Budapest, Hungary – He scared off wolves with firecrackers in Mongolia and rescued his dog from hungry miners in Kazakhstan.
But after three years on horseback, Tim Cope has retraced the route of Genghis Khan and other Asian nomads who crossed into Europe over the centuries.
The 28-year-old Australian arrived in Hungary on Saturday, ending a 6,200-mile trek through Mongolia, Kazakhstan, southern Russia and Ukraine.
He set off from Mongolia in 2004 for a trip he thought would take 18 months.
Cope traveled with three horses and a black hunting dog named Tigon that he received as a gift in Kazakhstan.
In a Kazakh village, Tigon was snatched by unemployed gold miners looking for a meal. Villagers found Tigon a week later, locked in a mine shaft and nearly frozen to death. He was nursed back to health with vodka and raw eggs.
When Cope finally made it to the next town, he encountered more of the Kazakh hospitality he had relied on for much of his trip.
“At passing the first house, a man spotted me from the window and came bolting out in his silky green gown and fur hat. He probably looked out this window all his life, and on this morning spotted a pretty dirty, unshaven Australian with a string of horses,” Cope wrote. “Soon my horses were tied in his backyard and I was drinking tea with his family.”
Cope says he probably spent about half his nights in his tent and the rest in farmhouses and huts of strangers along the way.
“In Kazakhstan, once you’re someone’s guest, it’s really hard to get away, everyone wants you to stay,” he said. “They believe that if you invite a guest, luck will fly into your house.”
