Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Fall 2007. After crossing the Rio Pico Mayo we entered the Chaco, the vast semi-desert area of northern Argentina. During the rainy season, the Chaco floods, and the clay soil makes travel nearly impossible. In the hot, dry season, the scrub forest sheds its leaves…
Video of the Week: Where it Starts
Sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan. The expected path before us crumbles, and we’re left adrift wondering where to turn next. It is in these moments where the course of our lives are truly determined. It’s here where we choose to shy away toward the easy road or shed our fears in order to…
The Mosquito Battle Plan When Overlanding
Summer has started: great weather, blue skies, sunshine, long evenings before it gets dark. Life is wonderful. If only those clouds of mosquitoes would stay away. Over the years we’ve searched for solutions to sleep without our bodies being drained of blood. If you have a car with properly closing doors and windows and have…
To the Bars at the Ends of the Earth—in a TVR
An overlanding dream is a blank canvas, and how you colour in that blank canvas is, in many ways, a reflection of your personality. Every trip is unique—a product of the different experiences sought by the people undertaking the journey and their own particular taste in travel. My overlanding has always been of the somewhat…
The Arctic Challenge
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Winter 2016. Photography by Sinuhe Xavier The wind is always blowing on Alaska’s North Slope and on this particular day it was in rare form, buffeting the Tacoma and reducing visibility to a few meters. It was the middle of winter, the temperatures were well…
Overlanding as a Digital Nomad: Combining Travel with Online Work
How can you combine your travels with online work? What kinds of jobs work, how do you organize it, what equipment do you need, and what challenges do you face? Ten overlanders share their experiences.
GrizzlyNbear Overland
In the Czech town of Český Krumlov, I piloted my Defender 130 down a cobbled village road, heading towards the Vltava River. There, parked on the lawn next to a gigantic teepee, stood a spectacular Land Rover Defender 130. Leigh, a tattooed, muscular, and energetic Australian mountaineer and oil rigger stood beside the Landy with…
BC Overland Rally
Along with Washington’s NW Overland Rally, Canada’s BC Overland Rally, also known as BCOR, is hosted by Canadian Ray Hyland and his family. Although the NW Overland Rally is in its eighth year of tenure, BCOR just celebrated its second anniversary. Located in the same venue as its inaugural year, BCOR was held at about…
The 2018 Northwest Overland Rally
The NW Overland Rally, held in Plain, Washington, brings in overlanding enthusiasts from all across the Pacific Northwest and parts of Southwestern Canada—and occasionally places much farther away. Celebrating its eighth year, the NW Overland Rally (also known as NWOR) has grown from a small gathering of adventure-seeking attendees to a mid-sized rally that just…
The Beauty of the Rupununi Savannah
We undressed for a swim. That is, Coen changed into swimming trunks but I, conforming to the Amerindian female swimming suit, donned shorts and a T-shirt. Wading into the clear water, our feet didn’t sink into a sandy bottom but felt laterite. According to our GPS, the Rupununi River ran more than a mile from here…
Top Five Western U.S. Campsites
I’ve spent the last five months of my life traveling out of my camper full time, searching the Western half of the United States for the best vehicle-accessible campsites. I started my expedition in San Diego, California, heading north from there up the coast to the Olympic Peninsula. From there I went east, into Montana,…
Visit the Royal Geographical Society and Meet the Explorers
The Blue Nile has been called the Everest of rivers. It was an unmapped, unconquerable section of water, a raging torrent that extends 500 miles through Ethiopian gorges and at times runs over a mile deep. It was plagued by bandits, crocodiles, disease, and rapids that could swallow a boat whole, but 50 years ago…
Video of the Week: Living with Khaya
If you’ve been following the camper biz lately, you may have heard some buzz about Alucab’s Khaya. It’s basically an off-road, inspired alternative to a four-wheel camper that is designed to be used for overland travel. Unfortunately for those of us interested in purchasing one, there just haven’t been enough reviews and feedback around to…
Abenteuer and Allrad 2018
Europeans are famously prolific travelers, so it is no surprise then that the largest overland show on the planet is to be found in the town of Bad Kissingen, located in beautiful central Germany. We have had the good fortune of attending the Abenteuer & Allrad (Adventure and All-wheel Drive) in 2017 and again in…
Trail Advisory: San Juan National Forest to Close
The San Juan National Forest (SJNF) is amongst the most beautiful overland destinations in North America, but if your summer plans lead you there, you may want to check their website. According to the SJNF rangers, a stage three fire closure is expected to be signed into place tomorrow, due to extreme drought conditions. The…
Birthday in the Black Rock
A few years back, I decided I’d try for once to get some people together on my birthday. We set a three-day expedition date in February to the high desert in Western Nevada, which was a risky proposal due to the potential conditions. I invited some friends from Prometheus Design Werx, Exploro, and some guides…
36 Hours of Adventure: For the Gram
It all hit me at a Starbucks in San Jose, California. I was hammering away on my keyboard, happily sipping my latte while writing a story, when I noticed a group of five girls in the corner. Every single one of them was alternating taking photos of their drinks with taking selfies in the sun….
Video of the Week: Perpetual Motion in Baja Norte
Overlanding is about the journey, the experience, the culture, and the people of a place. It’s about taking in all of the sights, sounds, and smells the road has to offer, regardless of your form of travel or budget. That’s why I really dig this latest series from the duo at West x 1000. It’s…
Ghost Towns of Chile
The thermal water mainly felt warm because my head sticking out above the bath was almost freezing. With the wind howling among the hills, not much was needed to get an ear infection or pneumonia I figured while getting out of the concrete tank filled with water flowing down from a natural spring higher up…
Overland Routes | Big Bend National Park
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Summer 2016. They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and standing in the heart of Big Bend National Park you’d sure believe it. It’s a land of burning sunsets, soaring mesas, and enchanting vistas that sprawl toward the horizon until meeting softly with the deep blue…