Tim Cope

“If you want to make the most of travel to Russia, it is better to leave tight plans and preconceptions behind and just enjoy the journey.”

“In wider spaces, people bearing historical grudges with each other were separated by the muting qualities of distance.”

“In the initial stages of my journey, I was trying to travel too fast by horse by sticking to a 'five days on and two off' schedule. On the steppe, time is not measured by days, weeks or hours but the fall of the seasons and condition of the animals.”

“Gradually, I came to know my horses intimately. You go through every mood they experience and come to view the world much like a horse.”

“Many times, I thought the sat-phone was just a hindrance because it can become a crutch. You can call someone in Australia or Europe and talk about what you're going through, but it doesn't actually help. Sat-phones and GPS can't show you where the grass or the wells are.”

“Steve Fossett and I would share a common belief that it is possible and good to challenge yourself to the extreme.”

“What drew me to Kazakhstan was a curiosity to learn about life in this 'middle earth' of steppe between the endless forests of Russia in the north and the world's greatest mountain chains to the south.”

“Earth was not built to serve the needs of humans.”

“Bakhchisaray was formerly the capital of the Crimean khanate and once an important crossroad of the Silk Road, where traders met from across the Black Sea, the steppes of Central Asia, Russia, and eastern Europe.”

“I am struck by the wild character of this land and, as the Kazak herders often do, I have the urge to sing.”

“A single camel can carry around 300 kilograms. Using camels for hauling during migration is becoming a rarity in Mongolia, where mechanized transport is gradually replacing traditional means.”

“Reflective of the deep sense of gratitude and respect Mongolians reserved for wolves, there was a belief that only through wolves could the spirit of a deceased human be set free to go to Heaven.”

“Finding shelter with nomads in the desert during summer was a matter of survival for me and my animals.”

“I love the Altai Mountains. Crimea, despite all the conflict, is a remarkable place historically, culturally and physically. The mountains drop down into the sea. Porpoises swim in the shallows. Horses gallop through the grass. There are huge rocks, castles, caves.”

“It's hard to find a place where you're out of earshot of some kind of noise.”

“I have dreamt of being an author since the age of 14, and writing about my experiences has always been a part of digesting an experience and sharing it with others.”

“In Kazakhstan, once you're someone's guest, it's really hard to get away - everyone wants you to stay. They believe that if you invite a guest, luck will fly into your house.”

“Perhaps most important for nomads was the belief in the symbiosis that existed between wolf and humans on the steppe. Wolves were an integral part of keeping the balance of nature, ensuring that plagues of rabbits and rodents didn't break out, which in turn protected the all-important pasture for the nomads' herds.”

“In two and a half years' trekking across central Asia, I'd become attuned to the late autumn conditions when the hazards of winter can blow in under the cover of darkness.”

“For the traveller, Kazakhstan offers more than just a staging post for the Silk Road, as is often perceived, and there is more than just steppe.”