The INCREDIBLE Albanian ALPS! & THETH! 🇦🇱 - Australia to Scotland by road - Episode 96

The hilltop coastal camp spot we had found at the end of the last episode provided a good mix of Albania. Communist ruins, and beautiful clear water. We woke to a perfect day with the sun glistening off the crystal waters, fisherman in small boats were casting their nets, and a herd of noisy goats scrabbled up the crest in front of us and off into the shrub. While making our morning coffee a local shepherd moving his flock stops by to say hello. He couldn’t speak any English though a friendly smile was enough of a welcome gesture. Very intrigued by the Troopy we gave him a little tour, and in return he offered a ride on his donkey. We’ve found it interesting in countries where shepherds are still widely used that they usually always insist we go for a ride on their horses, or donkey in this case, as if it’s something they’re very proud of. Not wanting to offend Jolie jumped on, still in her PJs, for a little guided ride. Google translate is indispensable in situations like this where communication would otherwise be limited to hand gestures. Thankfully with technology we were able to have a basic conversation and learn a bit about the 62yr old shepherd, his family, how his kids had left home to study, how he moves his flock each day, and a bit of history about the various artillery ruins surrounding the camp spot. After a coffee and some biscuits, some for donkey too, he seemed to blissfully forget about his flock as they meandered off into the bush. 45 minutes went by before he trotted off, rounding up his sheep and headed off down the track. We packed down the Troopy, crawled back up the rutted track in, and headed inland again towards the mountains of the North.
As we near the town of Shkoda we notice a noise coming from the rear of the Troopy, an unfortunately familiar noise. A quick search of mechanics on iOverlander shows a mechanic conveniently nearby so we put it in the GPS and make a beeline. During our travels through Asia we’ve loved the ability to not only have access to extremely cost effective mechanics though also be to be able to arrive and start work almost immediately. We’re not sure if this is because they feel obliged because we’re Westerners, or they actually charge us more than normal (still incredibly cheap), or that’s just how they operate. Regardless of what it is, it’s a huge benefit for us from a time perspective. This mechanic was no different, and minutes after arriving they had the rear wheels off confirming our suspicion that the brake pads had gone again. This big fat overweight Troopy needs a diet as it has chewed down a few brake pads over the years! Although the ability to get into these mechanics is convenient it would be in vein if we didn’t carry the right spares. We luckily caught this at the right time too as it had caused a minor score on the disc. Not a problem though, they whisked the disk off to a machine shop and had it back machined and smooth about half an our later. The friendly guys who run the shop gave the underside a quick once over while they waited for the disc to return, greasing everything as they went. With everything back together the day was late and we weren’t going to reach our planned destination. Adjacent the city is a huge lake which also makes up the border with Montenegro. Using our Google Maps technique we found a few potential camp spots by the lake to the north which looked promising. As we drove out of the city in the warm autumn afternoon light towards the lake we were surprised at how many people were cycling, with almost as many people on bikes in some parts as there was vehicles. Maybe this is a carry over tradition from communist days, the demographic, or simply enjoy being healthy, either way with most people casually riding in pairs it set a relaxing tone to the afternoon.
Read the rest over on Patreon here - / 68338126

[@theox9015]

even BBC geografic channel ,can't make video like this, well done

[@ronellefiji]

Started watching again....miss you guys. Lovely video. Epic music.

[@aureliogj7966]

I miss my country so much 😭

[@cleanenergyinside1921]

Such beautiful scenery and clear waters. Never knew this about Albania?

[@TheWayOverland]

It is, and there's a lot more in this region we didn't have time to explore. There's an area just down this river called the 'Lumi I Shales' which looks like somewhere out of South East Asia. Incredible!

[@cleanenergyinside1921]

@@TheWayOverland Amazing. Looking forward to more. You guys really deserve far more subscribers! Have recomended your site to friends. Hope they subscribe 🙂🤞

[@ST-uh6qg]

Wow stunningly beautiful location, and stunningly brave move to jump in the mountain icemelt.

[@TheWayOverland]

Haha brave is one way to put it! Definitely underestimated how cold it was going to be! Yes, beautiful location though!

[@stevestott1514]

What a beautiful first camping spot the views were awesome . Loved the drone shots along the lake and the beauty of that area . Over all a very beautiful video again you two . What spectacular and beautiful country . Thanks again for sharing your wonderful travel memories with us all your over landing friends . Cheers from Steve Stott in Sutherlin Oregon U.S.A. :):)😁🍻👍🏼

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Steve, hard to make this place look bad!

