Overland Adventure - UK, Central Asia, SE Asia, Oz, South America

[mjmcgowan]

We are currently on Part 1 of our Trip the UK to Oz,

Having only just found this site we thought we would share with you some of our blogs,

Martin & Nicole

Pakistan Part 1

PAKISTAN – Karakoram Highway (KKH) Sost to Gilgit

7th November

We cross the Khunjerab Pass at a height of 4700 metres, crossing from China to Pakistan. We feel relieved to have made it this far but are apprehensive about the next 84km before we reach the main Pakistani immigration post as we do not have a Pakistani visa. We have heard that it is possible to obtain the visa on the border, but we were unable to find any official confirmation of this. The worst case scenario would be being prevented from entering Pakistan and being stuck in no-man’s land between Pakistan and China.

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KKH

The Karakoram Highway (KKH), also known as the Friendship Highway in China, is the highest paved international road in the world. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, through the Khunjerab Pass, at an altitude of 4693m/15397 feet. The KKH (1200km long) passes the highest concentration of soaring peaks and glaciers in the world, five of which are over 8000m. The road passes through the point where three great mountain ranges meet, the Hindukush, the Himalaya and the Karakoram ranges.

The road has recently severely deteriorated due to the flooding, with many sections of the road and bridges being either submerged or simply washed away by the rivers; regular landslides and rock falls still occur and happen without warning. At times these have blocked the road and cut off villages for up to 40 days.

The Border

As we cross the Pakistani border, the road suddenly deteriorates from a perfect tarmac road to a rocky, icy, dirt track. At the speed we are currently able to drive- a mere 40kmh, it will take us just over two hours to reach the main border post.

We see the Pakistani check point, where they briefly flick through our passports and welcome us to Pakistan. First sights of Pakistan

The temperature is minus 3 outside as we pass frozen lakes and streams. The road starts to descend towards Sost.

We see a group of workmen on the road; I wave at them, to have all of them wave back in unison.

I forget that in Pakistan they drive on the left and for a second wonder why the truck coming towards us is on our side of the road!

After an hour or so we arrive at the second Pakistani check point; a quick glance at the passports and he waves us through.

The road now deteriorates further, partially fallen away in the river and valley below, there are lots of rocks and large boulders.

The road turns back to a smooth dirt track but we wonder how long for. We see Chinese workers building new bridges, tunnels and sections of the road. In many places, the road has simply been washed away or large rock falls have completely blocked it. We see two Chinese men carrying a large boulder with some rope and a plank of wood between their shoulders. The Chinese appear to be rebuilding the road by hand, with little heavy machinery!

We are still at 3400m, seeing huge trucks, and wonder how they will manage to get up the tiny dirt tracks we have just navigated.

The Chinese are building tunnels along the road to prevent future rock falls and mudslides from blocking the road again.

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We arrive at the next checkpoint at Dih, where the Khunjerab National park office is situated and have to pay $4 each to enter. The men in the office are very friendly and change our Chinese money for us and invite us for tea.

As we drive further down the valley the river becomes much larger and faster, as the icy streams and springs pour in to the river.

As we arrive at Sost, the border guard asks us “Visa?” We tell him we do not have one to be told, “No visa, no problem, visa one month”.

We are taken into the immigration office, where we meet our guide Ayub. It seems the immigration chief who issues visas has disappeared, and we are told he did not expect any travellers until after 3pm. An hour later he turns up and apologies for the delay. We are charged $90 each for our 30 day visas. We then move on to the customs office, who complete our Carnet Du Passage and checks for the vehicle.

With it getting late we are not sure whether we will get to Attabad Lake on time for the boat, before dark. If we do not get there on time, we will have to find somewhere to stay in Passu.

Attabad Lake

We finally arrive at Attabad Lake just as the sun is going down. The lake is 24km long and up to 100 meters deep , at an altitude of about 2700m and surrounded by 6000m-7000m peaks and glaciers. The lake formed due to a massive landslide at Attabad village in Gilgit-Baltistan, on January 4, 2010. The landslide killed twenty people, buried and inundated the Karakoram Highway and blocked the flow of the Hunza River for five months. The lake flooding has displaced 6,000 people from upstream villages, stranded (from land transportation routes) a further 25,000, and inundated over 12 miles (19 km) of the Karakoram Highway. For now all goods have to be unloaded and loaded at each side of the lake, there is simply no other way through the mountains, adding additional costs to the trader’s goods.

In the last few months, the local people at times have been cut off from all food and electricity. Finally goods are starting to move; however the prices of fuel, sugar, rice, flour have significantly risen. In addition to this the only way people are able to move from one village to the next is by boat, which for some is too costly, and in some cases prevents the local children from reaching their schools.

Many have lost their incomes, their personal possessions, their homes, but also their families. With winter coming we fear that more may lose their life due to not being able to obtain the necessities to survive throughout the winter.

Many locals for the past few months have feared that the lake may burst, and flood lower lying villages all the way down to Gilgit, which has also had a negative effect on local tourism. For now the lake seems safe, but come spring, the flood waters may well rise again.

There is a large queue of trucks loading and unloading. We are not sure what to expect and are told a boat has been organised for us. Looking around there does not seem anywhere stable to actually load the vehicle, with the lake banks very steep and rocky.

Our boat finally arrives identified by a black flag. I’m quite shocked that it is not much larger than the car. The guide shows us two planks of wood and explains that we will put the planks of wood across the width of the boat. Our boat arrives - How do you get a car on that?

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At this point I can’t really see how this will work or how we will even get the car down to the loading point….

The boat unloads its cargo, and I’m told it is now ready for us to board. Looking down the steep slope, I’m worried it may be too steep for the car. We try to move trucks out of the way so that we can attempt the descent at a safer point, but the driver has gone missing.

With it starting to get dark, the guide suggests that maybe we wait until tomorrow, for either the army raft or another boat which may be much more expensive; although at least the army raft is actually built to handle cars and trucks.

We finally agree to give it a go. We slowly navigate to the lakes shore, where it is quite sandy. With a large crowd of people around us, we prepare the boat and the car for loading.

