My Upcoming World Tour in my MINI Cooper S - MINI Cooper Forum

JaBig · #1 (**permalink**) Nov 3rd, 2011, 04:34 PM

Greetings everybody!

My name is JaBig, a House Music DJ from Montréal and I am about to drive around the world in my 2008 Astro Black Mini Cooper S on a Big Journey to raise awareness and funds to fight child hunger worldwide and to realise a lifelong dream of visiting and performing in every single country on the planet.

First, I would like to apologise if I did not post in the right forum but it seems that this the place where most MINI owners and enthusiasts here hang out

I should also mention that I got Jada Coopers (my MINI) used last month (wow that sounded weird!) and even though I had never driven one before, I loved it from the first time, I pressed the “Start” button and revved the engine

One thing I am looking forward to is to meet most members at MINI2 no matter where you are in the world because I will be in your area!

Some of you may wonder if the MINI will be able to drive in some parts of the world where they have questionable roads but I assure you, I come from Montréal and as well-travelled DJ, if MINIs can survive Montréal, they can go anywhere!

(Of course, I am exaggerating. If I see that some parts of the world are inaccessible by MINI, I will simply rent a 4x4 locally)

Attached are some photos and route maps overview.

If you have questions, please feel free to ask them and I will do my best to answer them or see my sig file for my travel blog.

I look forward to meeting you all!

royandrew · #2 (**permalink**) Nov 18th, 2011, 09:56 PM

Its not world tour if you are not visiting UK. Good luck though. Have fun.

JaBig · #3 (**permalink**) Nov 24th, 2011, 05:56 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by royandrew (original)

Its not world tour if you are not visiting UK. Good luck though. Have fun.

Thanks Royandrew. Of course I will be coming to the UK

I mean, I have to visit where everything began, right?

minicore · #4 (**permalink**) Nov 24th, 2011, 09:03 PM

Awesome! I missed your original post, but good luck! If/when you hit the UK, there are an abundance of local MINI clubs who I'm sure would love to see you if you're passing through.

When do you plan to start your journey?

dsakko · #5 (**permalink**) Nov 25th, 2011, 04:15 AM

Wow very ambitious trip! Will be watching your progress on here

If you hit Aus let us know. I'd travel to the east coast to say hi

Dave Elliott · #6 (**permalink**) Nov 25th, 2011, 04:45 AM

You can't possibly miss out Australia

BlueBeastie · #7 (**permalink**) Nov 25th, 2011, 04:47 AM

Good luck! Skip Johannesburg and rather come to Cape Town!

JaBig · #8 (**permalink**) Nov 25th, 2011, 04:46 PM

Thanks for the support everyone. For a second, I thought that no one read this forum as I heard crickets for almost 2 weeks

.

My kickoff date was supposed to be Sept 26th but, ahem, I realised that some papers such as my passport were not up to date!

@dsakko+@Dave Elliott: I will be in Australia in 2-3 years if all goes according to plan (which changes everyday due to diff reasons) and I am looking forward those long roads that join cities and that big rock in the middle of no where whose name I forgot!

@BlueBeastie: No choice! JHB is a city I enjoy since I spent some years of my childhood there. But CT is a must-visit because it's the most southern point in Africa! I have to admit though that I wonder if I will drive the MINI in Africa given the road conditions. SA is fine but other parts of Africa, I doubt that I will even get past the first speed bump or pot hole!

minicore · #9 (**permalink**) Nov 25th, 2011, 11:46 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by JaBig (original)

I will be in Australia in 2-3 years if all goes according to plan (which changes everyday due to diff reasons) and I am looking forward those long roads that join cities and that big rock in the middle of no where whose name I forgot!

Crikey, are you going via the moon?

BlueBeastie · #10 (**permalink**) Nov 26th, 2011, 05:16 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by JaBig (original)

Thanks for the support everyone. For a second, I thought that no one read this forum as I heard crickets for almost 2 weeks

.

My kickoff date was supposed to be Sept 26th but, ahem, I realised that some papers such as my passport were not up to date!

@dsakko+@Dave Elliott: I will be in Australia in 2-3 years if all goes according to plan (which changes everyday due to diff reasons) and I am looking forward those long roads that join cities and that big rock in the middle of no where whose name I forgot!

@BlueBeastie: No choice! JHB is a city I enjoy since I spent some years of my childhood there. But CT is a must-visit because it's the most southern point in Africa! I have to admit though that I wonder if I will drive the MINI in Africa given the road conditions. SA is fine but other parts of Africa, I doubt that I will even get past the first speed bump or pot hole!

Well all the best buddy and keep us updated. As for driving out of SA, you do have a point about road conditions. Apart from Namibia, I doubt you will find decent road conditions out there.

Good Luck! and let us know if you ever do come to CT, we do have nicer stretches of road to go hooning on

P.S. Do you have a site that you are going to update for your trip?

JaBig · #11 (**permalink**) Nov 27th, 2011, 07:50 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by minicore (original)

Crikey, are you going via the moon?

. Nope but this is actually a musical tour. I am a professional DJ which means that I will have to honour some DJ dates to raise funds and awareness for the cause I am fighting for (clubs worldwide are mainly open from Thursday to Sunday) but I also want to take time to enjoy seeing the world and visiting the many people that I have met in my lifetime.

I don't want it to be just an endless drive for the sake of being behind the wheel everyday.

JaBig · #12 (**permalink**) Nov 27th, 2011, 07:54 AM

Good Luck! and let us know if you ever do come to CT, we do have nicer stretches of road to go hooning on

P.S. Do you have a site that you are going to update for your trip?[/quote]

Thanks!

I have a site that I am in the process of updating. In the meantime, you can check out my MINI's perso website at JADACOOPERS-COM (am not allowed to post hotlinks yet). This site will be geared strictly at MINI enthusiasts because no one else has the will to stare at MINI photographs all day

PS: For Africa and other parts of the world that are inaccessible by MINI I am thinking of renting a 4x4 locally or simply getting the G-Wagon to such destinations and leaving the Cooper S in more forgiving environments.

mab01uk · #13 (**permalink**) Nov 27th, 2011, 09:42 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by JaBig (original)

PS: For Africa and other parts of the world that are inaccessible by MINI I am thinking of renting a 4x4 locally or simply getting the G-Wagon to such destinations and leaving the Cooper S in more forgiving environments.

Perhaps you could borrow one of these MINI's for Africa!

2011 Mini Cooper S Red Mudder by Dsquared² -...

The X-raid's. team MONSTER // MINI - YouTube

BlueBeastie · #14 (**permalink**) Nov 27th, 2011, 02:13 PM

Wicked! I thought I was Mini mad, but you take it to a whole new level! Will be keeping tabs on your site.

JaBig · #15 (**permalink**) Nov 27th, 2011, 05:33 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by BlueBeastie (original)

Wicked! I thought I was Mini mad, but you take it to a whole new level! Will be keeping tabs on your site.

[quote=mab01uk;3816681]Perhaps you could borrow one of these MINI's for Africa!

]

Thanks BlueBeastie! And to say that initially my intention was just to tour the North American part of my round-the-world road trip in the Cooper S and get a 4x4 for the rest but as I travelled more and more around East Canada/USA, I fell more and more in love with the car that I simply decided to try take it around the world!

mab01uk: I am not too sold on the 4 door 4x4 MINIs

Perhaps as time does by. On the other hand, the 2-door off-roader looks interesting!