In a backpackers called ‘Bumbles’ in Queenstown New Zealand on January 10th 2011. Let’s start from the very beginning, shall we? When the two of us met at the other side of the world. Fast forward a year and we were on the river Thames, London, celebrating our wedding with friends and family, before embarking on a 3-week honeymoon road trip around Europe. Settled down in Switzerland in a small village on the German border, we went about our daily 9-5 jobs, or more like 6-6 jobs, as a Truck Driver/Photographer and a Teacher.
Even though we were fortunate enough to travel at least twice a year, an itch was left unscratched. We purchased a Jeep and caravan and loved our new freedom outdoors, so much so, that sometimes, we would even commute to work from a nearby campsite. The beautiful location in Langwiesen, on the river Rhein, grew near and dear to our hearts.
Seeing the world, exploring different cultures, making new friends, and getting stuck into good grub (we’re foodies you know) are some of the main reasons why we love travel. We embrace the adventure, the freedom and even the unknown. But the one thing that isn’t so cool, is going back.
One day, on a plane back to Switzerland, after a beautiful trip to Hawaii and Arizona, that feeling was particularly strong. Richie proposed the idea to make this full time. Having watched ‘The Long Way Round’ with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman many years ago, the dream of travelling the world overland was reawakened. Although it took Abigail some convincing at the beginning, the idea became a plan. We soon found ourselves roughing it up in a one-man tent at the ‘Abenteuer & Allrad’ expo in Bad Kissingen, Germany, getting a taste for the overlanding life. Enjoying the night around the campfire with other overlanders only proved that we too, are cut from the same cloth.
Dealing with such a plan naturally comes with its fair share of fear and doubts. How were we going to do this? Should we sub-rent our home and come back after a year or two or bite the bullet and sell everything and go? What about money, security and health? The thought of leaving our family and friends made it even harder. This was not an easy ride and it took a lot of soul searching. But as they say, on the other side of fear lies freedom. We gave ourselves two years time to save up money and prepare for the big adventure, and yes we opted for the ‘Sell everything and go’ version!
Obsessing over which vehicle to buy, what equipment we’d need and where to travel to took up the majority of our free time. Watching thousands of Youtube videos about the subject did make it fun though. Choosing the right vehicle was probably our biggest challenge so far. Do we go around the world with a big truck or simply opt for an off-roader with a roof-top tent? We wanted something in between. A little bit of comfort for when the weather turns bad yet small enough to drive the gravel less-travelled.
A pick-up truck with a truck camper unit on the back was what we were aiming for. It had to be either a Ford V8 7.3l Diesel engine or a Dodge Ram with a Cummins 5.9l Diesel. Engines that would still cope with high sulphur Diesel and that are indestructible.
After extensively reading the sales section on Expedition Portal, an ad caught our attention. It was Richie’s dream vehicle, a 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 with the Cummins 5.9l Diesel engine. The truck was advertised with a full aluminum body ‘CampLite’ truck camper unit and was almost within our budget. It happened to be in Phoenix, Arizona where our good friend Roland lives. A car buff himself, he was more than happy to check it out for us. To cut the story short, we purchased the vehicle unseen in June 2018 and it is now stored at Roland and Denise’s ‘Garage Mahal’ in Phoenix, Arizona. We are very grateful for everything they have done for us and we can’t wait to finally meet our new baby soon.
The purchase of this vehicle has made our dream very real and was a great turning point in our lives. It was time to announce our crazy adventure to family and friends and that was very scary. Although it was uncomfortable at the time, we are happy to know that our nearest and dearest are fully supportive.
As you can see we are down right mad! We don’t do things by halves. Decisions have to be made, dreams need to be lived and life is short! One only regrets the things that they haven’t done.
We’ve set the date now, are busy writing to-do lists and have booked a flight to Phoenix to test-drive our new home-on-wheels. We will catch up with you in the new year, updating you on our latest visit and revealing the ‘next steps’ of our journey.
By the way did we mention that Abigail is also 5-months pregnant?
Cheerio!
