The ‘ultimate roadtrip’ set to go viral
Two friends on the ‘‘ultimate roadtrip’’ have touched down in Auckland while circumnavigating the world in a Cessna.
YouTube personality Louis Cole and friend and pilot JuanPeter (JP) Schulze departed California in August, with the goal of crossing off 22 countries in 80 days in their 4-seater Cessna 210, Baloo.
After travelling halfway across the world, the two friends took a couple of days to recover and prepare for the final leg of their journey before departing Auckland on Monday morning.
As they cross the Pacific Ocean back to the United States the pair will stop in Fiji, American Samoa, Christmas Island and Hawaii before touching down back home.
‘‘It’ll probably be one of the biggest challenges of the entire trip, it’s such an expansive section of ocean to get across,’’ Cole, 34, said.
While Baloo has been a faithful aircraft the trip hasn’t been without it’s challenges, he said.
The cabin isn’t pressurised so above a certain altitude Schulze and Cole have to wear oxygen masks, and they can’t fly as high as commercial planes so weather is a big factor. ‘‘We can’t just fly into storms like other planes can, they’re deadly.’’
Bad weather kept them in Auckland an extra day, but they welcomed the chance to rest: ‘‘we’ve been pretty exhausted, it’s a mix of emotions’’.
They have had to postpone and divert trips, adding to the pressure in making it home for the threeday arrival festival they have planned from November 10.
Arriving at Ardmore Airport on Friday was also a homecoming of sorts for Namibian-born Schulze, whose family moved to Pukekohe when he was a child.
It was in New Zealand that Cole and Schulze met two years ago. Within a few minutes of meeting they had shared dreams and started making plans of circumnavigating the world.
The pair have been uploading daily videos to YouTube and will be releasing a feature-length documentary of their trip with the support of a Kickstarter campaign.
Social media has played a large role in their adventure, connecting them with locals they have met and stayed with along the way.
‘‘I’ve never made this many friends on a trip before,’’ Cole said. The British travel vlogger’s
YouTube channel has nearly two million subscribers, and 1.5 million followers on Instagram. Their Fly Beyond Borders Instagram account has more than 15,000 followers.
Cole said it was exciting to be able to share their experiences with different cultures and different countries.
‘‘For me that’s what our aim has been – if we’re going around the world let’s document it and share a story of humanity. We want to celebrate that diversity and show the beauty in that we’re all connected.
‘‘It’s the biggest adventure either of us have been on. It’s been wild.’’