2014 Expedition Portal Calender Winners
Good news folks, we got two of two submitted images into the 2014 Expedition Portal Calender Competition. I didn’t post anything here on our website but I did put a link on our Facebook page during voting. Thank you to everyone that voted, appreciated. (more…)
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.
Kyrgyzstan – Home of Hospitality and Letting Freedom Ring With A Shotgun Blast.
How we reconvened with other overlanders in Bishkek, had a drunken night out with prostitutes, tried to climb a mountain and finally used the packraft.
After a freezing final night in Tajikistan we (reluctantly) exited the country encountering few problems (the usual “problem” requiring $25 to sort out soon disappeared when we settled back into the car offering to wait for the right official to arrive) and took the long road down to the Kyrgyz border. We were ushered through the gates and into Kyrgyzstan with barely a glance at the car (minus a required customs declaration which will become apparent later), taking less than twenty minutes. It was lunchtime and obviously not a convenient time to check vehicles!
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
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.
Uzbekistan – The Silk Road Cities and near-death in Bukhara
How we found the Aral Sea, ate Camel meat and got ourselves in a spot of trouble.
The Fishing Fleet – Aral Sea
I will just start this post by apologising if it unfairly puts Uzbekistan in a bad light. It was probably not Uzbekistan’s fault that we had such a rough time of it, but we have blamed the country purely on circumstantial evidence – we were fine before and have been since! This doesn’t encompass the Uzbeks themselves, as they were warm and friendly. And there’s more than likely a massive part we ourselves played in making things difficult for ourselves, as will become clear.
It started with a seven-hour border crossing, which in the burning midday sun was not one of the finer moments we’ve had on the trip, it must be said. (more…)
South Russian Transit – Car dealers and Mini Mongolia
Russia: Bad police, bad drivers, bad service and bad food, right? Maybe these stereotypes were the reason Russia exceeded all our expectations. We had heard of Russian hospitality, but thought this would be limited to the rural areas of Siberia where there were sparser populations. We never expected our transit through southern Russia to be so warm and memorable.
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.
Turkey – Ankara, Cappadocia and the Black Sea Coast
After the craziness of Istanbul roads, we welcomed the relative order that seemed to ensue in the Turkish capital of Ankara. Although Istanbul is the culture centre of the country, Ankara is the administrative centre and so the place we needed to go for most of our Central Asian visas. After driving all day, through blazing sun and random snow, we eventually found the Ulasan Hotel where we were allowed to camp (tucked away out the back of course!). It is one of the only places that allows camping and is a good spot overlooking the lake. (more…)
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.
Turkey – From Europe to Asia Welcome to Istanbul
After laid-back Bulgaria we crossed the (hectic) border into Turkey. It took us about two hours, the longest by far, due to confusion between the letter ‘I’ and the number ‘1’ – easily done I suppose, if it wasn’t typed on every document, not to mention the number plate. We were sent to an inspection hangar on the side of the crossing, ready (begrudgingly) to empty the Landrover and trailer. After almost 30 mins of waiting Griff enquired as to why we were there, to find that no-one knew why, and what’s more they were confused as to how we’d entered as we were not on the system. It eventually transpired the registration plate had been incorrectly entered, it was re-entered and we were finally allowed to legally enter the country. The chaos of the border was just the beginning! (more…)
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.
Bosnia & Herzegovina – Mostar to Sarajevo
On the tram to central Sarajevo
We left the glistening Adriatic a few miles south of Split, Croatia and headed to the mountains and the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Although people tend to encompass the whole country under the name Bosnia, the southwest region near the Dalmation border is actually Herzegovina – and the locals will remind you if you forget it! The country’s political geography gets even more complicated with the north and east of the country allocated as Republika Srpska or RS (predominantly Bosnian Serbs), separated from the remaining Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the south and west (Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks). This was the “solution” that helped to put an end to the recent conflict in the 1990’s, though whether either side is satisfied is open to debate. Having said that, the locals seem happy enough to be getting on with life as usual.
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.
Slovenia – From Lake Bled through to Skocjan Caves and the Mediterranean Coast.
After less than 24 hours in Austria we were over the Slovenian border and into the small lakeside town of Bled. A quick enquiry with ‘Camping Bled’ showed that they were closed and the nearest open site was 20 Km away at Bohinjska Bistrica. Seemingly a long way south west from Bled we were greeted by another fantastic lake, sparsely populated and beautifully situated at the head of the valley in Triglav National Park within the Julian Alps.
Germany – Bavaria & Neushwanstein Castle
After almost a week back in the UK I flew back to Munich Airport where Griff picked me up and took me to the campsite he’d found in Landshut, a surprisingly large town northeast of Munich. It was a beautiful town, complete with snow (which I’d forgotten about while back home), and bars and restaurants aplenty. One in particular had caught Griff’s eye, a lovely rustic looking place with chunky wooden tables awash with candlelight, perfect for a romantic dinner. Having established that yes we would definitely like to eat there, it was (ahem) agreed that we would walk around another hour before going back for dinner. But on returning we found it was full and could not eat for a few more hours! We were so disappointed!
Sweden – Onward to Gransfors Bruks Axes
After the decision was made for Lisa to return to the UK for a short period a route change had to happen to meet the availability of an affordable airline. Using some accumulated Airmiles she could fly out of Stockholm (Sweden) and then return to Munich (Germany) where I would drive to and pick up up 5 days later.
In the initial planning stages of our trip I had always wanted to visit the handmade axe producers at Gransfors Bruks Axes. We were going to head up to the forge and then cut back across to Norway at Trondheim but as our departure grew closer it seemed a long way out and we would also miss out on the main fjord region of Norway (which seemed to be the main attraction). Things were changed last minute and I thought I would never get the opportunity to visit GBA again…
Finland – Dog Sledding with Hetta Huskies
Crossing into the Lappi (Lapland) region of Finland from Norway on the E8 still deep within the Arctic you notice an immediate change in landscape. Suddenly the roads straighten out and all around you is an endless snowy plateau interspersed with forests and frozen lakes. There is also substantially more snow here than in Norway. Passing Sami reindeer herders and the odd snowmobile there is little life out here, It is the frozen tundra of the last great European wilderness.
Norway – To Nordkapp & the Northern Lights
The aim of our Scandinavian section was to reach the Arctic Circle and drive on up to 71 degrees north to Nordkapp. The North Cape is the most northerly point in Europe (accessible by vehicle; there is another headland to the west you can walk to, but not ideal in winter). Here you are deep into Arctic territory and population densities of the towns drop off significantly. (more…)
Lisa
Griff
Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд 