Originally published in 2016 / Updated in 2017
What started as an idea two years ago, finally came together in this free e-book that we’re about to share with all of you: Overlanders Inspired – you’ll find the download link at the bottom of this blog post.
It was one of those evenings that we sat curled up in the Land Cruiser, on a rainy night, drinking cups of tea to warm ourselves. We got talking about our beautiful way of life, about overlanding, and how the group of overland travelers had grown over the ten years that we’ve been on the road.
“The only limitations are in your head” ~Karin-Marijke Vis & Coen Wubbels
The Overlander’s Excuse
We discussed how overlanding can be for anybody, and how we’ve heard all the excuses, which quickly proved untrue:
- “Ah, but we can’t do that, we have kids!” In this E-book you’ll find several families traveling with kids, varying from baby to teenager, and from one kid up to six.
- “But I have a chronic disease…” Meet Marianne and Henk, about how they never let Henk’s chronic illnesses get in their way of travel.
- “I can’t leave; I have dogs.” While Lorraine will never say that traveling for dogs is for everybody, she has done so herself, and has a lot to say interesting things to say about the subject.
- “The world is way too dangerous to travel.” Ah, but then read Hal Stephens’ story, who drove around the world already in 1965, when the world was just as much – if not more – in turmoil than today.
- “I’m single.” Read Dave’s story on why that could be, in fact, an advantage. Or, for that matter, read about Life Remotely’s fun while traveling with the three of them.
- “I have no money.” We have a number of examples of how that doesn’t have to be a problem: Meet the minimalist travelers Julie & Jean-Baptiste in a 2CV, DiscoverShareInspire who work on the road, and Bard & Sheena who share tips how to quickly save a whole lot of money for a three-year trip.
We continued about talking how fun it would be to share these stories, to give people who are not familiar with overlanding, or who afraid to go for whatever reason, an inspiration to follow in the overlanders’ footsteps.
This got us talking to our fellow overlanders. A number of them were enthusiastic to share their story with us, and you.
The result is this free E-book, Overlanders Inspired.
You can download it free of charge. Just click on the button below.
P.s. If you are an overlander (truck or motorcycle) with an angle not yet covered in this E-book and you’d like to contribute as well, let us know.
We’re particularly interested in adding a story of overlanders without any (prior) knowledge of mechanics, an in-depth story about road schooling, and one about people who took up overlanding after retirement.
What Others Say
4-wheel-nomads-de
Our friends Coen and Karin-Marijke from Landcruising Adventure put together this interesting free e-book about different overlanders and the “concepts” behind them. An absolute “must read” and very inspiring …
Marco Brouwers
We horen van velen: wat jullie doen zouden we ook wel willen. Misschien is dit een verhaal wat je kan helpen om de stap te maken. Dit prachtige stuk is samengesteld door Coen Wubbels en Karin-Marijke Vis de godfathers onder de overlanders. Zij zijn al 13 jaar onderweg. Lees! Start de auto en gaan.
LowSix’s
Falls noch jemand etwas Anregung braucht, um es uns nach zu machen – “Overlanding, einfach Losfahren”. Ein sehr schönes (kostenfreies) E-Book zum Inspirieren lassen! Wer nicht so viel lesen möchte, kann sich einfach auch nur die genialen Bilder anschauen…
Frank Hoer
Thanks for sharing. A great little book with some inspiring stories and fantastic photos. Good to see some familiar faces and locations.
For books we read and contribute to, check out our Bookshop.
Let us know what you think of Overlanders Inspired. Are there any particular stories you’d like to see added?
I just scanned this e-book and am really impressed. A great piece of work, Coen and Karin-Marijke, and very inspiring, too. I can’t wait to have some time tonight and read through it … Thanks for realizing this great project and sharing it for free! All our best wishes form Windhoek in Namibia, Juliane, Mischa, Anouk and Sóley (www.4-wheel-nomads.de)
Thanks! Enjoy reading!
Great website + fab e-book +
awesome photos. Yours is the Gold Standard for an overlanding adventure and we’re always impressed by the new posts! We’re setting off next year driving the Old Silk Road across the “Stans” and hope to bump into you on the road sometime somewhere. Life is too short!
Thanks guys. Would be so cool to bump into each other next year or so…. We’ll probably cross Japan next year and onto Russia next.
I’ve been following your expedition for years, from your articles on the Expedition Portal, and MAN they’re awesome
( especially the Pantanal One)
Jullie zijn geweldig!!!!!
Thank you Lawé, this brings a smile to our faces!
Keep up the good work.
Great blog guys we are Aussies have a Unimog and Landrover and been on the road for 8 years in Australia shipping over to Russia in feb 2020, lots of healpful advice. @greataussieadventure
Hi Jo, good to hear from you. Let us know when you get to Central Asia, we may still be around this area. Would be great to meet!
Hi Coen and Karin-Marijke,
I have been following your blog and the one of the French couple Cécile and Laurent (Overland Aventure, maybe you know them) for a while.
Well, my “city” car seriously broke down last week and, since I have recently become a freelance translator, I see this as a chance to discover the world.
At this stage, I have too many questions that I need to investigate, so my only question is : apart from your blog, what forum would you recommend visiting for questions about vehicles, country regulations, etc. ? I will likely buy a 2nd hand Toyota or Landrover and just set off.
Facebook probably is your best friend. There are many groups for overlanders, often divided up per continent or topic. E.g.
Overland to Asia
overlanding buy and sell
Pan American travelers association
And many more.
Enjoy the preparation and the journey. Maybe our roads will cross.
Feel free to ask more questions 🙂
THANK YOU and keep up the amazing work!