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Two planks of wood are put over the boat to the shore line with a few rocks underneath to keep them steady. Very slowly I move the car forward on the planks, being given directions and instructions by about 10 different people, it becomes quite stressful. Slowly we move up the planks, until the car is about centre.

A stone is placed in front of each wheel to stop the car rolling off the planks of wood. I’m not sure that would be enough!!

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A local policeman checks the load and is somehow happy for us to leave! Policeman checking the load

Unfortunately, with the car being heavier at the back than the front, the boat starts to tilt to one side, with the car perilously hanging on. About 10 passengers join the boat and are asked to sit on the lighter side of the boat.

As we cruise down the river in darkness, the boats crew have small flashlights to navigate the lake, being careful not to avoid submerged building, bridges, and pylons. The local electricity supply is out and the small villages along the lake are in pitch black, giving us a magnificent view of the stars above. The plan is to cruise 4km down the lake to the Marco Polo Hotel in Gulmit where we will unload the car and spend a couple of days before re-boarding the boat to complete the other 20km of the lake.

Unfortunately, as we pull in to unload the boat, we find the path is blocked by large sacks of potatoes. A few passengers at this point leave the boat, which in turn makes it lean to one side. There are not enough people left on the boat to keep it completely level. With every turn, my heart pounds watching the car tilting on the planks of wood, which at this point are nearly touching the water. We try another spot but it is just too steep and sandy.

We don’t really have many choices at this point as it is too dangerous to continue down the lake in the darkness so we decide to moor the boat, with the car still on board. We move the car slightly to make the boat more level, just in case anything happens during the night. We also ask the captain to stay with the car / boat over night to look after it. With the temperature expected to be below freezing, we feel quite sorry for the captain, and offer him some extra blankets.

We leave the boat and walk, for about 15 minutes in darkness to the hotel along narrow winding paths. The village power supply is out this evening so there is no heating or lights, just a few candles.

We meet the hotel owner, who tells us of his family history; his grandfather, Mir Nazeem Khan was the ruler of Hunza from 1892 to 1938.

We head to bed early worn out from our drive and the excitement of the trip so far.

8th November

We wake up early for breakfast, an hour early due to our clocks being an hour wrong. We have breakfast of pancakes and omelette.

The hotel owner receives a message that our car is still there, on the boat. After breakfast we head down to the lake to continue our trip. We are asked if we would also be able to take a few local people on the boat too, which we gladly do..

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We continue our trip down the lake and with the morning sun rising over the mountains the trip is pleasant. We pass many stranded villages with people waiting in the sun for the next boat to arrive. The lake is surrounded by massive mountains up to 7000m high. As we pass into the shade, we feel the cold as we are still at about 2700m.

We arrive at the other end of the lake to see long queues of trucks, and what seems to be complete mayhem.

Again the lake edge is steep, sandy and rocky. With another large crowd of onlookers, we prepare the car and boat so we can disembark, this time backwards!

Some locals help prepare the boat. The height of the bank is a bit higher than the vehicle so we have to very carefully lift the planks up, which makes the front lean quite dangerously towards the water..



I very slowly move the car backwards… with the front left wheel half off the wooden plank I fear it will fall and crash in to the bottom of the boat. I manage to get the rear wheels onto the steep river bank. I put my foot on the gas and move quickly up the bank hoping that when I stop to turn around the car does not slide back down the steep powdery bank. Made it!

Once up on the bank we find we are blocked in by trucks and would have to wait for them to load before continuing. The next 1km of road is made up of deep white powdery sand.

We head to Karimabad, where we visit a local precious stone workshop. All around the valley there are large amounts of Rubies, Emeralds and Quartz to be found and many locals make a small living out of either making the jewellery, cutting the stones or mining them. The workshop we visited was currently training locally displaced people as jewellery makers. On the walls of the workshop were pictures of Prince Charles who also visited the workshop several years ago.

We move on to the Baltit fort built in the 13th Century, and recently restored.

After visiting the fort we head up to our hotel ‘The Eagles Nest’ where we will stay for a couple of nights. The hotel is perched on a 2850 metre high ridge above Altit village in the Hunza valley. The hotel has fantastic views of both the valley and the surrounding mountains including Rakaposhi at (7788m) Golden peak (7027), Ultar (7388m) and Lady’s Finger.

In the evening we have dinner at our hotel, a white Chicken Korma, Chicken Jalfrazi and Chicken Biriani. All was good apart from the Jalfrazi, which was not spicy and had bare bones rather than meat in it.

9th November

In the morning we wake to have breakfast overlooking the valley, and then head down to the small village of Altit below with our guide and the hotel owner. We tour the narrow streets of mud covered buildings which have not changed in the last 400 years. We are invited into a small house, to have a look around, which Prince Charles also visited.

We then head to Hoper to see the glacier with our guide and the hotel owner.

The road is narrow and bumpy, as it zigzags up the valley. We pass through various small villages along the way, with young boys playing cricket.

We reach the end of the road at Hoper and pull into a small restaurant where we park the car to walk to the glacier.

We head up the hill to be greeted by a mob of old men trying to sell uncut Rubies, Emeralds and polished Quartz. After a bit of haggling and examination of the stones we agree to buy a medium sized uncut Ruby for 200RP which is only £1.40!
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We head down a steep path towards the glacier. On our way I scour the rocks in the hope of finding more rubies, but to no avail, I just find lots of quartz. A group of 4 boys tag along with us, and provide Nicole with some help climbing down the steep narrow path.

We stop to rest and take in the views for half an hour before continuing back up the valley. Again Nicole’s “helpers” look after her all the way up!

Once we return to the restaurant we buy the boys some biscuits to thank them for their help.

On our way back we pass another group of cricket playing children. This time though, they chase the car down the road shouting, and one very young boy throws a stone at the car.

We return to the hotel in the late afternoon and relax for the rest of the night, before having dinner again in the hotel restaurant.

