SB Rally: Driving force behind funds for cancer research

When it comes to 'must do' drives, names like Birdsville, Canning and Strzelecki often get bandied about. Those drives usually involve well-heeled vehicles with plenty of kit and off-road ability. At the other extreme there's the Shitbox Rally, in which more than 250 teams travel across some of Australia's most remote and arduous terrain in vehicles that would struggle to make it to the next suburb, let alone from Perth to Darwin.

We recently followed the exploits of Regan, an accountant turned adventurer, who along with his trusty navigator Paula took on the rally in a clapped-out '98 Falcon worth less than a grand. In fact that was a pre-requisite -- all the cars involved in this Cancer Council fundraiser had to be worth less than $1000, but still road worthy.

Here's some of the highlights of the seven-day trek to the Top End, as noted by Regan...

DAY ONE: Later that night we found out why we were in front of the scout car -- it got lost leaving Kings Park in the suburbs of Perth. Yes, they got lost at the very first corner of the 4200km route! My confidence in them is now a little rattled.

It took about four hours for all the cars to roll into Meekatharra, our overnight stop. Not many casualties but a few in triage for the night.

DAY TWO: We nailed another 718km on day two, 200km of which was dirt. While the road was fine, the dust was horrific. But the landscape and colours were amazing. The contrast between the blue sky, red rocks and white ghost gums was just stunning!

Paula jumped on the radio to warn our group as the old girl and calf tentatively stepped through the dry river crossing and up the far bank. Cars quickly backed up behind us, but one guy was too slow to react and was forced to swerve, just missing one car and then dodging a tree.

They ended up ditching into the river-bed, level with our car and up to both axles in the sand. We were blessed that 30 seconds behind us was a support car with a winch and rigging to drag them out. A very lucky incident, somebody could have been hurt quite easily. (Their passenger seat is sitting a little higher now as a rock slammed into the bottom of the car leaving a huge dent).

DAY FOUR: A simple 400km sealed drive today to Fitzroy Crossing, well it was supposed to be simple. 80km out of Broome and team Gumby in front of us starts spewing smoke. We pulled over and the radiator hose had gone, like seriously exploded! The guys in our team did an amazing job fashioning a new one out of spare parts, but then realised the head gasket had gone too.

So we waited two hours on the side of the road for Support 1 to turn up with a real hose and a trailer. That night the head mechanic called it. RIP Gumby. Our car will be a little heavier and we lose our back seat as Bruce and his gear joins team Dunny Dragster for the next three days.

DAY FIVE: And our little girl has water in the engine and a soaking wet air filter. Lucky for us we have four bush mechanics in the team who all jump into action. I walk into the bushes for a leak, it's the best I can contribute.

Using a spare towel they fashion a new air filter while the rest get to work on the engine. Seriously after 20 minutes and litres of water flying from the engine and out the exhaust, these guys had her purring like a... well, she was running anyway and we dodged a bullet.

DAY SIX: We traveled in groups of nine buddy teams, which led to a lot of hold ups for each of the river crossings. Idle people and XXXX Gold results in many a prank from the non-drivers, so we had a good laugh on such a long day.

One guy found an 18-inch tiger snake in the bushes at one stop, threw it in our car and closed the door. Paula was still screaming at the guy as I fished it out and handed it back. The guy walked off with his rubber snake and tried a similar trick on the next car with much better results. The next couple, scared out of their wits, pulled everything out their car looking for it, as the joker with slight of hand snuck it into his pocket as he closed the door. Priceless.

DAY SEVEN: We arrive in Darwin at 5:30pm and there are Shitboxers everywhere. The Esplanade is buzzing and a roar erupts every time a car arrives. I can't believe we make it with so few issues. The Dunny Dragster II held up her end of the bargain with ease. So very reliable. We are already talking about next year.

OVERVIEW: The most important thing though is that the rally surpassed the $1.5m mark after the auction of the Sh!tboxers (All cars are auctioned off after the race). A brilliant effort as the target was set at $1.4m and smashed last years $1.2m.

I dare say the $25 our car went for must have been the best bargain of the day.  Yes, I did say $25, which included $40 worth of fuel, a jerry can, two camping chairs, two pillows, a tent and half a slab of Coke!

Last year, the auction was underwritten by wreckers, but in lonely Darwin the number of prospective buyers was a little lacking.

The car was in terrific condition too, just cruised along on the last day doing 130km/h, revving at 2200rpm. Whoever picked it up scored big time.

In hindsight we should have taken it, as the taxi to the airport was $27.

Well done to all the teams who took part in the 2014 Sh!tbox Rally, raising more than $1.5 million for the Cancer Council and a massive thanks to Regan and Paula for giving us a real insight into this colourful event. If you're interested in taking part in 2015, more information can be found on the Sh!tbox Rally website.

More photos from the 2014 Shitbox Rally

Shitbox Rally 2014 - Auction and Awards from Shitbox Rally on Vimeo.