Welcome to Don’t Believe The Hype. I’m Dan, a nomadic New Zealander who loves riding the path less ridden.
Welcome
Equestrian encounters in the Gobi desert.
Cacophony, connectivity, cake and cold comforts.
Select a photo to display
Keyboard instructions
- Navigate with: LEFT + RIGHT arrows
- Select with: ENTER
- Enlarge with: TAB then ENTER
- Pan with: TAB x2 then LEFT + RIGHT arrows
I’m lovin’ it.
In September 2015 I said goodbye to family and friends and set off on a long overdue cycle trip. My plan was to ride across Asia, from Russia, to Hong Kong and beyond..
In total, I was away for just over nine months. It was an amazing journey, but, more than that, it was the day when I stopped looking to others for liberation and took my life into my own hands.
I returned to New Zealand in June 2016, sick and broke, but empowered. It was a reluctant retreat and a hard transition, but I felt like the journey had only just begun.
Don’t Believe The Hype was conceived as an alternate travel blog, a place to explore and expose trendy travel concepts as marketing buzzwords. But the realities of independent travel are the realities of life in your own skin – wherever you go, there you are.
I hope that, by being honest, I can dispel some of the myths around adventure travel and encourage you to live out your own dreams.
Select a photo to display
Keyboard instructions
- Navigate with: LEFT + RIGHT arrows
- Select with: ENTER
- Enlarge with: TAB then ENTER
- Pan with: TAB x2 then LEFT + RIGHT arrows
Free as a bird.
The Tour Diaries list daily entries from various long and short tours.
There is also an as-it-happened micro blog of my 2019 tour through India and Nepal on TrackMyTour (opens new window).