Plotting a 10,000-mile cross-European journey dubbed “the greatest motoring adventure on the planet”, it surely pays to have the perfect car at your disposal.
For Perthshire friends George Mackenzie Smith, Sandy Snowball and Thomas Riddel-Webster that will mean piling into a 14-year-old Vauxhall Agila.
Bought for just £400 the tiny red car already has 107,000 miles on the clock and will rack up far more as the trio participate in the testing Mongol Rally.
Over more than six summer weeks, the event will take them from Perthshire to Ulan Ude in Russia as they raise funds for the Maggie’s Centre in Edinburgh.
Along the way, they will traverse mountains, deserts and steppes and pass through 19 countries, many of which would not be found on a traditional holiday itinerary.
The bespoke route the Perthshire three have chosen will see them visit Armenia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia and ride a ferry across the Caspian Sea before the challenge is over.
Before that, there is the small matter of raising funds, securing visas, gathering supplies and making all manner of improvements to their car – which shed a wheel on its first outing to Methven.
The trio will also need to carry at least 500 miles of fuel at all times as they will regularly find themselves a long way from petrol stations and steel themselves for many nights outdoors.
George said family members were a little perturbed by the choice of gap year activity, but that the challenge was the attraction for him and his fellow adventurers.
“We are all leaving university this year and while we didn’t want to plunge straight into work we also didn’t want to just take the typical gap year,” he said.
“Sandy and I knew that we wanted to do a road trip but we wanted it to be different. We wanted to test ourselves, do something most people wouldn’t and see places we’ll likely never see again.
“When we read about the Mongol Rally everything just fell into place and Thomas was the obvious choice to join us in the car.”
George added: “Our families didn’t know the full extent of the rally when we first mentioned it so they are a little nervous.
“They’ll definitely be looking for regular updates when we’re on the road but each car will also have a GPS tracker, so they should be able to follow our progress all the way.
“The car may have a few flaws at the moment but we’ve already done a lot of work on it and the engine is sound so we’re confident it will see us to the finish.”
Just to be on the safe side, George plans to get a little training from his local garage – though Sandy will be the designated mechanic.
The rally officially starts on July 16 with a lap of the famous Goodwood race track outside London before the cars head for Dover and the start of their cross-Europe marathon.
To support the trio’s efforts, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Scotland2Mongolia.