Naki’ lad takes on the Mongol Rally
Landmines, stifling hot weather and corrupt policemen are all part of the Mongol Rally experience for a Taranaki-born entrant.
The rally will see almost 600 competitors race across 17 countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East over six weeks to finally finish in Russia. However, for Taranaki born Daniel Blackwell, it’s not about finishing first.
‘‘It’s more about the experience, you don’t get any recognition for crossing the line first,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s about endurance...and surviving.’’
Mongol Rally entrants must abide by three rules; their vehicle engine must be no bigger than 1.2L - for this they’ve chosen team mate Becky Bradley’s 1997 Fiat - they must fix it themselves along the way and must have raised at least $2209 NZD for their chosen charity, in this case KidsCan and Cool Earth.
Blackwell, originally from Tariki and now living in London, will team up with Fiat owner Becky Bradley and Matt Howard from Manawatu for the intercountry rally, which saw three cars catch fire and eight people hospitalised in 2015.
‘‘I was raised on a farm so you learn to fix things, like cars, growing up in that environment,’’ he said.
Blackwell said the team will travel through countries like Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and as they travel through Tajikistan will be able to see Afghanistan across a river which separates the two countries, something Blackwell described as ‘‘pretty hard core’’.
‘‘We’ll also be travelling pretty close to Syria and going through Kazakhstan and Turkey, which I’m a little bit nervous about,’’ he said.
But Blackwell was undeterred at the possibility of land mines at some of the countries’ borders and corrupt policemen.
‘‘We’ll be travelling in convoy for some of the way, partly for safety and partly for solidarity when you have to bribe policemen,’’ he said.
However the most difficult part for Blackwell was sorting seven different visas, a feat which cost the team nearly $1800 each.
In the months leading up to the rally, which kicks off on Saturday morning London time, Blackwell said he had attempted to learn Russian to try and make their travels a bit easier, but was still ‘‘pretty poor’’.