It is almost common now to traverse the world in a car or a motorbike. Many have even taken to travelling on foot, exploring the length and breadth of whole continents. Recently, I came across a solo female traveller who took on a road trip on a rather unusual vehicle: a tractor. Manon Ossevoort aka ‘tractor girl’ set out on an expedition to the North Pole. Following in the footsteps of legendary explorer Sir Edmund Hillary—who travelled to the South Pole on a tractor in 1958—she even named her tractor Antarctica 2.
Ossevoort’s journey originally began in 2005 when she travelled from her hometown in Holland to Cape Town and then missed the boat that was due to take her to Antarctica for the final leg due to delays. For the next four years, she stayed home and recorded her experiences in a book and worked as a motivational speaker. But she never gave up on her dream to conquer of Antartica on a tractor. So with the help of sponsors like Massey-Ferguson, she got back on a tractor and spent 16 days across 1,500 miles of frozen land masses.
A former theatre actress, Ossevoort has a 10-month-old baby who stayed home with her partner as her mother went on to complete her unfulfilled dream. It is truly commendable to see women on the forefront of travel; taking on journeys that are inspiring women all over the world. This only goes to reiterate the fact that you can do anything you set your mind to. If you dream it, it IS possible.
I would like to leave you with something that she said that will urge you all to live your dream now instead of postponing it to another day:
“Fear holds people back from pursuing their dreams and many believe that 'putting them into reality is as impossible as driving a tractor to the South Pole'. The tractor for me symbolises this very down to earth fact that if you want to do something, maybe you will not be so fast, but if you keep going and keep your sense of humour you will get there.”
If you know of any inspiring travel stories, please share them below.
Ossevoort’s journey originally began in 2005 when she travelled from her hometown in Holland to Cape Town and then missed the boat that was due to take her to Antarctica for the final leg due to delays. For the next four years, she stayed home and recorded her experiences in a book and worked as a motivational speaker. But she never gave up on her dream to conquer of Antartica on a tractor. So with the help of sponsors like Massey-Ferguson, she got back on a tractor and spent 16 days across 1,500 miles of frozen land masses.
A former theatre actress, Ossevoort has a 10-month-old baby who stayed home with her partner as her mother went on to complete her unfulfilled dream. It is truly commendable to see women on the forefront of travel; taking on journeys that are inspiring women all over the world. This only goes to reiterate the fact that you can do anything you set your mind to. If you dream it, it IS possible.
I would like to leave you with something that she said that will urge you all to live your dream now instead of postponing it to another day:
“Fear holds people back from pursuing their dreams and many believe that 'putting them into reality is as impossible as driving a tractor to the South Pole'. The tractor for me symbolises this very down to earth fact that if you want to do something, maybe you will not be so fast, but if you keep going and keep your sense of humour you will get there.”
If you know of any inspiring travel stories, please share them below.
8 comments:
nice post
It is an great story!
It is one of the great post, i found today!
Thank you :) Glad you liked the post.
Thank you :) Glad you liked the post.
Its just great! I also liked your ride, its awesome.
Lovely post and lovely place to be visited.
Thank you.
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