Where are you from?

Jolie is from Newcastle, NSW, Australia and Mark is from Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia.

When did you start your interest in exploration?

Before meeting we grew up camping and overlanding all over Australia, so the love for adventure was well and truly ingrained from a young age.

We went on our first camping trip together, only weeks after meeting at a beautiful spot called Seal Rocks. This would be the first of many around the Mid North Coast. We went on our first international trip pursuing a love for the ocean and diving, completing a diving trip around the islands of the Philippines.

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

Before departing on our current journey we were moving around Australia to fulfill work commitments, Jolie in Building Design and Mark in Construction Management. We were at a point where we were forward planning the coming years; with building a family and future investments high on the list we wanted to tick a few other bucket list items off first, before taking on those extra responsibilities.

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

We both have advanced first aid training. Mark is a pilot so is trained in meteorology, navigation (a few years of orienteering in Scouts also assists), and radio communication. Focusing on aerobatics Mark also gained further experience with controlling a vehicle and remaining calm in high pressure environments (useful when negotiating traffic in certain countries like India). For work commitments on and off-road training, and defensive driving courses have also been completed. Growing up on a farm a solid mechanical knowledge and experience was gained, from working on equipment and vehicles which assists with on-road maintenance/servicing and fault finding. All this coupled with years of off-road experience at home makes traversing different terrain and poor-quality roads in foreign countries less daunting, meaning more time to take in the scenery!

All in all these skills only make our journeys easier, apart from a first aid course and a basic understanding of vehicle maintenance everything else could be regarded as superfluous for the majority of countries.

Where have you explored so far?

Together and prior to meeting we have explored:

• Central Asia — Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,

• East Asia — China, Japan,

• ‘The Subcontinent’ — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,

• S.E.A — Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Timor L’este,

• Central America — Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama,

• South America — Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil,

• North America — USA, Western Canada,

• Europe — UK, Scotland, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Greece, Croatia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Albania, Poland, Netherlands, Hungary,

• Australia, New Zealand.

What is a brief understanding of your adventures so far?

So far we’ve completed several adventures both separately and together using different forms of transport including by -

- Vehicle:

• New York, USA to Panama City, Panama — East to West US down through Central America,

• Perth, AUS, to Tehran, Iran via S.E.A, The Subcontinent, and Central Asia,

• Circumnavigation of Australia,

• France, UK, Western Canada,

- Cycle: Spain,

- By any means: Europe, Japan, Philippines, New Zealand, Vanuatu, South America.

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

1. Chile/Argentina — Huge landscape, beautiful coastline, culture, food, the list goes on.
2. Morocco — The accessibility to culture, surfing, and mountains all in the one country make this very appealing.
3. Raja Ampat, Indonesia — Considered the home to the richest marine biodiversity on earth, the diving here looks absolutely incredible. Completing a live aboard dive expedition here, is something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time.

Where would you recommend others visit?

Depending on what you’re looking for though a few of our favourites so far:

• Tajikistan — remote culture/scenery/landscapes,

• Japan — skiing,

• Indonesia/Mexico — surfing,

• Nepal/Peru — hiking,

• Philippines, Komodo — diving,

• Australia — a bit of everything!!

How do you primarily travel on your adventures today?

We travel now in a 2006 Toyota Landcruiser HDJ78R. The top three modifications would be:

1. Roof conversion to allow an internal space to live/stand/cook during inclement weather,
2. External rear fit out including sink/storage/fridge/seating/ and spare bed, and ??
3. Suspension upgrade to accommodate for the additional weight and reduce wear and tear on the vehicle over varying terrain.

What inspires you to explore more?

The joy of finding remote places and experiencing raw nature, as well as discovering people living their culture and/or in harmony with their surroundings.

How do you engage with others?

We aim to learn at least the basics of each language for the countries we travel to, we find locals appreciate that you’ve made an effort and it can be hugely beneficial when shopping at local markets. Not only language though also the best physical greeting in each country is good practice as sometimes waving is not always the most respectful.

We also have a windows down policy (weather dependent of course) when travelling through most areas who do not see a lot of foreigners. We do this to try and get on the front foot with the locals by letting them see us smile and wave, unimpeded by a physical barrier. It’s incredible to see someone’s face change and light up from only a wave and a smile. A lot of areas we travel are low to extremely low socio-economic areas so driving through in a big cocoon with no visible interaction could leave negative/suspicious impressions.

We also engage with other travellers via social media and forums.

