After years of planning and dreaming, the time has come for a man to set out on on his next Overland adventure: Two years circumnavigating Africa.
Dan Grec is no stranger to overland adventure. In fact, he’s become a bit of a legend in the off-road community. Grec has already driven a Jeep Wrangler from the northernmost tip of Alaska to the southernmost tip of Argentina, and now he’s setting off on a two-year journey around the coast of Africa in a customized Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.
Dan has an incredible passion for overlanding — and how his new converted Jeep Wrangler allows him to truly go anywhere and do anything.
Few know off-road adventure better than Grec. Now the Australian-born computer software engineer turned explorer and Jeep vehicle enthusiast is preparing for his greatest overland journey to date: driving the coast of a continent, and crossing through over 25 countries along his 80,000-mile odyssey.
On his first solo journey from Alaska to Argentina, Grec said he crossed difficult terrain, and even learned to speak Spanish along the way to communicate with all the amazing people he met. For this African trip, the seasoned veteran is planning to learn to speak French to negotiate border crossings, which, as he says, “are always a challenge.”
“Two years on the road from Alaska to Argentina taught me more than I ever could have imagined. It taught me a lot about exploring and living out of a vehicle, what I’d want in a future rig, and where I want to explore next. It taught me the exhilaration of exploration in a foreign country, learning a new language and meeting all kinds of different people.”
“More than anything else, my adventure taught me I want to keep exploring new countries and continents, and I want to do it with my own vehicle.”
There’s sure to be driving challenges along the way as well, with the varied topographies of the continent. Grec, though, takes it all in stride. He says there are always challenges, but that people he meets are quick to remind him that when he has a bad day, he’s still living the dream.
And since the Jeep will serve as Grec’s home-away-from-home for the next two years, he’s outfitted it with customizations like a water filtration system, a solar-powered refrigerator, and storage for eating utensils and maintenance equipment.
Dan says, “You just have to start doing it … it’s a dream come true … the only difference between me and most people is I’m doing it.”
Follow along with Dan’s journey around Africa at his blog, The Road Chose Me.
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