Martin & Nicole
http://myoverlandadventure.com/

[JerryYukon]

Awesome trip report so far. I hope you keep posting. Safe travels.................

Jerry

[taco2go]

In the evening we have dinner at our hotel, a white Chicken Korma, Chicken Jalfrazi and Chicken Biriani.

http://myoverlandadventure.com/

Thanks for posting Martin and Nicole. Will be following along on what sounds like a highly palatable adventure. :)

[haven]

Welcome to ExPo, Nicole and Martin! Thanks for sharing your journey with us. It must have been terrifying to have your home-away-from-home floating on that makeshift raft!

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N&M have an excellent website describing their trip here: http://myoverlandadventure.com The pages are in blog format, with most recent entry first. Archives of posts go back to April 2010. More photos here http://myoverlandadventure.com/photos/ The web pages load slowly, but are certainly worth the wait.

N&M's vehicle is a 1998 Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado VX with diesel engine. This model is similar to the 1998 4Runner and Prado sold elsewhere in the world.

[mjmcgowan]

India Part 5 – Karnataka

24th January Southern Goa

We re-start our Overland Adventure, leaving family behind and head to Goa’s southern beaches for a few days of rest and relaxation. The journey to Agonda beach does not take long. As we arrive we head straight to the camp we had found earlier at the end of the beach.

Today there is no guard on duty, so it’s free! We pull up and find a nice spot overlooking the sea with probably the best views we’ve had in India and the cheapest too.


Martin is dying for a swim so heads off into the sea to return an hour or so later, while I catch up on some reading. The temperature is rising steadily, it’s up to 36C and its not even midday yet.

We chat with a couple of over landers who have driven their huge truck from Germany, and a few others who seem to be permanent residents!

In the evening we are feeling a little lazy, so decide not to cook, and head to a local restaurant instead.

25th January

We drive over to Patnem beach as we have heard that it’s the best beach in the area. Looking for accommodation, we find everywhere is over-priced. We eventually find somewhere within our budget, a cottage room.

We head to the beach, where Martin swims three miles to a rocky cove and back, to burn off the extra weight he has put on since being in Goa!

Lunch is a pad thai in another local restaurant. Later we take a walk down to the beach and watch the sunset. Patnem beach is peaceful and picturesque.

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Later I go to have a shower, finding a frog in the bathroom, and then a couple more. Martin has a hard time capturing them, as they are jumping all round the room. When he releases them, they just jump back towards the door again.

26th January Karnataka-Patnem to Hampi

We leave Patnem and head 220miles to Hampi. The road (NH17) takes us about 50 miles until we reach the NH63, and we start to head inland (176miles), leaving Goa and entering the state of Karnataka. As we go through police and customs at the state border, the first policeman pulls us over but when he realises that we only speak English, he quickly waves us through. The road takes us directly along beautiful and deserted stretches of sands, blue water and pretty coves.

The road is great, mostly car free for miles, and we are able to pick up some speed, a rare thing in India, driving through thick green forest to reach a place called Majati. As we enter the huge town of Hubli, we are directed onto a one way system but get lost and go round a few times until we manage to get back onto the NH63. The road takes us through dense jungle territory where troops of monkeys line the sides of the roads. As we emerge from the forest, we reach a high plain at 600m of crop fields that stretch all the way to the horizon, and continue for hundreds of miles. The roads have many hidden speed bumps, with no signs or markings, which are made even more hazardous when cars in front of us have no break lights, and suddenly stop while doing 60mph!

We approach a car in the right hand line that has broken down in the middle of the road. A bus behind it is flashing his lights and driving at approximately 80mph- we can only interpret this as he’s coming through, so slam on the brakes, narrowly missing it; buses here are a law unto themselves, with little care or regard for others.

We drive for another 50 miles, passing some buffalo cooling off in the water, their huge heads just visible above the surface.

As we turn a tight corner I feel the rear wheel slide out, it feels like a flat tyre so we stop and it is. We used OKO tyre sealant before we left, however this time it does not seem to work; the liquid is just sprayed around the wheel arch.

I think it’s not too bad- we can just change the tyre and get going again… Unfortunately the locking wheel nut won’t come loose. A couple of truckers stop to help. They don’t really understand how it works and start bashing the locking nut with a large hammer and then try to pry if off with a hammer and chisel. Eventually, they completely knacker the nut, leaving the little thread inside. Realising what they’ve done they quickly get back in their truck and leave us to deal with it. We are not sure what to do at this point as the sun is going down; the hole is too big to re-inflate and it is a 20km journey to the nearest town.
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I have one last go with a hammer and chisel and mange to move it slightly; a few more bangs, some on the chisel, a few on my hand, and it is loose. We finally manage to change the tyre and get moving again.


It’s now completely dark; the road has no lights or lines. In addition to this, all the on-coming traffic have their full beams on, which makes driving really hazardous. We are run off the road quite a few times by crazy bus drivers overtaking; despite giving them plenty of warning and flashing our lights, they are intent on continuing to overtake.

We reach the next town where we find a tyre repair shop but unfortunately they don’t seem very experienced, and after two hours do not manage to repair the tyre.

We continue on to Hampi in the dark, and have our first glimpse of huge boulders and temples. We have difficulty finding accommodation with parking. We try to get to Mowgli guest house, on the other side of the river, in Virupspur Gaddi. However, local rickshaw drivers tell us it not possible to drive to the other side so we head to Hospet, a 15km drive away. When we arrive, a local kindly lets us follow him on his bike to a hotel. By this time it has gone 10 and we have a late dinner in the hotel restaurant.

27th January Hampi

Hampi is a World Heritage site and at one point in time, one of the largest Hindu empires in India. In the 10th century, it was a bustling metropolis , but in 1565, the city was destroyed by invading sultanates, from which it never recovered.

In the morning a rickshaw driver takes us to a repair shop which has the tools and 28 years of experience in fixing tubeless tyres. Fifteen minutes later, the tyre is fixed and we are on our way.

