Welcome!
Welcome to the Rocket XP website! This year we'll be bashing from Southport to Port Douglas - having lots of fun and raising lots of money for the kids of Queensland along the way. Please help us out by donating online at the Variety website (be sure to reference Car NASA). Also, check out our friends' website The 19th Hole for pictures and trip report of the 25th Anniversary Bash from 2009.Check back here during the bash for daily trip report updates (where we have internet service!)
7th August 2010 - Day 10
Well, the Bash is usually 10 days long, but it purposely finished on the Friday this year to allow people to drive back to Brisbane and start work again on Monday. However, as we're not going back to work until Thursday, we decided to take that extra day we were supposed to be on the Bash and do our own thing! We jumped in the car after a great breakfast put on by Variety (and the Rendevous Hotel) and headed North to Cape Tribulation. We stopped on the way for a 90 minute cruise of the Daintree River and saw plenty of crocs in the water and on the banks; it's so warm it seems a curse not to be able to swim in the river until you see one of these guys staring back at you! Then we continued up north, crossing the river on the ferry and going right up as far as he bitumen would go. The views from Cape Tribulation were awesome, especially from the lookout above, although the day was somewhat grey and dreary. A quicker trip back to Port Douglas, and an early night as we get started on our way back to Brisbane tomorrow; hoping to make the 1800km journey in two days.
6th August 2010 - Day 9 (The Finish Line)
We made it!! Over 3000 kms of some of the dustiest, remotest roads in Queensland, spread over 9 fun-filled days in a 45 year old car!! The Rocket XP has crossed the finish line in Port Douglas. We had a smooth run in with Gozzie driving, with a couple of dirt stages before a relaxing stop at the RainForeStation Nature Park for lunch. Then after lunch I jumped in the drivers seat for a tricky little dirt stage before coming through the mountain ranges, and down into the valley. We stopped at a ultra-light airport to have the field all form up, before heading into Port Douglas in a convoy. After crossing the finish line, we all went across the road to the pub for some drinks, before heading to the hotel and getting ready for the farewell party. We were all so tired it was hard not to just lay down and nap, but having a nice hot shower improved the mood considerably! :) The party was good with some great music, and good food (when they didn't run out of it!) and then we all retired over to the pub before catching the midnight bus home.
5th August 2010 - Day 8
Today promised to be an easy day with only 130 kms on the road. We started the day by dedicating a new Liberty Swing to the town of Innisfail at their local pool. A great breakfast, and then we lined up for a trip past the Channel WIN cameras off onto the highway. A morning stop at the Mamu Tree Top walk was a nice break and a little bit of exercise, especially climbing to the top of the wobbly tower. The view was spectacular though, and after some wine & cheese, we hopped back in the cars for a short run through the rain forest to lunch. The track was fun, and the forest was spectacular, with flowing creek crossings, gorgeous sunshine, & great greenery. We stopped for lunch at Ravenshoe school where we had homemade pumkin soup, mains and cheesecake from ingredients they had produced - milk from their own cows turned to cheese, and then baked into their own cheesecake.After lunch a short 60km run to the camping spot should have been simple, but a few cars got stuck on a fairly steep uphill run which then held the whole field up for almost an hour. Once through, a fairly good run down to camp at Tinnabarra with spectacular views across the lake and a great campsite. We stopped in quickly at the huge Curtain Fig on the way for a couple of photos. Then a great dinner, a shower and we're ready for bed to catch up on some sleep so we can party tomorrow night on the finale in Port Douglas!
