Ziellos Reisen - Five and a half years on tour

For five and a half years, Tanja und Marcel have been living and travelling 'aimlessly' around the world in a WorldCruiser 2. The pair have already covered more than 120,000 kilometres, from the wildlife-rich landscapes of southern Africa to the endless deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. And they still have a burning desire to travel.

We are delighted that Tanja and Marcel are sharing their wealth of travel experiences with us both in a video interview and here.

Please introduce yourselves briefly:

We are Ziellos Reisen. First of all, the most important participant: Mojito, our faithful travel companion. Then Tanja, my partner, and yours truly, either Marcel or Cello. The three of us make up Ziellos Reisen. And why the strange name? It's actually relatively simple, because we usually travel aimlessly or even without a plan. Our name says it all, because our plans have changed so frequently, whether due to COVID-19 or other factors.

You're travelling in a WorldCruiser 2. How did you end up with this vehicle?

It's a long story. In 2001, I was in Australia and was fascinated by all the Land Cruisers. But they were far too expensive for me at the time.

Years later, I did some research at the Abenteuer & Allrad trade fair. The concept of a living cabin was slowly emerging, and it definitely had to be a 4x4. I fell in love with a Defender and was very close to buying it, but luckily, when I sent the offer to an Australian colleague, he asked me if I had ever driven a tractor. I said no, I hadn't. And then he asked me if I had any recent experience with vehicle mechanic work or if I had even taken a course. I said no to that as well. So he said, ‘Cello... Don't do it, buy a Land Cruiser!’ So a year later, I went back to Abenteuer & Allrad.

I used to build houses and flats, and the most important thing was always that everything came from a single source. The same applies to me when it comes to vehicle construction. And then I wanted a car manufacturer within driving distance. Someone who knows what they're doing, of course. And everything from a single source. In the end, the WorldCruiser 2 was the best concept.

The interior offers a little more space than, for example, the WorldCruiser 1, which we still consider to be one of the most ingenious vehicles. But if you really want to live in your vehicle all the time, we believe the WorldCruiser 2 offers the perfect combination of sufficient space and optimum 4x4 driving comfort.

Whether it's the living cabin, the water tank, or the large additional diesel tank – for us, the whole concept was simply unbeatable. And that's how we ended up with the WorldCruiser 2 from Tom's Fahrzeugtechnik.

No journey is completely without challenges. Have you had any problems with the vehicle?

Fortunately not, or rather, the “normal problems” which are primarily wear and tear issues. One slightly bigger problem was when a screw broke off. This manifested itself in wobbly wheels, but the great thing about the vehicle is that almost any mechanic can repair it.

The only thing we've learned so far is: never go to a Toyota repair shop. They can't do it. They want to know everything, but they don't understand the vehicle. But otherwise, anywhere in Africa or even in the Arab world, anyone with a little mechanical talent can find the problem and repair the car.

We're also happy that we chose the Land Cruiser 78. Almost everything about the vehicle is purely mechanical, and anyone can fix it, no matter where they are. The second good thing is that spare parts are available everywhere, especially in Africa. And even if one isn't available, it's always incredible what people can cobble together in no time at all.

Sometimes you need expert support. To what extent does Tom's Fahrzeugtechnik help you remotely?

I would say that this is something that has reinforced our belief that we made the right choice with this vehicle. While others have no one to call, we have Tom and Veit's number. If we have a problem, we send a WhatsApp message and always get a super-fast response. Fortunately, we haven't had to use it very often.

We try to help ourselves whenever possible, but even so, the support is absolutely unique. Even on weekends, you get answers in no time at all, or a tip, a voice message about what the problem might be, where to turn, what to look at. So for us, that's one of the absolute plus points that we got as part of the package with our vehicle.

You have already experienced countless wonderful moments on your travels. Which country has left a particular impression on you?

Yes, that's actually one of the most difficult questions we're asked time and time again. I'll have to back up a bit to answer that. When we set off in July 2020, we travelled around Europe for a while because of the pandemic. Our original plan was to ship Mojito to Australia. But that plan vanished into thin air because of COVID-19.

In November 2020, we considered going to Portugal to spend the winter. But Tom advised us to fly to Namibia instead. We followed his recommendation, and it was absolutely the best decision we could have made.

In Africa, we were almost alone everywhere during the COVID period. Whereas you usually have to book everything in advance in the national parks, we were allowed to go everywhere. It was absolutely sensational. We ended up spending two years travelling alone on the African continent, from Namibia to Kenya, throughout the south. Then we wanted to go up through Ethiopia, but that was no longer possible. We shipped the vehicle to Dubai and drove back to Europe via the Arabian Peninsula, from Jordan through Iraq.

