Oundle woman prepares for a Mongolian adventure in her car named Nugget

Katie Baranyovits and her boyfriend Olie Crawley are taking on the epic Mongolian Rally challenge from July 15 when they will leave from an as-yet unrevealed location near Prague before finishing about ten weeks later in the city of Ulan-Ude, Siberia.

The pair are raising money for two good causes, Cool Earth, a rainforest conservation charity, and Animal Helpline, a charity that rescues unwanted dogs and rehomes them. They want to raise £1,000 in total.

Katie and Olie will be making the trip in an old Citroen Saxo they have dubbed Nugget, and which they will modify and customise before they set off.

On their way they will pass through about 20 countries and the route they take is left entirely up to them.

Katie said: “The terrain will be quite varied, a lot of it is off-road, so the car is going to be put through quite a lot!

“Olie and I both love travelling and first talked about this a couple of years ago, and we thought that Siberia would be a very different place to go.”

Cool Earth, one of the charities they are supporting, has been chosen by the organisers of the rally. However, Katie said she was inspired to support Animal Helpline after the death of her dog Alfie last year.

She said: “I love animals and so does Olie and we thought it would be a great charity to support.”

Even after reaching Siberia, Katie and Olie’s trip will not finish, as the intrepid duo will return to the UK by driving through northern Europe including Norway and Sweden.

To make a donation towards the pair’s charities, visit either bit.ly/2MecjVP or bit.ly/2MecosB.

Visit www.theadventurists.com/mongol-rally for information about the rally.