THE JOURNEY CONTINUES! - ARMENIA 🇦🇲 - Australia to Scotland by road - Episode 79

The journey continues!
Amid the chaos and disruption the last 2 years has bought, we managed to get a break and board a plane out of Australia passing through Doha before arriving 36 hours later in Yerevan, Armenia. On the grounds of the guesthouse/campground Camping 3Gs, the Troopy had been patiently waiting. The owner of Camping 3Gs is the extremely accommodating Dutch ex-pat Sandra who had taken the Troopy in and cared for it for the last 18 months.
The transit out of Australia was an eerie experience. The airport was open though empty apart from us, the occasional cleaner, and a few federal police officers. There appeared to be only 3 flights that day, our QATAR one seemed to be the busiest with roughly 50 people on board. We had a comfortable ride to DOHA with whole rows to ourselves; landing in DOHA though was a different experience. Coming from Australia where the fear of coming close to strangers was imprinted on us daily, we stepped into a fully functioning airport at rush hour. It was as if this little pandemic didn’t exist. It was chaos and took a moment to adjust and find a place to escape the bustle to wait out our 14 hour lay over. The following flight to Yerevan was similar; completely full, masks optional.
We arrived into Yerevan at 3am, we thought this was a crazy time to be arriving though apparently this is normal. We breezed through immigration and surprisingly, us and our 7 huge duffel bags of clothes, camp equipment, and odd car parts and accessories was waved through customs and we were free and out into the hot dry night of Yerevan. For 2 years we had communicated with Sandra over the internet though this was the first time we had met in person. The fact she insisted on making the hour long drive to pick us up at 3am is testament to her generosity. For a long time the possibility of getting back to the Troopy felt like a far off dream. With the distraction of work and the COVID media circus the Troopy seemed to be existing in a parallel universe talked about as an old friend of fiction. Working right up to the moment we flew out, the distraction continued until the point that those two universes appeared to collide and we were standing there back in front of the Troopy again taking a moment to realise it had actually happened.
The Troopy had arrived into Armenia by truck and with us on the other side of the world the normal customs procedures were somewhat overlooked by the officials at the border. While this slip up appeared to make life easier at the time, the by-product when it arrived in Yerevan was a mountain of subsequent procedures, notarised documentation, and translated phone calls between us, Sandra, Armenian Customs, brokers, lawyers, and a few other notable people. With persistence and gentle pressure several weeks later the Troopy was released into the care of Sandra. With the batteries flat it was rolled from the truck and pulled onto a tilt tray to make it’s way to the guesthouse.
The planned short hiatus turned into 2 winters and nearly 3 summers. Armenia experiences cold winters and some warm summers ranging from -20 degC to 35/40 degC. Being stored outside things had begun to perish and the Troopy was starting to look a bit tired.
Through a slight case of serendipity, a flat tyre in storage led the local mechanic, who came to repair it, to notice considerable damage to the Troopy’s tail shaft. This was definitely not there when we left it so we can only assume the flat batteries when it was freighted resulted in it being loaded onto the truck with a forklift. With out being proper chassis blocking the weight of the Troopy bent like a dog’s leg. Thankfully we found this out before we left Australia as finding compatible parts in foreign countries can be a challenging exercise. The most logical solution was to try and procure one in Armenia and save the hassle with freight, unfortunately Toyota Armenia however quoted $3500 so that put it way off the table. Shipping anything to and around Australia at the time was suffering significant delays; thankfully the T.O.A forum came to the rescue and we had a new Terrain Tamer tail shaft in hand before departure. Trying to explain to the young girl at the Qatar check in desk what the long heavy hollow steel mortar shaped object in the bag was was fun, we resorted to agreeing to simply put ‘car part’ on the forms. This was one of the many parts which we could only imagine would have attracted a few questions if Customs had’ve wanted to check our belongings on arrival in Yerevan. Not that there was anything wrong with carrying these parts though the ‘unknown’ leads to questions, this coupled with a language barrier could have turned that 3am arrival into a 5am release..........
Due to YT description limits that's all we can fit in though if you've come this far and want to check out the full description head over here (watch the video here on YT though as its better audio) - / 62715246

[@kyliesmiley8033]

Oh my goodness!!! So thrilled you are back on it!!! When it all happened I was so distraught. I kept posting on your Facebook page… how worried I was that you hadn’t posted anything…. Something was wrong. You are my absolute favourite travel bloggers. Woohoo!!

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks for the support Kylie, and sorry for any stress that situation may have caused! We're pretty happy to be back on the road with the Troopy driving away from all that now. Cheers 🙂

[@ahmedalshargi9687]

I am a doctor in poland and I like watching your travelling

[@JeffC1]

Hot Damn!! We missed you guys!!!

