A COUPLE are hoping it's third time lucky as they set off from Weymouth once again on their tour around the world.

Emma Smart and Andy Smith have set off twice officially on their global trip in 800 days and visited various destinations but have had to return again due to different issues.

Now they're off again and hope to complete their journey.

Emma, 37, Andy, 39 first left for their tour in 2012 and drove up through Scandinavia to the Arctic Circle, then across Russia to Lake Baikal before heading south to Mongolia.

Four months in however, the couple received devastating news that both of Andy's parents had been diagnosed with cancer so they had to return home for five months while his parents received treatment.

Emma said: "We were a bit in limbo at this stage because we had left our jobs but as they were doing well we decided to head back out on the road in February 2013."

Given the situation they decided not to venture too far and spent three months in Morocco and a further two in Europe but decided to head home in August 2013.

The couple married in Guernsey at the end of 2013, just a couple of months before Andy's mother passed away.

The couple set off again officially in August 2014, picking up their original route and driving through south eastern Europe.

However, the couple then faced yet another setback when the cylinder head of their car exploded while they were in Turkey.

Emma said: "This was the only time we actually had to be at a specific place at a specific time - we were going to visit Andy's dad in Cyprus and we had three days to get there.

"The car cost us three grand to fix which was another unexpected setback."

The couple have now left to continue their trip around the world - heading through Iran where they are making a TV documentary series with a local channel.

Emma said: "Our objective with this is basically to show the real Iran.

"The country has received a lot of bad press and we want to change that preconception."

Emma and Andy are then travelling to India for six months where they have arranged some volunteering work at an orphanage and a children's home, before travelling to South East Asia, South American and Canada before returning back to the UK mid 2017.

Emma said: "A close friend of mine died six years ago and it really did change my outlook on life and made me see how precious life is.

"If you set your mind to do something you can do it and you should do it.

"We have had a lot of people contacting us about our tour and we are so happy to be inspiring people to follow their dreams.

"Me and Andy live by the motto you only live once and that's why we decided to do this.

"We don't want to look back on our lives and think I wish I had done that."

To follow the couple’s progress or make a donation to their charitable works click here.

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