UK - Vladivostok (via the Arctic Circle | Eastern Europe | Central Asia | Mongolia)
 

Currently on the road in Ankara/Turkey, thought people may like to follow along on our Blog.

Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд | Solo Vehicle Dependent Exploration, Travel & Adventure

We have all ready driven to Nordkapp in the Norwegian Arctic :freezing:

Norway – To Nordkapp & the Northern Lights | Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд

Been dog sledding in Finland: :funmeteryes:

http://siroccoverland.com/2013/02/18...hetta-huskies/

Thrown some axes in Sweden:

Sweden – Onward to Gransfors Bruks Axes | Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд

and seen some awesome stuff in the Balkans.

The blog has more words/detail but does lag behind the updates and shear amount of photos on Facebook.

See you on the road...

G jeiger

Well our trip is complete... for now.

26,200 miles (42,000 Km) driven, 248 days on the road, 116 nights wildcamping, 176 nights in the roof tent, 22 countries, 16 International border crossings and 4 vehicle services.

Vehicle got shipped out of Vladivostok and we picked it up in Melbourne on Thursday. Time to find a job, save and get back on the road. Truck and trailer need some work doing so we will prep all that before a tour of Aus.

Blog posts can be found here:

Trans-North Asia Trip Report 2013 | Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд

We just need to wrap up Mongolia and Siberia now to make the job complete. Plenty more photos and video over on facebook. Also lots of timelapse to sort through once my new laptop arrives.

Stay tuned.

G

Most envious. Although preparations are in the pipeline for a trip from UK to Magadan. Having never done Oz it would seem the best option once on the eastern side of Russia to ship Toyota to Australia but was put off by carnets, vigorous cleanliness checks which if fail another hefty charge to be re steam cleaned etc etc. Is this really the case. Since Magadan and back taking in Kaz and Mongolia is quite a drive before winter sets in. Your thoughts would be much appreciated .

Cheers
Boycie

New blog post up:Siberia Part I – Lake Baikal to the BAM road and the Vitim Bridge | Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд

Siberia will be split into 3 parts which will follow in the next few weeks.

Hi Boycie, sorry, just noticed your questions. Its a little cheaper to drive back to the UK but I just couldn't face the work situation there. There wasn't anything left for us so we sold everything. Starting again in Aus now so maybe our situation is different to yours.

Carnet adds up but you get some back, shipping can be split with bikers to and we got our 90 and trailer through AQIS 1st time. Total shipping cost was something like 2500GBP not inc Carnet.

Depends on your funds and where you want to be.

Feel free to drop us an email to discuss if you want.

G

Couple of updates, first off, complete tracklogs up on ArcGIS:

2013 Trans North Asia Overland Trip GPS Track Logs | Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд

Secondly is our interview with Expedition Portal:Adventure Interview: Gareth and Lisa of Sirocco Overland, Part 1 | Expedition Portal

More to follow!

2nd part of our interview is up:Adventure Interview: Gareth and Lisa of Sirocco Overland, Part 2 | Expedition Portal

In other good news, Im off to cross the Simpson desert here in Australia on Tuesday driving someone else's truck.

On other bad news, It doesn't look like immigration are going to give me my Skilled Independent Visa :( time for plan B when I return.

G

forgot to add our little video which we just released :)

Sirocco Overland 2013 Trip In Motion Picture | Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд

Singapore - Moscow
 

Hi !
I have just joined this site today so finding my way around.
I'm planning a trip in April 2015 from Singapore - Moscow - Europe.
I will ship a 2014 Toyota Landcruiser L200 from NZ .just setting it up now with ARB Bullbar ,winch,roof rack , rear draws etc.
I'm keen to here if you have any pointers?

Regards
Ray

Enjoyed the video and related to a few of the clips. We did not ship to Oz. After Kazakhstan via Astrakhan, Southern Mongolia exiting in the east and then to Magadan we returned back to the UK via Russia. We enjoyed every minute of the 21k with no major problems. Just got back and adjusting to ordinary life. Being retired I can now start planning the next trip.


Good luck


Boycie

articles up on another forum:Sirocco Overland: The Lost City of Kadykchan | Expedition Portal

and:The Lost Fishing Fleet of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan | Expedition Portal

Latest article up on ExPo: Sirocco Overland: Dneprovski GULAG – Magadan Oblast, Siberia | Expedition Portal

This was an extract from our final blog post of 2013 here: Siberia Part III – To The Final Frontier Along The Road of Bones | Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд

With acknowledgements here: The 2013 Acknowledgement Post | Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд

Enjoy! :)

G

Hi Griff (and Lisa)

Just read your 2013 Siberia trip articles: very nice, I must say. It's refreshing to read something written by someone who has an appreciation of the country they are in, rather than just using it as a highway to somewhere else. Nice pictures too :)

I was wondering if you knew much about winter in the region; for instance, you mention an ice road on the Lena River. Do you have specifics about this?

My rough plan is a Feb - Mar trip from Magadan back to Europe, taking the Kolyma Highway via Oymyakon to Yakutsk, then driving up (or along) the Lena. Do you know how far the ice road goes? I would like to get to Severobaikalsk via the BAM?? and then continue to Tomsk on the regular road network (then up to the Polar Urals).

If you have any info / contacts, I'd be very appreciative!

P.S. I've been driving all over Russia, including winter, and speak reasonable conversational Russian; this is not a mad beginner's idea :D

Cheers

EO

I don't know specifics but the Zimnik runs from Yakutsk down to Ust Kut. This will change seasonally in terms of thickness so you would need to find that out before committing. From Lensk to Ust Kut is 1000km along the river, I know that much. are you on 2 or 4 wheels?

The western end of the Old Summer Road wont be passible in snow as almost nobody passes that way anymore. You would be best to travel north to Ust Nera and then down to Tomtor etc.

If you follow the Zimnik to Ust Kut you will miss Severobaikalsk and get on the BAM heading east. This part fo the BAM is on constructed road so you should be ok. The far eastern end of the BAM may be a bit different, I am not sure but the road from Bratsk through to Severobaikalsk is ok.

If you need to head south to Irkutsk for any reason (you might feel like you need a Subway) there is a forest road that runs south from the BAM road at Okunayskiy. I just noticed that this now appears on Google Maps.

If you need more specifics post up in the Northern Asia forum as everyone there is extremely helpful.

G