WHEN most people go on long-distance adventures, they ensure their cars are in good working order and can make the journey.
That is not quite the case with drivers who took part in a recent Cancer Council fundraising rally.
While drivers are confident their vehicles are sound, it is the type of car and the road terrain which ultimately decides if they'll make the trip from Adelaide to Cairns, Qld.
Retired builder Noel Walker, Loxton, took on the challenge to drive a car valued at less than $1000 on the 3800-kilometre journey, along some of the nation’s toughest roads.
His old work car – a VR Commodore station wagon – was thought to be "ideal" for the job.
Noel went on the adventure with his son Timothy, tackling roads such as the Oodnadatta Track and the Plenty Highway, NT, from May 27 to June 2.
They drove as Team Lone Ranger, with a large rocking-horse bolted to the roof of their car.
“The roads were pretty horrendous,” Noel said.
“The last 150km into Tobermorey Station was very bad bull dust. You couldn't see five feet in front of you.”
The journey was going well for The Lone Rangers until the Oodnadatta Track, where their car broke down.
The support crew swooped in, but Noel said they declared it “dead in the water”.
They left the car and rocking horse behind at the Alice Springs Racecourse.
Luckily, their luggage was spread across their team and they were able to make it to Alice Springs as passengers.
“At Alice Springs we got there quite late and thought about getting another car,” Noel said.
"The next morning my lad put a call out on local radio to see if anyone had a car we could use to get us through to Cairns."
Their calls were answered when a local wrecker came up with a bright yellow VT Commodore.
“It was nothing special,” Noel said.
“But it was unusual in the fact it had been rallied from Sydney to Alice Springs two weeks prior.”
They paid $1000 for the car and for the rest of the journey, Team Lone Ranger did not have car troubles.
“It was a big adventure and they were long days,” Noel said.
This year's rally was the first time Noel and Timothy had driven in the event.
“We had tried to go last year but they limit numbers and we could not go,” Noel said.
Noel said the main reason for their participation was the adventure and raising funds for cancer.
“Our family has been touched by cancer, friends I went to school with have died from cancer,” Noel said.
“It's a fairly prevalent thing at the moment.”
Teams raise $1.6m for critical research
The convoy of rust-buckets and near-wrecks helped raise $1.64m for the Cancer Council.
The tally is the biggest fundraising result the event has secured and the final amount is set to climb higher with more donations still pouring in.
Since the event's inception in 2010, more than $7.25m has been raised.
The rally was founded by James Freeman after both his parents died from cancer within 12 months of each other.
It has since become the largest independent fundraiser for the Cancer Council nationally.