one of which he has detailed in his book & ebook and which I previously mentioned blog post: Overland in a classic Porsche
Survival of the Quickest
My reason for mentioning Ben again is to encourage you to read his book. His writing style, frank and open, will keep you entertained as you journey overland with him and his travel companions. He is not shy to express his anxiety levels as the old Porsche creaks over rutted roads, or the tough team dynamics after a long day and night drive. I was captivated by his words and was silently encouraging him along the journey as the Porsche scraped through another pothole. I found myself longing to be the passenger, and driver on this trip.
Not many overlanders take his approach to an overland adventure:
I wanted the journey to be a challenge. I wanted it to be uncertain. A reliable 4x4 just wouldn’t offer the same potential for problems. Without problems, there is no adventure.
2011 was a unique year. It was the first year that the preferred vehicle choice for a Trans-Africa overland adventure was a Toyota. Prior to 2011, Land Rover had been the most dominant vehicle choice for majority of overlanders who opted to list their adventure website on The Africa Overland Network.
Interested in the 2010 and 2011 statistics? Read them here:
Total trips listed on the website have continued to decline year on year since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) yet 2012 turned out to be a year that people opted to predict that they would travel for longer periods.
The Africa Overland Network - Trans-Africa Trip count
We have, since our journey started, wanted to meet up with other overlanders. Both to share information with, and maybe to spend some time on the road with. To our surprise, the roads are otherwise very quiet; there doesn’t seem to be very many overlanders around. And further, most of those we meet are either on their way north, or just staying in one country.
How many overland and vehicle forums are you registered on? Got a favourite? Do you create threads and reply to posts? Or do you simply lurk scanning the huge amounts of content seeking out that fresh piece of information that glues your thoughts together?
In February 2012, I spent time researching the most popular overland and vehicle based forums currently active on the internet. I recorded the names of the forums, along with the membership, total threads and posts and even the Alexa internet popularity rank. You can read more via: Internet Forums - Love 'em or Hate 'em.
It's now February 2013 and here are the latest statistics on those forums...
Registered Users
The registered users are simply that. This does not represent the active members on the site. Essentially the more registered users, the more content there is to read. Only the forum 'ih8mud' publishes active membership count.
In summer of 2012, Mammoth spent two weeks in Rwanda, Africa filming for the country's tourism department. After delivering the finished video, we decided to create another edit to include all the bonus footage and outtakes. This video is NOT the edit currently playing in their airports and welcome centers. Plus: To say Rwanda is an amazing country, would be an understatement. However, we felt the true magic of Rwanda would be lost in this video, without showing the beautiful people that live there. Can't wait to go back!
Released a few years ago, the movie 'Adventuress Wanted', was all about Tom's trip South from Norway in his red beach buggy. I reviewed the film in August 2010 and was lucky to show the film to the Overland Workshop (Yorkshire, UK) in 2011.
The good news is that you can now download the movie for free and if inclined, donate a few dollars to the team.
