25 June, 2009

Intrepid Great Endeavour rallyists prepare to hit the road in FNQ

With just two weeks to go before they are flagged away, entrants in the Great Endeavour rally are making final preparations to their vehicles – and themselves – to face the gruelling 5,000-kilometre adventure.
More than 350 people will brave the journey from Mackay to Townsville via Cape York from July 15 to 24 in one of the most impressive motorcades north Queensland has seen.

A convoy of 82 rally vehicles, 7 back-up vehicles, 17 official vehicles, a spare parts truck and even an aircraft will take to some of the most remote, inaccessible and unreliable roads the Sunshine State has to offer.

After leaving Mackay it will travel north-west via Mingela near Charters Towers and Chillagoe into Cape York Peninsula to Weipa and Thursday Island. The return journey will travel back down the Cape through Cooktown, the Atherton Tablelands and the Burdekin before reaching Townsville.

A further 30 vehicles will take a slightly less ambitious route to the cape on the Great Endeavour cruise.

All are helping raise funds for Endeavour Foundation, which provides vital support and services to more than 3,200 Queenslanders with a disability.

Endeavour’s Special Events Manager Col Clifford said local people, especially those in some of the more remote Cape York towns, were really excited about the rally passing through.

“The rally not only gives entrants a chance to see the real Queensland, but also for local people to get into the spirit of the event as it is quite a spectacular sight and sound,” Col said.

“Some of the towns along the route will get more traffic in one afternoon than they get for the rest of the month and receive an injection of $40,000 or more from rallyists buying food, drinks, petrol, ccommodation and entertainment.

“Obviously this is going to make some roads unusually busy for a day or so, so we would encourage locals to hop onto greatendeavour.com.au and see when the rally is passing through to make sure they are not inconvenienced by the additional traffic – or put out a load of clean washing only to bring it
back inside dusty.”

Col also urged north Queenslanders to get behind their entrants and help them raise funds for this great cause.

For more information on Great Endeavour Rally, and to follow its progress, visit www.greatendeavour.com.au.