Season 5 has ended - what's next?

It was a surreal feeling coming back to The Netherlands after riding around Southern Africa for 7 months. Not because of the huge difference in temperature, nature and culture, but mostly because The Netherlands is starting to feel less and less like home. 

Since I've sold my house and quit my job at a dredging company some 3,5 years ago in order to travel the world and document my travels, I’ve seem to have partly lost connection with ‘home’. Somehow being snuggled tightly in between the bags on my bike, only carrying the few belongings I need to survive on the road, feels more like home than the Netherlands does now. 

I also felt a strong connection with the Southern African countries I explored in Season 5. The reason for that might have been a combination of riding around on a motorcycle with South African plates, and having a Dutch accent which is similar to an Afrikaans accent, so most of the people I met assumed I was a local. That was something completely new to me. When I traveled in Asia, South America, or anywhere else really, people never assumed I was a local. So when I was considered to be a local in Southern Africa, it made me feel even more welcome and at home. 

I wasn't quite ready to leave Southern Africa yet, but there was no option left to explore this continent with Savannah. As a foreigner I could not register Savannah in my name, and that makes it impossible to travel further north with her. I was only allowed to travel in the neighboring countries of South Africa with her.

So, there was no other choice than to relocate and continue my travels with a new motorcycle, one that will be registered in my own name. It was time to return to The Netherlands.

Preparing for next season

Finding and buying a new bike and getting everything sorted and geared up for another year or so on the road requires quite a bit of planning and organising. And while I was running around trying to do all that, Europe dove straight into being the epicenter of the next wave of Covid-19 again. Countries going back into lockdown, travel restrictions being reinstated, and certain nationalities being 'red listed', it was all back on the table again. 

What can I say - almost 2 years down the line and the world still hasn't turned back to normal. In terms of traveling around the world on a motorbike. I have a feeling that Season 6 will have its challenges again too. But, just like when all of this started 2 years ago, sitting and waiting it out in The Netherlands doing nothing, is simply not an option. I've come to accept that the world will probably battle this pandemic for several years to come. All I can do is stay optimistic, think in solutions not in problems, and keep my fingers crossed there won't be any complete lockdowns wherever I am going. 

Despite all of this, my goal remains the same. I want to create inspiring travel videos that will act as 20-minute escapes from negative news flashes, three times per week. We can all do with some adventuring, dreaming of far away lands and feel-good movies! 

Rallying 

My experience with the Kalahari Rally in South Africa made me realize there is an entire world of exciting cross country rallying that I had no idea about. I will surely participate in another rally one day, but for now my main focus will remain on creating motorcycle adventure travel videos, as that's what I love to do the most. Besides, rallying is a very expensive hobby, so hopping from rally to rally is not going to happen anytime soon. But, I am planning to enter one rally in the coming season and put my new motorcycle to the test. This time hopefully without breaking a subframe! 

When and where will Season 6 start? 

The biggest challenge for the next season will be finding an area in the world where multiple countries have (re-)opened their borders, so overlanding on a motorcycle is actually possible. And even then, there are no guarantees that borders will remain open. That means that I am working on a plan and travel route for the next season, but that the plans might change once, twice, thrice or even more often! 

Whatever happens, I can’t wait to be back on the road again, and filming crazy and beautiful motorcycle adventures. I will be soon revealing more about the new bike that I will be riding and where the journey is going to take place. Stay tuned!