The couple traveling the world in ambulance bought on eBay

(CNN) — Two veterinarians driving around the earth in an ambulance with their pet in tow might seem like the premise of a film.

But it really is quite significantly the reality for United kingdom pair Lawrence Dodi and Rachel Nixon, who are presently about a yr into a world wide vacation throughout much more than 50 nations in a bid to established the Guinness Earth Document for the longest journey in an ambulance.

The pair, who established off in Oct 2021, have been attracting fairly a little bit of notice as they go from place to place in the former private ambulance, a white Land Rover Defender with eco-friendly and fluorescent yellow stripes, which was formerly employed at equine functions.

“We have never ever experienced any one solution us for health care support,” suggests Dodi, pointing out that the ambulance doesn’t truly appear like the emergency autos utilized in any of the destinations they’ve been driving by means of.

“But we get a large amount of stares. In visitors, everyone’s searching at you.”

Ambulance problem

Dodi and Nixon, who are both veterinarians, were being seeking for a vehicle to transform into a camper van and vacation the planet in, when Nixon occurred to stumble throughout the ambulance on eBay back again in 2018.

“The original system was not to get an ambulance or try out to set a globe report or something like that,” explains Dodi.

“We were being on the lookout for a useful automobile to go traveling in and we fell in love with the ambulance and the aesthetics.”

Soon after they purchased the auto, which however had all of the fittings and fixtures of an ambulance within alongside with a stretcher, Nixon came throughout an article about a group who were being attempting to set a history for the longest length driven in a fire truck.

When she discovered that no one seemed to have formally attempted this in an ambulance, the couple contacted Guinness Globe Record to ask if they could give it a test.

Nixon and Dodi were being explained to that they’d require to satisfy a record of technical specs, these types of as ensuring that the car or truck retained the ability to function as an ambulance (even nevertheless it would not be utilised as an emergency automobile,) and that it nevertheless resembled an ambulance externally.

They say they took this on board even though coming up with the interior format, and had been in a position to preserve to the guidelines, while nonetheless acquiring space for a cooker and a fridge “and all the other issues you would affiliate with a camper van.”

In the a lot of months since they remaining the Uk, the pair have driven all-around 24,000 kilometers (just about 15,000 miles), and traveled to 24 international locations, like Armenia and Bosnia, with Nixon performing as “chief driver.”

Canine companion

While they have now done the least distance of 20,000 kilometers at first set by Guinness World Report, they’re “heading to continue to keep going and test to established the optimum determine doable.”

Having along their springer spaniel Peggy Sue, who has an EU pet passport, as effectively as the essential rabies vaccination and blood examination needed for animals to travel inside of Europe, was usually element of the prepare, and the pair say she’s been “residing her most effective daily life” all through their time on the highway.

“She could possibly be 10, but she thinks she’s two,” claims Dodi. “She can hike all day, and if she requirements to sit in the van all day, she can do that. So in phrases of us carrying out our out of doors pursuits, it’s not been a important trouble.”

Even though they’ve experienced to skip a number of routines in which puppies were not permitted, and some countries have been fewer pet dog welcoming than other people, Dodi and Nixon have unquestionably no regrets about having Peggy with them.

“I assume it truly is probably introduced us much more options,” says Dodi, noting that Peggy has been anything of a persons magnet.

Nevertheless, because of to several elements, this kind of as the war in Ukraine, a conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the nationwide protests happening in Iran, and the actuality that some borders in Central Asia are nonetheless closed because of to Covid-19 limits, they have been compelled to improve their route.

The pair are now planning to vacation back to the United kingdom early next yr, just before delivery the ambulance to Halifax in Canada, and driving the PanAmerican Highway, the longest drivable road in the earth, to the bottom of Argentina. Their final vacation spot will be Liverpool FC — a football team in Montevideo, Uruguay with the similar title as their hometown group in the British isles.

Elevating recognition

At current, they’re unsure whether or not they’re going to be bringing Peggy to South The us with them, and are contemplating leaving her in the United kingdom with household when they briefly return early subsequent yr.

“I think if we don’t acquire her we’re going to skip her a good deal,” says Dodi, before explaining that Peggy has struggled with the warmth at some factors of the journey and they’re worried about how she’ll handle in South The us.

“But equally, we will not want to put her by something she’s not gonna be delighted with.”

Even though Dodi and Nixon had at first planned to shell out two many years completing the challenge, they’ve due to the fact prolonged this by another 6 to 12 months.

Dodi and Nixon say they’ve the two misplaced colleagues and close friends in the field to suicide and are eager to increase consciousness on this difficulty.

Generating reminiscences

Though they have explored some extraordinary websites, together with the greatest peaks in Kosovo, Montenegro and Armenia, they say it truly is the people today they’ve fulfilled along the way and the experiences they’ve had that have stood out the most.

Dodi recalls a night when they have been driving around Ga looking for a put to keep overnight and ended up remaining invited to the home of a regional, who occurred to be obtaining a birthday social gathering.

“We ended up dealt with like honored guests,” he states. “They place us up in a bedroom the adhering to day and served us breakfast.”

The pair say that a selection of locals have prolonged meal invites to them when they have been driving close to Turkey and they’ve attended various barbecues.

“The earth is total of incredibly pretty individuals,” says Dodi. “It is really really warmed our hearts to see that it’s not some scary, terrible place.”

Even though their life are somewhat on hold as they carry on their journey, they have been seeking to the long run, and say they strategy to return to the British isles and settle down at the time they have finished this problem.

“The revenue will eventually operate out,” suggests Nixon, outlining that they’ve set them selves a £30 (about $26) a working day finances and plan to pick up short-term perform when they are in the British isles, in which the ambulance is booked for its MOT, a required test to be certain that the automobile is roadworthy, in February.

“We need to have to think about heading again and acquiring a family at some point,” adds Dodi.

For the time getting, they’re extremely happily enjoying the flexibility of being able to journey the planet jointly and generating connections with other vacationers together the way.

“We have achieved so quite a few individuals carrying out these types of great trips,” states Dodi. “There’s always a person executing it for longer, going to extra places and doing it in some weirder way, that generally would make you envious. And you believe ‘If only I could do it like that.'”