Advice on UK to OZ

[Stefanie2010]

Hello,

I was wondering if anybody could help. A group of us are in the early stage of planning an overland trip from the UK to OZ in two 4x4s. We are completely new to this kind of travelling, so have no idea where to start. It would be great to get some pointers on certain things:

1. what would the basic but necessary adaptions to a 4x4 be in order to survive such trip, such as breather, undercarriage protection, bull bars, suspension, general security, etc? And what costs should we roughly anticipate?

2. What maps would you recommend for the Stan-countries, Mongolia, China and India?

3. Can anybody tell us about their experience of driving in China? How difficult was it to get the necessary permissions, licences, etc? What costs should we anticipate?

4. How should we get our cars to Australia? Via Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore?


I can't think of anything else at the moment but this is only going to be a starting point. We know there is weeks and months of research ahead of us but I guess we need to establish whether or not the whole thing is feasible.


Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Nomadic1]

Not sure why you'd be going via China to get to Aussie, but hey - its your route!

Only tips I'd suggest are to get petrol vehicles, and invest heavily on adapting the fuel lines so that the fuel filters are easily accessible/replacable.

As for other 'performance' mods, I dont really know, maybe investing in spare fuel tanks? My friend did Aussie to UK on a suzuki with no issues or mods at all, going via Pakistan. He shipped the bike at Singapore.

[graysworld]

I would disagree with petrol and go for diesel. It is cheaper engines are simpler and you will get better fuel consumption. I would take a standard vehicle and make sure the suspension and brakes are in good condition. also buy good tyres and batteries here in the uk before you go as they are expensive everywhere else. look here for more advice, but just go go go!


Graeme

[Nomadic1]

economy and performance aside, in the middle of no where, you're more likely to find petrol than diesel.

[pictish]

1/ most overlanders go for diesel for the longer range and better consumption, trucks run on it so its not that hard to find.

2/ Mods- depends what kind of driving your doing if you plan alot of offroad then maybe uprating suspension and a snorkel for river crossings, bullbars winch for recovery[only if you are goign way offroad] but as you have 2 vehicles one can pull the other out if stuck.

3/ type of vehicle again depends on your needs roof tent, sleep inside, how many people ect ect ect landrovers and toyotas are the norm but then people do that trip all the time in campervans.

4/china- you need a guide/escort very expensive, shipping there are many options and places you can ship from.

you can spend 60k on vehicle prep and have it break or spend 5k and have no issues, you can spend all your time offroad in the mud or take the good roads.
Set a date , a budget, where you want to go, how you want to travel [hotels ,camping, offroad, onroad]. Then start to work out what you will use and how much you have to spend on the vehicle and the trip itself. People have done this trip in everything from scooters to 2wd hippy buses, so there is always a way.

[Mart456]

Hi Stephanie,

We’re currently travelling to Oz,

1) The most essential thing is to have a good service, we changed the suspension, added a Snorkel, extra battery, fridge, a new skid plate, Awning and roof rack. Costs can mount up very quickly considering roof racks can cost up to £1000, we spent a few thousand on our vehicle.

You could speak to Julian, julian@overland-cruisers.co.uk, he has prepared a lot overland vehicles.

2) For the Stans, China and India we are using open street maps on a Garmin we also bought paper maps from Amazon. We arranged a guide for Turkmenistan through stan tours, you can speak with David, he can advise you further, stantours@gmx.net


3) We have arranged our driving in china through New Land Travel, speak to Taher, newlandtravel@hotmail.com, please mention us if you do speak to him.

4) We are travelling all the way to Dili then shipping ours to Darwin, but you could ship it from Malaysia or Singapore too.

Let me know if you have any other questions,

Martin

[tacr2man]

First thing its a perfectly feasable trip, some friends of mine are on this route at the moment , (see overlandwithkids) . Its a long time since i went to Oz (20 yrs) so cant help with visa etc aspects .
Re the vehicle and prep, a lot of vehicles are over speccd, remember anywhere you wil be going the locals have to be able to get about!
A 2 wd with reasonable ground clearance is capable. 4wd does however give you greater ability esp when conditions deteriorate . Size of vehicle will have considerable bearing on costs, direct eg mpg , indirect eg shipping. Travelling with two vehicles will give you advantages re safety and mobility eg recovery, support etc . If they are the same then spares commonality will save on cost and weight saving , weight is a big enemy as it can grow amazingly fast. a concealed safe is very useful, as is making the rear a secure area, eg window grills privacy glass tint , extra locks , so you can leave laptop etc inrear.
Schedule of departure and travel needs to be considered so that you are not travelling in mid winter (unless that is a personal choice) as conditions can become very difficult. eg travel and roof tents etc HTSH will post further later

[Stefanie2010]

Thanks to all the replys, especially to Mart456 and tacr2man! I will get in touch with suggested people and companies and get more precise costs. Maybe this isn't just a crazy idea then. If ok with you, I might get in touch with you again as I'm sure I will have a few more questions.

Good luck with your travels, Mart456. I hope all is well!

Speak soon,

Stef

[Griffdowg]

Originally Posted by Stefanie2010

Thanks to all the replys, especially to Mart456 and tacr2man! I will get in touch with suggested people and companies and get more precise costs. Maybe this isn't just a crazy idea then. If ok with you, I might get in touch with you again as I'm sure I will have a few more questions.

Good luck with your travels, Mart456. I hope all is well!

Speak soon,

Stef

Hi Stef

We will be doing similar in 2013 although we intend to travel to Siberia and ship from Vladivostok. Annie (overlandwithkids) site is very good, full of details, read up there 1st.

were pretty good with vehicles, countires, terrain etc. just the paperwork/borders/permits/shipping I need to start understanding!

when are you planning on doing this? set a date, it all starts from there

G

[CornishDaddy]

Hi Stefanie,

Feel free to contact us, or read our website, as we completed the trip last year.

