Ever since our road trip around the Faroe Islands three years ago, we’ve had a dream of exploring Europe and further with a 4x4.
At the time, we had already flight tickets and plans for an extensive trip around Sri Lanka. Little did we know that journey would end up taking us all the way to New Zealand, let alone that we would literally come full circle.
But on that rainy October morning in the Faroe Islands, clutching our coffees while looking out to the stormy seas of the Atlantic ocean, we honestly questioned if we should go to Asia at all. There was something, and we both knew it was mutual, pulling us to the mountains, the crisp air, the freedom of the road.
Almost ashamed to admit our reluctance, we stuck with our plans for white sandy beaches and tropical temperatures. And after 3 months in Asia and struggling bank accounts, we decided to cut our trip short and fly to New Zealand on a Working Holiday Visa. To be able to enter the country, you need 'sufficient funds' to support yourself and money for a return ticket. If we carried on travelling around Asia, we definitely wouldn't have enough to be applicable, so we had to postpone our plans for Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Philippines.
Over those 16 months in Asia and New Zealand, we experienced many different forms of travel as we attempted to navigate our way across the globe. Some of the many transport options included hectic tuk-tuk rides in Sri Lanka, cramped public buses across Thailand, bumpy budget overnight flights with little to no sleep, attempting to hitch hike but mostly just a lot of walking and last but not least; living in our dumpy little van in freezing cold New Zealand winter.
They are all crazy unique experiences and we definitely learned a lot about ourselves and how thin our tethers can become during some ridiculously long journeys. Spending the night in Kuwait Airport during the Saudi Arabian world cup surrounded by thousands of heckling fans after 3O hours of missed flights and airplane food really does test your spirits.
But overall, what really stood out to us as a favourite form of transport was definitely living on the road. The freedom of waking up in your little house on wheels really can’t be beaten. We knew, probably three days after we bought our van that this was something we were going to fall in love with, but you never know if that love will withstand a years worth of random break downs, cold dinners when the cooking gas runs out in the middle of nowhere or sleeping in a tin can in minus temperatures. But quite surprisingly, when we said goodbye to our little van a year later, we couldn’t imagine wanting to live any other way.
Living in our little van in New Zealand made the dream of living on the road grow stronger every single day, and we always knew deep down it was something we were working towards when we'd finally return to the Southern Hemisphere. We actually started to seriously think about it in September, when we still had 6 months left in New Zealand, which is possibly what made it so achievable when we actually arrived back in the UK. But despite thinking about it and planning for so long, it doesn’t feel any less surreal sitting here in our new home on wheels...
So here’s to many break downs, frozen toes, splashing through puddles like 5 year olds and making dreams come true...
May 24, 2020
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up for your excellent info you have got here on your page! Looks like quite the adventure 😍
June 3, 2020
Thank you so much Kevin! We’re so happy to have you here 🤗