Meet the Team behind Traveller’s Nest Overland

October 2019, at the UNESCO world heritage church Cathedral of St James, Šibenik, Croatia

Meet Mark

Mark is the driver of the Breast, called the “Nest”. The name of our overland vehicle in Brisbane, Australia

Mark is NZ-born, of Dutch parts. He is the youngest of twins and the youngest in his family.

His love of exploring and travelling comes from his parents, who immigrated to NZ from the Netherlands in the early 1950s.

Mark loves to take the position behind the wheel, as he has been an Electrical Engineering Sales Representative in NZ for years..so why not turn your profession into your passion in life

Meet Rolanda

Rolanda is the chief organiser and navigator of the team.

Rolanda is kiwi-born, also of Dutch parts. Her parents met in the Netherlands in the 1960s. One family had already immigrated after WWII, and my father family immigrated in the mid 1960s, so my parents could get married in NZ. We ended up going back to the Netherlands in the late 1970s. Rolanda and Mark met while Rolanda was on a year break from Dutch university. She is a fully qualified CA.

Her parents have lived in the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Sultanate of Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka. Rolanda has also lived in Papua New Guinea. Wanderlust is in the DNA.

The third member of the team is our beloved expedition truck “The Nest”. Please see the Blog ” Our Vehicles”

We are two Dutch kiwis addicted to travel. What some of our friends and family might find extreme travel, is just normal to us.

The idea of going on an overland expedition was born after my trip back to the Netherlands in 2016. I was at a crossroads in my life. I wanted more out of my life. Every Christmas during the 17 years I have lived in NZ, by 2015 was always overseas. I wanted to see the world for myself with my travel buddy and life partner, Mark Kraaijenhof.

So in 2016, Rolanda took 8 trips to Australia to figure out how we were going to fulfil our overlanding dream. She visited every 4×4 show and every motorhome manufacturer on the East Coast of Australia.

Why Australia? Because Australia is the 4×4 capital of the world.

We settled on the SLR75 Truck Camper from Trailblazer RV in Melbourne. We decided we wanted to go smaller and more compact, so we can get into remote places. After all, we were already the owners of the 2010 KEA Dreamtime, 4-berth, in NZ.

In between the tragedy, we lost my beloved dad in Sri Lanka, aged 70. It was that turning moment in life, when you realise we only have 21 summers left.

After bringing him home to NZ, we put our affairs in place and left to travel overland by purpose-built vehicle around Australia. We were gone 4 months later.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE

After our first lap of Australia in 2017 and 2018, we left our vehicle “Nest” in Brisbane, Australia, in late 2018 to achieve our next goal…. to complete our final section of train journeys around the globe.

Russia was the missing piece of the puzzle. We did the Trans-Siberian Railway in winter 2018/2019, 40,000 km from Hong Kong via the Arctic Circle in Sweden and Norway to Ijsselstein, the Netherlands and on to London one month later. We were intending to go back to Australia to meet our Nest, as we had left her behind, as we could not get her winterised for the Siberian winter in time.. but we were having so much fun. We have only just arrived home after 22 months of driving and trains around Europe.

2017 SLR Expedition Vehicle ” the Nest” in Alice Springs, NT, Australia with The Ghan

We came home due to Covid 19 in March 2020 and completed 68 countries. Even the NZ border police said “Welcome Home” and “Wow, you two have been some places”.

This is our story, and to share our experiences of travelling the world. It is, after all, not our first redeo, in 1999/2000 we cycled through Europe for 6 months…

At a desert camp, Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve, Oman on our way back to NZ after cycling around Europe 1999/2000

One can achieve their dreams; we have completed 360,000 km of travel, crossing close to 83 borders. What an achievement.

The next trip is already in the planning stage.. the Silk route with our “Nest” from Brisbane, Australia to Ijsselstein, the Netherlands once we have retired after another few more years as a Financial Controller back in FMCG to pay for the next big trip.

In 2024, Rolanda moved full-time to Brisbane, Australia, to work. We are now in the process in 2026 of moving Mark across to Australia so we can explore Australia together again