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Arrived Home

We have now safely arrived home. Charlie will be joining us in a few days. We will give another update once Charlie arrives.

A few more photos

Here are a few more photos from our trip to date. Photo details: 1) Bike in Amsterdam 2) Bikes in Amsterdam 3) Posing on our BMW 4) Cath and girls in Amsterdam 5) Kaias new earrings 6) Kaia just had her ears pierced 7) Kaia about to have her ears pierced 8) Mir in Amsterdam 9) Mir on our boat trip ...

Exploring Amsterdam

We had a busy day and the sun was out so we enjoyed wandering along the streets and canals. We had a coffee and juice in Rembrandtsplein and Kaia decided she was feeling brave enough to have her ears pierced. We found a really friendly place near by and 2 young tattoo artists did one ear each. Kaia is very pleased ...

Amsterdam

Made it to Amsterdam. We are staying in a beautiful apartment with garden in Leidesplein. Off to see Anne Franks house (http://www.annefrank.org/) and then a curry beckons.

Comments

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Charlie finally gives up

We are all sad. Charlie decided to go no further. Clutch failed and there are no replacements here, so Andy cannot fix her. We hitchhiked (with Charlie) to Germany from Poland and got a tow - must be a first! Once in Germany our insurance company kicked in and agreed to repatriate Charlie to the UK. They also provide ...

Polish rain

We have been inb Gdanskfor 3 days and it has not stopped raining - day and night. We have had enough and are now heading for Holland. Should be there in a few days - if you want to meet us then sms Andy's mobile. xx

More photos

Photo details: 1) Teacing Mir some golf 2) Russian house 3) Sunset with sheep 4) Apple island 5) Cath and Mir playing golf 6) Fly agaric 7) Fly agarics 8) Grfasses 9) Death cap 10) Kaia doing her 60's thing 11) Kaia posing with golf club 12) Mir playing golf 13) Mir's hole in one 14) Mir r ...

Gdansk - Poland

How things change - the Polish drivers coming in to Gdansk are complete idiots especially the taxi driver who swerved in front of us and kept braking to make us stop - don't know why he was so aggressive but he nearly caused a big accident - luckily Andy had recently fixed the breaks!! The irony is that we thought ...

Poland - camping next to a grand lake

Nice travel day - leisurely driving, such a difference from Russia!! Saw deer in the forest. Just off for a fried egg sandwich.

Route home - come and meet us

A few people have asked what our route back to the UK will be. It is still flexible but it will probably follow the European coast from Lithuania into Poland via Gdansk, into Germany and then Holland. We hope to spend a few nights in Amsterdam - if any friends or family would like to meet us there then please sms tex ...

Apple Island

Staying on Apple Island in Lithuania (http://www.appleisland.lt/en). Just a beautiful, peacful place and the best thing is that we are the only people here!! It feels like our own island. We have the run of the place and the facilities. We have eaten lots of apples!! We cleaned the crazy golf course and get free game ...

Lithuania

We are staying on apple island. Beautuful here. Now for a well earned rest. All are well. We will reply to your comments tomorrow - the people are now kicking us of their computer. We are the only people staying on the island - we have the whole campsite to ourselves. The girls are very excited. Last night was ...

Crossed the border

Safely out of Russia-HOORAY HOORAY. Customs were easy, no hassles. Driven thro Latvia & in to Lithuania. Everyone happy. Will try to get to internet cafe soon.

Russia tried to break us

Russia tried to break us today &very nearly did. Axle broke again, engine conked out, ran out of roubles, credit card rejected & had to deal with the rudest people in world! One of the worst days so far on this trip. We will probably enjoy in retrospect the fact that we got through it!

Moscow

Outskirts of Moscow. Stopped twice by police 2day who just wanted to look at our Landrover! We were chased by huge wolfdog. All okay. Dreaming of home. Xx2u

Slow down you Russian drivers!

50km from Nizny Novgorod. Many crazy Russian drivers: 2fast 2fast! Cath made a 'slow down' sign in Russian 4 our rear window. Staying in friendly truckstop.

