SEVENTY-six people from all over WA set off in 18 quirky vehicles on Monday August 4 on a major charity outback motoring adventure for children’s cancer charity Camp Quality.
The WesCarpade fundraiser travels the 2,000km from Kalbarri to Dampier over a week. The route passes through Yallalong, Ballythunna, Gascoyne Junction, Eudamullah, Mt Augustus, Mt Vernon, Newman, Marble Bar and finishes up in Dampier on August 9.
Caroline Mason, Fundraising Manager for WA is out on the road with the cars.
“We covered 442km on day one. As is always the case on Camp Quality’s outback motoring adventures, not everything went smoothly,” she said.
One ‘Where’s Wally?’ themed car was pulled out of a bog, one got stuck in a pothole in a lake, another gave up the ghost and–perhaps unsurprisingly–a P76 overheated and had tyre problems.
"It’s all part of the joy of having vehicles at least 20 years old put to the challenge of the outback. We love it because we keep it very safe and very fun-and we know our sponsorship money will have a life-transforming impact on families who have a child living with cancer across WA and Australia.”
The event has attracted entrants from Donnybrook, Bunbury and Bridgetown, as well as Perth. The aim is to raise an engine-busting $350,000-enough for Camp Quality to support a further 87 families who have a child living with cancer for the next year, through their resilience-building programs.
Along the way they’ll pull into towns in a fanfare of sirens, horns, water cannons, lights and colour in true Camp Quality style.
The entrants will also visit local schools with the Camp Quality puppets. The puppets will perform a version of their fun and educational play designed to help pupils become supportive and understanding of children living with cancer.
This is the third year Camp Quality has run WesCarpade in Western Australia. Last year’s event travelled from Geraldton to Busselton.
To support your local team, visit https://www.mycampquality.org.au/wescarpade.
