Where are you from?

We are from Northern Canada.

When did you start your interest in exploration?

I (Kyla) have been interested in and fascinated by other places and cultures for as long as I can remember. My grandparents had a National Geographic VHS about Bali and I was obsessed with it. It was just so different from everything I knew and it opened up the realization that there's a big, wide world out there and I wanted to explore it. In elementary school, whenever someone would ask what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say that I wanted to travel for a living, but since that wasn't really a job, I'd find a job that paid me enough money to let me travel! 

But...growing up I also HATED camping and greatly disliked sleeping on the ground in a tent. The idea of traveling the world in our own tiny home on wheels, essentially camping, is something that started to grow on me when we returned home from our family gap year in 2018. This isn't initially based on a love of camping, but a love for the freedom it provides us. The camping bit has grown on me.

What is a brief understanding of your background story up until you started seeking adventure?

I grew up in a middle class home, following the "typical" life path. I graduated from high school, moved away to University, bought a house, got married and had kids. The tipping point was really when I opened my own optometry business. All of a sudden I was in charge of my own life, and I had the freedom to decide how I was going to live it. 

We took the girls to SE Asia when they were 6 mo and 2yo, as a way to prove to ourselves (and all the nay sayers) that it was possible to travel with kids. The idea of a gap year started to form not long after that trip. We spent years setting up the business to allow me (and my business partners) to be able to take extended periods of time off. 

During our gap year, we met an American guy on his way to Australia to pick up a Land Cruiser. That interaction was my first introduction to overland travel and I was immediately hooked. We love backpacking, but the idea of having my own bed with me all the time, and not having to rely on public transportation, sounded amazing. By the time we returned home from our gap year we were already planning our next big adventure...to drive around the world.

What special skills do you have to help with your explorations?

I am a master trip planner! I love doing it and have spent a lot of time practicing. I do more research than actual planning as we like to be flexible when possible. It's nice to have an idea of where we want to go and what we'd like to do when we get there. My Google Map is full of pins of campsites, activities & restaurants. 

Randy is very mechanically inclined, which is incredibly important when travelling with a Land Rover! He did most of the camper build himself, and is in charge of all the maintenance & repairs on the road. 

Where have you explored so far?

As a family, we've travelled to 81 countries together. About half of this has been either backpacking or on "regular" vacations. We've backpacked through most of SE Asia, Central Asia (Uzbekistan & Kyrgyzstan), South Asia, a bit of the Middle East (Jordan, UAE, Oman, Israel), West Africa (Morocco, Egypt, Togo, Benin & Burkina Faso), Central America (every country except Nicaragua), the western side of South America & the Guyanas. We tend to prefer more "off the beaten path" destinations, where we're pushed out of our comfort zone and aren't as likely to encounter hordes of other tourists. 

With Gimli, our 2003 Land Rover Defender 110 TD5, we've driven through every province in Canada, and through almost every country in Europe. 

What is a brief understanding of your adventures so far?

Gimli drove out of our driveway on April 12, 2022. Since then, we've alternated approximately 3 months traveling followed by 3 months at home. This gives us a great balance between our adventure lifestyle and maintaining the relationships and stability of home. It also allows us to follow the Schengen 90 days in/90 days out rule!

We started by driving across Canada, from Coast to Coast, before shipping Gimli from Halifax to Liverpool in the summer of 2022. In Europe, we've spent 321 days adventuring, and have driven 43,000km. Gimli has drive through every country in Europe north and west of Serbia, including Ukraine, Belarus and Iceland. Some countries were just a quick stopover, we didn't even spend the night in Monaco! Others we've explored deeper, like Italy, where we spent over a month. A lot of the time, Europe has felt more like a road trip rather than wild & free overlanding. We tend to be a bit wimpy and have only spent about 2/3 of the nights sleeping in the vehicle. It's been the perfect place to get us all used to the rhythms and routines of traveling with 4 people in 34 sqft of living space! 

What are the top three destinations you hope to explore next, and why?

We're excited to complete our goal of driving Gimli through every country in Europe. By the time we're finished our Spring 2025 trip we'll only have Cyprus left, which is going to have to wait a bit while we spend some time at home regrouping and prepping for the leg that we're all excited for, the Arabian Peninsula! 

So I guess the top 3 destinations we hope to explore are:

1. Turkey, it looks like overlanding heaven with wild camping, friendly people and delicious food. 
2. Cyprus, because it will be the final point we visit in Europe. Plus, it's a beautiful country and is a bit of a hassle to get to, which makes it more interesting for me!
3. The Arabian Peninsula, because we just can't wait to push ourselves out of our comfort zones again and feel like we're truly exploring and not just going on a road trip.

Where would you recommend others visit?

Canada is an incredible country for adventurers, with tons of free camping, wide open spaces and gorgeous scenery. But, I'm a bit biased! 

Iceland is also incredible, especially if you've got your own 4x4 wheels and can get away from the hordes (and I mean HORDES) of people traveling in rented campers of all shapes and sizes. Go in the off season to beat the crowds, OR go during the summer but spend your time on the "F" roads of the interior highlands.

Spain was the place in Europe where we felt like we were doing more than just road tripping and camping. We drove some great dirt tracks, found wild camping spots with mind blowing views, and met some truly remarkable friends. 

How do you primarily travel on your adventures today?

Gimli, our 2003 Land Rover Defender 110 TD5.

