Promotional Material

This is a collection of promotional material produced by Encounter Overland for its range of expeditions starting in 1964. The collection also includes brochures promoting Himalaya Overland/Sundowners Overland tours from 1983. Each of these types of material has been grouped together on this page.

Newspaper Advertisements – Encounter Overland expeditions were first advertised in the major British newspapers. Newspaper advertising continued throughout the years Encounter operated. Samples of these advertisements are included here, starting with an advert for the first Encounter Overland expedition in 1964.

Encounter Overland brochures – This is (probably close to) the complete set of Encounter Overland brochures – starting with the earliest brochures sent to people responding to the early newspaper advertisements for the expeditions, through to the glossy brochures of later years for display in travel agents.

Brief Encounters brochures – For a time Encounter Overland produced stand-alone pamphlets for shorter expeditions known as Brief Encounters. These expeditions were later included in the main brochures.

Brochure Inserts – sometimes separate inserts were included in brochures to give a bit more information about recent events at Encounter Overland.

Dates & Prices pamphlets – Some times separate Dates & Prices pamphlets were produced, although in later years this information was included in the main brochure.

Nomad Life – These pamphlets were produced mostly by the Encounter Overland office in Johannesburg to promote the expeditions. There is a copy of one Nomad Life produced in Kathmandu.

Promotional Films, Slideshows and Photo Albums – Encounter Overland produced a small number of promotional films. The earliest film, To the Roof of the World, filmed on a 1968 Asia overland by filmmaker Mike Casey, has been lost but was used in the early days in promotions for Encounter Overland. The two films which have survived include Good and Dusty shot on the first South and Central America expedition in 1972/1973; and The Planned Wilderness, a film about East African wildlife (including the Mountain Gorillas) was filmed in 1982 on an Encounter Overland East African safari. Also included is the slide show of an Africa northbound expedition shown on promotional evenings which has been converted to a short film.

Interviews and Presentations – Encounter Overland’s founder and Managing Director Tony Jones did a promotional tour of Australia in 1992. He gave talks to travel agents, was interviewed by Australian travel journalist Derek Taylor and appeared on the Steve Vizard Show, a television talk show.

Posters, Stickers and Flyers – Various stickers, flyers, posters and calendars including a slightly risque Calendar produced in 1994 are displayed here.

Himalaya Overland and Sundowners Overland Brochures – These are brochures produced for Himalaya Overland and Sundowners Overland tours.

Brochures for Encounter expeditions operated by Dragoman – Lastly, there are the four Encounter brochures produced by Dragoman after it took over the Encounter name in 2001 and operated Encounter branded adventures alongside its own product.

Newspaper Advertisements

These are samples of newspaper advertisements placed in major United Kingdom newspapers. These advertisements appeared in newspapers probably on average around five out of every seven days. (Apart from 1964 and 1967, click on each image then scroll down to see multiple advertisements.)

1964	1967
1968 and 1969 Newspaper Advertisements	1970s Newspaper Advertisements
1980s Newspaper Advertisements	1990s Newspaper Advertisements

Encounter Overland Brochures

Encounter Overland 1960’s Brochures

Asia

1968 – London to Calcutta (with Booking Form)	1969 – Expedition to India, Kashmir and Nepal (with Booking Form)	1975 – 3 weeks in Sikkim and Assam
Nov/Dec 1969 – 1st and 2nd Recce Expeditions to South East Asia (Malaya, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia)

Africa

1968 – Reconnaissance Expedition to High Atlas and Sahara	(undated) – Expedition to High Atlas and Sahara	(undated) – Special Easter Vacation to the High Atlas & Sahara
1969 – Trans-Sahara Expedition to the Yankari Game Reserve, Lagos, the Upper Reaches of the Niger and Timbuktu (expedition did not eventuate)	1969 – Reconnaissance Expedition to South Africa (A departure date of 11 October 1969 is advertised, but the first Africa expedition actually departed 31 January 1970)	1970 – 2nd Trans Africa Expedition (departure 21 November 1970)

