Scaring off wolves with firecrackers and resuscitating a dog with raw eggs and vodka are just two of the wild experiences of Tim Cope during his 10,000km journey on horseback from Mongolia to Hungary.
Cope, 28, a native of the Gippsland region of southeast Australia, described his expedition of more than three years -- officially billed as "On the Trail of Genghis Khan" -- as a tribute to the nomadic people from Central Asia who over the centuries made their way west toward Europe.
Cope arrived at the journey's end point, the Hungarian town of Opusztaszer, on Saturday.
PHOTO: AP
"I'm very happy to be here," Cope said, surrounded by his traveling companions -- his dog and three horses. "Sometimes I didn't think I would ever arrive."
He described those who opened their doors to him during the trip and his animals as the "real heroes" of the adventure.
He started out in Mongolia in June 2004 and later crossed through Kazakhstan, southern Russia, Ukraine and, for the last two months, Hungary.
Cope initially expected to spend 18 months on horseback retracing the road of the Avars, Mongols and Huns, among others, but the trip ended up taking more than twice as long.
"I'm feeling a bit panicky about finishing because I can't imagine saying goodbye to the horses," Cope said by telephone on Friday, resting with his animals not far from Opusztaszer. "It's become my way of life for the last three years."
According to Hungarian tradition, the leaders of the Magyar tribes, which arrived in the region from Central Asia at the end of the 9th century, met in Opusztaszer -- about 140km south of Budapest, the capital -- to divide up the land among themselves.
"Here at the Danube River is where the Eurasian steppe ends, with its beginning in Mongolia and Manchuria," Cope said. "Farther west the landscape changes, so Opusztaszer is the perfect ending symbolically and geographically."
The Mongolian conqueror Genghis Khan extended his conquests into Central Asia and raided Eastern Europe in the early 13th century.
Cope, using one horse as his mount and two to carry supplies and feed, eventually needed 13 horses to complete the journey, although two of them -- Taskonir and Ogonyok -- have accompanied him since October 2004 all the way from Kazakhstan.
Also along for the ride -- although he had to walk -- was Tigon, a black Kazakh hunting dog, whose name means "hawk" or "fast wind." Cope was given Tigon as a gift in Kazakhstan and he hopes to take him home to Australia.
Like all the members of the team, Tigon had some incredible experiences during the journey, like the time he was stolen from Cope only to be found locked in a mine shaft, lying on ice and nearly frozen to death.
It took hours of care in a hot sauna, being fed with raw eggs and vodka, and then three more weeks of pampering before Tigon was again ready to go.
About half of the journey was through the steppe in Kazakhstan, where Cope was able to recreate most closely the nomadic lifestyle.
"It's very open landscape with extremely harsh conditions and good for grazing. It kind of dictates a nomad way of life," he said, describing having to endure temperatures ranging from minus 52oC to plus 54oC.
Cope often relied on the kindness and hospitality of strangers for food and shelter and reckoned he spent about half of his nights in his tent and the rest in farm houses, huts and yurts of strangers along the way.
Cope took gifts from Australia to exchange with his hosts and gave away many hundreds of photographs.
Late last year, he suspended the trip for several months to return to Australia when his father was killed in a car crash not far from the family home.
During his trip home his three horses stayed in Ukraine and he returned only to find them in poor condition.
"I had to cradle them back to health and it was like starting all over again," Cope said. "It was the toughest part of the journey."
Cope said his priority after getting hom would be to complete a book and a film about his voyage.
"It's my way of life, it was not just a trip," Cope said. "I'll be back in the saddle as soon as I can."
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