SC man tackles the journey of Genghis Khan

KARIN CALVERT-BORSHOFF

MUSTERING UP COURAGE: Dave Murray getting in some practice for his Mongolian adventure.

Relevant offers

Former Tekapo man Dave Murray is embarking on his next adventure, taking on the wild horses and hostile wilderness of Mongolia.

The Mongol Derby starts on August 22 and runs for two weeks.

Organisers describe it as the "world's toughest horse race" with riders required to navigate 1000km of Mongolia on semi-wild horses, changing horses every 25km.

Twenty-four riders from all over the world will be racing alongside Mr Murray, including former English national champion jockey Richard Dunwoody, and two other Kiwis.

The race follows Genghis Khan's communication system route to get messages from Mongolia to Eastern Europe in a fortnight, which is their time-limit.

Mr Murray, 29, and his cohorts will have to find their own way across an inhospitable region which can see night and day temperatures fluctuate between freezing and 35C, traversing mountains and crossing rivers.

The competitors will carry first aid kits and distress radio beacons. If they don't complete the race they will need to find their own way to the finish.

Now based in Perth, Mr Murray is driven by a sense of adventure cultivated by his time hunting during his youth in South Canterbury.

He concedes those hunting trips saw him have to engage in some survival tactics.

"I don't like to admit it but I have spent a few days out in the cold, lost."

Mr Murray describes himself as a relatively inexperienced rider and says he has returned to the South Island a few times this year to muster cattle with his brother James, the manager of the Branches Station on the Upper Shotover River, near Queenstown. Those five-day stints were the extent of his riding experience.

Excitement is yet to give way to nerves, and he said he was eagerly anticipating the challenge.

"It's a whole new ball game.

"I love setting these sorts of goals and throwing myself in the deep end.

"It's the sense of adventure, a great opportunity to do something pretty extreme.

"It's not going to be an easy task but it will be fun."

A trained pilot, former escapades have seen him motorbike 5000km over five South American countries.

However, he does have a different kind of adventure in mind in the next few years, saying he misses the mountains, fresh air and cheese and mince pies of home.

"It's an absolutely amazing place.

"I've travelled a lot of the world and am yet to find somewhere that compares to the beauty of South Canterbury.

"I definitely want to move back there at some point, maybe in the next 10 years, buy myself a little 10-acre block and build a house. That's the plan."

Mr Murray, who had to lose 12kg to meet the 85kg limit for riders, is raising money for the Christina Noble Children's Foundation which helps homeless Mongolians by providing them with a ger, a traditional Mongolian felt tent.

Those interested in sponsoring Mr Murray can do so through www.ridemongolia09.com.

-Herald correspondent

- © Fairfax NZ News