In this interview, Jelle and Tine share their fascinating journey into the world of overland travel, beginning with their childhood experiences and how a passion for adventure slowly grew. From Jelle’s envy of friends studying abroad to his later decision to backpack in South America, and Tine’s longing to explore beyond the confines of chronic illness, their mutual love for travel brought them together in 2017.
They immediately bonded over Tine’s dream of overlanding, which led to the creation of “Panda,” a 1998 Land Rover Defender they rebuilt from the ground up. Their story is one of determination, resilience, and a shared dream of exploring the world at their own pace, overcoming challenges and relishing the freedom of life on the road.
Tell us a little about your early lives and how your mutual interest in travel developed.
Jelle: When I was a kid, we didn’t travel often, only to our neighbouring countries and once to Prague.
After high school I immediately started to work while most of my friends went to college. A lot of them then studied abroad for a while, and I was a little envious about that. So when I turned 30, I decided to quit my job to go backpacking through South America for a few months. I absolutely loved it and wanted to travel more. Unfortunately, my savings account didn’t allow that to happen right away.
Tine: During my childhood I always went camping with my parents and brother, exploring different countries in Western Europe. I loved this way of traveling, a few days somewhere and then moving on.
During my studies, I got sick. After a few years I got the diagnosis ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). Luckily I was able to finish my studies (in a few extra years) and start working life, mostly just going to work and needing the other time to rest. But after about 5 years, my health deteriorated again and I was home sick for several years. Dividing my time between my bed and my sofa, I got really tired of wasting my life away. I always wanted to travel, see more of the world, learn about other cultures… So I started to dream about traveling at my own pace, taking my bed with me, so I could get my rest wherever I would go. That’s how the idea of overlanding started for me.
When and why did you decide to start the ‘panda’ project?
T: We met in 2017 and almost immediately started talking about traveling. I told Jelle my plan for overlanding and he was immediately excited about it and told me he had the perfect car for it.
J: Ever since my uncle had a Land rover Defender (when I was about 7 years old), I loved this car. It was my dream car back then and it still is today. Panda is already my third defender.
I bought the cheapest defender I could find on the internet to rebuild it into my dream off roading car, mostly to go play in the mud. But then Tine and I met, and we quickly decided to rebuild him into our dream overlanding car.
Tell us a little about the preparation phase before you left – the vehicle, the technical aspects and any other elements that you feel are essential before one embarks on an overland adventure.
By the time we met, Jelle already started the work on the car. He took everything off until it was just the chassis and had already fixed the broken chassis.
From there on, we worked on rebuilding the car together. We knew nothing about fixing cars, so we had to learn everything. YouTube was our best friend at the time! But we definitely underestimated the project. It took us 2 years to build it back to a car and another 6 months to build it into our overlanding home.
Panda is a 1998 land rover defender with a trustworthy 300tdi engine, all mechanical, no electronics. Which we think is perfect, because we are able to work on it ourselves and mechanics everywhere know how to deal with it.
Some of the modifications we made on the car:
We cut holes in the body to put rear windows and side lockers in and we made a slide out kitchen in the side off the car.
We put in heavy duty suspension and stabilization bars, which help a lot with the heavy load.
We had a pop up roof installed. This was probably our best decision! It gives us so much more inside space, providing us with a place to comfortably sit (and stand) even when it’s raining outside or when we just want to have some rest and privacy. We made a wooden interior, so it really feels like a home! We also installed a 270° awning, which provides us with a big outside living space protected from both the rain and the sun.
We have a diesel heater for the cold days,
- a watertank,
- a Dometic 75l fridge/freezer,
- a Coleman gasoline stove,
- a Lifesaver jerrycan for filtering drinkwater
and our solar electrical system (220w solar panels, 265 ah household battery, inverter,…)
All of these help us to never need a campground. We can stay off grid for about 10 days, before we need to get groceries and water again.
From the moment we decided to build Panda, we also immediately started saving money for the trip by putting our social lives on hold, selling our house and almost everything else we owned.
The trip itself wasn’t prepared. Only thing we did was decide on a direction (east, aiming to go to South East Asia) and getting the necessary vaccinations. Everything else, we decided we would figure out along the way.
To what extent did the trip go as planned or not? Did you have a specific plan/timeline or did it develop as you went along ?
We learned right from the beginning that planning is a big waste of time.
After 2,5 years working really hard on Panda, we were finally ready for our plan, to drive east. We had our departure date set and our farewell party planned on 15 march 2020. But 2 days before, COVID happened and a lockdown was announced. So we weren’t able to start our adventure.
But as soon as the borders in Europe opened again, we left, changing our plans to explore Europe for a while before traveling east.
Another moment our plans changed significantly, was the time we were about to enter Iran to explore there for 3 months before continuing to Pakistan and then India. We had just gotten our visa, when heavy protests broke out in Iran, after a girl was killed by the police for not wearing a hijab. At the same time Iran wanted Belgium to do a prisoner exchange. It didn’t really feel safe enough anymore for us to extensively travel around Iran, so we decided to transit through Iran and Iraq to Kuwait. We planned on spending winter exploring the Middle East, but we enjoyed it there so much we ended up staying for 1,5 years.
We absolutely love not having a fixed plan. We love that we get to decide everyday whether to stay another day or leave. We love that we never know what is around the next corner. We love that we get to travel as slowly as we want, that we have the opportunity to really get to know a country and its people. We love that we have the freedom to change our minds. We love the not knowing what’s next, because that means anything is possible.
So, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the journey?
The first challenge (after all the challenges building the car of course) was when we couldn’t start our trip because of COVID. We know there were worse things happening, but for us this was hard after all the work we put into rebuilding the car.
The weather can sometimes be challenging. We’ve had -15°C in Cappadocia, Turkey and almost 50°C in Oman and Saudi. Trying to sleep in your car when it’s still 43°C at night doesn’t work very well.
And yes, sometimes things break, either in the car or some of the gear. It can be challenging to figure out where you can find the right parts and/or the right help.
And of course we have gotten Panda stuck a few times, in the mud or in the desert sand.
And probably the biggest challenge for us was having to leave behind all the cute street dogs and cats we met along the way.
But, all these things are part of the journey and they make for great memories!
And what were some of the most memorable joys? Give us some specific examples of things that happened that will forever remain in your memory.
We really enjoy being all alone for days somewhere surrounded by the most beautiful nature, spending our days relaxing, hiking, swimming and spending our evenings around a cozy campfire. In the middle of the desert in Saudi Arabia, or in the mountains in Georgia… We love finding the small tracks leading us through the most stunning landscapes. We love never knowing what each new day will bring us.
But when thinking about our most memorable joys, they were mostly about meeting kind, interesting people.
We spent an evening around a campfire in Cappadocia, Türkiye with a couple of Turkish people and three tourist from Tahiti with their Turkish guide. We spontaneously started dancing and it ended in a dance battle between Jelle and the Turkish guide. It was hilarious! And yes, Jelle won!
When we were in Iraq, we were invited for dinner in the house of a couple together with their little niece and the neighbours daughter. The man apologised for the state of his house and told us that he used to have a much nicer house, but ISIS destroyed it, killing his wife and 5 children. He and his new wife couldn’t have children, but loved it when their niece came for a visit. We sat there with tears in our eyes listening to his story, when he says “let’s dance, life is too short to be sad!”. And he jumps up, takes off his sweater and we all danced like crazy together!
When we accidently ended up along the border of 2 not so friendly neighboring countries, we were stopped by the military. At first they thought we were spies, but luckily we could convince them otherwise. We then had a great day with them and they even thaught us how to shoot their Kalashnikovs. We can’t really tell you more about this, because they told us they would kill us if we did. It might have been a joke, but we’d rather be safe than sorry!
In Kuwait we met Yousef, a local traveler, who showed us around his small country for the next 3 weeks. He absolutely became a true friend! When he asked us to do an interview for a local news site, we did. They put it online 1,5 years later, when we just happened to be back in Kuwait. In 1 day it was seen by 2,5 million people, making us celebrities for those 2 weeks we stayed in Kuwait! We’ve never gotten so many messages and invitations. It was really cool to be famous for a while, but we were also happy to go back to our non famous life on the road when we entered Iraq.
On the trip, you were together all the time we suppose. What are some of the challenges and benefits of overlanding as a couple?
After working on the car for 2,5 years, being together constantly while travelling wasn’t really a challenge for us. Before we left, we talked about asking and giving each other space when needed. But we never really needed to.
We love experiencing all these moments together. It’s just amazing to always have your best friend with you! And to have someone to relive all these incredible memories with.
Overlanding isn’t always easy, it definitely has its challenges. And it really helps having someone there you know you can rely on, someone to do the hard parts with, to take over when you don’t feel up to things, to cheer you up when things get difficult, to laugh about it when everything goes wrong,…
We think that after more than 4 years of full time travelling, we make an incredible team and we are definitely better together than we would be apart.
Of the countries you visited during this ride, which one surprised you the most and why?
Both of us answered Saudi Arabia. Which is funny, because we never planned on visiting this country. When we were working on the car, thinking about where to travel to, we never even thought about visiting Saudi Arabia. At that time it wasn’t even possible yet to get a tourist visa. And even if it would have been, the fact that women were very oppressed, they weren’t allowed to drive, needed to completely cover, couldn’t do anything without the permission of their dad or husband… It didn’t seem very appealing to travel to such a country anyway.
But in the past 5 years, things have really changed in Saudi Arabia. And we have also changed, not listening to the media anymore, but wanting to experience things for ourselves.
Saudi Arabia is such a diverse country. We absolutely fell in love with the desert, changing from flat to sandy hills to the most amazing rock formations. And the camels, we love them so much!
But Saudi Arabia also has stunning mountains, where we could escape the heat while trying to keep our food safe from the baboons. We went rock climbing in the most stunning places and we went snorkeling in the red sea and have never seen so many colourful fish!
And most importantly, we met the most amazing, welcoming, hospitable, friendly people! But we have to say that we have met incredible, friendly, welcoming people in every country we have been to! We truly believe the world is full of great people!
How do you believe you two changed during the expedition?
We believe we are more open minded and respectful about other cultures. We learned even more not to trust the media’s image about a country, but to just go and see for ourselves.
We realize more than before just how lucky we are that we were born in Belgium, where we got all the chances in life. And it provided us with a very strong passport, allowing us to travel around the world easily.
We know that we don’t need a lot of stuff to be happy. And we definitely don’t understand all the consumerism and stress in the western world anymore.
How did it feel returning home?
Our home is Panda! It is absolutely the place we feel most at home, wherever we drive him!
When we arrived back in Belgium this summer after almost 2 years, we experienced a reversed culture shock. Everything is so organized, there are so many rules, people are more private,…
But visiting Belgium is of course really fun, and stressful at the same time. We absolutely love spending time with our friends and family, but we are equally happy when we leave again. We are not used to the busy schedule anymore. In Belgium most days are filled with appointments and fun stuff. Everything needs to be on time and planned.
When we leave again, our agenda is completely empty again, and we love that! But then the missing everyone will slowly begin again.
What specific characters do you believe would be most suited to overlanding the way you did it.
We think that for overlanding, and traveling in general, it helps if you are an open minded, curious adventurous person, who’s good in creative problem-solving and isn’t too attached to materialistic things. But we think the most important thing is to just be a positive and kind person!
What advice would you give to someone planning to overland in a vehicle like you?
– Don’t plan too much. Plans always change.
– Make your setup simple and easy to repair.
– Choose a vehicle that’s not too big. The small off road tracks are the most fun. And you are able to discover more remote areas and camp in spots other people can’t even get to.
– But also make sure your vehicle is big enough for you to be comfortable inside, providing you with your own private space.
– Make sure you really enjoy spending time with the person you take with you
– Name an insect. You will tolerate them more. Hugo, our pet fly, has been travelling with us since the beginning. Sometimes he annoys us, sometimes he gives parties for too many of his friends, but mostly he’s a very good boy!
So, what’s next for you in terms of travel and in terms of the ‘panda’?
After having spent summer in Belgium, we went to France for our first multi day canoeing adventure, 8 days along the Dordogne.
Now we are in Spain for the next couple of months, then winter in Morocco. After that we’ll probably drive north to explore the Scandinavian countries for a big canoe trip.
By then we’ll be ready again for a big trip. We’re not sure yet where we’ll go then. We might drive east again, exploring the Stan countries and Mongolia before trying to reach South East Asia again. Or we might ship our car to the Americas. Or… Anything is possible!
Finally, a question we like to ask: if you could invite four people to a fictional dinner (from any era in human history, alive or dead), who would you invite and why?
We are very interested in history, we love visiting ancient places in the counties we travel to. And we always imagine how it looked, felt and even smelled in its hay days. We picture all the people going about their days. It would very interesting to share a meal with some of the people who lived a long time ago, to understand how life really was back then. And because most history we learn about is from the viewpoint of men, we would love to hear the stories from the women.
For instance, we would be really interested to know more about our most early history. So inviting one of the first homo Sapiens women would be really interesting.
In Iraq, we visited the ancient ziggurat of Uruk. There is still so much unknown about this place, so we would love to invite someone who lived there.
In Türkiye we visited Gobiklitepe, another amazing historical site that we don’t know a lot about. It would be so interesting to have dinner with someone who helped build this place.
We visited Petra in Jordan and Hegra in Saudi Arabia, both really important places for the Nabataean people. We would love to invite a Nabataean woman, to hear about her life.
P.S. Follow Panda’s adventures on instagram Panda The Defender and get inspired more.
