Photo of The Week: Tryfan Sunset, Wales 2009
This weeks photo is taken on Tryfan in the Snowdonia Mountain Range , North Wales. It was a Friday night and we had rushed up there to pack in as much as we could that weekend.
We thought we could make the summit via the north ridge and camp beyond but it quickly became dark. Not a foot of grass around for a tent we were forced to bivi with just roll mats and sleeping bags on a pointy rock ledge.
Luckily the weather held and we were on the summit by seven the following morning. We then chased this up with an ascent of Crib Goch and Snowdon itself before returning home.
Overlanders Personal Carry List
A list of important items we carried on ourselves for the 8 month overland trip through remote parts of the former USSR. The gear got a lot of heavy use everyday and never faultered so comes recommended. We liked it so much, we have it all on us now here in Indonesia.
What do you carry on long trips? Leave your comments below.
Photo of The Week: Deep Water – Shropshire, England 2012
Crossing deep water in Shropshire
Another great weekend with friends. The trip had been planned months in advance but leading up to the long weekend we had all booked off, the country was in flood. So what do Land Rovers do when there are flood warnings issued? They go out and play! couple this with some camping and you really do get a wet weekend.
Photo of The Week: Land Rovers in The Mist – Peak District, England 2012
Dusk on the Dark Peak
This photo was taken on the Dark Peak in the Peak District, England February 2012. It was to be one of the last greenlane trips we would take with our Land rover before leaving the UK. It was a great weekend with friends even though the weather was truly ‘Baltic’. We had to deal with a frozen campsite and some frozen lanes but the weather was generally dry and clear.
This photo has had its fair share of post processing but it does capture the atmosphere of a foggy afternoon on the last lane of the day returning to the campsite. The two Land Rovers are Simon Woodhead’s 110 and James Wickenden’s 90 both 300tdi and both, strangely, Rioja Red!
Photo of The Week: Dades Gorge, High Atlas – Morocco 2008
Dades Gorge, High Atlas Mountains Morocco 2008
This photo was taken on a route down the Dades Gorge in the Atlas Mountain Range of Morocco in 2008. The route peaks at 3000m above sea level and is a lone double track for most of its length. Once we came off the Todra Gorge route towards Imilchil there was nobody to be seen. We passed by one small hut in the morning and didn’t see a single form of life for the rest of the day. As our first trip away with a vehicle we really felt the high mountain isolation on this day in particular and little did we know that it would change the course of our lives forever.
Photo of The Week: Lisa at Ait Benhaddou – Morocco 2008
Ait Benhaddou
As many of you have only been following since we left the UK in January 2013, I thought you may like to see some photos from our previous overland trips. Whilst these are scattered about the trip reports section and Facebook I felt the urge to push them forward. We have had a website up and running now for six years so many of you wont have known about these previously visited places. The photographs are not as good but at least you see I have improved! These will be run weekly alongside other blog posts, so enjoy.
This photo was taken at Ait Benhaddou in the Atlas Mountain Range of Morocco. We stopped by to see if it was worth going in and whilst taking photos from a distance this old fella decided to come on over with his friendly little snake. An impromptu photo that still invokes memories of that place many years later.
Russian Altai Region – Taking the road less travelled from Kazakhstan to Mongolia
How we tried to fill in the missing piece of road for the shortest crossing of the Altai, bumped into Adam in the back of beyond, flouted permit laws and immensely enjoyed the non-corrugated gravel roads of the southern Altai.
After we crossed through the Russian border we said goodbye to Andrew and Jon as they sped off to Barnaul to find a TIG welder. As we perceived the border to take some time we hadn’t planned anything further than Rubtsovsk so we rolled in early to find a hotel and a good welder to put our awning back on for us. After yet another night in a cosy hotel (we were only there to register!) we hit the road east. Back in Almaty Michael told me about a track he had found using Google Earth that linked the existing road with another 30-40km further east making it the shortest possible crossing of the Altai to Mongolia. Our Russian Atlas showed something similar with a ‘path’ also linking these roads which ran for some 60km. Advice from other adventure bikers was to take these small roads anyway as they passed through traditionally Altaic villages. So a small detour to see if this route was possible seemed like a good idea.
Eastern Kazakhstan Transit – Kolsay Lakes, Charyn Canyon, Almaty & The Road North
How we got super efficient with our time in Almaty, dined on fresh lamb at Kolsay Lakes and drove for days through storms to reach the Russian Border.