[@MrArkar87]

Glad you guys are back on road. I watch almost all of your video clips. Keep up your adventure and more videos.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, got plenty more videos on the way 👍🏻

[@craiggillphotography8030]

So excited to see you are back. 👏👏

[@harrydk7521]

Wow..nice to see you back

[@JohnHMoore]

You’re back!!!! Yea!!!!!!!

[@michaelyapp6099]

so good to see you both again. welcome back

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers

[@JahirulHoque]

Happy to see you on road again. lot of love from Bangladesh.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers!

[@netthailiberal]

Great wait this EP long time

[@511dydy]

Great to see you again

[@TheWayOverland]

🙂

[@Onward4x4]

Good to see you are back!! Woohooo!!

[@thefreedomaddiction9639]

Yyyeeewww🤘. Back at guys!

[@MahmudulHasan-yt2ws]

I thought you got broken up and thats why you weren't uploading any videos ! but thats wrong assumption ! thanks god you are back with your amazing vlogs

[@1988hj75]

Welcome back legends

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Grant

[@shahnawazhanjra6531]

O my GOD after a long long time !! 👍✌️🇵🇰♥️🤝🥰😘

[@robkeith1776]

Hi Jolie and Mark. Great to see you both back again after your harrowing experience. Pleased to see the mighty Troopy is alive and well ! Looking forward to your future travels.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Rob

[@suemales3771]

Welcome back!

[@dantheman6159]

Ah and just noticed the rock on Jolie’s finger. Congratulations Guys!

[@TheWayOverland]

Ha yeah, that slipped past most people.

[@AshleyPearceImages]

Welcome back Mark & Jolie…this video gave me the warm and fuzzies. All the best and can’t wait for further episodes

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Ashley

[@AshleyPearceImages]

@@TheWayOverland was that wedding 💍 my wife saw as well 🤷‍♂️ If so wholehearted congrats for that as well.

[@TheWayOverland]

Ha that is a keen eye! Not a wedding ring yet.......😉

[@AshleyPearceImages]

@@TheWayOverland policeman's daughter!!! Not much gets passed her! Congratulations, you guys deserve all the happiness!

[@warrenvanzetti5123]

OMG you guys are amazing 🤩

[@terryvictor1]

Yay! You’re back! 😊

[@paulmorrison9466]

So glad to see you guys back

[@hell1120]

So great to see you 2 again!

[@prebenvestdam1973]

😲　Welcome back !!!! We missed you.

[@mountainconstructions]

How Good to see you guys back!!!!

[@Yargify]

Happy to see you back!

[@CCCP_Again]

After so long glad to see you both back!

[@ThePiero52]

So happy you're back and safely! wish you all the best!

[@unknownmilestone6096]

Great to see you back guys! Can't wait for more episodes 😃

[@Zacker72]

Longggggggg awaiting video, finally. Thank you guys

[@wade-lc463]

So glad you guys are back! Love the content - thank you so much for including us in your travels - have a great trip!

[@abnd448]

I'm so glad the journey continues🔥🔥🔥keep it up guys

[@TonyB1950]

Great to see you on the road again !

[@peteregan3862]

Great to see you back.

[@craiglouw4057]

Awesome Guys … go and finish your epic journey 💪

[@BilalHussain-gc2sf]

Thanks for uploading guys. So great to see you back, had to wait for an year !!

[@Nordi88]

Awesome to see you back on track 😊

[@guscunningham]

The team is finally back together. Welcome back x

[@sandyswantee9163]

This is great news! Welcome back 👍

[@junjin21]

Wow! Oh my goodness! amazing! I've been waiting for your video. Thank you comeback your troopy overland.

[@Shawn2ndaccount]

Thank God you two are back! Be safe.

[@BricelynTowne]

So excited to watch you finish your trip!

[@sebk5232]

Wow, what an amazing surprise. Can't wait to see the new videos. 😍

[@lostworldadventures]

Great to see your back, and the adventure continues,

[@lukebryce5097]

Glad you guys are back at it! Looking forward to following the adventure.

[@cleanenergyinside1921]

Great that you guys are back after everything. Looking forward to new and exciting adventures ahead. All the best from 🇲🇾

[@elroy8138]

great to see you back. love you two

[@TheRomeara]

Great news and welcome back.

[@amadsaleem8949]

Wow. Thankyou for being back. Really missed you guys. All the best....

[@amadsaleem8949]

After long I am enjoying a proper glimpse of overlanding. Bless you guys

[@bxl_lad9952]

Welcome back, looking forward to the continued travels. Well done for getting back on the horse as it were, most wouldn't have ;-)

[@mapleleafdrifters]

Wow! Amazing to see you back at it, we've often wondered what the two of you have been up to 🙂🙂

[@goncalotomas7338]

Awesome, I am very happy to see you again, you are a great inspiration

[@kushalanjanappa5105]

I'm glad to get a notification from you guys!

[@aletnortje8929]

At last the journey continues! Fantabulous news!!!

[@mizoramkanram7897]

It's been very long. Finally you're back ☺️

[@samri4192]

God bless you 🙏.

[@royalayla]

Blij jullie weer te zien Happy travels Stay safe

[@alanberry8239]

So great to see you both back! Love your style of video it really showcases each location.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Alan!

[@sheaphing4874]

Glad you back again can't wait to see your coming journey.Its been a while since you both last post on KZbin cheers

[@theridgelinestories]

Really happy to see you guys back on the road and with a great video.👌😊 Felt great watching this.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers 🙂

[@robschueler1778]

Glad to see you guys back at it again. Wishing you the very best going forward.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Rob

[@thisisgeoffrey9397]

Awesome, so glad you guys are back doing this, your videos inspired our own overland trip through Africa -thank you!

[@TheWayOverland]

Awesome, are you still on the road? How'd was it/is it going?

[@SuperMrSik]

Hi Mark and Jolie, awesome to see you (and the sparkle in your eyes) again.

[@tom911]

Good to see you're back. Safe travels

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Tom

[@wolfgangwust5883]

Wow, you're back! Have been worried by recent stories...

[@Taf68]

holy crap . Welcome back guys . So pleased to see you back on your travels

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Paul

[@jtwjourneytheworld2258]

It has been a long wait and great to have the both of you back! All the best from your fan in Singapore!

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks!

[@Hugues.L]

Wow ! Great to see you back on the road. Since I watched your last episode back in January 2022 I think, I have started my own van conversion to tour the world starting 2023 hopefully ! You inspired me !

[@TheWayOverland]

That's great, safe travels!

[@Mister510]

It's great to see you two back on the road! With all you went through and the time that's passed I figured you were done and had sold the Troopy (if you even got it back). What a great surprise to see a new video in my subscriptions this morning. :)

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, couldn't let them beat us...

[@saltwateradventure]

What a Story. More than happy to hear that you are well and to ses you back in travelling business! Espacially in days like this when the hole world seems to run mad it's good to see that you keep on following your dreams and nothing brings you down. I wish you all the best and safe travels ! Just one more thing to mention. Seeing you guys faces back in a Video brings back all the memories from 2-3 years ago. It's like stepping back in time and forgetting all the stressfull things we actualy have to deal with.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks, yeah we were very fortunate to have to opportunity to get back on the road again and see what life was like outside of Aus during COVID. Good to hear our little escape has given you one too! Cheers

[@notthewayhomeaus]

Great to see you two back on the road. The Quality of your filmmaking is fantastic. Best of luck. Look forward to your next episode.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Jason

[@rohaitastanoli3414]

Love from Pakistan. Happy to see you guys back..!

[@Landyutility_Travels]

Fantastic great to see you back , we did wonder where you had gone , brilliant enjoy the next part of your trip 👍🏻

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Gary

[@dougjones7974]

Glad to have you back. Cheers from Vancouver, Canada.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Doug.

[@rrrrrhino]

Super happy you're back safe sharing your epic adventures!!! Would like hearing the back story to how your driveshaft got bent like that!! Stay safe and we're looking forward to future episodes!!

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks! When it was relocated the batteries were flat so it was loaded onto the truck with a fork lift. The right practice would be to chock the chassis though that didn't happen in this case so the tail shaft took the full weight of a Troopy who has had too many deserts.

[@jonathangamino1701]

Awesome!!!!! I couldn’t believe it when I saw the notification. Siked your back at it!!

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Jonathan

[@mikerayner5938]

Hats off to you both. Lesser people would’ve called it a day. Well done. 👍

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Mike

[@stevestott1514]

WOW so awesome to see the both of you and your rig back together again . Have all ways enjoyed your video’s of the place’s and people you met along your over landing journeys . Thanks for sharing the love of visiting other countries and meeting there people with us your over landing friends . Cheers from Steve Stott in Sutherlin Oregon U.S.A. :):):):) 🍻🥂

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Steve! 🍻🙂

[@next-horizon-overland]

So nice to see that you are back on the road after this crazy time and this ugly experience in Iran. Are you heading towards Europe? Maybe we ar going to meet one day as we are also setting the sails in very near future.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, yep, we headed West to ship out of Western Europe. Where are you off to?

