THE 2011 XXXX GOLD BAY WHALES TO HAY BALES VARIETY BASH
Day 1 Thursday 18th August We set off from Harvey bay past the new Liberty Swing- a Liberty Swing is a special swing that can accommodate a child in a wheelchair, variety have installed some 45 of these around the country so that any child that is in a wheelchair can use them) located on the foreshore of Harvey Bay then cut back across the city on our way out of town which was the last time we saw the coastline for the entire bash. Our first stop was the Torbanlea State School where the kids lined the school fence and cheered us on, it was here that another basher kindly donated us a stink bomb, which we promptly tossed to the kids. The next stop was the Howard State School where a special presentation was made then it was on to the Gayndah State School where we stopped for a great lunch, roast meat and gravy rolls, local fruit and cakes etc. After lunch we headed to Hivesville Hotel for a well-earned beer or two and a few photos. It was then onto Landcruiser Park at Jimna, via Murgon which was the last fuel stop for day 1. Set up camp for the night, another great meal provided by the bash people.
Day 2 Left the Park and headed for Kilcoy which was the first fuel stop for the day, we stopped at the Kilcoy pub where we had received a lot of support over the last twelve months, rejoined the pack and headed for Tagoolawah then on to the Goombungee State School for another presentation to the kids. Form there we headed to the next stop at Kingsthorpe State School then via the back roads Pittswoth State School where we stopped for lunch, the School had a public holiday but many of the students turned out to welcome us and to get all the goodies handed out. From lunch at Pittsworth we headed to Leyburn for a pit stop at the Royal Hotel the pub is famous for many things and is owned by Shane Webcke. Next stop was O'Shanleys Irish Bar at Clifton; the pub is over 120 years old. It was then onto Warwick where we stayed overnight in a motel for some comfort. We had damaged a rear brake line during the day which needed fixing, it was fixed in the car park at the motel so after a few beers we got a good nights sleep.
Day 3 started with breakfast at Lesley Park in Warwick where another Liberty Swing was provided to the local park, at 7.00am it was one degree Celsius ( bloody cold). We still had some strange noises coming from the rear end so Albert from one of the Mobil Workshops arranged for us to use the facilities at the local RACQ agents depot where it was discovered that the crown wheel in the diff had come loose. A couple of hours later we were on our way, out of Warwick, past Morgan Park then thru the scrub along the old rabbit fence then runs along the Qld NSW border the fence was built by Qld to keep the NSW rabbits out , the fence was built sometime between 1859 and 1880, seems like the interstate rivalry was alive and well back then. We travelled through Maryland then into Stanthorpe and on to Inglewood, criss-crossing the NSW/QLD border, at Inglewood lunch was provided at the Inglewood State School which was prepared by the kids with the salads and vegies grown in the school gardens. After the lunch stop it was on to Yelarbon where we stopped at the Oasis Hotel for a refreshment or two then on to Goondiwindi, where once again we had some motel accommodation. At Goondiwindi dinner was at the Goondiwindi Cultural Centre where the theme for the night was "Grease is the Word", some people dressed up, some went in their bash attire and some went in their regular gear, a great meal was served up and a great night was had by all with the help of the students from Goondiwindi State High School. We had some fun trying to find our way back to the motel but with some help and late night site seeing we made it home.
Day 4 started out with a magnificent breakfast of baked ham, home made bacon & egg pies and lots of other goodies at the Cultural Centre we set off for the little town of Garah, where we visited the Garah State School with a student population of just 26 kids It was then on to Mungindi which is the only town in Australia that shares two states with the border of Qld/NSW passing through the town we all went to the Two Mile Hotel for an extended lunch, some played cricket and Mad Max had a duel with some bikies, even managed to get a couple of Bashers into the local Paddy Wagon. A great pub and great lunch. From Mungindi it was back across the border into NSW on our way to Lightning Ridge some 146klms from Mungindi, mostly on dirt roads. We reached Lightning Ridge, which is where European settlers found opals in the 1880's. We again had accommodation at the local motel, dinner was at the Lightning Ridge Bowls club a few beers then off for an early night.
Day 5 We departed Lightning Ridge and travelled some 75klms into the morning run via Cumborah and Springvale then along a private dirt road for our first stop, breakfast at the "Sheep Yard Flats" headquarters for the local opal mining community, where we were greeted by the resident piano player and some of the local residents. We were served a great bush breakfast then it was off along Parramatta Road heading towards Goodooga before heading back towards the Qld border at Hebel where we stopped at the Hebel Pub, built in 1894 and never been modified since, for a cold one before heading straight up the bitumen to Dirranbandi where once again we stopped at the local pub for a couple of cold beers. The Dirran Pub is a special stop for our crew as this pub has helped us raise funds over the last year for which is much appreciated. Lunch was at the Dirranbandi Show Grounds and it was here that we were able to get a few of the local boys to tag most of the other bash cars with our "Cobra Crusader" stickers. After lunch it was a 90klm run to a little place called Nindigully with a population of approx 50 people and the local pub, known as "The Gully", one of Qlds oldest pubs, which got its license in 1864. Here we all set up camp on the riverbank next to the Moonie river then back to the pub for dinner. A great night with the main event being the Nindigully Pig Races and variety clubs version of a "Hens & Bucks" night.
