And so, after spending 10 months covering more than 30,000km passing through 16 countries across two continents, Kiwi Overlander Aaron Rich and his family’s epic 5GoOverland.com adventure ended in London, England in mid-February this year.

The map provided shows the final driven route of our latest (April 2019 to February 2020) family expedition. 

My initial reaction upon compiling this map, then sitting back and really taking it in, was being briefly struck by what a large chunk of the world we covered! I should hardly be surprised, as it is just what I painstakingly planned for back in 2018. 

Finally seeing the ‘completed’ route on the map feels like a real accomplishment, and I am pleased to be able to say that all major objectives for the trip were achieved. This was an immensely enjoyable journey, notwithstanding some not insignificant obstacles to overcome along the way.

Obviously, you should expect at least a few difficulties to arise on an undertaking of this duration and complexity, some minor and some bigger. But through rising to these challenges we further build our capability and confidence to undertake this style of independent overland travel. It was wonderful to do this as a family.

The beauty and diversity of the ‘stans

I think I’ve fallen in love with Central Asia! To some people all the countries out that way are poor, end with ‘...stan’ and are presumed to be a homogeneous bunch. Those who have followed this article series, or my online blog, will know otherwise! 

Kazakhstan (actually the ninth largest country in the world!) is mostly arid, yet we travelled through an incredibly unique desert there offering such out of this world vistas that at one point I wondered if we’d somehow ended up on Mars! And who knew they have a canyon capable of rivalling the USA’s far better known Grand Canyon, or that Almaty is such a beautiful and cosmopolitan city? 

As for Kyrgyzstan, which I was aware had been described as the ‘Switzerland of Central Asia’, this hands down must be one of the most stunningly beautiful countries on the planet! 

We thoroughly enjoyed Kyrgyzstan’s high-altitude lakes and mountain scenery that often left us speechless – and I don’t mean because the air is thin around 3,000 to 4,000 metres altitude! 

I know here in New Zealand we think we have the natural scenery thing well covered, and we do, but Kyrgyzstan is capable of seriously challenging our status as a destination for lovers of stunning nature… whenever the masses finally discover it even exists. 

Tajikistan presented the opportunity to go even higher up into those towering 7,500 metre high mountains of Central Asia - double the height of New Zealand’s Mount Cook - another other-worldly experience. 

And taking the remote Pamir detour through the Wakhan Valley neighbouring Afghanistan is likely capable of altering many people’s understanding of our world. Experiencing first-hand how local people live seemingly fulfilled and entirely self-sufficient lives in this remote and isolated part of the world, with just a tiny fraction of the ‘resources’ taken for granted in the Western World, was priceless. 

Notwithstanding the relatively close proximity to potential security threats not so far over the Afghanistan side of the border – a border we followed along for countless slow miles – I discovered the Wakhan Valley to be one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever visited and doubtlessly by far the most welcoming! 

Tajikistan was a personal favourite of mine. Even if perhaps the least touristed and least well-known, this fascinating country has so much to offer and is certainly somewhere I want to explore much deeper into in future. 

Uzbekistan offered up the most tangible evidence of Silk Road history, with the fascinating ancient desert cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva filled with stunning Islamic architecture. 

Some of the more recent articles in this series showed our fascinating finds out amidst the isolation of Uzbekistan’s ancient deserts, including 2,500-year-old abandoned fortresses, still standing in surprisingly well-preserved condition. And though the (vanished!) Aral Sea is a sad story that shows how negatively people can affect our planet, venturing there is nonetheless fascinating.

Mongolia, much earlier in the trip, was a vast and captivating wilderness. Sometimes green, lush landscapes flowing with rivers, while at other times we were fully exposed to shade-less blazing heat in the sands of the Gobi Desert. 

I recall following thunderstorms on our 1,000+ kilometre off-road route across Mongolia’s remote north west; at one point the Pajero spun out 360 degrees on the slick mud – there are no real roads, just dirt tracks. And I would not have believed it had I not seen it myself, but one of the most commonly seen vehicles attempting to navigate these difficult terrains isn’t a 4WD at all… it seems Mongolia has one of the world’s biggest fleets of Toyota Prius! By the time I was asked to winch a bogged Prius out of a rocky riverbed I’d long given up wondering why these little hybrid ‘city cars’ were so often seen attempting Mongolian wilderness terrain for which they were clearly not intended! Mongolia could be chaotic and exhausting at times – yet equally I can’t wait to return there and explore deeper into both the northern wilderness, and the southern Gobi. Parts of the southern Gobi could prove fatal to attempt in a solo 4WD, so I’ll need to team up for that one.

