An Update On The Land Rover Globetrotters

More news from the group that's heading across Siberia - and the Bering Strait - in a Land Rover 110!

Steve Burgess apparently talked his partner Nicky Spinks into coming along after all. When last we told you about the around-the-world trek of the Mirfield Englishman – the one where he is taking his Land Rover across the Bering Strait! – Nicky thought the weather would be too cold for her liking. Apparently she has had a change of mind as she is right there beside him, in Siberia, in temperatures as low as 50-below!

Steve, 52, and partner Nicky Spinks, 40, have undertaken this trek with fellow adventurers Simon Dedman, 44, of Mirfield, and 38-year-old Dan Evans, from Skipton. The group set out on January 29 and have now reached Yakutsk – known as the “City of Diamonds and Gold” – in eastern Russia (the moniker sounds like a brave attempt to attract more tourism).

Steve and his party are being sponsored by Millers Oils, which is supplying special oil and anti-freeze to keep the Land Rover moving in frigid temperatures, through blizzards, and eventually, across the icy sea!

As of this writing, everything seems to be going along smoothly. Steve reports: “The Land Rover (Defender 110) has been running perfectly, down to temperatures of minus 43°C. We leave the Land Rover running overnight and have been sleeping in it as its too cold in the tent.

“Each morning, we set off and do about 10 kilometers at 10 to 15kph, just to let everything warm up. After that we travel at up to 80 and 100kph with no problems.”

Sounds like a Land Rover commercial in the offing.

They have, of course, a long way to go. The next stage will be almost 4,000 km due east to the Bering Strait, which they hope to cross in June using the floats, which he designed and then tested in the Irish Sea. After the jump over the sea to the Asian continent, it’s relatively smooth sailing on dry land through Alaska, then due south through North, Central and South America, where he will end the group’s journey in Cape Horn.

In the “do not try this at home” sidebar, Steve has a long history of exploring the globe and is very experienced at this sort of thing. He has traveled along the coast of Panama by canoe, climbed mountains in Yugoslavia, explored the Darien rainforest in Panama and crossed the Ethiopian highlands. And Nicky is no slouch either, having spent two years exploring Africa, Asia and former Russian republics and is a qualified skydiver and open water diver.

Stay tuned. We’ll keep you posted as the group continues on…and on.