Day 6 After packing up camp and having breakfast it was off to St George some 45klms away which was also our first refuelling stop since Dirranbandi, heading north for our next overnight stop at Miles. From St George our next stop was for lunch at Surat, which is on the banks of the Balonne River and is also the site of the last "Cobb & Co" coach run. Lunch was supplied by the two local schools at the local shire hall. We finished lunch then the next stop was "Montys Garage" at Glenmorgan where there is a wonderful collection of old cars, parts and motoring memorabilia, it was then onto Meandarra where we stopped at the Royal Hotel and were conned into buying father Christmas suits or risk being fined at the next stop is we were not wearing them a cold beer was in order then onto the next stop the iconic Condamine Hotel which went partially under water three times in the recent big floods. From here it was on to Miles where we set up camp in the local caravan park so we could have a much-needed shower. Dinner was at the Miles Historical Village, If anyone goes through Miles this place is really worth a visit, the historical village is some 40 years in the making and it is something that the people of Miles are very proud of, dinner was very good too.
Day 7 Breakfast was at the Miles football Grounds and from there we headed towards Wandoan where we stopped at the Wandoan State School which has some 112 kids then on to Grosmont State School which has only 6 kids. After morning tea at Grosmont it was on to Taroom where lunch was provided at the Taroom State School. This was to be our last fuel stop until we reached Chinchilla the following day, some 380km away. We were also stung a fee of $100 bash cash for entry to the school oval for lunch. After lunch it was off to Cracow. Now, Cracow is not known for many things, the two most important are gold and the Cracow Pub, which is owned by Fred Brophy and his wife. Fred is famous for his tent boxing circuit that has travelled the show circuits for decades. We set up camp wherever we could find a bit of flat ground in down town Cracow, dinner was served at the pub and the theme for the night was "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves", which was very fitting for Cracow and it was somewhat difficult to work out who was dressed up for the night and who was their normal self.
Day 8 After a different type of breakfast at Cracow (after all it is a different kind of place) it was off to Chinchilla which was to be our first fuel stop for the day, it was also our last full day on the road. Our first school stop was the Auburn River State School, which has no kids as it was closed in 2008 so we all had a refreshment or two then on to Chinchilla via some 100klms of dirt road. Lunch was at Chinchilla State School, with some 485 kids so was one of the largest schools we visited on the bash. After lunch we headed for Kingaroy but first stop was at the Burra Burri State School, which has 14 kids. This school took a bit of finding as the route instructions given were wrong and we all nearly got lost. From here it was some 120kms to Kingaroy both on dirt and bitumen roads. We stayed at a motel in Kingaroy again a good chance to shower and freshen up, as this night was the "Awards" night for the highest fundraisers. Dinner and the awards were held at the Kingaroy Town Hall, our bash raised over 1.3 million dollars with three teams raising in excess of 100,000 dollars each, a great effort by everyone.
Day 9 Breakfast was at the Kingaroy State School which has 542 kids enrolled, it was a great breakfast and then we started on our final leg of the 2011 XXXX GOLD BAY WHALES TO HAY BALES' Variety Bash which was off to the Gympie Muster. We set out from Kingaroy and via North Branch, Elingvale, and over the mountain and down Black Snake Road which gave the car and its brakes a good workout. We stopped some 100klms from Kingaroy and waited for all the bash cars and support cars to form a convoy into the muster, The convoy was led by the cars that raised the most money. The final leg was 32Klms into the muster and this leg was as tough as any of the others over the last nine days. We all received a great reception from the campers at the muster, we crossed the finish line, we had completed our first bash!
We stuffed a brake line, lost a hub cap and had a bloody good time, no other car problems although I lost a set of car keys or they may have been taken at one of the fun stops. An hour after we stopped, the rain started, we were tired so instead of camping overnight in the mud and rain we headed for home. We had travelled some 3500kms, seen some great places and sites, met some great people and had a great time. Many thanks to all our sponsors, supporters and families that made this bash possible.
Bob, Norm & Denis
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The weekend of july 23-24th was sir alberts Virgin Shakedown which was our last chance to make sure everything works before we head off on the main bash in three weeks time.
We set out fromMcdonalds at beenleigh after some delay waiting for everyone to have breakfast, from beenleigh we went via canungra to Orielly's Mountain Resort in the Lamington National Park where we all had morning tea.
