Our plan (as at December 2012) is to begin at the southern end of the Pan-American highway in Ushuaia, Argentina and finish in Deadhorse, Alaska. Covering approximately 32,000km (20,000 miles) of the world’s most diverse and awe-inspiring terrain over roughly 6 months (Rochelle thinks more like 8 months). The Pan-American Highway consists of a network of unofficial roads and highways that span the American Continent - all but for a notoriously impassable 100km section known as the Darien Gap, located between Colombia and Panama.
Due to laws regarding foreigners purchasing a vehicle in Argentina, we will be flying into Santiago, Chile, where our first mission will be to find and buy a vehicle that is up to the beating it will receive during our trip! Both of us being too stubborn to not complete the full top-to-bottom journey, we will initially head southwards through Chile towards Tierra del Fuego and the official starting point of our trip.
Our first border crossing will be via an alpine pass and having successfully exited Chile, near Osorno, we will arrive in the Argentinean city of San Carlos de Bariloche. From here we will continue our southerly trail along the foot hills of the Andes, via the famous Ruta 40. The Straits of Magellan will then force us to catch the car ferry across the channel, where it will be just 400km to Ushuaia. Laying claim to being the southernmost town in the world, Ushuaia is the traditional starting/finishing point for many travellers traversing the Pan-American route, including us.
Now finally travelling northward along the eastern Argentinean coast we will arrive in Argentina’s capital city and cultural hub, Buenos Aires. Engaging in some local nightlife here is a high priority! Next we plan to meander our way across Argentina to the Catamarca province and cross back into Chile for the final time, via the impressive 4748m San Francisco Pass, home to the world’s highest volcano. All going well we will then traverse the driest place on earth, the Atacama Desert and then onto the famous salt plains of Southern Bolivia. At this point we will cross into Santa Cruz to visit family, before testing our luck on the Yungas Road - quoted as being the “world’s most dangerous road” and also known as Death Road!
From La Paz our expedition continues north past the famous floating islands of Lake Titicaca and into Peru. A side-track is planned here to the legendary Inca Trail. We can’t miss the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu - fingers crossed we will have the timing right for our booking. Next we head to Ecuador, along the way visiting some of their capital city Quito’s world heritage sites. After crossing the equator our marathon journey will continue north-east through to the Colombian city of Cartagena. From here our overland path is blocked by the road-less Darien Gap, so our plan is to load our vehicle into a container and hitch a ride on one of the many sailing yachts making the voyage between Cartagena and Panama. We are also hoping to find a crew planning to make the side trip through the spectacular San Blas Islands of the Caribbean Sea.
On arriving in Panama we will pick up our vehicle (hopefully still intact!) and begin to make our way through the myriad of Central American countries; Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and finally Mexico. Heading up the western seaboard of Mexico into North America, our first stop after crossing the Mexican/US border will be (we think) in Phoenix, Arizona. Then it’s onto Los Angeles for some summer fun at Venice Beach and a drive down Hollywood Boulevard. Our next destination after leaving Los Angeles will be up the Californian coast to San Francisco and the highly recommended Yosemite National Park.
After exploring the grandeur of Yosemite National Park on foot, we will head for the bright lights of Las Vegas, but not without checking out Death Valley National park on the way. Our trip would not be complete without seeing the spectacle of the Grand Canyon. So after departing Las Vegas we will be stopping here before continuing north to Salt Lake City. A short side trip here will have us paying tribute to kiwi Burt Munro’s efforts on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Departing Utah our next stop will be Yellowstone National Park. Being early spring we hope to glimpse some wildlife, maybe even a bear or two.
Then, snow-permitting we will head north to drive Glacier National Parks Going-to-the-sun Road before departing the United States on our way to Calgary, Canada. From Calgary we will traverse the Northern Rocky Mountains stopping at Banff and Jasper enroute to the vast and remote Yukon. Leaving Canada we will make our last border crossing into Alaska where our journey takes us to Fairbanks and the beginning of the final leg, over the infamous Dalton Highway. 660km of the ‘Haul Road’ later and we will arrive in the Arctic outpost of Deadhorse. Journey complete...
