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Overlanders - Dave + Suz

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Our Travels

An aussie and a kiwi exploring the world, and going ever deeper into ourselves ...

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time" - T.S Elliot

In Jan 2007 we set out on an overland journey from Asia to Europe overland. From India, via Nepal, Tibet, China, Mongolia, Russia and Europe ... destination Ireland, with no flights. Trains, buses, tuk-tuks, boats, bikes, yak, camel, and rickshaws all formed the basis of our travels.

Suz spent a year living and working in Ireland (in between all the long weekends away), Dave returned to Oz for 6 months but realised that he left his heart in Ireland, and so came back to drag Suz away from Dublin. Now we're off again ... destinations still undecided, but somehow we'll get home ... stay tuned.

"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" - Anon

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Joined on: October 20th 2006
Last Login: January 4th 2009

Blog Entries: 46
Photos: 1474
Recommended by 6, Recommends 4

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Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Overlanders, order by Date newest first.

By Overlanders
October 12th 2008

Our Island Home ...

Asia » Thailand

Finishing off the newly constructed Pier, Koh Kood

So it's been a while since we last blogged: we last left you in Hungary, and since then made our way overland through Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece and Turkey, and now find ourselves back in the restful bliss that is Thailand. I'll endeavour to do some back blogs to fill in the missing bits of the trip, but for now we wanted to share some pictures of our new home! After arriving into the sweltering heat of Bangkok we opted for an aircon room to help the acclimatisation process. Mediterranean Europe and Turkey had been hot, but Bangkok was hot [View Full Entry]

By Overlanders
August 18th 2008

The Rest in Budapest

Europe » Hungary » Central Hungary » Budapest

Taking some time out from the music, Sziget

The return to Budapest meant a re-entry into the world of modern conveniences (flushing toilets and hot showers) and gave us a final chance to remove the last lodged bits of mud and dirt from our bodily orifices. Freshly scrubbed clean, gleaming skin that mum would be proud of - we met up with our paddling mates for a farewell dinner, that was cooked in more than one pot and didn’t consist of Nutella or paprika! It was almost hard to recognise each other without the requisite swimsuit, sunglasses and lashings of mud we normally donned for paddling. We spent a [View Full Entry]

By Overlanders
August 11th 2008

Mud, Mosquitos and Mayhem

Europe » Hungary

Our Canoe Crew
Dan, Noa, Renee, Suz, Ego, Ela & Dave

It all started with a suggestion from a friend born back in the days of a cold wet Ireland ... a river trip, a sunny seven days paddling in the backwaters of Hungary far removed from the tourist trail, just a promise of adventure and a bunch of people not yet friends ... but soon to be. Sounded like our cup of tea, so we were in ... There were over 50 of us who joined the adventure, from 16 countries united by our common mission to explore the lesser known regions of Hungary and make some new friends along the [View Full Entry]

By Overlanders
August 4th 2008

Errors in Communication

Europe » Slovenia

Walkway, Vintgar Gorge

The friendly local Slovenian guy decided to take us under his wing at the bus stop near the Italian border, he too was waiting for the elusive white minibus that was supposed to come and whisk us across the border. His English was limited, but he tried to communicate with a smile and determination ... and we managed to convey that we were trying to get across the border too, and travelling on to Lake Bled. Finally the minibus came and we piled on board, and crossed over into Slovenia. When we got to what we suspected was the Nova Gorica [View Full Entry]

By Overlanders
July 28th 2008

Venice ... Simply A-maze-ing!

Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice

Streetlife Burano

Venice was simply amazing, and also literally a maze. After getting repeatedly lost in the maze of twists and turns through streets winding along the canals, and battling through the thick crowds of tourists in summertime Europe, we relented and bought a map hoping that this would be our saving grace. The map proved to be no more than a waste of money, so we succumbed to the moment and began to lose ourselves and let the city embrace us. We watched the Gondolas float lazily through the back canals, and the ferries whizz along the main waterways. We wandered through [View Full Entry]

By Overlanders
July 23rd 2008

Italian Coffee Debacles and Great Escapes

Europe » Italy

Riomaggiore Harbour

Our Italian coffee experiences in Florence fell into two categories: either the coffee was fantastic (ensuring several cups were demolished in one sitting), or so appallingly bad that it wasn’t even drinkable. Average coffee wasn’t present. Here’s a lesson for you ... a tourist trap that we unwittingly fell into ... A nice little cafe situated on the edge of the square. We take a seat, and flick through the menu. There’s no coffee listed on the menu, but then the waiter appears and offers a cafe latte/cappuccino/espresso ... ASK THE PRICE FIRST!! We failed to a [View Full Entry]

By Overlanders
July 17th 2008

Chillaxing on the Adriatic

Europe » Croatia

Pula and Moon

Sitting at the bus stop the little old lady, wrinkled and shrunken with age, smiled a toothless grin and shuffled closer to me. She launched into a speech in rapid Croatian, and I unsuccesfully tried to keep up my end of the conversation with appropriate nods and reassuring smiles. Unperturbed by my obvious lack of understanding of her native tongue, she dug into her handbag and pulled a weathered book from deep inside. She flipped to the index page and slowly rolled her finger along the index lines, watching my face for a spark of recognition. I pointed at the word [View Full Entry]

By Overlanders
July 10th 2008

Off Yonder

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London

Night views
Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

As the ferry cruised into Holyhead in Wales and we caught sight of the sun glistened rolling hills, we thought that we had escaped the summer rain for good, but by the time our train pulled into London those hopes were dashed as we were once again immersed in thick rain. Our spirits weren’t dampened though, as the promise of sunny lazy days in Croatia looms ever closer, and we were now one step closer on the journey ... London was the first pit stop on our trip; a chance to catch up with friends and family for a final goodbye, [View Full Entry]

By Overlanders
July 6th 2008

Reflections Over the River Liffey

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin » Dublin

Celtic Crosses

Sadly the Irish summer is in full swing, the River Liffey brims full and people dart under eaves or scamper under umbrellas to avoid the rain, the glorious sunny days of May seem to have taken their leave, and so we too decide to join them. We’re pumped full off vaccinations, armed with a pocketful of malaria tablets, and are fit to roam wherever inspiration, friends or divine guidance takes us for the long slow journey home. So we leave Ireland the way we came - on the boat, which sort of makes us feel as though we’ve come full circle. [View Full Entry]

By Overlanders
June 3rd 2008

In the Footsteps of Giants …

Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland

Carrick-on-Rede Rope bridge

Legend has it that the the Irish Giant FinMacool was at war with his Scottish counterpart, Benandonner and constructed a massive bridge between the islands to fight him. However once Finn got to the other side he discovered that Benandonner was bigger and scarier than he’d anticipated so he fled home in terror and asked his wife hide him under a blanket. Perplexed, Benandonner crossed the causeway in search of his rival, and met instead “Finn’s Baby”, which was really a cowering Finn shrouded in cloth. Benandonner surmised that if this was the size of Finn’s &ld [View Full Entry]