OverlandSphere
Overland Travel, Expedition & Adventure Information for 4x4, motorcycle and truck overlanders
Travel with Purpose. Wow. When we first began our little adventure, im not sure we could have even told you what “Overland Travel” meant. We were simply looking to change our current lives and mindsets, and couldn’t think of a much better way to do that than to remove ourselves. We set out on a bit of a walkabout (or…
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…
This is elephant land! Every park we have visited has been special in its own way, and on our entry into Makgadigadi we were introduced to the large mammals who would be our constant companions in this and the next parks. The western entrance to Makgadigadi – Khumaga Gate – requires a typical African ferry crossing. Much like our experience…
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…
We saw them! The rhino. They are a rare sight these days, but fortunately there are some left. I wonder how long we will still have rhino due to the demand for their horn – and therefore the subsequent poaching – from the Far East. Khama Rhino Sanctuary was set up to provide a safe haven for rhino. After a…
We were supposed to go camping with the children the previous weekend. The weather changed dramatically and we all decided that it will be better to stay at home. The nice thing about that was that we had very good family time with Eretha and Vin while it was pouring outside nonstop for 24 hours. So this Friday we, Naas…
Way back in the spring of 2010, when we were planning our ‘final’ circumnavigation route we used Google maps to locate two points exactly opposite each other to be our antipodal points. One was in north eastern Mongolia, the other on Ruta 7 in southern Chile. Imagine our horror in December 2012, when, having already visited our first antipodal point,…
Although the border crossing into Botswana had been hasslefree, the day time temperature was rising, and we were eager from some shade. Although it is autumn, the day time temperatures still reach well into the 20’s. We were eager for a bit of shade to park up and rest through “silly hour” – the early afternoon hours when no…
It was completely dark when we reached the campsite, and the guard at the entrance to this side of the park looked at us suspiciously when we arrived. After producing park permits, camping bookings, and the receipt for the cultural walk he let us in. We proceeded to the campsite where we had to “take down” the electric fence before…
Cuesta del Diablo After our brief stay in Coihaique we continued our route south, down the Carretera Austral, stopping briefly to take in the scenery overlooking the Cuesta del Diablo. Although the autumn leaves were falling thick and fast just a few hundred miles north east in Argentina only a week or so ago, here the colours of autumn are…
Tomorrow we’re heading home. How very odd. The timing is great. The heat (really the humidity) here in Costa is now unbearable most days. Reminds me why i left the south. The rainy season has also entered the scene like someone flipped a switch. It downpours daily. It’s a refreshing reprieve from the heat…but the bus is far from watertight. …
Scenery along the Carretera It seems to have been forever since we passed our last significant marker on our attempt at a true circumnavigation overland, which was our first crossing of the equator back in Ecuador. Within a few days we are due to be at our second antipodean point, and tonight we reached Coihaique, the nearest main town to…
Even the car on the drive still remains buried in the ash at this house. Having stayed the night in Chaiten we took a look around the streets and the remains of this once provincial capital. Destroyed by volcanic eruption in 2008 it now stands as a sad shadow of its former glory. Many of the houses still stand as…
At least we had a beautiful place to camp while Paul did his repair work. After our second attempt at leaving the El Bolson campsite we made it. We spent longer there than anticipated thanks to a little ‘bug’ which hit us both. However our first attempt at leaving was delayed when we stopped to get some printing and posting…
(by NK – ie; much shorter than the last few posts) Panama was another place that we knew little about, well exceeded our expectations and we feel we barely scratched the surface of. We stopped only really in 3 places – the beautiful coffee town of Boquete where we met fabulous new friends & Alex got his coffee fix, Panama…
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After the poor experiences of National Parks in Senegal, we were looking forward to visiting the wondrous parks of Southern Africa. Kruger Park is a real favourite of ours, and particularly the opportunity to enjoy walking through the bush – with guide of course. Walking is – for us – the ultimate way to experience the bush. It allows you…
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Wow, wow followed by many more wows…. the Danakil Depression, or more specifically Erta Ale Volcano &, I believe, one of only 6 permanent lava lakes in the world.Getting into the Danakil Depression is not an easy undertaking – we really wanted to go in our own vehicles, but the fragile security in the region, the bureaucracy involved & the…
The water pump is a well-known weak point at the BMW F650GS. Most bikes of this model have it replaced sooner or later. The water-pump of Heike’s F650GS now failed in Thailand – after 70000 km. “Filippo McGyver” demonstrated how it can be repaired and temporarily replaced by a washing-machine. The pump of Heike’s F650GS failed without any warning and…
Basic but appealing. 500km north of Johannesburg is the Makuya National Park. Makuya is a small park that shares a fenceless border with the Kruger National Park. It is situated just outside the northern part of Kruger, and is about an hour drive from the Pafuri Gate. The online information about the park tells you that “this awesome camp is…
My favorite woodland creature Happy Birthday to Van en Van’s Top Commenter: MY BEAUTIFUL MOTHER. On her birthday, I would like to recognize all the things she has given me, among them: an appreciation ( if not a deep knowledge) of nature In the garden A bleeding heart for hungry souls The patron saint of stray dogs A love of…
A próxima parada seria a Ilha do Cardoso, mas a parada foi abortada devido a hora em que chegamos em Cananéia.Deveriamos estar bem cedo na cidade para pegar um dos barcos que levam turistas a Ilha do Cardoso, que fica cerca de 20 minutos de barco, mas as paradas atrasaram nossa chegada.Ao sairmos do hotel no centro da ilha, atravessamos…
ICAPARA -SP Icapara é na verdade um bairro de Iguape e ainda no século 16 tinha o nome de Freguesia de Nossa senhora das Neves da Vila de Iguape, mas muitos historiadores relatam a presença de europeus no ano 1498, ou seja, antes do descobrimento oficial do Brasil. Hoje asfaltada, a estrada que leva a Icapara (de Iguape) tem 25 Km…
ILHA COMPRIDA – SP Partimos hoje de santos sem nenhuma pressa com destino a Ilha Comprida, litoral sul de São Paulo.O objetivo é ficar por aqui por dois dias, para baixar um pouco a adrenalina da saída e para reorganizar a bagunça que nós chamamos de bagagem. Reorganizamos todas as caixas e malas.Apesar de todo o planejamento para que nada…
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.…
Roadside radiator repair While following the beautiful country lanes of the Ruta Interlagos today we became aware of an unwelcome smell – water coolant leaking out into a hot engine compartment. The bumpy corrugations of the Ruta Interlagos has caused the radiator to jump off its mounting, lurch backward into the engine compartment, pushing the bottom hose on to the…
We are delighted to report that things have continued on a positive note in Ethiopia. It really seems now that our experience in the south was unique to the area. Yes, there is still begging, but not on the level that we experienced in our first few days. In fact the overwhelming impression that we now have of the average…
Having reached Cunco in the Chilean lake district we stopped at a lovely little campsite, “San Pablo”, for a couple of nights. out came the kelly kettle Unfortunately while we were there our Coleman dual fuel (and dual burner) stove broke down (again). This otherwise amazing bit of camping kit had lasted Paul for some fifteen or more years of…