The Galleon - Portsmouth's Official Student Newspaper

Everyone fantasises about taking the leap and exploring the parts of the world they have always wanted to see, and that is exactly what The Gin-Soaked Old Ladies, three 20-something graduates, have done.

Starting their adventure this summer, Humph, Adam and Bella, are crossing borders in their beloved ‘Jonathan’, a Suzuki Swift with a top speed of 58mph.

Beginning their journey in the county of Norfolk, the trio will make their way to the official Mongol Rally Launch in Goodwood, Sussex.

Humph, a third year student at the University of Portsmouth, talked about the event and the ongoing planning. He said “We heard about the event ages ago and have always wanted to do it, but this summer has been the first time we’ve all been able to – Adam was doing his Dive Instructor training last summer, Bella was working for a conservation organisation in Madagascar the summer before and I was guiding treks in Central America the one before that!

“We’ve all travelled a lot together before, so [we] know who is best at bribing officials, curing diarrhoea or changing tyres.”

The Mongol Rally aims to give explorers an authentic experience, removing the safety of maps and GPS, letting you experience travelling the old fashioned way. The Gin-Soaked Old Ladies are sticking to the 1litre rule – any vehicle over 1.2l engine gets fined £100 forevery 0.1 litre above the limit, and this fine is payable direct to the official charities.

Carefully selected for the event, they took a train journey across the country, which Humph said “involved an encounter with a woman very similar to Janet Street Porter” and picked up their designated vehicle, which unfortunately “has no music-playing device, but a friend from home thinks she has an old tape deck she can give us, which the others are praying she can find as apparently I am “horrifically bad at singing”. Whatever.”

So far the Mongol Rally has raised over £1.5 million for charity. The rally aims to get more vehicles into Mongolia, which will dramatically improve the lives of its residence, as well as raise money for the charities, and of course, have fun.

After the rally, the team will embark on their journey, which will pass through France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Lituania, Latvia,Russia, Kazakhstan, and finally into Mongolia. “We’ve spent ages thinking about potential routes, but it took a weekend over Christmas in front of an open fire with a (un)healthy supply of G&Ts and mince pies, with the 3 or 4 atlases and Google maps to come up with the final provisional route,” Humph said.

Their aim is to raise money for their chosen charities, WaterAid, and the official charity of the Mongol Rally, The Christina Noble Children’s Foundation (CNCF).

WaterAid is an international non-government organisation (NGO), which aims to provide safe water and sanitation to some of the world’s poorest countries.

Humph says they chose WaterAid for a number of reasons. “Adam grew up in Kenya and Bella and I did a five and a half month road trip down the West coast of Africa in our gap years, so we’ve visited a lot of countries where the charity works.

“Bella’s sister is a hydrologist so we’ve heard a lot about the shortage and need for water over the years, plus it’s a cause that will be of increasing importance in the years to come.”

CNCF aims to implement sustainable programmes in Vietnam and Mongolia, to make sure children at the risk of exploitation are protected. The funds that are raised from the Mongol Rally support the running costs of the Blue Skies Ger Village in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, which gives homeless children a safe place to live, education and a supportive family structure.

Both charities help to change the lives of disadvantaged people, and the team are dedicated to raising their goal of at least £2,000 in total. They have already gained sponsorship from The Online Off Licence, based in Staffordshire, and have so far raised a total of £170 towards their goal, but Humph says they “have promises of loads more than that – we just need to follow them up!”

To raise even more money,Humph says they are “planning on putting on various gin-themed shindigs in Norfolk over the summer, which will be advertised on our Facebook page, and will be raffling/auctioning various prizes donated by Norfolk businesses/restaurants.”

Once they embark on this treacherous journey, in their less speedy vehicle, they will attempt to get to grips with driving on the European roads, dabbling in different languages and sampling the gins of the different cultures.

“We’ll take a tent but will mostly be bush-camping in fields or staying with any friendly local who thinks we deserve a bed. Our budget is minimal – we’ll be living off rain water and roadkill (kidding! Well, we’re telling Bella we’re kidding…)” says Humph.

The final stop, Mongolia, will take six weeks and cover 10,000km, with countless adventures and obstacles along the way.

You can follow their progression on their website: ginsoaked.weebly.com