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A recipe for adventure
Added: (Thu Jul 02 2009)
Take a 10-year-old Skoda, your son, an array of maps that don’t quite corroborate each other’s claims and set off on a 7,500-mile(or 10,000, depending on which map you are reading from) road trip to Asia.
This is just what Shane Rhodes intends to do. Along with his son, Ruari, he will set off from Glorious Goodwood on the 18 July – destination; Ulaanbaatar, Outer Mongolia. Juddering over roads with varying levels of paving quality, the duo plan to take in the sights of the Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, then a bit more of Kazakhstan and the Russian Steppes, before reaching the Altai Mountains, the Mongolian Lake District and 1,500 miles of cross country – no roads to be had.
Sounds fun? Shane and Ruari certainly think so, but this little journey has a higher purpose. They and 500 other cars will be taking to the road to take part in the Mongol Rally; the League of Adventurists’ madcap scheme to raise money for the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation (CNCF), a charity that has been active in Mongolia since 1997.
The Rally directly supports the CNCF’s Blue Skies Ger Village in Ulaanbaatar, a sanctuary for homeless and abandoned children who survive by begging or scavenging. Many speak of dreaming of being sent to prison “because it is warm there and they feed you”. Children in the village receive support and attend local schools, allowing them to grow into secure independent adults.
“The Generation Game”, as the Rhodes men have dubbed themselves aims to raise £10,000 from their voyage into the unknown; which will be divided between the Rally’s official charity and an equally deserving cause of their own choosing, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
Better known in Britain than CNCF, Great Ormond Street requires £70 million each year to continue its work, treating and caring for hundreds of children every day. The hospital is currently undergoing a major redevelopment programme, improving and updating the site to ensure the highest quality of care for its patients and to cater for an expected 20 percent rise in admissions.
The third team-member, of course, is the car. At nine and a half years-old Polly is just within the age limit which the Mongol government imposed on the Rally this year. She didn’t look too well when she was collected, having missed several services some parts of her engine were clogged with solidified oil that had to be chipped out with a screwdriver.
Now freshly serviced and sporting a ‘snorkel’ and sign writing she is almost ready to join the ranks of bizarre vehicles that have completed the journey. Last year these included a Mini with a red telephone box attached to the roof, an ambulance and a 1955 double-decker bus.
Anyone wishing to keep up with the daring adventurers as they traverse the Mongolian Plateau and Altai Mountains or (even better) interested in donating to their charitable exploits can do so by visiting www.bespoketouring.com/mongol .