Bought a welder

200km from Kazan. No breakdowns today hooray. Bought a welder with Russian instructions! It really hot since leaving Siberia :-) Showers today-exciting lolz

UFA

Stil no internet so sorry about the lack of replies to yor comments. We in UFA camped outside a hospital. 2mora we try 2 buy a welding kit! Then off 2 Kazan

Broken axle again!!

2500km 2 go in Russia! Axle weld broke in the middle of nowhere-got rewelded from the back of a mans shed. All longing 4 shower&clean clothes. Lovely lakes.

120km from Kurgan. Stil no internet. Sun stayed out today & we all warmed up. More running repairs on truck. Spirits up 2day. Lots of people photograph us.

Road from hell

Low mileage, lots of breakdowns & repairs (Thanks Alan). Forced into night drive on rd from hell - a pothole paradise. Beautiful sunrise on icy fields. :-)!

Omsk

Just past Omsk. V cold 2day-it snowed! Big contrast 2 way here. Axle weld stil holding but we get scared everytime we go over potholes-which is constantly!

Broken Axle

850km to Omsk. Stressful rainy day. Rear axel member snapped, got it welded - hope it holds on the ruff rds. & engine keeps cutting out. We all wet & cold.

Kemerovo

100km frm Kemerovo. Russian drivers arghh! Stopped by police 4 overtakin on hill-they tried to extort 5000roubles by taking d/licence but we refused to give!

Krasnojarsk

Russian rds are the pits & the drivers are even worse. They play russian roulette with their cars. Their driving makes our blood boil. 100km to Krasnojarsk.

Tulun

Just past Tulun, 720km to Krasnojarsk. Now driving west! Had to drive in dark over potholed rds 2 find truckstop for night. Russia's equiv 2 a greasy spoon.

Irkutsk - Russia

Drove through the mountains round lake Baikal to Irkutsk. Stunnning views. Charlie struggled with the steep roads. Saw the remains of a recent lorry crash - obviously gone too fast round a corner. Last night was feeezing - reminded us that we are in East Siberia!! Staying in a hotel, getting washed and fed. Ate s ...

Ulan Ude - Russia

Negotiated Mongol/Russian border ok. Staying just past Ulan Ude on route 2 Irkutsk. Ate some nice Borsch. Mountain drive. Broke down but Andy fixed it ok. We found out that Charlie is a bit of a joker with the breakdown. Charlie just conked out - no power at all. Checked the carb, the fuel pumps, the ht leads, the ...

Leaving Mongolia

100km from Russian border. Saw dead horse being eaten by eagle. We miss S, J&O left in UB, x's 2 u. Plenty dangerous Mongolian drivers 2day. Girls hvn fun. Last night watching the beautiful Mongolian Sky at night.

The route home

We have gone as far East and as far South as we are going on this trip and have now turned round to head home. Not sure of the route we will be taking back but next country will be Russia. Not looking forward to the crazy Russian drivers but we will just carry on tootling along as always - slowing down the traffic as ...

Gobi - a few photos

We are now safely back in Ulaan Baatar. We have all showered and eaten well! Andy has serviced the truck, changed the oil filter, cleaned the air filter and fixed the brakes again. We are aiming to leave UB tomorrow (Sunday) and make our way to the Russian border (should take about 2-days) to start our trek home. O ...

Mongolia - Gobi (Road from hell)

The last three days in the Gobi desert were some of the scariest we have ever experienced. We found the road from hell which was 290km of pot-holed, sometimes 45 degree angled windy, hot, sandy, crumbly, cratored track. It was a road used by lorries and they also left the most horrible ridges that were bone-shakers. ...

Mongolia - Gobi desert

We were woken up by a Nomad who showed us a dead Marmot he had just trapped - it was still dripping with blood. These animals can carry the bubonic plague - we kept well clear!! Driving through the Gobi has been a fabulous experience. We have found tracks sometimes but other times have been making our own tracks dr ...

Mongolia - Gobi desert

Driving across Gobi desert-no rds, using lat/long cords on gps. In middle of nowhere! Scary/exciting. Saw camels. Making fire wiv dried poo! - this is how the Mongolian nomads do it as there is no trees and hence no wood. Walked up a hill to get another Mb sig.

Mongolia - Gobi desert

A happy birthday to Olivia & lots of love to u. Sophie got told off for filming a local who approached us! Sun setting & stars soon come. 2moro 2 Mandalgov.

