Hello there. I am Niels. I am just a regular guy with a long-time dream of driving across the world. The dream had been postponed due to normal life obstacles such as commitments to family, job, money, the Covid-19 situation etc., but now it is finally set to happen.
In 2020, after searching high and low for an overland vehicle, I stumbled across a 1992 Land Cruiser HDJ 80 for sale in Southern France that fit my needs perfectly. Or almost perfectly, you could say, as I have spent most of 2021 modifying it. Some of the modifications were strictly “need to have”, whilst others were merely “nice to have” and the remaining few simply a result of being nerdy with overland equipment. I recently named the Land Cruiser, “Toto”; in legal terms “In Toto” means “entirely” or “completely” or “all in one”, and as Toto during my endeavor will be my means of transportation, my dining room, as well as my bedroom, I found the name appropriate. You can read more about Toto in the Vehicle-section.
I have always loved traveling and have travelled a fair amount over the years. I have been to 80+ countries so far. But I have never been doing an around-the-world-in-a-Land-Cruiser type of travel, but there is a first time for everything. For the last 20 years, I have been arranging yearly arrive-and-drive motorbike trips for friends and customers, and besides trips in Europe, we have been to Caucasus, Kenya, Iran, Kazakhstan and South America. Some of the trips have been off-road so at least I have some experience battling the rough tracks. Also, for the last 15 years I have been involved in endurance track racing, and been to numerous 24- and 12-hour races around the world. So, I would not consider myself unfamiliar with driving long distances under tough conditions. Additionally, working as a self-employed for the last 30 years has at least awarded me some skills into analyzing, evaluating and assess complicated situations outside the normal range. But despite my alleged skills, I will undoubtedly find myself shorthanded sooner or later (most likely sooner) but then I will hopefully learn something new and climb a small step up the steep overlanding learning curve.
There is a saying that any plan will break once it hits the road. I have many plans, but not a tight schedule, and I will try to seize the moment, wherever or when that moment will happen. It is not a question of the destination, but the route. My route is not fixed in detail, but in direction. You can read more about my route in the Route-section.
I am incredibly excited about the whole thing of driving around the world. And yes, it is a big project. And yes, it is probably safer to stay home. However, after reading a ton of blogs and watching videos from all the brave people that have done it already, or is in the process of doing it, I have the deepest respect of the ones that make their dream a reality and will be proud to be part of that community. Life is an adventure after all.
