Super Cup for Gunnedah Variety Bash drivers

Gunnedah’s entrants in The Variety Outback Children’s Bash have arrived home jubilant with the success of their fundraising efforts earning them The Super Cup.

Barbara Swain and Julie Mammen, driving under the team name ‘dirtgirlworld’ had the adventure of a lifetime raising a total of $16,618.25, with the overall fundraising effort from the 86 cars reaching $1.1 million.

The event finished at Mudgee instead of Newcastle due to predicted flooding, allowing everyone to return home safely, including Bashers from the New England and Queensland, mid-north coast, Newcastle, Sydney and the Central Coast.

The Bash set off from Bathurst on a cold misty morning for breakfast on Mt Panorama where it was a thrill to drive around the famous circuit.

The pair was presented with The Super Cup for their fundraising efforts.

A daily mug was awarded along the way with organisers planning many off-road adventures and special gatherings – Julie and Barbara received the Mug of the Day on the first leg of the journey.

Before leaving Bathurst, Bashers were given brief written instructions to follow on their route, which took them to their first stop at Young, known as the Cherry Capital of Australia. Here the Bashers were treated to a beautiful lunch with the local Riding for Disabled group (RDA) and Variety presented a saddle, boots and helmets, along with other items donated by Bashers, plus $5000.

The next leg took the group to West Wyalong criss-crossing the highway to Weethalle, where they were treated to a welcome breakfast and school received free footballs and gift bags and a cheque for $4500.

Most days the cars were travelling up to 600kms, with long days starting with breakfast at 6am and setting off between 7-8am.

Schools along the way included Coleambally, where they left gift bags and a cheque for $5000 before going on to Hay, where they had breakfast at the club and headed off to Balranald and then Broken Hill – a huge day along a rough dirt road totalling 614klms, with Barb ‘hanging on to the steering wheel for dear life’ as it was almost impossible to see through the bulldust.

Calling in to a school at Pooncarie, on the eastern side of the Darling River between Wentworth and Menindee, was a memorable occasion with Julie and Barb returning to find their car completely wrapped in cling wrap – one of many acts of mischief along the way.

The group then travelled on to Macquarie Lakes headed for Broken Hill, arriving with just an hour to spare before boarding a bus to Silverton for a great night of entertainment with country music artist Catherine Britt, whose career took her from Newcastle to Nashville for six years before returning to Australia.

Barbara Swain and Julie Mammen on their travel adventures.

After breakfast at the PCYC in Broken Hill the cars headed to Ivanhoe, where they stopped at the Black Stump Hotel, for refreshments and then on to Griffith where they had an early night.

Kalinda Special Needs School welcomed the Bashers for breakfast and Variety’s gift of a special needs bus to transport the children, along with other items such as fruit trees, footballs and a cheque.

Due to the rain all off-road adventures were called off for the next few days, which made the group’s travels more pleasurable to drive and relax. The leg from Rankin Springs to Lake Cargelligo, was broken with lunch at Euabalong West Public School, where the Bashers played games with the12 children enrolled in the education facility.

The Variety Bash ambled on to Condobolin and then Parkes for a cowgirl themed night.

Before leaving the Parkes Shire, they had breakfast at Bogan Gate, a sheep and wheat growing area, where Variety reconnected with a girl they had supported since she was 16 months old and needed a liver transplant. After travelling on to Parkes to check out The Dish, the cars went on to a school at Yeoval for lunch and Variety presented 12 BMX bikes and a cheque for $5000.

The group’s last destination was the wine-growing region of Mudgee, with a red-and-gold theme for a farewell dinner at the Parkland Resort – a night of fun and laughter with presentation of awards and an auction to raise more money. Along the way, Bashers held raffles and auctions and had also been ‘fined’ for lost property.

The roads travelled included bitumen, dirt, rough dirt – and rougher dirt, corrugations, bush tracks and areas where there was no track, windy roads, hilly ups-and-downs, sharp corners and other cars going too fast and wanting to overtake in the most inappropriate places.

Back home, Julie and Barb are grateful they had no break downs, or flat tyres and a safe journey plus many happy times meeting new people and making great friendships.

They are already planning their next adventure and would like to thank everyone who supported their fund-raising efforts, including major sponsors Woolworth who provided food for the many breakfasts and lunches along the way and $50 vouchers for the winners of the colouring-in competitions at each school.