Expedition 4 – Berlin to Japan By Way of the Caspian – Betty’s Return Home (2022)
In October 2022 – COVID19 restrictions permitting – Marcus, Nils and Daisuke will bring Betty, our wonderful old Toyota Hi-Lux (4 Runner) back from the UK to Japan. The old lady has had a nice vacation in the UK for about 6 years, but it is time for her to performe so marvelously one more time, and bring it home. We will bring her from Johns home in the UK to Berlin, Marcus home base, for preparation. Once October (2022) rolls around we will depart south, via Hungary, Croatia, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia, around the Caspian, into Kazakhstan – and perhaps depending on the situation Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Then up back into Russia, and up and over Almaty and down into Mongolia (the most special place on earth), east across Mongolia and back up to lake Baikal, and east to Vladivostok. Here the journey effectively ends. There is still no passenger ferry back to Korea and Japan, and we are not optimistic about getting permission to cross the DPRK into the RoK. So Betty gets to do the last few hundred miles in a container to the port of Niigata. Where we are again joined and driver her home to Nagano – a few hundred kilometers to the south east. Once home, the pan is to place better in the center of the bar owned by Nils, John and Daisuke, so we can all sit around her while enjoying cocktails and talk about how great all this has been. The only debate is if we should clean her, or leave the dirt in place.
Expedition 4 – Alaska to Patagonia (2023)
In the spring of 2023 – Marcus, Nils and Daisuke will bring Betty, our wonderful old Toyota Hi-Lux (4 Runner) to the US from the UK. Our original plan of driving Betty back to Japan, has been abandoned due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The old lady has had a nice vacation in the UK for about 6 years, but it is time for her to perform so marvelously one more time, during the autumn of 2022 she has undergone a full renovation and repaint. We will bring her from the port to our operational base in Anchorage Alaska (where we have rented a warehouse and workshop). Once prepared we will depart for the north shore of Alaska, then head back down via Alaska and Canada, into the lower 48, into Mexico and on to Panama City. From there we have arranged for Betty to be shipped to Colombia, from where we will continue south via Ecuador and Peru and into Chile. Once we have explored the fjords of Chile, we will 4×4 it over the border into Argentina and eventually continue south down to Ushuaia. From there it is TBD or unknown what will happen next. Our subsequent trip is still not determined. Perhaps Betty will drive back up to North America or perhaps she will be shipped to Australia or even Japan. We shall see.
