A major area where 4x4s suffer from their reputation is in load carrying – especially on overland trips. We’ve all seen the pics of some poor battered vehicle somewhere, laden up to the eyeballs with all manner of kit – people, goats, hay bales, ammunition, you name it. Many 4x4s (“traditional” Land Rovers especially)… Read More Loading and overloading an overland 4×4

Egypt is a wonderful place. A bit like an onion, if you peel back one layer of Egyptian history, you find another, and another, and still another. Walking along a street you might pass a Pharaonic statue, next to a 1920s belle epoque villa, abutting a 1960s Soviet-era brutalist concrete façade, all overshadowed by a… Read More Long Range Desert Group sites in Egypt

Over the years I have collected several LRDG artifacts from various places, especially North Africa. One of the most unusual is a bone knife with a fox-paw handle and silverplate crossguard. On the 12.5cm blade is the inscription “Presented by Long Range Desert Group, Capt H. J Bennett, Cairo 1944”. It came to me from… Read More LRDG Artefacts – 1

I’ve lived in North Africa and the Middle East for over half my adult life, and I’ve been spoiled by access to wide open wilderness like the Sahara as a camping destination. Whenever I return home to my own crowded islands I am forced to recalibrate the way my “outdoor head” works – all land… Read More “Wild” camping in the UK

The world of 4x4s in general, and overland travel in particular, is becoming particularly kit-focussed. What roof tent have you got? What boots do you wear? What drawer system do you use? What, you haven’t got one?! And so on. This, of course, quickly followed by the Harry Enfield quote “ooooh you don’t want one… Read More All the gear but……

As regular readers will know, Lebanon is one of my favourite places to be. Friendly, vibrant, relaxed, fascinating, with great traditions of cuisine and hospitality, and a rich depth of history, it’s a place I could easily and happily live. Not only that, from my point of view, the Lebanese are great lovers of the… Read More A return to Lebanon

Overlanding contains several areas that make travellers pause for thought, and one of these is medical care on the road. On overland trips I’ve needed to think about this issue a few times – examples have been treating severe heat exhaustion on the Algeria/Morocco border, dealing with a broken leg (with six inches of bone… Read More Medical care when remote

One of the biggest eye-openers for overlanders travelling outside their own country is, surprisingly for many, the driving style in different countries. I don’t mean necessarily that the driving standards are in any way worse – just – different!             Adjusting to them is one of the biggest changes of mindset for a traveller, and… Read More Driving in other countries……

These might be handy to enliven the menu when camping or on a long trip….. Tomato and Onion Salad You need; 2tbsp white vinegar 1tsp sugar 1 onion, thinly sliced 4 sliced tomatoes ½ cucumber, sliced 1 green chili, deseeded and chopped finely 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped Juice of one lemon 1tsp salt Coriander… Read More Some bush recipes

I ran across this diary entry which I thought might be worth sharing…… “I’m writing this in a tiny mountain lodge 4000 metres up in the Himalayas, at the entrance to the Thorong La Pass in Nepal. My friends Miles, Tom, Tek and I have come up here in a Defender Puma 110, passing through… Read More Diary entry from Nepal – 2017