What is Troopy Tracks about?
Troopy Tracks is all about Graham and Marjool’s around the world trip in a Landcruiser camper called ‘Troopy’.
Where are we now???
Click on this link to see how far we have travelled so far!
Background to the trip
We (Marjool and Graham) have been travelling on and off ever since we met backpacking in Tahiti in 1984. Having two children in 1989 and 1991 slowed us down, but we have managed to fit in lots of camping trips to Devon, Cornwall and France. Later on in 2004 , when the boys (Tom and Ben), grew up a bit, we bought round the world tickets for the school summer holidays and introduced them to backpacking.
The theme of our travels has always been camping, cooking our own food and staying with friends. Hotels do not have much appeal for us as the cost makes longer trips financially non viable and they do not give you a real feel for the country. We often manage a trip of 6 or 8 weeks on less than others spend on a two week package. For us there is nothing better than finding a nice quiet spot by water, setting up camp with a BBQ or fire to cook on, and then falling asleep and waking to the sound of birds or running water, either in a tent or in the camper.
The ideas for this trip have been simmering away in our minds for years. Driving across country borders, over mountain ranges and across valleys, stopping wherever we feel like, has always appealed. However, in order to make an extended trip like this happen, the timing has to be right in terms of career, family and finance. For us, the timing is right for a start date of July 2011.
The detail of the trip has gradually evolved, and it has to be said that there was not enough research carried out before decisions were taken on some of the key issues. This has led to a few false starts in terms of route, vehicle and timing. To follow these twists and turns take a look at ‘Vehicle’, ‘Planning’ and ‘Route’.
We got there in the end and we are now happy with the plans.
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