[@sightsandsoundsaustralia4514]

the drone work is next level, well done guys

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers!

[@johnbancken2011]

Enjoyed the video and as said before, a bumpy road to Teth. But in authumn it lookes so different.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers John, and this isn't even the bumpy road yet! That's in the next episode on the way out. The autumn colours though were incredible!

[@johndiaz7240]

It’s wonderful you could visit these Countries, it would be difficult now with the war. Excellent story telling.

[@kel8026]

The war is in Ukraine, nowhere else dude

[@BalkanReport]

Your videos are so peaceful

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Mario, drama free videos is the aim!

[@whenopportunitycomes8718]

This episode was just packed with epic views. Goodness.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, yep, this part of Albania (like a lot of the rest) has some incredible landscape, and we only just scratched the surface!

[@holgermuller2987]

Hi guys Absolute Great! Made my evening…. After a farewell dinner with 2 neighbors leaving for good tonight and a Lagvulin 16Y exact the thing to keep up my spirits. Thank you…. Happy traveling Cheers

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Holger, that sounds like a nice drop! We just finished a bottle of Glenturret 12 so will have to check it out!

[@holgermuller2987]

@@TheWayOverland Prices for whiskey doubled in one year unfortunately, but you heading in the right directions!! Real whiskey, single malt, non chill filtered natural color, Cask strengths… so many differently taste nuances…. I strongly suggest to plan sufficient time for all the Destille visit and tasting on Is. Speyside !! To start with… more island and destilles available. Safe trip Cheers

[@chadhaugen-leathertech4848]

Great video ! You caught the fall season perfect! So happy to see you filming again.

[@aussietravelgold4873]

Stunning scenery! Great video, thank you!

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks!

[@Jabber-ig3iw]

Heading to Albania next summer with a few other people, only 2 weeks to explore but can’t wait, looks a fantastic country.

[@BillytheDef]

Great video. Those colors are amazing 🤩 looks like automne

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, the colours were incredible, and yep, it was definitely Autumn. 🍁

[@fromtheroad3081]

Great colors👌

[@ricoman7981]

This would have been spring or early summers yet the colours look like autumn, beautiful.

[@TheWayOverland]

Yep they’re incredible! And yes, half right. They’re autumn colours, in autumn.

[@ricoman7981]

@@TheWayOverland so that video was from autumn 2021?

[@TheWayOverland]

Yep

[@ricoman7981]

@@TheWayOverland that’s about 9 months ago, have you arrived in the UK and are already finished that part of your adventure? If so, you should head south, drive to South Africa, ship the Troopy to South America and the drive the Americas up to The Yukon and over to Alaska.

[@TheWayOverland]

Haha yes that would the dream route! We'll be doing sections of it, in time. For now though stay tuned to see how the rest of the trip pans out.

[@neilcook6830]

It could be that your brake proportioning valve requires adjusting or spacing out to suit the rear suspension lift. Could be putting more brake force to the rear brakes??

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Neil, I'm thinking you may be right. Will check the adjustment. 👍

[@pakturkazerbaijantv6244]

you and your video are beautiful 🌹🇵🇰🇹🇷🇦🇿🌹

[@TheWayOverland]

🙂

[@emadd3451]

if you haven't fixed the brakes yet. the brake hose may have collapsed from the inside

[@abc-00000]

💎❤

[@ShailendraSinghYaduvanshi]

Beautiful country side, but they also have some bears and other wild life in the area , so make sure you carry some bear spray just in case 😉

[@dudechronicles1]

Great video , well done guys , can you tell me the exact location where you camp. It was wild camping i guess , i want to go camping this month but it costs a lot even with our tents and i want to find a free spot to camp, so if you could tell me it would be great!

[@subhanmalik181]

Hello guys…when are you going to Pakistan again… the episodes of Pakistan, Pamir highway and central asia are among my favorites

[@TheWayOverland]

Hopefully very soon! That Central Asia region was also some of our favourites!

[@steveclark6321]

Was the road paved all the way to Theth when you filmed this? I read that it is now and a 4x4 isn’t needed

[@TheWayOverland]

It wasn't finished, though it was very close. The part that wasn't would've been easily passable in a 2wd. No doubt your info is probably true and it's finished now.

[@Ray-bn4dc]

😇 ρгό𝔪σŞｍ