Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world – a place so perilous the government is advising Australians to not travel there.
But one Sydney adventurer has related how he defied the odds as he trekked a war-torn area in the north-east of Afghanistan in a journey few foreigners have made before.
Rhys Keogh, 25, had assault rifles pointed at him, watched a goat carcass thrown around in sport and braved potential bomb-threats in his three-week trek across Afghanistan.
Rhys Keogh, 25, on horseback trekked across northern Afghanistan despite the government’s advice to not to go
‘There’s car bombs, mines and kidnappings but people live there, people survive,’ he said.
The war in Afghanistan began in 2001 following the September 11 attacks in New York after the Taliban refused to hand over Osama Bin Laden.
By 2014 the war had killed 149,000 people in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The war on terror continues with the most recent attack last month when an ambulance exploded in Kabul killing more than 100 people.
The objective of Afghanistan’s national sport, Buzkashi is to keep the headless animal carcass from your opponent
Despite the dangers, Rhys travelled to Tajikistan in Central China to cross the border by foot to Afghanistan. It is a 500-metre walk across a bridge on to an island embankment and is patrolled with heavily armed guards from both sides.
Rhys: ‘We had no protection and guns pointed at us at the whole time – it was completely out of our control’
‘We had Tajik armed guards pointing their rifles at us, while we have our kit on our back taking a slow march, with our arms in the air in the baking heat walking towards a troop of Afghan guards with their assault rifles,’ he said.
He said: ‘We had no protection and guns pointed at us at the whole time – it was completely out of our control.
‘We had to hide our cameras, otherwise you would get shot. And if you were taking photos, they would think you’re a spy. We had our bags searched three times by three different people,’ he said.
He had to pay them 50 U.S. dollars to cross to Afghanistan, the equivalent of a month’s pay for the border security.
Rhys and six others trekked across the Wakhan Corridor in up to 5000 metres of elevation. It is a route that is very rarely travelled by foreigners. They only had a map from 1956 as a reference point.
The villages they passed had no electricity or schools, their water supply is a running stream nearby and their biggest social event is meeting to play their national sport, Buzkashi.
Buzkashi is played on horseback with a headless goat carcass. The objective of the game is to avoid having the beheaded goat stolen from you.
‘It just so happened that we were coming across an area where once a month all the villages in the area will come together to play a game, to interact with your neighbours who are two-day ride away in another village. They eat, they talk about things, they trade, but the main event is this game,’ he said.
The national sport of Afghanistan is called Buzkashi – the person who keeps the headless goat carcass for the longest wins
Yaks, horses and guides were hired to trek the north-east of Afghanistan for the three-week hike of the Wakhan Corridor
The game happens once a month as a social and trade event for local villages – there are no prizes won, just pride
The 25-year-old north Sydney man trekked up to 5000 metres altitude in the middle of Summer in -10 degree conditions
He said: ‘There’s no rules, they will be galloping at full pace, they will be sideways on their horse holding on with both their feet trying to lock on to it, both their hands outstretched, trying to rip a goat carcass out of another guy with a whip in their mouth. And that’s the national sport of Afghanistan.
‘It is one of the most thrilling things I have ever witnessed,’ he said.
Rhys, who hails from the north shore of Sydney, said the Afghani people are the opposite of how they’re depicted on the news, and he experienced genuine warmth from the village people.
He said his car broke down so the obligation of the village’s most senior and respected people was to bring them into their home, slaughter a goat in their honour and cook it for them.
Rhys is how back in his north Sydney home, planning another holiday trek to Greenland.