Advise I Would give quicky.

1. Any car can do it - the simpler the better though. 4wd and high ground clearance will mean you will get to places that make you feel like a proper explorer. We spent a lot of time with a 1950's classic Citreon. It made it all the way to Kyrgyzstan and back.
2. We used a GPS that had free maps up to Turkey. After Turkey paper maps were fine. Lonely planets have lots of tow ncentre maps as well, which we would bumble our way round with.
3. The two best things we had were our fridge and shower. The shower and water tank we bought 2nd hand for 200 quid, and that had a clay filter. We got a great roof rack fro 120 pound from ebay. Took a month or two of watching various ones, but well worth it.
4. Wealways found diesel - and we went via Stans, China, Iran etc. We had a 80l tank then had 4 jerry cans which, when necessary we would have full with diesel (in fact we always tried to leave two full whatever) and this meant we had 1000km range. Easily as far as you will need.
5.A roof tent is cool and will save you money eventually.
6.We had no offroad, mechanics or other such skills. In fact we were a pair of clotz and stil lmade it. All you need to do is point the car in the right direction and drive. Oh and pack some condoms (see our blog)
7. WE planned our vehicle with the (basic) ability to sleep inside, but only used that 3 times.
But email me with any specific questions you have - just remember, with enough time it really is simple, just a case of one step ata time, with the planning or theee driving.
Hope to hear from you.
Cheers
Ollie

[grizzly7]

Hi

I'm sure you've seen the link in the for sale section below, I've nothing to do with it other than I think it looks a good set up. Is it cheap though????

Pop top Defender Camper Overlander Land Rover 110 Tdi on eBay (end time 24-Oct-10 20:14:25 BST)

I wouldn't worry about wanting to create your own "perfect" layout yourself from scratch, it will cost more and take a while. Someone else will have taken the depreciation hit, taken out a lot of the initial bugs, and your saving can then be put to adding or changing the bits you know you don't like.

We have an off road campervan which we think is ace. The wife's back ruled out bikes or rooftents, so a full size proper bed dictated vehicle size to a degree. It didn't have to be quite as big as it is though
But having a proper bed, not worrying about hunting for hotels, and just parking up in something that does not require erection and is comfy whatever the weather to sleep is really nice (ie a rooftent in a town centre its obvious you're in it and sleeping!)

I also believe the guide for China can be shared, so hooking up with others for that section divides the guides costs between you?

A friend went to Mongolia in a Bedford Rascal bought very cheaply with no MOT. Him and a mate left straight away without bothering with MOT etc, (both sleeping in it apparently!) and had a fab trip. Getting something you might think won't make it, but is so cheap it doesn't matter if it doesn't is quite a good outlook!

Stephen Stewarts campertruck cleaning to get past the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service is on his site, click on travel, Australia then 2nd from bottom entry. 130 hours work!

Stephen Stewart.

Some people I've read about just leave it to them since they'll find something anyway, and budget "a few thousand" for AQIS to clean it, or another company in the USA totally resprayed everything before shipping having got sick of all the pernickertyness!

Don't forget Carnet costs! There is plenty of info here about that, but as a for instance an older truck chassis with a camper on the back would debateably be difficult to value, and that value is only the chassis, not what its carrying (the camper bit). A shiny newish Landy has a fairly easily identifiable (high) value, so the Carnet may cost lots more? Talk to the RAC, Paul Gowan.

Happy travels

[Stefanie2010]

Hello,

thanks again for all the advice! It makes me hopeful that we can do it. We have got quite a short turnaround, we are hoping to go next August/September. It is good to know that we will not necessarily a fancy car, just one that is in good condition.

CornishDeity, what is your webpage? Sorry, not quite familiar with webpage yet, I'm sure i could find out somehow...:confused1:

I will arrange a meeting with my fellow travellers next week to talk about it all and then probably come back with a million questions, i hope it is ok to post them again...

Thanks again for all the optimism and help.

Stef

[CornishDaddy]

Webpage = website = stuff in the ether

Jenny and Ollie's Big Trip

[beddhist]

To get from Malaysia to Indonesia search this site for "Cakra Shipping". They told me they can carry "Landrovers". Get a 2-month tourist visa before leaving for Indo.

Singapore is a major headache plus vehicles with cooking and sleeping facilities are banned.

[Cassie2]

Hi Steff,

Like everyone else, if we can help, let us know.

We are currently transiting China - very beautiful and well worth the effort from our experiences so far. We're using an alternative company listed to that of Mart456. Will be interesting to see how the costs, route & experiences stack up for future reference. Costs will depend on your route and duration planned through China. We have listed some info via our website but will provide a more up-to-date report shortly plus the agency we used once we have completed this leg of our transit.

Agree with comments so far re: vehicle a) diesel - economy and due to being widely available through our route so far, and b) a fridge c) don't over-spec d) all-in-one vehicle you can sleep on or in.

e) Re: China - consider sharing the costs of the guide through China if you can & feasible for you.

If you are considering entering China from Mongolia - a minimum 3 months notice is required for this border crossing to submit & get paperwork sorted etc. Each China border works differently and in many cases we have found, so does each agency. The agency you choose will advise you of the necessary paperwork prep. required - and can vary. Beware any huge border deposits up front - a good reputable agency should not request and provide this on your behalf due to already having a good relationship with the government officials or border concerned. If you need any help re: Mongolia (we did about 36 nights) and Kazahkstan (only about 12 nights though 2nd LR now accompanying us did 30 nights), just shout.

Tacr2man, Griffdowg and CornishDeity - big hellos & sloppy kisses from all of us XXXX