Carload of Hawke's Bay friends prepare for insane Mongol Rally drive in an 'old dunga'

Tom Bostock (left) and Kurt Livingston along with two more friends will drive in the Mongol Rally in July to raise money for the Hawke's Bay Cancer wellness centre. Photo / Duncan Brown

Kurt Livingston and his three friends might have to draw inspiration from a few 'Top Gear Special' episodes as they prepare of an insane journey off the beaten track in Europe - The Mongol Rally.

"The what?," you ask: In a nutshell, the four 24-year-olds - who know nothing about cars - will thunder off on a 16,000km trip, plunging themselves into the depths of Eastern Europe, all to raise money for the new Cancer Wellness Centre in Hawke's Bay.

There's no backup, or support and no set route for Livingston and friends Tom Bostock, Arthur Glazebrook and Rhys Wynne-Lewis, just themselves and a tiny 1000cc car, most likely purchased from a scrapyard.

"We start in the Czech Republic on July 21 and we're doing a summer route. We're going south through Eastern Europe, through Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, all the 'Stans', and it takes about two months," Livingston says.

"We head through Russia, through Mongolia, then back into Russia to finish by the September 16 - roughly 16,000km. We really don't have a clue what to expect from the journey."

In a typical Kiwi fashion, the group is going to buy a car about a week before they start the rally.

"We'll just buy an old dunga, get a service and hope for the best. None of us know the first thing about vehicles and engines or anything like that. I mean, I can change a tyre."

Accommodation isn't a priority either, as the group plans to buy a couple of pop-up tents or grab a room at a hostel every now and then.

But Livingston says one of the main reasons for the trip is to raise money for a life-changing centre which will be based in Hawke's Bay.

"It's amazing what the Cancer Society is doing for the community so we're going to try and raise as much money as we can, we're setting a goal of about $10,000.

"We want to raise as much awareness as we can as well, so we want to put stickers on the car, take a flag, just whatever we can to spread the message."

Livingston says they will be setting up a Givealittle page so people can donate to the cause but were also looking for sponsorship.

The group are still in the planning stages of their trip, currently acquiring visas.

"We need about six of them, we haven't got a name for our team yet.

The rally itself is about getting lost, using your sense of direction - if you have any- raising money for charity and scraping over the finish line in a tattered vehicle, far too many photos and an experience of a lifetime which the group can't wait to embrace.

To make a donation to the cause or for more information, visit:
https://wellnesscentre.everydayhero.com/nz/hawkes-bay-racing-to-mongolia