Why is it important to embrace global cultures?

Different cultures have been around for millennia, and ours may not always have the right answers to all/different situations. Embracing different cultures not only allows us to converse on a more human level when we’re there, though also to take home a greater insight into why the world is the way it is and works the way it does, without prejudice.

What are your goals when you explore?

Experience new cultures, find local areas off the main tourist path, look for the positives in each area, not to inflict a western mindset on foreign cultures, keep it simple!

What are some challenges you have experienced?

Apart from the obvious, our challenges have been relatively minor. Over the course of the years we have required minor vehicle repairs. On our current journey we rebuilt the swivel hubs in Pakistan and on a previous journey cracked the sump in Mexico, hitting one of the dreaded Topes! Medically we suffered only minor bouts of food related sickness, common place with our style of travel and the countries we were visiting. On an overland cycle tour I had the bicycle stolen, hardly ideal and putting a sudden rather abrupt end to the journey. Thankfully in this instance it was near the end of the journey and as it was the bike only, not the panniers and equipment.

The worst experience suffered on each journey has created a new ‘rock bottom’. All of which are viewed in perspective of the overall journey and still considered greater as a whole, than not going on the journey at all. We would like to hope that the biggest challenge to date of being accused spies and arbitrarily detained is ‘ground zero’ for all future endeavours.

What has been your most meaningful moment so far?

Difficult to pinpoint one as they’re ongoing though a few situations where we experience meaningful moments would be:

• Overlanding allows access to areas well off the tourist trails, resulting in interactions with locals who may have little to no contact with foreigners. From playing street soccer with kids in remote coastal villages of Central America to eating breakfast with shepherds in the high mountains of Central Asia, people with next to nothing would happily welcome us into their homes offering bedding and food, purely as they were happy to see us. While not always being able to communicate thoroughly, just being able to converse in a positive way always adds a huge amount of meaning to this form of travel.
• Whether it be on completion of hikes, cycle tours, or overland journeys themselves. The feeling of self-achievement on completion, gives meaning knowing that the hard work put in to make the journey possible is justified.
• The response we receive on the internet from showing people the places we visit is also great. When people tell us we’ve inspired them to get out and explore, undertake a similar journey, or simply given them a different insight into a country, it makes the additional effort to document the travels meaningful.

How has exploration changed you?

We’ve grown a more rounded view of ourselves, life, and the world. We’ve learnt how to overcome obstacles, seen the pitfalls of modern society and globalisation, experienced common bonds with people from a multitude of races, religions and social status, and gained a broad understanding of the non-materialistic simple elements of life that can lead to fulfilment. We’ve again refocused our careers to ensure flexibility with both work hours and location to ensure things we’ve learnt ‘on the road’ can be put into practice.

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

Don’t rush, it’s not a race. Go at your own pace, everyone travels differently so remain focused on why you’re there.

How do you explore locally?

We are fortunate to have access to beautiful beaches with diving and surfing, and mountains and dense rainforest all within kms from our home. This, with year round comfortable weather, makes getting away camping for a weekend or even just hitting the trails for a day trip very easy.

What does the explmore mantra mean to you?

The importance of ensuring travel and overlanding isn’t thought of as an unreachable goal, by providing first-hand information and inspiration from everyday people who have lived it or are living it.

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

The world has been successfully circumnavigated for decades by vehicles much less capable than modern ones.

Life is short, keep it simple, save hard, learn the basics, and get out there.

What are some comparisons you can make between exploration today, compared to what you know of exploration in the past?

Having travelled extensively overland with family in the days before GPS, mobile phones and the internet, exploration and research understandably is much easier today. In the days before this technology, local engagement and exploring was required to find suitable areas to camp and the location of resources; today the world is covered with digitally marked camp spots and information. Having the ability to access current information for the majority of locations on hand whilst travelling, allows much more fluid movement. This can be positive and negative, positive in the way that potential dangers can be avoided, emergency camp spots are locatable, and help if necessary is available. Though also negative as explorers are not required to interact with locals potentially, and sometimes unintentionally, placing themselves in a bubble essentially missing the point of overlanding. This easy access of information should be thought of as another tool; used as required though not as a distraction or excuse to get back to the fundamentals of exploration.

On the flip side, drawing a similar comparison between exploration then and now from reading stories of early explorers like Alec and Jan. Although geopolitical situations have changed incredibly and once calm areas are now unstable, the everyday people on the ground level of these areas remain relatively unchanged and welcoming like they have been for decades.

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