Where are you from?

Cliff is from the UK, Mon is from Brazil.

When did you start your interest in exploration?

In very different ways, the desire to explore has always been a key part of our DNA's.

Cliff grew up in the Peak District with holidays - from a baby through to adult life - spent hiking in the Lake District. He's always felt more at home outside and drawn to more adventurous pursuits and adventure wherever possible.

Mon was born and raised in a concrete jungle (that's how Sao Paulo is known in Brazil!), little engaged with sports and pretty unskilled for the outdoors. Instead, she was a very artsy and creative kid, and soon realised that the daydream had a great place in travels. From road trips with her family of 5 on international holidays, summertime at the coast and solo trips as a young adult - traveling has always been her happiest place. A friend once said she "was born with a passport, not a birth certificate" so it was more than time to explore traveling in a different - and long-term - way.

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

Cliff was born seeking adventure. He lost his dad to cancer in his early 20's which spurred him on to go and grab adventures before it's too late. It catalysed long term backpacking trips over the entire Asian continent and South America. And when not on the road - confined to city living (London) and 'the desk job' - he's found adventure in other ways. That's when rock climbing and photography come to the scene: finding more adventurous ways to live life and travel to places many don't get to see or experience is a fuel for Cliff. He is endlessly curious and joyously restless!

For very long, Mon followed a typical corporate career and metropolitan life. Adventure (in the sense of living outdoors, travelling overland, taking the path less trodden) wasn't part of her vocabulary until a few years ago. But behind the scenes, she was always trying to find some sort of escape and getting out of her comfort zone. Meeting Cliff was a huge catalyst as his restlessness and adventurous mindset gave her little option but to explore more :)

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

Our city life desk jobs have trained us to solve problems, strategise and connect with people. Whilst the environment in which we developed these are completely different from living life overland they help us in planning the journey, handling unexpected issues, dealing with the bureaucratic side of things, making connections with those we meet on the road and knowing how to diffuse those more tense interactions. Mon is also a multilingual speaker which is a massive benefit in those countries where her languages allow us to make deeper connections (on and offline).

Beyond that, Cliff's background in the outdoors and living in nature has allowed us to more easily transition into life on the road and show Mon a different non-city lifestyle. Exploring and going outdoors is second nature to him, and his love and talent for photography has been an important lever to take us to the most magical locations (Cliff is accredited by the British Royal Photographic Society and has been a winner in numerous global photography competitions!). He also has a passion for telling stories, so embracing YouTube video creation was a natural path when we started overlanding. And Mon's artistic eye has been invaluable to bring beautiful insights and stories from the imagery as we hope to be inspiring others with our content!

But in many ways we are truly amateurs at overlanding. We are both getting out of our comfort zone in order to learn more - we are becoming more mechanical and gaining a greater understanding of how to build and maintain our home on wheels. We are always learning :)

Where have you explored so far?

We both travelled a fair bit before we hit the road for this overland trip. Cliff has backpacked extensively through Asia and South / Central America. Mon has visited 6 of the 7 continents, and has also lived in Brazil, Argentina and in the UK.

What is a brief understanding of your adventures so far?

On this trip we wanted to embrace a different way of living and are currently exploring as much of the world as we can with our Defender. We have already journeyed all the way from the UK, through the Balkans and to the very East of Turkey (over the course of 8 months). We are now back in Europe and as we write this a few days away from heading onto our next continent. Africa. For our TransAfrica journey down the West coast to Cape Town, South Africa.

Our travel so far has been eclectic as we love to do it all. We love connecting with people and hearing their stories, but we also love getting away from people - being in nature off-roading, hiking and climbing. We found that increasingly we shy away from the 'tourist spots and sights' and revel more in experiencing a rawer form of travel.

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

The toughest question of the lot as we'd love to 'see it all'! :) 

But we are SO excited for Africa, so we think all 3 places are there. Namibia (particularly the Skeleton Coast and the Caprivi Strip), Botswana and Kenya.

Where would you recommend others visit?

From all the travel we've done we'd say it matters less where and more how. It really doesn't matter the country - but the best experiences are those had off the beaten path. The small villages, the more remote spots, the interactions with 'real' people. For us, it is that authenticity that makes an experience special and unique.

But to mention specific places: Eastern Turkiye (the rawness and the hospitality of the people is incredible), Prokletije National Park in Montenegro (one of the best hikes we've ever done and we've hiked, a lot); and more recently the Gorafe desert in Spain (just an amazing off-road playground with sunrises and sunsets that are pure magic). 

From Mon's 'past life' she would also say Brazil :) It is a huge country with impressive diversity and really warm receptiveness. There are options for everyone, whatever style and way of travel you choose.

How do you primarily travel on your adventures today?

With Sully! Our 1997 Land Rover Defender 110 300 Tdi. It is an incredible machine which we are fortunate enough to be stewards of today. It was converted to be expedition ready around a decade ago and it still doesn’t miss a beat - he's ready for Africa... the bigger question is...are we!? :)

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

1. Toolkit (after all, we're in a Land Rover!)

2. Camera gear (firstly to keep the records for our future selves & our families, but we've grown to love sharing with the broader community as well)

3. Climbing gear (there's great rock everywhere - Cliff is a pro, Mon is learning) 

4. Backgammon board (our favourite overlanding game - but we have a few others, and it is always fun to play with new friends on the road)

5. Little broom (Sully is full of gaps and gets pretty dusty!)

What inspires you to explore more?