Encounter Overland 1970’s Brochures

1971 – Trans-Asia – To the Roof of the World	(undated but early 1970s) – Two sided Flyer – Asia and Africa Overland	(published July 1971) – Trans Africa late 1971 to early 1972 (Cover photo from the first Trans Africa – December 1969 to April 1970)
1972 – Trans-Asia – To the Roof of the World	(published January 1972) – Trans Africa	1972 – Latin America (South and Central America Reconnaissance Expedition) Booking Form
1975 – Trans-Asia ‘To the Roof of the World’	1976 – South America
1976 – Trans-Asia	1977 – Trans Asia	1977- expeditions and some Brief Encounters (for US market)
1978 – Asia, Africa and South America expeditions	1978 – expeditions (for US market)	1978 – expeditions and some Brief Encounters (for US market)
1979 – Trans Africa expedition (with Encounter Overland) – brochure published by Trek Adventures, USA

Encounter Overland 1980’s Brochures

1980	1981
1981 – All-Africa	1981 – Trans-Amazon Expedition
1981 (Sept) to 1982 (Aug)	1982	1983/1984
1984/1985	1985/1986	1986/1987
1987/1988	1988/1989	1989/1990

Encounter Overland 1990’s Brochures

1997/1998

Encounter Overland 2000’s Brochures

2000/2001

Brief Encounters

1976 – 3 Weeks in East Africa (15 July 1976 ex Nairobi)	1976 – East Africa Safari (ex Nairobi)	1977 – East Africa Safari (ex Dar-es-Salaam)
1978/1979 – Shorter Expeditions and Action Holidays with Encounter Overland	late 1970s – Shorter Expeditions and Action Holidays with Encounter Overland
1977 – Gypsy Flyer	1980/1981 – Gypsy Flyer	1993 – Trans-Borneo Recon Expedition

Brochure Inserts

Newsletter 1994-01 January 1994	Newsletter 1994/1995 Winter	Newsletter 1995 Summer
Newsletter 1996 Volume 1	Insert to 1997/1998 brochure advertising 25 years in South and Central America	ENFLASH Autumn 1999

Dates and Prices

1970s

Trans Asia 1974 UK£	Trans Asia 1974 US$	Trans Asia 1974 A$
Trans Africa 1974 UK£	Trans Africa 1974 US$	Trans Africa 1974 A$
Latin America 1974 UK£	Latin America 1974 US$	Latin America 1974 A$
Asia, Africa and South America 1974/1975	Asia, Africa and South America 1975/1976 (German version)
London to Kathmandu 1976	Kathmandu to London 1976
London to Johannesburg 1976	Johannesburg to London 1976
Barranquilla to Buenos Aires 1976	Buenos Aires to Barranquilla 1976
Trans Asia 1977 US$	Trans Africa 1977 US$	South America 1977 US$
1977	1977 / 1978 AUS$	1977 (produced by EO San Francisco)
1978 SA Rand	1978 UK£	1978 US$
1979 US$		Brief Encounters 1979/1980 UK£

1980s

1990s

September 1990 to 1992 (UK£)	1991 to 1992 (AUS$)
1992 to 1993 (AUS$)	1992 to 1993 (UK£)	1993 to 1994 (UK£)
1994 to 1995 (UK£)	1995 to 1996 (AUS$)	1996 to 1997 – South China Sea to the Roof of the World

Nomad Life

Johannesburg February 1973	Johannesburg May, June 1973	Johannesburg July, August 1973
Johannesburg September to December 1973	Johannesburg April 1974	Johannesburg January 1975
Kathmandu 1979

Promotional Films, Slideshows and Photo Albums

The films in this section have been transferred from celluloid to VHS tape and then digitised so they are not high quality.

The photo albums were used for a time by the staff in the office in Old Brompton Road, Earls Court.

HELP PLEASE
Encounter Overland produced a promotional film of a London to Kathmandu expedition which departed in late 1969. The film was titled ‘To the Roof of the World’.
No copy of the film has been located. If you know where a copy might be please get in touch through the Contact page.