4th August 2010 - Day 7
Today we started out from Charters after our rest day refreshed and rejuvenated. An early start again with breakfast at the college, followed by some dirt roads. We kicked Gozzie out as Car 90 was missing a navigator, so we pimped her out and had a nice quiet ride to ourselves! :) A pretty easy run in the dust until about halfway in where there was a very sandy creek crossing. At least half the cars were getting bogged and being towed out, so we were nervous. But Sandra was driving today, and she went through like a champ and we didn't get bogged. The morning was a 270km stage which got us into lunch about 2pm. After some amazingly good Italian food (lasagne was AWESOME!) we hit the afternoon stage which was only a 170km cruise up the sealed highway into Innisfail. I switched Gozzie and spent the stage in the VW, and we roared up here in no time. The old XP is still running hot after having the thermostat replaced, so next thing to try is a shroud - and if she still runs hot, then it's out with the radiator and fan & in with the new V8/6-blade fan that I have been given. The party tonight was Wogs and Mobs, so we all dressed in Woggish gear and had a good night at the Club followed by a few drinks in camp afterwards. Off to bed now as I'm driving and we have to be up before 6am to have the car packed and breakfast done by 7, briefing from 7 until 7.30 and then off on the road at 7.30!
3rd August 2010 - Day 6
Today was our lay day in Charters Towers. We started out with a quick trip to Repco for a thermostat. Then breakfast at the College followed by a car wash. We should have stopped them from washing our roof though, and the seats were a little damp when we hopped back in! While the girls went to explore the town, I headed to the local RACQ repairer and got some help from the ever-knowledgeable Sniffy to fix the front brake and replace the thermostat. A couple of more small running repairs, and then back to the hotel where I pulled the rear wheels off to fix the rattling hub covers and match up the wheel nuts properly. The girls came back and reorganised the inside of the car, and then we all headed down to the pub for lunch. We stayed on until dinner, drinking & chatting with other Bashers until dinner time when we headed down to the Charters Towers show. We got some great food, and saw some fireworks. The local college was raising $8000 for a liberty swing for their local park (liberty swings allow children in wheel chairs to drive up on and have a swing) and after the auction & car wash they were still $500 short. So Gozzie & Sandra grabbed a tin and headed for the bar and managed to rattle up the remaining $500. A quick trip down side-show alley and then off to the hotel for an early night before our early start in the morning.
2nd August 2010 - Day 5
Another beautiful morning as the sun rose over the lake. We had breakfast, quickly packed the car and hit the Bash route. Some rough roads this morning, with Gozzie driving & Sandra navigating. We had a pretty smooth run - the new tyres behaving perfectly. We came across another road-side beer stop, and as Gozzie remembered the XP was originally golf-themed (from the 19th hole) she decided to try for a hole-in-one which was more a whole-in-one as we dropped a whole rear wheel into a trench. Luckily, she landed on the diff-housing and didn't damage the tail shaft or suspension, although someone who was watching has now dubbed us Car NASA: Need Another Shock Absorber! Some problems with cracked bullbar welds meant they weren't happy winching us out, but luckily they held and the car was easily winched out of the hole.After getting bogged in some loose sand, we headed on for lunch through some pretty rough roads including the only wet creek-crossing for the whole Bash so far. Lunch was at a race course and would have to be the best lunch of the Bash so far. An afternoon Bash route of 300kms seemed a little daunting, and as we wanted to try and find accomodation in Charters Towers, like a lot of cars we whimped and went direct via the road. Half way to Charters we managed to find mobile service - by standing on the roofrack with the phone pointed the exact right way! We found a room at a pub, so we're now having a couple of days break from camping and looking forward to sleep in a real bed and not sharing a shower with 500 other Bashers!
1st August 2010 - Day 4
Today we started out from Lake Fairbairn but instead of doing the Bash route, we took the direct route to lunch. This was for a couple of reasons - mainly because we needed to spend some time fitting out new 'mud tyres'! In the process we stripped a wheel nut, and the spares I had were surprisingly not the same as the ones on the car! So a trip into Emerald Supercheap resolved that. We dropped Wardy in Emerald so he could fly home, and then headed down to road to lunch. The new mud tyres however, were not the solution to our problems. They caused a lot of sway in the rear end (paritally fixed by lowering the air pressure) and they were also larger and rubbing the guards. After some rough roads into lunch, we headed out on the Bash route. Along the way we stopped at a little town called Alpha, which had a mechanic who also sold tyres. Here we were able to get our replacement light-truck tyres, and off load the mud tyres to someone for carry into camp for us.Because of the delays buying tyres, we were at the back of the field, and running alone at night when around the corner we came across a sea of flashing lights - the Shrek Bus was offering free beer in a spontaneous road-side party. We stopped until the Sweep came through and put us all back on the road. Two near misses (and I mean by inches) with a couple of road-hogging cows kept our blood pressure up and our eyes vigilant! We spent the night at Lake Dunn at a tennis complex in the middle of no where (the nearest town was 60kms away!).