We arrive at Mowgli Guest house; having looked at Google maps, worked out that there is a bridge north of Hampi where we can cross over. We reach the point where the bridge is meant to be (at Anegondi) but are told by the police we are not able to cross the river here. We continue north to the next bridge at Kampil and eventually reach the guest house 50km later, only to find there is a direct road from Hospet which is only 10km.

Being peak season and with a three day festival taking place, the guest houses try to overcharge us. It’s three times the normal amount, so we decide to go elsewhere, eventually settling with a basic hut, in secluded paddy fields near the river for 400rp per night.

The restaurant at the complex is filled with hippies and accompanying relaxed trance music is being played. There are a few American rock climbers here also as Hampi is one of India’s main rock climbing focal points.

In the afternoon, we head down to the river to find a small overloaded boat to take us to the other side for 15rp. The views of the river are fantastic, it could quite easily be a scene out of Apocalypse Now.
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We walk around Hampi bazaar, and visit Virupaksha Temple, one of the oldest buildings in the city. As we walk to the bazaar we spot a troop of monkeys ripping the seats in a rickshaw to pieces. Intricately designed temples are set high on a hilltop, Hemakuta Hill, surrounded by smooth rock, and we get great views of the temple below.

We are told the last boat this evening is at 6pm, so head back for dinner in the local restaurant.

28th January

Crossing fields along the banks of the river, we take the boat over to the other side. To our surprise, on reaching the bank, we spot a group of elephants being washed in the river in the early morning sunshine, and another being walked down steep steps with three men sitting on top of it, ushering it down.
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We start walking towards the Royal Centre but decide to hire a rickshaw for the day when we realise how hot it is, and how many km’s we would have to walk. We visit the main sites within the centre, including the Lotus Mahal and elephant stables.

As we approach Hampi bazaar on our way back, there are monkeys jumping across the rooftops. Some of them stop and growl at passersby, exposing their sharp teeth.

Later, we drive to the other side to Hampi’s Boulders, and visit Hanuman Temple, 570 steps up Anjanadri Hill. Many believe this is the birth place of the Hindu Monkey God. Even old men and women are making their way up the steep steps, some even overtaking us while muttering prayers under their breath (or possibly saying ‘I wish those foreigners would get out of my way’). The views from the top are fantastic, a unique landscape of huge brown rock and stone boulders strewn among paddy fields and palm trees.

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On the way back down, we have fresh coconut water, expertly cut open with a huge machete!

29th January Hampi to Mangalore

We wake up at 6:30 to start our journey to Mangalore. Our GPS says the route is 320miles but given the average speed in India is about 30mph, it may take us 10 hours to reach our destination!

The sun is rising and hot air balloons are scattered in the mornings azure skies.

We decide to turn off the NH63 as the road is too bad-there are deep potholes everywhere and we cannot pick up any speed. We head towards Mariyamanahali; this seems to have been a good idea as it is now a lot smoother and there are even white lines on the road! The road continues like this, but there are bumps which are hard to see.

We head towards Derangere. It is noticeably cooler in the morning, just 18C as we are driving at 600m.

Martin stops to secure a piece of metal in front of the radiator which had broken due to all the sudden bumps we had been hitting, and is immediately surrounded by lots of inquisitive schoolgirls, peering at the car and inspecting his handiwork!

As we continue, we notice there is lots of wheat in the road, presumably so it is broken down by cars driving over it. We are back in the jungle, just below the town of Shimoga and ascend to 790m. Arrive at Kudremukh National Park, where we are given a pass to drive through dense jungle. Sign reads-Drive slow. Watch for snakes.

Once we reach the end of the park, we descend 700m back down to sea-level.

Along the way, we have numerous near-misses, today the majority of which seem to be caused by people on their phones whilst driving.

We reach Mangalore around 4pm, Martin is shattered, and his first port of call is the beer fridge!

30th January Mangalore to Kozhikode

We drive down the coast along the NH17 towards the secluded beaches of Kannur and the beach at Costa Malabari, passing small wooden boats lined up along the shoreline.

Crossing several bridges along the river, we are surrounded by lush tropical forests and palm tree lined beaches, passing village after village along our route.

We drive down through narrow forest roads to find a guesthouse, where the roof rack gets stuck on some low hanging cables. There is a loud screech as some branches are pulled down; the cables are completely tangled around the roof rack and gas cylinder and have to climb up onto the roof rack to untangle them. We hope we have not cut off anyone’s power or telephone lines! We finally find a group of small guest houses by the beach but the prices are too high, equivalent to that of a good hotel room, so we decide to drive on to Kozhikode.

Stuck in a traffic jam, a bus suddenly screeches to a halt just in front of our car, trying to barge his way in. Unfortunately there’s not much we can do but let him go in front of us. He then stops, blocking the road in both directions for about five minutes letting passengers on and off. We finally over -take the bus further down the road when he stops again. A few minutes later, we see him hurtling down the other side of the road, over-taking, blasting his horn. With no regard for on- coming traffic, he careers through the town until a truck gets in his way, so he just forces another car of the road and pulls back onto our side of the highway. We overtake one another for many miles, but every time we see him in our mirror, its make our stomachs turn. At some point he will crash, whether it’s today or tomorrow, and will not only kill himself, but some passengers and others too.

Once we reach Kozhikode (also known as Calicut) we find some hotels. They are all way over budget but have no choice but to settle for one. At least we’ll have a good night’s sleep.

31st January

We drive towards Alleppey and the Keralan backwaters, a 150 mile drive. As we drive through the town of Kozhikode we spot a Toyota Garage and pull in, in the hope they will fix our gear box. Luckily the mechanics here are much more knowledgeable than those in Goa. We also ask them to change the engine oil, properly fix our flat tyre and carry out some welding.

We wait patiently as they try to fix the fault, which takes around 5 hours. We are treated to a free lunch at the hotel across the road, eventually leaving at 4pm.

With darkness approaching, we are faced with a 150 mile journey in the dark. From our experience over the last few days, the journey will be agonising. We eventually reach Alleppey after 6 ½ hours of hazardous driving. We’re not sure what’s worse, cars with their full beams on or cars with no lights at all. We have had so many near misses tonight, it’s an experience we won’t ever forget and one we would not like to repeat!

