OverlandSphere
Overland Travel, Expedition & Adventure Information for 4x4, motorcycle and truck overlanders
Brodie is back! After a long wait we received confirmation from our contact Keith that the vessel had docked, the container had been unloaded, and that it was now waiting for us at the SA Container Depot. Arrangements had been made with Customs, and the container opening was scheduled to take place at noon. Our hosts in Cape Town were…
Our travels this week (we flew) Gingers route across the stormy Southern seas! We can’t believe we are here in Colombia and about to be reunited with our beloved van!!! It’s been a bit of a challenge but we are happy to say we have completed the paperwork process unscathed. Well except for having to part with a fair bit…
Two very important points: 1) Africa changes quickly; 2) It isn’t about what you know, it is who you know… We were in Tambacounda in Senegal when the French decided to intervene in Mali, and we were at the campsite in Palmarin when the five people were killed in Casamance. It really confirmed our decision to ship our vehicle from…
We are on our way to South America! Well for the most part. The most part being the van in a container waiting at the shipyard for the boat that leaves on Sunday. It was just a couple of days ago we were hanging out on a beach in Costa Rica and got an email saying that there was a…
Location: 33° 33′ 25″ S, 115° 01′ 50″ E (Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia) Distance from Sydney: 3,351 km Here’s a free tip for all those planning to ship your car to Australia by container: Don’t. Ship it to the moon instead. It’ll be easier. When I shipped Magda to the UK she went via a roll-on roll-off (RoRo) vessel. I…
I’ve forgotten to mention quite a few things on the blog recently and its been family asking questions thats reminded me. We got back the £12,000 for the carnet we managed to swap over in cape town SARS office. The RAC in the UK were actually pretty quick so well done to them. We DHL’d the carnet back for a…
After four days bouncing around the Caribbean, it was back to reality and back to work. Our van was still in a container in the port of Cartagena and in order to drive her off we had miles of red tape to unravel. Before beginning the process there was the matter of getting ourselves from Capurganá, a small Caribbean village…
So we’ve finally booked the shipping to South America (Cape Town to Buenos Aires) with stuffing (loading the car into) the container on the 16th November. The car should be in SAm by the 21st December. The cost for this little excursion for Matilda is $5,200 USD. OMG ! (about £3400) Flights are booked to get us to Argentina a…
We’ve been lying to you all along. The truth is we can’t drive from the US to Argentina. No one can. The Pan American “highway” is a network of roads linking the majority of nations in the Americas and totaling nearly 30,000 miles. It stretches from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to the farthest reaches of South America, ending arguably in Ushuaia,…
Today has been pretty productive. We’ve contacted to shipping agents and they have committed to get us some quotes. Knowing how unreliable they are we shall see if they fulfil their commitments. (now that would be a fitting title for the next blog entry if they come through).We also went to Customs House (SARS) and after a bit of discussion…
It’s taken a while to get enough bandwith to upload some video, but we have finally managed it. This gives a look inside the ship to give a feel for what it’s like. Before you go looking at them, you better get a coffee, ideally with a few biscuits. Not a large coffee as the videos are pretty short, and…
After a few days of waiting in Honfleur in France, we finally boarded the Grande San Paulo on the 7th August, for the next part of our adventure and for us a new continent South America. At last, our ship arrives to Le Havre to bring us to South America We met our fellow passengers, and we all watched Europe…
Growing up in Miami, arguably one of the hottest/muggiest places in all of the United States, I thought I was familiar with stifling tropical heat. Cartagena, Colombia made the hottest summer in Miami seem like a visit to the North Pole. This place was downright hell on earth. The temperature in the shade would hover around 95F at 90% humidity.…
Estelí, Nicaragua [by Jeremy] We’ve been back at Spanish school in Estelí, Nicaragua while we await delivery of the new transmission – yes, still waiting. Last we heard it was, allegedly, on a ship heading this way. Meanwhile, in a desperate bid to avoid studying the present perfect subjunctive tense we’ve been playing around with some trip statistics. As journalists…
Panama 1) When you enter the country make extra sure that the import document has the right information. If it is wrong you will have to get it amended before you pass the police inspection. 2) For the Police Inspection make sure you wear proper shoes and long trousers. Sandals and shorts are not acceptable to the Police. We actually…
We had picked the worst weekend of the decade to go to Cartagena. The flights and hotels were all booked almost solid and prices were high. We didn’t realise why until we were there but the Summit of the Americas was being held this weekend. This means that all 34 presidents from North and South America were turning up for…
The process of shipping the Beast to South America had been hanging over us for a while now. Its an expensive and time consuming process that should be quick and easy but just isn’t. Ironically it looks like we may be some of the last overlanders to have to ship their vehicle as it looks like a new ferry service…
Ah yes, Buenos Aires. It is hard not to like the place; with its gorgeous architecture, good food and beautiful people. Very beautiful people. It is just how I imagined it to be, very European, the Spanish influence extremely noticeable. I arrived a few days before the bike which gave me some time to do…
In order to get to the mainland from Southern Baja there is a choice of two different ferry companies. These are Baja Ferries and TMZ. When we went to the ferry terminal the TMZ office was closed so we were stuck with Baja Ferries. The ferry terminal is about 15k South of La Paz at a place called Pichilingue. It’s…
By Paul Archer It’s a bit deserty out Leigh has an unquenchable need to fix and fiddle with things. Based purely on a love of engineering of all forms, this admirable trait in a team mechanic occasionally backfires. In one particular case it involved plugging the most important bit of electrical equipment, the GPS unit tracking our progress for the…
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 18th to 28th February Landing in KL International in the early morning, we are distinctly aware that we are not in India anymore. Everything seems new and modern, shops lined up in neat rows alongside an array of eateries, and we haven’t even left the airport yet! There is a coach leaving soon for Chinatown, which our…
India Part 6 Kerala & Tamil Nadu 1st February We have a day off and spend the day relaxing in the guest house, catching up on writing and organising our plans for the next couple of weeks. Our original plan was to drive south as far as the tip of India, Cape Comorin, from where we would drive up the…