All in all, Central Asia is a region with thousands of years of incredibly rich human history. A bazaar we visited on several occasions in Kyrgyzstan’s vibrant little city of Osh has traded continuously in the same location for 3,000 years! 

It’s simply not possible for the countries of Central Asia to offer up anything less than the richest and most vibrant cultures and traditions. Being ‘poor’ countries hardly has any bearing on their ability to tantalise visitors, with each ‘...stan’ simply offering up its own unique flavour of that incredible Silk Road history. 

Across all of summertime in Russia and Central Asia I will retain fond memories of endless sunshine and the sweetest, most abundant fruit... including huge melons for sale everywhere... for pennies, too! 

Follow 5GoOverland… literally!

Prior to deciding to tackle some particularly remote and seldom seen parts of Central Asia I had twice plotted and driven 4WD routes between North Africa and as far as Istanbul, with considerable off-road explorations in the fascinating Balkans countries. 

Plotting remote 4WD overland journeys through foreign lands, where it ranges from difficult to impossible to find reliable route information beforehand, has become something of a speciality of mine over the past several years. 

Many of the most fascinating places tend to be found away from wherever there is a good road, and anyone interested in experiencing the most authentic aspects of Central Asia should expect to travel in a 4WD. Even when staying on-road in Central Asia it can be rough and slow going.

While travel is ultimately the goal, my passion very much revolves around the significant freedoms gained by travelling in a well setup 4WD. International overland travel is about so much more than just 4WDing through breathtaking landscapes that may be entirely new to you – for instance, routes crossing vast desert terrain, through the mountainous dunes of a sand-sea, or over extremely high altitude mountain passes. 

It’s equally about the local people you’ll meet along the way and the fascinating experiences you’ll have being exposed to their typically very different and incredibly vibrant cultures. We are certainly not out in the wilderness all the time and usually eventually crave spending some time in a city for a while. Cities across Central Asia are nothing like at home, or anywhere else in the developed Western World, with many having been established for thousands of years. Hence the overland/travel experience is only further amplified when pausing to explore a fascinating new city. 

I’ve greatly enjoyed sharing my passion for overland travel through this article series, but the ultimate goal for me would be to put all the foreign overlanding experience I’ve gained in the past decade to work assisting others to experience their own adventure of this kind. Such was the impression made on me by this fantastic journey that I returned home in February contemplating offering a guided 4WD group tour through the most interesting and authentic parts of Central Asia, ex New Zealand. 

I even began to announce a possible launch for this in a previous article, however as the coronavirus pandemic worsened it quickly became apparent that this was quite possibly the worst ever time to be contemplating a new tourism venture, especially one that would require crossing numerous borders. And yet the dire global situation has done nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for the project! 

So, putting aside for now the present difficulties that we and the world find ourselves in, hopefully it’s obvious (and photos presented with this, or any of my articles, should attest) that what I have in mind would truly represent a trip of a lifetime for most people… a transformational experience. And it would be offered in such a way as to make international overland travel safe and easily achievable for any participant, including those completely unfamiliar with the complexities of international visas and sensitive border zone permits, international vehicle shipping, insurances, ever changing foreign languages and so much more. 

Full guiding of the final chosen route would be a core part of the package also.

With all this in mind, I shall keep abreast of the situation to determine when the right time is for this idea to resurface. Although forward visibility remains very low, my current reading of the situation is that a first trip could potentially run from May to July/August 2022. If participating in an adventure similar to what you’ve followed in this article series, but quicker (three to four months) and with considerably more luxuries built in, is potentially of interest to you or someone you know, then it’s not too soon to get in touch to discuss requirements. I can be contacted through the website, www.5GoOverland.com

More Photos on the Website

For those who particularly enjoyed following this series for the captivating images shared from less developed countries across Central Asia, you’ll find further images in new photo galleries added to the website. There are also collections of photos from other past trips and countries. These are all carefully selected images, with two of the best collections from outside of Central Asia being Morocco and the Alps, in my opinion. 

The Morocco images require no explanation, this being the fascinating country responsible for sparking so much of our initial interest in international overlanding back when we were first finding our feet with this activity. 

The Alps gallery includes some particularly captivating European images, including huge abandoned fortresses set high in the French and Italian Alps. And yes, it is the same Shogun/Pajero in all the galleries… quite possibly one of the best travelled Shogun/Pajeros in the world by now.