[Show picture list] (http://myoverlandadventure.com/nggallery/page-1054/images)

Martin & Nicole
http://myoverlandadventure.com

[mjmcgowan]

We are now in Malaysia, planing on visiting, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, possibly Vietnam, before heading to Indonesia where will spend several months

Our Latest update:
http://myoverlandadventure.com/india-part-6-kerala-tamil-nadu/


Martin & Nicole

[Christian P.]

Nicole/Martin

I am not sure how I missed this thread!!!

Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

[mjmcgowan]

Our Latest Updates:

http://myoverlandadventure.com/thailand-islands-beaches-tourists/

http://myoverlandadventure.com/malaysia-part-1/

[mjmcgowan]

Hi all,

We are currently in Cambodia, on our way to Angkor Wat, in a couple days :-)

Our latest updates below:

Thailand - Waterfalls & Tigers (http://myoverlandadventure.com/thailand-waterfalls-tigers/)

Laos (http://myoverlandadventure.com/laos/)

Martin & Nicole

[mjmcgowan]

Hi All

We are currently in Java, heading towards Bali, before backtracking over to Borneo, 4- 5 months before we hit Oz and start our planing for South to North America!

Latest updates below:

Indonesia - North Sumatra (http://myoverlandadventure.com/indonesia-north-sumatra/)

cambodia (http://myoverlandadventure.com/cambodia/)

[trailsurfer]

Great stuff!

[Scott Brady]

Great shot!
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z241/expeditioncampers/nicole-martin-lake-attabad.jpg

[mjmcgowan]

Hi All,

We are currently in Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia, we have been a bit lazy with updating our blog, mainly as there is so much to do, such a fantastic country!

So far we have travelled right across Indonesia, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sulawesi, with Flores and Timor left before crossing to Timor Leste and shipping to Australia.

We have found Indonesia to be remarkable, such diversity, everything from teeming coral reefs, orang-utan filled jungles to smoking volcanoes, and a myriad of religions and cultures; probably our favourite place on our trip. Not many overlanders seem to travel to Indonesia, but we would 100% recommend it, sure there are a lot of ferries to catch, but I guess that just adds to the experience!

A few updates below,
Sulawesi (http://myoverlandadventure.com/indonesia-southern-sulawesi/)
Lombok (http://myoverlandadventure.com/indonesia-lombok/)
Lombok – Diving the Gilis (http://myoverlandadventure.com/indonesia-diving-the-gilis/)
Java (http://myoverlandadventure.com/indonesia-java/)

Let us know your reading and leave us a comment,

Martin & Nicole

[mjmcgowan]

A few photos from Indonesia....

Sumatra

http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2092__480x360_IMG_1150web.jpg

http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2091__480x360_IMG_1145web.jpg

http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2122__480x360_IMG_1796web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2137__480x360_IMG_0051web.jpg


Java

http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2210__480x360_IMG_2270web.jpg
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http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2219__480x360_IMG_2408web.jpg

Lombok
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2287__590x360_IMG_3142web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2291__590x360_IMG_3150web.jpg
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http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2313__590x360_IMG_3302web.jpg


Sulawesi
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2426__590x360_IMG_4456web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2428__590x360_IMG_4471web.jpg
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http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2353__590x360_IMG_3697web.jpg

[mjmcgowan]

Updated Blog

The Togean Islands and an encounter with a whale shark (http://myoverlandadventure.com/indonesia-the-togean-islands-and-an-encounter-with-a-whale-shark/)


http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2456__590x360_IMG_4824web.jpg

http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2472__590x360_IMG_4899web.jpg

[mjmcgowan]

Hi All,

We have finally left Indonesia after 5 months, (our latest update (http://wp.me/pTsRZ-p6)) we're currently in Dili, Timor Leste preparing the vehicle for shipping to Oz, where we will spend 6-9 months touring,

We plan on meeting up with quite a few clubs in oz to spend more time off road.

We are not too sure whether to keep our thread updated while in Australia, so far there seems to be little interest on our trip through Asia on this forum. So please let us know if you would like to see a bit of Australia on this thread.

Given the cost of things in Australia, it looks like we will be trying to work as we go round to keeps costs to a bare minimum, and allow us to ship to South America next year,

We have managed to get a couple of Sponsors GT Radial (http://www.gtradial.co.id/) (Komodo MT Tyres) and MaxTrax (http://www.maxtrax.com.au/),

however we are still looking for some other bits and pieces especially a front bumper....

Some more photos from Indonesia,

Flores
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2487__590x360_IMG_4946web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2492__590x360_IMG_4965web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2492__590x360_IMG_4964web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2495__590x360_IMG_4980web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2501__590x360_IMG_5049web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2504__590x360_IMG_5069web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2525__590x360_IMG_5177web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2512__590x360_IMG_5108web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2531__590x360_IMG_5230web.jpg
http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/2532__590x360_IMG_5271web.jpg

[Streakerfreak]

We are not too sure whether to keep our thread updated while in Australia, so far there seems to be little interest on our trip through Asia on this forum. So please let us know if you would like to see a bit of Australia on this thread.

Please do keep updating this thread. Many people read trip reports, but do not post up. You have my interest that's for sure.

[stevec]

Please do keep updating this thread. Many people read trip reports, but do not post up. You have my interest that's for sure.

X2. Your thread has nearly 3,000 views, so people are definitely reading it!

[deadly99]

Enjoying the pics and write ups, thanks for sharing

[syke]

X2. Your thread has nearly 3,000 views, so people are definitely reading it!

x3!

Please do keep posting. Like others have said, many people read your trip report but few post messages.

[mjmcgowan]

Thanks for the comments, good to know people are reading

Will get some photos from Timor Leste up in a few days

Martin & Nicole

[HumphreyBear]

Hey Martin,

Now subscribed. For me responding to someone's posts can be a balancing act - if too many people post random "love your work" comments then great updates and blogs can get drowned out, if no-one does you won't realise the avid audience you have. But with that in mind: great photos and love your work! :0)

Feel free to drop me a line when you are approaching Sydney - there are many Australians on here who would probably like to buy you dinner or a beer (or two dozen) and hear a tale or two (dozen)...

