Now before you go telling me that is not about a Motorcycle adventure, I am here to tell you that this is one hell of an adventure and four wheels was just as great as two for this one.

So sit back, grab a cuppa and have a read. Go on, put the kettle on……..I’ll wait!

The beginning in brief

It all started a few years ago when my beautiful friend, Leesa and I chatted about going on the Shitbox Rally. We finally decided to jump in boots and all and we applied for the Winter Rally 2024 and got accepted.

So, we bought ourselves a Shitbox which had to be purchased for $1,500 or less. We found 2002 Ford Falcon Fortura. We got about setting her up with lots of decorations and additions. She ended up looking so awesome. Lots of people were involved but the one stand out was Leesa’s husband, Phil. He was an expert in creating the vision that Leesa had for the car. We also went about raising money for the rally and we raised a huge amount and we came in the Top 20 Fundraisers out of 220 odd cars. We were totally stoked with this outcome and couldn’t have done this without the support of our friends, relatives and work collegues.

The Shitbox Rally
14 June to 22 June 2024

Fast forward to 13 June 2024. Leesa lives in Mona Vale and I in Cooma, so Leesa belted down the Hume to Yass and collected me on 12 June. We cruised into Albury around 4pm and stayed at the Elm Court Motel. A lovely lady scanned our QR code on the car and donated $50. So great to have a random person, that we didn’t even know give us a donation.

Dinner at a place called Din Dins. My god, if you ever found yourself in Albury, Din Din’s was a fantastic Asian Fusion restaurant.

Back to our room to do some adjustments on Leesa’s wig for our punk day.

Our list for tomorrow:

Find someone to help fix the heater in the car. Yes, that’s right, no heater. It was freezing
Buy a raincoat for me, as I forgot mine
Leesa needs a pair of thongs
Need glue - well, for just in case

Arrive Melbourne
Friday 14 June 2024

We depart Albury, grabbed a quick brekky and got on the road.

Arrived in Melbourne at the Crown Promenade and got ready for for the 4pm start which was grabbing our Shitbox Show Bags and finding our Buddy Group (BG) which was number 30.

We met all our group and worked out very quickly, that they were all amazing people. You can meet our Buddy Group later in this chat.

This rally was shaping up to be a good one. Leesa and I were very happy.

Day 1 - Melbourne to Hay
Saturday 15 June 2024

Early morning. Up at 5:30am. We are to meet all the other “Shitboxers” at Manheim Auctions in Melbourne at 7am.

Looking at all the cars turn up was such a great spectacle. Such amazing, quirky ideas. There was barbie campers, thunderbirds, vital organs, juice boxes, disco balls, little cars, bigger cars and so many more.

Only 1 x coffee van for 500 people. Man, we needed a coffee. Lucky the coffee was good when we finally reached the barista.

9:30am the precession started to leave the Manheim car park. One by one they called out the Buddy Groups and we all left in our group and headed to Hay.

We arrive in Hay. (Yes, that’s our BG in the pic.) Got to Hay Showground which was friggen freezing. We arrived on dusk to the first of many amazing sunsets.

Set up our swags and headed over to the main shed where dinner was being prepared for us and the local footy club selling drinks at the bar. The fire pitts were cranking and after a belly full of food and some drinks we headed back to our camp area. All of BG 30 was parked together and we settled into our swags for a well deserved sleep.

Sleep didn’t come too easily. Call it first night excitement, but we had enough sleep to see us through to the next day.

Day 2 - Hay to Silverton
Sunday 16 June 2024
(Punk Dress up Day)

Got up early as breakfast was around 6:30am. It was still dark as sunrise is about 7:00am. Got our punk gear on (first of two dress up days), had brekky and picked up our lunch packs. Lunch consisted mainly of a fresh ham or chicken salad roll, a piece of fruit and a drink.

Left about 9:30am after a bunch of BG’s went out before us.

Started fresh on a dirt road, which is also the first of many. 392kms unsealed roads first. Can I just say, as Leesa and I are not really used to driving on dirt roads at certain speeds, it was very challenging. We got up to speed quickly though and ended up at about 80 - 90km/hr on these roads. Lots of bumps, corrugations, dips, cattle grids, oncoming motorbikes and trucks. Challenging to say the least.

