The Route

Since we will be dealing with a combination of different passports on the Shake n Bake  ride we decided on a route that would suit most visa requirements and that would also allow us to experience some truly foreign places that we as South Africans don’t often hear, see or talk about, let alone get the opportunity to actually visit. So without further ado, here is a pic of the final route, as taken from Google Earth (rather handy piece of software and how cool does the combo of Earth/Space look?)

The Rally starts in London and then we will head into Europe. We will be starting a man down as Captain Stu will just be finishing off his African adventure the day before so the first couple of days will be hunting him down in either France, Belgium, the Netherlands or Germany. Regardless of where we find him wandering the road we will then head to the Czech Republic to pop into Prague briefly then head on down to Croatia. Having all studied in Cape Town we are somewhat partial to coastal roads so will be thoroughly exploring as much as we can down there then head into Greece and do the same. Part of our Greek route will lead us past Thermopylae, the historical location of the famous “300” Spartan and Greek stand against the Persians (expect re-enactment attempts) before heading into Turkey.

Making our way along the south of the Black Sea  we will drive through Turkey until we reach Georgia and then head north through there into Russia, continue around the Caspian Sea then down into the Kazakhstan (high five!). Along the way we hope to take cheeky detour down into Kyrgyzstan before heading back up into Kazakhstan (high five again), Russia and finally into Mongolia to our final destination. All in all, the route will see us go through roughly 16 countries, 15000 kms (just over a third of the world boom!) and hopefully not too many spare tyres. Along the way we will experience many different cultures and report back whenever we can. Iron Mike is looking forward to learning several new tea recipes, Handsome Rob will be experimenting with facial hair styles, Maverick will be eating many delicious desserts and Captain Stu is hoping to spread the word of Monster (plus some arm bands because it gets sweaty in the desert).

If you have any suggestions, information or personal experience in the countries we are proposing to visit, or places you think we should definitely stop and send you a picture, get in touch!