OverlandSphere
Overland Travel, Expedition & Adventure Information for 4x4, motorcycle and truck overlanders
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…
We are suffering from a bit of sensory overload after three days in Etosha. It is not easy to describe the scenery, the vegetation, the vastness of the Etosha Pan, or the animals we saw. Or the numbers of animals we saw… Etosha National Park started out in the early 1900s as a 90,000 square kilometre park, but the last…
I have put off writing this blog for a long time. Somehow, putting it all into words seemed as though it might somehow lesson the magic of our time in New Zealand. New Zealand was like a dream, a country we felt connected to long before we ever arrived on her shores. It offered everything we love; stunning coastlines, jagged…
Elephants. Not just a few – many. Not just one herd – many. It is funny how some places appeal to you, and some don’t. Moremi really appeals to both of us. It is a lovely mixture of forest, grass, plains, and water – both river and water holes. It is a peaceful park. Although there are other vehicles around…
Magic. I’m running out of superlatives, and it is difficult not to repeat myself when writing these posts. Central Kalahari Game Reserve lies in the middle of Botswana. It is the size of Switzerland or Denmark, and probably does not contain more than about 300 people at any given time. It has 36 campsites, and a few lodges, and nothing…
Chugchilan, Ecuador [by Paula] We have become proficient enough at getting ourselves lost without any help from anyone, so we really don’t need someone telling us that when we’re going north we’re actually going sideways. Jeremy reacts to seeing the equator by displaying his Ministry of Silly Walks repertoire. And so it was when we crossed the equator. We pulled…
After 20 months of planning and preparing the trip the time has arrived to begin. The final weeks were hectic and stressful just getting to the start line. But I got there with a load of help from my support team, advisers, helpers and friends. It was truly a team effort to get me on my way. And I just…
It might have been inevitable. Even as we purchased our Palomino Pop-Top Camper two years ago, the question was there; “Is this really the right camper for our long road trip south?” Logan & Brianna of PanAm Notes were completely supportive, being in mid-trip themselves with the exact same camper. Others now on the road, such as Ken & Anaka…
Campspot with a view, Tatacoa Desert, Colombia Otavalo, Ecuador [by Paula] Hello Ecuador! We’d been in Colombia so long we were in danger of starting to look suspicious to the authorities. The last customs official to renew our car permit told us one more month would be plenty to get us to the border. So we took the hint… and…
While driving around the United States we camped in many different National Parks, but Bryce is one of our favorites. Set in one of the most amazing natural settings in the world, Bryce Canyon is an outdoormans dream come true. The camping and hiking are out of this world and evenings in camp, watching the astonishing sky show of stars,…
Western Patagonia Bajo Caracoles (S47 26.675 W70 55.578, 611m) Very small settlement in middle of nowhere with petrol station and police station with not much else. It was very windy and we managed to find shelter behind a small screen of trees but there isn’t much shelter around. Toilets in Petrol station. Free. Camping El Relincho, El Chalten (S49 19.561…
So glad we stopped! We were discussing our route from Cape Town to Johannesburg when Sheelah remembered that there is a small national park in the Karoo – the Karoo National Park. It is about 450km from Hermanus – where we were staying – and provides a perfect 1/3-of-the-way stop. It must be explained here that even though we did…
Chiloe Playa Gaviotas, Ancud (S41 51.889 W73 45.707, 7m) Nice campground with beach access, although a little run down. Individual sites with big hedges for wind protection. Each site has a covered picnic table and covered tent area (with sand floor). Electricity in each of the sites. There are rundown sinks with water at each end of the camping area.…
Today we celebrate 500 days on the road! People often ask, ‘what have been the best bits?’ Impossible to answer. They range from huge awe-inspiring sights – like hiking an active volcano, gazing at Mayan ruins, or looking a snake in the eye – to little moments that would be lost in translation. It’s been 500 days of exploring, learning,…
Our lives have become busier and more hilarious since we added Aspen to the pack and became a two dog family. Although Porter and Aspen immediately got along, we didn’t see the bonding we were hoping would come. Having never had two dogs at the same time before we weren’t sure how long this might take and if it was…
