Abu Dhabi trio to undertake craziest rally

The starting line is London. The destination is Ulan Bator, Mongolia. In between lie some of the most scenic, remote and dodgy parts of Europe and Asia.

William Harbidge, left, and David Knapp map out their Mongol Rally route on July 9, 2015, at home in the Khalifa City area villa of Abu Dhabi. The pair and a friend will take part in the month-long overland road trip from London to Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Christopher Pike / The NationalShow less

Eid break and summer holiday ideas range from the luxe and relaxing to high-octane party getaways, to all-inclusive family fun in the sun. But for three Abu Dhabi expats, this time it is an opportunity to get lost as they embark on a crazy motoring adventure – the Mongol Rally.

William Harbidge of New Zealand, and Americans David Knapp and Alex Niswander, make up Team Anserimates which sets off from London on Sunday for a summer on the road, covering more than 16,000 kilometres across some of the most scenic and remote parts of Europe and Asia.

According to event organisers The Adventurists: “The Mongol Rally is about getting lost, using your long-neglected wits, raising shedloads of cash for charity and scraping into the finish line with your vehicle in tatters and a wild grin smeared across your grubby face.”

Therein lay the appeal for the adventurous trio, whose team name is a play on the obscure Mongolian dinosaur the Anserimimus, which was known for being tall and lanky – much like these three guys.

“We all liked the rally’s open nature – there’s a starting point and an ending point, that’s it,” says Knapp, a 35-year-old music education assistant professor. “It’s up to you to work out everything in between, from the route to the visas to bribing border guards. And it’s not about how fast you do it. It’s not about how easily you do it. It’s about all the opportunities for failure along the way.

“To ensure maximum failure opportunity, they even require you to drive a banger car the whole way. No Land Rovers. No Pajeros. Just an under-powered, ill-suited car.”

Team Anserimates’ secondhand Suzuki Wagon R found on the second-hand goods website Gumtree certainly meets the requirements – its only modifications in the lead-up to race day being a sump guard to protect the engine against large rocks, a roofbox to hold camping gear, and additional lights for those dark, lonely nights out in the open wild. They chose a vehicle that would be easier to fix than others, and whose parts are easy to find and replace.

Aircraft interiors products designer Harbidge, 28, has been taking dune driving lessons for the past few months, in anticipation of the many hilly and desert crossings.

But driving skills will only get them so far, as another rally requirement is that the feat be tackled completely unaided, and no GPS equipment is allowed. This is a concern to the group, but they have plenty of precautions in place. “The amount of tabs on our Google spreadsheet spans multiple screens for all the worksheets for route planning, border crossing info, expected temperature and daylight timings for each destination, gear lists and visa information. It’s taken a lot of time and many planning meetings to put everything together,” says Niswander, a 26-year-old engineering graduate who was approached by Knapp for the challenge during an Ultimate Frisbee meet in Abu Dhabi.

Knapp adds: “We’ve chosen our route to avoid conflict areas. We really wanted to go through Iran, but with two Americans on the team this is difficult. Instead, we’re going to try our luck crossing the Caspian Sea on the ferry from Baku. That’s probably the stretch of the trip we’re most concerned about.

“That crossing takes about a day, but the departure schedule is somewhat unpredictable. And if the port in Turkmenbashi is full, your ferry can stay at sea for up to two weeks waiting to dock; all the while with only the food and water you brought with you, or were able to barter from the crew.”

There is no knowing when Team Anserimates will complete the typically 29-day challenge, but it’s the journey they’re most excited about, not the destination.

“Thank goodness for flexible flight tickets,” says Harbidge. “Personally, this is a chance for both exploration and pushing my own limits of safety and comfort. I’m incredibly excited to visit such a variety of countries in such a small time frame, share my experiences with others, and create a list of places to return.”

“I think we all have the same attitude about this trip, which is that we should put in as much planning effort as we can on the front end, but that we should expect things will go wrong and trust that we’ll be able to find our way out of trouble,” adds Niswander.

“I’m sure there will be some border crossing that we’ll either have to sweet-talk our way past, or pay a little extra. We may even get robbed a few times. But these are known unknowns.”

All Mongol Rally teams must also raise at least £1,000 for charity (Dh5,700), £500 of which goes to Cool Earth, a rainforest preservation NGO in Brazil. The remaining goes to a charity of the team's choice and Team Anserimates has opted for Nepal's Aga Khan Foundation. Follow the team's adventures on facebook.com/TeamAnserimates.or donate to their charities at uk.virginmoneygiving.com