Kiwis Don't Fly - Scotland to India Rally

HALFWAY POINT

7 days into the rickshaw run leaves us with 1,350km covered and no more breakdowns.

On days 4-7 we headed through the incredible Konya Wildlife sanctuary, enjoyed some fantastic views from hill stations and navigated the craziness of Pune city.

The Rickshaw seems to be getting faster by the day as we've been cruising down the highways at a steady 55kph.

We'll reach our finish line in Jaisalmer in no time!

INTO THE DESERT

With another trip to the mechanic, long days driving through the desert, incredible mosques and too many kebabs to count, we've enjoyed an incredible couple of weeks in Iran.

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES!

by

GEORGIA 🇬🇪

Home to some stunning mountains, fascinating history, great food and the end of the first half of our journey.

With the Poles of inconvenience rally completed, it's time for the real adventure to begin.

Meteora, Greece and Istanbul, Turkey made for two great stops en-route to India.

Stunning scenery and even better food!

Who needs a fancy 4WD when you have an old Mazda?

Bosnia and Herzegovina was the first big challenge for Resilience the Mazda as we pushed our little car up the Zelgorana Mountain Pass. It turned out to be about 100km+ off-road on gravel and dirt and in stages literally a walking trail.

Our engine sump, petrol tank and transmission had a fair few nasty rock hits and our exhaust is now holding on by basically a thread. In stages, we had to rebuild the road by digging out large rocks, and hitting 18% gravel inclines at max revs so we didn't lose traction and fall off the mountain.

But surprisingly after seven hours of pushing our dusty, rusty, front-wheel drive hatchback up a mountain she came out relatively unscathed, with only a few more scrapes and scratches to add to the collection.

While in Bosnia, we also took some time out to check out Motsar, Kravica Waterfalls and learnt about the country's troubled history. But what will really stood out to us was the stunning mountain terrain, sweltering 44°c heat, and of course the hair-raising wolves and mountain dog encounters.

Onwards South!

🇸🇮 Slovenia

🇭🇷 Croatia

Two more beautiful countries passed through on-route!

Read about our adventure here!!!

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/pals-drive-scotland-india-23-27577910

Pals drive from Scotland to India in 23-year-old car with no AC for no reason Daniel Patton, 22, and his best friends Joe Fisher, 23, and Callum Kitson, 22, have mapped out an epic journey, spanning 20 countries, that they will try to complete in the 23-year-old blue Mazda

Austrian Alps Pitstop. Too bad we were one week late to the F1 as we know our Mazda would have made the podium!

4 Days into Europe and 6 countries crossed.

🇨🇿🇫🇷🇧🇪🇱🇺🇩🇪🇦🇹

The car is running like a charm and the beauty of old towns and countrysides are keeping us very distracted from long days behind the wheel.

The dream of reaching India is slowly getting closer!

Well, this is it…The Kiwis Don't Fly rally team has arrived at John o' Groats, the top of Scotland and the start line of our long voyage to India.

Along the way we're raising money for the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, and we'd love to have your support.
The Disasters Emergency Committee combines the leading aid charities to provide support in times of crisis. Right now, they are working to help the people of Ukraine through essential humanitarian assistance that wouldn't be possible without generous support.

We've set up an official fundraiser in the link below, all donations go to DEC directly through JustGiving. All support would be greatly appreciated.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kiwis-dont-fly

If you are not comfortable donating in one of the currencies listed, please send us a direct message and we can help you out.

To find out more about our journey, visit kiwisdontfly.com and follow us on our socials.

(Links in bio)
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Meet Resilience the Mazda

The beautiful machine that will take us from Scotland to India whether it likes it or not.

It’s a 1999 Mazda 323 making it older than everyone on the team and entirely inappropriate for a 25,000km journey across the globe.

We’ve spent the last few days getting it ready – fitting a second hand roof rack from Facebook marketplace and spray painting the wheels in “Subaru gold”. As well as making sure everything is in working order.

Over the next few days before we set off we’ve got more work to do with some mechanical improvements and aesthetic upgrades to turn it into a proper rally car.

