KUALA LUMPUR: After spending eight months driving over land across Africa in a 4WD vehicle, two Malaysian women are now exploring Europe as part of their world expedition.
Determined not to let gender be a barrier, Zuraina Ismail, 58, and Iyra Azhari, 49, first set out on their journey in 2023, driving across the African continent in their 30-year-old Toyota Land Cruiser Troopy.
They covered eight countries, including South Africa, Eswatini and Namibia, completing their African segment last April.
The following month, they headed to Europe with their vehicle shipped to the United Kingdom from Cape Town, South Africa.
The duo took a break from travelling in November due to the winter, before resuming last month. They are currently in the United Kingdom’s Lake District.
Zuraina, a former senior manager in the corporate sector, said in the first six months of their journey across Europe, they travelled through 10 countries, namely the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, covering almost 20,000km.
She said travelling in Europe was more relaxed compared to Africa due to better road infrastructure.
“In Africa, most of the roads were gravel or dirt tracks which were poorly maintained. In Europe, some countries charge toll for highways, tunnels and bridges which can be quite expensive. To save money, we often chose toll-free routes,” she said in an interview.
Iyra said some special moments included the chance to attend the Medieval Festival on Gotland Island, Sweden, and witnessing the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) in Norway.
