[Stealthy]

http://www.eoe.org.uk/london-sydney.php

Anybody interested in coming on this with a 19 year old guy?

[merrellj]

I'm considering doing this next year.

Have you made a decision to go yet. Would be interested in hearing how you get on prior to departure.

[hugheskevi]

I did the inaugral trip in 2006 if there is anything you particularly want to know.

Not a huge amount to do prior to departure really.

The main thing is vaccinations, for which to allow up to 3 months depending on what you want to do, although a month would probably be enough for most things.

Then there are visas, but they aren't actually much of a burden as you only need to get 1 or 2 prior to departure and they are quite quick.

They had one pre-departure meeting (which I didn't go to as I was overseas) - I think that was a couple of months before the trip left.

Nothing else was particularly difficult - getting gear, changing money, etc, is all easy enough as the trip is mostly through warm climates so only a small amount of cooler weather gear is needed.

[richard_james_hussey]

Hey,

Just been reading this and it seems like a really interesting idea. Would be interested to know if anyone has actually done this before? Or is thinking of doing it? Probably wouldn't be able to afford it until August 2010 but definately on the cards. Any info anyone has would be much appreciated.

Hussey

[hugheskevi]

[hugheskevi]

FFS sake, for anyone who does not know, Gumtree annoyingly changes the initials of a company that deals mostly with Antiodeans but also sounds like it might do mail to "oops"

So Google for the initials of "Tango Night Tango" and travelshow to find details of it.

And administrators, can't you change this silly rule?

[richard_james_hussey]

The link worked anyway but unfortunately I cannot make it to London this weekend which is a shame because it would be good to speak to them first hand.

Sorry for repeating the question just wanted to check someone was going to reply before I asked a load of questions!

I think ive worked out a total budget which should cover everything I want to do which is about 10 grand plus a bit so I can stay on in Oz for a while. Do you think this will be sufficient?

What was the group you went with like? What was the age range like?

Did you encounter any trouble with locals in some of the more remote places? What about border controls?

Were there any items that you took and really didn't use? or anything you didn't take and did need?

Were the vaccinations expensive?

What about your gear as well. What sort of tent/sleeping arrangement did you use? I imagine the desert can be quite uncomfortable?

Thats all for now! Thanks for your speedy reply.

Hussey

[hugheskevi]

10 grand should be okay (assuming £5K payment, £5K spending. Have to be a bit careful, but not unreasonably so.

I think the group I went with may be a bit different to now, as group composition is heavily dependent on where the trip is advertised, and the trip I went on was the first time EOE had done the trip.

The age range went from about mid 20s up to mid 50s. However, as EOE have expanded their marketing to places like the Travelshow I expect that may well have come down. They are always happy to answer questions like that by e-mail, which is probably a good idea as everything I say is based on a trip 3 years ago now so may be a bit dated.

The group was quite different to other Overland trips I've done in Africa and the Middle East - far less of a party-truck than those other ones. Personally I would have preferred a more party-truck atmosphere, but everyone's different.

No trouble with locals anywhere. Well, the Iranians didn't want to give me a visa (saying I was a security risk?!), and I had to blag my way in and pretend to have a broken arm to get a visa extension, but they were friendly enough really

Border controls are not much of an issue aside from Iran and China. Both of those can be a real pain, particularly China. We had to wait 3 weeks in Nepal whilst they messed things up, but hey, Kathmandu is a good place to wait. But mostly you can just pick up visas at the border.

I wouldn't bother taking a good sleeping bag - most of the trip is warm. The start is cold, depending on when you leave, but after a few weeks it is warm, so best just to sleep in lots of clothes. IPOD is good, SMALL toiletry bag, small med-kit (emphasis on pain/irritation relief rather than treatment) and that is it. Thermals are not a bad idea - good for wearing under clothes on cold days, and using as pyjamas in cold areas at night and not bulky. A decent travel towel or 2 is a good thing to invest in. Don't worry much about clothes - things can be brought along the way. Aim for loose, quick drying, light clothing with just one cold weather outfit.

Only take debit cards and US dollars (ATMs in Iran won't work and a few other places it is handy to have dollars - maybe up to £1,000 in dollars would be good, use a Nationwide account and debit card for cash along the rest of the way), forget about travellers cheques - they are a liability to change.

Most people take *far* too much stuff. Ideal is to have a sports bag for tent and bedding, and a small main pack. I'd say you don't need to take more than 10-15kg of stuff at most.

Vaccination price varies quite a lot. Your GP will do some of them for free most likely. Other than that, shop around a few of the Travel Clinics. Personally I found First Contact good and inexpensive. I wouldn't bother with rabies, and only take a small amount of doxycycline (anti-malarial) to use in the most infectious areas.

I used a Vaude mosquito tent, which was fine. Also a Z-rest and sleeping bag and sleeping bag liner. Emphasis should be on weight and ease it can be put up with. A lot of the time you don't need a fly-sheet or any bedding as it is very warm.

Deserts are fine - nice and flat The worst places are the very hot and humid ones (eg northern Pakistan) and the freezing cold ones (Europe in April). Most of the trip is comfortable enough. Many used an air-rest (more comfortable, more fragile). My personal preference is for something that cannot be punctured, but each to their own. The good point about carrying your tent in a sports bag is that you don't need to roll it up tightly - just take it downa and shove it in the sports bag and put it in the truck. But for space considerations that approach is only fair if you have a small amount of luggage in total. This way it takes less than 5 minutes to put up and take down the tent.

Hardest thing about the trip is deciding to do it - everything is pretty plain-sailing after that. If that part gives you any trouble, a good test is to think is there any one single thing that makes this a stupid idea, and if not, well, there is no real reason not to do it is there

Hope that helps!

[hugheskevi]

EOE have split off their London-Sydney trips into a sister company, leaving the exploratory trips with EOE. It is still exactly the same people running things though.

The new company is called UktoOz and is at: http://www.uktooz.com/index.asp

[richard_james_hussey]

It seems that the 32 week one has gone up a grand as well!

Thanks for all the info. need to seriously buckle down to some saving. possibly find a better paid jobto get me there!

Hope I get a chance to do this

[zorrokass3]

I'm hopefully signing up for it april 2010

Should be fun

There is another company that runs a very similar trip except that it ends/starts in Darwin, called Odyssey Overland - 26 weeks - same price give or take but has more inclusions and visits slightly different countries. http://www.odysseyoverland.co.uk

Good option through if you're looking to go up (turkmenistan, Uzbekistan etc) instead of down (pakistan, india, etc).

But I'm a huge India fan so I chose the EOE trip.

Hope to see some of you all on it

[hughie7]

hey i'm heading off for the one this august there is still a place available and i'm only 22.

[ddn1985]

yay i'm not the youngest! see you in august.
did the ultimate asia trip with Exodus when I was 19. Next person up from me was 32 going on 12. Still had an awesome time though.

[bodix3]

All signed up for - leaving April 6th 2010

Been wanting to do something like this for years but always had an excuse not to get off my butt and do it.
Can't wait

[vienna]

[quote="bodix3"]All signed up for - leaving April 6th 2010

Been wanting to do something like this for years but always had an excuse not to get off my butt and do it.
Can't wait [/quote]

hey,
I've signed up for the april 2010 trip too! Im so excited! Im trying to contact people that are going on this tip. Do you have facebook? Iheard there might b an unofficial group on there started by somebody but I cant find it.

Vienna

[hugheskevi]

For the trip I did, I got the e-mail addresses of the others going on the trip from EoE and arranged a meet up in London a few months before we left. Got about half the people along.