Where are you from?

We are both from the UK

When did you start your interest in exploration?

We both started exploring in our late teens well before we met. Both of us found peace being in the countryside and hiking - for Adam it was going to the Lake district and for Rob it was around the Berkshire countryside. For both of us, exploring was a way to be curious, to seek answers and find freedom - which in hindsight was a way to process and deal with coming out and understanding our place in the world. 

The exploration then got farther afield and more adventurous as we got older and as a couple it's been a cornerstone of our relationship - travelling together now for over 20 years. 

What is a brief understanding of your background story up until you started seeking adventure?

We've always sought adventure. We both met at university in the north of England, and back then the adventure was simply escaping lectures to the Yorkshire moors in Rob's beat-up Peugeot 205. Then, leaving university we both ended up in London, doing very London jobs and commuting, always longing for something a bit different. So when an opportunity came up to move to Australia with Adam's work we grabbed it and used the opportunity to backpack down under through India and South East Asia. This was our first real overseas adventure together which led to an addiction we've not been able to shake. 

What special skills do you have to help with your explorations?

By profession Adam used to work as a management consultant, so problem solving and strategising tend to come into play a lot with our travels. Whether it's to do with coming up with a big idea or plan, working out solutions, logistics, budgeting and general internal organisation of our Landrover. Outside of that Adam tends to enjoy capturing the journey more in terms of video and writing and is the resident techie. 

Rob's the car enthusiast, endurance driver and wannabe mechanic - a real domestic god too from cooking to cleaning to making sure everything is working as it should so we stay alive! Robs is also the resident history buff, so very useful when visiting ancient sites. 

Where have you explored so far?

We've been so lucky to have travelled a fair amount whether backpacking, adventure holidays or now overlanding. We lived in Australia for over 5 years allowing us to see a lot of the country as well as neighbouring New Zealand and even some of the Pacific islands. We've travelled extensively in Asia from India to Thailand to Japan. 

We then lived in Canada for nearly 7 years in Toronto, Vancouver and ultimately Whistler. In that time we drove the east to west coast and roadtrips to the USA as well. 

And of course on our now backdoor in the UK, we've overlanded a lot of Europe from Iceland to Albania and into Turkey and Georgia. And now we find ourselves in Africa!

What is a brief understanding of your adventures so far?

Our adventures have always been a bit of a rejection of mass tourism as we love to find our own way and get away from the crowds. We enjoy solitude and being away in nature, camping and hiking and we are a huge lover of long distance driving.

Last year we embraced it fully by getting our Land Rover Defender named Felicia. We took her from the UK to Georgia, with no mods, just a tent on the top and seats taken out the back to see what we needed and how we could cope with the bare bones of an expedition vehicle. Since then we've kitted her out with a few more comforts like power and a pop top and storage and we have spent the past 6 months overlanding south and east Africa - it's been truly incredible to venture on those roads that not many go!

What are the top three destinations you hope to explore next, and why?

South America, as neither of us have been that way yet. China - just to experience something so different, and the Stans for the epic and vast.  

Where would you recommend others visit?

We adore Iceland - the food, the geography, the hygge culture. It's a good climate for us too as we prefer the cooler side. But in Iceland the cold doesn't stop things - you can still enjoy the great outdoors by sitting in a thermal bath watching the northern lights. And in the summer you can tour by night with the midnight sun- which is so cool and you skip all the day crowds! 

How do you primarily travel on your adventures today?

Our trusty Land Rover Defender Felicia. She's a 2006 110 with a TD5 engine. We've added a pop-top roof which was a game changer, our own internal furniture making life way more comfortable on the road and we love our awning to sit out under. 

What are five pieces of equipment that you always travel with?

1. Starlink mini
2. Toolkit
3. Life saver jerry can
4. Laptop
5. Drone

What inspires you to explore more?

Landscapes are our biggest draw. Finding epic views and solitude - somewhere we can park up and enjoy huge vistas under a night sky is our absolute happy place. We describe our travel inspiration as when you look out of the plane window and see all these empty places with that one road going through - that's where we want to go!

How do you engage with others?