2 Kiwis, 32,000km, 15 countries, 6 months!
Country list in order: Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia (Darien Gap), Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, USA, Canada, Alaska (USA)
Due to laws regarding foreigners purchasing a vehicle in Argentina, we will be flying into Santiago, Chile, where our first mission will be to find and buy a vehicle that is up to the beating it will receive during our trip! Both of us being too stubborn to not complete the full top-to-bottom journey, we will initially head southwards through Chile towards Tierra del Fuego and the official starting point of our trip.
Our first border crossing will be via an alpine pass and having successfully exited Chile, near Osorno, we will arrive in the Argentinean city of San Carlos de Bariloche. From here we will continue our southerly trail along the foot hills of the Andes, via the famous Ruta 40. The Straits of Magellan will then force us to catch the car ferry across the channel, where it will be just 400km to Ushuaia. Laying claim to being the southernmost town in the world, Ushuaia is the traditional starting/finishing point for many travellers traversing the Pan-American route, including us.
Now finally travelling northward along the eastern Argentinean coast we will arrive in Argentina’s capital city and cultural hub, Buenos Aires. Engaging in some local nightlife here is a high priority! Next we plan to meander our way across Argentina to the Catamarca province and cross back into Chile for the final time, via the impressive 4748m San Francisco Pass, home to the world’s highest volcano. All going well we will then traverse the driest place on earth, the Atacama Desert and then onto the famous salt plains of Southern Bolivia. At this point we will cross into Santa Cruz to visit family, before testing our luck on the Yungas Road - quoted as being the “world’s most dangerous road” and also known as Death Road!
From La Paz our expedition continues north past the famous floating islands of Lake Titicaca and into Peru. A side-track is planned here to the legendary Inca Trail. We can’t miss the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu - fingers crossed we will have the timing right for our booking. Next we head to Ecuador, along the way visiting some of their capital city Quito’s world heritage sites. After crossing the equator our marathon journey will continue north-east through to the Colombian city of Cartagena. From here our overland path is blocked by the road-less Darien Gap, so our plan is to load our vehicle into a container and hitch a ride on one of the many sailing yachts making the voyage between Cartagena and Panama. We are also hoping to find a crew planning to make the side trip through the spectacular San Blas Islands of the Caribbean Sea.
On arriving in Panama we will pick up our vehicle (hopefully still intact!) and begin to make our way through the myriad of Central American countries; Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and finally Mexico. Heading up the western seaboard of Mexico into North America, our first stop after crossing the Mexican/US border will be (we think) in Phoenix, Arizona. Then it’s onto Los Angeles for some summer fun at Venice Beach and a drive down Hollywood Boulevard. Our next destination after leaving Los Angeles will be up the Californian coast to San Francisco and the highly recommended Yosemite National Park.
After exploring the grandeur of Yosemite National Park on foot, we will head for the bright lights of Las Vegas, but not without checking out Death Valley National park on the way. Our trip would not be complete without seeing the spectacle of the Grand Canyon. So after departing Las Vegas we will be stopping here before continuing north to Salt Lake City. A short side trip here will have us paying tribute to kiwi Burt Munro’s efforts on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Departing Utah our next stop will be Yellowstone National Park. Being early spring we hope to glimpse some wildlife, maybe even a bear or two.
Then, snow-permitting we will head north to drive Glacier National Parks Going-to-the-sun Road before departing the United States on our way to Calgary, Canada. From Calgary we will traverse the Northern Rocky Mountains stopping at Banff and Jasper enroute to the vast and remote Yukon. Leaving Canada we will make our last border crossing into Alaska where our journey takes us to Fairbanks and the beginning of the final leg, over the infamous Dalton Highway. 660km of the ‘Haul Road’ later and we will arrive in the Arctic outpost of Deadhorse. Journey complete...
2 Kiwis, 32,000km, 15 countries, 6 months!
Country list in order: Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia (Darien Gap), Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, USA, Canada, Alaska (USA)