Humphrey

[MP@HOME]

Keep posting ,for some of Us is the only way to see other countries.
Thank You and safe travels.

[mjmcgowan]

it's a little unnerving seeing our car being stripped down for Australian Quarantine and Inspection,

http://myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/car-prep-timor-480/IMG_3259web.jpg
http://myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/car-prep-timor-480/IMG_3260web.jpg
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http://myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/car-prep-timor-480/IMG_3271web.jpg

[Dgurley2000]

That's what anyone shipping their vehicle to Australia has to look forward to? Seems like for some of these custom rigs it would be near impossible for them to put it back together satisfactorily :(

[Beowulf]

Agreed. Australia was on my list to ship my vehicle to, but after seeing this type of destruction, I would never trust that it would be put back together again properly....at least not in a timely manner. I guess it is better to just hire out a kitted vehicle over there.

[bobDog]

I have never heard of this happening before???????? I have never been there but my cousin lives there....I'll have to ask him....weird:Wow1:

[mjmcgowan]

Hi All, it's all done to satisfy the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, that it's clean and free of all quarantine risk material (QRM), including live insects, seeds, soil, mud, clay, animal faeces, animal material, plant material such as straw, twigs, leaves, roots, bark, food refuse and other debris prior to arrival in Australia.

Some people get through without going to such an extent, but we have heard several vehicles have been deported back to the country of origin if they fail the inspection, which we want to avoid.

The car should be back together in a couple of days. We're also worried about it being put back together the the way it was. Most of the work is putting back the trim and upholstery, dash etc which should be straight forward.

We have a lot of plastic on the vehicle which had to be removed and cleaned in addition to removing the radiator to fully clean it on both sides. The underneath of the car needs to be thoroughly cleaned, also the inside of the chassis needs to be clear of any mud i.e if you run water through the holes they need to run clear.

an extract from the AQIS web site:

Importing Motor Vehicles

All vehicles must be thoroughly cleaned, both internally and externally before arrival in Australia. It is the importer's responsibility to ensure each consignment is clean and free of all quarantine risk material (QRM), including live insects, seeds, soil, mud, clay, animal faeces, animal material, plant material such as straw, twigs, leaves, roots, bark, food refuse and other debris prior to arrival in Australia.


AQIS inspects motor vehicles for cleanliness on arrival in Australia. In the case of break-bulk shipments, the inspection must occur within the wharf precinct. For containerised cargo, the inspection must occur at a Quarantine Approved Premises (QAP). Your customs broker/freight forwarder will have a list of AQIS approved premises. Either yourself or your agent must inform AQIS of your chosen QAP. Please note charges may apply for unpacking and storage at the QAP. Please contact the QAP to establish the exact cost of this function.


An AQIS officer will inspect all areas of the vehicle. If the vehicle is found to be contaminated, AQIS will direct it for cleaning at the importer's expense. The vehicle will then be re-inspected by AQIS. If the vehicle is found to be heavily contaminated it may be exported from Australia at the importer's expense.


You will need to contact the AQIS regional office (http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/about/contact/regional) in the port at which the vehicle is arriving to arrange an inspection. They can also provide you with more detailed information as they will be carrying out the inspection.


Please contact the relevant AQIS regional office (http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/about/contact/regional) for the current costs of quarantine services.

Be aware of the following points when importing used motor vehicles:

1. Your vehicle must be thoroughly clean from soil and road grime, plant matter and seeds. Important points to check are:



wheels, wheel guards, mud guards
spare tyre and boot
engine bay—remove water from windshield reservoir and ensure your radiator is clean and free of debris in the cooling fins
the underside of the vehicle must be clean
above and around fuel tank
inside chassis rails
under seats

A few more pics:

http://myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/car-prep-timor-480/IMG_3282web.jpg
http://myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/car-prep-timor-480/IMG_3284web.jpg
http://myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/car-prep-timor-480/IMG_3286web.jpg
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http://myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/car-prep-timor-480/IMG_3302web.jpg

[rideglobally]

we just found this thread great posting, we also have been looking at your website and we will continue to follow it.

[HumphreyBear]

Hi Martin,
Are you having this done in Indonesia (by the look of the workers..). Yes the rules with AQIS are strict, yes they are a pain in the proverbial and yes they are for a good reason. What is happening to your vehicle is beyond what AQIS expect though, and I suspect you may be being fleeced. Have a look at this web site by a well-known overlander for his preparations: http://xor.org.uk/travel/oz2010/20091118a.htm . His preparations were thorough and intensive, but they didn't involve ripping the guts out they way your vehicle 'preparation' has. Also, if a vehicle fails inspection it can be spot cleaned (the bit that failed) by an authorised cleaner in Australia, it would only be if the owner refused to do this that it would be exported again.

Australian Army vehicles from Afghanistan are subject to the same rules as civilian vehicles and they don't go to anywhere near this extent. In fact this looks like they people doing it for you have watched too many reality TV shows about the American DEA stripping cars they know to have drugs in them.

Humphrey

[HumphreyBear]

I thought this might be of interest to you regarding the process of another vehicle being prepared for (re)import from Russia where they were travelling up to Magadan and back along the Road of Bones from Vladivostok: http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/threeinatruck/1/1314615275/tpod.html

Humphrey

[mjmcgowan]

Hi Humphrey,

Thanks for the link an interesting read..... i still think stripping it down was the quickest, and best way to ensure it passes inspection, the door trim has to come off, the loose carpet has to come out and be cleaned, we have to clean under the seats, the tar and mud has to be scraped off the plastic wheel arches and the bumper, the dust and debris has to be removed from the loose dash and rear trim where we have a spare battery, if our car had less plastic maybe it would be easier, we could have just hoovered up inside, but given its age, its condition and 3 days of labour...