Then we went down a dirt track called Duck Creek road which was steep,rough and windy, when we got to the end of the rough we all stopped for some refreshments then headed off to Kyogle where we all gatthered for lunch. From their the route had to be changed due to bad weather closing the national park so we headed off to Killarney on the bitumin.
At killarney we stayed overnight at the show grounds where most of us set up camp inside the local hall. We had a "Christmas in July" dinner that was put on by members of the local Lions Club and they put on a great Christmas Dinner.
After dinner we had a few drinks around the fires in the paddock then off to bed for one of the coldest nights most of us had experienced. Next morning was a slow start with breakfast again supplied by the local Lions club.
After breakfast we all went into killarney where the cars went over the public weighbridge so that we had some idea what our all up weight is.
After some group photos were taken we set of for Queen mary falls for a bit of sight seeing then on to Boonah where we gathered at Simons tavern for lunch and drinks.
This was the end of a very good weekend, just hope we dont get so cold on the big bash.
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BASH CAR OUTING SAT 18 JUNE 2011
WE TOOK THE BASH CAR TO KILCOY ON SATURDAY JUNE 18TH AND PUT IT ON DISPLAY AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE KILCOY RACE TRACK FOR THE RUNNING OF THE KILCOY CUP IT WAS A GREAT DAY WITH MANY THOUSANDS OF PUNTERS TURNING OUT FOR THIS ANNNUAL EVENT, THE CAR WAS ON DISPLAY AT THE MAIN ENTRANCE AND PAUL DOOLAN THE RACE CALLER GAVE BOTH CAR 241 AND VARIETY QLD A NUMBER OF PROMOS THROUGHOUT THE DAY. WE THEN HEADED OVER TO THE EXCHANGE HOTEL IN KILCOY WHERE WE HAD THE CAR ON DISPLAY NEXT TO THE BOTTLE SHOP WE WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE TO KEV PURCELL FORM THE RACE CLUB FOR ALLOWING US TO DISPLAY THE BASH CAR, TO PAUL DOOLAN THE RACE CALLER FOR THE PROMOTIONS AND SPIELS HE GAVE OVER THE P.A. SYSTEM FOR THE CAR AND VARIETY AND TO DAVE CAIRNS AND ALL HIS STAFF AT THE EXCHANGE HOTEL FOR THEIR HOSPITALITY AND SUPPORT.
BOB, NORM & DENIS
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The car and crew of 241 participated in their first mini-bash on the weekend of the 26th and 27th of March - the "2011 Mini Bash To The Muster".
We gathered at McDonalds at Stafford - some dozen cars turned up, along with a couple of clowns,
the Flinstones and the Rocky Horrors.
There were a number of spectators and our sponsors have had some exposure.
Bob drove the first leg, which was via Brookfield, Moggill, Karana Downs, across the Brisbane River and on to Marburg. At Marburg we had a pit-stop where Denis took the wheel, and got us to the Rosevale Pub for some refreshments.
Then we went on to Aratula where we met the highway - from there we went over Cunninghams Gap to Bestbrook Lodge at Maryvale for lunch. The owner of the lodge had the privelage of being 'sprayed' by the cobra mounted on our roof rack. After lunch, we headed for Mutdapilly via Freestone, Killarney, and Queen Mary Falls where we encountered some steep descents and Denis managed to cook the front brakes.
After stopping to allow the brakes to cool off, we continued past Lake Moogerah, into Harrisville then on to Mutdapilly where the Variety Club was having the annual Mutdapilly Muster. We camped overnight, went to the muster, and had a few beers.
The first day went well - we learned a lot, and the car held together!
Sunday was up for breakfast then off to Leyburn. We all parked the cars together while breakfast was cooked, and there was plenty of exposure for our car sponsors and supporters.
Norm took the wheel for this leg - the route instructions were interesting to say the least. We went through Aratlula again, up the highway past Bestbrook and onto the Warwick turnoff. Then the fun began - we went through some back roads and farmland, and ended up in Warwick, then across the Condamine river, past the airport, and got to the Pratten-Hendon Road where the instructions no longer made any sense. We decided to set the GPS, and made a dash to Shane Webkie's pub at Leyburn. We were the first in, so we got the prime parking spot - in front of the main entrance.
A few more people were sprayed by the cobras as they checked out our car.
We had a couple of beers, talked with Shane, had lunch, then Norm drove back to Brisbane. As we left the pub, we gave everyone a quick squirt from the water pistols, just so they would remember us. We arrived home safe and well, having travelled some 850K's. We all enjoyed the trip, learned a lot and are happy with the way the car performed. We want to make a few adjustments to the car, and look forward to the next shake-down trial in July.
