The Overlanding Podcast #14
A few months ago we were lucky enough to be invited to attend a podcast recording with Andrew from The Overlanding Podcast. It was great to sit around his virtual campfire and chat about all of our overland travels from Morocco through to our big trip getting to Australia. I had to dig deep into the memory to recall some of the details but it was great to discuss all things overlanding. If you have a spare hour, pop the kettle on, plug in the headphones and give it a listen. Apologies for the sniffles, I was quite ill the day of recording.
Click here to go to The Overlanding Podcast website
Off The Road – Our Story
If you have been following along on Facebook or Instagram recently you might have heard that our story has been published in a book by Gestalten (yes, a real paper, hold in your hand, book!). But it is not just us, there a several other travellers stories filling this book with great adventures from around the world. We were however lucky enough to score the front cover.
Many people have been asking where to buy the book from. I am not really best placed to answer this question as we really have no input on the book or its publishing, we have merely contributed our story and photos.
You could always support your local book store and go directly there. The ISBN is: 978-3-89955-594-3 which should make finding it a whole lot easier.
For those in Europe you could buy it online direct from Gestalten:
http://shop.gestalten.com/books/off-the-road.html
For those in Australia you could buy online from Langsom:
Off the Road – Explorers, Vans, and Life off the Beaten Track
To find a store in your Country/State/City have a look on Gestaltens site here:
http://news.gestalten.com/community/recommendedshops/
Tiktaalik Field Knife Set – Kickstarter Campaign
All overlanders have their own way of doing things. From vehicle choice to camp chairs, through to stove fuel type and sleeping arrangements. Everyone does things differently, yet nobody can deny that a well thought out, well made product, tailored to the outdoor community deserves recognition.
The 2013 Acknowledgement Post
It’s long overdue. Some people would have forgotten, but we haven’t. Many, many people contributed to our trip in a plethora of ways before, during and after. It’s taken a lot of drafts and few months to get it right, but hopefully this published version is it… Complete, in its entirety.
The seed for this post was planted three nights after leaving the UK. Already we had experienced overwhelming hospitality from Kurt and Mel in Bremen, and it was while staying in Copenhagen with Sara, Kim, Peter and Mela that we realised that the heart of our journey would be the people we met along the way.
So here you go, the list, in order of appearance and a huge thanks from both of us.
Siberia Part III – To The Final Frontier Along The Road of Bones
How we took on the infamous Road of Bones during one of the wettest years in history, finally reached Magadan and then headed for Vladivostok, our final port of call.
After the Pamirs and Afghanistan, Russia’s Far North East held the next greatest allure for me personally. Motorbike accounts of the Old Summer Road and Magadan, the photos bringing to life the generosity of the people, the isolation, the remoteness, the raw beauty of the Taiga, the history, the Gulags, the ghost towns… I had to be there myself. I had to experience this.
Siberian Sunset
Article – The Lost Fishing Fleet of the Aral Sea
Aral Sea, Uzbekistan
We are very pleased to announce that our very first published article (other than interviews) is now up on the Expedition Portal for viewing and can be found here:
ExPo – The Lost Fishing Fleet of the Aral Sea
The article was written in whole by us using several of my photos to tell the story.
Siberia Part II – The Lena Barge, Mirny and the Vilyuysk Trackt to Yakutsk
How we travelled 1000km by freight barge up the Lena River, visited one of the worlds largest and most isolated diamond mines, had the fright of our lives and traversed the Vilyuysk Trackt to reach the coldest city on earth.
The sun setting as we head out of Lensk
While retreating back to Severobaikalsk from the Vitim Bridge, we noticed a knocking noise and an unsettling aroma of exhaust fumes in the cab. Moments later the exhaust noise ramped up and we pulled over immediately. Upon closer inspection Griff discovered the exhaust had sheared off at the manifold and needed urgent attention. Typically we had a stainless steel system installed so not only did we need to find a welder, we needed someone who could weld stainless and more importantly had the gear to do it. (more…)
Simpson Desert Trip, Australia – In Progress
Today I am meeting up with a man who I have never met. I will be taking his Land Rover and driving it nearly 3000km across five of Australia’s seven states from Melbourne, across the Simpson Desert to Alice Springs for him. Sounds odd doesn’t it?
Sirocco Overland Interview Part 2 by Expedition Portal
Camping with Adam Lewis in Tajikistan (www.shortwayround.co.uk)
Just a quick post to let you all know that the second part of our interview with Christophe over at Expedition Portal is up and live on their website. You can read all about it here: www.expeditionportal.com
Credit to Adam Lewis (www.shortwayround.co.uk) as they used his image of us as the opener again! Nice one Ad.
Sirocco Overland 2013 Trip In Motion Picture
We have been working on this little project for sometime now. Compiling all our time-lapsed footage from the GoPro, video from Lisa’s camera and also the DSLR. We have put together the best bits that represent the 10 month trip we undertook last year. There was a big learning curve with the GoPro, a lot of the time-lapse stuff we tried didn’t really work, some were better than others and often when times got tough we simply didn’t film (like the time we tipped the truck into a snowdrift at night in Finland and had to winch ourselves out of 5 feet of snow).
It is a short little ensemble and we hope you enjoy it.
Don’t forget to watch it in HD and full screen. Let us know what you think below.
Photo of the Week: Camping 4000m up in the Pamirs – June 2013
4000m up in the Pamir Mountains
What was to be the last night camping with Adam Lewis in Tajikistan, in a narrow valley near Rang Kul, approximately 50km from the Chinese border sheltering from the wind behind a rocky outcrop. Crystal clear sky gave way to a star filled night hundreds of kilometres from any source of light pollution. A top place to camp and take photos of the night sky.
If you want to know where in the world this is, click here: 38°26’10.0″N 74°10’52.6″E
Sirocco Overland Interview Part 1 by Expedition Portal
Over the pass – Tajikistan
Just a quick post to let you all know that our interview with Christophe over at Expedition Portal is up and live on their website. You can read all about it here: www.expeditionportal.com
Credit to Adam Lewis (www.shortwayround.co.uk) as they used his image of us as the opener! Nice one Ad.
10 of the best Wildcamps from 2013
Our collection of the top 10 most memorable, but not always the best, wildcamps from 2013. Each was chosen for a reason and has a story behind it. There were many more like these often in similar landscapes but these are the pick of the bunch.
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…)
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.
Lisa
Griff
