OverlandSphere

The western route south from Ethiopia, Omorate to Sibioli National Park Kenya, via Lake Turkana

FamilyinAfrica — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:08:47 +0000

We found an alternative tar or asphalt road to the busy tourist road (route 6) running from Addis to the Moyale Kenya border via Dila. We decided not to take this road as I had experienced it 5 years ago and it was slow and only offered cheap motels/hotels and is littered with people the whole route. Instead we drove…

Addis Ababa heaven

FamilyinAfrica — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:26:07 +0000

Bye bye Axum Arriving annes house Addis We were so tired when we finally reached Addis Ababa on the 20th April. The journey from Axum had been 1000km of really bad roads, high mountain passes, dangerous hairpin bends and people and animals all over the road and we were practically stuck in the car all day. We saw several roads…

Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia

FamilyinAfrica — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:01:47 +0000

Nechisar National Park One of the most unusual parks I’ve been in. It was not too expensive to enter and we found it to be a perfect test before entering the south bound Turkana track with all its river crossings, mud baths and windy picturesque tracks. Nechisar is made up of jungle, river crossings, beautiful lake views and plains. We…

Bilene & Xai-Xai

Arnize Go 2 Africa — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:14:28 +0000

It took us 5 hours to drive the 196km to Bilene. Luckily we started early. T4A showed Palmeiras as a campsite and we decided to try it. On our way I found out that my Kindle can help tremendously with finding places to stay and general info by using Google. The Kindle has GPS reception where nothing else has. I…

Heading east towards the coast

Arnize Go 2 Africa — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:59:04 +0000

The length of this dam wall that is also the crossing towards the main road to the coast, is 5km and they are busy lengthening it! Crossing the Massingir Dam wall The Olifants river that feeds the dam and the Hydro electric scheme This says it all…..but NOT enough Difficult driving through swamp land on terrible potholed road. Huge never…

Goodbye South Africa Hola Mozambique

Arnize Go 2 Africa — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:56:29 +0000

We left Letaba camp a bit sad because we had to say goodbye to new friends. On the other hand we were fairly excited about finally crossing the border into Mozambique. Initially, after phoning the children for the last time, we were both quiet and after a while I asked Arno how he felt because I had mixed feelings of…

Machu Mission

Global Inc Safari — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:59:25 +0000

The journey to the ancient Inca citadel that is Machu Picchu is very easy if your wallet knows no restraint. The real challenge is to get to Machu Picchu without having your wallet or credit card raped. We spoke to numerous ‘English speaking’ tour operators during our investigation into every available option open to us, we also explained in great…

San Diego to Monterey via Hollywood LA

Gino's Travels — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:14:00 +0000

We left San Diego Monday morning and made our way up a very busy Highway 101 to Los Angeles, a quick stop in Hollywood to get a photo of the iconic sign before heading to Malibu Creek National Park for a nights camping. A couple of things struck me, first Hollywood wasn’t as glamorous as I thought it would be…

Norfolk, Yorkshire and the Lake District

Tincaninafrica — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:57:28 +0000

22nd May 2013 Lake District Cumbria There is a reason England is green. It rains a little from time to time. Particularly in the coldest, wettest Spring since 1979- just to welcome us. Even floods encountered across the roads in Cumbria a few days ago which even Tin Can was not eager to cross as the Floods in Cumbria water…

The tug of normalcy

theDangerz — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:25:29 +0000

It’s been an interesting week for us. The sunshine that welcomed us back to the northwest was simply too good to hold true for long. Last week it was replaced by somewhat a reminder of portland weather- grey and overcast all week. Now it’s just plain cold on top of it and were it not for warm clothing donations from…

How we broke down on the Sonora pass and felt it was meant to be…

Dutchies go Global — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:22:57 +0000

We did not plan to drive the Sonora pass. After visiting Yosemite, we thought the Sonora pass was not open yet and we thought we had to drive the CA88 to get to the Eastern side of the Sierra Mountains. We decided to camp at a Wallmart, where after a few minutes a car stopped with a very nice…

Peru Part 1

Honda Vs The World — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:12:32 +0000

So I have to back track in order to bring the blog up to date. The next few blogs concerning Peru covers what turned out to be the most challenging and adventurous rides on the trip. After escaping across the border from Ecuador into Peru the first town we came across was Jaen. What an introduction to Peru! It was…

Tanzania: Safari Njema!

Siyabonga Africa — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:45:06 +0000

We arrived at the border and were stamped out of Malawi pretty painlessly. We expected the Tanzanian Border to be easy because we had our Carne and visas, and only needed to get insurance. There is an exchange bureau at the Tanzanian Border and we got good rate for our Malawian Kwacha… Which is always surprising at a border! We…

FRONTEIRA BOLÍVIA (VILLAZÓN) – ARGENTINA (LA QUIACA)

Rodando O Mundo — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:36:00 +0000

Toda fronteira é complicada, pois vários fatores envolvem a travessia, mesmo nas fronteiras mais remotas na cordilheira entre Argentina e Chile, onde imaginei ser tranquilo e rápido, fomos submetidos a uma revista mais rigorosa, mas essa fronteira bateu todos os recordes de fiscalização e demora. Foram mais de três horas nos procedimentos burocráticos de saída da Bolívia e entrada na…

UYUNI – BOLÍVIA

Rodando O Mundo — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:34:00 +0000

Depois de Copacabana, deveríamos tomar uma decisão; seguir pela Bolívia até Uyuni, para visitar o maior deserto de sal do mundo ou desviar o caminho e voltar para o Chile onde as condições são bem melhores para viajar. Já na saída de Copacabana um pedágio era cobrado em nome da conservação da cidade e uma taxa adicional, a título de…