Mongolia - Gobi desert

In the middle of the middle Gobi about 25km sw of Choir on route to Mandalgov. Walked up hill 2 get mb signal. Desolate landscape. Interesting rocks/stones

Mongolia - Gobi desert

Drove out of UB in the dark dodging potholes. Pulled up off the gobi rd near some gers & a check-point. Scary dog & bone outside. Lovley stars & moon. :-)

Mongolia - Gobi desert

Andy just picked up Charlie the truck from the secure parking and gave it a full service including changing all the spark plugs, cleaning the air filter, fitting new HT leads, topping up all gear oils and engine oils. Also had a bit of welding done on the radiator as it had worked broken off on one side from one of t ...

Mongolia photos at the childrens camps

Here are a few more photos from the last week spent at the two childrens camps for ex Mongolian street children. 1) Ankaa - one of the ex street children we worked with. 2) Andy just after walking to the well to collect water. 3) The children loved eating these berries which made their teeth go brown. 4) Bird ...

Mongolia - children's camp 2a

We have just got back from living and working in our second Mongolian children's camp for street children and orphans. It has been an invigorating experience as well as being extremely tiring. We have run theatre workshops in the open air with up to 30 children at a time - they responded really well to all the sessio ...

Mongolia - Children's camp 2

Andy's blog: I am sitting on top of a mountain in middle of Mongolia. Beautiful views over mountains, rivers, valleys & distant gers. Suprised that I have a mb phone signal.  

Mongolia - children's camp 1

We spent 2 days in under the 8's kids camp. First night sleeping in a ger (Yurt). We played lots of drama games with the children, went on a walk up in to the hills and met some wild horses. The children had had fun. Eagles galore! Watched some horses being milked - mares milk is a taste unto itself! Tried lots of ne ...

Buddhist temple in Ulaan Baatar

Today we visited a Buddhist temple in Ulaan Baatar. Very peaceful. Andy and Cath got some blue material blessed by Buddhist monks. Photos were taken at the temple

Off to the Children's Camp

We are all really enjoying the cultural experience of Ulaan Baatar but we are now ready to get out of this city and going out in to the wilds of Mongolia tomorrow, staying in the Mongolian Ger and doing some drama with the street children for a while. We will not have any internet access while we are there. We probab ...

Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia - settling in

Another day in Ulaan Baatar. Rode on the tram, visited a market, witnessed a woman being run over on a zebra crossing (the driver paid her off and she limped away) and got turned away from a museum that wanted to close early! Watched some Mongolian traditional dance and a military band play in UB central square. Andy ...

Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia

Full day in UB today. Lots of shopping and sightseeing. We were followed around by a street child and nearly mugged again – was not more than 6-years old! In the afternoon we had cocktails in an ex-pat Irish pub who charged us a terrace tax. Sophie had a Blue Margarita, Andy and Cath had Tequila Sunrises and Julia ha ...

Ulaan Baatar - photos

Here are some more photos from Ulaan Baatar. 1) Amusing sign 2) Building reflections 3) Mongolian flag 4) Ger on top of a building 5) The girls in UB 6) Young street seller 7) Old lady on the move 8) Mir under the peace bell 9) Mir likes reading 10) Mir taking an interest 11) Olivia trying on a ...

Photo captions

We have now added some details to the photos on this blog.So if you are interested please look back at the old posts with photos and you will see captions with details of what they are about. Still got a few more to do - these will be done soon. We are now off to see some dinosaurs in Ulaan Baatar (UB) natural hist ...

Comments reminder

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Ulaan Baatar day 2 - more photos

We had a fun day in UB today. We found a secure lock-up for Charlie and then went to UB market. Andy bought some boots, Cath and the girls bought slippers and the girls bought some presents. Kaia witnessed several people being pickpocketed. Andy thought that the standard of pickpocketing was pretty low - you could se ...

Ulaan Baatar

We made it to the capital of Mongolia. In winter this is the coldest city in the world. Driving through UB was soooooooo scary - drivers have no road sense and drive anywhere they want. CRAZY! Loving the Mongolian vibe, what a change from Russia - when you smile at people they actually smile back at you! We are p ...

