2019 Siberia, Mongolia, Central Asia Family 4wd Trip
In just slightly under a year from now my young family will be unloading our modified Mitsubishi Shogun (aka Pajero or Montero) at the port of Vladivostok, on Russia's east coast, to embark on an overland journey across Siberia, Mongolia and Central Asia, Georgia, Turkey and all the way into Europe. We are not entirely new to overland travel, although this will be our biggest undertaking to date, and takes us slightly further out from our comfort zone in some respects. We've previously commenced overland travel from London, England, where I worked for 10 years and where two of my three children were born. Past trips (using the same vehicle) have included extensive on and off-road travels of Europe, Morocco and the Balkan countries. Presently we're living in my original home country of New Zealand and so this upcoming trip will involve shipping the Shogun (Pajero) from NZ to Russia.
A rough initial plan of our route (as far as Turkey) is shown here:
And here's our family expedition machine:
It's a fairly extensively modified 4th generation Mitsubishi Shogun/Pajero. These were known as Montero's in the USA, although the 4th generation versions were not sold in the USA (although have been very popular vehicles in many other countries around the globe and are still in production). It's had too much done to it to detail here, though the photo probably gives a fair indication of its build. It has an excellent factory traction control system, now complemented with a Harrop Eaton front E-locker among many other preparations. If anyone is interested in learning about the vehicle build and/or our previous overland adventures in it then see here: https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum...ad.php?t=43395
The purpose of this post, my first ever on Horizons Unlimited, is just to introduce myself and my family's plans for a big overland trip next year. We'd love to hear from, and share ideas with, others currently making plans to undertake travel into the places we are heading next year. I'd also love to hear from others who are familiar with our planned route and have any tips/experience to share?
Right now I'm working on planning the stage from Vladivostok to Magadan - the 'Road of Bones'. One complication we have is that because we wish to commence this trip in May 2019 it will still be pretty cold that far north in Siberia. So I'm researching opportunities to find accommodation in towns/villages along the route (and also planning to build a portable diesel heater in case we get caught out and have to camp in the tent). I'm also currently focusing on availability and quality of diesel for this part of the route.
Has anyone here shipped a 4wd between Vladivostok and Magadan (either direction) and if so at what cost?
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