• Alucab Icarus pop top conversion. This allows us to lift the roof, providing space to stand inside, and it also includes a pull down "upstairs" bed for the parents to sleep on at night. 
• Custom built interior cabinetry. It comes off the wall & fills the load bay to create a "downstairs" bed for the girls to sleep on. 
• Wabasto Heater. This diesel heater has been used MANY nights as we've been in Europe in the spring and fall, and the evenings get chilly. It pushes out enough air to keep everyone warm both upstairs and downstairs!

What are five pieces of equipment that you always travel with?

1. My Go Girl & Nalgene pee bottle. This is seriously my favourite thing as it means we can discretely pee in the vehicle when there's no toilet around.
2. Lifesaver Jerry Can. We haven't actually needed this yet, but as we end up in more remote places on the planet it will become indispensable. And we still use it for all our drinking water so we're always confident our water is safe.
3. Scrubba. We choose to book campsites with laundry facilities when we need to do a lot of laundry, but the scrubba is a fantastic back up and allows us to wash a few articles of clothing when we're desperate for clean clothes. 
4. Coffee Set up. We start every day with coffee and would be absolutely lost without our Timemore grinder, Picopresso, Stanley French press and Jet boil. 
5. Vacuum. I use our little USB chargeable Solis car vacuum almost every day to get dirt & crumbs out of all the nooks & crannies. 

What inspires you to explore more?

We have an insatiable desire to see as much of the world as we possibly can. The thrill of discovering hidden gems, exploring new places and seeing iconic landmarks is an addiction we just can't get enough of! 

How do you engage with others?

Our entire family is quite social, and we tend to meet people all over the place. Sometimes it's as easy as parking beside another Land Rover and starting up a conversation. Other times, we meet people online through Facebook communities and then have the opportunity to meet in real life. The Defender community around the world is like one giant family, and we're so grateful to be a part of it. 

Why is it important to embrace global cultures?

Recognizing and celebrating differences is something that is important to us, both when we travel and at home. No two people are the same, and it is these differences that make our world and our lives interesting. Embracing different cultures as we travel expands our minds and helps us realize that there is no "one way" to live. It's the genuine appreciation of different cultures that allows us to grow as humans, which is incredibly important for us as parents, as we want our kids to understand and appreciate everyone's uniqueness. 

What are your goals when you explore?

Finding incredible food is always number one on our list! We LOVE eating and finding delicious local foods is always something we're on the hunt for. 

The other goal is just to enjoy our time as a family. As our kids get older the time seems to become more precious, so just being together, in the moment, and appreciating the togetherness, is something we're mindful of. 

Plus, we're ALL box checkers, so we love crossing over a country border and checking off a new country on our list!

What are some challenges you have experienced?

Balancing time exploring versus time at home has been a challenge, made a bit more complicated with the Schengen 90day rule. We want to be home for the kid's summer camp in July, and skiing in the winter, so this has pushed us into shoulder season in Europe. Sometimes this is great, but more often than not it's been colder and wetter than what's ideal when living in a house with canvas walls. It tested our resilience however, and occasionally (more than I'd like to admit) sent us on the hunt for an AirBnB to wait out the rain. 

The other challenge is ensuring we're balancing the needs and wants of all 4 people in our family. We all have different likes and interests and we always want to make sure we're finding activities that keep everyone engaged. This means we might be off-roading on an old military mountain road one day, and at a neon museum in the city another day. 

What has been your most meaningful moment so far?

It's difficult to pinpoint one moment that's had the biggest impact or has been the most meaningful. This lifestyle is more about the small moments, that when pieced together, turn into big moments. If I had to pick just one though, it would be the moment we picked up Gimli from the port in Liverpool. Being reunited with our adventure vehicle on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean was really the moment that made it all seem real. 

How has exploration changed you?

It's made us more adaptable, resilient, and more comfortable being uncomfortable. There's so many unknowns with overland travel, often we don't even know where we're going to spend the night. But we also have learned that we'll figure it out together, that we can count on each other. It's actively shaping the people our kids are going to grow into, which is exciting and terrifying! 

What is the number one lesson that you have learnt through your exploration?

Always check the map BEFORE you start driving! There's nothing worse than heading off in a particular direction just to figure out, once the map is loaded, that it's the wrong direction. We've done this more times than I can count...it's turned into a running joke in our house! 

How do you explore locally?

We spend about half of our lives in and around our home base in Canada. It's a bit embarrassing to say, but we don't tend to do a whole lot of local exploring! Home time is for working and catching up with friends and family. That said, we do try to get out in nature periodically, skiing in the winter and hiking and camping in the summer. These tend to be more laid back adventures, and are usually enjoyed with friends!

What does the explmore mantra mean to you?

The mantra embodies exactly why we've chosen to live this adventure lifestyle. It's driven by curiosity about the world and cultures around us, and also a desire to continue to grow into compassionate, resilient humans. All while raising our girls to be compassionate resilient humans. The opportunity to experience, first hand, other cultures, people and places shapes their perspective in a way that can't be replicated in a classroom. Constantly pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone, making ourselves vulnerable, changes us for the better. With greater resilience, compassion and global perspective, we can give back to the world in a meaningful way.

What advice would you give to others who are seeking life changing adventure?

Do what makes you happy! There are as many different types of adventures as there are people on the planet, and no two journeys will look alike. Don't get caught up doing what you think you "should" be doing, or what social media tells you a life changing adventure should look like. Find out what makes YOU happy, what balance & style is right for your life, and then chase after it with wild abandon.