Going Overland embarks on global circumnavigation

Paul and Helen Crittenden recently departed (June 2010) on their ambitious round-the-world expedition. They began the trip in their hometown of Ramsgate, Kent and have already made it to Russia. Their journey will take them across Russia, through the Americas, then Africa, and finally back through Europe. They’re traveling in a fabulously kitted-out Land Rover Defender 110 so I expect they’ll have some degree of daily excitement, not just from the places they’ll visit and the people they’ll meet, but also from the driving experience. If you’re going to drive around the world, you might as well drive something exciting, right?

Their journey has a purpose beyond self-fulfillment. They began the trip by visiting schools across the U.K. and briefing children on the goals and itinerary of the trip. The kids will follow along through their interactive website to learn about the far-flung places they’ll visit. They offer Q&A sessions to any students who are curious and need answers. (I especially enjoyed their video attempting to answer the difficult question posed by Molly Whelan, age 11: “Why do some parts of the world have a lot of poor people while others are better off?”) Additionally, they are raising money and awareness for Water Aid, the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation, and Rainforest Concern.

You can follow along with their travels at two websites: Going Overland and the educational version, Landy’s Adventures. (Hint: when browsing their blogs, if you sort the posts by month, be sure to scroll down and click “older entries” at the bottom of the page to see more posts for a given month.) Some recent blogging at the Going Overland site indicates they were surprised to discover faulty workmanship on the Landy’s suspension which caused a near-total failure of the shock absorbers. Luckily Paul was able to sort out a temporary fix, and we wish them the best of luck for a more permanent fix soon. goingoverland.com, landysadventures.com