Christopher Koppl

Christopher Koppl
Of - Bondi Rally -
On the The Mongol Rally 2011

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

We have MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! We still can't believe it! 15,500km's!!! The couple cold beers we have had here have gone done oh so sweetly!!! 6 weeks and 1 day to go through 20 countries (one of which was a mistake from my wrong turn - oh well at least we got to see a bit of the Netherlands). Our car was also sold as soon as we handed it to the charity!!! £1500!!!!!!! We only paid £1700 for it in England! It was actually a little sad to see it leave, we have become a bit attached to our portable home! We also gave all the orphans heaps of little toys and kites that we bought along the way along with all our practical stuff like cookers, sleeping bags, air mattresses, heaps of food, clothes etc etc etc!!! Heading to Seoul tomorrow morning for 4 days before coming home on Friday! We are looking forward to seeing everyone!!! Thanks to everyone who has been following us! We have had an absolutely amazing time and met heaps of new friends along the way! Koppl and Sam.

Christopher Koppl
Of - Bondi Rally -
On the The Mongol Rally 2011

Ovorkhangai, Mongolia

We decided to not push through to UB tonight as it is so dark on these roads and so easy to get lost or damage car! We will miss the finish line party, but who cares! Better to make it late than to not make it at all is our motto! We have showered and we both feel like a million bucks! Early night and we should make it to UB by tomorrow lunch time. Koppl

Christopher Koppl
Of - Bondi Rally -
On the The Mongol Rally 2011

Bayanhongor, Mongolia

Sourcing a new tire as we had a big blowout in the Gobi Desert this morning, scary driving for 200kms over big sharp rocks with no spare and no people for miles! Did our biggest river crossing today, it was awesome, water over the bonnet!!!! But we made it to town and it looks like we are getting tire replaced Woooo! We have about 250 kms of no roads and then 400 kms of sweet sweet bitumen road to UB!!!!!! So close, yet so far away! 4 days showless now and still going strong! I have a massive hole in my pants and everyone can see my bum, but what are ya gunna do??! I can almost smell Ulaanbaatar, no wait, that's Sam and I. Koppl

Christopher Koppl
Of - Bondi Rally -
On the The Mongol Rally 2011

Altay, China

Day 3 with no shower now, and loving it! Joined up with a convoy aptly named 'Mongvoy' which is 2 ambulances and 2 small cars like ours, all good blokes!!!. Having a few minor car probs but our onsite mechanics are getting us through! After repairing our oil sump in Khovd (for the second time) and getting a bash plate for under car we were pretty disappointed when a couple hundred kms down the road (20 hours) with not much bottoming out we were all of a sudden losing all our oil!!! With no mechanic insight we took the newly installed bash plate off, which proved quite tricky with the stripped, dirty rubbish bolts he used, and saw that we didn't have another crack, the bloody sump plug had come out!!!! Dammit! Actually an easy fix as one of the boys had some liquid metal. It just means the oil can never be changed again and it was our 3rd "oil change" in about 2 weeks haha! The 'fixed' wheel bearing is absolutely stuffed and it is deafening to be in the car on these roads without ear plugs!!! We are thinking of putting a tennis ball in there, at least it may be quiet for a few minutes! We have also gaffa taped every possible seal but dust is still pouring into the cabin. We will find it, but from the moment we are using a bandeta around our faces! We are freekin filthy but having an amazing time! Common Ulaanbaatar! Koppl

Khovd, Mongolia

Camping with a convoy of other ralliers in the middle of nowhere. Sun setting over mountains, next to a fire near a stream. It doesn't get much better than this. I wonder how our $2 tesco sleeping bags are going to hold up in the sub zero conditions! Luckily we have a bottle of uzbekistan's finest Vodka to help keep us warm haha! Koppl