TPZ204: Walking India & Adventure Filmmaking with Olie Hunter Smart

Walking India

At the end of 2016 he left his job to begin 2 months of planning for a walk across India from Turtuk in the north to Kanyakumari in the south. The walk would begin in 2017. The year marking 70 years of Indian independence. The goal of the expedition was to learn about how Independence and Partition affected the people that lived through it as well as to demonstrate that with careful planning and determination it is possible to walk over 7 months and 4,500 km through high altitude, extreme heat and monsoon rains with a 50-year-old rucksack. He also made a film about the journey titled The Road to Independence. You can learn more about the film and his adventures at oliehuntersmart.com. Olie Hunter Smart, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

TPZ203: Cycling Around the World with Snežana Radojičić

Cycle touring around the world


When she was little, she dreamed of becoming a writer. But by her early forties, after dozens of jobs from teaching to real estate to selling insurance, she wondered why she had lost sight of that dream. So, in 2011 she set out from Belgrade Serbia on an old 8-speed mountain bike with a budget of 5 euros per day to begin cycling around the world. Along the way she overcame many hardships. But she took time off when needed to rest, earn money, and most importantly to begin writing books about her journey. Nine years later she has cycled in over 40 countries and is currently in South America with plans to cycle to Alaska. You can learn more at her website snezanaradojicic.com. Snežana Radojičić, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

TPZ202: Cycling Sweden to New Zealand with Ann Johansson

Cycling Sweden to New Zealand


She left her job as a graphic designer and traveled to New Zealand to start her first bicycle tour.  But when it was over, she knew she wanted more.  A few years later in 2015 she cycled away from her home in Sweden with the plan to ride back to New Zealand.  The journey took her through Europe, Turkey, and Iran before ending with an injured foot on the Pamir highway in Tajikistan.  Back in Sweden after 4 months of recovery, she began again on a new route that would take her across Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and Australia.  Near the end of 2017, after 36,000 km, she cycled into Wellington New Zealand marking the end of her amazing adventure.  You can learn more at her website mairawa.com.  Ann Johansson, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

TPZ201: Long-Distance Hiking in Europe with Karma & Scott

Long distance hiking in Europe


Karma is from Sweden and Scott from New Zealand.  They have a passion for long-distance hiking and exploring the world.  Not wanting to be owned by their stuff, they sold everything but the packs on their backs and in 2019 began a multi-year trek from North Cape at the top of Norway toward Bluff at the bottom of New Zealand.  So far, their journey has taken them through 8 countries.  They traveled through the UK during winter then into France and Spain where the adventure was paused in March 2020.  You can learn more about them and their adventures at rebootlife.me.  Karma and Scott, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

TPZ200 Bonus – Where are they now?



Enjoy this bonus episode in celebration of reaching 200 episodes. 24 previous guests sent in recordings of what they are doing now.

TPZ200: Building a Bike-Car and Cycling across Canada with Paul Everitt



Back in 2006 while snowboarding in the French Alps, he met some backpackers and became fascinated with their lifestyle and tales of travel and adventure.  Soon after, he quit his job and spent a year working and traveling Australia.  A few years later, while backpacking and volunteering in Central America, he decided to retire the backpack and begin traveling in other ways.  First, he built a bike-car that seats two cyclists in the front and two in the back.  Its maiden voyage was from the UK to Italy and after some modifications he cycled it across Canada and partway down the west coast of the US.  Since then he has gone on to do many more adventures including kayaking the Inside Passage.  You can learn more about Paul and his adventures at going-solo.co.uk.  Paul Everitt, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

TPZ199: Cycling Alaska to Argentina with Radu Păltineanu



At age 15 he emigrated with his parents from Romania to Montreal Canada.  He studied software engineering at University, but after graduation he decided to take another path in life.  He left on a 9-month adventure to cycle the Americas from the top of Alaska to the bottom of South America, a 34,000 km journey that ultimately lasted more than 3 years.  For this he was awarded the European Adventurer of the year in 2018.  You can learn more at his website radupaltineanu.com.  Radu Păltineanu, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

TPZ198: Trekking across Madagascar with Chaz Powell



In August 2019, he began a 780 km trek across Madagascar.  Joined by three team members, the goal was to walk east to west along Madagascar’s longest river, the Mangoky.  The journey was 29 days through jungles and across mountain ranges while avoiding crocodiles and the threat of armed bandits.  Part of the adventure is to raise funds and awareness for the loss of wildlife and wild lands across Africa by working with the African Wildlife Foundation.  You can learn more about Chaz and his adventures at thewildestjourney.com.  Chaz Powell, welcome back to the show.

TPZ197: Cycling and Rowing from Nepal to Indonesia to Summit Carstensz Pyramid with Jelle Veyt

Rowing Indonesia


He is on a mission to use human power to reach the peaks of the seven summits.  After cycling to Nepal and summiting Mt. Everest in 2016, he set out on a new adventure to reach the top of Carstensz Pyramid, the highest peak of Mount Carstensz in the Popua Province of Indonesia.  He began on bicycle from Nepal, crossing India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and ending 9,000 km later in East Java Indonesia.  From there he continued by rowboat another 4,000 km to Papua Province, but because of local violence, he had to hitch a helicopter ride with a climbing expedition team to cover the final 70 km.  It was 2.5 years of training, preparing, cycling and rowing to reach the summit.  You can learn more about his adventures at his website jelleveyt.be.  Jelle Veyt, welcome back to the show.

TPZ196: Working at McMurdo Station in Antarctica with Zach and Leah



They saved their money and quit their jobs to begin traveling the world with the goal of reaching all seven continents.  Their fourth continent, Antarctica, is an expensive place to get to so they applied for jobs at McMurdo station, a US Antarctic research base with a summer population of about 1,200 people.  You can learn more about their 5 months at McMurdo and their other travels at their website peregrination-travel.com as well their YouTube channel Peregrination.  Zach and Leah, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

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