Adventure Learning Foundation

[haven]

Don and Kim Greene are traveling around the world in a custom-built Fuso FG camper. Their web site is http://www.questconnect.org/

Don and Kim began sharing their adventure travel experiences in 2000. The current full-time "World of Wonders" project began in late 2004. To date, the pair have driven throughout Central and South America, New Zealand and Australia.

The Greenes created the Adventure Learning Foundation as a way to share their experiences with school children and others interested in exploring the world. To assist classroom teachers, the questconnect.org web site includes lesson plans for each country the couple have visited.

Kim and Don are members of this forum, posting as "kdgreene."

 

[Scott Brady]

Great people, and fellow Prescottonians too!

Certainly a cause worth supporting.

 

[haven]

new update format

Until recently, Don and Kim created web pages to provide information about their travels. The list of destinations can be found on the right side of their web site, http://www.questconnect.org/ Day to day experiences are described in the journal section of each destination.

Don and Kim are trying a new approach for the journal. Now it's a downloadable PDF file. The January 2008 update is here
http://www.questconnect.org/Central America Return 2008 - 1st Month.pdf

 

[haven]

change of plans

The January 2008 PDF file tells how Don and Kim's route has changed. The original plan was to travel north from Australia to Singapore and Malaysia. However, they discovered that a $50,000 bond was required to temporarily import their vehicle! I suspect this is in lieu of a Carnet de Passage. I hope Don will explain further!

In any case, the Greenes decided to reverse course, and travel to Asia through Europe. So their Fuso FG camper was shipped from Australia to Panama in December 2007, and the Greenes are currently driving north through Central America to USA.

Chip Haven

 

[pwc]

Sweet find!!
My wife, daughter and I plan to take an around the world trip in 2009 and want to somehow create material like this. Something we can use to educate our own daughter as she won't be in school, as well as help schools of interest connect with a location through more meaningful interaction. Somehow. While we don't have the ambition Don and Kim do to create actual lesson plans, we hope to use our travels to make the world less mysterious (or maybe more so) to kids in the USA.

 

[kdgreene]

Carnet de Passage explanation

We have just arrived back home to Prescott with our vehicle, the first time it has been in the US since October 2004. We will be posting another update on our website in just a few days.

Let me clear up any confusion regarding the bond required in Singapore and Malaysia. I used the term Bond rather than Carnet as a simplistic explanation. As many people are unfamiliar with the Carnet I felt that the term Bond would be more readily understandable. In fact, the other day when we crossed the border at Nogales the US Customs agents there did not know what a Carnet du Passage was and refused to sign it until we found a sympathetic supervisor who relented.

The Carnet du Passage allows travellers to temporarily import their vehicles without having to leave a cash deposit at the border. The Carnet is a guarantee for a foreign country that the vehicle will be re-exported within the time limit imposed by that country of duty free importation, usually a period of less than 18 months, and if the vehicle can not be re-exported, for example due to total loss, theft or sale, that all duties and taxes will be paid.

In order to obtain a Carnet, the owner of a vehicle is required to provide a financial guarantee based on the age and market value of the vehicle. Generally three types of guarantee are acceptable:

• Cash
• Letter of Credit from a bank
• Indemnity Bond

The cash option can be for a prohibitive amount of money if you travel with a new/newer vehicle as many countries require a guarantee of up to 150% cash of the vehicle’s value. Additionally, this cash amount is held in a non interest bearing account.

The Letter of Credit (LOC) is an option as you need only to pledge a bank account with funds equal to the amount of the LOC. The account can still accrue interest on your behalf. The fee for the LOC can be negotiated but is usually at least 5% of the value of the LOC, or a minimum of $1,000.00. The negative side of this approach is that many banks will only issue an LOC for a business entity and not for private individuals.

In some European countries it is possible to purchase an Indemnity Bond for a percentage of the value of the Carnet. This is similar to a Bail Bond, wherein you pay 10% of the total bail plus the pledging of property to cover the 90% remaining balance.

The Indemnity Bond is not currently available in the North America for the Carnet du Passage. It is available for the commerical ATA Carnet. However the ATA Carnet is not valid for temporary import of vehicles by an individual. We have heard of cases where the traveler was refused entry at the port with the ATA Carnet and had to arrange for the Carnet du Passage, all the while accruing port storage fees for their vehicle.

Don Greene
Adventure Learning Foundation
Americas Overland, The Driving Handbook
www.QuestConnect.org
www.AmericasOverland.net

 

[haven]

Don and Kim Greene shipped their Fuso to Europe, and are now heading south to visit their fifth continent: Africa. Starting in Morocco, the pair will visit eleven countries in West Africa over the coming months: Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia and Senegal.

Here's where to find the entries in the Greenes' Africa journal:
http://www.questconnect.org/wa_journal_fr.htm

 

[haven]

Don and Kim have driven from Spain through Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, and Burkina Faso to Ghana. A description of their travels during November and December 2008, with lots of photos, is here:

www.QuestConnect.org/wa_journal_fr.htm