Mongolian thunderstorm

Stopped in huge thunderstorm 50km from Ulan Baatar. Wil sleep it out & go in to UB in morning. First day in Mongolia fantastic. Animals galore. All happy. The border guards on both sides were really friendly. At one stage we had to drive through a disinfectant bath from Russia to Mongolia - we had to pay for this t ...

Mongolia

Made it! We are now in Mongolia. Only took 3-hours to cross border. Its hot here. We now eating breakfast with the cows. We all suffering with lack of sleep

Altanbulag

We are at the Mongolian border waiting for it to open. This is a wild west town. Lets hope we get through with no probs or scams! We all ok but tired. We had a scary drive through the mountains to get here - thought we were being chased by some bandits! paranoia or what!!

Past Irkutsk

Past Irkutsk 400km from Ulan Ude. A Russian said 'the worst things about Russia are the roads & fools - problem is that all the fools are on the roads'!!!! Spent the day driving round Lake Baikal - beautiful.

On the road again

Getting ready to go to Mongolia. All washed, tanks are full of water and petrol, food stocks are high as are the spirits. We don't expect to get internet access again until Ulanbaatar (although we might get onlinr again late tonight). Mir helped run an English speaking class earlier today with a group of children and ...

And some more photos

Again - more details about the photos soon.

A few more photos

Here are a few more photos - we will add some detail about them soon.

Lake Baikal

Here is a video of Mir swimming in lake Baikal. The lake is freezing cold but she does not seem to mind - supergirl!

Some more photos - with details

Here are a few more photos of our trip to date. We have loads and loads of phots and film. We will make more of these available on our return when we make the documentary of our trip. Please let us know if you want a copy of the DVD. 1) View of lake Baikal 2) Cath, Kaia and Mir decided to take the dangerous rou ...

Landrover maintenance

The truck has been reliable but we have given it lots of TLC. Every morning before we leave (often at dawn) Andy spends an hour checking for loose nuts/bolts, checking engine oil and gearbox oil levels and filling up as needed, wheel nuts are tightened, brakes and master cylinder checked, radiator topped up, tyre pre ...

Domestics while travelling

We have been cooking a lot of our own food including pasta, rice and salads. In Russia we have also tried all the local salads including borsch, beetroot salad, tomato and garlic salad, lots of different cakes, a russian speciality is Blini - a pankake with sour cream or jam. They love their fried eggs here so we hav ...

Replies to your comments

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Olkhon Island, Lake Baikal

We have now gone as far east as we need and are taking a well earned rest on Olkhon Island. This island is in Lake Baikal (short ferry ride). Lake Baikal is the largest fresh water lake in the world and holds a fifth of the worlds fresh water. This place is very spiritual with a big shamanic tradition. It is beautifu ...

Lake Baikal

Past Irkutsk & en route to an island on lake Baikal. Sleeping in farmers field. Its dark very dark. Last few days have been very wet & stormy-big change from heat

Wild West Russia

300km from lake baikal. Road is like a cratored stony farmtrak-20to30kph max! Low mileage long hours 2day. Driven thro wildwest type towns. Harry Potter CD story has kept our spirits up.

Kansk

Stil no internet. Motorway been like a farm trak today. Lots of driving! In middle of forest. 650km from Irkutsk at anuver trukstop. We now 8hrs ahead of uk

Krasnojarsk

Sunday is worst day4crazy Russian drivers. Cows walked ova motorway 2day. Stayin at posh mountain trukstop in Krasnojarsk. Russians taken 100s fotos of truk

Mariinski

Driving thro the largest forest in world-larger than India! Stopped 70km from Mariinski in clean parkin spot wiv cafe&swings4kids&beer4us&fab view. All ok.

Novosibirsk

Through Novosibirsk. Kaia suffering with mozie bites! Full tank petrol: uk=£75 russia=£30! Gaz bot: uk=£20 russia=£1.50! Drinkin stella in another trukstop. The road is long!

Honest Russia

We went to another truckers pitstop with stinkiest toilets ever so we left in distgust. It just so happened that earlier in the day Kaia had decided to put all her special things (including camera and mb phone) in her rucksack and to take it with her when we left the truck for safe-keeping. 1~hour lata kaia realised ...

