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Immerse yourself in the true account of one couple's global trek in an age before smartphones, GPS, and hashtags. Explore more with Alec and Jan across Europe, Africa, and Asia in a Series Land Rover during the late seventies.
Comparing a lot of the differences they experienced as the result of global events, technology, accessibility and their interactions with others you'll find inspiration that speaks to today's adventure opportunities.
To celebrate the generous hospitality of strangers welcoming us into our homes and willing to direct us along the route, and the opportunity to be helpful to others.
Overlanding in that era had a few key differences from today. First, there were no cell phones or social media. My parents wrote letters home to England and would send their parents the next anticipated city so that their parents could write to them there.
My dad, a former military man, could not turn down a chance for an epic panorama and bragging rights. Just the year before he had been stationed in the Antarctic and stood at the southernmost point, the South Pole, making the highest point of the highest road an enviable challenge.
“We drove through stunning valleys, passes, and gorges. We saw many nomadic encampments with black tents pitched and fires glowing brightly where the women were cooking,” my mum Jan recalls. “Children ran to the roadside, waving excitedly to welcome us. We waved back with joy.”
“We felt well prepared for the challenge and excited to see how our Land Rover would perform off road, using all its cross-country capabilities,” my mum recalls. As the last road ended, there were “no markers, no cairns, no stakes, just dozens of wheel tracks going every which way through the sand.”
“Often you are passing those who are coming from the place you are headed,” my Mum reflects. “One benefit of today’s instant social connectivity is the ability to engage with others ahead of time.”