I had thought that since Spring is just round the corner (although I’m not so sure having looked at the forecast for this weekend), I should finally write up about the winter bike ride in northern Scandinavia… (Feel free to skip the writing and go straight to the end where there’s a short video Shane put together) Into The Cold……
Pereira, Colombia [by Paula] Life on the road has so many advantages it’s hard to know how to begin to quantify it. I don’t think we need to explain, any more than we have, how it feels to be free – at least for this chapter of our lives. But despite all the obvious privileges, when you are travelling there…
nr Manizales, Colombia [by Paula] Cowboy country, Los Llanos We’d spent the morning watching a vet shoving his arm up the backside of several cows, then shovelling out the excess manure with a cupped hand before feeling their ovaries for signs of damage. Not for the first time did we pause and comment on how weird our life sometimes seems…
Torres del Paine has the reputation as being one of the best places to hike in the world. It also has the reputation as having some of the most changeable and wild weather in the world. When we arrived in the Park, from the quieter Western side, the famous mountains were covered in clouds which were raining – hard. We…
Bogotá, Colombia [by Jeremy] Forests of freilejons at the Paramo de Oseta gave it an other-worldly feel. A typical day at the beach in Britain is characterised by ruddy-faced hardy people huddling together behind ineffectual windbreakers, dressed in thick jumpers, raincoats, thermals and wellies. It can sometimes feel similar at the stunning white-sand beach of Playa Blanca. At least it…
(By Alex, with Nattie’s help to wrap it up. WARNING: LONG READ) The solidly branded and well-oiled tourism machine that is Costa Rica astounds with its natural beauty, annoys with its good manners and impresses with its fine-tuned business model. The country that has been surveyed as ‘the happiest in the world’ and lauded as “Latin America’s Switzerland” is indeed…
GEAR You can see the list of gear I took on the Equipment List page here. I’m no expert, but here’s a list of things I learned and did. Duct tape is your friend – tape up any exposed metal that you will be touching regularly. Metal sucks the warmth from your hands! Things like pan handles, flasks, mugs, shovel…
Still no real blog post, but do not worry – Here are some more photos from the 3-weeks of biking and camping in northern Sweden, Finland and Norway… Hopefully they speak for themselves. If you haven’t seen the photos of the beautiful landscapes we biked through that I posted last week, they’re here.…
Sogamoso, Colombia [by Paula] As we came over the mountain pass we just couldn’t believe the eye-popping views over the Chicamocha Canyon. After several months on the Colombian coast, it was like being in a different country. Caroline comes to stay I was equally incredulous when, after a long descent down the other side of the mountain, our over-heated brakes…
What I Wore / Worked for Me: Cycling: 0 to -10C: Underwear – sports/quick-dry bra and pants Bottoms – lightweight baselayer and paramo aspira waterproof trousers Top – lightweight baselayer and paramo velez adventure light smock Hands – Silk liners and pogies from Dogwood Designs Feet – coolmax liner sock + plastic bag + thick wool sock + Seeland Pac…
Until I get chance to write a proper blog post about the trip, here’s a taster with some of my favourite views from the 3 week bike ride from Kiruna in Sweden to Tromso in Norway. Enjoy….…
One of the optional extras on our Antarctic adventure was to spend a night camping on the mainland of the Antarctic continent. We couldn’t pass this up, even if Sarah had reservations of how cold it might be. We had a choice of whether to camp in bivvy bag or a tent and chose a tent for the night. No…
We started February off with our first camping trip of 2013. We needed to get away, clear our heads, and remind ourselves of all the things in our life to be grateful for. A forecast of mid-50′s and sunny didn’t hurt, but we were determined to make our escape no matter what. The last month has been an emotional…
Over landing Africa is an amazing, and often challenging way to travel. Spending the time to drive the arduous route from Nairobi through Tanzania, following the lake in Malawi before veering SW into Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Continuing through arid Namibia and finally reaching South Africa you will travel thousands of miles on a trip that takes several months to…
When we last left #teamASTRID on the Maya Rally 2012, we were in Palenque after successfully singing with mariachis, ziplining across Cañon del Sumidero and taking part in a unique fishing excursion! What will our road warriors be up to today? Day 8: White Guy Dreadlocks and Mayan Temples! After a quick breakfast of chorizo, eggs, cheese and tortillas, we…