Lots of stops along the way, and if one of your BG stops, then everyone stops. Most of the stops weren’t for mechanical failure however, they were for “Code Yellows”. So over the two way radio, you would hear our “Tail End Charlie” call “Buddy Group 30, this is Tribute, the group has called a Code Yellow, please pull over at the first available spot.” Then everyone exits the cars and runs into the bushes for a wee. A little challenging for the ladies, but the boys had this action down pat.

Next stop, Silverton. We set up our swags and headed to the pub for dinner. Had a few drinks then off to bed. This night was absolutely freezing. It got to zero and when we woke, we found the entire camp site was under a blanket of ice. Very very cold. Some of the swags were so icey, they were like popsicles. At any rate, we had to pack up our wet swags and tarps and soldier on.

Day 3 - Silverton to Hungerford
Monday 17 June 2024

This day we had to re-route. Due to the rain event that came through recently in the west, the road to Tibooburra was closed, so the rally organisers had to work quickly to take us a different way. They sent scouts out at 5am to check the roads and chose the route above via Wilcannia. The above map may not show exactly the way we went, but you get the idea. Not sure how much dirt to road ratio is was, but I can assure you there was heaps of dirt.

Leesa drove first this day. We headed up another dirt road which was very wet in places. The road was quite windy and very sandy on the edges. About an hour into the dirt, we ended up doing some fishtailing down the road due to the conditions, and I’m not sure how many spins we did, but we ended up facing the other way. OMG, after the initial shock, Leesa and I burst into hysterical laughter. Luckily there was a bunch of people behind us, all got out and made sure we were ok. That was a massive adrenalin rush.

We ended up driving into the night. There was a lovely bitumen road that said 130km to Hungerford, but in true rally form, we detoured onto another dirt road. To say that this part of the trip was challenging would be an understatement. I was driving now, and as the sun was setting, the BG-30 message came over the radio. We had about 180 or so km’s left to go.

It was pitch black and there was no breeze. The dust was thick, which made it near impossible to keep up any type of decent speed. So we pulled right back. Not sure this made things any easier. Anyhow, after stopping numerous times to open and close gates, one of the buddy groups in front of us had the great idea of putting on hazards lights.

At this point we had to drive pretty damn close to the vehicle in front and follow them. Now you know the game that you play, when you have a blindfold on and lead someone around and they have to trust you, well that’s what this was like. Driving blind.

After what felt like an eternity of driving like this, there was another message over the radio, “we have 73km’s to go”. Holy hell. This was very exhausting, but you know what, at the end of the drive, we all felt so proud of ourselves that we were able to get to the end. What an amazing achievement. Leesa’s son, Jack, was following us on the tracking app that another BG had set up and he said he couldn’t believe that we were still driving when he was going to bed.

At the end of this road, it was about 9:30pm. We had to use one of our jerry cans for a fuel fill up and then when we got into camp, had to line up to fill up our jerry can before we made camp.

Leesa and I was too exhausted to set up our swags, so decided to sleep in the car. Woke up at 7:20am the next morning. Boy did we sleep.

Day 4 - Hungerford to Windorah
Tuesday 18 June 2024
(It’s a nice day for a White Wedding Dress up day)

Today was another dress up day, so complete with veils and tiara’s, Leesa and I head off for Day 4 of our adventure. Again, we had no preset route, so we divert again and head to Windorah. Again, this may not have been our exact route, but rest assured, there was lots of dirt.

Stopped for fuel at Thargomindah heading to Quilpie. On the way, my step niece and nephew (Alana, Charles and their kids) were heading on their own journey and did a spotto as we drove past.

When we got to Quilpie we headed into the Quilpie Pub for a well earned beer. Whilst we were there, we noticed that there was a bunch of writing on the ceiling.

Headed off from Quilpie about 4pm and still had around 244kms to go. Of course long straight road driving as it was getting dark, we were like the terminator scanning for wildlife. The road we were now experiencing was a single lane. No, not a single lane both ways, just one single lane for all traffic, so we had to slow right down and pull to the left for any other vehicles, including road trains.

