My girlfriend Romy and I are both from Bristol, but in 2016 were living apart. I was in London working as an accountant and she was teaching in Paris. We decided we wanted more time together and an adventure. We packed up our lives and moved to Queenstown, New Zealand. Our time there was amazing: we worked in the day and spent evenings waterskiing, mountain running or barbecuing on the beach.
At weekends, we’d explore the South Island, but to do it properly you need a legendary vehicle, something that will just keep going. I found a knackered Toyota Land Cruiser for sale online. When we went to take a look, it turned out to be a neglected prison vehicle with a bird living inside, but it was only £6,000. We spent 18 months repairing it. Then every weekend we’d chuck a mattress in the back and head off on escapades.
After a few years, we decided to return to the UK and start building a more dependable life together. When it came time to say goodbye to New Zealand, we couldn’t leave the car behind. We researched the 25,000-mile drive from New Zealand to Bristol in depth. It would take 10 months and no one would insure us. But when our families said, “You can’t,” we thought, “Why not?”
We set off on 16 February 2019 with a mattress, gas cooker, barbecue, two camping chairs, some clothes, a surfboard and a £50 daily budget for fuel and food. After a month on New Zealand’s North Island, we shipped the car to Malaysia and met it in Kuala Lumpur. From there, we drove across 22 countries: Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, by ferry to Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, France and Britain.
As for the highlights – it’s hard to skip any part. Pakistan’s Passu Cones mountains in late summer provided the best view: I’ve never seen mountains so high. And the two-week drive through northernmost India’s Himalayas, from Manali to Leh, was among the best stretches of road. The locals were friendliest in Pakistan. We were invited to a stranger’s 40th birthday and given the first slice of cake. We’re still in touch over Facebook.
Laos, with its limited tourist infrastructure, was the most rewarding adventure with great food. We’d have khao soy (noodle soup) for breakfast with a bucket of fresh juice. In Thailand, we’d wake up with nothing between us and the sea but sand.
Crossing the Pakistan-Iran border was the only hairy moment. Tourists are given an armed escort but, as we passed through a military base on the way to the border, the guards were tense and warned that the Taliban were in the area. We passed them several times as our escort yelled at me to keep driving. It was a terrifying half-hour before they dropped us off, but it’s the kind of experience that locals have daily.
I serviced the car in most countries, every 3,000 miles. Those were some of my favourite moments. I’d borrow space in a local garage and hang with the mechanics for an hour, chatting using hand gestures.
When we arrived in Britain on 11 December, I cried. The light on Dover’s cliffs was beautiful. I hadn’t seen family for two years. Our friends threw a party at the pub, and I proposed to Romy. Living out of a car together for 10 months felt like a bigger commitment than marriage – and we hadn’t argued once. She said yes.
We loved how spontaneous our trip was: we would start each day not knowing where we’d end up; pulling up at the first traffic lights, something or someone would set our whole day in motion.
That can’t last for ever. We’re 30 and have been craving roots. We moved to Edinburgh in February. I’m working as an accountant again and Romy’s a social worker, but there’s unlimited potential for exploring here, hopefully with little ones one day.
I love seeing the car parked on the driveway, knowing all the cool places it has been. I’m proud of it. Sometimes I’ll give it a kiss. I hope the three of us (me, Romy and the Land Cruiser) can still be together in our 70s, starting journeys together .
• As told to Deborah Linton
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