Proposed Itinerary - things could, WILL change as we go along!
Holyhead in Wales.
The Syrdrya River in Kazakhstan.
The Orchon, in Mongolia.
Swimming in the river at Blagoveshchensk, Russia.
Proposed Itinerary - Overland across Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan & Mongolia
UK & IRELAND
Our plan is to arrive in London on the 1st May, pick our vehicle up from Frogs Island 4x4 Centre in Abingdon and then explore the Cornwall coast down to Land's End.
From there we'll head to Wales and from Holyhead catch a ferry across to Ireland. A quick lap of the island and we'll catch another ferry across to Scotland where if the weather and the time is kind, we'll head up to John o' Groats.
Then it will be a quick trip back to London to spend the last week sightseeing and working through the bureaucracy to get our visas for Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. We have actually started the process in Australia before leaving but need to pick the visas up in the UK, as a Russian visa is only valid for entry within 45 days and the other countries a little longer. Hopefully, it will be relatively painful and we'll head up to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and catch the ferry across to Norway on the 10th June.
The NORDIC STATES
Our port of entry is Stavanger on the SW coast of Norway. It's only when you start doing the sums that you realise how big Norway is and how far north, North Cape is! We'll cruise our way north visiting many of the fiords along the way and skipping into central Sweden along the way.
Our plan is to be at North Cape - the northern most point of Europe around the end of June.
From there we'll head southeast through Finland and it's many, many lakes to the coast east of Helsinki. Then it is on to the Russian Border.
RUSSIA FOR THE FIRST TIME
Once we have got through the border around the 8th July we'll head the relatively short distance to St Petersburg where we plan to stop for a couple of days to take in the major sights and sounds of this delightful and beautiful city.
A quick trip along the highway south - everywhere on this trip is south from North Cape - will get us to Moscow. We'll stay in the Russian capital for a few days before heading south east again. Our planned route will take us through Penza and Samara to cross the border into Kazakhstan at Oral around the 20th July.
KAZAKHSTAN
This is a vast country and the biggest state from the disbanded USSR. Our plan is to head south to the northern shores of the Caspian Sea and then east to the dried up shores of the Aral Sea.
From there we'll be on one of the routes of the ancient Silk Road as we head towards Tashkent, just over the border in Krygyzstan. Our route will parallel the border to the economic capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty, which lies in the shadows of some of the great mountains of central Asia.
Our route from here is north hopefully to camp on some of the big lakes that can be found in the southeastern corner of the country. At Ayakoz we'll head east towards the China border before tracking north and then west back to Oskemen and the border with Russia.
RUSSIA FOR THE SECOND TIME
Once back in Russia we'll head for Barnaul and then south east through some very picturesque country ideal for camping towards the Mongolian border just south of the Russian town of Tashanta.
MONGOLIA
Once in Mongolia we'll head east to the lake of Uvs Nuur, which is again a very picturesque area. From there we'll wander south and east to Uliastai and then onto Khar Nuur and Mukhart another scenic area of lakes, mountains and sand hills.
South east of there is Kharkhorin, once the capital city of Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes and now home to the first Lama monastery in Mongolia, the ancient Erdene Zuu monastery.
The Gobi Desert in the far south of the country will be our next stop as we parallel the border of China on our way to Saynshand. We'll get to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of this country around the 1st September and spend a few days in this sprawling city before heading north to the Russian border.
Hovd, Mongola, view from the cemetery.
EASTERN RUSSIA and HOME
We'll enter Russia for the third time around the 6th September and head for the major town of Ulan Ude where we'll pick up a few supplies before heading to the eastern shores of Lake Baikal.
Once we leave there it's the long haul over the great hunchback of China via Chita, Skovorodino, Blagoveshchensk to Khabarovsk where we turn south to Vladivostok. If our plan is running true we'll arrive there around the 26th September and have allowed a week or so to pack the vehicles and get them loaded and through Customs and onto a ship.
We are booked to fly from Vladivostok to Seoul, the capital of South Korea, on the 4th October. Here we'll pick up a Qantas bird for the flight to Melbourne, Australia, where we'll arrive on the 5th October.
That adventure will be over but others are on the drawing board!
See our web site: www.guidebooks.com.au for more details on any of our books as well as tips and travel information for traveling remote Outback Australia.
Lands End in Cornwall is situated on the westerly point of mainland Britain, and is surrounded by spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean.
The sign that greets visitors upon reaching John o'Groats.
West Norwegian Fjords - Geirangerfjord.
Vehicle repairs, Russian style.
Burabai in Kazakhstan.
A typical road in Mongolia (or roads!!).
There is some magnificent countryside to experience in Mongolia.
Overlooking the city and of Vladivostok and the port area.
A view of th city of Vladivostok .
