15 April 2003 - 24 June 2005
Around the World in a 6x6 Land Rover
We have just arrived home in Nottingham, having completed our
journey around the world. We visited 62 countries and covered a distance
of nearly 120,000km, (enough to circumnavigate the globe at the equator three
times). The world has so many breathtakingly beautiful places and we are
privileged to have experienced just some of them. We were exposed to so
many different cultures and in our experience we discovered that for the most
part, the world is a remarkably kind and benevolent place. We felt
uplifted and encouraged to see so much friendliness and generous spirit from
people all over the world.
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made
our trip so fascinating and rewarding - from fellow travellers and gracious
hosts in so many countries, to the myriad locals who waved, smiled and welcomed us
wherever we went, and to friends, family and strangers who have followed our travels on-line and sent
us emails of thanks and support. Thank you, we are grateful for the
many ways in which you have enriched our journey!
We will be adding the final touches to the website over
the next weeks and months, so it will eventually all make sense....
Welcome to our website which describes our preparation, planning and travels around the world. The website
is divided into nine categories, plus a simple What's New section. Each category gives an overview coupled
with further, in-depth information particular to that section.

In April 2003 we embarked upon a two-year, trans-world
expedition in our custom-built, 6x6 Land-Rover called Nyathi. We intend to
cover a distance of over 150,000kms, traversing more than 60 countries. We
planned the trip for the best part of three years and jumped out of the rat race into the panic of what
were last minute trip
preparations...
In summary our trip will take us from our home city of Nottingham, down
through France and Spain, shipping across to Morocco. We will travel
through about 23 countries in Africa, shipping from Cape Town to Buenos Aires.
Then through 15 countries in South and Central America and on to
Mexico, the USA, Canada and Alaska, crossing the Bering Sea to Siberia.
South through Mongolia, China and South East Asia, across middle Asia, the
Middle East, Europe and back to Nottingham in about May 2005. (We may also consider
adding Australia to the itinerary). As you would imagine, our actual route will
depend on politics, weather, road conditions and other unpredictable factors.
See Route
Even though it is mainly written for ourselves, we hope you find this website a useful tool to find out more
about us, our preparations and planning and how we are coping with the
rigours of adventure travel around the world. Feel free to send us
email, either about the site, or about our trip. Please do not
send messages with pictures or attachments (or at least put any photos or
attachments in a separate email to the text message which we will download
when we have a fast internet connection).
or
Please don't send mail to both addresses!
© All information, both written
and photographic is protected by copyright - please don't use it without
permission.
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Expedition
Overland round the world trip adventure adventures trans world transworld
trans-world travel Africa South America North America Asia Europe UK Britain
United Kingdom England Nottinghamshire Nottingham ferry channel France Paris
Spain Madrid Morocco Fes Marrakesh Todra Gorge du Ziz Mauritania Sahara
desert Nouadhibou Nouakchott
Mali Burkina Faso Ouagadougou Ghana Accra Togo Lome Benin Cotonou
Nigeria Lagos Cameroon Cameroun Douala Yaounde Gabon Libreville Congo Brazzaville DRC
Kinshasa Democratic Republic of Congo Belgian Zaire Angola Luanda Namibia
Namib desert Windhoek Sossusvlei Tsumeb South Africa Capetown Cape Town Johannesburg
Kruger National Park Sun City Pilanesberg Port Elizabeth Mozambique Maputo
Elephant Park Ponta da Oura Xai Xai Argentina Buenos Aires Patagonia llama
vicuna tarantula Valdez PeninsulaTierra del Fuego Perito Moreno glacier El
Calafate Chile Santiago Peru Paraguay Chaco
Filadelfia Asuncion Mennonites Mennonite community Bolivia La Paz Cuzco Cusco Macchu
Picchu Incas Inca ruins Lima Brazil Rio
de Janeiro Venezuela Ecuador Quito Cotapaxi Colombia Bogota Medellin Cartagena Uruguay
Panama canal Panama City Costa Rica San Jose Puerto Limon Santa Rosa
National Park Lake Arenal Volcano Nicaragua Managua Masaya hammock El
Salvador San Salvador Honduras Tegucigalpa La Ceiba Butterflies moths