Social media has been a great way to meet other travellers like us - mainly instagram (the.overlanding.guys).Otherwise we might bump into people in camp spots (wild or formal) or as is typical with fellow landrover defender owners we get chatting in a car park or if we pass each other somewhere we might well stop and chat!  

Why is it important to embrace global cultures?

It's important to understand other ways of seeing this crazy and beautiful world we live in. To witness what's important to others and the values that drive them. We were brought up with one perspective or how to operate but it becomes a limiting way to be if we think that's the only way. Parts of Africa have been an eye opener - when life is all about surviving and for many it is, it gives perspective about things we can get hung up on in the west.

What are your goals when you explore?

To survive! Honestly, when overlanding specifically, we are so concerned with finding food, driving and all that entails, and finding somewhere, hopefully epic, to sleep safely - there can sometimes be little room for much else. That is the daily purpose! Outside of that we try to do the activities we enjoy which often means hiking or city walks absorbing where we are and what we are experiencing. That said, we have a bit of a weakness for pushing on, we enjoy driving big distances and getting miles underneath us - so we are trying to get better at slowing down.

What are some challenges you have experienced?

We find some of the biggest highs are back to back with the biggest lows. In Turkey last year we woke up to the most incredible morning in Cappadocia watching balloons glide over our land rover. Three hours later we were in hospital having been attacked and bitten by wild (?) dogs and needing rabies jabs. 

It would be remiss not to mention that travelling as a same-sex couple certainly has challenges that go with that. In some countries we don't have the same rights as straight counterparts and our relationship is not recognised. This can have implications if one of us was taken to hospital as the other would not be considered as next of kin. In other countries it's outright illegal so we have to be careful what we say and how we present it. We have to modify or edit ourselves which can be tiring and often be a barrier to getting to know local people better. We often meet other western travellers where it's easier to be ourselves, but even then we have to sometimes educate ourselves about the risks we face so they don't accidentally say something to a local. 

What has been your most meaningful moment so far?

There have been so many. It's hard not to get lost under the night sky and wonder about life and the universe and our place in it. These are always big moments for us. Without getting too woo, there's just something about the vast emptiness of our surroundings and the sky above that makes you realise how microscopic we are, and how fleeting it all is - it's hard for that not to move you to realise you need to make use of the time you have. Namibia was insane for the stars and milky way and we would just sit up for hours by the fire absorbing it all. 

How has exploration changed you?

It has made us grateful. Grateful for what we've been able to do and the privilege we have to be able to do it. Our passports allow us to travel the way we do, breezing through countries without visas or without too much hindrance. Also our relative wealth in the countries we visit allows us to enjoy places in countries that locals may never be able to see. We try not to lose sight of that and never have we felt that more than in Africa; where in the face of poverty people still have a smile and a laugh - it's incredible and humbling. 

It's also made us realise that life is about balance, we enjoy our travels, but it's just as important to enjoy not travelling - the routines, the staying put, there is joy in that too. We're striving for that equilibrium. 

What is the number one lesson that you have learnt through your exploration?

Knowing our limits. On the macro level that's trying to see or do too much - we will never see everything, so we've learnt to be selective and to be ok with saying no to stuff. On the day to day just knowing when we've reached capacity and need to stop - often the times we know we are off kilter is because we are sleep deprived, dehydrated, hungry or not exercised enough - I think anyone can relate to that! 

How do you explore locally?

Home for us at the moment is the UK and we are acutely aware we haven't even explored it that much. Now that there are more apps available connecting campers with farm land to camp on, we are excited to do more wild camping around the UK. 

We have our favourite go-tos like the highlands and the Lake District, but we want to explore more of Wales and Yorkshire and even some more of the south coast that we've not done! 

What does the explmore mantra mean to you?

As as species we were nomads well before we settled - it's in our DNA to roam. So to us explmore means to be human! 

What advice would you give to others who are seeking life changing adventure?

Just do it. Our minds are hardwired to avoid risk, to keep us safe and not change things- so the next pay rise, bonus or whatever it is is a great story we tell ourselves that supports that. But as they say - nothing ventured, nothing gained - embrace the unknown! There's no right way to do it either, so don't wait for perfection.