CRT - thanks

More Landrover technical data for those that are interested only. Just wanted to say a personal thanks to Alan and CRT for the help and advice they have been giving to us on the phone about some of the problems we have been having with the vehicle. Most of the time it is just putting our minds at ease. The picture ...

Chilled out Russia

I hope I don't put the mockers on things but it seems the more east we go in Russia the more chilled out the people get. For example, today Andy backed the truck 50 meteres down a one-way street (the wrong way) and was spotted by a policeman. Instead of the expected fine the policeman stopped the traffic and helped A ...

Siberia photos - with details

A few photois from previous days, including the ice caves and some pics of Cath by popular request :-) Photo details: 1) Bird of prey in Russia 2) Cath looking at birds of prey in Russia 3) Kaia and Cath freezing cold in the ice caves - we were advised to take warm clothes but Kaia insisted on wearing shorts ...

Omsk, Russia

Booked in to a hotel to get cleaned up. We also need to change some travellers cheques to get some roubles. It is almost impossible to change TC's in Russia - the last place we changed them (a large Russia city), it took over one and a half hours to get them changed in the bank (that does not iclude queuing time). We ...

Siberia - truckers hell hole!

There are very few places to stay in Siberia outside the large towns, even in some of those the hotels will not accept foreigners. Tyomen is one example - supposed to be a lovely place but closed to foreigners unless you book in advance through an official travel agency! Our choices are: wild camping or truckers pi ...

Siberia, Russia

Heaven is driving along empty Siberian roads listening to ian dury / santana while spotting eagles on a slightly cooler day. Should reach Omsk tomorow. For those in the know: New Boots and Panties / Best of. Andy saw an eagle circle and swoop down to catch its prey - exciting stuff.

Asia

Officially & geologically in Asia. Gone through Ekaterinberg & on route to Tyomen. The road is long! Good maps thing of the past, relying on road signs now.

Kungur, Russia - the ice caves

Amazing ice caves were so cold & instant relief from the oppressive heat. Frozen waterfalls & lakes. Kaia helped andy change air & petrol filters on truck. The air filter is quite a difficult change - it is based in an oil bath. Landrover Forward Control air filter. The process of changing the air filter (for those ...

Making comments on our blog

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Kungur, Russia

We have passed through Perm and are in a place called Kungar. We have booked in to a cheap hotel to wash and clean up. There are also some ice caves nearby with frozen waterfalls and underground lakes - they look exciting and we will take a look later. This is the first hotel we have stayed in Russia where the hotel ...

Perm, Russia

How things can change. We stayed in another truckers stop last night.. The owners were really friendly and joined us for a beer. They would not let us buy any drinks. They signed and gave us a basketball as a present and they gave Mir and Kaia a toy mechanical chicken and egg as presents. It made such a change having ...

Near Perm, Russia

On our way 2 Perm. The size of Russia & the obnoxious people we have met have been getting us down. Currently feels like we are enduring rather than enjoying.

Kazan, Russia

We Made it to Kazan. This city is billed as west russia meeting east russia with a whole mix of culture, and is the capital of the Tartarstan Republic. It is also apparently one of the only places in Russia to have a tourist information centre (we will check it out and see if it works). We were stopped 4 times by th ...

Nizhny Novogorod, Russia plus photos with detail

This is Russia's thrid city. It is like a mini chilled out moscow. We love it here, slow paced, friendly people, had some very tasty food. We ate in an Uzbek restaurant. Mir said it was the best food she tasted in her life. The Kremlin here is magnificent. We did a night drive to get here which was a bit hairy! Jus ...

Moscow

Spent the day in Moscow - too hurried to enjoy. Crazy drivers, lots of near misses, saw three crashes. Beautiful city but people seem really rude and unfriendly.

Near Moscow, Russia

What a day of Driving to day - the roads were from hell!! One long pit-holed road filled with fast, dangerous lorries!! One of the scariest and exciting drives we have ever had!! The children watched two films. Charlie really did not like the heat or the pot holes and groaned all day. We have made it to about 200kms ...

Russia

We are finally in russia, four hours at border - on the whole the border guards were fairly easy going with us but we had to go through one guard after another. They checked the truck contents repeatedly and we filled out endless forms. It was quite funny on the latvian side - the latvian border guard said with a smi ...

