Fintan Gillespie, getting ready for a "crazy journey"
Four young men will set off on Monday morning from Sydney Harbour Bridge and drive all the way to Dublin in a Hummer. "The idea came from a friend of mine, Dave Foran, who was studying commerce in the University of Sydney," says Dubliner Fintan Gillespie, who is part of the group undertaking the Crazy Journey. "He was bored during a lecture and thinking about how he was going to get his car home to Ireland when he finished college. He decided that he might as well drive it back. He drew a line on a map from Australia to Dublin and the idea evolved from there." What sets the venture apart from your typical post-university round-the-world trip is that the group - Gillespie and Foran, both 24, and Australians Rhys Baker and Chuck Ross-Smith, both 22 - have turned it in to a fundraising event for Aware and Australian mental health charity, Sane.
"Dave experienced the death of a friend because of mental illness, so we thought it would be an ideal opportunity to raise money for these charities. There are parallels between the obstacles that we will have to overcome on this trip and the daily struggles that people with mental illness have to face." Lest their choice of vehicle raise environmental hackles, they decided to offset all emissions from the 45,000km journey through the CarbonNeutral Company.
"We needed a four-wheel drive and Dave found a Hummer at a good price. We calculated that CarbonNeutral will plant 101 trees to offset the emissions."
Given that the journey will take them through hot-spots such as Iran and Pakistan, is it wise to be travelling in a vehicle generally associated with the American military?
"We have it decked out in Irish flags and have pictures on the side with maps of our route and so on, so it doesn't look like a military vehicle. One of the exciting things about the trip for us is the fact that we will be visiting countries which are well off the beaten path."
The Crazy Journey will take five months just to get to Europe, via Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Tibet, India, Pakistan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Yemen and Egypt. After arriving in Italy in late spring they will journey though central and Eastern Europe and then tour the Nordic countries before arriving home via Scotland in July.
"The trip itself is completely self-funded - 100 per cent of the money donated goes to the charities. We are hoping to get some corporate sponsors on board too. At this stage we just can't wait to get cracking.
Follow the Crazy Journey at www.crazyjourney.com. See also www.aware.ie