Globetrotters drove down dirt track to jump into Arctic Ocean

After going from Turkey to South Carolina in the US, they drove to Alaska and Mexico

A couple who have been globetrotting since 2018 have described how they risked a road trip on the "equivalent of a farmer's dirt track" to jump in the Arctic Ocean.

Thousands of people have followed the Tread the Globe blog of Chris and Marianne Fisher, from Shropshire.

They lived in a camper van in a car park in Turkey for 95 days during the pandemic.

The couple also opened a turtle conservation project in the country.

Asked about last year, Mr Fisher, 51, said: "We made the mad decision, after going to Alaska, we were like 'should we drive to the Arctic Ocean, because we're so close?'

"So we crossed back into Canada and drove a road called the Dempster Highway, which was a round trip of 1,000 miles, equivalent of a farmer's dirt track.

"It took us eight days. It was a bit of a risk, because we asked 'if we break down, is there any recovery service?' And we were told it was 5,000 US dollars to get recovered."

'Really privileged'

The couple, who have a dream of setting foot in every country in the world, spent two years in Turkey and "fell in love" with it, 54-year-old Mrs Fisher stated.

Speaking last month, she added: "We ended up opening a turtle conservation project on the south coast of Turkey.

"In fact, we did another fundraiser today and in total we've raised over £36,000 with the support of our other content creator friends sharing it on social media."

After going from Istanbul to South Carolina in the US, they drove to Alaska and later made land journeys down to their current location in Mexico.

In March, the couple will ship their van from Los Angeles to Yokohama in Japan.

They plan to spend three to six months in Japan and go on to South Korea and Malaysia.

Mr Fisher said they had "to just like wing it as it goes really".

He added: "You're gonna have a plan, but it changes all the time, especially with the world problems and with Covid and everything, it's just been one big change of plan."

Mrs Fisher stated they felt "really privileged to be able to travel and share positivity".

She said: "Really as older middle-age people in an old van driving around the world, anyone who's following us is really rooting for the underdog."