Rezekne, Latvia

We are in Latvia, staying by a lake south of Rezekne. We all went swimming in the lake, tranquil, and watched a pink golden sunset. Had trouble getting money as Latvia banks dont take travelers chqs which was a prob we had 2 solve - we eventually found a nice person who helped and we changed some euros - but we w ...

Beach, Lithuania

Day spent sun bathing on the beach, swimming in the icy Baltic sea and jumping big waves. Cath managed to get sunburned. Kaia and Andy went exploring the huge sand dunes and pine forest. Waled in to several spiders webs. Also noted that the coast facing the mainland is contaminated (we think with diesel). Dead fish l ...

Naringa, Lithuania

Cath and the kids on the beach looking for wild amber which apparently gets washed ashore here. Andy is under the truck fixing a petrol leak and a clanging noise! The rear petrol tank is leaking so have had to empty it. Have two more tanks on the sides so will continue with those and wait till we get back to the UK ...

Nida, Naringa, Lithuania

On a spit in Lithuania. A small stretch of land just of the coast of Lithuania. There are bears, elk and other wild animals here - it is an Unesco world heritage site. Camping in a site within the pine forests. Can hear the sea. Tranquil and beautiful. Lots of locals coming up to us and asking about the truck.

Jurbarkus, Lithuania

In Jurbarkus, Lithuania. Clean, beautiful well kept country. Friendly welcoming people. Camped in someones garden. Huge forest next door. Stil no internet! Very flat country. This place is close to the Russian border. We have renamed this place Jo Barker! Camping in someones back garden was fun - the girls loved ...

Mazurian Lakes, Poland

We are in the great great mazurian lakes, North East Poland. Hired a motor boat for the day & explored lakes & rivers. Just the most beautiful & exhilerating day. The river running through the forest reminded Andy of the Malaysian jumgle. Lots of wildlife, birds, butterflies, dragon flies, swans, geese. Funny momment ...

Torun - old town

Today we spent the day as tourists of Torun old town which included rickshaw rides, a walk up the high tower with wonderful views over the town, a planetarium show (with a Torun history; Torun being the centre of the world) and much food. Kaia and Mir hated the spinach pasta! They loved the frapps and chocolate cake. ...

Torun - Poland

Shorter travel day today. We are at a place known for its gothic architecture and astronomy. The campsite is in the middle of town. Journey here was without problems, except for Charlie moaning and groaning away. Andy will need to sort out the accelerator linkage and steering while we are here. We stopped off at a co ...

Poznan - Poland

Camping wild south of poznan out of necesity ujst off a farm track as go too2 late to go on. Fun day driving bakabush, came to 2 dead ends & a non existent bridge. As we arrived at the non existent bridge, kaia suggested we drive through the river LOLZ - it was deep and muddy, so a big no no. We had to make a big det ...

Poland - Start to travel North East

This morning Kaia and Mir went swimming while Andy worked on truck (taking out thermostat and repairing broken wires) and Cath did some domestics. Each day gets hotter and hotter and we keep mainjg the mistake of leaving in the middle of the day!! More pictures will go up soon. We have decided to give the truck a n ...

Jelenia Gora - Poland

Made it to Poland. Through the mountains. This short leg took ages as we broke down going up hill several times. Andy spent time adjusting the Carb. Thanks Alan for the advice/ideas. We arrived in time to watch Spain beat Holland - the TV room was filled with Dutch! More tomorrow, we are too tired to write more.

Leaving Prague

We are just about to leave Prague. The morning routines are quite hectic. Andy spends an hour going underneath the truck checking all the oils, any loose nuts and other bits and pieces, while the others pack up. We are still trying to train Kaia into getting in to the swing of packing up! Mir seems more ready to do i ...

Prague - sightseeing

We spent the day walking around Prague, visiting monuments, statues, churches, and bridges. To get to one building we had to walk up hundreds of steps. Outside the British embassy there is a statue of Winston Churchil. A lot of the imagery around the town is religious and much of it very violent. The puppet shops wer ...

