Endeavour Car Rally

After many long months of preparation and fundraising our "all girl" team finally hit the road on the 20th annual Great Endeavour Car Rally. Toowoomba to Kooralbyn via Birdsville.

The morning we left was very exciting. We were interviewed by Gian Rooney and had to sing Dolly Parton's hit "Nine to Five" on the Today Show. Our car was called "Dolly" , it was number 925 (get it?) and we were all dressed as Dolly Parton. There were in excess of 100 vehicles taking part in the rally of which only 2 were all girl teams. There was also a car with team members comprising Endeavour "Clients".

The first day saw us making the 586 klm trek to Bollon. Our arrival in Bollon was after dark, something we became accustomed to. We camped at the showgrounds which was very dark and dusty but this was the first night of our big adventure so spirits were high.

We were packed up and gone by daybreak and on our way to Quipie, 516 klms away. This day saw us lunching in Wyandra at the little school. It consisted of 1 teacher and 16 kids. I swear that teacher had eyes in the back of her head.

The next day was the longest of all, 915 klms taking us into the Simpson Desert and the town of Bedourie. The day started with another glorious sunrise and the trip took us to the Queensland - South Australia border and through Birdsville, before we finally reached our day's destination and 2 nights camping. Of course we pitched our tent in the dark again but we looked forward to the next day, we were going to the camel races! What a hoot!! Reggy Boy was the grand champion.

Day 5 saw us travelling 550 klms to Lark Quarry. This led us through some of Australia's harshest and most desolate terrain and saw one of the rally cars roll on a remote dirt road (no injuries except to their pride). Lark Quarry is in the middle of nowhere. There is an airstrip and some 95 million year old dinosaur tracks and the sunrise in this place is the most beautiful sight you could ever imagine.

We drove 740 klms on Day 8, Stonehenge to Mitchell. We were really excited because this was the only night we had motel accommodation and it was the big 20th birthday celebration for the Endeavour Rally. We made the most of a nice warm bed and hotel room because we heard that there were record low temperatures due in the next few days.

Mitchell to Leyburn took us over 560 klms to Shane Webcke's (former Brisbane Broncos legend) pub. What a great day! There were some really tough tracks with lots of deep sand and rough creek crossings. We even rescued a couple of cars of boys from a deep sandy bog. By the time we got to camp it was about 8.30 pm and we were setting up camp in the dark again. This was our last night and boy was it a cold one. We were told it was about -12 degrees on the ground. A water bottle inside our car froze, as did half a glass of beer left on the fence post! There was ice on the tent and we were huddled together inside, under layers of clothes and sleeping bags. I have never been so cold in my life.

As we paraded through the gate, we were really proud of what we had accomplished but couldn't wait to see our families. We had been cold, dirty, tired and mentally and physically challenged. If you were to ask us would we do it again, you would get a resounding "YES, in a heartbeat".

At the closing dinner, I don't even think we came close to a trophy. We did however get the biggest reward we could have hoped for when Richard (one of the clients) came over to us in his dinner suit, as proud as punch, and said "look at me"! That was our gift.

We owe a debt of gratitude to our sponsors and supporters. Their generous donations will no doubt make a world of difference to the lives of many people with mental disabilities and they also provided us with the opportunity of a life time.


Sponsors included:

  • Herron Todd White offices - big thank you to everyone for your support.
  • Westpac Agribusiness
  • Power Tynan Accountants
  • Plumbers Today
  • PI Direct
  • Browns Stationery
  • Sowerbys Towing and Smash Repair
  • Arenkay Designs Pty Ltd
  • Advanced Defensive & 4WD Centre Australia
  • Grace Cosmetics and Jewellery
  • Compass Town Planning
  • Reed Property Group
  • Cooee Products Pty Ltd
  • Toshiba Australia
  • Alex Surf Club

SINCE THE RALLY'S INCEPTION 20 YEARS AG O, APPROX $4 MILLION HAS BEEN RAISED FOR ENDEAVOUR
www.greatendeavour.com.au

Karen Dixon
Kerry McLeish
Ros Smith
Kristy -Lee Kahler