Following a successful 1954-1955 Pan-American trip and lecture series, Helen and Frank Schreider began working with National Geographic in the late 1950s. They apparently struck a two part exploration plan. First, the couple would travel along India’s Ganges River Plain in a Ford GPA from the mouth of the river to its source and report on their experience. Second, they’d head toward Indonesia for a much longer adventure, which they described in the Drums of Tonkin.
The 1954-1955 drive through Central and South America beat up their original Ford GPA, ‘La Tortuga’, badly. While they shipped La Tortuga back to California after reaching Tiera Del Fuego, it appears the damage was bad enough that they didn’t attempt to use that GPA to travel again. So, for their new adventure to India and Indonesia they modified a second GPA, calling it La Tortuga II. One way to tell the difference between I and II is the location of the exhaust pipe. On I it is farther behind the lights than it is on II. One reason for this is that the cabin extends farther forward on II than on I. Here are comparison photos:
Tortuga I – Pan American Trip Frank and Helen Schreider. Note the damage to the sides. It is for sale in Norway.
Tortuga II in India. Note how the cabin reaches farther forward and the muffler is closer to the lights. The fate of this GPA is unknown at this time.
Their five month 1960 India adventure from the mouth of the Ganges to it’s source filled forty-two pages of the October, 1960, issue of National Geographic. There’s a definite shift from reporting about their seep and their obstacles, as they did in their first book, to an emphasis on the people and cultures they encountered. In other words, they focused less on adventure and more on anthropology and biology. Still, there are a few photos of La Tortuga II as they explored the waters and plains of the region.
I am reading their first book now. Thanks for the posts!
I’ve had a copy of 20,000 Miles South for some time. Enjoyed it enough to read again.
Recently bought Drums of Tonkin and found myself wishing they had given more detail on the “new” GPA. But, since they were employed by National Geographic, of course they would concentrate on the people and culture, not the machine.
Does anyone know if the Ganges book has more info on the GPA?
John,
The Ganges trip only resulted in an article. I haven’t seen any evidence that it became a book.
Their five month 1960 India adventure from the mouth of the Ganges to its source filled forty-two pages of the October, 1960, issue of National Geographic. There’s a definite shift from reporting about their seep and their obstacles, as they did in their first book, to an emphasis on the people and cultures they encountered. In other words, they focused less on adventure and more on anthropology and biology (which would make sense given their venture with NatGeo). Still, they did capture a few photos of La Tortuga II exploring the waters and plains of the region as seen above.
– Dave
I’m working on a film on Helen and Frank’s life right now- if you have any questions, I’d be happy to ask her directly! http://www.TheHelenMovie.com
Hi Anna,
Thank you for the offer and for contacting me! The movie sounds like a great idea. I know there are quite a few of us interested to learn more about them. I do have a few questions that I will email you directly in the next day or two.
– Dave
That will be interesting. I wonder what Seep will be used.
Hi, I recently came across the August 1962 edition of National Geographic. This features a story called East from Bali featuring Helen and Frank. The magazine is in very good condition, just wondered if it would help any research.
Hi Richard,
Thanks for the note! The August 1962 article is the second of two (with the first in May of 1961) that followed the Schreider’s trip through Indonesia. On the heels of the articles they published a book called the Drums of Tonkin. You can read more about their adventure here:
http://www.ewillys.com/2014/02/08/drums-of-tonkin-a-book-by-helen-and-frank-schreider/
– Dave