A COUPLE have bid farewell to Cambridge and set off on an epic 40,000-mile round-the-world journey in a 3.5-tonne truck nicknamed 'The Beast'. Greg McCann, 30, and Alexis Keech, 28, say a "mid-twenties crisis," has prompted them to leave their home, jobs, family and friends behind them and attempt to complete the remarkable feat.

Together with their housemate Tom Hoole, 26, and friend Adriano Truscott, the pair aim to cross six continents within 18 months, raising money for charity and carrying out voluntary work.

After months of preparation, planning and fundraising, they boarded a ferry with their ex-military Land Rover ambulance yesterday from Hull to Rotterdam, where their journey begins. "It is pretty nerve-wracking," admitted Greg, a former sugar salesman, who until now has lived with Alexis, a former environmental consultant, in Green's Road, Chesterton.

"But for me it's about the food and the new cultures. Everywhere that I haven't been before is going to be a new adventure. It could be quite scary at times but that's part of the challenge," he said. In remote areas, such as Kazakhstan, they will have to carry supplies of petrol to fuel the vintage vehicle, which has already survived the Balkan and Gulf wars and UN missions. They now have two weeks to reach Russia, before crossing to China, India and the Far East. From there, they will drive through Africa, Australia and New Zealand to South America and the USA and Canada.

Explaining how they have funded their trip, Greg said: "We have been saving, and I was made redundant, which was quite lucky really. We also made a few hundred fundraising in town by standing on the roof of The Beast and shouting!"

Greg hopes he will find the time to write his first novel during the long stretches travelling in The Beast. He will also record his far-flung food finds on a broadcast-quality video camera. Adriano plans to compile a book with the photograph and story of a child from every country they visit, and all four will write a diary entry for their website every day.

The charities they have chosen to promote are the Land Mine Organisation, The International Fund for Animal Welfare, and UNICEF. Anyone who wants to find out more or make a donation to one of their charities can visit www.beastlyadventure.com

BEING charged by Asian elephants, arrested in Moscow, and caught up in an earthquake is all part of the adventure for a couple on their 40,000 mile round-the-world-trip.

Greg McCann, 31, and Alexis Keech, 29, remortgaged their house in Green's Road, Chesterton, Cambridge, last year and set off on a six-continent quest in a 30-year-old ex-military ambulance - nicknamed "The Beast" - which Greg bought for £3,000. The couple, who are travelling with friend Adriano Truscott, 31, an English teacher, are halfway through their 18-month trip, having completed almost 20,000 miles.

They were caught up in an earthquake in Malaysia. They have also suffered numerous mechanical problems, sailed the mighty Mekong, and visited ancient temples ransacked during the Cultural Revolution.

Not only that, they also had Asian elephants charge them, met the Dalai Lama's second-in-command, and were arrested in Moscow for having the wrong stamps in their passport. Alexis said: "They just wanted a bribe, which we were forced to pay after being in custody for three hours - otherwise we could have been sleeping under the posters of AK47s for the night."

Greg and Alexis also got frostbite in Russia with temperatures inside The Beast hitting -10C. They were also initially banned from entering Singapore because they did not have the correct documentation - before top brass intervened. Alexis said: "The assistant chief of police came to the border and signed us into Singapore and then wined and dined us at the police academy."

The trio attracted crowds of up to 100 in China, many of whom had never seen a white western person before, and they appeared on television in front of more than 150 million people. So far, they have visited Europe and the Far East and are currently in Australia. They will stay there for six months to earn enough for the next leg - which involves shipping The Beast to Chile, from where they will drive across South America, before heading on to Central America, North America and Canada.

As well as seeing the world, the trio are raising money and awareness for their chosen charities, Adopt-a-Minefield, IFAW and Save the Children, and are carrying out voluntary work en route. Alexis, who is writing a travel guide and book of their epic journey, said: "The journey has been far beyond our expectations.

"We have met some of the nicest, kindest and interesting people that you could ever expect to meet."

For more information about their trek, see www.beastlyadventure.com

GLOBAL trekkers on a six-continent quest in a 30-year-old ex-military ambulance called The Beast are hoping to win a small fortune on Australian television.

Greg McCann, 31, and Alexis Keech, 29, set on their 40,000 mile round-the-world trip last year after remortgaging their house in Green's Road, Chesterton, Cambridge.

So far, the couple, who are travelling with friend Adriano Truscott, 31, an English teacher, are more than halfway through their trip, having clocked up 32,000km.

After a short break back in the UK over the summer, the couple set sail in September to Australia where they have spent the last four months.

Highlights of their Australian trip include an interview with one of the country's largest offroading car magazines, Offroader, giving a presentation about their trip to more than 200 Land Rover fans at the Land Rover Club of Victoria, and driving through the red centre and along the Great Ocean Road - one of the world's top 10 best drives with stunning coves and rock formations.

But now their attention is turned firmly towards winning $200,000 by taking part in Australia's quiz show Deal or No Deal.

Contestants on the show have to choose one of 26 boxes - containing various amounts of money up to $200,000.

The couple have already auditioned for the show and are waiting to hear about their success.

Alexis said: "We are hoping to get on the show to raise awareness for our charities and obviously we want to win some money as well."

Trekkers never tyre of global adventure

GLOBAL trekkers Greg McCann and Alexis Keech celebrated New Year in Argentina as they continued their quest to go round the world in a 3.5-tonne truck.

The couple set off from Cambridge in October 2004 on their epic 40,000-mile trip.

After completing the European, Asian and Australian legs of the journey, they have clocked up almost 25,000 miles.

But the Chinese roads, Australian outback and South American gravel highways have taken their toll on the truck, nicknamed The Beast, an ex-military Land Rover 101 ambulance.

The couple, who remortgaged their home in Green's Road, Chesterton, to fund the trip, struggled to find tyres suitable for the vehicle in Argentina.

Instead they had to get their old tyres vulcanised - shaved almost smooth before a new layer of treaded rubber was melted and stapled over the top.

And, undeterred by the prospect that the new rubber strips could overheat and fall off if they travel too fast, they made for one of Argentina's holiday hot spots.

They said: "We drove to Mar del Plata with our brand new tyres for the Christmas week. The holiday city that normally has a population of 500,000 explodes to three million during the summer months.

"Christmas dinner consisted of a barbecue, roast potatoes and some Heinz baked beans that have been saved for six months for such an occasion, followed by Welsh Christmas cake from Gaiman. Extremely satisfying!

"We spent a hot, sweaty New Year in Buenos Aires - it was 38C during the day, and it dropped to a mere 35C at night time."

Greg, 32, and Alexis, 30, quit their jobs as a sugar manager and an environmental consultant to make the trip of a lifetime and have been joined by several other adventurers for parts of the journey.

As well as seeing the world, they are raising money and awareness for their chosen charities, Adopt-a-Minefield and IFAW.

The current leg of the journey takes them north to Uruguay and Brazil, swapping the tango for the samba.

For more information on their trek visit www.beastlyadventure.com/

18 January 2007

Scam puts brakes on world trek