How far can you drive?
Discussion
Like most people I guess, I sometimes set off driving to work and wonder what would happen if I decided to just ditch it and go for a long drive.
With a normal UK car, no preparation, visas, carnets or special equipment, just a passport, money and credit card and the log book.
As far as I can tell you can get into Turkey relatively easily. Russia seems to require a pre-arranged visa. Not sure about the 'stans.
Anyone done this? Anything I've missed?
Just idly wondering really.
With a normal UK car, no preparation, visas, carnets or special equipment, just a passport, money and credit card and the log book.
As far as I can tell you can get into Turkey relatively easily. Russia seems to require a pre-arranged visa. Not sure about the 'stans.
Anyone done this? Anything I've missed?
Just idly wondering really.
sc0tt said:
I'm going to Australia soon and hope to drive from Perth to Sydney via the great ocean road.
4,481km's
I've done that in the other direction. Good long drive for sure!4,481km's
I also went up to the top from Perth to Darwin and back down the middle. Amazing country, but there are some big long stretches of nothing which get quite boring after a while.
Mali?
Europe is easy of course, crossing in Morocco doesn't need a pre-applied Visa as far as I know - then it's Western Sahara (open boarder) Mauritania ($20 Visa Stamp plus 'taxes') and into Mali ($27 Visa at Border and you need 2x passport photos) - I was hoping it would be possible to get to Cape Town, but Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast all need pre-arranged Visa and frankly sound like hell on earth - I'm not saying the border is closed or fenced, or that you couldn't get a 'special visa' in exchange for some dollars.
You could drive to Italy and get on a boat to Tunisia but it only shares land borders with Libya and Algeria.
Europe is easy of course, crossing in Morocco doesn't need a pre-applied Visa as far as I know - then it's Western Sahara (open boarder) Mauritania ($20 Visa Stamp plus 'taxes') and into Mali ($27 Visa at Border and you need 2x passport photos) - I was hoping it would be possible to get to Cape Town, but Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast all need pre-arranged Visa and frankly sound like hell on earth - I'm not saying the border is closed or fenced, or that you couldn't get a 'special visa' in exchange for some dollars.
You could drive to Italy and get on a boat to Tunisia but it only shares land borders with Libya and Algeria.
AJS- said:
sc0tt said:
I'm going to Australia soon and hope to drive from Perth to Sydney via the great ocean road.
4,481km's
I've done that in the other direction. Good long drive for sure!4,481km's
I also went up to the top from Perth to Darwin and back down the middle. Amazing country, but there are some big long stretches of nothing which get quite boring after a while.
A mate rode back from Sri Lanka on a 250 he picked up there, dealing with borders as he came to them. I think his biggest issues where importing the bike into India and having enough fuel to make it between stops in some of the more remote parts. He reckoned there where dozens of other Europeans on the routes, all be it mostly on better equipped machines.
sc0tt said:
AJS- said:
sc0tt said:
I'm going to Australia soon and hope to drive from Perth to Sydney via the great ocean road.
4,481km's
I've done that in the other direction. Good long drive for sure!4,481km's
I also went up to the top from Perth to Darwin and back down the middle. Amazing country, but there are some big long stretches of nothing which get quite boring after a while.
Get yourself to Quito in South America and drive/bus/walk down. I took a year and backpacked it once, f#ucking amazing,
Edited by craig_m67 on Wednesday 10th September 12:05
I was in Tiblisi a few years ago and in the hotel car park was a small fleet of UK registered Land Rovers and the like clearly on some far flung trek.
Knowing that area quite well, I'd say, Georgia aside the, Caucuas region is the limit of what one might call 'trouble free' access and transit. Beyond then it all gets a bit 'interesting'.
Knowing that area quite well, I'd say, Georgia aside the, Caucuas region is the limit of what one might call 'trouble free' access and transit. Beyond then it all gets a bit 'interesting'.
craig_m67 said:
No, I've lived here most of my life and have seen/driven/flown over most of it. Looks pretty much the same everywhere. By all means come and have a look but you really only need a day or two in any direction from any capital city. Obviously we rock as people, have to make up for the same, same but not really different. The rest of the worlds geography is far more interesting and diverse.
Get yourself to Quito in South America and drive/bus/walk down. I took a year and backpacked it once, f#ucking amazing,
Backpacking makes my hair stand on end I am afraid.Get yourself to Quito in South America and drive/bus/walk down. I took a year and backpacked it once, f#ucking amazing,
Edited by craig_m67 on Wednesday 10th September 12:05
I'm coming travelling but won't be living out of a back pack
Staying in perth for the first 8 months.
sc0tt said:
Would you recommend?
It depends on your situation. For a 2 week holiday definitely not. As said above it isn't the moat interesting scenery and once you're over the sheer mind boggling emptiness of it (about 3 hours in my case) the next 20 or so hours of the Nullabor are flat, empty nothingness.I was there for a year on a working holiday visa and like most people from the UK and western Europe couldn't really get my head around that much nothingness. It did confirm that it was there, which satisfied my bloody minded curiosity.
Most of the SE corner between Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide ia quite pleasant and explorable.
