Just a simple, free-spirited, penniless and adventurous young couple in search of further enlightenment through travel

One life. Live it.

About the trip:

Welcome
and thanks for joining us on our unforgettable adventure across the Atlas & the Kilimanjaro, the Sahara & the Kalahari, The mountain gorillas & the wildebeest, the Berbers & the Masai, the Kruger NP & the Okovango Delta, Victoria Falls & the Nile, the baobab trees & the welwitschia flower, the cassava & the tagine, the Amharic & Xhosa.

Above are just a handful of reasons depicting the uniqueness of the African continent: Humankind’s motherland and the ultimate overland frontier.

But here we are, in big smokey London back from Australia since December 2007. And not particularly happy to be here. The continuous dream of travels and seeing the wonders of our World has pushed us onto planning our next trip: An Overland journey from London to Cape Town and back.

We intend to depart London August/September 2009.

To achieve this we have put our faith in a trusty Defender 110 that has been nicely converted by it’s previous owners but has yet a lot of work to be carried out on before it’s epic journey.

The route we intend to take is from Gibraltar to Dakar, the cut across the Southern-Sahara towards the Central Tropics before heading South across the Equator towards Cape Town. The upward journey will be made up the Eastern side of the continent turning East at the Pyramids along North Africa where we start approaching Europe our final destination.

A lot of time is currently being put into this project by way of researching all it’s ins and outs: From Visa and border formalities, countless boring and official documentation, hugely expensive insurance quotes, and scrutinizing ebay for bargains: GPS, Engel fridge, spare parts, and countless other essentials. By far the most fun is covering our three giant wall mounted Michelin maps with big black circles by way of points of interest. We have also digitalized it for you all to follow our progress and of course, to send us any suggestions you may have.

Regards to you all.

Andrew & Kristina

 

Andrew Kempson:

(Navigator/Mechanic/Photographer/Webmaster)


Born in London,
August 1980. Son of the loving blend of Scottish/English/Dutch heritage. Grew up in Africa (Sierra Leone and more notably Angola) most of his youth till the tender age of sixteen, when his folks
sent him to the French School in the Hague, The Netherlands. Here at school he learnt more about art of “alternative thinking and creativity” than about any sort of equations. Once that skill was mastered, it was off to France to live rough for a while and find a job as a dodgy roadside mechanic
in Toulouse (invaluable knowledge). Following a snowboard season in the French Alps, it was back to his native Wimbledon where he worked at various bars and cafes: Something that would offer more than a pitiful 20-25 days holiday a year. A respectable 6
months unpaid leave a year was needed to embark on various antipodean adventures. Including 5 month long carnival in Brazil and 2 years driving round in Australia. To cut the story short.
 

Kristina Nauer-Statham:

(DJ/Baker/Tailor/Decorator/Bartender)


This Canadian
was born June 12th, 1980 in Ottawa, Canada where she attended a French Immersion School.  Now, thanks to a few friends, she is fully
bilingual.  She spent most of her time on the slopes in Ontario and Quebec but decided at the ripe age of 20 that living in the cold was no longer her thing.  She moved to Barbados with
her sister and best friend. It turned out to be one of the best times in her life.  Here was to begin life’s real adventure. She then lived 4 years in England
where she worked in numerous bars but eventually wanted something new.  Australia gave her the outdoors, diving, fruit picking and ‘goon’.  Now back in London, her sights are set for the adventure of a lifetime.
 

About us:

 

Departure:

Past adventure:

2 years in Australia

Support us:

Hello, our names are Andrew and Kristina. We met in June 2005. Since then, we have happily been living, working, travelling and enjoying life together.

This trip is entirely self funded with NO commercial interests or sponsors. We want a holiday and not another job. We wish to share our experiences and photos with you, over the internet. So if our journey inspires you and you wish to contribute towards it, it may buy us a few beers, a few miles worth of diesel or fund activities such as:


  1. •Diving the sardine run or cage diving with Great Whites in South Africa. (More...)

  2. •Trekking with the mountain Gorillas in Uganda. (More...)

  3. •Bungee jumping 111m over the Zambezi river against the mighty roar of Victoria Falls. (More...)

  4. •Climbing to the snow capped top of the Kilimanjaro (More...)

  5. •4x4 adventure in Transylvania which really isn’t en route, but a mere tiny detour on the scale of things. Let’s go! (More...)


Any support is welcome.

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