NICK.BROOK@cluthaleader.co.nz
Local film-making talent will be showcased this Saturday, as Team Sheepish Kiwi screens at the Clinton Community Hall.
Hand-shot on mobile phones, the film follows a team of six men including locals Fraser Leslie and Stephen and Grant Restieaux as they take on the 2015 Mongol Rally.
On July 18 that year, the team left the Goodwood circuit in the United Kingdom in two 1200cc Fiat Puntos, beginning an unassisted road-trip across over 13,000 kilometres of mountains, deserts and steppe on rural roads bound for Ulan-Ude, Russia.
‘‘Six guys all together in the same situation makes anything seem more manageable, so we were never really too worried about breaking down,’’ Mr Leslie said, ‘‘We were there specifically for the rally, we had meetings most days to choose the routes and roads and we were sensible and always had plenty of food and fuel and water.’’
Pre-rally preparation included hours of paperwork to ensure all passports and visas were in order, as the six men from different homes found bureaucracy at borders to be a major delay as they travelled through 20 countries in 27 days.
Road conditions and international driving standards seemed to deteriorate as the team pushed east, taking the time for a detailed detour to Anzac Cove, Turkey to experience the history of Gallipoli.
After breathtaking sights in Istanbul the two cars plunged into Georgia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, hinterlands so vastly landlocked they swallow the Caspian Sea like a pond.
With roof-mounted storage-barrels the team tempted fate plenty of times with countless miles of off-road travel, fording rivers, and pouring up soft earth tracks.
Running automotive repairs and capturing anecdotal adventures became everyday affairs as landscapes grew more epic and vehicles sounded more funky.
‘‘Funny thing — no matter how isolated it got, you were always within reach of a petrol station,’’ Mr Leslie said.
‘‘You might be driving all day in dusty, 50°C heat through nowhere and then come to a new fuel station that’s got supplies and airconditioning and clean toilets.’’
Nonetheless, the rural routes led through some of the most distant, pristine environments on land before eventual arrival at the finish line, with herds of camels and yaks and yurts clustered in Mongolian valleys .
Hosted by Leslie and Stephen Restieaux, Team Sheepish Kiwi is rated PG13 for some earthy language over its 80 minutes.
Doors open at 6.30pm and the film starts at 7pm.
‘‘Stay for the yarns,’’ Mr Leslie said.
‘‘Bring cash for popcorn and ice cream because all money raised will go towards the Clinton Community Committee.’’