Going up the west coast was better. Did that over a few months stopping off at various places on the way, picking up casual work and seeing stuff. Still big stretches of nothing.
If I could do it again I would skip the Nullabor and spend more time in Queensland.
AJS- said:
sc0tt said:
Would you recommend?
It depends on your situation. For a 2 week holiday definitely not. As said above it isn't the moat interesting scenery and once you're over the sheer mind boggling emptiness of it (about 3 hours in my case) the next 20 or so hours of the Nullabor are flat, empty nothingness.I was there for a year on a working holiday visa and like most people from the UK and western Europe couldn't really get my head around that much nothingness. It did confirm that it was there, which satisfied my bloody minded curiosity.
Most of the SE corner between Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide ia quite pleasant and explorable.
Going up the west coast was better. Did that over a few months stopping off at various places on the way, picking up casual work and seeing stuff. Still big stretches of nothing.
If I could do it again I would skip the Nullabor and spend more time in Queensland.
Still vastly tempting.
I think you'll need a carnet pretty much anywhere outside the EU.
If you're serious about doing it have a good read of Horizons Unlimited. Loads of blogs and people on the forum who've done think kind of thing and they tend to be up to date on where you can and can't get to. Started out about bike travel but there's loads of 4x4's hitchhikers, backpackers etc on there too these days.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/
If you're serious about doing it have a good read of Horizons Unlimited. Loads of blogs and people on the forum who've done think kind of thing and they tend to be up to date on where you can and can't get to. Started out about bike travel but there's loads of 4x4's hitchhikers, backpackers etc on there too these days.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/
I'd be surprised if you can get far out of the EU without resorting to bribery or boats. Europe is reasonably large though so you'd still have a good couple of days driving before you reached the furthest point.
So heading south you'll hit the Med and East you hit Russia but how far north could you go I wonder...?
I think you do the place a massive disservice.
You've got the whole untouched Kimberley region in the north west with canyons, lakes and gorges, the Flinders Ranges, Uluru and Kata Tjuta in the middle, Ningaloo reef on the west coast, the Fraser Island coast, rainforests and sugar cane fields in the north east, beautiful coastline in the south west, and the hilly regions inland between NSQ and Queensland are pretty stunning too.
Plus the outback has magnificent deserts and so sparsely populated that the opportunity to look up at night and see a billion more stars from horizon to horizon than you could ever see in the UK.
Plus endless, deserted beaches wherever you are. And the wildlife; I loved the wildlife because it makes everything more exciting. Going fishing is pleasant, going fishing surrounded by crocodiles is thrilling
Having said that, I will concede that between these places there is pretty much bugger all
Me and the wife started in Melbourne and drove a full circuit of the mainland, then round Tasmania and finally back up the middle to Darwin. I think we did something like 25,000 miles and I never felt bored. I even enjoyed crossing the Nullarbor although I had the added interest of avoiding the kangaroos that came to drink from the puddles in the road as the remnants of a cyclone passed through.
The cities are pleasant enough but after a few days oohing and aahing at the sights, I quickly felt like I could be anywhere really. It seemed a total waste to have travelled to the other side of the world to eat in restaurants and drink in bars that look exactly like the ones back home.
Darwin was the exception - that place is an adventure.
So heading south you'll hit the Med and East you hit Russia but how far north could you go I wonder...?
craig_m67 said:
No, I've lived here most of my life and have seen/driven/flown over most of it. Looks pretty much the same everywhere. By all means come and have a look but you really only need a day or two in any direction from any capital city. Obviously we rock as people, have to make up for the same, same but not really different. The rest of the worlds geography is far more interesting and diverse.
Excuse the off topic but this was not true for me - I loved every second out in the Australian bush. One of my happiest times was driving across a desert despite the scenery looking exactly the same for hour after hour I think you do the place a massive disservice.
You've got the whole untouched Kimberley region in the north west with canyons, lakes and gorges, the Flinders Ranges, Uluru and Kata Tjuta in the middle, Ningaloo reef on the west coast, the Fraser Island coast, rainforests and sugar cane fields in the north east, beautiful coastline in the south west, and the hilly regions inland between NSQ and Queensland are pretty stunning too.
Plus the outback has magnificent deserts and so sparsely populated that the opportunity to look up at night and see a billion more stars from horizon to horizon than you could ever see in the UK.
Plus endless, deserted beaches wherever you are. And the wildlife; I loved the wildlife because it makes everything more exciting. Going fishing is pleasant, going fishing surrounded by crocodiles is thrilling
Having said that, I will concede that between these places there is pretty much bugger all
Me and the wife started in Melbourne and drove a full circuit of the mainland, then round Tasmania and finally back up the middle to Darwin. I think we did something like 25,000 miles and I never felt bored. I even enjoyed crossing the Nullarbor although I had the added interest of avoiding the kangaroos that came to drink from the puddles in the road as the remnants of a cyclone passed through.
The cities are pleasant enough but after a few days oohing and aahing at the sights, I quickly felt like I could be anywhere really. It seemed a total waste to have travelled to the other side of the world to eat in restaurants and drink in bars that look exactly like the ones back home.
Darwin was the exception - that place is an adventure.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff