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With Sydney firmly set as our expedition goal our first step was to research the
numerous routes that would take us there. A key objective for the expedition is
to reach Australia using as little sea travel as possible so it was immediately
clear we would be travelling through much of Europe - in our case Belgium,
France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. On reaching Turkey
we have the option of heading to the north of Afghanistan by travelling through
the ex-Soviet "Stans" or following the classic hippie trail of the '60s from
Istanbul in Turkey, through Iran, Pakistan and India to Khatmandu in Nepal. We
are opting for the latter as despite the obvious safety concerns of travelling
through such politically sensitive areas we feel it will actually be the safest,
most interesting and culturally varied option.
Continuing overland to SE Asia is where the real challenges and complications
arise as it necessitates driving either through China or Myanmar (Burma). The
second of these is effectively closed to traffic from India whilst taking a
private vehicle into China is, according to the Lonely Planet, virtually
impossible. The guide books are not far from the truth on this matter but, as we
have discovered, access to China by car can be arranged if you are willing to
pay large sums of money, tackle several months of bureaucracy, stick to an
agreed itinerary (which for some reason involves taking an extraordinarily
indirect route almost to the Mongolian border) and be accompanied by a Chinese
guide for 24 hours a day for the full five week journey. Thus our arrangements
are to meet our guide and enter China at the Nepal/Tibet border in late October
as the formidable Himalayan winter begins.
From China our exit route is quite straightforward: Vietnam will not allow
foreign right hand drive vehicles on their roads - apparently their import laws
break down on this point and treats such radical vehicles as prohibited goods
(rather like drugs and arms!) which leaves Laos as the only available but still
highly attractive option.
After Laos we continue south through Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore, the
closest we can travel to Australia from the UK without using any sea travel.
A combination of short ferry journeys and long drives will then take us across
the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali from where we will ship our
Land Rover 1000 miles south east across the Indian Ocean to Darwin, the
northern tip of Australia. The final month of our trip will be spent driving
through the interior before heading east to our expedition goal, Sydney.
Our route will include a stop in India in order to visit some of CARE's
projects and produce some film footage to help raise awareness of the
tremendously valuable work they carry out in developing countries.
TABLE OF ROUTE AND APPROXIMATE DATES:
| Country |
Estimated Date of Entry |
| Continental Europe |
July |
| Turkey |
Mid July |
| Iran |
Early August |
| Pakistan |
Late August |
| India |
Early September |
| Nepal |
Mid October |
| China |
Late October |
| Laos |
Early December |
| Thailand |
Late December |
| Malaysia |
Mid January |
| Singapore |
Late January |
| Indonesia |
Mid February |
| Australia |
Mid March |
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