From the Link:

http://xor.org.uk/travel/oz2010/20091118.htm

This page is a summary of, and an index to, the cleaning of Man (my Bimobil EX480 expedition campervan). Even though Man is a relatively new vehicle and has not (yet) been to many countries the process of cleaning it inside and out "as new" has taken more than 130 hours!
1. Wheels and Tyres. (9 Hours)
2. Rear Storage Boxes. (5 Hours)
3. Wheel arches and mud guards. (7 Hours)
4. Air Filter. (3 Hours)
5. Toilet. (5 Hours)
6. Gas Locker. (1 Hour)
7. Table Locker. (2 Hours)
8. Battery Compartment. (3 Hours)
9. Underrun Bar. (1 Hour)
10. Water and Water Tanks. (2 Hours)
11. Engine and Under Cab. (6 Hours)
12. Cab Interior. (10 Hours)
13. Dirty Things.
14. The Roof. (6 Hours)
15. Storage Locker. (4 Hours)
16. The Cabin Interior. (16 Hours)
17. Fumigation and Insects. (2 Hour)
18. Outside, Windows and Doors. (6 Hours)
19. Electric Steps. (7 Hours)
20. The Chassis. (30 Hours)
The best source of detailed information I found about how to clean a vehicle destined for Australia was this one prepared for the Australian military. (Read, weep and think hard if you really want to take your vehicle to Oz!).
Note: If you were wondering if I had someone standing around all the time taking photographs, no I didn't. I often just set my camera up on a tripod to take one photograph every 10 seconds and selected the best shots afterwards.

[HumphreyBear]

Well, as long as it all gets put back together properly then at least you'll have the cleanest car in Darwin/Brisbane or wherever you land!

[Ray Hyland]

Martin,
I think the approach you have taken is wise. Given the cost of labour in TL vs in Darwin, getting the work done there makes sense. Plus, given the number of countries you have passed through and the length of time you have been on the road, I assume the Aussie authorities would give your vehicle a very thorough going over.

Does it still need to be "gassed" once it is in the container? When I shipped a vehicle from Singapore I had to have that done as well.

Please keep posting, the pictures and reports are great. I read some of them here, and some on FB, and some on your blog, but I do read almost all of them.

Have you had a chance to explore much of TL?

Ray

[mjmcgowan]

Tomorrow’s D-day, when we have the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) inspect our car, if all goes well we should be on the road by late afternoon!!

Our rough plan for the next few months below:

• Darwin - Cairns, along the Savannah way, (Litchfield Park, Kakadu National Park, Katherine, Roper Hwy, Lawn Hill, Gregory) time and weather permitting we will try and head up to Cape York.
• Cairns to Katherine via Alice Springs
• Katherine to Bromme via the Gibb river road, kununurra
• Broome to Perth via Karijini national Park, Exmouth, Shark Bay, Kalbarri NP, Pinnacles Desert

We expect the temperature and humidity on the way back through Katherine and WA to skyrocket up to 38c, which will make the journey a little more uncomfortable… with the possibly of rain too, we will need to be careful and keep an eye on the weather.

It looks like Australia is going to be one hell of an adventure!

If anyone else has driven any of these routes, it would be great to hear your experiences…

[lostworldexpedition]

Subscribed! What a great trip, hope to follow in your footsteps.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[mjmcgowan]

Passed our inspection!! Will be back on the road tomorrow!!

We did need a little more cleaning though, they went through everything from under the car to every single bag!

[Dgurley2000]

Congrats! Don't know how you could have failed after going through that serious cleaning :)

[Ray Hyland]

Passed our inspection!! Will be back on the road tomorrow!!


Woo Hoo! Well done.

[mjmcgowan]

Over the last few days we have travelled south from Darwin, via Katherine, we're currently making a camp for the night in Borroloola, on the Savannah Way, day time temp is up at 39C.. with no air con to save fuel, it's a little uncomfortable, not to mention the night!!

Tomorrow we have 600km to cover, and a couple of river crossings on the way!!

[mjmcgowan]

Its been a while since we’ve posted on the forum, but here’s a few updates since arriving in Australia:

The Savannah Way (http://myoverlandadventure.com/the-savannah-way-outback-australia/)

Katherine Gorge (http://myoverlandadventure.com/katherine-gorge-nt-australia/)

The Beginning of the End (http://myoverlandadventure.com/the-beginning-of-the-end/)

We are currently in Cairns, given its starting to rain and way to humid up north, we have decided to head down the east, and on to the west in the new year.

We have lots more to post... soon

[mjmcgowan]

A couple of pics from Fraser Island - Australia -- Oz Pics (http://www.facebook.com/MyOverlandAdventure?sk=photos)

[Dgurley2000]

Thanks for sharing. Looks like a great adventure. I really like this photo:

77000

[hks3sgte]

:Wow1: holy crap, I may have just skipped OZ if I had to tear apart my car like that... Good thing it all worked out in the end for you! Good reading

[mjmcgowan]

Hi All

New Site: http://overlandsphere.comOver the last few weeks we have put together an new overlanding site. The site will bring you the latest blog updates from around the world and is designed to be a research tool for overlanders archiving past and current blogs. We hope it will become a great resource for overlanders going forward.

The site is now live, so please have a look, it's during the early stages of website, when we have the flexibility to make numerous changes, so any suggestions would be welcome.

If you have your own blog and would like to sign up please follow this link: Register (http://overlandsphere.com/registerrss)

Overland Sphere

Spanning the globe to bring you the latest overland news and blogs

About

Overland Sphere is a collective of overland blogs from around the world. The purpose is to make available not just the latest blogs but also provide an archive of past adventures for the overlanding community.

Whether you’re researching your next big trip or just looking for inspiration, we have carefully scanned through hundreds of posts and categorised them in an easily navigable format, so that you can find the information that most interests you!

While planning our own Overland Adventure we spent hundreds of hours researching; we found the most relevant information was contained within other people’s blogs. We continued this on the road too but found browsing through many blogs, trying to search for information about a specific country extremely time-consuming.

This gave us the idea to set up this site.

How does it work?

