Mongolia, here we come!
A Broome couple who have spent the past nine months training in Albany will brave wolves, bloodsucking insects, horse thieves, high altitudes and extreme weather conditions when they set off on horseback across Mongolia in May.
Nic Cuthbert, 31, and Donna Adair, 28, had never ridden horses before they relocated to Albany to prepare for the ambitious five-month, 3500km expedition from Russia to China.
The couple will trek across the Altai mountain range before buying horses from Kazakh nomads and riding them to China.
Mr Cuthbert is no stranger to adventure having been a surf life saver, marathon swimmer, an international enduro cyclist and has even rode his bike around Australia raising awareness for youth mental health.
“We did some reading about the nomadic traditions of the Mongol people and we were attracted by the idea that we could potentially ride for thousands of kilometres across open wilderness and live in a way that Genghis Khan did 100 years ago; and essentially it’s unchanged,” he said.
Ms Adair said the couple had worked hard to prepare for the long and potentially dangerous trip.
“We knew Albany would be a good place to prepare because we had never ridden horses before,” she said. “That’s why we moved here so we could literally put all of our efforts into this one thing.
“We thought we would need to be surrounding ourselves with it all day and all night … some people prepare for years and years but we didn’t give ourselves that long.”
The former British Cadet Force trainer and army reserve member said she was currently working through “what if” situations such as the threat of wolves, thieves and having the horses run away with their essential survival equipment.
“I’m trying my best to work out those fears now, rather than get there and something happens and I freak,” she said.
“I’ve been working through all those ‘could happen’ situations, so I can actually focus and react how I want to react.”
The expedition will be an unusual honeymoon for the couple, who will wed in Broome a week before they set off.
Visit www.blueskywalkabout.com to follow the expedition.
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