A HONEYMOON adventure like no other beckons for newlyweds Georgia Faherty and Shane Corrigan who are packing their bags, leaving their jobs and house behind and setting off on a 10,000-mile journey through 20 countries in a 21-year-old Nissan Micra called Martha.
The couple from Solihull tied the knot in April and will be heading off on honeymoon to the Mongol Rally this weekend.
As well as the trip of a lifetime, the conscientious couple will also be raising money for Cool Earth, the official charity of the Mongol rally, and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, in memory of their friend Asha.
And their journey won’t end at the Mongol Rally finishing line.
The couple are planning to send Martha the Micra home (if she makes it to the finishing line) and continue travelling around the world through east and south-east Asia to Australia where they will stay for a while before taking the long way home across the South Pacific and around South America.
“If nothing goes wrong, everything will have gone wrong,” said Georgia – who used to work at the Marie Curie Hospice in Solihull and now works in the public health department at Coventry Council.
“We are doing this because we love travelling, visiting new places, and having adventures – we really want to see as much of the world as we can,” added automotive engineer Shane.
“We also want to make the most of being (relatively) young, healthy and having limited commitments.
“We don’t want to wait until we retire in case we never get there (which seems increasingly likely), or can’t do the things we want to do.”
Shane and Georgia met back on another trip around the world in 2009.
They got together in India and stayed together for a few months until Georgia had to come back to the UK to continue her degree at Durham University.
Shane moved back to Ireland where he’s originally from, but after a couple of years of long distance dating, he moved to the UK and they moved to Solihull in 2012 for work.
As well as the desire to travel, the inspiration to take on the Mongol Rally has two other reasons.
The challenge itself is inspired by Martha the Micra.
Georgia bought the car five years ago for just £500.
She has never let her down, but the last time she tried to get an MOT the garage said it was ‘uneconomical’ and refused to do it.
Georgia didn’t want to scrap her beloved car.
So when she heard about the Mongol Rally, which sees people driving a ‘really old rubbish car’ 10,000 miles across 20 countries, she needed no persuading that this could be the perfect send-off for her.
The other key reason behind the challenge is the fundraising aspect.
As well as the rally;s official Cool Earth charity, Georgia and Shane will be raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in memory of their friend, Asha.
Asha passed away in 2015 at the age of just 25, having lived with cystic fibrosis all her life.
“We hope that by raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust we can help others with the condition to live longer and healthier lives, but we also want to make sure that we make the most of our life and live every day to its fullest, because you never know what’s round the corner,” added Shane and Georgia.
To find out more about the challenge or sponsor the intrepid travellers check out their website: www.shaneandgeorgia.com or drop them a line at [email protected].