The site uses your blogs RSS feed to populate blog posts. It can do this in two ways, the entire feed including all text and pictures or just an excerpt from the feed.

Our site posts your blog, categorises it by location, tags the post with additional other useful information like border crossings, sites of interest, towns, to make your manual navigation of the site and posts easier.

We have also installed a search engine which searches all the posts and will output relevant results, based on your search terms.

[mjmcgowan]

So far the launch of OverlandSphere.com seems to be a success,

We have had many overlanders in various stages of their trip sign up, whether completed, on the road or planning, which has given us over 400 new posts in the first 2 days, with hundreds more to come.

Notably several members of this forum have contributed, Lost World Expedition , The Road Chose Me, From A to B , Drive Nacho Drive, Going Overland, Land Rover Overland, Overland Nomads, PanAm Notes, and others.

We have had great feedback on the site so far and believe the site will become a great resource for all, (although no feedback on this post :-(...) ?
We are looking forward to the New Year, bringing you continuous new material, and building a unique overlanding resource, in addition to working with WikiOverland.org (http://wikioverland.org/) and Expedition Portal!

To make this happen we need your help!! to spread the word,

We need new overlanders to join to have fresh feeds and content, but we also need the help of those who have completed their trips to contribute too to help build the archive behind the site.

You can help us @ OverlandSphere (http://overlandsphere.com)

Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/OverlandSphere) Google+ (https://plus.google.com/b/110258020271497778566/)

Martin & Nicole

[mjmcgowan]

Hi All,

Roof tent or Not?

We are currently starting our preparation for the South American stage of our trip.

We have so far travelled from the UK to Oz without a roof tent , and if we were do the same trip again we probably would not buy one the following reasons:

• Along our route we found there was a lot of good quality and reasonably cheap accommodation,
• When we did camp we used pop up ground tent which took little time to set up.
• Where we found it was not suitable to set up a tent because the location / ground / time of night we were able to sleep in the vehicle
• In many areas due to safety it was not really an option to camp in a ground tent or to sleep in the vehicle / roof tent,
• Climate, in several countries due to the humidity or cold again it made more sense to use cheap accommodation.

For South America we are trying to weigh up whether we continue as we are using a mixture of ground tent, sleeping the vehicle or using cheap accommodation or to invest in a new roof rack and Roof tent. If we were able to make use of the roof tent regularly and found other accommodation expensive it would porbably make sense.

It would be great if others could share their experiences of using or not using a roof tent in south America.

i.e. how many nights a month would you use the roof tent vs staying in paid accommodation, even though you were using the roof tent would the location you camped at be suitable for a ground tent, did you find using a roof tent drew unwanted attention etc. etc.?


Many thanks

Martin & Nicole

[lostworldexpedition]

This is a very debatable topic. I almost would rather not reply :)

I'll give you my opinion based on what you mention... It sounds to me like you would be fine without a RTT. If you have traveled this long without one I truly don't think SA would make you change your mind. You will find reasonably priced hotels in most areas that you will visit (depending on your budget and tolerance for younger party backpackers in some locations). A RTT will be nearly useless in Patagonia due to high winds. In many places that you can camp in a RTT you can just as easily camp in a ground tent. Our main gripe with the RTT is once you park and setup camp it is a PITA to disassemble if you want to take the truck somewhere.

That being said, our favorite spots throughout the nearly 3 years we have been driving around the America's have been places we camped on our RTT. I would never trade my tent for a ground tent, ever. It takes no time to set up and our bedding is always in it. I really like sleeping off the ground; you get better views, no worried with rain, easy to clean your feet, etc. I would much rather stay on my thin mattress than any hotel within our budget and many nicer ones... We are actually staying at a nice hotel in Nasca, Peru at the moment (camping in their parking lot :)) The only thing we have been drooling over lately is an indoor living area (about sprinter short chassis size :))

Good luck!

BTW When are you planning on arriving to these shores


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mjmcgowan]

Hey Luis,

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I think if we have the oportunity to buy one from ebay at a good price we will, otherwise it goes back to the bottom of the wish list.

We are planning on leaving Australia at the end of September however shipping takes around 60 days,

Look forward to sharing a beer or two!

Martin

[lostworldexpedition]

Sounds good! We are going to leave the LandCruiser in Chile this June while we go work in the U.S. until December. The coffers need some refilling in order to continue our trip.
We should be back in Chile and on the road December 4th... it sounds like we may be able to have a few beers or perhaps some pisco sours then.

Cheers!

[landcruising]

In many areas due to safety it was not really an option to sleep in the vehicle / roof tent,

Where and when was this?


We have been sleeping 75% of the time in our RTT from the Netherlands to Vietnam in 3 1/2 years.
In the last 5 years in South America we have been sleeping less then 25% in the RTT. Mostly sleeping inside the vehicle, climate wise and the RTT getting less weather proof due to aging.

I am with Luis, and say that if you have survived without a RTT for so long, you are not going to want one now for South America.

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

[mjmcgowan]

Hey Coen, thanks for the feedback,


Where and when was this?Coen

Mainly through the Stan’s and parts of India, for example most places on Kyrgyzstan were 100% safe when were there and ideal for camping, however in Osh there had been recent ethnic tension which resulted many deaths so it would not be advisable to camp in the local area, the locals even suggested not to go out at all at night..

Same with Pakistan, Northern Pakistan felt safe with sparse population, however once you start heading down the KKH towards Besham, or you are in the more populated cities we did not feel comfortable camping, again India many safe places to camp however if you are in the more populated cities, is not such a great idea,

There are even parts of the UK I would not sleep in my vehicle, let alone park the vehicle overnight in the street, Essentially it comes down to what you’re comfortable with…

[mjmcgowan]

Hi All

If you like the pic below would you mind supporting us and voting for our picture in the ARB photo competition, by clicking the following link and pressing vote?

http://apps.facebook.com/promotionshq/contests/262013/voteable_entries/55798340

http://cdn.myoverlandadventure.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/1203__590x360_IMG_3297Web.jpg


Many thanks

Martin & Nicole