Road reads

Van en van — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:42:51 +0000

While we’re holed up in Suchitoto with some car issues, I thought I’d solicit some reading suggestions. Even though space in the van is tight (and we both have Kindles), there are still a dozen-odd books crammed into the pony. Sometimes you just can’t get what you want to read in e-form…like I lost this Carlos Fuentes book in October…

Big boys do cry

SEVENTEEN by SIX — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:43:40 +0000

Laguna Quilotoa, Ecuador Quito, Ecuador [by Jeremy] It’s often said to be an endearing quality in a man to be able to show emotion, to be able to shed a tear. It’s not quite so endearing when the man in question is on all fours, clinging to a rock and blubbing uncontrollably. I am that man. Before setting out on…

Azerbaijan, Land of Fire and Speed Cameras

Big Os Adventures — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:08:17 +0000

The Caspian Sea I arrived at the Azerbaijan border and passed through the Georgian side in 5 minutes. Then began the queuing for Azerbaijan. It wasn’t moving fast so I settled in for a wait. A friendly local chap introduced himself and we passed the time with him teach me introductory Azerbaijani lingo. Overall it took about 2.5hrs to get…

A Warm Sun, Quiet Beaches and New Friends

We Love Motogeo — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:50:22 +0000

Our time in Hammamet is beautifully relaxing. Granted it’s not a representation of the Tunisia that exists to the south but it’s a great place for us to get ready for the coming days and our journey ahead. Our friend Koray from Nice has sent us a note letting us know that the French government has just issued a travel…

Day 72…Rabat- The Spaniards

VansAfrica — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:22:26 +0000

Hi Guys, My route over the last few days. We left Marakesh with spirits high and ready to ride the famous atlas mountains. Our destination Was Zagora. We left Marakesh with an orange juice off course. We made our way through the morning traffic and headed out of town on a wonderfull twisting road towards the mountains. We had some…

Goodbye Malawi

Siyabonga Africa — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:45:45 +0000

The drive to Livingstonia was slow, but absolutely beautiful! The most part of the road winds between part of The Great Rift Valley and the views are breathtaking! Mzuzu town is perched on the mountains at 1200m altitude, and driving to Livingstonia takes you all the way back to the Lake, and then up another mountain. As we started descending,…

Driving (away from) China and The Silk Road

Drive Nacho Drive — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:29:01 +0000

If I’ve been doing a good job at promoting it, you know that we’ve been trying to raise money through Kickstarter to write a book about traversing China and the Silk Road in Nacho. We were attempting to raise $25,602 to cover the cost of permission to enter China twice with a government-approved guide. After thirty days of fundraising, you…

Luxor to Red Sea

Osiyeza — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:05:05 +0000

In Luxor we stayed at a campsite called Razeiky Camp. This is a hotel with a large garden / sandpit and as we sat nursing ice cold beers in the afternoon heat we were told grand stories of yesteryear by the manager (who reminds Jules of her dad, but for the sake of keeping wills intact no photo was taken),…

Episode 15: Uganda. Where Alki arrives, a mad Dan runs off to the Congo and the boys find gainful employment…

Cornwall to Cape Town — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:57:46 +0000

Part 3: A gentleman is defined, not by the distance he keeps from his own, internal wildness, but by his ability to scrub up afterwards. Iconic (Photo: RWH) Having left all chance of contact with the outside, Dan and Alki dropped off the edge of our map and headed to the border of the Congo. Here are some of the…

Brewer’s Memorial Brew Fest 2013

The Next Big Adventure — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:03:09 +0000

Once again this year, we headed southwest to Newport, Oregon and South Beach State Park for the Rogue Brewery’s Memorial Ale Fest. Brewer was the beloved Rogue black lab mascot who worked his way up to CEO. After his death the brewery began throwing an annual doggie brew fest in his memory. South Beach State Park, quite frankly, is…

May in NYC!

Worldwide Ride.ca — Mon, 20 May 2013 03:00:29 +0000

We have always wanted to spend a month in New York City and with the onset of the rainy season in Central America we had the perfect excuse to spend May there. Arriving there on May 1 it was on a spectacular spring day. To be honest the scariest thing that has happened to us since we left Vancouver and…

COPACABANA – BOLÍVIA

Rodando O Mundo — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:53:00 +0000

Nossa última noite antes de entrar na Bolívia foi em Puno, onde chegamos já no final da tarde vindo de Cusco. Como o hotel já estava reservado anteriormente pela internet, não tivemos muitos problemas para montar acampamento. O estacionamento estava incluso na diária, mas a vaga ficava a 3 quadras do hotel, em uma rua muito estreita e que exigiu…

CUSCO – MACHUPICCHU – PERÚ

Rodando O Mundo — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:14:00 +0000

A saída de Arequipa deveria ser rápida, mas o maldito programa de GPS que compramos na hora H não funcionava e tivemos que sair da cidade pedindo informações, o que te leva para diversas direções menos para a certa. Recebemos várias informações erradas inclusive de policiais. Depois da difícil saída de Arequipa, e o congestionado trânsito na periferia, encaramos uma…

Semana Salvador

Van en van — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:58:24 +0000

We left Guatemala with little fanfare, having passed through the country in four weeks. Our last couple of nights we spent with Juan’s friend Rodolfo in Guatemala City. We got to tour his animation studio, and to see some parts of the city that we would not have seen otherwise, including his family’s lovely ranch. Our last morning in Guatemala…

Nos bons plans Buenos Aires/ Our Non-Guidebook Guide to BA

Bip Bip Americas — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:25:00 +0000

Voilà une liste des endroits qui nous ont plu à BA. This is it: the trip is over. Tomorrow morning we climb on the airplane and we jet back to the ‘real world’, to friends and family (good) and to work (bad). Here is a list of places and activities we enjoyed during our transitional time in Buenos Aires that…