Finish line

Slightly ahead of schedule, Team GBU rolled into town at 20:30 local time last night- which means we took less than 20 days to cover the 6,493 miles (10,449 km) on our route from Goodwood to the finish line here in Ulaanbaatar. We are the sixth team to do so- well, sixth to arrive with their car, anyway.

 

 

We handed over the car at 10:00 this morning- after saying a *very* fond farewell to what has been our home and companion for the last three weeks- the Beast. From near misses at the Lithuanian border to accidentally being parked in a river, she put up with a lot-but she did repay the favour; the last twenty miles into UB were spent praying that the kangaroo jumps our little Agila was performing were just for show. Since then we've had an explore around UB, visited the State Department Store and the main square and we will shortly be going to see the State Circus. Quite a leisurely time- to be honest, the adrenalin is wearing off now and we're becoming able to just let things happen, rather than always looking to speed them up. It's been an amazing, surreal, fraught and exciting adventure - and we're so glad to have been sharing it with you. Knowing you've been following along has been a real comfort when changing the fourth wheel in the same day or worrying what passport control will say to slightly soggy documentation. We've taken hundreds of photos and can't wait to bore you with the edited highlights- where the hole in the sump becomes the engine burning out and stalling in the river becomes us having to raft the car down rapids using the parcel shelf as a paddle. Until then, we still have one more day in Ulaanbaatar to enjoy-and we'll continue to blog-but we look forward to seeing you soon. Simon, Neil and Matt.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

We made it! Team GBU are in UB!

...unfortunately it seems The Adventurists are not, so we'll be handing the car over tomorrow!

Ovorhangay, Mongolia

We're on a Tarmac road! On our way to Karakoram, the ancient capital.

Bayanhongor, Mongolia

Been to visit 3 Mercy Corps projects made possible by your donations- thank you.

Bayanhongor, Mongolia

Made it out of the Gobi! Car fixed, time to pick up supplies.

Altai, Govi-Altai, Mongolia

Hello! We've finally found an internet café and so have space to give you a proper update. No wifi, I'm afraid, so no pictures yet...

 We've been through and updated the previous blog updates with our full messages. It seems our blog can't handle Cyrillic text (thanks for warning us, Adventurists) so we'll try to use transliterated names. Unfortunately, there's no specific way to do this - which is why the town we call Altay is called Altai by Google, and why Google thought we were in China.

 We're not, we're still in Mongolia - making slow but steady progress. Since our update last night we've had yet another pucture and I've managed to tear a hole in the engine's oil sump - but both are being patched up as I type

 Our moods are very varied - down when we're dealing with a mechanical problem, but up when we got to see the entire cosmos when camping last night, or when we saw one of the 2009 Rally cars actually still in use!

There's some great joshing among the teams who got caught at the border (The [Gobi Gadabouts](index.php?mode=team&sub=display&name=the-gobi-gadabouts), [BanterForceOne](index.php?mode=team&sub=display&name=banterforceone1), [Eweland BarCar](index.php?mode=team&sub=display&name=eweland-baacar) and the [Road Warrior](index.php?mode=teamwebsites&name=road-warrior)) before Friday about who will 'win' - although I think we all know it'll be the [Road Warrior](index.php?mode=teamwebsites&name=road-warrior). At the moment we're looking towards fifth place - we'll take that!

Our phone signals are very intermittent, so please do text if you want to get in touch, but don't be too worried if we don't reply!

We've four days left to cover 600 miles - let's see how we get on in this final stage of the Rally!

Hovd, Mongolia

We are spending the night in a ger, the traditional Mongolian tent.

Olgiy, Mongolia

Major border delays yesterday- but we finally crossed last night. Now heading to Hovd.

Kosch-agach, Republic of Altai, Russian Federation

A beautiful day - finally got some variety in the surroundings by driving along the river- and hills! Will cross the border tomorrow.

Iskitim, Russian Federation

Best drive yet at 640 miles, but no motel so sleeping in the car for the first time. 'night!