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_________
Major Sponsors
Sidney & Hacking
Cooper Tires
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Breaking
News:
Departure Date: We're
departing from the Cape Byron lighthouse at 11am on Sunday, the 14th August.
We'd be delighted to have you there to see us off. We'll be returning on
Saturday the 20th August.
Keep checking back to the
site for updates on our progress. It will be updated twice daily.
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20 August 2005
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2:56pm
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We arrived back at 2:56pm, making the round trip time of 6days, 3hrs and 56mins. In the process, we also completed the one way trip in 73hrs and 29mins. On the way back we cut the time of the one way trip by an additional 3mins, coming in at 73hrs and 26mins.
In summary, we now hold the record for both the one way crossing, and the round trip crossing.
We'll have some updates with photos and more detailed reports coming shortly.
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8:30am
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We're in Roma and we're still on target to break the record. We should arrive in Byron Bay between 2pm and 3pm today. We had to dodge hundreds of
kangaroos last night.
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19 August 2005
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4:30pm
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Not much to report today. We're about 60km west of Birdsville and have had an uneventful trip across the
Simpson Desert, except for a large dust storm that we were in for about 2 hours. As a result, we all have gritty hair, eyes, ears & mouths.
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9:30am
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We were the first car to come across a serious vehicle accident. A
Pajero had rolled over and end to ended. An elderly chap in the passenger seat was seriously injured. We waited about 1hr until emergency services arrived on the scene. It was a reminder of how important it is to travel safely in the outback. The use of
the satellite phone and global positioning system meant that emergency services could find the accident scene accurately.
As a result of the corrugations on the Gun Barrel highway, we suffered some suspension damage which necessitated a replacement of both rear shock absorbers. This was done by torch light late last night.
We're on target to beat the double crossing record. We're expecting to be in Byron Bay somewhere around midday on Saturday. We will provide a more accurate time on Saturday morning. It would be great to have as many supporters as possible to welcome us home at the Cape Byron Lighthouse.
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18 August 2005
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4:30pm
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The trip is continuing well. We completed the rugged Gun Barrel highway about 1pm today. Continued on and refueled at Warburton. Continuing along the Great Central Road towards Uluru (Ayers Rock). Expect to refuel at Kulgera in the Northern Territory, ready to re-cross the Simpson Desert.
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9:30am
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We had a good run following the leaving of Steep Point, all the way to Meekatharra and Wiluna. After leaving Wiluna we headed to Carnegie
Station. We encountered the backend of a slow moving rain front. This caused the road conditions to be very slippery and in places even treacherous. Managed to reach the Gun Barrel highway, where we got in front of the rain. We're now back on track to break the time of the existing record. The test will be this evening when we go back through the Simpson
Desert.
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17 August 2005
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We've broken the record for the first leg of the trip. Our record is 73hrs 29mins. It's taken 1hr 4mins off the existing record. We've come through a lot of rain and water on the road. We passed through Meekatharra & Murchison early this morning.
We're on the way for the return trip and expecting to be home on Saturday if all goes well. The car and the tires are taking an absolute pounding on the corrugations, but both are handling
the harsh treatment with relative ease. When we reached the end of the first leg, a ranger met us. His name is Paul Dickenson. He signed the certificate with the time we arrived.
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16 August 2005
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Almost out of the Simpson Desert and on our way.
We had a small problem last night. We made a small error, with the
car ending up hitting a culvert on the road. We were lucky not to
sustain any damage to the car. (No damage to team members but pride).
We expected to have some sort of damage to the tyres but there was
none. The Cooper tyres didn't let us down.
We
also had to make a detour because the road was
closed to traffic, due to water damage, so we're working hard to
make that time up.
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We expect to complete the first half of the
trip by mid-morning tomorrow.
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15 August 2005
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4:30pm
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We've spent all day crossing the Simpson via the French line. We're on schedule at this stage, and still expecting to be able to break the record.
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5:30am
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We arrived at Birdsville at 5:30am. The weather is freezing cold.
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We're very happy to be able to
announce that Cooper Tires have been generous enough to donate a set of tyres
for our trip. This is a real bonus for us. Coopers have an international
reputation for reliability and durability. This will be a real test for them but
the team at Coopers Tires are relishing the opportunity of seeing their tyres
perform in the conditions we'll be dealing with.
4wd World covered the previous record attempt,
Anthony Kilner and Terry Prentice, of Melbourne, completed the double crossing
in seven days and 35 minutes, covering a distance of 10,370 km. Read the report
on their crossing here....
http://www.4wdworld.com.au/newsevents/exclusive/record.htm
Read the article from Overlander magazine regarding our
trip....
EAST -
WEST CHARITY RUN.
There's nothing like a country town to get a
sense of community involvement. The main charity to benefit will be an
organisation called "Our Kids". It's run mainly for children needing special
care. In addition, Lismore Base Hospital in Northern NSW needs 5 new Humidicribs
so three mates got their heads together and decided how to go about it.
Realising that everyone seems to have their hand out these days for some
deserving cause or another they realised they had to do something completely
different, and so began the idea of the East - West Crossing.
Robert Thompson is an earthmoving contractor,
Peter Arthur manages a chicken hatchery and Stuart Auld is an IT consultant.
Three blokes from diverse backgrounds that all love their bush travel. On this
trip however they won’t be seeing much apart from blurry scenery and the inside
of Peter’s Nissan Patrol. They believe that they can make the crossing and back
again in one week. That's a total of 11,000km.
Their route will take them from Byron Bay to
Steep Point in WA and will include the Simpson Desert, the Gunbarrel Highway,
and Meekatharra. Then they’ll turn around and do it all again, in reverse. The
trip will be no tourist run; all three will be either driving, navigating or
sleeping. The last one's going to be tough considering the terrain they have
ahead of them.
So far $20,000 has been raised from the efforts
of the trio and help from Westpac. There is a range of local businesses that
have stepped up to the plate as sponsors. These include Sydney and Hacking, TC's
4wd and Truck Parts, Sommerville Excavating, Ag Tech Earthmoving, UltraFast
Communications and Summit Netting. Want to know more? Have a look at
www.4wdcoasttocoast.com.au and see what the blokes have in store for
themselves and hopefully some sick kids. If you want to make a donation or help
out email them on
info@4wdcoasttocoast.com.au
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