GoannaTracks 2010: Southeast Asia to Vladivostok

[haven]

Kym and Lyn Bolton are traveling the world in a Mitsubishi Canter 4x4 and camper built by EarthCruiser. In 2010, the Boltons are traveling with three similar vehicles from their home in Australia north through Southeast Asia to China and eastern Russia.

As of June 3, the group have shipped their vehicles from Brisbane to Malaysia and are on the road north. The Boltons are keeping a blog of the trip here http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/

If all goes well, the group will ship their vehicles from Vladivostok to USA in Fall 2010. The trip will resume in 2011 with a drive from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.

 

[John4787]

G'day.

Great site Kym & Lyn, will be following you guys on your travels, best of luck !!

I'm steering a mouse around Unimog Camper ( and similar) sites out of the burbs for now, but have a plan to get out there !!!

John
Melbourne Australia

 

[haven]

The group of four vehicles is now in Cambodia. A lengthy post describes
their experiences off the main road.

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/

 

[rideglobally]

we will be following

when we finally get out we plan to start our trip in southeast asia so we will be following you travel .... thanks for sharing:Wow1:

 

[haven]

The group of four vehicles has passed through Cambodia and Laos,
and entered China. Near the border, they met their English-speaking guide,
a young man named Andy. Today, they are traveling northwest through
a mountainous region on their way toward Tibet.

The trip began on April 30, so they have been on the road for 84 days,
and have traveled almost 9000 km (about 5600 miles).

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com is the home page, where the latest
blog entry is posted.

The blog site is a little difficult to navigate if you want to read the
early posts. I found the best way is to use the "Previous Posts" menu
halfway down the right side of the home page. From there, connect
with, say, the first page about their time in Laos. Then return from
Laos 1 to the home page, and select the link to Laos 2.

This type of yo-yo navigation will get you to the previous 10 blog pages.

 

[haven]

The group's last two weeks have been in Tibet. Last week was
particularly difficult, with road closures due to landslides and
delays in receiving official documents to drive to Lhasa. This should
be required reading for overlanders heading to Tibet!

The blog entries have plenty of great photos of driving on the high
altitude roads in Tibet, along with snaps of life in the villages and
towns.

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/2010/08/goanna-tracks-across-tibet-part-1.html

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/2010/08/goannatracks-across-tibet-part-2.html

Part 2 is also on the main blog page this week, http://www.blog.goannatracks.com

 

[haven]

In this installment, the GoannaTracks vans descend from Tibet, and drive across central China on their way to the Mongolian border. Along the way, they visit the city of Xi'an and view the amazing Terracotta Warriors Museum.

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/2010/08/goannatracks-across-china-part-6.html

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/2010/08/goannatracks-across-china-part-7.html

Kym Bolton writes, "Our calculations indicate that China cost us US$5.50/person/day. That includes all meals, road tolls, and the hotel accommodation and meals for Andy [the tourist guide required by Chinese authorities to accompany foreigners when they drive their own vehicle].

We travelled 7,700 kms through China and Tibet, used 1235 Lts of fuel at a cost of US$1160 (A$1235) Ave price/lt Y6.40. (approx US$1/Lt)
Average consumption over the 15,000kms to date = 15lt/100km [that's 15.7 miles per US gallon]"

 

[haven]

The latest blog posts cover the team's entrance from China into Mongolia. There's a great quote from Kym Bolton about how the road on the Chinese side of the border is six lanes wide, but within 3 kms of the border, the Mongolian road becomes a series of sandy tracks, setting off in all directions without any signs to help you choose a track to follow.

The blog posts include scenes of the nomadic lifestyle, and a great sequence showing how to recover three vehicles that are stuck up to the axles in sand when there is no anchor point.

The group wanted to travel in eastern Mongolia, which is a restricted area. After much effort by their travel agent, approval was granted for much, but not all, of the area they wanted to visit. A Mongolian escort is required.

The blog posts are in chronological order, with the first being the oldest.

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/2010/08/goannatracks-across-mongolia-part-1.html

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/2010/08/goannatracks-across-mongolia-part-2.html

 

[haven]

The four vehicle expedition now drives east in Mongolia, visits a sacred extinct volcano, and has some difficulties with the authorities.

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/2010/09/goannatracks-across-mongolia-part-3.html

Next, the team drives back to Ulan Bataar, and north into Russia. After many hours of waiting and filling out paperwork, the group is permitted across the border.

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/2010/09/goannatracks-out-of-mongolia-and-into.html

By the end of this report, the team has logged 20,000 kms of travel, more than 12,000 miles. The trip began on 1 June in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The goal of this journey is the Russian port of Vladivostok. Here, the vehicles will be placed back in containers and shipped to USA. Explorations of North, Central and South America will commence in 2011 and 2012.

 

[PHXtaco]

Really enjoying reading about your travels, keep the posts coming!

 

[haven]

The journey to Vladivostok is now complete. The group drove 23,276 kms (14,460 miles) across southeast Asia, Western China, Tibet, central China, Mongolia and Eastern Russia. The trip started 3 June 2010, and ended 26 September 2010, 116 days in all. The group camped in 107 different locations along the way.

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/2010/09/goannatracks-across-russia.html

In Vladivostok, the vehicles were cleaned up, and personal belongings removed. Then the vehicles were placed in shipping containers. Yes, it's a tight fit!

The camping vehicles are now on their journey by sea to Long Beach, California USA. The travelers are returning home and taking a well-deserved break before the next leg of the journey begins in 2011.

http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/2010/10/24-goannatracks-from-russia-to-america.html

Congratulations to Kym and Lyn Bolton, and to all the trip participants!

 

[articulate]

The travelers are returning home and taking a well-deserved break before the next leg of the journey begins in 2011.

Amazing story here. That well-deserved break is kind of funny; I thought these folks were on vacation. Thanks for posting the updates.

 

[haven]

After 4 months on the road, they need a vacation from their vacation! Keeping in touch with family by email is not a good substitute for face time.

 

[haven]

The Boltons stayed in Australia for 6 weeks. They are now in USA, and back on the road. The plan for 2011 is to explore USA and Canada, then head south toward Tierra del Fuego. The story continues here
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52179