Since last year, Overland Journal and Expedition Portal Publisher and CEO Scott Brady has been on a monumental multi-part expedition of East and Southern Africa in the new 2024 Ineos Grenadier. You may have been following the journey on Instagram. Currently in Kenya and searching for a way to cross Ethiopia (a sore sport for…
Ride That Monkey :: One Young Man’s RTW Journey on a Mini Moto
Having spent a fair amount of time in Portugal, I can confidently relate two things about the Portuguese people. Firstly, they are generally wonderful with great humanity, compassion, and culture. Secondly, the Portuguese are incredibly proud of their history, punching far above their weight to become one of the greatest nations of explorers that have…
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…
The Highest Road in the World :: Video of the Week
Lead photo by Spenser Robert At 19,300 feet, Umling La is the world’s highest paved road and motorable mountain pass. Located in Ladakh, India, the pass requires a 1,000-mile journey from Delhi, consisting of traffic jams, washed-out roads, and, eventually, the risk of altitude sickness. For Zack Courts and Spurgeon Dunbar of Team CTXP, this…
Rebelle Rally Run with Expedition Portal’s Paula Burr
Registration is already open for the 2024 Rebelle Rally competition, an eight-day, 2,500-kilometer slog through the California and Nevada deserts by map and compass. Founded in 2015 by Emily Miller, it’s the first women’s endurance off-road rally and the longest competitive off-road navigation rally in the United States. Self-described as a “movement built on community…
Budapest-Bamako Rally Toils Toward Sierra Leone
Every two years, a new Budapest-Bamako Rally launches from organizer Andrew Szabo’s home city of Budapest, and the rally has grown by leaps and bounds since the inaugural event in 2005. The first stages of the 2024 Rally left Hungary’s capital on January 26, and theoretically, some percentage of the original 1,100 competitors will reach…
Tackle the Deserts with Driven to Extremes Sahara and Help Veterans with PTSD
The Land Rover Freelander is not exactly the first of the venerable British brand’s 4x4s that leap to mind if you’re planning a long overland journey or competing in a rally raid. However, Solihull’s first stab at a unibody SUV in the late 1990s was relatively advanced compared to its competition, despite lacking a low-range…
XOverland Africa Series Trailer Drops February 1
The release of a new XOverland film series is always a widely anticipated event in the overland world, and their latest adventure promises to be their most ambitious to date. Clay and Rachelle Croft, and the rest of the team dropped a handful of teaser trailers for the new series in the last couple of…
Expedition Portal Staff’s Favorite Trips of 2023
With international tourism reaching over 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, 2023 marked an enthusiastic and eager return to the travel scene for many of us, both domestically and internationally. Overland Journal publisher and co-founder Scott Brady began his much-anticipated long-axis Trans-Africa continental crossing in the capable Ineos Grenadier, while…
CABDR-North Video Released
Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR) is about to announce the layout of their latest creation, the Northern California BDR, or CABDR-North. The new route completes a continuous BDR from Mexico to Canada. The reveal happens on Saturday, February 17, when their feature-length film premieres in Sacramento, California. Meantime, whet your curiosity on the trailer. Watch as…
This Father-Daughter Team is Taking on the Dakar Classic :: Video of the Week
The Dakar Rally wraps up this week as competitors head toward the finish line today in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. If all goes well, spectators will witness a 3.2-liter 1986 Porsche 911, piloted by 21-year-old Puck Klaassen, crossing the line. She and her father, Sebastiaan, 53, teamed up at the last minute to compete in the…
It is Time You learned About Johan Badenhorst and the Voetspore Adventures
In the realm of modern overland exploration, South Africa boasts two notable, gray-bearded figures who have significantly contributed to the field. The first is Kingsley Holgate, a revered English and Zulu-speaking adventurer (soon to be interviewed by our publisher, Scott Brady), known for his extensive travels across Africa with Land Rovers, his dedication to improving…
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…
Transglobal Car Expedition Sets Off From New York
On January 9th, the Transglobal Car Expedition set off from a rainy New York City on an extraordinary 18-month adventure—the first wheeled surface circumnavigation of the Earth through both geographic poles. Utilizing three different types of off-road vehicles, a team comprised of some of the world’s best polar explorers will attempt a journey that combines…
Rebelle Rally Registration Returns
The 2024 edition of the Rebelle Rally may be 10 months away, but Rebelle Rally registration for this year is open now. Don’t think you can dilly-dally, however, since slots are assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you’re looking to round out that list of New Year’s resolutions, there’s no better time than the…
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…
XOverland Season Six Africa Teaser :: Video
Southern Africa is one of those true dream destinations for overlanders worldwide—I should know—I lived in Botswana for two years and traveled to a dozen different countries across the continent. No matter how much of Africa I saw, I was always inevitably drawn back again and again to the deserts and wildlife sanctuaries of Botswana…
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…
Wim Dussel’s 1950s Photo Collection Brings Global Scooter Travel To Life
Photography by Wim Dussel (1920-2004), courtesy of the International Institute of Social History Dutch photojournalist Wim Dussel had a gift for capturing the simple moments of everyday life, revealing their true beauty. He gravitated toward markets, schools, streets, and the daily hustle and bustle of work—scenes so ordinary that, as travelers, we often don’t bother…
2023 Overlanders of the Year :: Mali Mish
Dan and Marlene, along with their three children, Ava, Mila, and Luka, travel the world in their 170 Mercedes Sprinter van. The journey began 16 years ago when the couple chose to bundle up 10-month-old Ava and hit the road, towing a 25-foot Airstream as their first casa on wheels. Epiphanies came in waves on…