South & Central America Reconnaissance Expedition
This film was made on Encounter Overland’s South & Central America Reconnaissance Expedition which started in December 1972.
(This version of the film includes footage of the shooting of Swedish cameraman Leonardo Henrichsen on 29 June 1973 in Santiago. A version without this footage was shown at promotional events.)

The Planned Wilderness
A film made in 1982 on an Encounter Overland East Africa and Mountain Gorilla Safari.

Trans-Africa Slide Show
The slideshow used to promote the Africa Overland showing scenes from a northbound expedition.

Darien Gap Album

First Darien Gap Autumn 1982. Neal Inwood (rear left), Jerry Creamer (right), Tony Jones (front left)

This album is of photos taken on the first crossing of the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia in Autumn 1982 by an Encounter Overland team consisting of Neal Inwood (rear left), Jerry Creamer (right) and Tony Jones (front). (Photo taken at the border marker between Panama and Colombia.)
(See also the 1989 ‘A Tramp in the Darien‘ made by the BBC on the Historical Overland Films page of this website.)

South America Barranquilla to Buenos Aires Album
The photos in this album were taken on one of the early 1970s South America expeditions.

Flyers Promoting Film Evenings

1977 – Johannesburg	1977 – January to March – San Francisco	1977 – March to June – San Francisco
1986 – Australia	1991-1992 – Australia

Interviews and Presentations

These films were made on a 1992 promotional tour of Australia by Tony Jones.

Tony Jones talking about Encounter Overland with Australian Travel Journalist, Derek Taylor (1992)

Tony Jones talking to Australian travel agents about Encounter Overland (1992)

Tony Jones appearing as a guest on the Steve Vizard Show (1992)

Posters, Stickers, Flyers, Calendars etc

Posters and Stickers

This is a collection of the various stickers and posters Encounter had over the years.

Poster ‘Where there’s a wheel there’s a way’	Sticker	Involve yourself sketch
‘The Adventure Machine’	Another Adventure Machine logo
The Binoculars Man (otherwise known as the ‘where the fuck are we’ logo)	Promotional Flyer – three continents (undated)	Promotional Flyer – three continents (1976)
Africa routes poster	Asia routes poster	South America routes poster
	Encounter Overland flyer – 1994	Encounter Overland flyer – late 1990s
Himalaya Overland logo

Calendars

Calendar 1976:77 - Africa Trucks on ferry CAR — This is the cover of a 1976/1977 Calendar. Two RLs (TMJ151K (left) and UPX85K (right)) on a Central African Republic ferry. The photo was taken on a Joburg-London trip in 1973 led by Ray Wolfe, Clive Imrie and Mark Neilson (aka Kiwi). (Photo provided by Annette Leutert.)

1994 Calendar

Himalaya Overland and Sundowners Overland

These are the Himalaya Overland and Sundowners Overland brochures which have surfaced so far.

If anyone holds copies of other brochures dating from the time Encounter Overland started operating coach overlands either under the Himalaya Overland or Sundowners Overland names please get in touch using the Contact page.

Asia Overland and Asia

Himalaya Overland 1983 (with booking form)	Himalaya Overland Christmas Moghul Tour 1984	Himalaya Overland 1984/1985
Sundowners Overland Odysseys 1986/1987	Sundowners Overland 1988 / 1989
Sundowners Overland 1989	Sundowners Overland 1990	The A-Z of Overlanding in Asia 1990
Sundowners Overland Trans-Asia 1991	Sundowners The Himalaya (Sept 1990 – Dec 1991)	Sundowners The A-Z of the Asia Overland (1991-1992)

South America and Mexico

Sundowners South America and Mexico 1991

Sundowners The A-Z of South America and Mexico (1991-1992)

Africa

Encounter Overland planned to include Africa as part of the Sundowners program. ‘Africa Live’ safaris were planned to be a more comfortable camping experience with pre-set camps and meals prepared by a dedicated cook. A trial safari, using a re-purposed Encounter Overland truck, was run in 1991. In the end, however, this program did not make it to market.