insects museum Guatemala City Copan Ruins Mayan Ruins Poptun Finca Ixobel
Tikal Ruins Antigua Volcan Pacaya volcano Belize City Aztecs Aztec Ruins Mexico
Yucatan Peninsula Cancun Puerto Morelos Chichen Itza Merida hammocks sisal
Villahermosa Palenque Misol-Ha waterfalls Misol ha Agua Azul San Cristobal
Pemex Tepotzlan Cuernavaca Taxco Acapulco Semana Santa Puerto Vallarta United States USA Canada Alaska Siberia Bering Strait Straits Russia
Mongolia China Vietnam Cambodia Burma Nepal Tibet India Pakistan Saudi
Arabia Jordan Yemen Ethiopia Sudan Eritrea Kenya Tanzania Zanzibar Uganda
Lake Victoria Malawi Zambia Zimbabwe ship container shipping cost costs P&O Nedlloyd Chusan Mobil Delvac 1 SHC synthetic oil 5W40 fuji fujifilm finepix
6800 Zoom digital camera Merlin spare spares spare parts sponsor sponsorship
sponsors sponsored sponsoring police army bribe bribes corrupt corruption
vehicle offroad off-road Landrover Land-rover Land Rover Defender 110
One-ten 300TDi 300 TDi 130 one-thirty 90 Ninety Forward Control 101 camper conversion driven
Foleys Foley Specialist Vehicles 6x6 six wheel drive six wheeler 6WD
S1XWD six wheel-drive 4x4 four wheel drive 4WD crawler box crawler gearbox
low range low ratio ratios diff locks difflocks diff lock difflock air
locker air lockers ARB locking differential differentials freewheeling hubs
Fairey GKN overdrive polyair Air Lift 1000 air springs air bags Extreme Aire
Extreme Air compressor propshaft
prop-shaft propeller shaft drive shaft driveshaft winch Mile Marker Milemarker hydraulic winch
power steering pump UHMWPE Amsteel Blue Plasma rope steel cable BF Goodrich
BFG Mud Terrain Mud Terrains 255/85-16 Michelin XZY XZL Bridgestone
Firestone Destination tires tyres Procomp rims wheels tube tubes tubeless
puncture punctures patch Wolf rims rim Old Man Emu OME shock absorbers
raised suspension Bilstein shock absorbers steering damper polyurethane suspension bushes Ashcroft
Land Cruiser Unimog Michael Groves Sandy Methven
Michael and Sandy 2003 2005 Nyathi Nyati Inyathi Togo dog Pat Patrick Cahill Glen
Pattison Simon Angling engage disengage jungle rain forest desert Mojave
desert Arizona Utah Nevada California Nogales grand canyon Moab Bryce Zion Los
Angeles Venice Beach Death Torrance Rover Accessories Charles d'Andrade
specialists expert experts British Car Service Death Valley Miller Jeep
Trail Lockwood Canyon Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Forest Kings
Canyon Yosemite rest area rest areas Oregon Washington Procomp wheels
Seattle Tacoma Edgewood Quick Coach Seatac Vancouver visa waiver USA Embassy
consulate West Pender Joe Yanak
Peg Kuperman Richard Yanak Leslie Yanak Camel Trophy beer tractor Mt Mount
St Helens Mt Rainier Whistler Houston Whitehorse Dawson City Dawson Creek
Fairbanks Alaska Prudhoe Bay Deadhorse Haul Road Dalton Highway Inuvik
Dempster Highway North Pole Arctic Circle latitude longitude Yellowstone Mt
Rushmore Montana Wyoming South Dakota Iowa Illinois Indiana Michigan
badlands moose caribou buffalo elk black bear grizzly brown salmon spawn roe
elephant antelope giraffe lion leopard rhino hippo crocodile kudu gemsbok oryx impala springbuck springbok porcupine hyena jackal Fredericton
New Brunswick Gordon Hagar Shelley Maine Vermont New Hampshire Connecticut New York New
Jersey Richard Pignatello Nancy Pignatello The Pitcher Inn Dexter Lake Wassookeag Joe Bush Sandy Bush Cheesequake State Park
World Trade Centre Maceys Seventh Avenue Fifth Avenue Saks Mabula Game Lodge
Monkey Valley Malaysia Port Kelang Kuala Lumpur Ipoh Thailand tsunami Krabi
Phanga Phuket Khao Lak Coconut Home GSEI
Good Governance
for Social Development and the Environment Institute volunteer earth quake
SE Asia Indian ocean Sri Lanka Indonesia India Myanmar Ayutthaya
Kanchanaburi Bridge Over the River Kwai Sukhothai Chiang Mai Thai Elephant
Conservation Centre mahout training course Chiang Rai
Bangkok Khaosan Road Chian Khong Laos Huay Xai Luang Nam tha Muong Sing Udom
Xai Luang Prabang Phonsavan Vientiane Lak Xao Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Ho
Chi Minh Trail Saigon Hanoi Mekong River Ha Tihn Cambodia Stung Treng Pnom
Phen Siem Riep Australia Sydney Brisbane Mooloolaba Sunshine Coast Fraser
Island Rainbow Beach Alexandra Headland Qatar Turkey Istanbul Blue Mosque
Hagia Sofia Sultanahmet Mount Nemrut Antalya Mamure Ruins Cappadocia
Pamukale Selcuk Ephesus Anatolia Bulgaria Velika Turnovo Provdiv Melnik
Sinomorets Burgas Black Sea Greece Thessalonica Thessaloniki Thermi
Michael Stuart Groves Michael Groves born in
Johannesburg, South Africa. Father Donald Groves, Mother Hilary Groves.
