NewWorldOverland.ca

Well,

Our trip to Robson to camp with the family was a success and we got a chance to poke around Rearguard and Overlander falls. The weather held out for the most part and we got some more practice setting up camp. I was surprised at how long it had actually been since we had camped, it seems like forever but I guess it was only a couple of weeks.

On our way home we explored a forestry road around Blue River, and got up to 1750m in elevation, which is almost the alpine… As always the LandCruiser performed flawlessly and motored down the highway and up the trails in comfort.

Our last stop before home was Wells Gray Provincial Park. How have we never been here? It is beautiful out here; so many waterfalls, history, views, basically everything I crave. We also found a few nice pieces of property for sale, who knows, may be a good place to invest given the unstable stock and dropping residential market…

Trip Planning

Well, we received a package in the mail, Americas Overland, the Driving Handbook. You can check it out at http://www.questconnect.org/. Melissa and I have browsed through it, and there is plenty of useful tips, tricks, and camping spots for all of Central and South America.

I have been mired in indecision lately, mostly on space and safety concerns. Space, well we have alot of crap coming with us and not alot of space. Safety, I much prefer the idea of sleeping in an enclosed area with access to the cab. It’s always a tradeoff between safety, mobility, comfort, efficiency and ultimately price. The LandCruiser as it is setup right now is the best for mobility and efficiency, but the roof-top tent loses points for safety. Something like, say, a 416 Unimog with an enclosed camper on the back would be the best for safety and (sleeping) comfort, at the sacrifice of road safety and efficiency. Arghh. As it stands right now, the LandCruiser stays. Of course, if something better falls in our lap before we leave, we may have to seriously consider it.

In terms of trip planning, I dunno where we are, hah. So much stuff on the go; a trip to Holland in 2 weeks, getting our moving plans finalized, wrapping up my contract, etc. etc. etc. My one nagging concern is the Permissability of Right Hand Drive vehicles in Latin America. Nobody has said ‘No’ yet, but it could be just another problem to deal with at the border. According to the universal driving agreements of the UN, as long as your vehicle is registered properly in your country of origin than it is permitted to be temporarily imported into another. We are working towards getting written confirmation from the consulates/embassies so that we have a leg to stand on should something go awry.

Hah, am I complaining about the trials and tribulations of taking a year off? Oops, I will shut up now…