A New Zealand couple travelling the world by motorbike made a visit to Guernsey as a part of their months-long tour.
Phil and Viv Johnston had travelled more than 62,000km over the past 13 months by the time they paid Guernsey a visit last week, passing through dozens of countries across Asia and Europe during the journey.
‘We basically just left our jobs and went,’ said Mr Johnston.
‘I always wanted to do a big trip and explore the world like this. I’ve been riding since I was a kid – I think I was like 12 when I started.’
Mrs Johnston was a little more hesitant to undertake the adventure, though she had some experience off-roading and riding scooters on previous trips they had taken. Inspired by seeing other overlanders on YouTube, however, she spent two years obtaining her motorcycle licence in New Zealand so that they could set out on the tour.
‘It was most challenging earlier on, when I didn’t have as much experience. It’s definitely been a learning curve, and my skills have improved quite a bit,’ she said.
‘I’ve had heaps of falls, but no injuries at least.’
The couple began their tour in Thailand, purchasing their two small Honda CT125 bikes that would carry them and their sparse luggage for the entirety of their international excursion.
Despite the scale of the trip, the pair did not encounter any issues with their vehicles on the journey – except for an accident in which a truck, swerving to avoid holes in the road, knocked Mrs Johnston’s handlebars and ran over the front wheel of her bike. Fortunately, she emerged unscathed.
‘We flew back to China and then to Thailand to get new parts, because it was as expensive as shipping, and we’d heard horror stories about stuff getting stuck in customs in Kazakhstan,’ said Mr Johnston.
‘We didn’t plan everything to the nth degree because things change along the way.’
With the bike repaired, the couple continued to head through Central and West Asia until they reached Europe, exploring a significant portion of the continent before settling in Morocco for a couple of months while they waited for winter to pass in Europe.
Back on the road, the couple headed through France before heading to Guernsey, arriving last week for a short stay.
‘We didn’t originally plan to come to Guernsey, but we saw it on the map and thought it’d make sense,’ said Mr Johnston.
‘Phil’s mother worked in Guernsey 20 years ago, so we already knew about it,’ said Mrs Johnston.
‘We had only planned to stay for two nights, but we started looking around and thought we’d stay for a few more days.
‘We’ve loved the cliffs on the south coast – we did a big walk there the other day.’
After more than a year of passing through non-English-speaking countries, the couple said that it was rather a relief to be able to be surrounded again by speakers of their native tongue.
‘Everyone’s very friendly, and it’s also so clean here,’ said Mrs Johnston.
‘Some of the countries we went through just had plastic littered everywhere.’
The couple left the island yesterday and are planning on spending at least another six months on the road, going to the UK and Ireland for a few months before heading off to explore Scandanavia.
‘It’s been an excellent experience – each country’s so different,’ said Mr Johnston.
‘You have an amazing experience and you think that’s going to be the highlight, and you go around the corner and it’s just another amazing view. Especially in India – the scenery was amazing.’
After completing their journey, the couple intend to sell their bikes in the UK and fly home, although they have already developed a Plan B to ride all the way back to Thailand should there be regulatory impediments to selling in the UK.
However, after they arrive home the couple have no intention of staying put, already considering an eventual South American tour later on.
‘I’ve always liked taking a few risks,’ said Mr Johnston.
‘I think you’ve just got to have fun.’