Charity car rallies are becoming increasingly popular across Australia, attracting both revheads and those seeking adventure on the trip of a lifetime. The bonus is that they raise valuable money for their causes.
The Endeavour Foundation will see its 27th year of rallying in 2014 with the Great Endeavour Rally in New South Wales and Queensland. The Cancer Council will also run its ever popular ‘Shitbox Rally’ in Western Australia.
Both events attract hundreds of participants and followers, who will get to see parts of Australia they would otherwise never visit, meeting locals in small communities and receiving the renowned country hospitality of regional Australia.
Rally drivers and their occupants become the star attractions as waving onlookers welcome their arrival. After the day’s drive is complete, the weary travellers are treated to a cooked dinner and an evening of lively entertainment. This often includes novelty events such as themed dinners, charity auctions and raffles.
It’s a ‘win win’ for participants and the communities they visit as it provides an opportunity for the entrants to meet the locals, while adding valuable tourism funds into the towns.
The Great Endeavour Rally
This year’s Great Endeavour Rally will attract over 200 rally enthusiasts and adventurers from across Australia, taking part in two intrepid trips across Queensland and New South Wales. Over $500,000 was raised from the 2013 rallies, with all funds supporting people with disabilities – providing them with the choices of an ordinary life.
From 11-19 July in Queensland, and 17-25 October in New South Wales, over 180 participants will navigate the best cross-country tracks encountering breathtaking natural wonders and heritage sites along the way.
In July, over 50 rally cars will set off from South-Western Queensland touching the New South Wales borders along the way to Corner Country before heading eastwards to Bundaberg and its southern gateway of the Great Barrier Reef.
Mid-October sees a similar entourage depart Western Sydney clockwise to Dubbo via Victoria and the rocky wilds of South Australia’s Flinders ranges.
Shitbox Rally
Shitbox Rally 2013 - Best of from Shitbox Rally on Vimeo.
The ‘Shitbox Rally’ is the Cancer Council’s annual rally, where only truly committed drivers make the pilgrimage to Perth, Western Australia and then travel over 3,500 km north to Darwin. Along the way they’ll encounter some of Australia’s most deserted and demanding roads.
The rally lives up to its title by having a $1,000 limit rule for the purchase of the vehicle you take on the trying trip in WA. So probably no need for a car loan for this one!
The Cancer Council promote the Shitbox Rally as being not a race, but more a challenge to ‘achieve the unthinkable’, driving an almost worthless car across some of Australia’s most gruelling roads, and to do it all for charity. Over the last four years the Shitbox Rally has managed to raise over $2.9 million for the Cancer Council.
The 2014 rally, from May 31 to June 6, will see drivers travel through the Pilbara, along the famed former cattle route, the Gibb River Road, and through the amazing Kimberley. For everyone it’s the trip of a lifetime, providing a unique insight into the beauty of remote Australia.
So if you’re up to the challenge and looking for that ‘once-in-a lifetime’ experience, you can find out more details on both events by going to www.great.endeavour.com.au and https://www.shitboxrally.com.au/.
Alternatively, if you want to explore Australia at your own pace, in something a bit more reliable than a $1,000 shitbox, talk to us about our car finance options. You can call us on 1300 889 669, or simply apply online to get things started today.
