Trip Tales

These are tales about Encounter Overland trips. For published works see Books about Encounter Overland.

The first Encounter Overland expedition – 1964 by Harry Marsh

This diary was written by Harry Marsh on the first ‘Encounter Overland’ expedition from London to Kathmandu in 1964 led by Tony Jones and Harry Marsh.

Interview of Peggy Gregory-Jenkins

This is a video of an interview of Peggy Gregory-Jenkins – one of Encounter Overland’s first paying passengers and one of EO’s first employees (Although I don’t think she was paid too much. No surprises there!) Peggy married Stuart Jenkins one of the founders of EO with Tony Jones.
This interview was recorded in September 2015 in Niagara Falls at the staff gathering of a company called G Adventures. The person interviewing Peggy is Bruce Poon Tip, the founder of G Adventures.
Peggy tells how she and a friend signed up with Tony and Stuart in 1967 in Istanbul on EO’s first trip to Kathmandu. For the exorbitant price of US$150 Peggy and her friend travelled to Kathmandu and then back to England.
(Thanks to G Adventures and its media team for their kindness in locating and sending on this recording.)

London to Kathmandu – 9 September 1969 by Peter Tillotson

Personal log by Peter Tillotson of his London to Kathmandu expedition which departed London 9 September 1969.

Johannesburg to London – 15 September 1973 by Michael Hunt

An account of the Johannesburg to London northbound which departed 15 September 1973, by expedition member Michael Hunt.

Johannesburg to London – 29 January to 30 May 1980

Memoirs of Africa 1980 – Africa Northbound 29 January to 30 March 1980
This combined diary was put together in 2010 as part of the group’s 30^th reunion. It is a day-by-day recreation of their expedition. All except two members of the group contributed. The group consisted of 4 Canadians, 3 English, 1 New Zealander, 2 Swiss, 1 German, 2 Dutch, 7 Australians and their Scottish Leader/Driver (David Hunter). Only 2 Canadians knew each other before the trip started and 1 marriage resulted after the trip. The group plans a 40^th reunion in 2020.A slide show of the expedition put together by David Hunter is available on the Leader/Driver and Expedition Member Films and Photograph Albums page.

Great Overland Encounter (departed Kathmandu 15 March 1985) – Leader/Driver Annie Bradshaw

These documents were sent to Leader/Driver Annie Bradshaw as part of the preparations, and updates along the way, for a Great Overland Encounter (GOE) expedition which departed Kathmandu 15 March 1985. The route for this expedition from Kathmandu to London was via Asia, the Middle East, and northern Africa. Annie had an accident with a tractor in Pakistan caused by a stoned tractor driver; the truck broke down in western Sudan on the way to the Central African Republic in August 1985; and to add to her challenges, a seven-year drought broke just before she arrived in Sudan making tracks impassable. The final pages are an article Annie wrote for a New Zealand magazine in 1992.

Expedition accounts by Ian Richards

‘Africa on Four Toilet Rolls’
Ian Richards’ account of an Africa A-Z Southbound October 1989

East African Safari
Ian Richards’ account of an East African Safari January 1994

Marrakesh Express 1980

Marrakesh Express – A report of a trip to Morocco July – August 1980 by the London Union of Youth Clubs sponsored in part by Encounter Overland and using the 6×4 Bedford GNM152F as one of the trip’s vehicles.

South America North-bound from Buenos Aires to Caracas 1974

Additional information and photos from Expedition Member Peter Lechte on the incident in the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia as described by Barry Thorne in his dossier on this website and in a 1974 The Trailfinder article.