For Mon, exploration is about personal growth and getting that feeling of novelty and excitement we once had as kids. Routine is the enemy of time - and as we once heard "I want to be 80 years old and feel exhausted because I lived life". Traveling is such a great way of ticking all these boxes! It also comes with the benefit of helping us see how other people live their lives (traveling or not) and what version of freedom we want for ourselves.

For Cliff, photography is what inspires him to travel more. He shoots to connect more with the places he visits, to see and experience more. He finds that connection through the lens and tells visual stories of the places he visits. There's a famous quote from the photographer Imogen Cunningham, "Which of my photographs is my favourite? The one I am going to take tomorrow”. That's pure inspiration for him!

How do you engage with others?

Simply with a smile and saying 'hi' (in the local language!). It's amazing how much this can do to spark a positive interaction. 

Beyond that we have also been trying to connect with like minded travellers - and hope we get to meet more of you in person! So if we are traveling in similar areas or directions, give us a shout! :)

Why is it important to embrace global cultures?

There is more than one way to live life! Embracing global cultures helps us to see and experience that. We feel that this exposure enriches our personal growth by broadening our perspectives and challenging our preconceived notions. It encourages us to step out of our comfort zones and experience life from different viewpoints. So far we feel it has allowed us to lead a more fulfilling and enriched life.

What are your goals when you explore?

For Mon, this is simple. To fully embrace this life and the wonderful experiences it presents. Put simply, to just be in the moment. To be present.

For Cliff, his goal is often to capture the moment. He loves the travel but he loves the storytelling even more (if that is through a video or simply one picture). 

With all that said, it's amazing how much time and effort this lifestyle takes. It is incredibly rewarding, but giving up the convenience of city living takes time and effort. Everything takes longer than you think and there's always loads to do! So just embracing this lifestyle and the process of living simpler is often goal number 1! 

What are some challenges you have experienced?

Our biggest challenge so far came a few months into the trip. We had left with a 2WD van but it wasn’t prepared for the rigours of overlanding and in truth it wasn’t the right vehicle for the way we wanted to travel. We then went back to the UK to change vehicles. It was a very hard decision and an emotionally and physically exhausting time - but we would do it again. We love this lifestyle and our rugged home on wheels - it is allowing us to have the adventure we always wanted...we just wish we'd figured that out earlier, but it was part of our journey to get here :)

We are now revelling in having a student mindset - being amateur overlanders and beginner off-roaders we are learning so much each and every day and we've been fortunate enough to have met - and continue to meet - great teachers along the way who generously tell us all the things we're doing wrong! ;)

What has been your most meaningful moment so far?

In so many ways, the experience of changing vehicles. It was a rocky road, but it helped us realise what we really wanted out of this trip and that to achieve that 'living simpler' was all we really needed.

And then there is the everydayness of this lifestyle. Overlanding offers meaningful moments each and every day if you look out for them. Because every day is different - a different country, different experiences, different people - they each offer something to learn and be grateful about.

But, the heart of this answer for us, lies with the generosity, hospitality and kindness we've experienced from people in every country we've travelled so far. Global news can tend to paint a picture of hostility and 'fear' of so many of the places we've passed through but that has been far from the humanity that we've experienced. And to this we also add the amazing overlanding community who is always ready to connect with and offer help.

How has exploration changed you?

Exploring - particularly overlanding - changes us every day in ways we probably don’t notice. It's something we'll only realise in time.

For Mon she has become more comfortable with the unknown. We've learnt the hard way that the only sure thing of overlanding is that everything changes, and nothing is predictable! And she has become so much more comfortable outdoors and in nature - crazy for this city chick to now be more at home making a campfire than in the hustle and bustle of a big metropole.

For Cliff, this type of travel makes him more confident. Living on his own terms, pushing his comfort zone day in and day out is a way of showing what is possible and achievable and that gets carried back into 'normal' life too.

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

Keep it simple. There are many overlanding tools and gadgets and ways of living more comfortably on the road but keeping it simple (even at the expense of a bit of comfort) is the way to go. You need to be able to fix things - or get things fixed on the road - and the more complicated the system the more challenging that will be.

How do you explore locally?

Back in the UK (where we were living), we explored using the van on weekends and holidays as we still had our full-time jobs. We do look forward to traveling in the UK with Sully - there is so much we haven't explored and there are undoubtedly hundreds of micro-adventures to be had on our doorstep (wherever that may be when we return from this trip).

What does the explmore mantra mean to you?

The explmore mantra embodies the spirit of living adventurously and embracing the unknown. It encourages us to seek out new experiences and challenges, pushing the boundaries of our comfort zones to discover the beauty and excitement of not only what the world has to offer, but what we have to offer the world when we truly know ourselves.

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

If that's what you want, just do it! There will never be a perfect time or the perfect circumstances. There will always be a reason not to go and there will always be trade-offs (even if Instagram doesn't make it look like there is!). But we believe that if there is a will, there is a way - and there is a quote we really love (so much so that it is 'tattooed' on Sully) that says 'None of us is getting out here alive. So eat the lovely food, walk in the sunshine, and jump in the ocean. Be silly, be weird, be kind! There's no time for anything else."