Whilst pulling over for one of the road trains, we had “The Roy Boys” behind us. The road train and Ballsy Bombshells were kicking up a lot of dust, and the Roy Boys hit a highway white guide post, and took out their grill. Lucky it was a shitbox. :)

Got to Windorah at about 7pm. Set up camp and headed for dinner.

Day 5 - Windorah to Bedourie
Wednesday 19 June 2024

Arrived at Birdsville Hotel and had another well deserved beer. We have definitely encountered some quirky little towns and the pubs are always on point. Somewhere I would definitely visit again.

Left Birdsville and came across a road sign. “BG-30 this is Ballsy Bombshells, only 1853kms to Alice.” Dos Amigos Locos replied “Alice, Alice, who the f*^k is Alice” haha very funny response. Thanks Dos Amigos Locos.

Unexpected stop, with our first casualty. “Car rolling on Empty” gets a flat tyre. Well I have never seen anything like it. The tyre was changed by Darren and Simon. They had that tyre changed before you could say, tyre change. Well done lads.

So just 90 kms out of Bedourie, we get another detour. Oh oooo, now 144km extra of, you guessed it, more dirt. Pushing on, we get to Bedourie. Set up camp and head to dinner. This was the first catering job that this young woman, only in her early 20’s, had done. She did a fantastic job and we settled in, once again to a few drinks then off to bed. Leesa and I slept in the car again, as we got in on dark. Couldn’t be bothered setting up our camp.

Day 6 - Bedourie to Tobermorey Station
Thursday 20 June 2024

Stephen Campbell - Pro RV Conversions did our head liner

The Shitbox Rally has a production crew who follows the rally and takes images and videos. Me in true form chatted to Josh, the main photographer, and told him about our amazing head lining in the car. He was semi interested and came over to the car to take a look. In his words “this has exceeded my expectations”. So he jumped into our car for the next 1.5 hours and took a picture.

Got into Tobermorey Station. Tobermorey Station is a family-owned, 1.8M Acre (6475km2) working cattle station situated just inside the Northern Territory border on the Plenty Highway.

Massive queue for fuel. The cost of fuel is only a meager $2.95 per litre. Ouch!

Another great dinner and lots of drinks at the pub which is part of the station. Got to bed and was kept awake by campers next to us. We eventually got to sleep around 2:30am. Another early morning to pack cars and head out.

Day 7 - Tobermorey to Alice Springs
Tribute Day
Friday 21 June 2024

Today was Tribute Day which is dedicated to loved ones who are going through cancer, ones that have survived and the ones whom we have lost. Leesa and I decided to write our loved ones who have suffered Cancer on our T-Shirts.

Leaving today, we were about 5th in line to head that morning which means we got a jump on the other cars heading to Alice Springs.

Slight delay as there was a medical episode. Not in our group, but close to where we were camping a man had a heart attack. He was not breathing for some time and there were medics administering CPR. They got him back thankfully and the Flying Doctor Service was able to get him to hospital. Thank god! That was a very sobering moment.

325kms of dirt to start. This was another gruelling day as the roads were not great. It was incredible to see the changes in dirt so quickly. First red, then grey, then sandy which changed drastically, within 100m of each other and continued for the entire 325kms. Still managed to sit on around 80 - 90 km/hr, but was very intense.

Rolled into Alice Springs around 4pm to see our hubbies at the finish line. What a sight for sore eyes that was.

Phil and Geoff had already booked into our rooms, and both Leesa and I sped up to the showers in lightening speed. Suffice to say, we had very very very very long showers. It was great to get clean and wash off some of the red dirt that was in every orifice of our being. Ahhhhhh!!!!!

Awards Ceremony
Saturday 22 June 2024

Lunch on the lawn at the Double Tree Hilton and a lovely get together with our Buddy Group. This will be the last time we are all together.

There were all sorts of awards and one that the Ballsy Bombshells were nominated for being “Best Dressed Car”. We didn’t win that, but we were totally over the moon to be nominated.

So that’s a wrap. We are to humbled by everyone’s contribution and donations to the Shitbox Rally and the Ballsy Bombshells. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We raised a massive total of $22,256.