Dropping down from the mountains the rains soon gave chase
The border couldn’t have been much more farcical. First the Kyrgyz customs wanted their document (which we were never given on entry). I tried explaining we were never given one, told them which border we came in through and told them to call them as it was a ‘Kyrgyzstan problem’ not ours. Eventually after much pacing around they let us through until we tried to exit. One guy wanted everything out. He tried to take the GPS off the dash saying we shouldn’t have it, it’s a security issue blah blah blah. He tried to take the microSD card but I told him he wasn’t having it and put it in the cubby box. Then he wanted everything out of the back of the 90, so I did the usual and offered for him to take it out himself. He demanded we did it so very slowly we pulled things out. Computers first, opened the fridge then our bags. When Lisa started waving her underwear around he soon told us to pack up but we were not done yet. He kept prodding the trailer with his pointy metal stick, everything got poked. Paintwork, boxes, clothes, I was slowly starting to lose my patience with him, his attitude and his nonchalant regard for our worldly belongings.
Tajikistan – The Pamirs and the Wakhan Corridor Part II
How we ended up back in the Wakhan Corridor, drove the eastern half of the Pamir highway and saw a meteorite entering the earth’s atmosphere.
The day after we returned from Afghanistan we set about reorganizing all of our gear as we had left a number of things at the Pamir Lodge including the trailer. It took a fair amount of time which was further delayed by the number of other overlanders at the lodge. Whenever groups of travellers get together, not a lot gets done other than drinking, eating, relaxing and chatting, and as usual we all went back to the Indian that night for a lot of drinking, eating and… well, chatting.
Another Indian? ow, go on then, only if I can have half chips/half rice
Overlanders Tips: Registering yourself in Almaty, Kazakhstan
If you need to register yourself in Almaty, Kazakhstan you can do so here:
43°15’01.9 N 76°55’30.9 E Click link for map.
Open most of the time but closed for lunch. Its a long lunch so I suggest you arrive early.
Go through the main door and go to window 3. Fill out the blank form (in Cyrillic) with your name, passport details, duration of stay and address. Just put down any address from the Lonely Planet. We used the Almaty Hostel on Khan Tengry which was enough for them! Registration card returned in your passport 1 hour later. Free.
I hope this information is of use.
Into Afghanstan – Eshkashim, The Wakhan Corridor and the Hindu Kush… but not with the Land Rover
How we spent a lot of time on the Ishkashim border, got stuck in no-mans land, had to leave the Land Rover with crazy Tajik police and got a military escort into town.
…and hatched a plan to re-new our 15 day import permit.
Hindu Kush – Afghanistan
The Plan: pick up our Afghan Visas at the consulate in Khorog, drive to the border at Ishkashim, exit the country fully using the second entry on our Tajik Visa and return the same way thus renewing our temporary import document.
Tajikistan – Dushanbe, the Pamirs and the Wakhan Corridor Part I
How we spent a lot of time in Khorog, Got very wet in the Pamirs and hatched a plan to re-new our 15 day import permit.
Prior to leaving, the Pamirs was big on my list for exploring. Alongside Georgia, for me, it was to be one of the highlights. Big mountain scenery, alpine landscapes, dirt roads and isolation. I managed to track down a full catalogue of old Soviet maps scanned in detail and saved as JPG’s thanks to the guys at Berkley University (US) and Google. Lots of things in the region have changed but the old maps gave the sites of ruined forts and numerous roads constructed for military use. I would spend hours on the laptop at home looking at potential roads and piecing together our plan for the Pamirs.
Over the pass – Tajikistan
5 months on the road – Progress So Far…
With the use of our daily tracklogs from our Garmin GPS our GIS man (Jack Pitts) back home has pinned together our route from landing in France (I don’t need a GPS to find Dover from Swansea 😉 ) to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.
After 5 months (147 nights) on the road totalling 24,000Km (15,000 miles) we have crossed 22 countries, survived temperatures from -25 to +35 degrees C and camped for 102 nights.
check out our Interactive Map here: Progress So Far
There are a few gaps in the tracklogs which we will work on to iron out for the next stage of the mapping progress.
Enjoy.
Overlanders Tips: Top Five Budget Overlander Hangouts in Central Asia
You have driven hundreds of kilometres all day on dirt tracks, corrugated and potholed tarmac roads, been stopped five times by the police for ‘documents’, then an unfamiliar noise emanates from the engine bay. Your still 10 km outside of an unfamiliar town looking for somewhere to stay that has secure parking and won’t blow your daily budget. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t need that damn (delete as appropriate) Visa/Registration Document/Permit/Customs Form/Flight Ticket/Spare Part. It’s the usual battle.
Overlanders Tips: Registering yourself in Atyrau, Kazakhstan (for free)
If you need to Register yourself in Atyrau, Western Kazakhstan you can do so here: N47.09347 E051.92116 (click link for map!).
