Hello to everyone

[Ollie]

Well we got the landy down to Cornwall at the weekend. Great fun! Next trip is Ireland at the end of August. Loving the freedom it gives us

[Ollie]

Hey Jimla! Check out the blog for the first photo of us kissing a bald mans napper!

[martync]

Hi

I'm Martyn, you responded to a message on the horizons website, myself & girlfriend are planning the same trip but with a motorcycle. we are at present in the very early stages of planning but want to leave either next year or about the same date you leave.

looks like you are ready to go already

no website yet

[Ollie]

Hi Martyn,

Well we ready to go apart from the money! We're saving hard and will be for another two years. We're going to use that time to plan our route and prepare ourselves for the adventures before us.

I see you're from Southampton too, drop us a mail if you fancy meeting up for a beer.

[lonewolf]

Congratulations Ollie on the Half marathon, and keep up the good progress!

Nick

[Ollie]

Thanks Nick.

Did you go along to the Land rover experience day with your guys? We are thinking of doing something similar. Maybe with them, or maybe a cheaper firm that we have found (I think this means with more people though). Do you know whether it was any good?

I'm about to go under the knife to have my gall bladder removed on the 5th October, so that will put pay to any further activities for a while. But will mean I get to spend some time on the website .....

Not long before your guys set off eh?

[Roger]

Good luck with the gall-bladder op...enjoy your time off, I imagine therell be no golf, just TV and the web to keep you company.

[lonewolf]

Good Luck with the operation Ollie.

I did do the driver training with Land Rover experience. I must say, I cannot recommend it enough, I also recommend investing in a comprehensive winch handling course if you intend on using your winch. Because we did the course through the Royal Geographic Society, we were able to do the equivalent of Level 1 and Level 2, and a glance at a winch in operation, for £150, where it would have cost between £500 - £600 normally. I would recommend doing the course, and if you can associate yourself with the RGS, it may open a few doors for you.

For us, the course was a tremendous investment, as we realised after wards, we had very little idea of what the vehicle could actually do, (we never tested it for fear of unnecessary damage)

Nick

[Ollie]

Ahh ... very interesting that Nick. When you say associateing ourselves with the RGS, what sort of thing do you have in mind. I'd happily do that genuinely anyhow, if its possible, but if it saved us some money all the better.

[lonewolf]

I know that you can become a member of the RGS, and then both you and jenny could do the course (on the basis of only one of you being a member, as you can take a guest), alternatively, if you have a friend who is already a member, then they can 'invite' you to do the course.

Either way, for me it did represent amazing value for money.

here is some photos from the course taken by one of the other guys:

www.whichwayisup.org/rgslr/index.html

[Ollie]

Hi Nick! what a great post! Worth startign this board up for this alone. Thanks

Jenny did know somone in uni with an atlas, and we reckon she could be a member. So we are going to go down that route eventually.

For the time being we are booked on www.lroac.com/training.html which is £65 for two people in one vehicle. I think it's obviously not so comprehensive, but we want to cover off the basics before doing a two day trip to Wales with the same company. The two day trip is only £110 for two people so if anyone fancies joining us let us know! We're doign it on the 28th Dec - my birthday

Again, thanks for the top info Nick. Are your guys leaving in the new year BTW

[lonewolf]

Yes, all set to leave just after the new year, we still haven't finalised the actual departure date, as it may be on the 1st Jan, or maybe a couple of days later, to recover from the New Years celebrations.
Just need to arrange a ferry/ chunnel trip to france!

That course certainly looks good, and you can use your own vehicle which Land Rover Experience wouldn't allow.

Nick

[lonewolf]

Hello Jenny & Ollie,

Good to read your Blog and see that your operation went well. shame about crashing the car! How are your preparations going?

We've just tested the water with a local newspaper, they were very happy to take the story, its just a shame that most of it was wrong!!!!


www.croydonguardian.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.997265.0.roving_the_land.php

We've also arranged the carnet and international drivers permit, and are getting visas for Iran, Pakistan and India.

Nick

[Ollie]

Ahh Hi there Nick. I was just looking at your photo shoot at the weekend. All looks very nice.

My god, I nearly fainted when I read the £150k in the newspaper article. Ha ha. Nice article, and in true press fashion don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Can you let us know if you have any troubles with the visas as we'll be doing the same in a couple of years I've already spoken to Paul at teh RAC about the carnet.

Keep us updated as your leaving date draws nearer and good luck with everything.

Cheers

Ollie

PS least said about car crash soonest mended

[lonewolf]

Hi Jenny and Ollie,

The Lone Wolf Transglobal Expedition has finally departed!!! Yesterday at 5.30, for a 8am shuttle to France, they went through Northern France, Belgium, and into Holland on the first day! They are now in Germany, trying to get the wolf up to speed on the autobahn!

We had little problems with the visas, though we only got Iran, Pakistan and India in this country, Turkey is actually half the price if you get it on the border. All other visas will be on the borders and in neighbouring countries.

The carnet however was harder to get. When we thought it was in the bag, the bank decided to charge us a fortune. It ended up being cheaper to take the insurance.

Here are the Journal Pages of our departure.

Nick & the Lone Wolf Transglobal Team