About Us
Hi, we're Lars and Shelley
We have sold all of our belongings and are road tripping our way around the world. We’re sharing our road trip journeys, destinations, inspirations, tips and photography along the way. When our adventure began, it was only going to be for a year …but the paths less travelled still called our name… so the journey continues.
Follow us on Social Media for regular updates, photos and inspiration from our journey.
Our Story
In traveller terms, we are neither your youthful backpackers or your retirees; we fall into that illustrious middle age bracket. We didn’t win the lotto and we weren’t born with a silver spoon, but we both had a desire for a different kind of fulfilment to that which we were living.
Back in 2016, Perth, Western Australia; with pen and paper, we mapped out our hopes and dreams for the future. We wanted to travel and to volunteer overseas. So we listed all the countries we’d like to visit … the list became bigger and bigger.
We felt so excited about the future, of all the things we wanted to do… ‘One day!’
When? Once we retired? Once we’d paid off a mortgage? When we had won the lottery? We turned to each other – both knowing what the other was thinking,
‘Why not now?’
We took a leap – way out of our comfort zone – and made it happen.
Making it Happen …
After saving like crazy for about a year, we sold everything we owned (even down to the plant pots – every dollar counted!), quit our full-time professional jobs and set forth. Our first trip was an epic camping road trip across Australia to say bye to friends, many of whom thought us either crazy or brave …
“Crazy? Brave? We don’t think so. We followed our hearts, took the decision and made that dream a reality.”
The Journey Began …
We’ve now been on the road since April 2017. During the journey, our plans have chopped and changed but that’s all part of the adventure.
So far, we have spent:
- A year in a campervan travelling through 23 countries in Europe,
- A couple of months house-sitting in the United Kingdom
- Several months road-tripping and hiking in Norway,
- 8 months house-sitting in the quintessential French countryside.
- 10 days road tripping Ireland
- Two weeks road tripping around Iceland
- Two weeks travelling in Estonia
- Two weeks travelling in Uzbekistan
- Three months house sitting in Australia
- In January 2020 – we began Overlanding Africa in a 4×4 with a tent on top.
- From March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, we were in lockdown in the small remote town of Prince Albert and also in the midst of the South African bush
- In September and October 2020, once the South African lockdown lifted, we traversed the length of Kruger National Park on a self-drive safari.
- At the end of October 2020, with our South Africa visa expiring and neighbouring countries still not open to travel we put our bush camper in storage and flew to Skudeneshavn, Norway where Lars could do some contract work … to fund our future travels.
Recorded: Feb 2021
CLICK HERE FOR PODCAST ON SPOTIFY
Countries we’ve visited so far:
Albania, Australia (home), Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA, Uzbekistan
Where Are We Now?
We are currently in Norway – Lars has some contract work and it is the perfect time to earn some extra travel funds while most countries are experiencing a second wave of the pandemic.
Our Overlanding Africa journey is on hold until mid-2021 when we will return to ‘Bucky’ – our trusted Bush Camper and continue our trip across Africa for a few years.
When our Overlanding Africa Journey began …
Some said we were crazy, some said we were brave and many more said, ‘I’d love to do that, one day…’
But one day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted.
‘One Day’, or ‘Day One’ … you decide.
Featured in:
- Lonely Planet: Top Blog Post July 2018
- Trusted Housesitters: Shelley and Lars Africa Story
- Ottsworld Travel: South Africa Silver Linings in South Africa
Follow Along
Come with us on a journey to new places. A journey that will have us motorhoming, Overlanding, housesitting, volunteering and who knows what else around the world.