www.drive-to-oz.com

Spotted a review about a family overlanding with their 3 children to Australia using a Toyota LC - I know not a LR but just though I'd mention in case anyone interested. They were in London Metro newspaper a couple of days ago. Thought might be useful for overlanders with children. They only decided in Jan and are leaving in May and here's me spending 2 years to get organised with our children in LR. Have other sites about travelling with children by the way - none LR's (can't seem to find any - all Toyotas! or aeroplanes - should I be a wee bit concerned!!? - no - nothing else will do - LR all part of the dream for us!) - anyway - if anyone interested, let me know as have been researching loads where children concerned - anything from education to safety, comfort, in car entertainment, routine plan, route plan, general tips etc. etc.
I'm feeling bit sick (and jealous - I want to go now!!!!!) that someone has beat us to the Oz route with kiddies but hope to learn from their experiences and will be following their antics. Can't believe they've managed to pull it together in such a short time but circumstances seem to be right for them - they have the cash, no home (have sold) and mum is a teacher. My concerns are whether the children will be rushed through each day to get to Oz in 7 months - may end up being knackered - and also how much preparation they have allowed themselves and the kids - I believe proper preparation for selves and children for such a long trip to ensure well grounded (it will take us 11 months minimum before we actually hit Oz). Such a trip much different to a 2-week hol - all have to mentally prepared but maybe I am being too serious about it. Anyhow - maybe they have got it right - just grabbing the bull by the horns and doing it. Good luck to them (and sorry for using the TLC swear word on this site - giggle!). If anyone knows of anyone or any sites where LR used long-haul overland with children - please could they let me know. Cheers.

I am driving to Australia in July (just over 10 weeks away) and currently we have no visas, no carnet, no maps, not much equipment and at the moment my Land Rover is in the body shop after someone drove into it causing nearly £2500 worth of damage (only just escaped a write-off), it could be another three weeks until I get it back. Just two of us going on our trip and no kids to consider so i guess it makes it a lot easier to plan. I cant imagine all the extra work involved when taking kids as well!
Before I go I will set up a web site myself and keep a diary going of the journey, i will post the address on here as soon as i have one. Hopefully it will be of some use to you for planning your trip.

you are both Mad, its all easy except the little bit between greese and thailand.

please check your routes out well, these plenty of hot spots in there

I ay, ol' chap - would you mind using lower case when typing mad, otherwise I think you are talking about me.

I think you will find that Greece is spelt with a "c" and not an "s". I only mention this, because you seem to like the spelling to be correct.

you wouldn't be taking the **** there would you Mad?

moi? how dare you? I just thought that this young gentleman from the antipodes might like to improve his English.

snigger

iannotts said:

snigger

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aborigine is he??

The Mad Hat Man said:

I ay, ol' chap - would you mind using lower case when typing mad, otherwise I think you are talking about me.

I think you will find that Greece is spelt with a "c" and not an "s". I only mention this, because you seem to like the spelling to be correct.

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Out of interest what trips have you done??

Just some of what I have done, is, London Vladivostok, Vladivostok Moscow, Vladivostok Beijing. BBK to paski (hit a land mine on that trip= short trip) paski thought Det Udom/ Ubon ratchatani to Valentine. London to Bagdad ( 1980s) Pakistan though India to BBK. oh and the Simpson??

And you have done what?

NB that the LR trips, I didn’t list the Land cruiser, or the GW motors winter Russian trips ( about 50 000 klms there)

Gun running were you?

Took a wrong turn outta the asda car park??

Take5 said:

Gun running were you?

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uumm well i was charged with that once, usally armed sort of have to be

ave did kabul to kirkuk, dover to istanbul, london to peking, melbourne to shay gap, and L.A to mexico city. and thats without mentioning the ones ave did by plane, helicopter or minisub. nor any done on me 1200cc moto guzzi fitted with nitrous and fitted out with a camper van attachment

Hey cassie, i've read a few of your threads & reckon the trip your planning is awesome, wish i could afford to take the time off and do a similar one.
Thought i might share a couple of opinions, mainly concering when you get down here. However a couple of people have commented about your safety and i think you should seriously consider their advice. A fair few of the countries your planning to travel through dont appreciate your religious of ethnic background & some of these fanatics have been shown to be quite unreasonable. I would have a good look at your planned route and possibly make some detours.

Now to some of your questions.

Tyres, BFG. Not my favorite brand, however a bloody good tyre with the advantage of a distribution network that should see them available in every major town you pass through. For this reason alone i would strongly reccommend them.
Snorkel, Almost essential. Keeps water out, reduces dust. You can buy pre filters that are similar to a sock that fit inside the top part of the tube and further protect your engine, You will be amazed at the amount of crap you'll empty daily!!
Roof Top Tent, I would personally not use one as they tend to make a 110 's handeling a little vague at speed, same goes for storing fuel & water on your roof rack. Do it only if you have no other choice. There's a great range of easy to erect tents, matresses & sleeping bags that take bugger all room & will keep you comfortable in most conditions.
Communications. When you get to Australia, consider joining one of the LR clubs and hiring a HF radio. It will keep you in touch with flying doctors, search & rescue, police ect. This is a bloody big continent, depending on your route you may find that your travelling around 800 miles on crappy roads or in sand with deflated tyres between fuel stops. Long range fuel tanks, plenty of water storage and good quality radios are essential. Many a tourist have been found dead because of dehydration. Why - either they have broken down, run out of fuel or got lost. Noone starts looking for them coz we dont know they're lost & a search can take a very long time. Australia is approxiamately the size of Europe, 95% of our population live on the coast so the interior is vast & empty.
When you arrive here the other thing to consider if you travel into the centre of Australia is the weather. During the day it will average 40-45C (112-122F), at night it can get to zero & below. Make sure u have clothing & bedding to suit. On that subject we also are the worst in the world for skin cancer, cover up & use sun screen.
Common sense things. Not all dingos eat babies, but you shouldn't feed them. They are a good looking dog but at the end of the day they are wild. Crocodiles, They aren't racist or sexist - they eat anything. Be very careful up the top third of oz. if a sign says crocs - assume its true. If you find yourself at a waterhole that has no signs, assume there's crocs in it. Freshwater crocs are generally considered not to be aggresive. Salt water croc (the dangerous ones) can swim quite a long way up stream & be found in fresh water (go figure).
First Aid. We also have some ridiculous percentage of venomous creatures here. Something like 12 of the 15 most deadly snakes, spiders & scorpians live here. Be careful.
This is not meant to scare you, but rather give you some of our experiences, as i said earlier i wish i could do your trip. When its all planned let everyone know. One of the advantages you will enjoy is accomadation as we all have spare rooms, back yards ect, Hospitality coz most of us love a drink & tour guides coz we'll all take you out somewhere.
Good luck mate, i hope you & your family have a ball.

There's heaps more i could go on with, not trying to scare you mate, get on some aussie forums and you'll find us very accomadating and everyone will want to take you on a trip in their local area. Your about to visit one of the best places on earth, just plan well & give yourself enough time to enjoy it.

Disco-Dave - any sign of that website?

Blu110 - thanks for all info - much appreciated and will add relevant points to me danger list. Needless to say - not deterred

It is on my to-do list! I will hopefully get something up and running in the next few weeks. My car is still in the body shop (big delay getting a new door from landrover for a 3dr D1!) so I have a bit of free time to sort it at the moment.
I will post up here as soon as it is live.