This summer the Bone and Joint Centre has chosen to sponsor Durham University graduates Ben Taylor, Michael Dicks and James Tufnell as they attempt to conquer the Mongol Rally. James is a good friend of the son of consultant surgeon Mr Brownson and he came to us to ask if we would be help them out – of course we said yes! The lads aren’t just going on an epic road trip for fun, although we imagine they will have the time of their lives. They are raising money for two wonderful charities – Justice and Care and Cool Earth – if you want to check them out we have put the details of both charities at the bottom of this article.

The Mongol Rally has been going for 10 years and the rules are very simple…

1. You can only take a farcically small vehicle
2. You’re completely on your own
3. You’ve got to raise at least £1000 for charity

…but the task at hand is enormous.

The route they have chosen will take them across much of Europe, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia and finally across the entirety of the Gobi Desert to the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. A route of approximately 11,000 miles, most of which will be off road.

The brave trio set off on the 20^th July and have made good progress so far arriving at the Iranian border by the 27^th July. With intermittent phone signal, A LOT of driving and roads through the mountains it’s a little difficult for the trio to keep in touch with home, however they did manage to send us this fantastic pic.

Only a casual 3,381 miles into the trip, this photo was taken from Göreme in the Nevsehir region of Turkey, only about 7,500 miles to go! We wish them the best of luck on the rest of their travels into the unknown and we hope to be able to bring you some more photos from their adventure.

Check out the two charities below, they are the real benefactors of this trip and the work they do is phenomenal.

1. Justice and Care rescues and supports victims of human trafficking, slavery and other abuses. They work internationally with governments and law enforcement agencies, focusing on prevention, protection and prosecution.

http://www.justiceandcare.org/

2. Cool Earth works alongside indigenous villages to halt rainforest destruction. Half of the world’s rainforest has been destroyed in the last 40 years. And the rate at which rainforest is currently being destroyed is faster than it has ever been.

https://www.coolearth.org/