Over the past 12 months, Topher and I have been based in New Zealand’s Far North where we have been building ourselves a tiny home. In the next few weeks we will explain how we have taken inspiration from our travels to create the space which we will be calling home until we are able to return to Gunther. Welcome to @FarawayCove

On our first date back in 2017, I picked up a tiny scallop shell and handed it to Topher as we strolled along a small and empty beach in New Zealand. I had no idea that Topher would keep that shell hidden for five years, only for it to reappear when he asked me to marry him. After driving through 67 countries and some of the most breathtaking landscapes, he chose a time where both of our families were together at our new home in the north of New Zealand. I was so happy I forgot to say yes!

This week we received sad news from Bavaria, that our dear friend Gunther Holtorf has embarked on his final journey. Gunther and his G-Wagen named ‘Otto’ inspired many travellers around the globe. By the end of their voyage, Gunther and Otto had driven through 215 countries in 26 years. In some countries, Otto was the first personal vehicle permitted belonging to a foreigner. Holtorf was the first Westerner to drive in many regions including North Korea. During his travels, Gunther was responsible for creating the 385 page road map of Jakarta city, which is still in use today. He still holds a number of unbeaten records as the worlds most traveled man by car. In 2019, we were very fortunate to meet the man that inspired so much of our journey at his home in Bavaria. We have remained in close contact with both Gunther and his partner Janine ever since. With Covid restricting entry in and out of Russia, Mr Holtorf and his friends at Mercedes-Benz had carefully formed a plan to have Gunther (4x4) transported out of Russia. The destination was Gunther and Janines home in Bavaria, where he would keep ‘his son’ safe and warm until we were able to return to Europe, whenever that may be. Although Gunther will no longer be reunited with Gunther, we feel proud to drive a car in memory of such a great man and explorer. Danke Gunther, wir wünschen dir alles gute auf deiner nächsten Reise.

This hot thermal river deep in the Waikato bush is a reminder that volcanic geothermal has crafted some of our planets most precious natural landscapes. One of the reasons New Zealand is often regarded as the world’s greenest country is because 17% of our electricity comes from geothermal. We are lucky in New Zealand to have 82% renewable energy. But New Zealand’s population has increased 500% in the the last 100 years and we are now burning record amounts of imported coal. In just a three month period this year, our country has burned more coal than all of 2016 and 2017 combined. Our dry lakes are leaving us with a reminder that our population increase is unsustainable which now sits at 5 million (0.0006% of the worlds population).

Bridget and I have agreed that throughout 2021 we will continue to challenge ourselves and take on mini expeditions. Without heading into the outdoors and doing something different on the weekends, it is easy for a year to merge into one blurry memory. This weekend we took Roman to the Far North of New Zealand for a day wakeboarding. Unfortunately, it ended with Bridget falling backwards on the hard sand, so tomorrow we will be on our way to the city for some X-rays!

Here near Te Paki, the locals drive through the streams and beaches to navigate their way through the giant sand dunes. A lot of the places that we have photographed along our journey have been found from speaking with locals. We are always accumulating a bucket list of destinations, so although our next leg is from Moscow to Auckland, we would love to hear where you are from and where you would recommend we visit in your country. We are on the look out for interesting landscapes, people, cultures and climates. Hopefully one day, we can visit!

On this day three years ago, Topher and I made the decision to drive the world together. At the time, we knew very little about mechanics, photography or even the route that lay ahead. Our objective was ambitious and we were probably naïve to the magnitude of what was involved, especially considering we were only in the early stages of dating. We knew that if we didn’t talk ourselves out of doing it, someone else would, so we only gave ourselves a six week planning deadline before setting off on our big adventure. We would have never expected to be here three years later, with our journey on hold and New Zealand back in lockdown. To mark the occasion, we decided to get creative and build an outdoor cinema to watch some of our early footage of us preparing for Leg 1 back in 2018.

This morning the local Maori Iwi granted us access to one of their hidden landscapes. It’s an area only a few hours north of where Bridget grew up, but somewhere that very few in the area have had the opportunity to explore. This constantly changing sandscape can prove unforgiving. The silica dunes and estuary inlet creates a treacherous terrain due to the quicksand which forms from the fine silica grains. Beneath us are several other cars which have been swallowed in recent years.

Introducing our new Expedition Earth team member, a 2020 Jeep Rubicon Gladiator. Named after the Siberian who led us across the frozen tundra of Russia's Yamal Peninsula, we have called him ROMAN. While we wait for borders to reopen around the world, we will be using Roman for local adventures until he can join Gunther on global expeditions. Over the past month we have been working with sponsors from all over the globe to create this expedition vehicle. We would like to add special thanks to Andrew Simms Broadway, @jeepnz @rvedrivenbydesign @maximusthree @quadratec @westinautomotive @bfgoodrichtires @_lightforce @alubox_com @safari4x4engineering @tyreline_nz @blackrhinowheels @bg_world_wheels @warnindustries @dv8offroad @officialmopar @gme_au @beaurepaires_tyres @kiwi_plates @4x4spod

11 months ago we left Gunther in Russia. He is still there, parked up by himself at Moscow Airport waiting for our return. As we are unable to continue leg 3 until over 20 countries reopen their borders, we will remain in New Zealand with more updates coming shortly.

@overthetophelicopters giving us a winter send off! With Gunther still parked up in Moscow Airport, we look to begin a new intermission expedition soon...

Our time in The Southern Alps has come to an end. As a final send off, @overthetophelicopters flew us backcountry for our last day skiing in New Zealand. With so much of the country inaccessible by car, New Zealand has one of the highest per capita ratios of aircraft operation. As a result, New Zealand remains one of the most untouched landscapes on the planet. Thank you @overthetophelicopters , @headsportswear , @head_ski and to @sean.beale for capturing the photos above!