Just following, I would like to introduce you to our Buddy Group. This group of people were the most amazing, incredible bunch. I hope you enjoy reading a little insight gained by chatting to each person.

Hope you enjoyed reading about our adventure. We certainly had an absolute ball and this was a trip of a lifetime.

Meet Buddy Group 30
The best BG of the Rally

Tanya - Tamworth
Favourite Colour Pink
Star Sign Libra
Darren - Tamworth
Favourite Colour Blue
Star Sign Capricorn
Tanya & Darren live on 5 acres. Tanya is a massive horsey person and has been training and riding horses for 40 years.
Darren spent a massive amount of time with his beautiful Dad on and around machinery all his life. He is a gun mechanic and can fix anything with whatever he can find. He was a massive help on the Rally. Thanks Darren.

Fun Fact: Tayna is an identical twin Fun Fact: Darren's nickname is Hard On. (we will leave that one alone. hahaha )
Tanya and Darren Pic
Eddie from Ipswich
Favourite Colour Red
Star Sign Leo
Dan from Gold Coast
Favourite Colour Blue
Star Sign Aries

Eddie and Dan worked together for many years. They did this rally because of their shared love of roller coasters.

They loved getting up early on the rally and enjoying everyone's company.
Fun Facts: Eddie likes Rollercoasters
Fun Fact: Dan loves to get up early.
Eddie & Dan Pic
Brynn - Kingaroy
Favourite Colour Orange
Star Sign Scorpio
Luke - Kingaroy
Favourite Colour Red
Star Sign Aries

Brynn and Luke were definitely the jokesters of the group. Always ready with a funny story and a laugh.
Luke's and Brynn found their car in a paddock. It took them 3 years to be accepted into the rally.

Fun Fact - Luke did not speak until he was 5 years old as he had two deaf parents.
Fun Fact - Brynn was either suspended or expelled from school every other day.
Luke & Brynn Pic
Sam - Dunedin NZ
Favourite Colour Red
Star Sign Gemini
Pat - Melbourne
Favourite Colour Black
Star Sign Pisces

Sam and Pat met at a wedding and within 15 minutes were organising their first Shitbox Rally. They have done 2.

Fun Fact. Sam had a surgery that only two people in the world have had. In not so many words, he has a bionic penis.
Fun Fact. Pat was on some unseen footage taken for Summer Heights High. Unfortunately didn't make the cut.
Sam & Pat Pic
Mouse - Batemans Bay
Favourite Colour Purple
Star Sign Gemini
Chris - Wollongong
Favourite Colour Green
Star Sign Leo
Mouse (Melinda) and Chris are brother and sister. Mouse has done 2 x rallies, the first with friend Kate.
She thought that this rally would be something that Chris would love and he said YES straight away.
They have had some wonderful memories growing up as kids, and equally now they have this awesome memory of doing this rally together.
Chris loves helping others and is so happy that he has been able to facilitate the longevity of life for particularly his Mum and others who have cancer.
Mouse & Chris were the Tail End Charlie of the group and did an amazing job the whole trip keeping us all together.

Fun Fact - Mouse is a cheer leader and has been doing this for 5 years.
Fun Fact - Chris believes egg's don't bounce.
Mouse & Chris Pic
Simon - Lake Macquarie
Favourite Colour Green
Star Sign Capricorn

Todd - Lake Macquarie
Favourite Colour Blue
Star Sign Taurus
Simon and Todd have been mates for many years. Todd was the shy one of the group to start with, but really came out of his shell during the rally. Both these guys are the nicest people around.
Fun Fact - Simon is scared of giraffes
Fun Fact - Todd - You're not a man until you've had a man.
Simon & Todd Pic
Leesa - Mona Vale
Favourite Colour Green
Star Sign Virgo
Kat - Cooma
Favourity Colour Orange
Star Sign Libra
Leesa and Kat have been friends for many many years. We are both into adventures and pushing the envelope a bit. We love the adrenalin rush.
Fun Fact - Leesa was a page 3 girl numerous times in the Daily Mirror
Fun Fact - Kat was on Romper Room 3 x times. If you don't know what Romper Room is, google it.
Leesa & Kat Pic