Siblings Elaine Lackey, Jennifer, Lennox (Lex), Rose-Anne Hawkeswood, Susan.
Ivor Rowe, Andrew Adams, Trevor Dobeson, Malcolm Skeen, Paul Crane, Martin
Sanne, Marek Ranoszek, Bruce Barrett, Detlev Borner, Wynand Louw, Alastair
Andrews, Wayne Parsons. Went to Hyde Park High School 1975-1979. University
of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) 1980-84. Started System Software
while studying. Military service in SADF in Financial Services Corps at
Voortrekkerhoogte, and Directorate Logistics Services 1985-1987, with Peter
Fitzhenry, Richard Vining, Philip Toth. Worked At Lasernet with Charles
Proudfoot, Tim Stiff, Tony Galvao, Kevin Ferreira, Nicole Erasmie, Sharon
Coombe. Worked at Centre Group with Frank Appunn, Jaap Schaapherder,
Ian Gerada. Michael Groves formed Associated Computer Resources (ACR).
Project at Markinor, worked with Sue Knight, Martin Slack, Shirley Benney,
Karen Dalton, Miroslav. Trans Africa trip 1994-1995 by Godzilla the Bedford
with Sandy, Jennifer, Rose-Anne, Edwin Lerwill, Richard Alexander, Marja
Kuiper, Grant Buser, Mandy Perks, Wayne Schultz, Helen Jenvey (Bells) ,
Richard Vining, Pam, Kevin Dines, Fabian Sinovich, Fabian Prince. Davin
Baleen Ciing. Michael Groves worked for Boots the Chemists, The Boots
Company PLC, Group IT Consultant, Handbag.com, worked with Simon Brodie, Jan
Harrison, Robert Gilmore, Bob Meller, Ben Sharlotte, Martin Holtom, Anton
Lockwood, David Rollason, Roger Spells, Jonathan Wickens, Andy
Curzon. Nottingham Squash Rackets Club
Sandra May Methven Sandy Methven born in
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Father William Roland Charles Methven. Mother Anne
(Annie) Patterson Miller. Siblings Iain William Methven, Iain Methven, Karen
Anne Lea, Karen Lea. Sharon McNeill, Sharon Paton, Carol Streak, Kathy
Low, Lisa Lockwood, Helen Caretsos, Rene Coetzee, Steven King, Michelle
Sheasby, Tanya Pyott, Hildegarde Balmer, Went to Henry Low School 1975 -
1981. Montrose Girls High School 1982 - 1983. Lyttelton Manor High
School 1984 - 1986. Pretoria Technikon 1987 - 1989. Worked at Hazel
Roper Public Relations. Worked at Lasernet. Worked at HNR Computers. Sandy
Methven opened Associated Marketing Resources (AMR). Sandy Methven worked
for Boots Insurance Services. Sandy Methven worked for Boots The
Chemists Head of Marketing Boots Health and Beauty Services Boots Dentistry,
with Kevin Johnson, Tania Ciolli, Angela Sheppard, Adrian Evans, Carole
Harvey, Helen Oliver, Phil Douty, Alison Whittingham, Emma Leech, James
Mercer, Nicola Greenwood, Jo Cantrill, Jane Bellhouse, Jacqui
Overton-Sewell, Chris Henderson, Mike Lees, Christopher Potts, Mark
Prentice, Paul Steeples. PPP healthcare Alicia Antoniou, Carla Greig,
Jane Wiley, Chris Webster, Sass Lippit,