Its an ominous back door in a wall of the main OVIR office. Let yourself in (or bang on the door) go up the steps into the room and hand them your passport explaining you need to register. They do most of the leg work, you just need to fill in your vehicle details with some of their help if you have no address to register at. We explained we were not staying in hotels or at any address expressing we were camping and they just put down our vehicle registration number.
It took a few hours but we did it and it was free. Others have reported needing to get copies. These can be obtained following the directions below:
‘…Left from the gate, right on the main street and 50 metres on the right (just before the big blue Eurasian bank on the left of the road) is a Police / Army kit shop with “APMEHCKNN” above the door in camo coloured letters. In there is an office on the right was a copy place. Needed 2 x copies of the vehicle ownership docs, 1 x copy of each of the passport ID page, Kazakh visa, and also a copy of the immigration slip we got at the border. Less than a £1 for the copies.’
Hope this information helps.
Overlanders Tips: How to get your vehicle into the Wakhan Valley, Afghanistan (Ishkashim Border)
Do as I say, not as I do…
Its official, we F^&$ed it up. But in saying that nobody told us otherwise and previously people did not have this problem. So what went wrong? We picked up our Visa’s from the Khorog Consulate in Tajikistan and went on our merry way to the border at Ishkashim. At the border we were asked for our vehicle documents so we presented our V5 (British registration document known as a Tech-Passport elsewhere) to which the response was ‘Not that, the other one’. So what is the other one?
Western Kazakhstan Transit | Star Trail Photography
Wild-camping on the Desert Steppe
Three nights across the western Kazakh Steppe wild-camping in glorious weather allowed me the time to try out a few ND Grad filters and test out the long exposures required for star trail photography. Our transit to Uzbekistan was quicker than anticipated as we passed by hundreds of kilometres of nothing. We stopped briefly in Atyrau to get some cash and food taking the opportunity to register while there.
Georgia – The High Caucasus, Svaneti, Ushguli, Tbilisi and the Military Highway
It’s all about the mountains…
Before leaving the UK Georgia was assured to be a highlight of our trip on our way to Central Asia. I would spend hours pouring over maps of the Caucasus, working out possible routes, likely snow fall on mountain passes, places to visit etc etc. The whole region is also steeped in history as it forms a geographical bottleneck of the overland routes between the far east, middle east, Persia and Europe. For centuries the country was ruled by the Ottomans, Persians, Mongols and most recently the Russians as it provided a gateway (and control) for trade along the old silk road.
Overlanders Tips: Getting your GBAO Permit in Dushanbe for $3
We had picked up our Tajikistan Visas in Ankara, Turkey back in March but still needed to get the GBAO (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province) permit for the Pamirs. Some consulates will not issue these whilst others and some tour agency’s can charge up to $150 just for the permit!
I got wind that it was possible to obtain this permit, direct, in Dushanbe for next to nothing.
Sirocco Overland’s Online Photo Shop opens it’s doors.
Ushguli, High Caucasus
After nearly 20 hours tied to the worlds worst internet connections spanning three cities here in Uzbekistan, I finally added a new page today. ‘Online Photo Shop | Buy us a Coffee’ which you can find in the main menu of the site.
Overlanding Footwear – Meindl Desert Fox Boots Review
Before our trip out here to Central Asia I started looking around for a new pair of boots that would be suited to drier, hotter climes and would give me more support over a pair of shoes. I am carrying my leather Raichle boots which are great when the weather is wet/cold/temperate but when things dry up and the mercury rises you need something else…
Southern Bulgaria – Rila, Pirin, the Rhodope Mountains & Dancing Bear Sanctuary
Bulgaria turned out to be all about the mountains…
Following our swift exit from Serbia the signs at the Bulgarian border control explained in great detail the uniforms of the ‘real’ police and that they only drove Opel Astra’s along with other details. A little daunting at first but we soon realised why these signs were in place as no less than 50km down the road we passed roadside stalls selling police and military uniforms! (more…)
Serbia – Nothing against Serbia, but…
There didn’t seem like there was much to see or do in Serbia.
OK, maybe we are not being entirely fair to the country as a whole as we hadn’t researched it much and only had our Bradt guide for information. Coupled with the fact that we were trying to keep our route as direct as possible also wouldn’t have helped the cause.
Croatia – The Istria Peninsula and Plitvice National Park
Crossing the border from Slovenia was an easy affair as we motored south along the motorway down towards Pula out in the Istria region of Croatia. Back in a familiar country we felt at home, even if we had not visited this part of Croatia before. Studying the maps we decided to come off the motorway after a short period and head down to the coast along some unpaved routes. We had done this on a moped back in 2006 and found some great secluded coves and inlets so in the Land Rover it should make for some excellent wild-camping this time around. Passing several closed camp sites there were many signs saying you could not stay overnight, no fires etc but we continued on.
Lisa
Griff
Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд 