WE MADE IT!! AUSTRALIA to LONDON by ROAD! 🇦🇺 🚐 🇬🇧 - The Way Overland - Episode 99

We left the last episode cruising into the fading light along the incredible balkan coastline of Croatia. Driving till dark we found a quiet camp spot away from the road down a rocky track with a great view over the inlet. A strong dry easterly was howling up the coastline and the low coarse shrub which covered the landscape provided no protection. We decided to sleep down the bottom and leave the top down; thankfully the temperature had increased significantly since Serbia and we slept comfortably with the back doors open.
The next morning brought clear skies again so ventured back up the very rocky track, on to the coast road, and continued our journey onward to Slovenia. Slovenia, like Serbia, had a mix of information on whether Australians were permitted to enter. Unlike Serbia it appeared we could enter though whether we needed a PCR test with a vaccination was the grey area. Not wanting to unnecessarily pay for a PCR test we trucked on and presented ourselves at the border. Like Serbia, we had no problems again, the border officials didn’t appear to care about anything but seeing our passports and car documentation and we breezed through for our short passage to Italy. Arriving at the Italian border though was a different story. Out of all the borders we’ve crossed in 50+ countries we haven’t encountered one like this. There was no infrastructure, just an armoured personnel carrier, several heavily armed soldiers, and two official looking personnel in flack jackets. They appeared to be letting local traffic through and only pulling over foreign vehicles. The drivers side of the Troopy caught the officials off-guard and they had a laugh at their own expense when they asked Jolie for her drivers license. They took a lot of our documentation and spent some time reviewing it on their make shift office which consisted of a fold up table and a computer in a ‘pelican’ case. Surprisingly this was the most thorough border we had passed since Georgia though after a few further information checks and additional documentation we were good to go. On our limited schedule we planned to traverse Italy in a north-westerly direction to the Col du petit Saint Bernard; a pass over the Alps and into France to an area I lived many years ago. Firstly though, Venice was on our path so it would be remiss not to stop in for the night. To use our hostel method (described in the previous episode) in Venice would require some floats for the Troopy so with that in mind we found a camp ground at the start of the bridge into the city. Rammed bumper to bumper with hundreds of campers for a modest 36 euro per night this place was the place of nightmares (for us haha). It was however perfectly positioned to catch a bus, train, or ferry directly into the city so we accepted the conditions and found our little dirt patch. After setting up we took the bus in to the into city and spent the evening getting lost in the narrow streets and passageways, admiring the incredible architecture, camera down, enjoying the atmosphere.
From Venice we headed north past Milan. We were pushing through some long days driving here; although the architecture in the towns is spectacular there is vast stretches of low lying flat unpopulated farmland and slow moving tractors in between. With seemingly no break between farms and town, possible camp spots were no where to be seen. We pushed on until dark hedging our bets on a nature reserve we could see on Google maps in the far North. Finding a track down to what was previously a birdwatching area we found our gamble didn’t pay off and the entire area had been washed away by flooding. Where the road was blocked was still in the reserve and was flat and peaceful; with no prospect of through traffic it worked for a rest for the night. From here, when the clouds would momentarily part, the Alps were just in sight. We had been monitoring with optimism the weather during our journey towards the Alps though unfortunately the closer we got the more our chance of crossing the pass faded. Winter had decided to arrive early this year and with it already beginning to snow the pass had closed early. The only way across the Alps now was through one of the tunnels, the closest and most convenient to our location was the Mont Blanc tunnel. The 12km tunnel is only single carriage and as a result of the catastrophic fire in 1999 it is restricted to 70km/ph, a minimum distance of 150m between each vehicle, and trucks only permitted in groups of maximum 5 under escort. With all traffic now funnelled into the tunnel a huge bottleneck on the Italian side had formed and we moved at snail pace for about an hour and a half towards the gates.
Theres a lot more to read over on Patreon (it's free, don't worry) - / 69489689

[@landyandy4x4]

Cool , see you on the road some where in the world.

[@TheWayOverland]

No doubt, cheers, and good luck!

[@scottlucas4408]

Brilliant, fantastic achievement 👍

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Scott 👍🏻

[@ianbrill2215]

Fantastic!!!! We’ve been following you from the beginning 😁

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Ian!

[@stephenjomartz5621]

more than you ever expected but great to see you get there in the end

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Stephen

[@peteregan3862]

Perth to Perth - is definitely a 'thing' now. However, China, Russia relations may delay others following in your footsteps. $400 to fill tank!!! The $100 Alps tunnel pass is value by comparison. For a moment there, I thought the trip was ending on 99 episodes. Troopy is like a pet. Glad it gets to come home in episode 100.

[@TheWayOverland]

The tunnel is very convenient, though the pass we wanted to take is much more scenic!! Ha no, the OCD wouldn't let it finish on 99!

[@peteregan3862]

@@TheWayOverland I drove a small RHD FWD Renault hatchback in July 1988 through an Alps tunnel. Traffic was heavy and slow and one lane each way. And there were 'windows' into steep valleys - air exchange perhaps. I figured if I broke down they would just push my car out a 'window' to keep traffic moving. I had tried to find a pass via back roads to avoid a 30 Swiss Franc year long motorway pass - I wanted to see Swiss country side on my way from Oxford, where I was staying while doing motorway repairs not far away, to Genoa. But back then it was paper maps and it was a hopeless task trying to go anywhere on unfamiliar roads. So, within an hour I had bought a pass. Forget what I paid for the tunnel.

[@PaganTaylor]

as we like to say, "it's blowin a Hoolie" lol

[@TheWayOverland]

Haha it definitely was!

[@amitnugyal1939]

Enjoyed watching your journey. Thank you for sharing…

[@TheWayOverland]

Good to hear, cheers!

[@Tillerman56]

5 years well spent. I enjoyed watching your travels a lot.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers! Glad you enjoyed following along!

[@robdotcom71]

Awesome trip... Well done.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers

[@travellersnestoverland]

Omg, just saw it on my feed. I can't believe it is over. Thank you both for every moment of it. Just love it. Next it is mark and mine turn in 7 year time. Love to you Ro, Lae PNG

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Ro, good luck!

[@Landyutility_Travels]

Well one the pair of you , its been great following along Thank You

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Gary

[@Towpathtraveller1693]

I have absolutely enjoyed following your journey the highs and the lows, good luck on future trips stay safe

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks!

[@stevestott1514]

Great final video of your trip was fun traveling with you along this epic adventure . Have enjoyed all your videos and watched some more than once . May be you will get to come to the Americans and do the pan American trip . That’s one on my list to do . Thanks again for sharing your wonderful travel memories with us your over landing friends . Cheers and may your future travels be as awesome as this last one . Thanks from Steve Stott in Sutherlin Oregon U.S.A. :) :) 🥂😁🍻👍🏼

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks for your continued support over the years Steve! The pan-am is definitely on the cards, just not sure when! Cheers 🍻

[@stevestott1514]

@@TheWayOverland 😁👍🏼

[@Milner_THX]

Wonderful! Really enjoyed your amazing adventures! Well done all your hard work guys 🌎🚚💨

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers!

[@badfinger61]

Congratulations folks! What a journey. The wind at John O'Groats looks strong enough to blow the paint right off your Troopy! Should be able to celebrate with a Scottish meat pie and a decent cuppa tea. 😉☕

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Geoff, we knew it was going to be windy though that was crazy. For us, probably very normal for the locals. Celebrations were had though with the colder, more bubbly 'tea'. 🍻

[@badfinger61]

@@TheWayOverland Ah, good stuff! 👍

[@user-ye1ub9mb6g]

We live 30 mins away from Chamonix. We are really sad to have missed you... Thank you for the video, amazing as always

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks, next time! 🙂

[@kantaralak.billlbill1857]

Hi all. Now is the time to write that book!

[@cleanenergyinside1921]

Congratulations guys. Well done!

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks!

[@sheaphing4874]

Congratulations awesome 👍

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers 👍🏻

[@JeffC1]

What a journey it has been. I've thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Thank you for taking us along with you through the many highs and (as Kitty mentioned) even the lows. You are such an inspiration to many of us with wanderlust in our hearts but work meetings on our calendars. =)

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Jeff, glad you've enjoyed the journey also. Haha yes, those work meetings have been slowly growing in our calendars also, thus the need to get home. Our work to holiday ratio has been in very comfortable position for a very long time now so we have nothing to complain about!!

[@funnybones6131]

Fantastic achievement 🥳🎉 well done 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 life long memories created, pain and discomfort will subside soon! All the best for your future endeavours🤞🏼

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers! We're all good now, have to keep moving forward. Life isn't going to wait! 🙂

[@mikerayner5938]

I was worried that when you got here in the Uk it would be a disappointment, after all the amazing sites you’ve seen. But at least Scotland delivered a bit of Drama for you. Well done. You done good. 👍❤️

[@TheWayOverland]

Scotland definitely delivered! A great, quick, scenic, finish to the journey. Cheers 🙂

[@JordanElliott11065]

Awesome trip. Greetings from New Zealand

[@vintageradioman]

Glad you guy’s made it nice and safe. Wish you guys the best in life.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers!

[@southernaspectnz]

What an amazing achievement an an epic journey. You should be very proud of yourselves.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers

[@RanDomRikM]

Well done guys. A fantastic achievement making many memories along the way some of which I'm sure you would rather forget. Everything we experience in life shapes who we are and never forget, everything happens for a reason. Finally, we have a saying here in the U.K. "it's grim up North". x

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks! We like to look at it with a bit of relativity, we had a good run for a very long time, and now it's behind us.👍🏻 Haha yes, 'grim' is one way to put it, could image long term it could become tiring though it was a great experience for our small exposure! Cheers

[@aws1969]

Awesome trip .. Perth to Perth .. love it. I have thoroughly enjoyed your YTs, thank you both for taking us all along for the amazing journey. What's next :)

[@TheWayOverland]

No worries Andrew, glad you've enjoyed the videos! Next will be giving the Troopy some overdue love and attention, then a bit of travel around Aus. Long term there's a few options on the table..... Cheers 🙂

[@rachelwilletts9248]

Absolutely love watching your videos and I am stoked to see you are doing the nc500, we are doing that in October. What an incredible journey

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Rachel, the NC500 was a great finish to the trip. Hopefully the weathers much better for your journey than it was for us, it's a magic part of the UK regardless! Cheers

[@deep8873]

Stunning

[@robkeith1776]

Hey Jolie and Mark. Greetings from sunny Adelaide. Congratulations on achieving the Perth to Perth global trail. What an epic adventure with a mixture of highs and lows. Looking forward to your future adventures.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Rob!

[@aletnortje8929]

Best words to hear!!! "It's not the end of the trip" Well done, and may you have a safe trip home. Thank you for sharing all this with us

[@TheWayOverland]

Yep, one more international episode! No worries! Cheers

[@ladyofalbion6641]

Brilliant detour! Love the squeal driving onto the UK 😁 What an achievement 👏

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks! 🙂

[@jamesmazurstudios]

An epic trip. Congrats.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers

[@jaavsshuks8966]

Congratulations guys. Following you guys ever since you crossed Thailand. Apart from the Iran episode really glad for you guys.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers!

[@dennynisevic7848]

New subscriber here , hugs from Serbian fan

[@TheWayOverland]

Welcome 👋🏼

[@gteabag]

What an amazing trip. The sights and people you met. The Ups and Downs. So inspiring. We hope to do the same in a few years time. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Greg, hope you’re able to.

[@flysoutbackadventures]

Great video guys. You always manage to get some magnificent views of the mountains. Simply amazing...Good to see the price of fuel too. I did a quick calculation to Aussie dollars. Works out your €1.759 was equivalent to $2.58 AUD. I paid that just a few weeks ago in Marble Bar. So I felt your pain .. lol

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, ha yeah, it hurts! Thought we were going to get some reprieve coming home! Miss those $9 fill ups in Central Asia!

[@Simon-tg7jg]

Awesome trip and videography is superb ! Do you guys have plans for another Q and A at some point ? Cheers

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Simon, we'll do a close out of this series shortly with a heap of info. It'll probably be episode 101.

[@rohankerr8891]

A big congrats to the both of you, what an incredible journey. Over the last 5 years your followers have seen what they may never see in real life. please contact SBS to do a documentary on your travels, because the photography was amazing. Great to see the troopy survived. I will be 4x4 to remote surf breaks in Australia next year and I do hope we cross paths on your Australian travels. Thank you guys.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Rohan, see you in Aus 🤙🏼

[@MotopackerIndonesiadocumentary]

congratsss

[@gordonwheeler627]

Hi Ya and welcome to the UK and rally glad you have some nice weather to greet you. And the big question from me is , what are your plans and will you tour further? Mongolia Japan maybe? Hope you are keeping well

[@TheWayOverland]

The weather for the crossing was incredible, we had considered the tunnel though with that weather the ferry was an easy choice. We'll do some further travels though they'll be ex-Aus, for the short term it'll be travelling around this big beautiful country we call home. These travels have definitely made us appreciate it even more! Cheers

[@gordonwheeler627]

@@TheWayOverland Well hope you have as much fun at home in Aus as else where and look forward to seeing the clips from those travels. All the best

[@garygiles63]

Congrats :)

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Gary

[@nepaleseinchina]

Nice vlog as always, wondering what's gonna be next.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, home for while, lots of travel to do there for the short term!

[@richardevans2534]

Epic journey. If you need a place to stay in The Surrey Hills then you would be more than welcome

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers Richard, appreciate the offer though we’ve already left the UK.

[@holgermuller2987]

Hi guys Are you kidding ?!?! Race trough Europe in a day? What’s the plan now..?? This can’t be it.! BTW when was this vid taken 2021 winter ?? Cheers guys and waiting for more…

[@TheWayOverland]

No jokes Holger! We found 5th gear! We've lived and travelled in Western Europe previously, coupled with the prospect of having the Troopy home for an Aus summer was too good to miss so we pushed through. Have to give the Troopy some well overdue affection and do some 'remodelling' on the interior, then we'll be heading off for some exploring of Aus. Yep, late '21. Cheers

[@holgermuller2987]

@@TheWayOverland hi guys, understandable… yep, the troopy and outfit looked in urgent need of serious maintenance and a complete revamp inside.. Will be a substacial investment in the girl… There are so many new things on the market now which makes a huge leap forward. Europe Germany shows so many new things where we get our ideas from to find in OZ. Not always successful and since the vehicles are much different in size and functionality. I am looking for myself right now for an new high voltage solar panel system and LiFePo4 battery inverter/ charger system for my van. Going internationally can’t pass the victron gear, to get anywhere… and well fit into a system. I guess you have by now the garage shocka block full of nice new gear for the troopy reconditioning.. the wheels off and the axles dismantled and stripped…for the big recon from bottom to top… Let us have a glimps when you are done… Cheers

[@holgermuller2987]

@@TheWayOverland hi guys, understandable… yep, the troopy and outfit looked in urgent need of serious maintenance and a complete revamp inside.. Will be a substacial investment in the girl… There are so many new things on the market now which makes a huge leap forward. Europe Germany shows so many new things where we get our ideas from to find in OZ. Not always successful and since the vehicles are much different in size and functionality. I am looking for myself right now for an new high voltage solar panel system and LiFePo4 battery inverter/ charger system for my van. Going internationally can’t pass the victron gear, to get anywhere… and well fit into a system. I guess you have by now the garage shocka block full of nice new gear for the troopy reconditioning.. the wheels off and the axles dismantled and stripped…for the big recon from bottom to top… Let us have a glimps when you are done… Cheers

[@Yargify]

👏👏👏

[@wolfgangwust5883]

Congrats after five years of a lot of ups and one vast down. Could you drop a line regarding your cam and editing equipment? Thx.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, We'd like to think it weighs heavier on the ups now! Well that's what we're focusing on anyway. Most of the shooting is on a Sony A7RIII - 16-35,70-200. We used an iPhone 12 Pro for a fair bit of these last episodes which would be good in isolation though when paired against the Sony it's clearly subpar. Editing is on Premiere, after 100 eps think we're actually starting to get the hang of it haha.

[@wolfgangwust5883]

@@TheWayOverland Thank you so much for the update. Wolfgang

[@terry4823]

Nice one guys don’t stop there come to Ireland and hit me up for good locations

[@TheWayOverland]

Would loved to have Terry, though we had a shipment date to meet. Next time! Cheers

[@terry4823]

Thanks 😊 loved watching your adventures looking forward to more in the future… enjoy your cruise 🚢💙

[@gpatilmh5533]

Next trip couple

[@ZisimosZizos]

Congratulations!! Question: What's your camera? Especially the camera you use for zoom.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, it's an A7RIII, zoom lens is a 70-200

[@ZisimosZizos]

@@TheWayOverland Thank you. Sony user also!!

[@mikebatterham4970]

Just wondering how often you use your radio because your videos are featuring the airial

[@TheWayOverland]

A fair bit, when we're international we use it when ever travelling with other people, or when one of us is walking away from the car, checking a track for example. At home it's always on. The newer aerials are removable which we'll be swapping to shortly.

[@setienne42]

So inspiring! Can't you drive it back? Across America?

[@TheWayOverland]

Haha we did talk about that a lot Scott though we wanted to do some Aus travel for a while first. Get life back on track then see where we're at for future longer trips. Cheers

[@matchstick3333]

Perth to Perth 😀

[@TheWayOverland]

It's a thing now 🙂

[@mountainconstructions]

Now take that amazing girl out and propose to her!

[@TheWayOverland]

Haha the Troopy? Think you may have missed we eloped in Georgia. This has been our honeymoon!

[@mountainconstructions]

@@TheWayOverland oops... well it's been a pleasure following along for passed 2, 3, 4 plus years The most under rated YT Channel I know.

[@mountainconstructions]

@@TheWayOverland OMG... I just checked, and I watched that Ep too. I better check into my doctors 🤣🥺 Yes... Marry the Troopy. It deserves a whole episode devoted to the amazing job it's done

[@TheWayOverland]

😂 Agreed

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, thanks for coming along.

[@fabulousoffroaddesigns5080]

Nooooooooooooo! Come to Canada. Do the 🌎 America's. Ro-Ro France to Halifax, NS Canada.

[@TheWayOverland]

Ha what bout Ushuaia to Canada? 🤔

[@fabulousoffroaddesigns5080]

@@TheWayOverland it would be cheaper, faster, and safer to go to Halifax from France or England. Then cross Canada and go up to Alaska, Yukon, or the NWT, then head south to Ushuaia. Then ship from Ushuaia to either South Africa or home to Australia.

[@TheWayOverland]

But we're already in Aus!!! Ushuaia is looking pretty good 😉

[@fabulousoffroaddesigns5080]

@@TheWayOverland 😥 so Ushuaia up to Alaska, then across Canada to Halifax, ro-ro to France, then Africa? Too bad. You could have been at Overland Expo East in October. Maybe we'll see you in 2024.