5 Year Trip in a Grenadier Across the World towing a Patriot X3 Which We Live In.

[Matt P]

That was an absolute treat @Matt P ! Stupendous scenery/geology and magnificent filmmaking.
What an extraordinary experience for you all - and well done Jane

Glad you enjoyed this one! My brother just let me know the landscapes looks epic on a massive tv! More and more people are watching YouTube like this and so perhaps one day we’ll watch it back once we’re settled somewhere for memories.

Grenadier wise - Jane is performing very well. A few niggles that others have already highlighted but nothing major. Our trip has been about 70% off-road and so we’re very happy at the moment with how everything is going!

 

[Matt P]

Added to my watch list!

Let us know your thoughts!

 

[Pat]

Matt,
Stunning landscape and I am guessing nobody of this forum have ever seen this in person and only a few of us some pictures of this. Again Kudos to your and your wife's mindset (she is a real leader by all means). Your connection to Timor is very meaningful for you but I would say this one of the motivations why we do such trips - connecting to awsome induviduals proving that the the majority of the people of this world have a positive attitude. And btw when I was in the UK this summer (with my Grenadier) I did visit (by chance) a permaculture farm.

 

[BenTN]

@Matt P

Spectacular. And what exceptionally genuine filmmaking. It is such a joy to watch you and your lovely family on this adventure. You have your hands full and I commend the time and effort you put into showing others what can be found, and what can be done. Thank you for letting us have this digital window into your travels.

Your wife's comments about the uncertainty of genuine adventure reminded me of some of my favorite overland drives to Alaska, Central America, the US West. And yes, everywhere I have ever been, there were good people happy to help.

If you ever wonder if anyone is watching, if anyone is impacted or inspired, you should know that yes, a thousand times over, people are inspired. We are so appreciative of these stories you share.

 

[parb]

@BenTN @Matt P

So well put Ben. I wholeheartedly agree!

 

[Matt P]

Matt,
Stunning landscape and I am guessing nobody of this forum have ever seen this in person and only a few of us some pictures of this. Again Kudos to your and your wife's mindset (she is a real leader by all means). Your connection to Timor is very meaningful for you but I would say this one of the motivations why we do such trips - connecting to awsome induviduals proving that the the majority of the people of this world have a positive attitude. And btw when I was in the UK this summer (with my Grenadier) I did visit (by chance) a permaculture farm.

Glad you enjoyed this one Pat, like you say it's a bit of a hidden gem in the SW of Kazakhstan. Leah is an absolute champ hence why I married her! We've got a lot to balance and it's very testing at times as I'm sure you can probably imagine.

Meetings with Timur and others happen all over the place and like you say, this is a big reason we do these trips too. I think the whole setting and situation of this one stood out that's all. NIght time, middle of nowhere in the Kazakh desert, Russian military mapping downloading, stories being told and just having a laugh in his Landcruiser with a few of his guys, it was just one to remember. We've met some amazing and brilliant people all along our route and I've no doubt this will continue! We should really be a bit better at featuring them but we don't want to ruin the moment and connection we have in most cases and we'd rather have that. I did a trip to Lake Baikal, in Siberia once, circumnavigating the lake when it was frozen on an old Russian Ural. We saw almost no one and it reminded me that despite the epic landscape, vehicle and adventure, if the people are missing for almost the whole time, it's just not the same... even though it's nice to have some solitude. To your point, I'd say 99.8% of people are just like you and me. We're looking for very similar things in life when you really dig, people just want to be happy and live in peace with their friends and family. Even though I've done a lot of this all over the place, it still amazes me how generous and kind people are to total strangers, it's usually those that have the least, give the most. (In my experience)

 

[Matt P]

@Matt P

Spectacular. And what exceptionally genuine filmmaking. It is such a joy to watch you and your lovely family on this adventure. You have your hands full and I commend the time and effort you put into showing others what can be found, and what can be done. Thank you for letting us have this digital window into your travels.

Your wife's comments about the uncertainty of genuine adventure reminded me of some of my favorite overland drives to Alaska, Central America, the US West. And yes, everywhere I have ever been, there were good people happy to help.

If you ever wonder if anyone is watching, if anyone is impacted or inspired, you should know that yes, a thousand times over, people are inspired. We are so appreciative of these stories you share.

Thanks for the kind words Ben! We do indeed have our hands full and sometimes question, is it worth pushing the boundaries in all directions... we've decided all we can do is our best and make sure we focus on what the priorities are and the rest will fall into place.

Adventure for us is all about embracing uncertainty and the unknown... if you can smile in the face of this you'll have a great time! If not, it's going to be a bumpy ride! (Especially if you have two young kids with you!) I've not been to Alaska yet but I've no doubt that'll be one to remember! We'll try and do it as part of our final phase in the States.

We do sometimes wonder who's watching and why... numbers are one thing but the people behind those numbers are what really interests us. We also watch and have found YT to be incredibly useful, inspirational and an invaluable tool, especially as it's free! We hope we can contribute to that ecosystem in some way and do our little bit. We try our best to not bore people with drivel as we know everyone is busy and time is valuable and so we try and focus on quality over quantity and possibly even show a few things that are rarely seen, known or thought about...

 

[Matt P]

@BenTN @Matt P

So well put Ben. I wholeheartedly agree!

Cheers parb!