Ben Carlin’s Eight-Year Journey Around Earth

Australian Ben Carlin did something nobody had done before or since: he traveled around Earth in one vehicle that could drive on roads and cross oceans. He used a military Ford GPA, an amphibious version of a Jeep from World War II, and named it “Half-Safe.”

After rebuilding it, he set off in 1950 with his wife, Elinore. The most unusual part was crossing the Atlantic. The trip from Halifax took weeks, and the small amphibious vehicle had to carry huge fuel supplies and survive conditions it had definitely not been designed for.

The expedition lasted eight years. Elinore eventually stopped traveling, but Carlin continued through Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He then crossed the northern Pacific from Japan toward Alaska. On May 8, 1958, he returned to Montreal, completing the trip around the world.

In total, “Half-Safe” traveled 62,765 kilometers on land and 15,450 kilometers on water. The unusual vehicle still survives and is at Guildford Grammar School in Australia, the school its owner attended when he was young.