Robert and Clary Van Den Hoven fell in love with rough, rugged and remote travel during years of driving rocky tracks, hair-raising creek crossings, and sandy beaches in Australia … but that was just the appetiser!
The unbelievably adventurous couple has since graduated from the Outback to taking near-endless 4WD treks in virtually every corner of the globe.
Between 2009 and today, they covered 343,000 kilometres crossing though Africa; from Europe to Mongolia via Russia; from Mongolia to Singapore through China, Tibet and South East Asia; through India, Nepal, Pakistan, Iran and the Middle East; and then they shipped their rig to South America and, to date, have covered Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay, French Guyana, Guyana, Suriname, Peru, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Colombia.
Robert and Clary had some amazing 4WD adventures in Australia.
The couple has years more around-the-world adventuring still ahead.
Since 2020, they have been travelling in Central America and are currently in Mexico. Robert, 67, and Clary, 66, – who both ran their own businesses before retiring – were born in Holland but emigrated to Australia in 1981 … and it didn’t take them long to discover a shared passion for the bush.
They joined the Yarra Valley 4WD Club and later the Queensland Toyota LandCruiser club and quickly started picking up the skills and the confidence to tackle the many challenges that they would soon be facing on a near-daily basis.
Over the following couple of decades, they clocked up hundreds of thousands of kilometres criss-crossing Australia during breaks from work, and as trip leader with the Queensland Toyota LandCruiser club … and they then spent four years full-time on the road here.
Robert and Clary currently travel in a modified 4WD truck.
Like most grey nomads, the couple said they loved the deserts, the remote places, the beautiful scenery, the bush camping and the campfires … but, as Europeans, they found the vastness of the uninhabited land ‘overwhelming’.
“For those who go off road into the desert areas, the excitement of driving for days or weeks without seeing another person is something they have never experienced,” said Robert.
Never ones to shy away from a challenge, the Van Den Hovens have had their fair share of dramas … like the time they had to have a helicopter deliver some spare tyres after suffering multiple punctures in remote WA.
But nothing would quench their thirst for more.
Over the years and across the continents, the couple has had numerous off-road wagons, including a Nissan Patrol; a Toyota LandCruiser 60 series; a Toyota LandCruiser 80 Series; a Toyota LandCruiser 100 series; and they’ve just purchased the new Toyota LandCruiser 300 series.
And their full-on 4WD trucks have included a Mitsubishi Fuso 4×4 Canter, and their current Mercedes Atego 1318 AK 4X4. The Atego is a rigid two-axle truck with a militarised design that has been modified for the couple.
“The truck has the single cab and we removed the middle seat to install a 40-litre Engel fridge/freezer,” said Robert. “It came with an observation hatch on the roof with a light machine gun mount, which was taken off after we purchased the truck … but the observation hatch is a real asset when looking for wildlife.”
It has all been a truly epic undertaking, and Robert and Clary are not done yet. They estimate they will spend four more years on the road before they can finally say ‘we’ve done what we set out to do’.
“You only live once,” they say. “And, when you do it right, once is enough!” To see more of the couple’s adventures click here and here.
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How fun would it be?
Although pure “dream factory” stuff for the average retiree, the cost of vehicles and running costs alone would be astronomical.
Good to read about other’s success though, quite inspiring.
Certainly a lot of bragging rights around a happy hour campfire, but personally we enjoy our retirement doing less adventurous & less stressful activities.