Overland Journal Podcast Episode 199 Andy and Mercedes Lilienthal are the dynamic, bespectacled duo behind Crankshaft Culture, one of the most creative automotive and adventure travel media outlets going. Globetrotters, award-winning journalists, denizens of road rallies around the world, and connoisseurs of JDM trucks (particularly Mitsubishis), Mercedes and Andy have an undeniable enthusiasm for the…
Rust To Glory – The Ultimate Overland Movie – Is Now Streaming
Rust To Glory redefines the overland adventure documentary genre by capturing the trials and tribulations of three unique teams and their unlikely vehicles as they tackle the world’s largest amateur rally, the Budapest-Bamako. “We wanted to show what it’s like to compete in this grueling overland rally in three junkyard rescues,” said Andrew G. Szabo,…
Reza Pakravan :: Modern Explorer
Photography by Kevin Merrey and Mark Game It was 70 days into Reza Pakravan’s bicycle expedition from Norway to South Africa before he cracked. His body weak with a recent bout of malaria and severe food poisoning, Reza and his expedition partner, Steven Pawley, slogged through the Kenyan desert in 40°C temperatures, out of water…
Alpha, Bravo, Charlie: The ABCs of Overland Convoy Etiquette
Photography by Richard Giordano, Eglė Gerulaitytė, and Lila Shaw There’s a kid driving a Corolla at 120 kph, waving a note at me with the words “I love you” scrawled across the paper. Normally, I would be flattered at this declaration of affection, but the teen’s foot is jammed to the floor, sending his beat-up…
Crossing Continents :: Traversing the Cederberg Range to Cape Agulhas
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way. – Marcus Aurelius With a crack of lightning, the lodestone is magnetized, becoming one of the most unusual and useful stones on earth, melding magnetic…
Father’s Day Podcast :: Interviewing Larry Brady
On this Father’s Day, we celebrate all of the dads. We are grateful to those with us and honor those who were gone too soon. Dads have an important job, providing protection, love, support, training, and much more. It is a hard job, and it is supposed to be, as honoring those responsibilities helps…
10 Things to Know About Overlanding Morocco
Photography by Richard Giordano In Marrakech’s House of Photography, time stands still. Silver photographs, glass plates, and autochromes capture market scenes and hooded figures from 1879 to 1960, confirming what I already know to be true about the country: it evokes a sense of timelessness. I feel it most while shopping in the souks or…
Overland Events and Rallies You Don’t Want to Miss This Spring
Lead photo courtesy of Weird Wild West SOUTHWEST USA Adventure Van Expo When: April 13-24, 2024 Where: Scottsdale, Arizona The Adventure Van Expo series returns for 2024 with a packed schedule of events, including the first of the season in Scottsdale, Arizona. Lively music, food trucks, vendors, and camping converge in this all-ages celebration of…
Thérèse-Marie Becker on the Last Overland and Finding Adventure :: Overland Journal Podcast
Overland Journal Podcast Episode 186 Thérèse-Marie Becker began her overland journey as a rock climber who used her van to access the crag. From there, she joined The Last Overland team on an expedition from Singapore to London in ‘Oxford,’ the original 1955 Land Rover used during the 1955 Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition….
Five Tips to Help Plan Your Next Overland Trip
Photography by Richard Giordano Being on the road full-time means I’m in a constant state of trip planning. The process has become so natural it runs on autopilot in the background, between fuel station visits, grocery shopping trips, and scrolling the Park4Night app for some creature comforts and facilities. I love gathering tidbits about everything…
Camp Six Road: A Journey Through the Heart of the Chiquibul :: Video of the Week
Lead photo by Nathan Hindman In 2010, a group of explorers set out to complete an obscure route through western Belize, home to one of the densest jungles on the planet. Known as Camp Six Road, the track is a challenging, barely distinguishable off-road trail through the trees, swamps, and slopes of Belize’s Chiquibul Forest…
South Africa’s Namakwa 4×4 EcoTrail | Overland Routes
Photography by Expedition Overland and Expedition Rove Spanning over 600 kilometers through South Africa’s Northern Cape, the Namakwa EcoTrail is the country’s longest official 4×4 route. The title comes with a certain prestige, attracting those who seek bragging rights associated with completing the route in South Africa. To be fair, though, most trek to this…
Crossing the Simpson Desert in the Footsteps of a Legend
I wake with a splitting headache, my body hurts all over, and I feel disconnected from reality. It takes a full 20 minutes to overcome heavy lethargy before I can crawl out of the swag and confirm Katie feels no better. With nets over our heads to block the unrelenting blowflies, we only feel worse…
Potjie2Pint’s Land Rover Defender 130 : Feature Vehicle
In 2012, Marjan (a skilled Dutch chef) and her partner, Patricia (an astute Belgian financial business analyst), embarked on a transformative journey. They relocated from Europe to the sublime coastal town of Hermanus, South Africa, with a dream to infuse a touch of Belgium into their new surroundings. Their entrepreneurial spirit led to establishing a…
Peak Evolution Sets Solar EV Altitude World Record
The Swiss Peak Evolution team recently set a new world record for the highest elevation achieved in a solar-powered electric vehicle by driving up to 21,325 feet (6,500 meters). The current land vehicle altitude record is held by French race driver Romain Dumas (three-time 24-hour Le Mans winner), driving an off-road adapted Porsche 911 powered…
Rooftop Tent Skills — Buy, Bolt-on, and Bug Out
In this age of hyperbuilt and overcomplicated overland vehicle builds, it is all too easy to forget that, above all else, your build should be affordable, practical, and straightforward. The rooftop tent (RTT) is not a new invention; we have all seen the images of overland vehicles built in the early 20th century equipped with…
Spomeniks :: An Overland Quest Through the Balkans
Photography by Enrique Pacheco Western Europe is not exactly a paradise for overlanders due to restrictive laws regarding off-roading and free camping. In turn, countries on the continent’s Eastern side, especially those in the Balkans, abound in what their occidental counterparts lack: looser regulations and fewer off-pavement prohibitions, with vast areas of stunning nature still…
The Global Expedition Vehicles Adventure-XT is a Colossus
So, you just sold your start-up for a squillion bucks and are looking to take a year or two off from the rat race to travel overland with the family to distant shores. You have done your research on Expedition Portal and have concluded that you need a vehicle that offers all the comforts of…
We Almost Won the 2023 Land Rover Media TReK!
I touched down in Austin, Texas, after two taxi rides and two flights from my home base in Mexico, where I had left my family and my Classic Land Rover Defender 130 waiting. For the last week, I had been preparing for the Land Rover TReK Media event, refreshing my handheld compass, winch, and recovery…
Be Old Later’s 1997 Mitsubishi Delica L400 :: Feature Vehicle
Photography by Richard Giordano During the summer of 2017, Candice Ciesla and Jordan Schilling summited Wyoming’s Grand Teton to exchange wedding vows. With a headpiece made of taffeta and feathers, Candice looped a climbing rope through Jordan’s harness, and he tied the knot, literally, to hers. The ceremony was officiated by a guide who took…