The trip will certainly be a challenge as we do endless makeshift repair work on the side of the road and we will get to know the car inside out as we slowly make our way east.

But after all, what’s the fun in doing it in a shiny new 4WD?

It's only six more days before we set off from the top of Scotland on our rally expedition down to India. We are all in the UK now and are preparing our recently aquired car in Edinburgh.
But first, completing the Kiwis Don't Fly Trio, Meet Daniel:

How much do you know about cars?

Not a lot; ive watched a few car mechanic videos, so it's a bit worrying when we know we have fewer skills than a day one apprentice mechanic. Although, by the end of the trip, I think we will be pretty competent at doing 'bodge repairs' on things with wheels.

What are you most looking forward to during the rally?

Driving through and stopping in remote villages and towns on our journey. These unique experiences will be incredible. I know we will learn a lot about the world and the countries we're exploring by taking our off-the-beaten-path route.

What are you most scared of?

Driving near the Lut Desert in Iran, which is one of the world's hottest deserts, the temperature is likely to be in excess of 43°c. We also don't have A/C in the car.......

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INTRODUCING THE TEAM

Meet Joe

How much do you know about cars?

Nothing, but I know how to say hello in Korean.

What are you most looking forward to during the rally?

Embarking on some highly inconvenient detours in the first half of the journey to Georgia should be some ridiculous fun. Also travelling through Iran, which has mostly been cut off from the west since the 1970s, should be a otherwordly experience.

What are you most scared of?

Callum continually claiming that he doesn't need glasses to drive.

𝗞𝗶𝘄𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗙𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

The last few weeks have been very busy for the team with heaps of planning, cars and equipment research, and the boring but essential steps like visa applications and insurance arrangements. We are proud to announce we have even secured two corporate sponsors.

But before we start our expedition, we thought we would each take some time to introduce ourselves.

Meet Callum.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘀?

I’ve changed a tyre once and watched a million Top Gear episodes, so I’d say I am more than prepared

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆?

Getting up the Karakoram Highway into the Himalayas after weeks in the desert in 40°c+ weather. I think some cold weather will be really appreciated…plus the views look alright.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳?

Breaking down and having to listen to Daniel pretend he knows how to fix the problem.

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BEFORE THE SCOTLAND TO INDIA RALLY

The team took a far less ridiculous 1,500km journey from the top of New Zealand to the bottom in an old car we bought a few weeks beforehand.

We took in some of New Zealand's most beautiful landscapes and an idea came to us mid-journey. Why don't we do this same journey again but 25x longer and in a far less suitable car?

Yes. What a perfect idea.

Meet the lads behind the Scotland to India Rally.

Each bringing their own unique driving styles to the team.

Callum: Blind as a bat, has nearly killed the boys multiple times and regularly forgets the difference between forward and reverse, once ending up in a ditch.

James: Loves F1 so much he tries to drive like his idol Daniel Riccardo by doing 140kph around tight corners. However, good he actually is it still took him five goes to pass his driver's license.

Joe: Drives very well when the roads are straight, introduce a corner, and his frontal lobe is challenged.

Daniel: Drives cars as if he is still riding his motorcycle (yet to acknowledge there won't be many wheelies in our 1000cc hatchback).

While the boys are slightly worried about getting kidnapped. Instead they should probably worry more about their own driving.

THE 'UN-ROUTE'

20+ Countries

30,000 Km

All in a £1000 car.

While this route is a rough guide, we will be taking a a few ridiculously inconvenient detours along the way. Why not a quick trip up to the artic circle? Or maybe we will see what's Iranian deserts have to offer.

What could possibly go wrong?

It's official! 🎉

Kiwis Don't Fly rally team will leave the UK in July 2022, embarking on an epic journey in an old and tiny 1000cc car retrofitted "rally car". The trip will take us across Europe and down through Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan, finishing in the South of India.

Along the way, we will complete The Adventurist's "Poles of Inconvenience" rally, stopping at remote and hard-to-reach checkpoints across Europe & Asia.

During the Rally, we will be fundraising for the Ukraine Humanatiarna Appeal through the Disaster Emergency Committee. In order to raise money for those most affected by the tragic events in Ukraine. (more on this to come later).