Group Bio (by Nico and Teresa)

As well as introducing you to some fascinating countries, we’d like to introduce you to the even more fascinating people we have taking part in our journey. Their reasons for joining such a trip are as varied as the landscapes we drive through.

Dave and Alicia – One of two couples on our trip that are immigrating to Australia. Alicia is an equine vet and Dave is a gardener. They are already active within the group and have bought a pair of trainers to join Nico on his early morning runs.  Alicia likes Gin and Dave likes to burn stuff – perfect overlanders!

Jason – The only member sporting a volumous evergreen beard.  He lived in London and is also taking the slow route to work in Australia.  He enjoys hiking and wearing shorts and jandals.  Sharing a tent with Daniel, Jason has become responsible for making sure he is up in time for cook group!

Keith – An experienced hand at the overland game, Keith is a returning client to Odyssey, having recently completed the South America trip.  Always helpful, he is guaranteed to be around to make sure we are packed up and ready to go! He is most looking forward to revisiting China after 28 years.

Nico – An experienced overlander who has run many trips in Africa, Nico is a new recruit for Odyssey and is looking forward to seeing new sights and countries.  He is an Afri-can, not an Afri-can’t.

Cal and Lorri – Joining us from Canada, Lorri is an enthusiastic quilter and will spend her journey adding assorted “stuff” to her sun bleached quilt. Cal takes great pride in being our designated Fire and Water god, enjoys tracking our GPS coordinates, and always knows how many kilometres we are away from his hometown in Grimshaw, Northern Alberta.

Daniel – Our second youngest group member grew up in Iceland and then moved to Canada when he was eight.  He is hoping to turn from boy into man and is especially looking forward to our time in Bangkok.

Jordan – He wants to see the world and is particularly looking forward to South East Asia. He enjoys football and mud.  He is also en-route to Australia looking for work and enjoying himself till his money runs out!

Lou and Luke – Our other couple immigrating to Australia. Louise is the Aussie and Luke the Brit. They are heading towards Sydney to start afresh.  Bush camping in Kyrgyzstan and meeting the nomads is what Louise is looking forward to. Luke is most looking forward to trying the Georgian wine, all the many different foods, drinks, opera, fine art, ballet, and the list goes on….

Mikkel – Another new Odyssey crew recruit (although no stranger to Odyssey, having done a couple of trips with Odyssey before), he is the second tallest person on the truck.  He is incredibly re-sauce-ful. He can make any sauce and fix anything. Mikkel is not too shabby.

Tina – From a tiny island called Norfolk, so tiny she brought a book about it so people could find where it is. Of course we knew it is in the South Pacific.  She is most looking forward to our time in Tibet (fingers crossed). She is the fairy godmother of the group by always being ready with re-hydration salts and paracetamol, particularly after nights out in Georgia!

Bruce – Our only Scot, he is looking forward to playing ping pong in Thailand.  When not playing table tennis he is an avid hiker and is super cool when he beats all the young guys back home on 30km hikes! He could not beat Jason and Nico up any mountain, though.

Steve – All the way from Birmingham, he is our tallest guy here! He enjoys joining the lads around the radio to listen to football games. He is always up for a laugh and busting out a Borat impression. He particularly enjoyed the company of the dog that joined them on their hike in Georgia. Steve is on a mission to get fit and impress the ladies back home.

Wayne – Loves hiking and is currently beating everyone in the “Push-Up” programme (NOT!).  Everest Base camp and the -stans, is what he is most looking forward to. From Shepparton East, Australia, he has almost cycled around Australia having done 17,000 kilometers in the last 18 months, he has the West coast of Tasmania left to do once he returns. He likes a good joke.

Mark – Another nomad, Mark has worked for TFL, lived in Africa on an organic farm, overlanded everywhere in the world, and walked everywhere else. He is an interesting guy. We are all looking forward to his 50^th birthday party in India!

Teresa – AKA T-Money. She is our tour leader. Teresa also likes gin (and wine and beer). She comes from England. She likes sitting in the front of the truck, and most looking forward to slaughtering a lamb in Kyrgyzstan to expand her cooking skills.

Zaza – Our local guide in Georgia. Zaza is a civil engineer by trade, but now takes groups around Georgia and Armenia. He lives in Tbilisi with his family. He helps us out in mysterious ways. Zaza is always around the corner. When you think about him, he appears.

Calypso – This our truck. She is a beast! Born a Mercedes 1820, she is our youngest member of the adventure. Her favourite colours are orange and blue, and she likes horses, but sometimes struggles to keep up with them. We like Calypso, because she keeps our beers cold, and other stuff.