When we planned this recent adventure we had these crazy ideas and high hopes to summit Sani Pass in the middle of winter with snow all around us. Thankfully that was not the case and somehow we managed to pick the perfect weekend that gave us a nice mix of slightly warm weather in the low lying areas and some very cold moments up at the top of the pass.
A Look at Outworld and Their Toyotas
A while back, I was browsing through Instagram when a 2000 4Runner popped up in front of me. I had seen this awesome Toyota several times now, and I felt like I need to learn a little more. As I dug deeper, I learned that it was one of three builds for a company called…
The Cradle of Adventure
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Spring 2017. Kenya stretched out before us. We moved slowly and deliberately along a rogue track through the rugged and sparsely vegetated area near Sogwass Mountain in Northern Uganda. We were not convinced that this rarely used smugglers’ route was even passable, let alone legal…
Ultimate R&D at Zone RV
Australia is not a forgiving place. While it’s people might be some of the kindest and most welcoming on earth, its landscape is anything but. Bone-rattling corrugations lead across sun-scorched deserts for days without fuel or water. Tight trails through dense rainforests are crisscrossed with deep fords through swirling rivers, and if the coastal drives…
Dust and Diesel: A journey to the Rio Grande.
My cheap radio crackled to life, and an almost inaudible voice came over the speaker. “Are they from our group?” Two lifted trucks were parked at the fuel station, one sporting an aftermarket bumper and winch, and the other with a light bar on the roof. “I honestly can’t tell, but they could be.” In…
Video of the Week: Yellowstone River
A friend of mine once said that overlanding is driving to remote destinations to cook good food, and to an extent, he’s right. Many of us share a passion for cooking as well as camping, and although I’m far from a gourmet chef, I do enjoy a good meal cooked on the fire. Flame-broiled hot dogs…
15 Years of Overlanding the World without Killing Each Other – How Do We Do It?
“Sorry to interrupt. Coen, on the bed are clean socks, underwear, and a shirt. The shower is all yours,” I said as I walked into the living room of our friend’s home in Bolivia. Coen and our host Willy were having a discussion while I had been doing chores and had just finished taking a…
“Today is a Good Day to Die”
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…