Neil Rawlins

In the late 1960s a young New Zealander, who had always known he would travel, first set out into the big wide wonderful world. His first journey was a voyage on the ‘banana’ boat which then regularly visited some of the smaller South Pacific Islands. It was the first step and the wider world beckoned. There was now no stopping him and the Asian Overland was the first magnet. At the time the route between Kathmandu and London was the ultimate adventure. Nepal was still a mysterious Himalayan kingdom at the end of the hippy trail, India and Pakistan were tolerating each other in an uneasy peace; Afghanistan was still a peaceful kingdom and Iran was under the tutelage of the Shah. It was a journey of discovery with a wealth of wonderful places to visit – great elaborate marble tombs, erotic temples, ancient ruins, underground cities, awe-inspiring cathedrals… Europe & particularly England was then the ideal venue for a working holiday, and for a kiwi who had never been near a farm, he soon had employment as a farm labourer! Other adventures followed – a visit to the Soviet Union, which, at the height of the Cold War, and mainly due to Western propaganda, was then thought to be a place to be avoided, after all you could disappear without trace into the maw of the KGB! There was grape-picking in France, and further travels in Spain, Morocco and throughout the United Kingdom before eventually the decision is made to return home, this time on another epic Overland journey – through Africa, travelling by truck to Nairobi then hitch-hiking south to Cape Town to catch a ship back to New Zealand. Again there were many the experiences. There was the vast fascinating expanses of the Sahara with wandering Tuaregs, the rainforests in the post-colonial Congo & the occasional glimpse of Pygmies, the game parks of Tanzania and the tranquil beaches of Portuguese Mozambique, then in the throes of a guerrilla war and of course much more.

This narrative has been compiled from diaries, personal articles, photographs and memories of the happy days of my first travels. This book is also serving as a background to another book which will recount my experiences as a tour leader on the Asian Overland routes to Europe and the later years as a special interest tour leader/guide in India, Turkey and the Middle East in the days before terrorism, international politics and vicious local wars have made many of these fascinating regions no-go areas to the average traveller. All the photographs in this edition were all taken at the time of the events narrated. The photos have helped me immensely in recalling many of the events that took place. This book is a cameo of the golden days of travel before international politics destroyed or restricted many of the places I feel fortunate to have visited in happier days. I know my sentiments are shared by many of my peers.