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/
The Final Photo of the Week: Perigee Super Moon, Australia 2014
Perigee supermoon – Australia 2014
The 52nd and Final Photo of the Week, how time flies. We started these posts this time last year and they have been a great way of sharing not only the most recent photos but also those from the archives. We have decided to put a halt to these and go dark for now as we continue to concentrate on our visa process here in Australia and tying up the loose ends of our main blog posts from 2013. We may well bring these back in the future so please leave a comment if you have enjoyed them, thanks.
Photo of the Week: Siberian river – September 2013
This was a typical view for much of our journey from Yakutsk to Magadan; crystal clear rivers, beautiful autumnal forest and piercing blue skies. Camping here was a dream come true. The only thing missing from the picture? We never glimpsed a single wild bear, so synonymous with Siberian wilderness.
Photo of the Week: Kyrgyz horses – June 2013
Within hours of crossing into Kyrgyzstan, we came across this brilliant sight. A herd of Kyrgyz horses, galloping across the road, with the stunning Alay mountains in the background. What better introduction to a beautiful country?
Photo of the Week: Landshut in the snow, Germany – February 2013
I rejoined Griff in Munich after a week in the UK, but camp sites are hard to find in the Bavarian capital, especially in winter. He had discovered the town of Landshut just outside Munich, and it had everything we needed – an open campsite, good pubs and good beer! We had fantastic food in front of a cosy fire before walking home through the snow. The peaceful walk back to our tent was just what I needed after a busy day’s travel.
Photo of the Week: Kyrgyz farm life, Kyrgyzstan – June 2013
On our way to Bishkek from Osh, we pulled over on a disused road to set up camp for the night. Just as we were about to start dinner, a man appeared seemingly from nowhere. He invited us to join him and his wife for dinner, so we followed him back to his small farm, tucked away in a dip on the hill. His wife appeared from a small hut, no more than a wooden frame covered in cloth and plastic. She was unfazed by her unexpected dinner guests; she just cleared a space for us in the hut and laid out tender cooked beef, homemade yoghurt, bread and honey. After food and lots of tea, it was time to milk the cows. It was fascinating to watch, having never witnessed it before. The milk was warm, and didn’t taste like the pasteurised stuff we get in the shop, but I was glad to try some. It would be left in the roof overnight to settle, and the cream would be skimmed off in the morning and made into yoghurt, which was just amazing with honey and warm bread! We camped in their yard overnight, soothed by the sounds of thunder and murmuring cattle. Simple pleasures with a lovely family.
Photo of the Week: Permafrost Institute, Yakutsk, Russia – August 2013
Yakutsk in Russia has the coldest winter climate of any city in the world, and is built on ground that is permanently frozen all year round. It is the biggest city to be built on permafrost which obviously (more…)
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
Photo of the Week: Bishkek watercolours, June 2013
On our journey last year we spent a good deal of time in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek. While staying at the extremely friendly and comfortable Nomads Home, we met a group of French street artists (more…)
Photo of the Week: Journeyman, Germany, January 2013
Not long after leaving the UK we stopped in a German truck stop to make a hot coffee and to dry out our soaking rooftent (our last night on home turf was an extremely wet one). Not long after setting up, an extremely tall, strangely dressed gentleman named Andreas wandered over to say hello. (more…)
Photo of the week: Russian Altai, July 2013
We left Kazakhstan and crossed into the Russian Altai region on our way to Mongolia. Rather than head north to Barnaul and following the main road, we decided to cut east across the mountains by Sentelek and join the road south of Gorno-Altaysk. (more…)
Photo of the week: Cornwall, UK – July 2010
In the summer of 2010 we took a week off to walk along part of the 630-mile South West Coast Path, which runs along the entire coastline from Minehead in Somerset to Poole Harbour in Dorset. We took the train to St Ives in Cornwall and walked the 40 miles to Penzance and the mystical St Michael’s Mount. (more…)
Photo of the Week: Siberian seasons – September 2013
Autumnal Landscape, Siberia – Russia
On our way from Yakutsk to Magadan, we crossed several degrees of latitude. This meant we left summer and crossed into autumn/winter rapidly within a week. One day we would be among Birch trees in their full green and silver dress, the next we would be in awe of the many shades of red and gold shining out from amongst the endless pines. We would move north east, leaving (more…)
Photo of the Week: Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Australia – February 2014
The 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road – Victoria
Not long after arriving in Australia, we decided to spend a few days driving the iconic Great Ocean Road. We stayed in the Otways National Park, but drove on past to visit the world famous Twelve Apostles. Strangely there were only nine (not twelve) limestone stacks when they were named in 1922, and this has now dropped to eight after one collapsed due to erosion in 2005.
We wandered around the cliffs on the boardwalks that provided easy access, viewing platforms and safety, keeping us tourists away from the unstable edges! The fantastic weather gave us amazing views for miles across the Southern Ocean, and we marvelled at the beautifully clear water crashing onto the beaches below. It was awesome to see something so iconically Australian, and it really brought home the enormity of our journey.
Photo of the Week: Fire Poi Performer, Gili Trawangan, Indonesia – November 2013
Fire Poi – Indo
We decided to stop in Indonesia for a much-needed rest while waiting for the rig to make it’s way to Australia. While in Bali, we were persuaded to visit the Gili Islands, a triplet of idyllic tropical islands and the epitome of paradise. One evening after a relaxing sunset stroll along the beach of Gili Trawangan, we walked past a restaurant with a resident fire poi performer. In between beers he wowed the diners with his moves and fascinated passers-by such as ourselves, all the while maintaining a quiet composure. It was not showy or over the top, just a silent yet dramatic backdrop to gourmet seafood and coconut drinks. We soaked up the serenity, before moving on to a much cheaper place for dinner!
Photo of the Week: Mirny Bison, Siberia – August 2013
Mirny Bison
On our way from Lensk to Yakutsk, we stopped in Mirny after an unfortunate event with our car window. What was meant to be an overnight stop turned into a five day sightseeing spree when we were invited to stay with a local policeman, Andrey (more about that in our next blog post). He took us to see the local ‘zoo’, which (more…)
Photo of the Week: Star Ferry, Hong Kong – October 2013
Star Ferry Passing – Hong Kong
The Star Ferry at Victoria Harbour is an institution in Hong Kong, and has been connecting Hong Kong Island with Kowloon since the Morning Star took it’s first passengers in the 1880’s. There are 9 Star ferries in the fleet now, plus a harbour tour. Although there is a road tunnel and a metro rail (more…)
Lisa
Griff
Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд 