thelongdrivehome

Two Indians driving across the Americas. Ushuaia to Alaska and everything in between. An adventure of a lifetime..wish us luck :)

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

Rafa has made it to Asuncion :)

#overlandingsouthamerica
#paraguay
#overlanding
#ushuaiatoalaska

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

Rafa at 4000km mark on legendary Ruta 40 :)

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

Salinas Grande: Silly things that you should do when in Salt Flats :)

[Suneel Saini @SuneelSaini4]

@CodelcoChile Dear Codelco Management,

My name is Suneel Saini. I am an Indian national travelling across South America with my brother Rajesh. @thlongdrivehome We have spent the last five weeks driving through Chile from Punta Arenas to Calama. We have been deeply impressed by this beautiful country.

We experienced stunning national parks, rugged Carretera Austral, scenic coastlines and many other natural wonders. We were equally impressed by Chile’s excellent motorway network, tourist facilities, helpful officials, friendly locals and the overall sense of a well-governed, high-trust society.

This is our first visit to South America and Chile exceeded every expectation. After travelling nearly 8,000 km, we learned how important mining is to Chile’s prosperity and how companies like Codelco have helped build the nation’s success. This made us decide that our trip would be incomplete without visiting one of the mines that has played such an important role in Chile’s progress.

We came to Calama specifically for the Codelco Mine Tour. Although the tour was fully booked, we were fortunate to get two last-minute places on Thursday, 30 April 2026. The tour itself was excellent—well organised, informative and led by a great guide.
However, when we returned to the visitor parking area at around 2:30 pm, we were devastated to find our vehicle had been broken into and expensive camera equipment stolen.

The Codelco security guard was nearby and witnessed the incident, but no police had been called during the two hours we were on the tour. With the help of some locals who were also on the tour, we contacted police and located clear CCTV footage of the thieves. @Carabdechile Police officers at the local station were really professional and prepared an exhaustive report with video evidence. We haven't heard from the police yet but hoping they will have some positive news for us tomorrow.

I must say it was shocking to be robbed in the car park of one of Chile’s largest and most respected companies while participating in an official tour. At no point were we warned the area was unsafe or advised not to park there. In fact, the security guard directed us to that parking area, giving the clear impression it was the designated visitor parking area.

The stolen bag contained cameras, lenses, hard drives, and irreplaceable photos and videos from the last three months of our journey. Chile has been wonderful and local people have been incredibly helpful. But this incident and the lack of support from Codelco local office afterwards, has been deeply disappointing.

I respectfully ask Codelco to review security arrangements at the Calama visitor office so future visitors do not face the same experience. A company of Codelco’s stature should ensure a safe environment for guests and their vehicles. I also hope your Calama office can assist the local police in investigating the case and helping recover our property.

We have travelled in this vehicle from London to India across Central Asia, London to Cape Town & then Israel through Africa and many parts of Europe without incident. It is unfortunate that our first break-in happened while visiting Chile’s most famous company.

I have aiready reported this incident to Indian Embassy in Santiago @Indiainchile but it being a long weekend, I don't think they are able to provide any support.

#Chile #Codelco #Calama #Travel #Overlanding

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

Started our African adventure exactly 1 yr ago leaving London on 29 Sep 2022. Returned back to UK 8 mths later after driving 25000 miles across thirty countries. It still surprises us that we managed to complete this trans-continental trip unscathed without any major disruptions.

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

@BBCNews I don’t travel on the train often but can’t recall a single instance when it has worked as it shoukd!

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

We finally made it to Israel :)
#Overlandingafrica
#Israel #oldcityjerusalem
#templemount

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

Team Nahan entering Ethiopia at Moyale crossing with Kenya. This turned out to be the most challenging border crossing in the six months of our journey through Africa :) #Ethiopia #Overlandingafrica #capetowntocairo

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

Our work station for last six months. Instead of desktop, we have two Sat Nav systems, a TomTom with worldmaps and offline https://t.co/9Cr7MLKhtk on mobile, Zoleo Sat tracker, a dashcam and Go Pro on the roof :)

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

We are now in the fouth & final phase of our journey across the African continent. Another 6000 or so kms and Rafa will pose next to Pyramid of Giza. This is also likely to be most challenging in terms paperwork needed to cross borders. Wish us luck :)

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

Team Nahan crosses into nothern hemisphere again after spending three months south of Equator :)

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

Team Nahan made it to southernmost point of African continent after being on the road for more than five months :) #overlanding #londontocapetown #Lagulhas

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

The best welcome into the Gambia! Kids often get very excited on seeing Rafa...

#senegal #thegambia #bodercrossing #overlanding #africa #longdrive #roadtrip #thelongdrivehome #rafa #landcruiser #lc120 #london #capetown #cairo
https://t.co/GeDZSdT4nw

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

And after being rejuvenated by a restful sleep at the campsite, it was time for a run across the river

#senegal #fatick #sokone #overlanding #africa #thelongdrivehome #roadtrip #thelongdrivehome #rafa #landcruiser #lc120 #london #capetown #cairo
https://t.co/ZKWUyHoS4I

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

On the way to the Gambia border, we spent a night camping at the lovely Fadidi campsite.

#senegal #sokone #fatick #fadidi #overlanding #africa #longdrive #roadtrip #thelongdrivehome #rafa #landcruiser #lc120 #london #capetown #cairo
https://t.co/fy6TucpC8S

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

Our visit to Lac Rose, or the pink lake near Dakar Senegal

#senegal #dakar #lacrose #overlanding #africa #longdrive #landcruiser #rafa #thelongdrivehome #roadtrip #london #capetown #cairo
https://t.co/6HHdjJvMkA

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

Hey little friend, are you also Meowing/Queuing for some visas? We stayed quite a few days in Dakar for visas.

#senegal #dakar #visas #embassy #consulate #cats #birds #waiting #overlanding #africa #longdrive #roadtrip #london #capetown #cairo
https://t.co/4mRpSoqG2i

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

After spending time at the Western Most Point of the African Continent, we went for pizza and cocktails.

#senegal #dakar #pointedesalmadies #cocktails #pizza #pizzalover #overlanding #africa #longdrive #roadtrip #london #capetown #cairo
https://t.co/ZKHVqoqEIc

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

And we saw a lot of crabs swimming away into the sunset

#senegal #dakar #crabs #oceanfront #beach #sunsetvibes #overlanding #africa #longdrive #roadtrip #london #capetown #cairo
https://t.co/WLDNcWT0tv

[thelongdrivehome @thlongdrivehome]

Pictures from the Western Most Point of the African Continent!

#senegal #dakar #sunset #oceanfront #overlanding #africa #longdrive #roadtrip #london #capetown #cairo
https://t.co/uauyCNv5zo