About us
We are Daryl and Janine — two New Zealanders who have been driving through the world’s more interesting corners since 2010. Not touring. Not ticking boxes. Driving, properly, on roads that require attention.
It started modestly enough — Israel and Jordan, then Europe, then the USA. Each trip a little further from comfortable, a little deeper into the unknown. Then Siberia’s Road of Bones. Then Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Then Peru and Bolivia, where Daryl drove the Death Road and lived to argue about it. Most recently, Patagonia — Santiago to Ushuaia, the southernmost city on earth.
Each book on this blog represents a road taken and a country understood a little better through its landscapes, its people, and its food and drink. That last part matters more than you might expect. We’ve eaten horse without knowing it, tracked down the best Pisco Sour in South America, drunk red wine in a Chilean vineyard, and sat around a Patagonian table long after the plates were cleared. The road is the point — but the table is where the day makes sense.
How it works
Daryl drives, and operates Buzz, the drone, with varying degrees of official permission. Janine navigates, takes photos, researches every restaurant worth eating at, and keeps a running verdict on the world’s ice cream. The division of labour has served us well across the seven continents.
The writing started as photo books — one per trip, printed and shelved. This blog is where those stories live now. Each post is a section from the road: a crossing, a meal, a morning where nothing went as planned. Read one and you’ll get the idea. Read them all and you’ll understand why we keep going.
The trips
Israel and Jordan – Where the series began. Desert roads, ancient cities, border crossings that required patience.
Europe – The continent by road. Which sounds romantic until you’ve navigated a French roundabout.
The USA – Long highways, big skies, and the discovery that American portion sizes are not a myth.
Siberia: The Road of Bones – Magadan to Novosibirsk. 7,123 km, four flat tyres, one snowstorm, and a Russian ballet on the last night. The trip everyone asked us not to take.
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan – The Silk Road, more or less. Ancient trade cities, mountain passes, and roads that tested the suspension.
Peru and Bolivia – Drive across the Andes to ancient sites. Race across the Salt flats, Drive the death road.
Patagonia: Santiago to Ushuaia – The southernmost city on earth, approached the long way. Five weeks, two vehicles, twenty-nine switchbacks, and one extraordinary cooking lesson.