This morning the alarm went off at 5.30am, as we were hoping to get a prime viewing position of the Pentecost River Crossing to watch all the Shitbox Rally Cars do the river crossing. We didn’t have to drive far from where we had been camping, but alas Bridget’s clutch wouldn’t work. So the A team (Ian, David and Matt) got into action and had the components out and discovered the air valve was stuck in the shut position, causing the clutch to not engage. So a little WD 40 and a clean, and then put back together in the air system, and we were back in gear and able to move. read as "complete air pressure regulator dissasembly, drop small springs in the dirt, find small spring, drop rubber seal in the dirt, find small rubber seal, clean off dirt, add WD40, drop it in the dirt again, put glasses on this time, clean it again then workout what order the 2 springs, the rubber seal, and the weird slidey bit goes in." cross fingers and hope you got it right whilst bolting it back onto the bus. We parked up in a few prime places, and then just had breakfast and did a few chores, setup the awning and got out the chairs. Others were soon joining us to watch the cars go past. Some rally organisers came across and told us the cars were due after 9am, and it was only 8am. Families joined us and some of the kids positioned themselves on the roof top of a car. They were pretty enthusiastic and excited. and i dare say sunburnt by the end of the morning
Finally at 9.30am the cars arrived, and one by one they attempted to cross the river. Most made it through, but those that didn’t got pulled out by a couple of rescue 4WD’s. The cars were all decorated with stickers, or all types of paint jobs, the participants were also dressed up as all sorts of characters or themes. The kids on the roof top would chant the name of the teams as the cars made it across. They got lots of cheers and applause. Some rally participants threw lollies or handed out stickers to the kids.
As the morning wore on, the rocky crossing was getting harder to cross and more and more participants were needing to be towed. mainly cause every time someone got stuck, they dislodged large rocks under the water leaving a hole for the next car to fall in to. by lunch it was like watching cars drive over a field of concrete basketballs. We were noting which model cars made it through easily and those that struggled. Ford Falcons, Toyota Tarago’s , Camry, Corollas, and most of the Holden Commodores were pretty reliably getting across. Surprise successful cars were a Suzuki Swift, Mitsubishi Mirage, Mazda 121 bubble car, Ford Focus, Daihatsu Charade, a VW Beetle, Nissan Exa, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Rover. Those that didn’t make it on their own included Volvos, Peugeot, Hiace, Ford Telstar, Camira wagon (we were amazed it had made the rally that far full stop! i was amazed that one still existed), Ford Laser, Hyundai excels, Leyland P76 (lucas electrics dont like water )some Mercedes, and Jaguars (lucas electrics dont like water ) (we didn’t get to find out if the Nissan Micra and old Toyota Seca made it or not, as we had left by the time they went across). The rescue vehicles were a Hilux and Landcruiser that would take turns to reverse in, a guy would jump into the water (no crocs visible fortunately) and attached the snatch strap and pull the vehicles to the other side. one kia carnival was hauled out with a strap through the front windows across the dash, cause they couldn't get to anything structural to haul from the front. that was pretty sketchy, i expected the windscreen to come out. pretty sure it cracked it. there was a ford telstar that made it across and once it came out of the water it had so much rust under the doors that water was pouring out of the holes in the sill and doors and floor. i'm pretty sure it was not roadworthy, neither was the one headlighted XC falcon wagon in the video. that was pretty rough too.
After lunch, we decided it was time to move on to our evening camp site, so we waited our turn to be able to cross over, going the opposite way to the rally. We got just as much attention and cheers as we crossed, and some had thought we wouldn’t make it across. cause we are so old and only 2WD. it was pretty ripped up though On the other side, as we drove past the queue of the remaining rally cars waiting their turn, we got toots, waves and cheers and compliments and even had a sticker passed into the window. These people have given up their time to fundraise, and prepare their $1500 or less cars (some have completed a few rally’s too) and by all accounts, it looks like they were having a wonderful time. There were 250 cars (shitboxes) all up. Some that crossed looked like they had broken, or no working suspension, one had hit their sump and were leaking oil. We had been told that some had already had complete car failures and they went out and bought another car and kept going. All this to help raise money for the Cancer Council.
After we crossed the Pentecost River with ease, we had a short drive to Home Valley Station. We were finally on the dirt and gravel that makes the Gibb River Road famous for the challenge (and for being a caravan killer too!) The station had hosted the rally participants the night before, and they were still cleaning up. We were able to check in and catch up on washing, before we had to drive down to our camp site for the night, on the banks of the Pentecost River, but this time on the other side to the past couple of nights, and further down. No crocs spotted, but we suspect they were there. We were there in good time to enjoy the sunset and the amazing colours of the western aspect of the Cockburn Ranges. Again we were spoiled with such spectacular views.
We had dinner around another campfire and again able to recline our seats, and look up towards the sky with the twinkling stars and enjoy the serenity. This property also had cows that go for walks to the river for a drink at night, and we spied them walking through the bushes. Another fun day on this big adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment