The Art of Overlanding

Here at Planet Pub2Pub, our philosophy is simple - the road trip is life. And as an equal opportunities website, we take great pleasure in every one of the many forms which a road trip can take. From greeting the rising sun with an early morning blat across the moors, to heading down to the Alps on a European grand tour, we love them all. But there is one type of road trip which calls to us more compellingly than the rest.

The overland drive.

Because everything about overlanding is glorious theatre. From the first stages of planning the trip - carried out audaciously from the pages of an atlas, rather than a mere map - to the moment you climb aboard your vehicle and set off across the globe, the experience has a gravitas which is lacking from shorter trips. You cross countries, continents and cultures in your push towards some far flung destination and as you do so, as you bound across obstacles and landscapes and chase the ever changing horizon for day after day, your life and your journey merge together and become indistinguishable. You and the drive are one, and anything can happen.

It is the road trip, scaled up and wrought pure.

And it's a form of travel which we've been living, in our own quirky style, for fifteen years now.

TVR Chimaera on a dry lake near Area 51, Nevada.

In that time we've covered around 100,000 miles across the globe, in eighty different countries on five continents. In doing so, we've learned a lot about how to make overlanding dreams a reality and in this new series, we're going to share what we've learned with you. We'll be running you through the various overland routes which crisscross the globe, and explaining how to get to grips with them. We'll be filling you in on how to break through the red tape of border crossings, and how to prepare your vehicle. We'll be discussing on-the-road issues such as security, accommodation and maintenance. And we'll be doing so by referring back to our own, unique overlanding experiences, because as you may have noticed from this website, our choice of vehicles has been somewhat unusual.

While most people setting off on a big overland journey logically make use of a sturdy 4x4, our philosophy has always been somewhat different. Each of our trips has had is own unique style, and the choice of vehicle has been an important factor in setting that style. Rather than accepting conventional wisdom and purchasing a Land Rover or Toyota Landcruiser for our adventures, we've always begun the planning process with one question - why?

Why do I need a big 4x4 to drive the length of Africa, or to cross Asia? Won't a sports car suffice? Often when we've asked ourselves such a question, the answer has been yes, and the result has been a unique adventure, carried out with a style that is all our own.

Chance meeting with some Swiss overlanders, in rural China.

Of course, everyone has their own unique style, and we're not saying one form of overland journey is more worthy than another. Our goal with this series is to provide you with the tools and knowledge you'll need to craft your own overland adventure, whatever vehicle you decide to undertake it with. From mopeds to Unimogs, we're here to share our experience and make those dreams happen.

Next week we'll be kicking off the series properly with a look at the different routes which one can take across the globe, along with some discussion about their 21st century viability, so stay tuned to The Art of Overlanding, here on Planet Pub2Pub.

There's more than one way to skin a cat - Lusaka, Zambia.