And now back to the question: it's not that easy to answer because there's something special almost everywhere. Every country offers something, but when it comes to Africa, I would say that Namibia was incredible for us in terms of nature. The landscape changes every 50 kilometres. Botswana was just as fantastic, with its unfenced campgrounds where elephants walk past half a metre away at night. You look out of bed and there's an elephant standing next to you. Or the car vibrates because a lion is roaring somewhere very close by. It's unbeatable.

All in all, however, Zimbabwe was the highlight for us in Africa. It has a bit of everything. For us, Zimbabwe had the nicest people in Africa. Cool national parks, even if everything was a bit worn out. Beautiful nature and lots of animals.

On the Arabian Peninsula, Oman was a dream, which was topped a little by Saudi Arabia. You can camp anywhere, drive anywhere. And the nature is incredibly beautiful. I'm getting goosebumps again just reminiscing. And the people couldn't be friendlier. The crazy thing was that we were invited to eat five to ten times a day. And that was just absolutely incredible for us.

Somehow, every place has its own beauty. But I think the ultimate highlights of our trip so far have been Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe.

What is it like to live in 6 square metres?

I have to laugh at that question because I measured it once, and if I count the standing area alone, it's about 1.75 square metres. Of course, if we add the seating and sleeping areas, or even the roof terrace, then we almost have a small one-and-a-half-room flat.

But here, too, we are glad we chose the World Cruiser 2 because it offers a little more space, especially when it rains.

We can stay inside for two or three days without getting on each other's nerves. Now, when we see that it's going to rain somewhere in a week, we usually try to either escape the rain or treat ourselves to a small flat or hotel room.

It has to be said that the car is absolutely amazing, but being together 24/7 can be very exhausting. Funnily enough, many people can't imagine that. When you live together 24/7 all year round, you get to know your partner very well. There is no space; you are always together. That sounds great to most people, but I can assure you that it's not always rosy.

There are also moments when you have problems and argue. You just have to get through them. These moments can become extreme in a small space. Especially in Africa. You can't just go for a walk. It rarely ends well when you go for a walk alone in the bush among lions and elephants. The spatial concept is sensational, but you have to be aware that it can get cramped.

What are your next travel plans?

Well, basically, the top priority is to travel aimlessly. The recent past has proven this once again. Until a week ago, our idea was to travel to Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Mauritania over the winter.

The plan changed again a few days ago because we thought, okay, that's stupid, we're going to completely the wrong place. Because we haven't changed our long-term plan yet. And that is that we want to travel to Southeast Asia. Via Georgia, Russia, the Stan countries, the Pamir Highway and everything else, all the way to Mongolia and finally Southeast Asia.

Our dream is to drive Mojito to Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore. From there, but that's still a long way off, we want to ship the vehicle to Australia. But until then, the plan will probably change a hundred times. First, we have to get to Georgia, which is why we thought that Morocco was completely the wrong place to be.

So now we're heading back towards Greece and Turkey, where we'll get ready before hopefully setting off for Georgia in March or April and embarking on our long-term journey.

And when we return to colder regions, we could well imagine doing so in a WorldCruiser 5. You could say that we are more than just flirting with the idea of the 5, as the space concept offers even more comfort than our Mojito.

Do you have any tips for people who are thinking about going on a big trip?

The most important thing, and this is the smart-aleck answer par excellence, is: do it! Have the courage! Of course, certain factors have to be right. Above all, the financial side of things is crucial, including having a reliable car, of course, and being able to return if something happens.

But still: don't wait until it's too late! I'd like to do this until the end of my life, but if Tanja and I suddenly realise that we've had enough, that's okay too. At the moment, we're still in the throes of wanderlust.

The second thing that Tanja and I still occasionally get wrong is not travelling too fast. It's incredible... sometimes you feel like you're being driven. You think, okay, we're moving on again today. It always does us a world of good to slow down a bit and stay in one place for two or three nights. Then you can process the incredible number of impressions better. This can even be in a boring place, e.g., at a campsite. But it helps to just bring a little peace and quiet back into your life.

And thirdly, you don't have to see everything. When we were travelling through Africa, lots of people told us: 'You absolutely must go here and there'.

But you can't see everything. And we always say to ourselves: “Next time”. That's brilliant too. When you come back, there are still things you haven't seen.

If you would like to read more about Tanja and Marcel's travels, you will find a wide selection of reports and pictures on their website and on Instagram.