31st July 2010 - Day 3
Today started out rough with only a couple of hours sleep for all of us. It hadn't rained, but was very foggy - again, Gozzie's saying came true and it fined into a beautiful day but all camping gear had to be packed away wet. A late departure meant we were towards the back of the field. Again we had the Virgin Crew piloting us, but this time in reverse with Sandra driving and Wardy navigating. We had a good run in the morning; roads were rough and some were nothing more than wheel tracks through the spinifex. But amazingly there were people living out there and we'd come across little pockets of kids all along the track. Some pseudo-mechanical drama's when we had not one but two punctures. One tyre was destroyed when the sidewall split, but the second one just had a regular puncture and after putting on our last spare a very helpful AW stopped and repaired the puncture for us. Because we're running on the spares which are not great, we decided to head direct for the lunch point, and then direct to Blackwater in the hope of finding some new tyres. If not, then we're on to Emerald to find tyres, and for Wardy's last night on the Bash!
30th July 2010 - Day 2
Today was foggy to start with, but like Gozzie says - Foggy morning means a beautiful day. And it was beautiful. Once we packed up our rain-soaked camping gear, we hit the road with a rather difficult morning stage steep through the hills with plenty of climbs & descents that had the old motor and brakes working overtime. We had a virgin crew piloting this morning, with Wardy driving & Hendo navigating. We made it through the morning stage with no problems, although we fell behind time and made it into lunch around 2:30pm. Following lunch, we had some more rough roads that tested the suspension, but the last stage was cancelled as it was getting too dark. So we hit the highway for the run into Biloela. A great meal there at the 'Old Wheels' Museum, then a very short night's sleep courtesy of some rowdy neighbours.
29th July 2010 - Day 1
After a wet scruitineering session, we headed off under overcast grey skies and occaisional torrential rain. We headed out down past the beach, and then turned inland. The roads were blacktop for the first part of the morning, and after only about a 500m stretch of dirt, we came to the real stuff - to find that the road was closed! The rain had made the road impassable, so we headed back and around and spent the morning on the black top - not your typical day 1 of a Bash! After a great lunch in Kilcoy, we headed out again, this time on the dirt and dust. The roads started out pretty well, but towards the end turned very narrow and windy, with steep uphills & downhills and very bad corrugations. The car took a beating as we slowly made our way through - despite the brakes getting pretty hot and fading in a couple of sections, we made it to Gympie in one piece without a breakdown! The sunroof is leaking a bit still, there are some knocking noises coming from the exhaust, and it won't run on LPG but so far to survive Day 1 without incident is pretty pleasing. :) A great meal and some good country music topped off the night before hopping in the tents to escape the rain!
25th July 2010 - Sticker Day
Today was a great day and we got a lot done. The Team all came around and we pulled all the old stickers off the car, and put the new ones on. It took quite a while, but it's looking fantastic! The new NASA stickers look fantastic, we have all the new Variety stickers on and those from our new sponsors. We had a great bbq thanks to my lovely wife, and my mum finished up with my new shirts - all with embroidered NASA logo's! :) Only three more sleeps until we're away bashing...
July 21st 2010 - Preparations
The preparations for the 2010 Queensland Variety Bash are well under way with Car NASA. We're only a week from leaving and so far everything is coming together quite nicely. We've raised sufficient funds to get to the start line, the car is running as well as it has in a long time, and it's looking really good too. Next update will be Wednesday night - after the farewell party at the Seaworld Resort on the Gold Coast before we hit the road!