[@next-horizon-overland]

@@TheWayOverland Well ...actually our target is the Americas, either north or south. But unfortunately we still have some "business" going on here in Switzerland so we might tour around in Europe for about a year 'til this "business" is solved. Summer in Scandinavia is beautiful 🙂

[@dinksontour2179]

Hi Guys iam so glad your back out traveling again.All the best and safe travels Rgds Peter

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Peter

[@dbhaynes]

We are so glad you made it….we have wondered about you often..stay safe

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks David

[@harisabdullah729]

Welcome back

[@dantheman6159]

My wife Preeti just told me you guys are back on the road. Absolutely stoked for you both. Enjoy your travels Mark & Jolie. Look forward to many more adventures. 😀

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Dan!

[@travellersnestoverland]

Lovely to have you back on our screens again. It is so awesome to have you back. We are booked to fky into Brisbane for Easter to see our truck. She has been standing still for 3 years now as well. Keep safe, guys Love from PNG, Rolanda 💚💙

[@TheWayOverland]

Good to hear Ro, hopefully everything’s OK with the truck! That’s a long time!

[@tanveer024]

Hi guys, it's such a relief to see your video. I was worried if everything was fine with you both since there was no video or Insta post in a long time. Glad to see that you are traveling. Looking forward to watching more videos. Please do keep updating us about your status.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, there's plenty more to come 🙂

[@ArmenianLifewithMitch]

Great video, thanks guys. I'm an Aussie and have been living in Armenia with my Armenian wife for the last 8 years. You captured Garni and Geghard beautifully and to end on top of Aragats was extra special. These locations are amongst may most favourite places. All the best to you both...stay safe and God bless🙏

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Mitch, so much contrast in Armenia! We were a bit pressed for time unfortunately so didn't get to explore as much as we wouldn't liked to have. What we did see however was awesome, especially the mountains of the north. Cheers

[@nwandoe3599]

welcome back

[@xOverland_]

Finally!!!

[@francoisehollender_franeuro]

It's so good to see you going again! I have a suggestion : could you write the names of the places you visit on the screen please? It would be such a plus. Thanks and take care

[@TheWayOverland]

Hey Francoise, thanks for the suggestion, a lot of episodes are already made though the video descriptions are quite detailed if you need more info.

[@m1ci]

Amazing trip guys! btw is that coleman model 424? thanks!

[@michaelzanotto8469]

Wow, I am so overwhelmed that you are back and sharing your travels. I also traveled last year to Brasil 🇧🇷for 4 months and it was a eerie trip leaving Australia but the rest of the world seemed open. My travel heart is with you.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks, those Aus airpots were a ghost town weren't they! Good to hear you managed o get some travel in also.

[@damarraharjo2372]

Great to see you guys back on the road. From the intro I take it the idea is to bring the troopy back to Aus? So not the original plan to UK?

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, bringing it back to Aus, yes, though from the UK.

[@hassanabbassargana906]

Good too see you keep it up 👍 road trip is my dream I’m from Pakistan 🇵🇰 I’m watching your many’s video

[@troopydoopydoo5859]

Hello again.

[@TheWayOverland]

G'day

[@rawdyrider]

Good to see you guys back on.Looking different btw!Have you both been back in Aus all this time?Couldnt make out if goin back to Aus or goin further into Europe?

[@TheWayOverland]

Probably because we haven't been living in the Troopy for 2 years., maybe a little cleaner, give it time haha. Yes, we've been in Aus. waiting out COVID and now we're heading west to Europe.

[@michaelisaacs3517]

Glad you guys are back! How did you get your truck from Turkmenistan to Armenia? When did you stop travelling and head back to Australia? I looking forward to seeing more of your trip.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, it was freighted from Iran to Armenia back in early 2020, the same time we were at home. Unfortunately COVID restrictions resulted in closed borders making it very difficult to continue on any sooner.

[@michaelisaacs3517]

@@TheWayOverland That is great, I am glad you are back on the road, I have enjoyed your journey. I am hoping to do it in reverse, starting from Canada in my Landcruiser.

[@wolfgangwust5883]

I use the same Coleman model when on tour and am always worried firing up that beast. What lighter model do your guys use, please? This one appears to work safe and convenient.

[@TheWayOverland]

Ha yeah there's been few singed hairs over the years! We have a spark lighter now, no flame, no gas. We didn't swap as it's necessarily safer, more so as it just lasts for ever and we were sick of having to buy lighters/gas. When we did or for some reason do use a lighter, the long nose ones are definitely the best for these cookers.

[@landyandy4x4]

Excellent,get back to what you love to do .