Prague, Praha, Czech Republic

We made it to Prague, what a wonderful and magical place. Camping is a big contrast to last nights wild camping - we are in a cute cultivated campsite on the edge of Prague, hooked up to the electric. We all just had civilised showers and have washed all our clothes. Now we are off for beer, wine and food. More later ...

Bayreuth, Germany

Reuth/germany camping wild in forest, seen snake, mice&hare. Intimidated by lorry driver 4 40km as he did not like our slow speed, but all ok. Huge mozzies here! The night was so dark - no lights, no moon and no stars - very spooky. It was a bit scary when we wanted to take a leak at night. Saw more wildlife - a cute ...

Heidelberg

We have arrived in the wonderful city of Heidelberg. Thanks to Jo and John for recommending it. It is beautiful. We are camped on the banks of the Rhine. later on we will go to watch Germany v Spain and it promises to be a really good atmosphere. Andy and Kaia have gone in to the old town and are sitting in a coffe ...

Last night in Landau

Andy with the AVC@SL crew on our last day in Landau. We all went out for a wine tasting and drunk over 18 different types of wine - they were wonderful. Andy got wonderfully drunk with Thomas as you can see from the photo. Getting drunk on good wine - good times! Went to bed at 4am. Miss you guys already.

Landau

Met up with the AVC@SL crew (Anti-Violence Campus in Second Life) and had a good first day meeting - another one to go tomorrow. More swims, both kaia and Mir are swimming well and have both learned how ro dive. Kaia tried out the steam room and poured some eucolyptus water over her by mistake and is stingingall over ...

Landau

Yummy meal last night and great swim. The pool here is fantastic, kids love it. Andy off for a meeting today, at which Cath will also participate in briefly. Cath then off with kids to sightsee around Landau and do some washing! Been looking at the map and we might visit prague and then come back in to germany to vis ...

Germany - Landau

Spending the night in a hotel charged to the EU commission as Andy has a meeting on one of his European anti-bullying projects - kids very excited and are off to the pool for a swim and a cool down. Gives a chance to fix some of the things on the truck, do a general service, wash the clothes and generally reorganise ...

Germany - Losheim

Made it to germany as they won 4nil & were greeted with roars of delight from the German fans. Door was forced on truk & lok broken - not sure how this happened - we hope that it was not someone trying to break in. Anyway it means that we cannot use the side door properly. Losheim is beautiful. Fuel pumps stil dodgy. ...

Belgium

Left france & into belgium. First bit of wild camping nxt to a lake. Stil very hot. Kids swam in lake. Mir said best time ever. Kaia got delibeli. Goodtimes.

France

Arras/france-made it across ferry&thro france. V hot! Fuel pumps playing up~i wil chk once engine cooled down. Lots of smiles frm peeps as we passed them.

First Day

Succesful first day, 280 km & no breakdowns! Stopped 7 times for kids wee breaks! Kids tired but v excited. Cath lost her hoodie out of the window. Scream!

Alternative blog

To view our other blog which has all our early prep, photos and stuff not found here please visit: http://actiontrip100.blogspot.com/ - we are not sure if we will keep both blogs going. This one for sure as we can update it via e-mail and SMS - but blogspot can only update via SMS if you live in the USA!

Last day before departure

Final packing - everything won't fit in!

June update

We are about to embark on an adventure - ups and downs to be expected. Will we make it? Find out by checking our progress. Big thanks to John for using up your evening to do that spot of welding for me to reinforce the winch bracket (you see David I did listen). Lots of packing still left to do with just hours to go ...

Prep

Truck: The truck has had its ups and downs. The highlight has been the people from Exmoor Trim who have given us new pop-up canvas and two new front seats - the people there are FANTASTIC. John and Jan did most of the work. A huge thank-you goes to Julian for offering to do the job and a huge thank you to everyone e ...

Test Trip

Succesful weekend testing out the truck. Broke down three times but was able to fix it!

New Blog

We are now moving our blog from Blogger as this one appears to be more user friendly and allows us to update via SMS. Once we have got to grips with all the settings on this blog we will transfer our old posts from Blogger to here.

Overland adventure from the UK to Mongolia and back in our historic forward control Landrover. We will be working with schools and youth groups in Europe, Russia and Mongolia. Running creative workshops, exploring anti-bullying strategies and giving our children an educational experience of a lifetime.